Chapter III — On the second article

1. What does the second article — "And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord" — teach us?

The second article of the Creed teaches us that the Son of God is the second person of the Most Holy Trinity; that He is eternal God, almighty, Creator and Lord, like the Father; that He became man to save us; and that the Son of God made man is called Jesus Christ.

2. Why is the second person called Son?

The second person is called Son because He is begotten of the Father by way of intellect from all eternity; and for this reason He is also called the eternal Word of the Father.

3. Since we too are children of God, why is Jesus Christ called the only Son of God the Father?

Jesus Christ is called the only Son of God the Father because He alone is His Son by nature, while we are His children by creation and by adoption.

4. Why is Jesus Christ called our Lord?

Jesus Christ is called our Lord because, besides having created us together with the Father and the Holy Spirit insofar as He is God, He has also redeemed us as God and man.

5. Why is the Son of God made man called Jesus?

The Son of God made man is called Jesus, which means Savior, because He has saved us from the eternal death merited by our sins.

6. Who gave the name of Jesus to the Son of God made man?

The name of Jesus was given to the Son of God made man by the eternal Father Himself, through the archangel Gabriel, when the latter announced to the Virgin the mystery of the Incarnation.

7. Why is the Son of God made man also called Christ?

The Son of God made man is also called Christ, which means anointed and consecrated, because in ancient times kings, priests, and prophets were anointed; and Jesus is King of kings, supreme priest, and supreme prophet.

8. Was Jesus Christ truly anointed and consecrated with a bodily anointing?

The anointing of Jesus Christ was not bodily, like that of the ancient kings, priests, and prophets, but wholly spiritual and divine, because the fullness of the divinity dwells in Him substantially.

9. Before His coming, did men have any knowledge of Jesus Christ?

Yes, men had knowledge of Jesus Christ before His coming, through the promise of the Messiah that God made to our first parents Adam and Eve, and which He renewed to the holy Patriarchs; and through the prophecies and the many figures that designated Him.

10. How do we know that Jesus Christ is truly the promised Messiah and Redeemer?

We know that Jesus Christ is truly the promised Messiah and Redeemer because there was fulfilled in Him: 1. all that the prophecies announced; 2. all that the figures of the Old Testament represented.

11. What did the prophecies foretell about the Redeemer?

The prophecies foretold of the Redeemer the tribe and family from which He was to come; the place and time of His birth; His miracles and the most minute circumstances of His passion and death; His resurrection and ascension into heaven; His spiritual, universal, and perpetual kingdom, which is the holy Catholic Church.

12. Which are the principal figures of the Redeemer in the Old Testament?

The principal figures of the Redeemer in the Old Testament are the innocent Abel, the supreme priest Melchizedek, the sacrifice of Isaac; Joseph sold by his brothers, the prophet Jonah, the paschal lamb, and the bronze serpent raised up by Moses in the desert.

13. How do we know that Jesus Christ is true God?

We know that Jesus Christ is true God: 1. from the testimony of the Father when He said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him"; 2. from the attestation of Jesus Christ Himself, confirmed by the most stupendous miracles; 3. from the doctrine of the Apostles; 4. from the constant tradition of the Catholic Church.

14. Which are the principal miracles worked by Jesus Christ?

The principal miracles worked by Jesus Christ are, besides His resurrection, the restoring of health to the sick, of sight to the blind, of hearing to the deaf, of life to the dead.