Tag: Incarnation

WHAT DOES CHRISTMAS MEAN?

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                              Galatians 4:4-5

With Christmas drawing near I wanted to share with you a message I shared at a local church recently. Merry Christmas to all.

Intro:   

What a wonderful time of the year it is, amen ? Have you noticed the decorations on the houses in all the towns in this area —or the lighted displays that are up all over the place. And how about the many commercials now on tv that are enticing us to spend more money on more gifts?  Ohh yesss all those Christmas songs being played on the radio these days. Yes, it is Christmas! What does Christmas mean to you? (Pause briefly)  

Perhaps you think like some people who say that It is the time to reflect on what’s truly important in life. To “reflect” on your life, the good, bad and ugly and “re-orient” your thinking to the “truly” important things that you, perhaps, have forgot about along the way.  

Or maybe you think as some do that It’s about showing gratitude and compassion. It’s a time to make others happy. A time to make up for the rest of the year where you weren’t so compassionate and giving.  

Possibly, your answer is more along the lines of Christmas being all about opening presents and having fun, being with your family and being out of school or work for a day or two.   

But I hope, and am pretty sure, most of you sitting here this morning would answer that Christmas is not about presents- but to remember Jesus’ birth and to thank God for His sending His one and only Son to be the total satisfaction for the debt sinners like us here today owed.    

(Read our text) Galatians 4:4-5  

What I have just read here to you, you are familiar with elsewhere in the Bible, i.e., the incarnation of the Son of God. Turn to Matt 1:18-25. (Read)  Paul has given us the,  “readers digest condensed version” of this account.    

This story of the Christ Child is as beautiful as it is miraculous, but as beautiful as the story is, as touching and special as it is, I wonder, do we truly know what Christmas means?  

What does Christmas mean? Well, as you can see in your outline–    

1. Christmas means that God (is interested). Paul said, “God sent forth His Son.”       

Dear friends, God is not a far off, impersonal, indifferent, insensible God unmoved by man’s problems. Quite the contrary! He is a (personal) and (responsive), (involved) and amazingly (loving) Father.  The Psalmist wrote: “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.” Church, this is important for us to understand because it will encourage us and strengthen us on our walk of faith with Christ. What a blessing it truly is knowing that God is interested in us.       

Actually, I believe we can say- This is the gospel! God is interested. We read here together a few moments ago: That when the time was right, He intervened on man’s behalf. “God sent forth His Son.”  

The message of Christmas, the importance of the baby in the Bethlehem manger, is that God is interested!  

He is interested in your struggles, fears, doubts, addictions, whatever hang-ups you may have. HE IS       I-N-T-E-R-E-S-T-E-D!  

Perhaps there is at least one person here this morning that is thinking that God is NOT interested in them. Why would He possibly care about me, you think, after all, who am I in the grand scheme of things?  

Friend, I beg you —please listen to me as I share some examples from our Bible that prove just the opposite .  

Examples:   

Hagar and Ishmael Genesis 16 and 21 (cruelly mistreated)  

Sarai was married to a man named Abram (Sarah and Abraham). And she was barren (could not have children). Now, the Lord has promised them that they will have a child, a son, but time has a way of moving ever forward, and Sarai was still without any children.       So, she concocted a scheme in which she would give to her husband, her hand-maiden to have relations with and then, as she stated: “I shall obtain children through her.”

 Ironically, Abram agrees and has sexual relations with her maid, Hagar the Egyptian. She conceived, BUT this IS NOT the son of the promise and a magnitude of problems immediately arise. Sarai treats Hagar harshly, so bad, that Hagar “fled from her presence,” she ends up in the wilderness, alone, distraught, confused. Is the God of all creation concerned about this one seemingly insignificant woman in distress in the wilderness? Could it be possible for Him to be “interested” in her life? Verse 7 tells us that the angel of the Lord found her. He came to her where she was and expresses mercy toward her. He cares. But we take notice to verse 13 as well. He is a God who “sees.” He see’s, He knows, He cares, he IS interested, and church, He is m-e-r-c-i-f-u-l toward us!    

