Tag Archives: Heidelberg Catechism

What do we pray for in the third petition of the Lord’s Prayer?

Q. 103. What do we pray for in the third petition?

A. In the third petition, which is, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven, we pray that God, by his grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things, as the angels do in heaven.

Westminster Shorter Catechism

Q. 192. What do we pray for in the third petition?

A. In the third petition, (which is, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven,) acknowledging, that by nature we and all men are not only utterly unable and unwilling to know and do the will of God, but prone to rebel against his Word, to repine and murmur against his providence, and wholly inclined to do the will of the flesh, and of the devil: we pray, that God would by his Spirit take away from ourselves and others all blindness, weakness, indisposedness, and perverseness of heart; and by his grace make us able and willing to know, do, and submit to his will in all things, with the like humility, cheerfulness, faithfulness, diligence, zeal, sincerity, and constancy, as the angels do in heaven.

Westminster Larger Catechism

Lord’s Day 49 Q & A 124

Q. What does the third petition mean?

A. “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” means: Help us and all people to reject our own wills and to obey your will without any back talk.

Your will alone is good.

Help us one and all to carry out the work we are called to, as willingly and faithfully as the angels in heaven.

Heidelberg Catechism

What is the third petition of the Lord’s Prayer?

Your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

(Matthew 6:10, ESV)

And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.””

(Luke 11:2, ESV)

What the Bible says about doing God’s will

Let the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,
my rock and my redeemer.

(Psalm 19:14, ESV)

Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord!

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,
who seek him with their whole heart,

who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways!

You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!

Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.

I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous rules.

I will keep your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me!

(Psalm 119:1–8, ESV)

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(1 Thessalonians 5:23, ESV)

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

(Hebrews 13:20–21, ESV)

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

(Matthew 7:21, ESV)

Then Jesus told his disciples,

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?

Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”

(Matthew 16:24–26, ESV)

…saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.

Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

(Luke 22:42, ESV)

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.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

(Romans 12:1–2, ESV)

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

(Titus 2:11–12, ESV)

What the Bible says about God helping us to do his will

Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him.

This is my rule in all the churches.

Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision.

Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision.

For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God.

Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.

Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord.

Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.

So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.

(1 Corinthians 7:17–24, ESV)

Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.

Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

(Ephesians 6:5–9, ESV)

What the Bible says about us being unable and unwilling to know or do God’s will

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.

For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.

(Romans 7:18, ESV)

They say to God,

‘Depart from us!
We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.’

(Job 21:14, ESV)

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

(1 Corinthians 2:14, ESV)

What the Bible says about us being prone to rebel against God’s word

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

(Romans 8:7, ESV)

What the Bible says about us murmuring against God’s providence

And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

(Exodus 17:7, ESV)

And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.

The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt!

Or would that we had died in this wilderness!”

(Numbers 14:2, ESV)

What the Bible says about us being wholly inclined to do the will of our flesh and the devil

…in [trespasses and sins] you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

(Ephesians 2:2, ESV)

How we should pray concerning God taking away our natural blindness

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

(Ephesians 1:17–18, ESV)

How we should pray concerning God taking away our natural weakness

that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

(Ephesians 3:16, ESV)

How we should pray concerning God taking away our natural indisposedness

And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping.

And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour?

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

(Matthew 26:40–41, ESV)

How we should pray concerning God taking away our natural perverseness of heart

I have heard Ephraim grieving,

‘You have disciplined me,
and I was disciplined,
like an untrained calf;

bring me back
that I may be restored,
for you are the Lord my God.

For after I had turned away,
I relented,

and after I was instructed,
I struck my thigh;

I was ashamed, and I was confounded,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

(Jeremiah 31:18–19, ESV)

What the Bible says about knowing, doing, and submitting to God’s will

Let the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,
my rock and my redeemer.

(Psalm 19:14, ESV)

And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said,

“Let the will of the Lord be done.”

(Acts 21:14, ESV)

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(1 Thessalonians 5:23, ESV)

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

(Hebrews 13:20–21, ESV)

See also Psalm 119.

What the Bible says about doing God’s will with humility

He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice,
and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

(Micah 6:8, ESV)

What the Bible says about doing God’s will with cheerfulness

Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

(Psalm 100:2, ESV)

And [Job] said,

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked shall I return.

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord.”

(Job 1:21, ESV)

Then the king said to Zadok,

“Carry the ark of God back into the city.

If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place.

But if he says, ‘I have no pleasure in you,’ behold, here I am, let him do to me what seems good to him.”

(2 Samuel 15:25–26, ESV)

What the Bible says about doing God’s will with faithfulness

and [Hezekiah] said,

“Please, O Lord, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.”

And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

(Isaiah 38:3, ESV)

What the Bible says about doing God’s will with diligence

You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.

