1 Timothy 3:14-16 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: 15 But if I tarry
long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of
God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 16 And without
controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on
in the world, received up into glory.
What to do after the presents are unwrapped
In a few short days we will be celebrating Christmas with our family. As many of you who are reading this blog probably will be experiencing, the anticipation leading up to Christmas and the quickness of its passing leaves one with a sense of "now what?" When we celebrate holidays like Christmas, it is very easy to focus on the significance of Jesus' incarnation and virgin birth only once a year. What about the remaining eleven or so months? Should the truth of Christ's virgin birth and entry from eternity into time be restricted to once a year? Today's blog aims to give the Christian reader a direction to go in the wake of unwrapped presents and what will be the drawing to a close of another Christmas season.
The passage that urges us to celebrate Christmas truth everyday
1 Timothy 3:14-16 stands as one of the most incredible texts in the New Testament. What draws me to this text is the fact that it includes a profound statement about the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not only is the passage rich in doctrine, but also the passage is unique in that it represents one of the first early Christian hymns. Those details alone made me start thinking about Jesus Christ as the Central truth of Christmas. As Paul was closing out this positive set of instructions to Timothy his young protege and pastor of the Ephesian church, he urges him and us reading this letter to truly celebrate Christmas truth everyday.
In thinking on this idea of Jesus Christ as the truth of Christmas, I ask this question: Why must the truth of Christmas, Jesus Christ be celebrated everyday by Christians? In considering 1 Timothy 3:14-16, let me offer three answers to that question:
1. Practical Christianity Feeds from Him who is the truth of Christmas, Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 3:14-16a
2. Precious Doctrine is Framed by Him who is the truth of Christmas, Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 3:16b
3. Powerful Worship Flows from Him who is the truth of Christmas, Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 3:16b
So why celebrate Christmas truth everyday? Notice first of all that...
Practical Christianity Feeds from Him who is the truth of Christmas, Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 3:14-16a
Practical Christianity expressed towards others = Conduct
Practical Christianity is one of Paul's main concerns here in these set of verses. Note what he says about our practical everyday Christian life. In 1 Timothy 3:15 we read: "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself
in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and
ground of the truth." The idea of behavior is also translated by the NASB as "conduct". Conducting oneself in the Biblical sense means being careful about how you respond and carry yourself as a Christian.
Christian conduct is spoken of elsewhere in the New Testament:
1. Philippians 1:27 reminds us to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel
2. In Acts 4:32, all the early Christians had a conduct that united them together in one heart and mind
3. Paul urges the Corinthian church in 1 Coritnhains 1:10 to watch their conduct with one another so that there may be no divisions
Other passages could be cited, but the point is well taken, conduct or how we excercise caution in our dealings with one another is a mark of a healthy, practical Christianity.
Practical Christian expressed in my own life = godliness
Paul then says these words in 1 Timothy 3:16a - "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness...." What is godliness? Proverbs 13:6 in the NLT reads - "Godliness guards the path of the blameless, but the evil are misled by sin." Perhaps one of the clearest descriptions of the term "godliness' anywhere in the Bible is 1 Timothy 4:8 "for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for
all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to
come." To be Godly means that I aim to do good and be good for the sake of God's pleasure.
What drives practical conduct and Godliness? Christmas truth
As Paul has wrote instructions in 1 Timothy 1-3 on how his readers are to "conduct themselves" and "be godly", the question is: what engine will drive Christian conduct and Godliness? Only one person can do that: Jesus Christ. Christmas truth is Jesus, and daily focus upon Himself will ensure effective conduct and godliness. The fact that Paul hitches 1 Timothy 3:15-16 to the rich statement concerning the arrival of Jesus Christ into this world, tells us that daily Christian living feeds upon the life and power of Jesus Christ.
More tomorrow...........
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Monday, December 24, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Six Links between Christmas & the Cross
Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His
people from their sins.”
My aim today is to draw as many parallels as possible between the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke to the crucifixion account of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 18, 19 and 20 will be our main text for the crucifixion account, with connecting points being drawn from Matthew and Luke. Below I will list some main headings and associated verses to aid you, the reader, in connecting the Christmas event of the cradle at Bethlehem to the Mission of the Savior at the cross.
1. The Shepherds told about the Savior born, who would die for the people
Luke 2:11 "for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
John 18:14 "Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people."
What links these two passages together is the fact we see Jesus, our Good Shepherd.
2. He was Born and Died "The King of the Jews."
Matthew 2:2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
John 19:19 "And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS."
What links these two passages together is the fact we see Jesus our True King.
3. The Roman Empire was included in His birth and death.
Luke 2:1 "Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth."
John 19:23 "Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout."
What links these two passages together is the fact we see Jesus the Ultimate Ruler.
4. The Prediction of Mary's agony at His death spoken after his birth
Luke 2:35 "and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
John 19:26-27 "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."
What links these two passages together is the fact we see Jesus the Obedient Son.
5. The presence of Myrrh in the accounts of His birth and death
Luke 2:11 "After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."
John 19:39 "And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight."
What links these two passages together is the fact we see Jesus the Satisfaction of wrath.
6. Angels were present at His birth and resurrection
Luke 2:13-14 "And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
John 20:12-14 "and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” 14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. "
What links these two passages together is the fact we see Jesus the Victorious Savior.
My aim today is to draw as many parallels as possible between the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke to the crucifixion account of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 18, 19 and 20 will be our main text for the crucifixion account, with connecting points being drawn from Matthew and Luke. Below I will list some main headings and associated verses to aid you, the reader, in connecting the Christmas event of the cradle at Bethlehem to the Mission of the Savior at the cross.
1. The Shepherds told about the Savior born, who would die for the people
Luke 2:11 "for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
John 18:14 "Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people."
