First Milk of Truth

First Milk of Truth, for Infants in Age and Understanding.

1. What are you?
   A person.

2. Of what does a person consist?
   Of body and soul.

3. What is the soul?
   A spirit.

4. What is a spirit?
   A thinking being, consisting of understanding and will.

5. Which is the nobler part, the soul or the body?
   The soul.

6. Why?
   Because it is immortal.

7. What must your greatest desire be?
   That I may be eternally happy in body and soul.

8. In what does your happiness consist?
   In the deliverance from all evil, and in the enjoyment of the highest good.

9. What is the highest evil?
   Sin.

10. What is the highest good?
    Communion with God.

11. From where can one learn to know God?
    From the book of nature, and from the Holy Scripture.

12. What is GOD?
    A most perfect Spirit, one in being, and triune in person.

13. What are God's foremost perfections?
    His omniscience, wisdom, and holiness.

14. What more?
    His goodness, omnipotence, steadfastness, and eternity.

15. Prove to me that God is one in being.
    In the 5th Book of Moses, 6, 4. Hear, O Israel, the Lord, our God, is one Lord.

16. What are the three persons in the Godhead called?
    God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

17. Prove to me that God is triune in person.
    1 John 5, 7. There are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.

18. From where does one learn God's perfections?
    From His works.

19. What has God done, before the world was created as it happened?
    He had made a plan for everything.

20. When did God carry out his plan?
    In time.

21. What has God created?
    Heaven and earth.

22. Out of what?
    Out of nothing.

23. By what means?
    By the mere command of his will.

24. In how many days did God create the world?
    In six days.

25. What did God create on the sixth day?
    Man.

26. Out of what did God create the body of man?
    Out of a clod of earth.

27. How did God create the soul of man?
    God breathed the living soul into his nose: and thus man became a living soul.

28. How did God create man?
    Good and in his own image.

29. In what part of man was the image of God?
    Mostly in the soul.

30. In what did God's image consist?
    In the wisdom of the understanding, and holiness of the will.

31. In what does true wisdom consist?
    In the knowledge of God.

32. In what does true holiness consist?
    In the love of God.

33. What were the first two humans called?
    Adam and Eve.

34. Where did they live?
    In Paradise.

35. What had God commanded them?
    They were not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

36. Did they keep this commandment?
    No: they ate from this tree.

37. Through whose instigation?
    Through the instigation of the devil, in the form of a serpent.

38. What followed from this?
    They have made themselves and all their descendants wretched.

39. In what does the misery of man consist?
    In two parts: in sin, and in the punishment for sin.

40. What is sin?
    A transgression of God's law.

41. How many kinds of sin are there?
    Two kinds: original sin and actual sin.

42. What is original sin?
    The innate depravity, whereby man is incapable of good, and inclined to evil.

43. Prove to me that we are born in sin.
    Ps. 51, 7. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and my mother conceived me in sin.

44. What is actual sin?
    The daily transgression of the law, with thoughts, words, and deeds.

45. How often does one make oneself guilty of actual sins?
    That is not to be counted. Ps. 19, 13. Who can understand his errors? Forgive me also my hidden faults.

46. What has one deserved with sin?
    The punishment.

47. How many kinds of punishment are there?
    Two kinds: temporal and eternal.

48. Prove to me that God will punish eternally.
    Rev. John 14, 11. And the smoke of their torment ascends from eternity to eternity.

49. What is the foremost eternal punishment?
    The separation from God's communion, and the feeling of his wrath.

50. Does man have any power in himself to escape from this misery?
    None. Matth. 16, 26. What can a man give in exchange for his soul?

51. Who is the only Redeemer?
    Our Lord Jesus Christ.

52. Prove to me the same.
    Acts 4, 12. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

53. What does Jesus mean?
    A Savior.

54. What does Christ mean?
    Anointed.

55. How many natures has our Redeemer?
    Two: The divine and human nature.

56. How many offices has our Redeemer?
    Three: He is Prophet, High Priest, and King.

57. What does he do as Prophet?
    He makes known the way of salvation.

58. What has he done as High Priest?
    He has acquired salvation through his sacrifice on the cross.

59. What does he do as King?
    He rules over his people, and possesses for them the salvation.

60. In how many states has our Redeemer been?
    In two states: In the state of humiliation and of exaltation.

61. Where did he begin his humiliation?
    In that he was conceived of the Virgin Mary and took on the form of a servant.

62. How was he further humiliated?
    Through his severe suffering in body and soul.

63. What has he suffered on the body?
    The cursed death of the cross.

64. What has he suffered in the soul?
    The severe wrath of God.

65. What followed Christ's suffering?
    He was buried on the same day.

66. How was Christ exalted?
    He rose again on the third day, ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

67. How will he be further exalted?
    He will come to judge.

68. When will this judgment be held?
    On the last day.

69. Over what?
    Over all thoughts, words, and works of all people.

70. Prove this.
    2 Cor. 5, 10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in his body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

71. How has he acquired salvation for us?
    With his perfect obedience, instead of the sinner's, he has paid the penalty.

72. With what can you prove that Christ was punished instead of the sinner?
    Isa. 53, 5. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The punishment was upon him, that we might have peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

73. What is the effect of this payment?
    God is fully reconciled with the sinner.

74. What more?
    The power of Satan is broken.

75. What more?
    The entrance to life is opened.

76. Do all people have a share in these fruits and payment?
    No, but only a few, who are united with Christ through the Holy Spirit.

77. Prove this.
    Rom. 8, 9. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ is not his.

78. How does the union with Christ happen?
    Through faith.

79. Is faith necessary for salvation?
    Yes. Heb. 11, 6. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

80. What is true faith?
    An acceptance of Christ, for the only cause of righteousness and salvation.

81. How is Christ received by faith?
    Through a reasonable knowledge of the divine truths.

82. How must Christ be accepted?
    Whole and entire.

83. What does that mean: to accept Christ whole?
    That is with renunciation of himself, and all creatures.

84. What does that mean: to accept Christ entirely?
    That is, according to all his offices, as Prophet, High Priest, and King.

85. When is Christ accepted as Prophet?
    When one desires to be taught by him.

86. When is Christ accepted as High Priest?
    When one desires to be reconciled with God through his sacrifice.

87. When is Christ accepted as King?
    When one is eager to obey him.

88. How many levels of true faith are there?
    Two: In the beginning it is a weak faith, in its continuation a strong faith.

89. In what does weak faith consist?
    In a desire and seeking for Christ.

90. In what does strong faith consist?
    In a childlike trust.

91. What is the foremost fruit of faith?
    The justification of a poor sinner before God.

92. Prove this.
    Acts 13, 39. Whoever believes in this one is justified.

93. How can man be justified before God through faith?
    When man appropriates the righteousness of Christ as his own.