“What is your only comfort in life and in death?” (The Heidelberg Catechism, Traditional Language Version 2014, Question 1)
Answer 1 begins, “That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ…” This answer raises the question, “What does it mean for someone to belong to Jesus Christ?” Here is my answer:
(1) I belong to Jesus Christ, first of all, because He created me. (This first kind of belonging to Christ applies generally to each and every human being who has ever lived, simply by virtue of our being a part of Christ’s creation.)
The Apostle John tells us in John 1:3 “All things were made through him [Christ], and without him was not any thing made that was made” (ESV, here and hereafter).
The Apostle Paul elaborates on this truth in Colossians 1:16 “For by him [Christ] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him (emphasis added)”
Thus, my life is not my own. I belong to Christ simply by virtue of my creation and existence. Ultimately, I am thus accountable to Christ as my Creator and God.
(2) I also belong to Christ because He has assured me that He has begun a good work in me by redeeming me and giving me new life. (This second kind of belonging to Christ applies specifically only to those who have experienced God’s work in their lives bringing them into a personal relationship with Christ.)
John tells us in the well-known verse of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
God tells us in order to experience new life we need to be “born again” (John 3:3, 7) or “born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
Paul develops this process more fully in Romans 8:29-30 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
The Heidelberg Catechism Answer 1 continues on and reassures us Christ is the One “who, with his precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the Devil…” Thus, I am not my own because Christ chose me, loved me, called me to Himself, and made me His own. Therefore, I now belong to Christ as my Redeemer and Savior.
(3) Finally, I belong to Jesus Christ because I have dedicated my life to Him as my Lord and King. (Again, this kind of belonging to Christ applies only to those who have responded to God’s claims on their lives and committed themselves to Him as His children.)
Jesus promises us in John 6:37, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”
Paul challenges us in Romans 12:1, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Consequently, I have hope and perfect peace because Christ “so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto him” (the conclusion to Answer 1.)
I have given myself to Christ, and He has become my Lord and King. He has first committed Himself to me by His covenant, and now I to Him. He promises to work “all things” “together for good, and specifically, “for those who love God” (Romans 8:28).
What about you? Do you belong to Christ? Do you delight in His presence and the comfort only He can give?