What links these two passages together is the fact we see Jesus, our Good Shepherd.
2. He was Born and Died "The King of the Jews."
Matthew 2:2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
John 19:19 "And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS."
What links these two passages together is the fact we see Jesus our True King.
3. The Roman Empire was included in His birth and death.
Luke 2:1 "Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth."
John 19:23 "Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout."
What links these two passages together is the fact we see Jesus the Ultimate Ruler.
4. The Prediction of Mary's agony at His death spoken after his birth
Luke 2:35 "and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
John 19:26-27 "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."
What links these two passages together is the fact we see Jesus the Obedient Son.
5. The presence of Myrrh in the accounts of His birth and death
Luke 2:11 "After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."
John 19:39 "And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight."
What links these two passages together is the fact we see Jesus the Satisfaction of wrath.
6. Angels were present at His birth and resurrection
Luke 2:13-14 "And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
John 20:12-14 "and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” 14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. "
What links these two passages together is the fact we see Jesus the Victorious Savior.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Christmas in the Epistles - Hebrews
Hebrews 2:14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also
partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had
the power of death, that is, the devil,
What is fascinating about our New Testaments is in how they are arranged. When we consider the Gospels for example, they present God in human flesh - Jesus Christ. Yesterday we made some remarks about the first coming of Jesus from 1 Timothy and today we continue by noting some observations in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
The Old Testament Foundation and Anticipation of Christ's first coming
In the original Hebrew Old Testament, the Bible books were divided into three main divisions: The Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. (Luke 24:44) According to Deuteronomy 19:15 and Matthew 18:16, the truth of any given matter is established by two or three witnesses. We can note how the writer quotes purposefully from the three-fold division of the Old Testament to drive home the point of his exhortation here in Hebrews 2:
1. In Hebrews 2:1-4 the writer alludes to the giving of the law on Mount Sinai in Exodus 19-20, hence utilizing the "Law" or "Pentateuch" of the first five books of the Old Testament.
2. In Hebrews 2:5-8 He quotes from Psalm 8, utilizing the section called "The Writings"
3. Then in Hebrews 2:9-13 we see another quotation in 2:12 from Psalm 22:22 and a quotations from Isaiah 8:17-18, thus utilizing the "Prophetic" portion of the Old Testament.
With this foundation laid, the writer proves that the entire Old Testament "paid heed" to the coming Messiah who would be born to die for sinners and to destroy the works of the Devil.
How the entire Trinity was involved in bringing about the Christmas
We learn from this chapter of Hebrews that all three Persons of the Trinity were involved in the bringing about of Christmas. First, Hebrews 2:14 attributes the incarnation to Christ Himself: "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil".1
Next we understand that the Holy Spirit, sharing in the same Divine nature as the Son, directly intervened in forming a human nature and uniting it to the Person of the Son. Hebrews 2:17a bears this out: "Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God."2
Thirdly, we see Hebrews 10:5 ascribing the work of the incarnation to God the Father: "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me." (KJV) To Whom is Jesus addressing? Hebrews 10:7 makes it quite clear that He is speaking to God the Father, since it His Will which He came to perform. (compare John 17:1-4) 3
The main point of Hebrews 2 and its relationship to Christmas
As you begin to analyze Hebrews 2, the central verses of the chapter lie in Hebrews 2:1, 9 and 14 - pointing our attention to three main points. The writer (perhaps Paul) is explaining first off what every Christian must pay heed to in 2:1 "For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it."
Secondly, in Hebrews 2:9 we read - "But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." So then we are to payheed to not drifting away from the Gospel that we've heard, as well as the fact that Jesus Christ came to die for sinners.
Then notice thirdly Hebrews 2:14 - "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil". So in addition to not drifting and noting that Jesus came to die for sinners, we can note a third point: namely Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the Devil. Christmas then is about the Savior who came to die for sinners and destroy the works of the Devil - the Gospel from which every Christan must ever strive to not drift away.
May you and I today pay the more earnest heed to this Jesus of Whom we aim to focus not only this Christmas season but in the upcoming New Year.
End Notes________________
1. From another text, Hebrews 10:7 we read Jesus saying: "Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God." (KJV) The joining of humanity to the Person of the Son was a consentual agreement made between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Eternity. (Psalm 110; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 10:4-7).
2. The underlined verb is in the passive, meaning that Christ was the recipient of the action of His person being united to full humanity. Other passages such as Matthew 1:20 and Luke 1:35 specifically ascribe the miracle of the virgin birth conception to the Holy Spirit - Who is the Direct Agent involved in the incarnation. The Son agreed to have humanity joined to Himself, with the Holy Spirit uniting such a perfect human nature to Christ in the virgin birth conception.
3. Furthermore Jesus is quoting Psalm 40 wherein David, the original speaker in the Psalm, is addressing God. Unless otherwise indicated, the name "God" by itself normally refers to God the Father. God the Father is moreso indirectly involved, since He Providentially prepared the bloodline of Mary to be the bloodline through which the humanity of Jesus Christ would be incarnated and made a reality.
What is fascinating about our New Testaments is in how they are arranged. When we consider the Gospels for example, they present God in human flesh - Jesus Christ. Yesterday we made some remarks about the first coming of Jesus from 1 Timothy and today we continue by noting some observations in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
The Old Testament Foundation and Anticipation of Christ's first coming
In the original Hebrew Old Testament, the Bible books were divided into three main divisions: The Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. (Luke 24:44) According to Deuteronomy 19:15 and Matthew 18:16, the truth of any given matter is established by two or three witnesses. We can note how the writer quotes purposefully from the three-fold division of the Old Testament to drive home the point of his exhortation here in Hebrews 2:
1. In Hebrews 2:1-4 the writer alludes to the giving of the law on Mount Sinai in Exodus 19-20, hence utilizing the "Law" or "Pentateuch" of the first five books of the Old Testament.
