And that’s precisely what we have in Jesus.  He is God come in the flesh to save us from our sins, and to restore us to that great end for which we were created: to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”  As we behold the face of Jesus by faith through the Word and Sacraments, we see the very God of Numbers 6:24-26 who blesses us, keeps us, shines His face upon, and gives us peace through His mediation. Truly, the glory of the God-man shines forth through His mediation and the perfections of His two natures.

One of the joys of being confessional is the advantage of possessing a faith and piety that are formed around the mature theological reflections of the Church and distilled for us into doctrinal summaries that are readily accessible to the lay person.  The Westminster Larger Catechism is one such summary, as it takes the marrow of theology and presents it to us in a digestible question and answer format. The subject of Christology (i.e. the study of the Christ himself) is presented in the Larger Catechism as easily accessible and deeply practical, so that our faith might increase “from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18).

The Larger Catechism introduces the subject of Christology to us in Q/A 36:

Q36: Who is the Mediator of the covenant of grace?
A36: The only Mediator of the covenant of grace is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, of one substance and equal with the Father, in the fulness of time became man, and so was and continues to be God and man, in two entire distinct natures, and one person, forever.

In introducing our Savior to us the Assembly gives us a two pronged answer, describing Him as “the only Mediator of the covenant of grace,” and as the “Lord Jesus Christ.”  The former describes the role that our Savior took upon Himself, while the latter identifies who and what He is in fulfilling that role for us.  In other words, this first section of LC 36 is a compendium of Christ’s person and work which the following 22 questions will go on to flesh out for us.  By way of introduction to the Christology of the Larger Catechism, let’s first examine the role of our Savior, or what it is that Jesus came to do.

The Role of Jesus as Mediator

In popular evangelicalism it is not uncommon to hear Jesus’ role described primarily as that of a Savior.  In fact, it’s probably not much of a stretch to suggest that if one surveyed the landscape of American evangelicalism and asked them to describe Jesus – “Savior” would certainly be at the top of the list.  Decades ago there was even a doctrinal controversy in the evangelical world over whether or not one could accept Jesus as “Savior,” but not submit to Him as “Lord” (which is, of course, a ridiculous assertion to make).  It seems that with some, at least, the role of “Savior” can supersede all others in our faith and piety.

However, while it is certainly a precious truth that Jesus is the Savior of believers, often this title is left either undefined, or defined in an incomplete and incorrect fashion.  In my own experience, having come into the faith as an outsider, the concept of Christ as Savior was one that puzzled me. Having previously dabbled in Eastern philosophy and the occult, the concept of salvation simply wasn’t “common sense” to me, and the sound bites given to me by many Christians – and especially from popular Christian music – didn’t help much either.  I sensed a need for this salvation that Christians spoke of, but I couldn’t make sense of it.

This is where the Larger Catechism’s introduction to Christ becomes eminently helpful to us, in understanding and communicating the faith.  The Catechism first introduces Christ to us, as “the only Mediator.” The Assembly reminds us that what mankind needs is not good advice, or spiritual insight, or some vague sense of the “fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man.”  Instead, what we so desperately need, is one who will stand in the gap between the Creator and the creature – between an offended God and offending man – and bring about reconciliation. In other words, we need someone who can satisfy God’s just offense against our sin, and who can likewise overcome our sinful rebellion against God’s just offense, so that we might be enabled to return to the union and communion with God that we were created for.  This is a need that is as ancient and Biblical as the prophet Job who cried out in his distress, “Nor is there any mediator between us, who may lay his hand on us both” (Job 9:33).

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