Oh that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!

(Psalm 119:4–5, ESV)

What the Bible says about doing God’s will with zeal

For zeal for your house has consumed me,
and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.

(Psalm 69:9, ESV)

His disciples remembered that it was written,

“Zeal for your house will consume me.”

(John 2:17, ESV)

Do not be slothful in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.

(Romans 12:11, ESV)

What the Bible says about doing God’s will with sincerity

Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.

Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.

(Joshua 24:14, ESV)

May my heart be blameless in your statutes,
that I may not be put to shame!

(Psalm 119:80, ESV)

Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

(1 Corinthians 5:8, ESV)

For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you.

(2 Corinthians 1:12, ESV)

What the Bible says about doing God’s will with constancy

I incline my heart to perform your statutes
forever, to the end.

(Psalm 119:112, ESV)

What the Bible says about angels doing God’s will

Bless the Lord,
O you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!

Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!

(Psalm 103:20–21, ESV)

Above [the Lord] stood the seraphim.

Each had six wings:

with two he covered his face,
and with two he covered his feet,
and with two he flew.

And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”

(Isaiah 6:2–3, ESV)

See that you do not despise one of these little ones.

For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

(Matthew 18:10, ESV)

Is it significant that Jesus was “crucified” instead of dying some other way?

Lord’s Day 15: Q & A 39

Q. Is it significant that [Jesus] was “crucified” instead of dying some other way?

A. Yes. By this I am convinced that he shouldered the curse which lay on me, since death by crucifixion was cursed by God.

Heidelberg Catechism

Bible Verses about Jesus being cursed in my place

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—”

(Galatians 3:10–13, ESV)

And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God.

You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

(Deuteronomy 21:22–23, ESV)

Why did Jesus suffer “under Pontius Pilate” as his judge?

Lord’s Day 15: Q & A 38

Q. Why did [Jesus] suffer “under Pontius Pilate” as judge?

A. So that he, though innocent, might be condemned by an earthly judge, and so free us from the severe judgment of God that was to fall on us.

Heidelberg Catechism

What does the Bible say about the innocent Jesus being condemned by an earthly judge?

Why did Jesus suffer “under Pontius Pilate” as judge?

So that Jesus, though innocent, might be condemned by an earthly judge,

Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them,

“You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people.

And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him.

Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us.

Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him.

I will therefore punish and release him.”

But they all cried out together,

“Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder.

Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!”

A third time he said to them,

“Why?

What evil has he done?

I have found in him no guilt deserving death.

I will therefore punish and release him.”

But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified.

And their voices prevailed.

So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted.

(Luke 23:13–24, ESV)

Pilate went out again and said to them,

“See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.”

(John 19:4, ESV)

From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out,

“If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend.

Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha.

Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover.

It was about the sixth hour.

He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!”

Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?”

The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus,

(John 19:12–16, ESV)

What does the Bible say about Jesus freeing us from the judgment of God?

and so free us from the severe judgment of God that was to fall on us.

Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.

(Isaiah 53:4–5, ESV)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

(2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV)

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written,

“Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

(Galatians 3:13, ESV)

What does the Apostles’ Creed mean when it says that Jesus “suffered”?

Lord’s Day 15: Q & A 37

Q. What do you understand by the word “suffered” [in the Apostles’ Creed]?

A. That during his whole life on earth, but especially at the end, Christ sustained in body and soul the wrath of God against the sin of the whole human race.
This he did in order that, by his suffering as the only atoning sacrifice, he might deliver us, body and soul, from eternal condemnation, and gain for us God’s grace, righteousness, and eternal life.

Heidelberg Catechism

What does the Bible say about Christ enduring God’s wrath against human sin?

What do you understand by the word “suffered”?

That during his whole life on earth, but especially at the end, Christ sustained in body and soul the wrath of God against the sin of the whole human race.

“Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

(Isaiah 53, ESV)

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed.”

(1 Peter 2:24, ESV)

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,”

(1 Peter 3:18, ESV)

What does the Bible say about Christ being the only atoning sacrifice for our sin?

This he did in order that, by his suffering as the only atoning sacrifice,

“[Christ] God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”

(Romans 3:25, ESV)

“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

(Hebrews 10:14, ESV)

“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

(1 John 2:2, ESV)

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

(1 John 4:10, ESV)

What does the Bible say about Christ delivering us from eternal condemnation?

he might deliver us, body and soul, from eternal condemnation,

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.
By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

(Romans 8:1–4, ESV)

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—”

(Galatians 3:13, ESV)

What does the Bible say about Christ gaining for his people God’s grace, righteousness, and eternal life?

and gain for us God’s grace, righteousness, and eternal life.

““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

(John 3:16, ESV)

“[We] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.
This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

(Romans 3:24–26, ESV)