2. In Hebrews 2:5-8 He quotes from Psalm 8, utilizing the section called "The Writings"
3. Then in Hebrews 2:9-13 we see another quotation in 2:12 from Psalm 22:22 and a quotations from Isaiah 8:17-18, thus utilizing the "Prophetic" portion of the Old Testament.
With this foundation laid, the writer proves that the entire Old Testament "paid heed" to the coming Messiah who would be born to die for sinners and to destroy the works of the Devil.
How the entire Trinity was involved in bringing about the Christmas
We learn from this chapter of Hebrews that all three Persons of the Trinity were involved in the bringing about of Christmas. First, Hebrews 2:14 attributes the incarnation to Christ Himself: "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil".1
Next we understand that the Holy Spirit, sharing in the same Divine nature as the Son, directly intervened in forming a human nature and uniting it to the Person of the Son. Hebrews 2:17a bears this out: "Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God."2
Thirdly, we see Hebrews 10:5 ascribing the work of the incarnation to God the Father: "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me." (KJV) To Whom is Jesus addressing? Hebrews 10:7 makes it quite clear that He is speaking to God the Father, since it His Will which He came to perform. (compare John 17:1-4) 3
The main point of Hebrews 2 and its relationship to Christmas
As you begin to analyze Hebrews 2, the central verses of the chapter lie in Hebrews 2:1, 9 and 14 - pointing our attention to three main points. The writer (perhaps Paul) is explaining first off what every Christian must pay heed to in 2:1 "For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it."
Secondly, in Hebrews 2:9 we read - "But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone." So then we are to payheed to not drifting away from the Gospel that we've heard, as well as the fact that Jesus Christ came to die for sinners.
Then notice thirdly Hebrews 2:14 - "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil". So in addition to not drifting and noting that Jesus came to die for sinners, we can note a third point: namely Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the Devil. Christmas then is about the Savior who came to die for sinners and destroy the works of the Devil - the Gospel from which every Christan must ever strive to not drift away.
May you and I today pay the more earnest heed to this Jesus of Whom we aim to focus not only this Christmas season but in the upcoming New Year.
End Notes________________
1. From another text, Hebrews 10:7 we read Jesus saying: "Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God." (KJV) The joining of humanity to the Person of the Son was a consentual agreement made between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Eternity. (Psalm 110; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 10:4-7).
2. The underlined verb is in the passive, meaning that Christ was the recipient of the action of His person being united to full humanity. Other passages such as Matthew 1:20 and Luke 1:35 specifically ascribe the miracle of the virgin birth conception to the Holy Spirit - Who is the Direct Agent involved in the incarnation. The Son agreed to have humanity joined to Himself, with the Holy Spirit uniting such a perfect human nature to Christ in the virgin birth conception.
3. Furthermore Jesus is quoting Psalm 40 wherein David, the original speaker in the Psalm, is addressing God. Unless otherwise indicated, the name "God" by itself normally refers to God the Father. God the Father is moreso indirectly involved, since He Providentially prepared the bloodline of Mary to be the bloodline through which the humanity of Jesus Christ would be incarnated and made a reality.
Friday, December 21, 2012
How we know the Mayans don't know
Mark 13:32 "But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the
Son, but the Father alone."
After today, we will discover that no one really knows the timing of the end of the world
As many of you perhaps may know, today is the supposed day that an ancient Mayan Calendar will have ran its last cycle, indicating in the eyes of some the end of the world. My wife and I were talking earlier this morning how instructive it is to us concerning the scoffing and flippancy that has been expressed towards this supposed "end of the world". My aim in this special blog is not to offer commentary on the Mayan calendar, other than to say I do not think it is predicting the end of the world. Rather I want us to turn our attention briefly to a text where Jesus explicitly states that no one knows the day nor the hour of His coming. We will first of all unfold its meaning and then offer some practical considerations as to why the Lord saw fit not to reveal the exact day and hour of His coming.
Unraveling the mystery of Mark 13:32 and Matthew 24:36
The fact that Bible Prophecy states several times that God has not revealed the exact day of Christ's return should be noted by the student of scripture. (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3) In the Mark and corresponding Matthew passages, Jesus reveals that there are those who don't know the exact hour of His return and that there is only One who does know the exact hour. We can see a summary list below:
Those who don't know Those who do know
1. All Human beings God the Father
2. The Angels
3. God The Son, operating through
His human nature (The Son of Man)
The Person of God the Son has two natures or two ways of expressing His existence - A Fully Divine and Fully Human Nature
When we read the phrase "nor the Son" in Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32, it may cause some to wonder how that could be. Scripture affirms time and time again that the Person of the Son, Jesus Christ, shares in the same Divine nature as the Father. (Matthew 28:18; John 1:1, 8:58; Romans 9:5) In other words, the Son did not have a beginning, He has always been. (Hebrews 1:5-14; Revelation 1:8) When we say "nature", we mean the way in which a Living being expresses its existence.
Thus by being Fully Divine, the Son would know all things, be everywhere present and have all power. Whenever He came to this world, He being the Son assumed a second way of expressing Himself, a second nature - namely a fully human one. (John 1:14,18; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Timothy 3:16) Thus He chose to willingly operate through His human nature - which meant among other things that He would not know everything as a man. Why did He do this? to submit fully and completely to the will of His Father.
What took place after Jesus' resurrection concerning His knowledge of His return
As the Person of the Son, He still retained His fully Divine nature, however for the purposes of securing His Father's purposes of redemption, Jesus Christ chose not to excercise the privileges that come with sharing in the Divine nature as His Father. So then, if Jesus Christ operated primarily through His human nature while here on earth, then would it still be the case that He does not know the exact timing of His return?
