The Belgic Confession Week 1.

Introduction of the Belgic:

The Circumstances of It’s Writing.

1517 an Augustinian monk sparked the protestant reformation. The goal of the reformation was to reform, not to fracture. It was a call for the church to repent and reform. Rome refused.

1521 Charles the first is made Holy Roman Emperor and renamed Charles the Fifth.

1522 Charles the Fifth under the blessing of Pope Adrian VI brings the inquisition to purge the protestants out of the Netherlands.

From 1523-1555 1,700 non Catholics are burned at the stake for heresy in the Netherlands.

Before his death, Charles passed the Netherlands to his son Philip II. Philip would continue and intensify the persecution. Some historians have remarked that more Christians died under this persecution than died in the first 300 years of the church under the Roman Empire.

However, the Reformed faith thrived. They could not stamp it out.

Who Wrote It: Guido de Bres.

Born in 1522, in Mons, Hainaut (Modern day Belium) Guido de Bres would become one of the great heroes of the faith.

Raised Devoutly Catholic.

In the 1540’s John Calvin sent preachers to the Netherlands from whom De Bres first heard the gospel. He was radically converted.

He left home in 1548 and would from this time on lead a life of exile and persecution for his faith. His first place of residence was London under the protestant king, Edward VI.

But when Edward died in 1552 and Roman Catholic queen Mary took his throne, de Bres fled to Lille, a town close to his hometown of Mons. There he pastored a church where his predecessor was burned at the stake.

In 1556 he was forced to flee again and he met John Calvin. De Bres would become a student under Calvin and always regarded him as a father in the faith.

De Bres faced more exiles and persecutions. But he began to compile every reformed statement of faith he could. His goal was to craft a doctrinal statement to unify the reformed world and accurately express the common beliefs held among reformed protestants and demonstrate to the civil magistrates that they were not anarchists like the Anabaptists, but were simply trying to obey God.

In 1561 He wrote the final drafts of the Belgic Confession and it was published. He actually sent previous drafts to Calvin for approval. And the Belgic mirrors Calvin’s Genevan confession in it’s wording. Interestingly, it also is organized in the same pattern as Calvin’s systematic theology, the Institutes of the Christian Religion.

De Bres however would continue under persecution until his death. On May 31, 1567, he was hung for having administered the Lord’s Supper against the command of the Roman church. He died at 45 years old for his faith. His last writing was a letter to his wife, comforting her.

De Bres may have lived a short and brutal life, but his impact is monumental.

Outline:

We can divide the Belgic into seven sections.

The Doctrine of God (1-13)

The Doctrine of Man (14-15)

The Doctrine of Christ (16-21)

The Doctrine of Salvation (22-26)

The Doctrine of the Church (27-35)

The Doctrine of the Magistracy (36)

The Doctrine of the End (37)

Article 1.

There Is Only One God.

We all believe with the heart and confess with the mouth that there is one only simple and spiritual Being, which we call God; and that He is eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, immutable, infinite, almighty, perfectly wise, just, good, and the overflowing fountain of all good.

We all believe:

The opening statement conveys the hope for Christian unity.

Believe with the heart and confess with the mouth:

Obviously taking wording from: Romans 10:9–10“9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

There is one only:

Deuteronomy 6:4“4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!”

The Westminster Shorter Catechism will also use similar wording in question 5.

5. Are there more Gods than one?

There is but one only, the living and true God.

Simple Being:

Divine Simplicity. The simplicity of God means that He is not composed of various parts. Man is body and soul. Or body, soul, and spirit. God is not divided in this way. He cannot be divided like a pie. He is not 33.3% Father, 33.3% Son, 33.3% Spirit. We also cannot divide His attributes. He is not 10% just, 30% love, 20% wrath. Nothing like that.

Each member of the Trinity is truly and fully God. God is fully all of His attributes. He is love. He is just. He is wrathful. He is righteous. He is 100% of these things 100% of the time.

This means we cannot pit God’s attributes against one another. We cannot set His wrath and His love against one another. God is always fully wrathful and fully loving. In His love, He is fully wrathful against sin. In His justice He is always fully loving. We cannot pit His attributes against one another. There is no tension in God.

We do not always understand this, but we confess the truth of it.

Spiritual Being:

John 4:24 “24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.””

God is not a physical being. He has no body. This also means God is different from us. He not a creature.

Eternal:

God is without beginning or end. Alpha and Omega. God is uncreated. He is not limited by time. He is the maker of all, therefore He exists outside of all. He is beyond us.

Isaiah 40:28“28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.”

Incomprehensible:

God can be known, as we will learn, but we can never fully understand Him. He does not fit in our brains.

C.S. Lewis often talked about this in his writings, notably in Mere Christianity. IF God is the maker of all, He must be more than we could comprehend. If we could fully understand God it would actually be evidence that He does not exist. The mere fact He is incomprehensible is evidence that He is.

Psalm 145:3“3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable.”

Invisible:

We cannot see God. John 1:18 “18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”

Exodus 33:20“20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.””

God is always with us, but is invisible. God is omnipresent, but is not perceived by us.

Colossians 1:15 “15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” Christ is the only way anyone has ever seen God.

Immutable:

God does not change.

Hebrews 13:8 “8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”

This puts us in awe and gives us comfort.

Awe: We are ever changing and fickle beings. God is not like us.

Comfort: God will never change. He is a firm foundation of our faith. God will never alter His will. We will never fall from His love. We can ultimately trust Him.

Infinite:

Another way of saying He is omnipresent. He fills all of creation. He is forever. He is uncreated. He is “I AM” not I was or I will be. He is. He is also unlimited.

Isaiah 40:12“12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance?”

Almighty:

God is maker and sustainer of all. He has all power and all might. He is not limited.

This does not mean God can do anything. God cannot violate His own being or character. God cannot change. There are many things God cannot do. But what this means is that there is no power or might greater than God. There is no higher authority. There is no one or nothing above Him. He is the Almighty One.

This ultimately means He is sovereign. He is in complete control.

Jeremiah 32:27“27 “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?”

1 Chronicles 29:11“11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, And You are exalted as head over all.”

Matthew 28:18“18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

Perfectly Wise:

God possesses all knowledge. He knows all things. Scripture comforts us in this. God knows our needs. God knows the very hairs on our heads. He is all knowing.

Just:

God is the chief marker of true justice. There is no justice outside of Him. He is perfectly righteous. His scales are perfectly balanced.

God is the just Judge of all. He is the one who defines and determines right and wrong. What God says is right is ultimately right. What He says is wrong is ultimately wrong.

Because of this, His Law is just. God reveals Himself to us in His Law.

The Overflowing Fountain of All Good:

God is ultimately good. He is the pinnacle of all good. He is the ultimate good. Everything good is only good in relation to Him. Nothing God does is evil or sinful.

God is also the giver of all good.

James 1:17 “17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

The Importance of Knowing God.

To know and love God is our purpose.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism says it well.

1. What is the chief end of man?

Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

Logical reality: If God is the ultimate good, there can be nothing better than to know and love Him.

God is the origin of all. He is the maker of all and the divine arbiter of all creation. To know God is the central purpose of all creation.

“Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life's problems fall into place of their own accord.” ― J.I. Packer, Knowing God

Proverbs 9:10“10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Discussion Questions:

How do these attributes of God bring you comfort?

Are any of these attributes new to your thinking about God?

Questions and Answers:

For further Study:

How will your thinking about God change in light of these truths?

What practical steps will you take to come to know God more?

Closing Prayer:

2 Peter 3:18 “18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”