Lord's Day Questions with proof texts
Link to audio recording of LD 46 (begins at 23:42)
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Summary (NotebookLM)
This section of Ursinus' commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism addresses Lord's Day 46, focusing on the preface of the Lord's Prayer. This theological exposition analyzes the phrases "Our Father" and "Who art in heaven" to explain why Christ instructed believers to address God in this manner. The text argues that calling God "Our Father" instills childlike reverence and confidence, outlines the various ways God is a Father (creation, redemption, sanctification), and emphasizes the need for mutual love and corporate prayer within the church. Furthermore, the explanation of "Who art in heaven" stresses that God's heavenly nature contrasts with earthly parents, encouraging believers to expect help from His almighty power while maintaining reverence and avoiding earthly thoughts of His majesty.
Chapter Content:
Our focus here is on the preface to the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father in heaven," based on the commentary on Lord's Day 46 of the Heidelberg Catechism. The analysis reveals that this introductory phrase is not merely a salutation but a foundational theological statement designed to shape the mindset and disposition of the one praying.
The term "Our Father" is commanded by Christ to awaken a "childlike reverence for and trust in God." This fatherhood is established in three ways: through creation, through redemption and adoption in Christ, and through sanctification by the Holy Spirit. Addressing God as Father fosters confidence that prayers will be heard, promotes true knowledge of God's redemptive work, and cultivates reverence. The use of the collective "Our" instead of "My" serves to build confidence through the unity of the church in prayer and to admonish believers toward the mutual love that is essential for true faith and effective prayer.
The clause "Who art in heaven" is added to elevate the believer's conception of God, preventing "earthly thought of the heavenly majesty of God." It emphasizes the profound difference between the perfect, all-powerful, heavenly Father and fallible earthly parents. This understanding is meant to inspire deeper reverence for God's majesty, bolster confidence in His infinite power to provide, and orient the believer's mind and desires toward heavenly things. The phrase also serves to correct theological errors, such as worshipping God in creatures or confining prayer to specific physical locations.
The Structure and Preface of the Lord's Prayer
The Lord's Prayer is presented as consisting of three distinct parts: a preface, the petitions, and a conclusion. The focus of this analysis is the preface, which is contained in the words, "Our Father which are in heaven." This preface itself is divided into two components:
1. A calling upon the true God: "Our Father"
2. A description of the true God: "Who are in heaven"
Christ commands this specific form of address because God desires to be called upon with due honor, which is comprised of true knowledge, confidence, and obedience (which itself includes love, fear, hope, humility, and patience).
Analysis of "Our Father" (Question 120)
A. The Basis and Purpose of Addressing God as "Father"
The command to address God as "Father" is intended to establish the fundamental grounds for prayer: reverence and trust. This relationship is rooted in three distinct aspects of God's work.
Threefold Fatherhood of God:
1. By Creation: God is the Father of humanity in the sense of being the ultimate creator, as referenced by the lineage of Adam being traced to "the son of God."
2. By Redemption: While humans are by nature "children of wrath," God adopts them as his children for the sake of Christ, the "only begotten and natural Son of God."
3. By Sanctification: God is Father through the process of regeneration by the Holy Spirit.
Reasons for the Command: Christ directs believers to use the term "Father" for the following reasons:
• To Direct True Prayer: To ensure prayer is offered to the true God, who is the Father of Jesus Christ.
• For True Knowledge: To cause believers to know and acknowledge Him as the Father who adopted them when they were His enemies.
• To Cultivate Reverence: Since He is Father, believers should conduct themselves as proper children, especially as adopted children undeserving of His benefits.
• To Inspire Confidence: To create an assurance of being heard. The argument is that if God gave His only Son for believers, He will certainly give them all things necessary for salvation (Rom. 8:32).
• For Remembrance of Creation: To keep the act of creation in mind.
B. Theological Considerations and Objections
The text anticipates and refutes several theological objections related to addressing God as "Father."
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Objection |
Refutation |
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1. Does addressing the "Father" exclude prayer to the Son and Holy Spirit? |
No. The term "Father" is used essentially, not personally. It is put in opposition to creatures, not the other persons of the Godhead. The response is supported by four points: 1) Christ himself is called the "everlasting Father" (Isa. 9:6), showing the title can refer to the Godhead. 2) When one person of the Godhead is named in an external work, the others are not excluded. 3) We cannot approach the Father except through the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the "Spirit of adoption," making all three persons integral to the relationship. 4) Christ explicitly commands believers to ask in his name (John 16:23). |
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2. Christ is our brother, not our Father. |
Christ holds both roles. He is our brother in his humanity ("in as far as he is man") and our Father in his divinity ("in as far as he is God, our Creator and Redeemer"), again citing Isaiah 9:6. |
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3. He who receives us for Christ's sake cannot be Christ himself. |
This is a distinction of roles, not persons in this context. Christ as Mediator is the one on account of whom we are received into favor. Christ as God is the one who receives us into favor. |
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4. A father withholds nothing, but God withholds many things. |
A good father grants what is "necessary and proper" and withholds what is "unnecessary, useless and hurtful." God acts precisely this way, providing all things that contribute to salvation. |
C. The Significance of "Our" vs. "My"
Christ's instruction to say "Our Father" is deliberate and carries two primary implications:
1. To Excite Confidence of Being Heard: The use of "our" transforms prayer into a communal act. Even when an individual prays alone, the entire church is understood to be praying with them "in affection and desire." God, hearing the unified prayer of the whole church, is more inclined to answer.
