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Chapter 3GenevaCat.1.3

I. Des articles de la foi — Le 2e dimanche

The Foundation of Trust

True faith begins with knowing God's power and goodness, and finding assurance in his fatherly love through Christ.

The first step in honoring God is to place our trust in him. M: Now, to lay these things out in order and explain them more fully, what is the first point? S: It is to place our trust in God.1 9. Minister: How can that be done? E: First of all, it is to know him as all-powerful and all-good. 10. Master: Is that enough? Student: No. 11. M: Why is that? E: Because we aren't worthy of him showing his power to help us, or of him extending his goodness toward us. 12. M: So what else is needed? C: That we be certain he loves us and wants to be our Father and Savior.2 13. M: How do we know that? E: By his Word, in which he declares his mercy to us in Jesus Christ and assures us of his love toward us.

The Apostolic Confession

The substance of Christian faith is summarized in the Apostles' Creed, which provides the framework for our knowledge of God.

Foundation for having confidence in God 14. M: So, the foundation of true trust in God is knowing him in Jesus Christ (John 17:3).3 C: Exactly.4 15. Minister: But in short, what is the core of this knowledge? Elder: It's found in the confession of faith that all Christians make, commonly called the Apostles' Creed. It's called that because it's a summary of the true belief always held in Christendom, and because it's drawn from pure apostolic teaching.5 The Apostles' Creed 16. M: Recite it. E: "I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell.✦✦✦6 On the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven; he is seated at the right hand of God almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.✦✦7 I believe in the Holy Spirit; I believe the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the flesh; everlasting life.✦89 "

Read the original Latin

Le premier point pour honorer Dieu est se fier en lui 8. M : Or afin que ces choses soient déduites par ordre et exposées plus au long, quel est le premier point? E : C'est d'avoir notre fiance en Dieu.

9. M : Comment cela se peut-il faire? E : C'est premièrement de le connaître tout-puissant et tout bon.

10. M : Suffit-il de cela? E : Non.

11. M : La raison? E : Parce que nous ne sommes pas dignes qu'il démontre sa puissance pour nous aider, ni qu'il use de sa bonté envers nous

12. M : Que faut-il donc plus? E : Que nous soyons certains qu'il nous aime et nous veut être Père et Sauveur.

13. M : Comment connaissons-nous cela? E : Par sa Parole, où il nous déclare sa miséricorde en Jésus-Christ, et nous assure de sa dilection envers nous.

Fondement pour avoir confiance en Dieu 14. M : Le fondement donc d'avoir vraie fiance en Dieu, c'est de le connaître en Jésus-Christ (Jean 17:3). E : Voire.

15. M : Mais quelle est en somme la substance de cette connaissance? E : Elle est comprise en la confession de foi, que font tous chrétiens, laquelle on appelle communément le Symbole des Apôtres, parce que c'est un sommaire de la vraie créance qu'on a toujours tenue en la Chrétienté, et aussi qui est tirée de la pure doctrine apostolique.

Le Symbole des Apôtres 16. M : Récite ce qui est dit. E : « Je crois en Dieu le Père tout-puissant, Créateur du ciel et de la terre; et en Jésus-Christ son Fils unique, notre Seigneur, qui a été conçu du Saint-Esprit ; né de la Vierge Marie; a souffert sous Ponce Pilate ; a été crucifié; mort et enseveli ; est descendu aux enfers. Le tiers jour est ressuscité des morts ; il est monté aux cieux; est assis à la dextre de Dieu tout-puissant; de là viendra juger les vifs et les morts. Je crois au Saint-Esprit ; je crois la sainte Église catholique ; la communion des saints ; la rémission des péchés; la résurrection de la chair ; la vie éternelle. »