Pastor John MacArthur gives an interesting observation which upon some reflection I tend to agree. Note what he says in a sermon He preached back in 1984 entitled: "Ready or not, here I come":
"Now it is my own personal feeling that after the resurrection this was revealed to Him. That when He came out of the grave in the glory of His resurrection life, it says in Matthew 28:18 He said to His disciples, "All authority is given unto Me in heaven and earth." And I think what that's saying is nothing is missing, I have authority over all things. And then in Acts 1:7 He said this, "But unto you it is not given to know the times and the seasons which My Father has put in His own power," and He doesn't include Himself anymore. He says unto you it isn't given. So it may well be that after the resurrection, His knowledge was complete."
Armed with this observation, we can then say that the post-resurrection Jesus, retaining a full human nature in a glorified resurrection body, chooses now in this area of knowledge to know the exact timing of His return. The above chart that I gave a moment ago would reflect the current conditions pertaining to the timing of Christ's second coming:
Those who don't know Those who do know
1. All Human beings 1. God the Father
2. The Angels 2. God the Son, operating
through His Divine nature
(i.e the Son of God)
Jesus Christ in heaven is now operating primarily through His Divine nature, which He never ceased having. He is situated at the right hand of God the Father and still retains his glorified resurrected human body, since He is pleased to call all who believe on him His brothers and sisters. (Hebrews 2:9-18)
Why the Lord has seen fit not to reveal to us the exact timing of His return
So with all this cultural discussion on the Mayans and the end of the world, why would the Lord Jesus Christ choose not to devulge such an important detail as the exact timing of His return? Consider these thoughts as we close out this blog:
1. If we really knew, Christians would not be as motivated to live by faith nor be as inclined to live the Godly life. The mystery of the timing of Christ's return gives hope to faith and motivation for godly living. (1 John 3:1-3)
2. If Christians knew the exact day and hour, the motivation to do missions and evangelism would wane. Christ's second coming is among the chief motivators used in scripture to call men and women to repentance and faith, so as to escape the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
3. The fact that we don't know the exact hour of His return is God's way of reminding us that we and the angels are creatures, and that He alone knows all things. The revealed things belong to us and our children while the unrevealed things belong to God. (Deuteronomy 29:29)
4. I would submit that those groups who come claiming to know the exact day and hour of the world's end are heretical and to be avoided by all Bible-believing Christians. God has purposefully not revealed this detail to aid us in determining genuine Christian faith from heresy.
May you and I, in the midst of this season celebrating His First coming, be ever focused and eager for His Second coming - whenever He so chooses to return.
After today, we will discover that no one really knows the timing of the end of the world
As many of you perhaps may know, today is the supposed day that an ancient Mayan Calendar will have ran its last cycle, indicating in the eyes of some the end of the world. My wife and I were talking earlier this morning how instructive it is to us concerning the scoffing and flippancy that has been expressed towards this supposed "end of the world". My aim in this special blog is not to offer commentary on the Mayan calendar, other than to say I do not think it is predicting the end of the world. Rather I want us to turn our attention briefly to a text where Jesus explicitly states that no one knows the day nor the hour of His coming. We will first of all unfold its meaning and then offer some practical considerations as to why the Lord saw fit not to reveal the exact day and hour of His coming.
Unraveling the mystery of Mark 13:32 and Matthew 24:36
The fact that Bible Prophecy states several times that God has not revealed the exact day of Christ's return should be noted by the student of scripture. (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32; Acts 1:7; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3) In the Mark and corresponding Matthew passages, Jesus reveals that there are those who don't know the exact hour of His return and that there is only One who does know the exact hour. We can see a summary list below:
Those who don't know Those who do know
1. All Human beings God the Father
2. The Angels
3. God The Son, operating through
His human nature (The Son of Man)
The Person of God the Son has two natures or two ways of expressing His existence - A Fully Divine and Fully Human Nature
When we read the phrase "nor the Son" in Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32, it may cause some to wonder how that could be. Scripture affirms time and time again that the Person of the Son, Jesus Christ, shares in the same Divine nature as the Father. (Matthew 28:18; John 1:1, 8:58; Romans 9:5) In other words, the Son did not have a beginning, He has always been. (Hebrews 1:5-14; Revelation 1:8) When we say "nature", we mean the way in which a Living being expresses its existence.
Thus by being Fully Divine, the Son would know all things, be everywhere present and have all power. Whenever He came to this world, He being the Son assumed a second way of expressing Himself, a second nature - namely a fully human one. (John 1:14,18; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Timothy 3:16) Thus He chose to willingly operate through His human nature - which meant among other things that He would not know everything as a man. Why did He do this? to submit fully and completely to the will of His Father.
What took place after Jesus' resurrection concerning His knowledge of His return
As the Person of the Son, He still retained His fully Divine nature, however for the purposes of securing His Father's purposes of redemption, Jesus Christ chose not to excercise the privileges that come with sharing in the Divine nature as His Father. So then, if Jesus Christ operated primarily through His human nature while here on earth, then would it still be the case that He does not know the exact timing of His return?
Pastor John MacArthur gives an interesting observation which upon some reflection I tend to agree. Note what he says in a sermon He preached back in 1984 entitled: "Ready or not, here I come":
"Now it is my own personal feeling that after the resurrection this was revealed to Him. That when He came out of the grave in the glory of His resurrection life, it says in Matthew 28:18 He said to His disciples, "All authority is given unto Me in heaven and earth." And I think what that's saying is nothing is missing, I have authority over all things. And then in Acts 1:7 He said this, "But unto you it is not given to know the times and the seasons which My Father has put in His own power," and He doesn't include Himself anymore. He says unto you it isn't given. So it may well be that after the resurrection, His knowledge was complete."