Religious yet lost Acts 8 (searching, questions)  

Here we find a man, an Ethiopian eunuch, on a desert road that went from Jerusalem to  Gaza. He had come to Jerusalem to worship the God of the Jews. Sounds like a good thing, and it is, and yet, as good as it is, as religious as this man is and as sacrificial in his time spent to worship this God that he is—-he is still lost in his sins, you see (religion) or religiosity never saved anyone, ONLY CHRIST CAN SAVE SINNERS!      

Does God care about skeptics? Is He concerned about those who doubt and are honestly searching for the truth?    

Yes, yes, he is VERY interested. Look at what He does for this man. He speaks to Philip, an Apostle, and directs him to this man. Why? Look at verse 29. Philip is sent to him to explain to him what he is, or WHO he is reading about in the scriptures. HE is interested, He wants this man to come to a personal relationship with Himself. Philip explains the scriptures (35), the man believes the scriptures, puts his faith in Christ and is than baptized.  

Is God interested?         

Names of God–=El Roi—the God who sees: Jehovah Shammah—the Lord is there: Jehovah Jireh—the Lord will provide.   God is interested!  

But being interested in something or someone is not very helpful without acting on behalf of that person or thing. Interest without action is not very helpful. So, what do we see God do?   

2. Christmas means that God is acting.

 “God sent forth His Son. . . (vs 5) to redeem them that were under the Law.”      Sending His Son was not only a show of God’s interest. God acted on our behalf. He acted to free us from the bondage and frustration of attempting to keep God’s laws by our own efforts.    

But, why Send His son? Why do we need to be “redeemed?” 1:4 says Jesus: “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.” 

You see, God’s standard is perfection, mess up in one area of the law and you are found guilty as a lawbreaker. (one lie makes you a liar and guilty before a holy God) According to James, such a one is guilty of breaking all by that one offense! (James 2:10)   

Precise and consistent obedience to the divine will is beyond our natural ability. Our imperfections can never satisfy a perfect God. Paul says it this way: “There is none righteous, not even one, there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God….” (Rom. 3:10)  

We are forever defeated and always under condemnation when law-keeping (trying to be good enough) is the basis of our would-be relationship with God. It was not intended to be that way.            

Faith is what justifies a sinner!   Paul in Romans 3:23-24 Says: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” I know we heard that all ready, but it bears repeating because then he says, “being justified (good enough) as a GIFT by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”  

Listen as I sum up chapter 3 (Read Gal 3:13,14,19,24,26,27,28)   

Paul is writing to Jews who had left their Judaism to follow Christ. He is reminding them of these elemental truths because they were listening to false teachers and turning back to the ceremonial aspects of the law. They were adding it to their faith in Christ and Paul is seeking to remind and encourage them that their salvation, just like ours, is by faith alone in Christ alone.   

The greatest give any one of us can receive is the gift of redemption through Christ Jesus!  

One great preacher said: “we never know how bad man is until the gospel is preached to him. The gospel acts as a white background to set forth the darkness of man’s heart.”  

So dear friends, it is because of the black stains of sin in your heart and my heart, OUR HEARTS, that Christ came!  

So many people give excuses why they can’t trust in Jesus today. “Satan is always ready to help men with excuses…If you will fire the gun, Satan will always keep you supplied with ammunition.” (CHS)     

So, God acted to redeem us. Now, I know It is comforting to say, “The Lord is my shepherd.” But isn’t it(more deeply) satisfying to hear (Jesus) say, “The good shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.”  

         Not only God with us but God acting on our behalf.   

Do you remember the angels announcement to Joseph? “thou shalt call His name Jesus, for he shall save His people from their sins.” This is what Christmas means.  

Brothers and sisters, friends, guests—Christmas, ultimately, is all about the cross!  

