In Chapter 7, we discovered the glorious Covenant of Grace, God’s answer to the tragedy of the Fall. But a covenant requires a representative, and a broken relationship requires a bridge. Who is capable of spanning the infinite chasm between a holy God and sinful man? We now arrive at the very heart of the Christian faith and the center of the Confession: the person and work of Jesus Christ. Chapter 8 is a masterpiece of Christology, weaving together the insights of the early church councils with the soteriological focus of the Reformation.
The Confession presents Jesus Christ as the divinely appointed Mediator, chosen from eternity to save a specific people, who, being truly God and truly man in one indivisible person, willingly undertook the work of redemption through His perfect obedience, suffering, resurrection, and intercession.
The Divine Appointment (WCF 8.1)
The work of salvation is not an afterthought; it is the execution of an eternal plan. The Confession begins by stating that “It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, to be the Mediator between God and man.” Christ did not volunteer for a task He was unsure of; He was ordained by the Father for a mission He was certain to complete (1 Peter 1:19–20).
As Mediator, He holds three distinct offices: He is the Prophet who reveals God to us (Acts 3:22), the Priest who offers Himself as a sacrifice for us (Heb. 5:5–6), and the King who rules over and defends us (Ps. 2:6). He is the “Head and Saviour of His Church,” the “Heir of all things,” and the final “Judge of the world.”
Crucially, the divines highlight the specific object of His mission. He was not sent merely to make salvation possible for everyone in general, but to actually save those whom the Father “did from all eternity give… to be His seed.” Referencing the High Priestly Prayer in John 17:6 (“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world”), the Confession teaches that these specific individuals are to be “by Him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified.”
The Mystery of the Incarnation (WCF 8.2)
Who is this Mediator? He must be God to have the power to sustain the wrath of God, and He must be man to pay the debt of man. Paragraph 2 articulates the doctrine of the Hypostatic Union—the union of two natures in one person—with Chalcedonian precision.
Truly God: He is “The Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, being very and eternal God, of one substance and equal with the Father.” He is not a created being; He is the eternal Word (John 1:1).
Truly Man: “When the fulness of time was come,” He took upon Him “man’s nature, with all the essential properties, and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). He knew hunger, thirst, grief, and pain. He was “conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the virgin Mary, of her substance” (Gal. 4:4). He is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.
One Person: The result is that “two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person.” The divines use four critical adverbs to protect this mystery: “without conversion, composition, or confusion.” The divine nature did not turn into flesh; the human nature did not become divine; nor did they blend into a third “super-nature.” They remain distinct yet inseparable in the one person of Christ, “the only Mediator between God and man” (1 Tim. 2:5).
Anointed for the Task (WCF 8.3)
Jesus is the Christ, a title meaning “The Anointed One.” The Confession explains that in His human nature, He was “sanctified, and anointed with the Holy Spirit, above measure” (John 3:34). While His divine nature needed no anointing, His human nature was equipped by the Spirit for His ministry. In Him “it pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell” (Col. 1:19), making Him “holy, harmless, undefiled, and full of grace and truth.”
He did not seize this role for Himself. He “was thereunto called by His Father, who put all power and judgment into His hand, and gave Him commandment to execute the same” (John 5:22, 27). This emphasizes the submission of the Son to the Father in the economy of salvation, even while He remains equal to the Father in essence.
The Work Accomplished (WCF 8.4)
Finally, we turn to the execution of His office. The Confession emphasizes His willingness: “This office the Lord Jesus did most willingly undertake” (Ps. 40:7–8). He was not a reluctant victim; He laid down His life of His own accord (John 10:18).
His work consists of two aspects, often called His active and passive obedience:
- Under the Law: He was “made under the law, and did perfectly fulfil it” (Gal. 4:4; Matt. 5:17). Where Adam failed to keep the law, the Second Adam succeeded.
- Under the Curse: He endured “most grievous torments immediately in His soul” (seen in Gethsemane and on the cross crying, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”) and “most painful sufferings in His body.”
He was crucified, died, buried, and “remained under the power of death, yet saw no corruption” (Acts 2:24, 27). But the grave could not hold Him. “On the third day He arose from the dead, with the same body in which He suffered.” He ascended into heaven and now “sitteth at the right hand of His Father, making intercession.” He is there now, advocating for us (Rom. 8:34), until He returns to “judge men and angels, at the end of the world.”
Conclusion
Loved ones, this is the Christ we worship. He is not merely a moral teacher or a tragic martyr. He is the God-Man, the ancient of days who became the babe of Bethlehem, the Law-Giver who became the Law-Keeper, the Judge who became the judged. He is the only bridge between heaven and earth. Because He is man, He can represent us; because He is God, He can save us. In Him, and in Him alone, we find a Savior who is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him.
Key Terms/Concepts
- Mediator: One who intervenes between two parties to resolve a conflict or ratify a covenant. Jesus is the only Mediator between God and man, representing God to man and man to God.
- Hypostatic Union: The theological term describing the union of Christ’s two natures (divine and human) in one person (hypostasis). These natures are united without confusion, change, division, or separation.
- Offices of Christ: The three roles Christ fulfills as Mediator: Prophet (revealing God’s will), Priest (offering sacrifice and intercession), and King (ruling and defending His people).
- Active Obedience: Christ’s perfect keeping of the law of God on behalf of His people, earning the righteousness that is imputed to them.
- Passive Obedience: Christ’s willing submission to the penalty of the law (suffering and death) to pay the debt of sin for His people.