Armed with this observation, we can then say that the post-resurrection Jesus, retaining a full human nature in a glorified resurrection body, chooses now in this area of knowledge to know the exact timing of His return. The above chart that I gave a moment ago would reflect the current conditions pertaining to the timing of Christ's second coming:
Those who don't know Those who do know
1. All Human beings 1. God the Father
2. The Angels 2. God the Son, operating
through His Divine nature
(i.e the Son of God)
Jesus Christ in heaven is now operating primarily through His Divine nature, which He never ceased having. He is situated at the right hand of God the Father and still retains his glorified resurrected human body, since He is pleased to call all who believe on him His brothers and sisters. (Hebrews 2:9-18)
Why the Lord has seen fit not to reveal to us the exact timing of His return
So with all this cultural discussion on the Mayans and the end of the world, why would the Lord Jesus Christ choose not to devulge such an important detail as the exact timing of His return? Consider these thoughts as we close out this blog:
1. If we really knew, Christians would not be as motivated to live by faith nor be as inclined to live the Godly life. The mystery of the timing of Christ's return gives hope to faith and motivation for godly living. (1 John 3:1-3)
2. If Christians knew the exact day and hour, the motivation to do missions and evangelism would wane. Christ's second coming is among the chief motivators used in scripture to call men and women to repentance and faith, so as to escape the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
3. The fact that we don't know the exact hour of His return is God's way of reminding us that we and the angels are creatures, and that He alone knows all things. The revealed things belong to us and our children while the unrevealed things belong to God. (Deuteronomy 29:29)
4. I would submit that those groups who come claiming to know the exact day and hour of the world's end are heretical and to be avoided by all Bible-believing Christians. God has purposefully not revealed this detail to aid us in determining genuine Christian faith from heresy.
May you and I, in the midst of this season celebrating His First coming, be ever focused and eager for His Second coming - whenever He so chooses to return.
Christmas in the Epistles - 1 Timothy
1 Timothy 3:14-16 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: 15But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 16And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
How the New Testament communicates Jesus Christ
Throughout the New Testament letters we find portions of scripture that refer back to the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. To familiarize the reader with how the New Testament communicates Jesus Christ, it is instructive to consider it as four major divisions:
1. The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) = Present Jesus Christ
2. Book of Acts = Preaches about Jesus Christ
3. The Epistles or Letters (21 in all) = Explain Jesus Christ
4. Book of Revelation = Prioritizes the Glory of Jesus Christ
Christmas truth ought to be celebrated every day by Christians
From the brief discussion above we can zero in on one of those passages in the New Testament letters that "explains" to us the significance of Jesus Christ's incarnation: 1 Timothy 3:14-16. This passage, though only three verses in length, gives us incredible reasons as to why we should make the truth of Jesus Christ's first coming a major part of everyday Christian living. Note what Paul has to say about the significance of God the Son's incarnation and its practical significance in the lives of God's people:
1. Confidence of Christian living is associated with Christ's first coming 1 Timothy 3:15
2. Christ's supernatural power is available because of His first coming 1 Timothy 3:16a
3. Christian mind is fed by the doctrines of His first coming 1 Timothy 3:16b
Practical, Supernatural and Doctrinal Christianity: The fruit, root and trunk of Christianity
The heart of this blogsite is centered around the premise that the Christian life operates upon three legs: practical living, supernatural living and doctrinal living. Think of Christian practice as the "fruit" of the Christian life, the supernatural power of Jesus Christ through His word as the "root", and the doctrine of scripture as the "trunk". Jesus for example tells us that you will know the true believer by the "fruit" or attitudes and actions that flow from their heart. (Matthew 7:21-23) When Paul writes these three verses, he is concerned with how his readers will "conduct themselves" as the household of faith. Most of what the Old Testament anticipated looked forward to His first coming. Likewise New Testament faith draws its life from the accomplishments of Jesus Christ in His first coming. The fruit of the faith-life is tied into the root of the supernatural truth: Christ's first coming.
The root of Christian faith is the supernatural God-man: Jesus Christ. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 3:16a: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness....". A mystery in the New Testament is something previously hidden that requires God's supernatural revelation. The event of God coming in human flesh via the virgin birth constitutes one of the four central miracles entailing the Person of Jesus Christ. The other three supernatural events involving Jesus, which make up the foundation of biblical Christianity, are His crucifixion, His resurrection and His ascension. This supernatural root connects to the fruit of our practical everyday lives by way of a "trunk", namely the doctrine of the Christian faith.
The doctrine described here by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:16b summarizes in "bullet-point" format the major events of Jesus' Christ's journey from his incarnation as God in human flesh, through His earthly life to his ascension. Without the trunk of doctrine, the link between the supernatural power of Jesus Christ and the practical living of the Christian faith would not be possible.
Note the Key Doctrines mentioned by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:16b:
1. The Incarnation = "God was manifest in the flesh"
2. The Virgin Birth = "justified in the Spirit"
3. Deity of Jesus Christ = "seen of angels"
4. Preaching and Missions = "preached unto the Gentiles"
5. Salvation by grace through faith = "believed on in the world"
6. His ascension = "received up into glory."
Conclusion
All of this stems from what was in Paul's heart as the Holy Spirit guided his pen, namely the significance of Christ's first coming. We know too that what Paul wrote was most likely an ancient Christian hymn sung by those first generation Christians - which means that the heart of Christmas - the Incarnation, shaped their everyday lives. Paul wrote what he wrote to urge his readers to focus everyday on what Christ accomplished in His first coming. You and I too need to keep these things in mind. Everyday needs to be Christmas - the excitement, the wonder and thrill of loving God in human flesh practically, supernaturally and doctrinally.