The Christ child, whose birth we celebrate at Christmas, is God’s action. For as Paul wrote, “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.” (2 Cor. 5:19)   

If we could Read together Isa. 53 We would see how that looks in application.

He poured out Himself to death, to pay the price necessary, to redeem (buy back) sinners from the curse of and bondage to their sin.                                               

Christmas means -God’s interested—-God’s acting  

And It also–   

3.  Christmas means that God is completing.

Our verse states: “God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the (adoption of Son’s).” This scripture is telling us  that God acted to redeem us because he wants to bring His relationship with us to its completion:  (Future Rom. 8:23) in accordance to “the kind intention of His will) Eph. 1:5.

  Actually Paul says: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Just as He chose usin Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love. He predestined us to (adoption as sons) through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will. (Eph. 1:4-5)  

Church, Predestination does not refer here to the choice of who will be saved. (Election or chose above deals with that)It refers to the destiny appointed for those who are chosen. First, God chooses, that is, he unconditionally sets his favor on whom he will, THEN, he destines them for their glorious role in eternity. (piper)  

What can we learn from this scripture and others about God’s completing work: this “adoption as sons?    

1. Adoption was (for God) costly. When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, (in order that He might redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.) (Galatians 4:5)  

I want to place stress on the word redeem here. To redeem means to obtain or to set free by paying a price. What was the price that God paid for our liberation and adoption? In the previous chapter, we read the answer: “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 3:13-14). It cost God the price of his Son’s life.    

2. Adoption did involve the legal status of the child. When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:5)  

(Highlighted part is our emphasis) Because there were legal realities God had to deal with. His own justice and law demanded that we be punished and excluded from his presence for our sins. Righteousness was required and punishment demanded. God had to satisfy his justice and his law in order to adopt sinners into his family. This he did by the life, death, and resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ.  

3. Adoption is blessed with God’s pouring out a Spirit of sonship. Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:6)  

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Romans 8:15-16)  

God does not leave us in the condition of aliens when he adopts us. He does not leave us with no feelings of acceptance and love. Rather, he pours his Spirit into our hearts to give us the experience or Spirit witness of being embraced in the family.   

Listen as I quote one preacher on this topic: “Adoption in God’s mind was not Plan B. He predestined us for adoption before the creation of the world. Plan A was not lots of children who never sin and never need to be redeemed. Plan A was creation, fall, redemption, adoption so that the full range of God’s glory and mercy and grace could be known by his adopted children. Adoption was not second best. It was planned from the beginning.”   

God did not begin something with no thought to finishing it. He is a completing God! He, throughout the ages said what He would do, and He did it, ALL of it. He is a completing God. You and I Christian, can rest in the truth that God will finish the work that He has begun in us. He will achieve the goal He set for us!   

Christmas means that God is interested in us, He is acting on our behalf, and He promises to accomplish everything involved in our sonship!

Closing prayer: Closing hymn:      

THE SHEPHERDS VIEW OF CHRISTMAS

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Extended reading: Luke 2:8-18

Devotional reading: v. 15,17-18

In the time of Christ’s birth, shepherds were viewed as “unclean” in the community of God’s people because of the type of work they did. They were constantly in contact with dirty, smelly sheep, their manure, their blood from cuts and scrapes, and the many insects that buzzed around them. This meant that shepherds were virtually never clean enough to worship with God’s people in God’s presence. So they were generally treated as outsiders.

Yet, “Bethlehem was nearby Jerusalem, and many of the sheep used in the temple sacrifices came from there. The surrounding hills were prime grazing land, and shepherds worked in the area day and night, all year round.” 

It is to this group of people that the angel of the Lord appeared one night. Suddenly, and surrounded with amazing light, the angel stood before them (v.9). He gave to them “good news of great joy which will be for all the people.” He tells them of the “saviors” birth, right there in the city of David! He even tells them where to find this heavenly child, “You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (v. 12). And then, as if that is not to much already, a multitude of the “heavenly host” appear and are praising God!

