Belgic Confession Article 10: "The Deity of Christ"

After discussing the Trinity in Article 8 and Article 9 Guido now gets specific about the Trinity focusing upon "The Deity of Christ" in Article 10 and "The Deity of the Holy Spirit" in Article 11. He does this in hopes of clarifying the Trinity. Article 10 goes like this:

We believe that Jesus Christ, 

according to His divine nature, 

is the only Son of God--eternally begotten, 

not made nor created, 

for then He would be a creature.

He is one in essence with the Father; 

coeternal;

the exact image of the person of the Father

and the "reflection of His glory," [Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3] 

being in all things like Him.

He is the Son of God not only from the time He assumed our nature but from all eternity,

as the following testimonies teach us when they are taken together.

Moses says that God "created the world"; [Genesis 1:1]

and John says that "all things were created by the Word," [John 1:3] which he calls God.

The apostle says that "God made the world by His Son." [Hebrews 1:2]

He also says that "God created all things by Jesus Christ." [Colossians 1:16]

And so it must follow that He who is called God, the Word, the Son and Jesus Christ already existed when all things were created by Him. Therefore the prophet Micah says that His origin is "from ancient times, from eternity" [Micah 5:2]

And the apostle says that He has "neither beginning of days nor end of life." [Hebrews 7:3]

So then, 

He is the true eternal God,

the Almighty,

whom we invoke,

worship,

and serve.

Guido de Bres now turns his attention to the Son of God, namely Jesus Christ to expound upon "The Deity of Christ" in order to further clarify the Trinity.

The first paragraph is explaining that according to Christ's divine--this makes Him the only Son of God who was not made nor created. Because if Christ was made or created, then He would be just like a creature (i.e. human beings or anything in the created order). Jesus has existed from eternity since He is God Himself.

Guido continues to say that He is the same nature as the Father and co-eternal. He has existed from eternity since He is God Himself (repeated on purpose). He is the exact image of the person of the Father just as Colossians 1:15 states,

"He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."

Again Guido mentions, He is the Son of God not only from the time He assumed our nature, but from all eternity. Jesus always existed from eternity since He is God Himself (yes, purposefully repeated, again). 

But now Guido states some Bible verses in the fourth paragraph proving that Jesus Christ has existed from the beginning of the world at creation. They are as follows:

Genesis 1:1

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

John 1:3

"Through Him [the Word who is Jesus] all things were made;

 without Him nothing was made 

that has been made."

Hebrews 1:2

"...but in these last days He [God] has spoken to us by His Son, 

whom He appointed heir of all things 

and through whom 

He made the universe."

Colossians 1:16

"For by Him [Jesus] all things were created: 

things in heaven and on earth, 

visible and invisible, 

whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; 

all things were created by Him 

and for Him."

This connection of verses, proves that Jesus Christ has been in the beginning since the beginning and even before that--from all eternity--that Jesus Christ existed already when all things were created by Him. 

And then Guido ends with three points of application;

He is the true eternal God, the Almighty, whom we invoke

Invoke carries with it a sense of calling on or for something/some person with earnest desire. There is a longing, a constant calling upon for you know that when you call upon this thing/person, there will be an answer.

He is the true eternal God, the Almighty, whom we...worship

The One, true and holy God is the one whom we worship and the only God whom we worship for He is the one that all of our religious allegiance goes to and will forever go to. He is the only God who deserves all that we have wholeheartedly giving Him all our allegiance.

He is the true eternal God, the Almighty, whom we...serve

God, the one we serve each and every day. We serve not because we have to, but because we do it out of the thankfulness or gratitude which arises out of our hearts for what God has done for us through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. He gave His life for yours, do you believe it?