Chap. XII. — Of Christ’s Priestly Office.

Q. 1. By what means did Jesus Christ undertake the office of an eternal priest?

A. By ^athe decree, ordination, and will of God his Father, ^bwhereunto he yielded voluntary obedience; so ^cthat concerning this there was a compact and covenant between them.
^aPs. cx. 4; Heb. v. 5, 6, vii. 17, 18. ^bIsa. l. 4–6; Heb. x. 5–10. ^cPs. ii. 7, 8; Isa. liii. 8, 10–12; Phil. ii. 7, 9; Heb. xii. 2; John xvii. 2, 4.

Q. 2. Wherein doth his execution of this office consist?

A. In bringing his people unto God.
Heb. ii. 10, iv. 16, vii. 25.

Q. 3. What are the parts of it?

A. First, ^aoblation; secondly, ^bintercession.⁵⁰⁵⁰   Against both these the Papists are exceedingly blasphemous; against the one, by making their mass a sacrifice for sins, — the other, by making saints mediators of intercession.
^aHeb. ix. 14. ^bHeb. vii. 25.

Q. 4. What is the oblation of Christ?

A. The ^aoffering up of himself upon the altar of the cross, an holy propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of all the elect throughout the world; as ^balso, the presentation of himself for us in heaven, sprinkled with the blood of the covenant.
^aIsa. liii. 10, 12; John iii. 16, xi. 51, xvii. 19; Heb. ix. 13,14. ^bHeb. ix. 24.

Q. 5. Whereby doth this oblation do good unto us?

A. Divers ways; first, in that it satisfied the justice of God; secondly, it redeemed us from the power of sin, death, and hell; thirdly, it ratified the new covenant of grace; fourthly, it procured for us grace here, and glory hereafter; by all which means the peace and reconciliation between God and us is wrought.
Eph ii. 14, 15.

Q. 6. How did the oblation of Christ satisfy God’s justice for our sin?

A. In that for us he underwent the⁵¹⁵¹   Christ’s undergoing punishment for us was, first, typified by the old sacrifices; secondly, foretold in the first promise; thirdly, made lawful and valid in itself, — first, by God’s determination, the supreme lawgiver; secondly, his own voluntary undergoing it; thirdly, by a relaxation of the law in regard of the subject punished; — fourthly, beneficial to us, because united to us; as, first, our head; secondly, our elder brother; thirdly, our sponsor or surety; fourthly, our husband; fifthly, our God, or Redeemer, &c. punishment due to our sin.
Isa. liii. 4–6; John x. 11; Rom. iii. 25, 26, iv. 25; 1 Cor. xv. 3; 2 Cor. v. 21; Eph. v. 2; 1 Pet. ii. 24.

Q. 7. What was that punishment?

A. The wrath of God, the curse⁵²⁵²   No change in all these, but what necessarily follows the change of the persons sustaining. of the law, the pains of hell, due 482to sinners, in body and soul.
Gen. ii. 17; Deut. xxvii. 15–26; Isa. lix. 2; Rom. v. 12; Eph ii. 3; John iii. 36; Heb. ii. 14.

Q. 8. Did Christ undergo all these?

A. Yes; in respect of the greatness⁵³⁵³   The death that Christ underwent was eternal in its own nature and tendence, — not so to him, because of his holiness, power, and the unity of his person. and extremity, not the eternity and continuance of those pains; for it was impossible he should be holden of death.
Matt. xxvi. 28; Mark xiv. 33, 34; xv. 34; Gal. iii. 13; Eph ii. 16; Col. i. 20; Heb. v. 7; Ps. xviii. 5.

Q. 9. How could the punishment of one satisfy for the offence of all?

A. In that he was not a mere⁵⁴⁵⁴   He suffered not as God, but he suffered who was God. man only, but God also, of infinitely more value than all those who had offended.
Rom. v. 9; Heb. ix. 26; 1 Pet. iii. 18.

Q. 10. How did the oblation of Christ redeem from death and hell?

A. First, ^aby paying a ransom⁵⁵⁵⁵   We are freed from the anger of God, by a perfect rendering to the full value of what he required, — from the power of Satan, by absolute conquest on our behalf. to God, the judge and lawgiver, who had condemned us; secondly, ^bby overcoming and spoiling Satan, death, and the powers of hell, that detained us captives.
^aMatt. xx. 28; John vi. 51; Mark x. 45; Rom. iii. 25; 1 Cor. vi. 20; Gal. iii. 13; Eph i. 7; 1 Tim. ii. 6; Heb. x. 9. ^bJohn v. 24; Col. ii. 13–15; 1 Thess. i. 10; Heb. ii. 14; 1 Pet. i. 18, 19.

Q. 11. What was the ransom that Christ paid for us?

A. His own precious blood.
Acts xx. 28; 1 Pet. i. 19.

Q. 12. How was the new covenant ratified in his blood?

A. By being accompanied with⁵⁶⁵⁶   The new covenant is Christ’s legacy, in his last will unto his people, — the eternal inheritance of glory being conveyed thereby. his death; for that, as all other testaments, was to be ratified by the death of the testator.
Gen. xxii. 18; Heb. ix. 16, viii. 10–12.

Q. 13. What is this new covenant?

A. The gracious, free, ^aimmutable promise of God, made unto all his elect fallen in Adam, to ^bgive them Jesus Christ, and ^cin him mercy, pardon, grace, and glory, ^dwith a re-stipulation of faith from them unto this faith from them unto this promise, and new obedience.
^aGen. iii. 15; Jer. xxxi. 31–34, xxxii. 40; Heb. viii. 10–12. ^bGal. iii. 8, 16; Gen. xii. 3. ^cRom. viii. 32; Eph. i. 3, 4. ^dMark xvi. 16; John i. 12, x. 27, 28.

Q. 14. How did Christ procure for us grace, faith, and glory?

A. By the way of purchase⁵⁷⁵⁷   The death of Christ was satisfactory in respect of the strict justice of God, — meritorious in respect of the covenant between him and his Father. and merit; for the death of Christ deservedly procured of God that he should bless us with all⁵⁸⁵⁸   All these holy truths are directly denied by the blasphemous Socinians; and by the Papists, with their merits, masses, penance, and purgatory, by consequent, overthrown. spiritual 483blessings needful for our coming unto him.
Isa. liii. 11, 12; John xvii. 2; Acts xx. 28; Rom. v. 17, 18; Eph. ii. 15, 16, i. 4; Phil. i. 29; Tit. ii. 14; Rev. i. 5, 6.

Q. 15. What is the intercession of Christ?

A. His continual soliciting⁵⁹⁵⁹   To make saints our intercessors, is to renounce Jesus Christ from being a sufficient Saviour. of God on our behalf, begun here in fervent prayers, continued in heaven by appearing as our advocate at the throne of grace.
Ps. ii. 8; Rom. viii. 34; Heb. vii. 25, ix. 24, x. 19–21; 1 John ii. 1, 2; John xvii.