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Matt.1.18-Matt.1.25;Luke.1.26-Luke.1.35 — Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened in this way: after his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. Matt.1.19 — And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. Matt.1.20 — But as he was considering these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.' Matt.1.21 — She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matt.1.22 — All this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: Matt.1.23 — "Look, the virgin will conceive and bear a son, and they will call his name Immanuel," which means, "God with us." Matt.1.24 — When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and he took his wife to himself. Matt.1.25 — and he did not know her until she had given birth to a son; and he called his name Jesus. Luke.1.26 — In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee whose name was Nazareth, Luke.1.27 — to a virgin pledged in marriage to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. Luke.1.28 — And coming to her, he said, 'Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.' Luke.1.29 — But she was troubled at his message, and she kept pondering what sort of greeting this might be. Luke.1.30 — And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Luke.1.31 — And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. Luke.1.32 — He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. Luke.1.33 — And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. Luke.1.34 — But Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I have not known a man?" Luke.1.35 — And the angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also the one to be born will be called Son of God."
  2. ↩1Cor.15.3-1Cor.15.4 — For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. 1Cor.15.4 — and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
  3. ↩1Pet.3.18-1Pet.3.19;Eph.4.9;Acts.2.27 — For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God — put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit. 1Pet.3.19 — in which also he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, Eph.4.9 — Now "he ascended"—what does it mean except that he also descended into the lower regions, the earth? Acts.2.27 — because you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
  4. ↩Acts.1.9-Acts.1.11;Mark.16.19;Ps.110.1;Heb.1.3 — And after he said these things, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. Acts.1.10 — And as they were looking intently into the sky as he was going, behold, two men stood beside them in white garments. Acts.1.11 — Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way you saw him go into heaven. Mark.16.19 — So then, after the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. Ps.110.1 — The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool." Heb.1.3 — He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact imprint of God's own being, and he upholds all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
  5. ↩Acts.10.42;2Tim.4.1;Matt.25.31-Matt.25.46 — And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. 2Tim.4.1 — I charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is about to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: Matt.25.31 — When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Matt.25.32 — And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Matt.25.33 — And he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at his left. Matt.25.34 — Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.' Matt.25.35 — For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you welcomed me in; Matt.25.36 — I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me. Matt.25.37 — Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?' Matt.25.38 — And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? Matt.25.39 — Or when did we see you sick or in prison, and did not come to you? Matt.25.40 — And the King will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' Matt.25.41 — Then he will also say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.' Matt.25.42 — For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, Matt.25.43 — I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Matt.25.44 — Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not serve you?' Matt.25.45 — Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly I tell you, as much as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.' Matt.25.46 — And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
  6. ↩Acts.2.38;Luke.24.47;Matt.26.28 — Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’ Luke.24.47 — and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem Matt.26.28 — For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩French fiance is the older term for confident trust/reliance on God (fiducia), not modern 'engagement/betrothal'. Rendered as 'trust' to match 'se fier' in s1 and the previous section's 'fiance'.
  2. 2 ↩French «nous veut être Père et Sauveur» treats «nous» as the beneficiaries of his fatherhood and salvation; rendered as «our Father and Savior».
  3. 3 ↩French fiance (16th-c.) = trust/confidence (fiducia); rendered trust to match the section's confiance/fiance vocabulary without archaism.
  4. 4 ↩Source speaker label E = Enfant (Child) in the Geneva Catechism dialogue; rendered C for Child to parallel M (Minister) in English.
  5. 5 ↩French créance here means the content of faith/belief (creed-faith), not commercial credit; rendered as "belief" to keep that force clear alongside "confession of faith" earlier in the sentence.
  6. 6 ↩French 'aux enfers' is the traditional creedal 'hell' (the realm of the dead), not eternal damnation in the later popular sense.
  7. 7 ↩'dextre' is the older French for the right hand; rendered as 'right hand' in ordinary modern English.
  8. 8 ↩French distinguishes 'Je crois au Saint-Esprit' (with 'au'/'in') from 'je crois la sainte Église...' (without 'en'), mirroring the Latin credo in / credo pattern; English keeps that force lightly with 'I believe in' then 'I believe the...'
  9. 9 ↩'catholique' means universal, not Roman Catholic as a denomination. 'chair' is rendered 'flesh' to match the French/Latin creedal wording rather than the freer modern 'body'.

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