Fridays with the Heidelberg

12. Lord's Day

Q. 31. Why is he called "Christ,” meaning “anointed”?

A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father and has been anointed with the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet and teacher who perfectly reveals to us the secret counsel and will of God for our deliverance; our only high priest who has set us free by the one sacrifice of His body, and who continually pleads our cause with the Father; and our eternal king who governs us by His Word and Spirit, and who guards us and keeps us in the freedom He has won for us.

Q. 32. But why are you called a Christian?

A. Because by faith I am a member of Christ and so I share in His anointing. I am anointed to confess His name, to present myself to Him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.



I love the timing of this Lord’s Day reading. I am currently at the Ligonier National Conference in Orlando, Fl where I have been blessed with the opportunity to sit under the teaching of several brilliant, godly men. One of the sessions on Thursday helped me to more fully appreciate this week’s reading in the Heidelberg. The session, delivered by Sinclair Ferguson, dealt with the following question, “Why the God-Man?” One of the passages that we looked at was Heb. 3:1-2, “Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.”

“Consider Jesus!” This is a weighty statement by itself. Two words that I am prone to quickly read over without much thought. However, it is a statement that is taken seriously in the Heidelberg Catechism. The focus on Day 11 – 19 is on the Son of God. Nine days where we are exhorted to consider Jesus. I need such exhortation, because my tendency is to consider myself rather than Jesus. Can you relate?

Read back through question 31 and consider the three offices that the Father ordained and the Spirit anointed the Son to fulfill; prophet, priest, and king. Christ is our chief prophet, our only High Priest, and our Eternal King. Question 32 then goes on to illustrate how we as Christians are called to be like Jesus. We are to “fulfill the offices of our namesake,” writes Kevin DeYoung, even if is at a “much lesser level.”

As a helpful family exercise, have your children identify from Q&A 31 how we as Christians are to “fulfill the offices of our namesake.”