Westminster Project 8.8
Christ certainly and effectively applies and communicates his redemption to all those for whom has purchased it, making intercession for them, and revealing the mysteries of salvation to them, in and by the Word. He effectually persuades them by his Spirit to believe and obey, and he governs their hearts by his Word and Spirit, overcoming all their enemies by his almighty power and wisdom, in such ways as are most consistent with his wonderful and unsearchable arranging of things.
(WCF 8.8)
Chapter 8 of our confession has been largely concerned with the theology of our Lord and His work as our mediator. Article 8, which is the last of the chapter, focuses more on the application of the truths we have seen thus far.
First, all Christians can be greatly encouraged that we could not be more secure in our Heavenly Father’s love because Jesus Christ (God the Son) became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1-3, 14, 18). He was born under the law and lived a completely sinless life—in thought, word, and deed (Galatians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21; cf. 1 Peter 1:22). He did this to give His life as a sacrifice on behalf of His people (Isaiah 53; Romans 3:25a; 1 John 2:2). Because the wages of sin is death (and Jesus never sinned), death could not hold Him in the grave, and He was raised victorious from the dead (Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). This was not just for His own edification but for our justification—anyone, anywhere, who believes that Christ was the atoning sacrifice is justified (Romans 4:25; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13).
Simply put, all that was earned by Christ—His life, death, and resurrection—is credited to all who trust Him and all that He has done (Romans 6:23; 10:9). Or, as the confession states, “Christ certainly and effectively applies and communicates his redemption to all those for whom he has purchased it.”
Second, all Christians can be greatly encouraged that we could not be more secure in our Heavenly Father’s love because Christ’s work did not end at Calvary. No, He continually intercedes for us before our Heavenly Father (Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1, not 1:21; Hebrews 7:25). Thus, He is for us in the heavens and also continues to speak to us through His Word, illuminating its deep truths so that we might walk in the way we should go (Ephesians 1:18; Psalm 119:105). Or, as the confession sums it up, He is “making intercession for them, and revealing the mysteries of salvation to them, in and by the Word.”
Third, all Christians can be greatly encouraged that we could not be more secure in our Heavenly Father’s love because we have the Spirit of God living in us (Acts 2:38; Romans 8:13; Galatians 5:5). The Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, marks us as His for salvation, and what He begins in His people He finishes (Ephesians 1:13-14; Philippians 1:6). He works with us all the days of our lives as we struggle and strive against the flesh and seek to put sin to death (Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:16, 25). This is the Christian life because the Spirit makes us alive and willing to obey. Or, as our confession puts it, “He effectually persuades them by his Spirit to believe and obey, and he governs their hearts by his Word and Spirit.”
Fourth, all Christians can be greatly encouraged that we could not be more secure in our Heavenly Father’s love because we live in hope by faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6), but somehow God has broken through our spiritual deadness and gifted us with the ability not only to trust the gospel but to obey it as well (Ephesians 2:8-9; cf. John 6:29). The gospel proclaims that the King of God’s kingdom has arrived, that His people’s greatest enemy has been defeated, and that there will come a time when we will see the full manifestation of what that really means (1 Corinthians 15:26; Ephesians 1:22-23). That is the hope we have. Or, as we read here, we trust Christ and His gospel, believing that He will be the One who will “overcome all their enemies by his almighty power and wisdom, in such ways as are most consistent with his wonderful and unsearchable arranging of things.”