That had to be one amazing night. A lowly group of shepherds, angels in the sky all around them praising God and revealing His birth; a divine gift to men! Imagine how you and I might have reacted to such a sight.

Gripping fear?

Fainting?

Confusion, perhaps disbelief?

They were afraid, in fact, “terribly frightened” (v. 9). The Greek word used for “terribly “ is (megas). It can mean exceedingly, over abundant, or great. But just as in other times when an angel appeared to men, He encouraged them to fear not (1:11-13; 1:30). When the angels leave and go back to heaven (v. 15) we begin to get a pretty good idea of the shepherds view of Christmas!

Faith overcame fear- “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made know to us” (v.15). 

Excitement overcame distance- “So they came in a hurry and found where Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger” (v. 16). Just as the angel said!

Joy overcame silence- “They made known the statement which had been told them about this child” (v. 17).

Praise and worship filled their hearts- “The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them!”

The shepherds view of Christmas was one of faith, excitement, and joy. What they “seen” and “heard” ultimately gave them a new spring in their step and a new song in their hearts!

This is only the second view of Christmas that we looked at (the first was Mary’s), but each one of them has given me a renewed joy and heart of praise for a time of the year that our materialistic culture so actively seeks to control.

What’s your view of Christmas?

CHRISTMAS IN GENESIS

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Extended reading: Genesis 3

Devotional reading: verse 15

And I will [a]make enemies
Of you and the woman,
And of your [b]offspring and her [c]Descendant;
He shall [d]bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”

Genesis 3 gives us an account of the process of temptation and mankind’s fall into sin. Not quite the place where you would expect a Christmas story. But without this historical account and its prophetic view of the complete destruction of the evil one, the story of the virgin birth, ministry of Christ; His death on a cross and resurrection from the grave, would make absolutely little sense.

“In His grace,  God promised that the off-spring of the woman would defeat Satan. He promised that He would take charge of the redemption of their lives and overcome the enemy. This is good news- the first mention of the gospel of grace that would eventually be fulfilled by the coming of Jesus, the Messiah.”

As one Christmas song rightly concludes, Christmas is about the cross!

PRAYER: Father, we thank you for keeping your word and sending your Son Jesus to redeem mankind from the bondage of sin. There is no greater gift we can receive than that which you have already given, Baby Jesus, Emmanuel! Amen.

MIND OF CHRIST (Part two)

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We left our study last time with this statement: “Jesus, figuratively and literally, “bled” himself out for others as He took upon himself the role of a slave. He voluntarily set aside His rights for the salvation of His people for their eternal well-being. And the Apostle Paul is saying to the Philippian church and to us dear Christian, that that is how you ought to live, in a selfless, humble, others serving, God honoring way within this congregation.”

FOCUS ONE:

Moving forward, we will learn that there is more to all this than just the examples of humility (8). We are also brought to remember the incarnation of Jesus. By that, I mean, When God the Son became a man—The God-man, fully God and yet fully man!

The word: “fashion” or “appearance” or “being,” depending on your translation, is significant. John MacArthur writes: “The word “being” denotes that which a person is in his very essence – that which a person is in his nature. In other words, that which is true of a person that cannot be altered, it cannot be changed. That which someone possesses inalienably and unchangeably that cannot be removed. It refers to the innate, changeless, unalterable character and nature of a person. For example, men may look different, but they’re all men – that’s their nature. They all have the basic same elements of humanness, the functioning of breathing, and the heart, organs, mind, will, thought, emotion. These are the elements of humanness. You can change his clothes. You can do things to the physical form. But you never change the humanness. That is the being of man.”