How the New Testament communicates Jesus Christ
Throughout the New Testament letters we find portions of scripture that refer back to the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. To familiarize the reader with how the New Testament communicates Jesus Christ, it is instructive to consider it as four major divisions:
1. The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) = Present Jesus Christ
2. Book of Acts = Preaches about Jesus Christ
3. The Epistles or Letters (21 in all) = Explain Jesus Christ
4. Book of Revelation = Prioritizes the Glory of Jesus Christ
Christmas truth ought to be celebrated every day by Christians
From the brief discussion above we can zero in on one of those passages in the New Testament letters that "explains" to us the significance of Jesus Christ's incarnation: 1 Timothy 3:14-16. This passage, though only three verses in length, gives us incredible reasons as to why we should make the truth of Jesus Christ's first coming a major part of everyday Christian living. Note what Paul has to say about the significance of God the Son's incarnation and its practical significance in the lives of God's people:
1. Confidence of Christian living is associated with Christ's first coming 1 Timothy 3:15
2. Christ's supernatural power is available because of His first coming 1 Timothy 3:16a
3. Christian mind is fed by the doctrines of His first coming 1 Timothy 3:16b
Practical, Supernatural and Doctrinal Christianity: The fruit, root and trunk of Christianity
The heart of this blogsite is centered around the premise that the Christian life operates upon three legs: practical living, supernatural living and doctrinal living. Think of Christian practice as the "fruit" of the Christian life, the supernatural power of Jesus Christ through His word as the "root", and the doctrine of scripture as the "trunk". Jesus for example tells us that you will know the true believer by the "fruit" or attitudes and actions that flow from their heart. (Matthew 7:21-23) When Paul writes these three verses, he is concerned with how his readers will "conduct themselves" as the household of faith. Most of what the Old Testament anticipated looked forward to His first coming. Likewise New Testament faith draws its life from the accomplishments of Jesus Christ in His first coming. The fruit of the faith-life is tied into the root of the supernatural truth: Christ's first coming.
The root of Christian faith is the supernatural God-man: Jesus Christ. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 3:16a: "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness....". A mystery in the New Testament is something previously hidden that requires God's supernatural revelation. The event of God coming in human flesh via the virgin birth constitutes one of the four central miracles entailing the Person of Jesus Christ. The other three supernatural events involving Jesus, which make up the foundation of biblical Christianity, are His crucifixion, His resurrection and His ascension. This supernatural root connects to the fruit of our practical everyday lives by way of a "trunk", namely the doctrine of the Christian faith.
The doctrine described here by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:16b summarizes in "bullet-point" format the major events of Jesus' Christ's journey from his incarnation as God in human flesh, through His earthly life to his ascension. Without the trunk of doctrine, the link between the supernatural power of Jesus Christ and the practical living of the Christian faith would not be possible.
Note the Key Doctrines mentioned by Paul in 1 Timothy 3:16b:
1. The Incarnation = "God was manifest in the flesh"
2. The Virgin Birth = "justified in the Spirit"
3. Deity of Jesus Christ = "seen of angels"
4. Preaching and Missions = "preached unto the Gentiles"
5. Salvation by grace through faith = "believed on in the world"
6. His ascension = "received up into glory."
Conclusion
All of this stems from what was in Paul's heart as the Holy Spirit guided his pen, namely the significance of Christ's first coming. We know too that what Paul wrote was most likely an ancient Christian hymn sung by those first generation Christians - which means that the heart of Christmas - the Incarnation, shaped their everyday lives. Paul wrote what he wrote to urge his readers to focus everyday on what Christ accomplished in His first coming. You and I too need to keep these things in mind. Everyday needs to be Christmas - the excitement, the wonder and thrill of loving God in human flesh practically, supernaturally and doctrinally.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Christmas in the Epistles - Galatians
Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman,
born under the Law, 5so that
He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption
as sons.
Galatians 4:1-6 represents one of the richest set of verses on Christmas you will find anywhere in the New Testament Epistles. As you explore the New Testament, you discover its design to be intentional:
1. The Gospels Present Christ
2. Acts Preaches about Christ
3. The Epistles Explain Christ
4. Revelation Portrays the Exalted Christ
With the Epistles as the main focus of this short blog series, we zero in today on Paul's letter to the Galatians to discover the true meaning of Christmas.
How the Bible centers upon the Person of Jesus Christ
More than any other New Testament Letter, the section here in Galatians makes the first coming of Jesus Christ as matter of timing. What is remarkable about Galatians 4:1-6 is how it is a mini-Bible in its own right:
1. The Old Testament Age: Genesis to Malachi - Galatians 4:1-3
Throughout the Old Testament the usage of pictures, patterns and people were used by God to point to the coming Person of the Son. The Old Testament in the New would be unfolded, since the New Testament in the Old was infolded.
2. The Gospels - Galatians 4:4
The fulness of time had arrived. Between Malachi and Matthew existed a span of 400 years. Timing was indeed everything. Politically the world saw the rise and fall of four major world empires: Babylon, Persia, The Greco/Macedonian Empire and the Empire of Rome, which was in power by the birth of Jesus. From the days of Alexander the Great in 333 b.c, the arising of the Greek Language as the primary trade language of the day would pave the way for the writing of the New Testament. With the rise of Rome to power and its program of "Pax Romana", the Roman Road system would come to snake its way throughout the Mediterranean world, making it possible for future missionary endeavors by the Apostles. All of these developments are just samples of how the "fulness of time" signalled the perfect timing of God the Son's coming to this world in human flesh.
3. Book of Acts and the remainder of the New Testament: Galatians 4:5-6
Galatians 4:5-6 reads - "so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God."
