Flipbooks

44 EXPLANATION OF SMALL CATECHISM flesh in the person of the Son, Jesus Christ, is the only true God, the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 4 John 17:3 This is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 5 Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Note: In Matthew 3:13–17, we hear the Father's voice as He pours out the Holy Spirit on Jesus at His Baptism. 3. What has this one God done? God made all things and loves His creation, especially His hu- man creatures.* Beginning with our first parents, all humanity has rebelled against Him and fallen into darkness, sin, and death. God the Father sent His only Son into the world to become man and to redeem and save humanity by His death and resurrection. God sent His Spirit so that people might once again be His own through faith in His Son, Jesus, who is the world's only hope, life, and salvation. 6 Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 7 John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 8 Galatians 4:4–5 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. *The Large Catechism teaches us to say: "I am God's creature" (LC II 13). Martin Luther uses the term creature frequently in his writings to emphasize the Creator- creature relationship. Creature expresses the Christian understanding that all of life exists because of and under God, the Creator and Lord of life. It also reminds us that as creatures we belong to God, who made us and loves us, and not to ourselves. We depend on Him and are accountable to Him. This is in contrast to the perspective that all of life is the result of a random series of events and the notion that we define our own existence. For these reasons, the term human creature is sometimes used as a syn- onym for human being or person in this Explanation. Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation ©2017 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. SAMPLE

• Cover