 And that is the meaning of this term. And it says of Christ that He is in the being of God. He is, then, unalterably and unchangeably, God in His essence, in His essential being. That is the basis of our faith. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word” – what? – “was God.” But along with that, He was at the same time fully man. But don’t think of Jesus as less than fully human. Quoting MacArthur again: “He was fully human. Did people come into this world through the natural process of birth, through the womb of a mother? So, did He. Had others been wrapped in swaddling clothes? So was He. Had others grown up? So did He. Did others have brothers and sisters? He did. Did others learn a trade and work? So did He. Were other men at times hungry, and thirsty, and weary, and asleep? So was He. Were others grieved and angry? So was He. Did others weep? So did He. Did others rejoice? So did He. Were others destined to die? So did He. Did others suffer pain? So did He. Were others loved and hated? So was He. He was a man, in the form and the fashion.”

Luke tells us how this happened. Turn to Luke chapter 1:26 (read). In verse 34, Mary Asks, “how can this happen or be?” The angel tells her that the Holy Spirit will come upon her, and with His power, with no sinful human male involved, He will grant this conception within her, and her child will be called the Son of God (vs.36).

Matthew tells us that this miracle, this salvation, was prophesied long ago. Matthew repeats what Isaiah wrote in 7:14:

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign, behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (God with us). Paul is speaking from a position “after” the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

1 Peter 2:21,22 – We are told He lived without sin. In Hebrews 4:15,16 – We are told Jesus was tempted in all points like we are, but He did not sin.

Jesus was the only man ever to live without committing even one sin, so He is the only one who truly deserves to be counted righteous before God. Later we will see that this sinless life was necessary for Him to be a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

He taught with authority, healed many, delivered many from demons, served the multitudes, refuted pseudo-religiosity, pointed many to the Father in Heaven, and because of that:

Matthew 26:1-4,14-16 – Jewish leaders determined to kill Jesus because He had revealed their sins to the multitudes. Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, agreed to betray Jesus to His enemies for thirty pieces of silver.

Matthew 26:36-41 – After teaching His disciples how to partake of the Lord’s Supper in memory of His death, Jesus went to Gethsemane. There He prayed that He might avoid the suffering of the cross, but even so, He was willing to obey the Father’s will.

Matthew 26:47-56 – Judas came bringing soldiers to capture Jesus and showed the soldiers who to arrest by kissing Him. When Jesus refused to allow His disciples to defend Him, they all forsook Him and fled.

Matthew 26:57-67 – In the Jewish trials, Jewish leaders sought grounds to kill Jesus but could not find valid proof even with the help of many false witnesses. They ignored all the evidence that he was the Christ and convicted Him of making a blasphemous claim! Finally, they convicted Him of blasphemy because He claimed to be the Christ.

Luke 23:8-11 – Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, who mocked Him and sent Him back to Pilate. Pilate (vv 13-16) then told the people that neither he nor Herod found any fault in Jesus worthy of death.

Matthew 27:15-26 – Pilate repeatedly stated that Jesus was innocent and tried to release Him, but the Jews refused. Pilate’s wife sent him a message saying she knew Jesus was innocent. But the Jews said they and their children would bear responsibility for His death, so Pilate called for Jesus to be crucified.

So what? Everyone dies eventually. To many people, Jesus’ death may not seem extraordinary. But His was the most important death ever to occur. It is essential to our salvation.

Hebrews 2:9 – Jesus tasted death for every man. He did not die for His sins – He didn’t have any sins. Nor was His death simply a miscarriage of justice. Jesus died for our sins.

1 Peter 2:24 – He bore our sins on the cross so that we could live to righteousness. He was a sacrifice. He was the sinless Son of God dying as a penalty for those of us who were guilty, so we could go free.

That is why Jesus needed to live a sinless life. If He had sinned, He would have to be punished for His sins. But because He lived a sinless life and did not deserve to die, He was able to suffer for others, people like us who did deserve to die.