2. To Admonish to Mutual Love: The word "our" at the very start of the prayer serves as a reminder of the duty to love one's neighbor. The text asserts that where there is no true love for fellow believers, there can be no true prayer, no assurance of being heard, and no true faith, "for whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23).
Analysis of "Who art in heaven" (Question 121)
A. The Core Purpose of the Phrase
This clause is added to achieve two primary objectives:
1. To ensure that believers "might have no earthly thought of the heavenly majesty of God."
2. To encourage believers to "from His almighty power expect all things necessary for body and soul."
B. The Meaning of God's Heavenly Abode
The phrase does not imply that God is confined to heaven, as He is everywhere by His "immensity." Rather, heaven is described as the place where God "manifests himself immediately" and is "more glorious than in the world." It is His throne, His habitation, and the dwelling place of angels and the blessed.
C. Eight Reasons for Adding "Who art in heaven"
The text provides a comprehensive list of reasons why Christ included this description of God:
1. To Contrast God with Earthly Parents: It separates the heavenly Father from earthly parents, defining Him as one who is heavenly, glorious, unchanging, and who rules over all creation with divine providence.
2. To Excite Confidence: It connects God's fatherly goodness with his infinite, heavenly power. Because He is both a loving Father and the all-powerful Lord of heaven, He is both willing and able to grant what is asked.
3. To Excite Reverence: Recognizing the Father as a great and heavenly Lord who has power over soul and body compels believers to approach Him with the "greatest humiliation of soul and body."
4. To Encourage Fervency of Spirit: Contemplating His heavenly majesty should inspire fervent prayer.
5. To Elevate the Mind: The phrase directs the minds of worshippers away from earthly concerns and fixes them upon "heavenly things."
6. To Inspire Desire for Heavenly Things: By focusing on the Father's heavenly nature, believers are led to desire heavenly things for themselves.
7. To Prevent Idolatry: It guards against the error of the "heathen, who imagine that God can be adored and worshipped in creatures."
8. To Universalize Prayer: It admonishes believers not to direct their prayers to a specific physical location, as was the practice under the Old Testament.
How does addressing God as "Our Father" shape Christian reverence and confidence in prayer?
Addressing God as "Our Father" shapes Christian reverence and confidence in prayer by establishing the nature of the relationship between the believer and God, which serves as the very foundation of the prayer itself. This opening address is designed to awaken a "childlike reverence for and trust in God" from the very beginning of the prayer.
Shaping Confidence in Prayer
The instruction to call God "Father" is intended to build confidence that one's prayers will be heard and answered. This confidence is rooted in several key ideas:
God's Paternal Love: By addressing God as Father, we recognize that He has become our Father through Christ. The sources argue that if earthly parents provide for their children, God, our heavenly Father, is much less likely to deny us what we ask for in faith. This relationship is based on His redemption and adoption of believers who were once "children of wrath".
The Ultimate Gift of Christ: A major source of confidence comes from the understanding that God loved believers so much that He gave His only Son to die for them. The logic follows that if God has already given such an incredible gift, "how shall he not with him give us all things necessary to our salvation".
Praying with the Whole Church: Christ directs believers to say "Our Father," not "my Father," which fosters a collective confidence. The prayer is not offered in isolation but with the entire church, whose collective prayers God will not reject. Even when praying alone, the individual believer is joined in affection and desire by the whole church.
God's Power and Goodness: The phrase "who art in heaven" further builds confidence by highlighting God's almighty power. Because our Father is also the Lord in heaven, possessing infinite power, He "can also easily grant unto us what we ask at his hands". It assures the believer that God is not only willing (as a Father) but also able (as the heavenly ruler) to provide for all needs of body and soul.
Shaping Reverence in Prayer
Calling God "Father" also cultivates a deep sense of reverence for His majesty and authority.
Childlike Reverence: The term "Father" is meant to inspire the kind of reverence children should have for a parent. This is especially true for believers who recognize they have been adopted as children and are "undeserving of the benefits of God".
Distinction from Earthly Parents: The addition of "who art in heaven" elevates this reverence by creating a clear distinction between our earthly parents and our heavenly Father. It prevents us from having "earthly" thoughts about God's heavenly majesty. We are to regard Him as a Father who is heavenly, glorious, unchangeable, and free from corruption.
Majesty and Authority: Recognizing our Father as the one who "rules everywhere with heavenly glory and majesty" and governs the entire world should lead us to approach Him with reverence and "the greatest humiliation of soul and body". He is a great Lord with the power to "cast both soul and body into hell," which demands profound respect.
In summary, the address "Our Father" provides a dual foundation for Christian prayer. It fosters confidence by highlighting God's intimate, sacrificial love and His limitless power to provide for His children. At the same time, it cultivates reverence by reminding believers of their status as adopted children before a majestic, heavenly Father who rules over all creation.