Though Galatians was Paul's first letter written, it signalled what would be one of the central themes of New Testament Christianity - namely how people are to be born again by faith and made to live as adopted sons of God. The arrival of the Holy Spirit in Acts pointed to the birth of the Church. In the nearly 20 sermons recorded in Acts, 10 of them center upon the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Overwhelmingly the Resurrection was the central doctrine of the early church.
However were it not for two other key doctrines: namely Christ's substituionary death on the cross and His incarnation, we would not have any Gospel message at all. By His incarnation as God in human flesh, the Gospel message is unreservedly exclusive in its claims of Jesus Christ being the only way to Heaven. If God's true nature is revealed exclusively through Jesus Christ, then no other religion can claim the revelatory character of Biblical Christianity. Furthermore, by His death on the cross, we see that apart from the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. It was the mission of the cross that would define the chief reason as to why He was virgin born. (Matthew 1:21,23)
Galatians 4:1-6 represents one of the richest set of verses on Christmas you will find anywhere in the New Testament Epistles. As you explore the New Testament, you discover its design to be intentional:
1. The Gospels Present Christ
2. Acts Preaches about Christ
3. The Epistles Explain Christ
4. Revelation Portrays the Exalted Christ
With the Epistles as the main focus of this short blog series, we zero in today on Paul's letter to the Galatians to discover the true meaning of Christmas.
How the Bible centers upon the Person of Jesus Christ
More than any other New Testament Letter, the section here in Galatians makes the first coming of Jesus Christ as matter of timing. What is remarkable about Galatians 4:1-6 is how it is a mini-Bible in its own right:
1. The Old Testament Age: Genesis to Malachi - Galatians 4:1-3
Throughout the Old Testament the usage of pictures, patterns and people were used by God to point to the coming Person of the Son. The Old Testament in the New would be unfolded, since the New Testament in the Old was infolded.
2. The Gospels - Galatians 4:4
The fulness of time had arrived. Between Malachi and Matthew existed a span of 400 years. Timing was indeed everything. Politically the world saw the rise and fall of four major world empires: Babylon, Persia, The Greco/Macedonian Empire and the Empire of Rome, which was in power by the birth of Jesus. From the days of Alexander the Great in 333 b.c, the arising of the Greek Language as the primary trade language of the day would pave the way for the writing of the New Testament. With the rise of Rome to power and its program of "Pax Romana", the Roman Road system would come to snake its way throughout the Mediterranean world, making it possible for future missionary endeavors by the Apostles. All of these developments are just samples of how the "fulness of time" signalled the perfect timing of God the Son's coming to this world in human flesh.
3. Book of Acts and the remainder of the New Testament: Galatians 4:5-6
Galatians 4:5-6 reads - "so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God."
Though Galatians was Paul's first letter written, it signalled what would be one of the central themes of New Testament Christianity - namely how people are to be born again by faith and made to live as adopted sons of God. The arrival of the Holy Spirit in Acts pointed to the birth of the Church. In the nearly 20 sermons recorded in Acts, 10 of them center upon the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Overwhelmingly the Resurrection was the central doctrine of the early church.
However were it not for two other key doctrines: namely Christ's substituionary death on the cross and His incarnation, we would not have any Gospel message at all. By His incarnation as God in human flesh, the Gospel message is unreservedly exclusive in its claims of Jesus Christ being the only way to Heaven. If God's true nature is revealed exclusively through Jesus Christ, then no other religion can claim the revelatory character of Biblical Christianity. Furthermore, by His death on the cross, we see that apart from the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. It was the mission of the cross that would define the chief reason as to why He was virgin born. (Matthew 1:21,23)
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Christmas in the Epistles - 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 15:47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.
As we continue on in our study of Christmas in the Epistles, we discover ever more the glorious ways in which the Epistles explain the significance of Christmas truth. Yesterday in Romans we saw how Jesus Christ came as the seed and offspring of David. Romans reveals Christ as fully God who came to take unto Himself a fully human nature. In today's blog we will look at 1 Corinthians to discover another vital truth of Christ's incarnation: how He came to be the "New Adam"
The First Adam and The Second Adam
The Greek of the above verse really aims to precisely explain to us the comparison between the first man (Adam) and the second man (Jesus Christ). Quite literally the first man came "out from within" the earth. According to Genesis 1:26-28 and 2:7, God fashioned the first man from the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils and he became a living soul. The second Adam, Jesus Christ, is the man who came "out from within Heaven" - meaning that He as God came from heaven, entered into Mary's womb, and had his humanity formed miraculously by the Holy Spirit who conceived it inside her virgin womb. (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:35) All over the New Testament we find Jesus Christ and Adam compared and contrasted. (Romans 5:11-21 and here in 1 Corinthians 15:47-49) History is determined by two men: Adam and Christ.
The connection made between Christ's miraculous birth and the Christian's new birth
Christ's virgin birth was one of the fundamental miracles that would come to define biblical faith. Without it, prophecies such as Isaiah 7:14 would had been proven false and the doctrines of Christ's sinlessness and fitness to be the sinner's substitute would had been nullified.
The Christian's entry into salvation is defined as being "born-again" or the "New birth" (John 3:3; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23) The salvation of sinners is a miracle that supplies Grace to the sinner who believes to be saved. Both the new birth and the faith and repentance of human beings are logically connected but in reality simultaneous. It is this Divine work of the New Birth that functions as the beginning point of salvation, includes faith and repentance and results in the salvation of the soul.
Paul seems to connect both here in 1 Corinthians 15:48-49 "As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 49Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly."
Though the virgin birth of Jesus in his humanity is a different miracle than the New Birth unto salvation, there are some striking parallels.