FOCUS TWO:

Impressive as all this is, it is even more amazing to realize that He came to earth knowing all along that He would have to die for the sins of others. The Creator took the form of that which He had created to suffer as a sacrifice to save His own creatures. If Jesus had not died, none of us could be forgiven of sins. We would all have to die for our sins (Rom. 6:23). We can be saved (only) because Jesus died for us!

And what was God the Father’s response to this?

3. Glory in Christ (9-11)

a. God the Father exalted Him

Why? Because Jesus has taken upon himself a humble servitude that leads Him to death, even death on a cross, in which He willingly embraces degradation and misery, in which He willingly embraces humiliation of the most profound and most unique sort. And because of this (therefore), God highly exalts Him. And perhaps Paul is drawing our attention to the fact that there is a different kind of exaltation in God’s

One writer comments: “We see human beings, appropriately or inappropriately, exalted all the time around us, and usually it is because they possess certain qualities that set them apart from other people. They may be really smart, and so we praise them because they’re smarter than other people. Or maybe they’re better students, they work hard. It’s not that their brain cells are more blessed than somebody else’s brain cells, but they study really hard. And we set them apart, we give them titles and we give them degrees, and we give them honors for their academic prowess. And so, through their efforts and their native abilities, they are set apart.”

Paul wants these folks to notice how Jesus, who in all of those categories, was more worthy than anyone who ever lived, did not promote himself on that basis. And God did not exalt Him on that basis. He exalted Him because He embraced humility, and He embraced servitude of the most profound sort.

He was given a name above every other!

There is sooo much to this, but we don’t have the time to mine it all this morning. Let me make a few things clear. Dear reader, Jesus has always been the Son of God. Jesus did not become the Son of God for the first time in the resurrection or the ascension. Jesus has always been Lord. He has always been the second person of the Trinity. There was never a time when He wasn’t Lord, and then He became Lord. That’s not what the Apostle Paul is saying here. It’s just that now in the flesh, He has appeared, and in His flesh, He rendered such a service that God publicly owned and acknowledged Him and pronounced Him to be Lord. And Paul is telling the Philippians and us here that God does this precisely because of what Jesus has done in His humble service.

And then we notice: Everybody will confess He is Lord. 

Not only does Paul reveal in these words that every being in the universe will submit to Christ, but He also shows that there will someday be a universal confession that HE IS LORD, to the glory of God the Father!!

This fact was prophesied by Isaiah Back in Isaiah 45:23, and Paul is thinking about that prophecy and directing his readers to reflect on it.

To not willingly submit to Him put’s you, dear sinner, in an awful position. We are all equally rebels against him, whether we oppose him as Lord or whether we refuse to submit to his righteousness or his government. What will you answer to him when he calls you to account for usurping his office and making void all that he has done and suffered for you? — He has sworn, that unto him every knee shall bow; and, if you don’t do it willingly, you will most certainly do it against your will, to your everlasting sorrow.

But how different an outcome for those who submit to His rightful rule.

You are committed to his care, and he will not lose one of you; “not one shall ever be plucked out of his hands,” is the promise of scripture. Whatever you need, “his grace is sufficient for you.” “if you suffer with him. you shall also reign with him,” and “be glorified together with him [Note: 2 Timothy 2:12. Romans 8:17.]” in his kingdom forevermore!

Conclusion:

Dear reader, because of the effectual working of the gospel in our own lives, as undeserved as it is, and all that we enjoy because of it, shouldn’t that lead us to walk in unity, fellowship, and like-mindedness around this gospel within our local church family? 

Christian, Christ is our supreme example; his selfless love is an example to us. His humility and obedience are our encouragement, given by Paul, to strive for unity within their /our local church.

Friends, like all those who have gone before, you are undeserving of His love, His forgiveness, and His fellowship. You, like the rest, are a vile sinner in His eyes and should be cast off into outer darkness.

But, you have hope in this same Jesus! He came to this earth, endured the cross, despised the shame, died the death you should have died, bore your sins on that cruel tree, so that you, through Him, could be declared righteous and forgiven!