Herman Veldman is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. In our preceding article we asked the question whether God became richer when He created the world, whether God with the creation is richer than the Lord without this creation. After all, did not the Lord have something after He created the world which He did not have prior to the creation of this universe? First of all, the Lord cannot and did not enrich Himself when He created all things. On the one hand, this would imply a certain poverty on the part of God before His creation...

Herman Veldman is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. We read in the first article of our Apostles’ Creed: “I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.” In our preceding article we called attention to the relation between God’s counsel and the creation of the world. That this connection exists lies in the nature of the case. This first article of the Apostles’ Creed speaks of our faith in this heavenly Father Who is the Maker of heaven and earth. Of course, this divine Creator created all things according to His divine plan. Does...

Herman Veldman is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. We now continue with our exposition of the first article of our Apostles’ Creed as interpreted by our Heidelberg Catechism in Question and Answer 26 of Lord’s Day 9. In our preceding article we called attention to the Fatherhood of God in relation to our Lord Jesus Christ. In this article we call attention to this Fatherhood of God in connection with the eternal Son of God. This, too, is fundamental. If our Lord Jesus Christ be not the eternal Son of God He cannot possibly be our Lord...

Herman Veldman is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. The truth of the providence of God is not mentioned in our Apostles’ Creed. This, however, does not mean that this conception must therefore not be maintained by the church of God and by us. There are also other truths that are not mentioned in this creed, truths such as the Trinity, divine predestination (election and reprobation), the depravity of the sinner, the preaching of the gospel and the sacraments as the means of grace, etc. This truth, although not mentioned in this creed, is surely implied in it....

Herman Veldman is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. We were busy in our preceding article with a discussion of the basic purpose of the providence of God. And we called attention to the fact that this basic purpose is certainly not to realize the kingdom of God in the postmillennial sense of the word. Neither is this basic purpose to be viewed as maintaining a sort of interval period. It was particularly the latter conception with which we were busy as we concluded our article. We noted that it surely was not the devil’s intention to destroy...

Herman Veldman is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. We concluded our preceding article with the remark that God is and remains sovereign. We would conclude this series of articles by calling attention to this sovereignty of God in connection with the truth of God’s providence. Our remarks will be brief. There are certain scriptural passages that are very pertinent in the treatment of this subject. We read inPsalm 73:18: “Surely Thou didst set them in slippery places: Thou castedst them down into destruction.” Another text is Psalm 92:6-7: “A brutish man knoweth not; Neither doth a fool understand...

Herman Veldman is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Our Faith in the Triune God (2) God, besides being one in essence, is also triune. This truth of the Trinity is held before us in our Belgic Confession, in Articles 8 and 9. And our Heidelberg Catechism speaks of this truth in Lord’s Day 8, specifically in Question and Answer 25. We read, in answer to Question 25: “Since there is but one only divine essence, why speakest thou of Father, Son and Holy Ghost?” “Because God hath so revealed Himself in His word, that these three distinct...

Herman Veldman is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. In our preceding article we were calling attention to the fact that Answer 24 of our Heidelberg Catechism cannot be understood to refer to the three divisions of the Apostolic Confession, and that each of the Divine Persons is distinguished and described here. Question and Answer 24 reads as follows: “How are these articles divided (the twelve articles of the Apostles’ Creed)? Into three parts: the first is of God, the Father, and our creation; the second of God the Son, and our redemption; the third of God the...

Herman Veldman is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. We concluded our preceding article with the observation that we must believe in God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. No sinner can or will or can will to accept a general, well-meaning offer of salvation (almost universally proclaimed and taught today). God must speak as He alone can speak and as He spoke when He created the heavens and the earth. Indeed, I believe, I mustbelieve in God, the Father, Almighty, the Maker of heaven and of earth. Then I believe, I must believe in Jesus Christ,...

Herman Veldman is a minister emeritus in the Protestant Reformed Churches. Our Heidelberg Catechism begins its discussion of the Confession of the Apostles’ Creed in regard to our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in Lord’s Day 11. And we begin by calling attention to the distinctive character of this Lord’s Day. In Answer 29 we read that “we ought not to seek, neither can find salvation in any other.” It is well to lay all emphasis upon this truth. We will have opportunity to call attention to this later in connection with Answer 30. As far as the thirtieth...