Thy Only Comfort

1  Lord's Day

Question 1
What is thy only comfort in life and death?

A. That I with body and soul, both in life and death,(1) am not my own,(2) but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ;(3) who, with His precious blood,(4) has fully satisfied for all my sins,(5) and delivered me from all the power of the devil;(6) and so preserves me (7) that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head;(8) yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation,(9) and therefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life,(10) and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto Him.(11)

(1) 1 Cor 6:19  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
1 Cor 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

(2) Rom 14:7  For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
Rom 14:8  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
Rom 14:9  For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living.

(3) 1 Cor 3:23  And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's. 

(4) 1 Pet 1:18  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;
1 Pet 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

(5) John 1:7  The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through Him might believe.

(6) 1 John 3:8  He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 
Heb 2:14  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;
Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

(7) John 6:39  And this is the Father's will which hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
John 10:28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.
John 10:29 My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand.

(8) Luke 21:18  But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
Matt 10:30  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

(9) Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.

(10) 2 Cor 1:22  Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
2 Cor 5:5  Now He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

(11) Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 7:22  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

Additional Questions:

1. What is the content of the first Lord's Day?
It is a brief summary of the content of the entire catechism.

2. Why is the question asked regarding thy comfort?
Because it is necessary to personally learn to know this only comfort.

3. Why is it an only comfort? 
Because there is under heaven no other name given whereby we must be saved.

4. What does this comfort involve?
It is that with body and soul, both in life and in death, I am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.

5. How has Christ obtained this possession?
He has paid for the sins of His church with His precious blood and delivered them from all the dominion of the devil.

6. Can this comfort be lost?
No, the Lord Himself preserves His own and assures them of this by His Holy Spirit.

7. What is the fruit of this in their life?
They are made sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto Him.

Question 2
How many things are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying this comfort, mayest live and die happily?

A. Three;(1) the first, how great my sins and miseries are;(2) the second, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries;(3) the third, how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance.(4)

(1) Luke 24:47  And that repentance and remission of sins should 
be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

(2) 1 Cor 6:10  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Cor 6:11  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
John 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
Rom 3:10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.
Rom 3:19  Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

(3) John 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

(4) Eph 5:8  For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
Eph 5:9  (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and
righteousness and truth;)
Eph 5:10  Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Additional Questions:

1. Of what does this question speak?
It is what the sinner must savingly learn in order to receive this only comfort.

2. What must then personally be known?
First, how great my sins and miseries are; Secondly, how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries; Thirdly, how I shall express my gratitude for such deliverance.

3. Are these three matters based upon God's Word?
Yes, see for example Psalm 130:3 and 4, Hosea 14:3, and Paul's epistle to the Romans.

4. Must these three matters be known consecutively?
The knowledge of misery always precedes, but in the entire life of God's people all three matters remain of substantial significance.

5. How is the Heidelberg Catechism further divided?
a. In the doctrine of misery: Lord's Days 2 through 4
b. In the doctrine of deliverance: Lord's Day 5 through 31
c. In the doctrine of gratitude: Lord's Day 32 through 52.