Lord’s Day 13
Q34. Why do you call him our Lord?
Because—not with gold or silver, but with his precious blood—he has set us free from sin and from the tyranny of the devil, and has bought us, body and soul, to be his very own.
Scripture Proofs — King James Version
1 Peter 1:18–19
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
Colossians 1:13–14
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins:”
Hebrews 2:14–15
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”
1 Corinthians 6:20
“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”
1 Timothy 2:5–6
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”
Modernized Commentary — Zacharias Ursinus (1616)
This question addresses the deity of the Son of God, and it deserves careful consideration. Before proceeding, however, we should address an objection that arises naturally from the way the question is framed: whoever is the only begotten Son has no brothers; yet Christ does have brothers, since we too are sons of God; therefore He cannot be the only begotten Son of God. The answer lies in recognizing that Christ and we are sons of God in fundamentally different senses, a distinction that is essential to keep in mind throughout this discussion. Christ is the only begotten, natural, proper, and eternal Son of God; we, by contrast, are sons of God whom the Father has adopted by grace for Christ's sake.
To make this clear, we need to briefly explain who is called a son and in how many ways that title is used, and then consider who actually are the sons of God and who is called such.
They are called sons if they are either born as sons or adopted as such.