1. Both are wrought by the Holy Spirit of God. (Matthew 1:20 and 1 Peter 1:23)
2. Both are miraculous and bring about new life.
3. The Virgin birth enabled the Person of God the Son to partake of humanity and have something in common with those He came to redeem. (Hebrews 2:14ff) Conversely, The New Birth brings sinful human beings who believe into having something in common with Christ's humanity. (Romans 6:4-11)
How the Christmas truth of Christ's first coming connects you to other truths pertinent to your Christian identity in Jesus Christ
Quite literally, as a Christian, I can say that I had a miraculous birth just as my Savior, touching His humanity, experienced The Miraculous birth. Truly the Holy Spirit was the chief agent of the virgin birth, uniting fully humanity to the person of God the Son. (Matthew 1:20, 23, Luke 1:35) Likewise the Holy Spirit unites all whom he convicts and who believe on Jesus into the living experience and Person of Jesus Himself. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) Consider briefly how we are united to Jesus Christ:
1. He had a miraculous birth, as a Christian, I too have a miraculous birth (1 Corinthians 15:47-49)
2. He lived a life of overcoming temptation. The Holy Spirit credits me with His life, and I too have a power base from which to conquer sin in my life. (Romans 6:4-11; 8:1-14)
3. He was crucified. I am to reckon myself daily dead to the power of sin in my life, to the world's influence tugging on my soul and the temptations of the evil one, for I too have been crucified with Jesus. (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:4-5, 12; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). I must remind myself by scripture who I am and Whose I am in Jesus.
4. He was buried. So was I. My former life is no more. I testified of this fact by following through in obedience by believer's baptism, which pictures me having buried my former identity in a watery grave and being raised to walk forth in newness of life. (Romans 6:4-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 2:11-12)
5. He was raised from the dead. As Christian, I too can claim a resurrection in my spirit that occured at the moment of saving faith. I am a new creation in Jesus Christ, having been quickened by the resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead. I look forwar dto the day when my physical body will be transformed into a glorified resurrection body like His (Romans 6:4-11; 1 Peter 1:3, 23; 1 John 3:1-3)
6. He ascended and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. As a Christian, I too was positionally seated with Him in the heavenly realms by grace through faith. (Ephsians 2:6-10)
As we close out today's blog, I'm reminded of the lyircs of a more recent Christian song: "He came from Heaven to earth, to show the way. From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay. From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky, Lord I lift your name on high."
As we continue on in our study of Christmas in the Epistles, we discover ever more the glorious ways in which the Epistles explain the significance of Christmas truth. Yesterday in Romans we saw how Jesus Christ came as the seed and offspring of David. Romans reveals Christ as fully God who came to take unto Himself a fully human nature. In today's blog we will look at 1 Corinthians to discover another vital truth of Christ's incarnation: how He came to be the "New Adam"
The First Adam and The Second Adam
The Greek of the above verse really aims to precisely explain to us the comparison between the first man (Adam) and the second man (Jesus Christ). Quite literally the first man came "out from within" the earth. According to Genesis 1:26-28 and 2:7, God fashioned the first man from the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils and he became a living soul. The second Adam, Jesus Christ, is the man who came "out from within Heaven" - meaning that He as God came from heaven, entered into Mary's womb, and had his humanity formed miraculously by the Holy Spirit who conceived it inside her virgin womb. (Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:35) All over the New Testament we find Jesus Christ and Adam compared and contrasted. (Romans 5:11-21 and here in 1 Corinthians 15:47-49) History is determined by two men: Adam and Christ.
The connection made between Christ's miraculous birth and the Christian's new birth
Christ's virgin birth was one of the fundamental miracles that would come to define biblical faith. Without it, prophecies such as Isaiah 7:14 would had been proven false and the doctrines of Christ's sinlessness and fitness to be the sinner's substitute would had been nullified.
The Christian's entry into salvation is defined as being "born-again" or the "New birth" (John 3:3; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23) The salvation of sinners is a miracle that supplies Grace to the sinner who believes to be saved. Both the new birth and the faith and repentance of human beings are logically connected but in reality simultaneous. It is this Divine work of the New Birth that functions as the beginning point of salvation, includes faith and repentance and results in the salvation of the soul.
Paul seems to connect both here in 1 Corinthians 15:48-49 "As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 49Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly."
Though the virgin birth of Jesus in his humanity is a different miracle than the New Birth unto salvation, there are some striking parallels.
1. Both are wrought by the Holy Spirit of God. (Matthew 1:20 and 1 Peter 1:23)
2. Both are miraculous and bring about new life.
3. The Virgin birth enabled the Person of God the Son to partake of humanity and have something in common with those He came to redeem. (Hebrews 2:14ff) Conversely, The New Birth brings sinful human beings who believe into having something in common with Christ's humanity. (Romans 6:4-11)
How the Christmas truth of Christ's first coming connects you to other truths pertinent to your Christian identity in Jesus Christ
Quite literally, as a Christian, I can say that I had a miraculous birth just as my Savior, touching His humanity, experienced The Miraculous birth. Truly the Holy Spirit was the chief agent of the virgin birth, uniting fully humanity to the person of God the Son. (Matthew 1:20, 23, Luke 1:35) Likewise the Holy Spirit unites all whom he convicts and who believe on Jesus into the living experience and Person of Jesus Himself. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) Consider briefly how we are united to Jesus Christ:
1. He had a miraculous birth, as a Christian, I too have a miraculous birth (1 Corinthians 15:47-49)
2. He lived a life of overcoming temptation. The Holy Spirit credits me with His life, and I too have a power base from which to conquer sin in my life. (Romans 6:4-11; 8:1-14)
3. He was crucified. I am to reckon myself daily dead to the power of sin in my life, to the world's influence tugging on my soul and the temptations of the evil one, for I too have been crucified with Jesus. (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:4-5, 12; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). I must remind myself by scripture who I am and Whose I am in Jesus.
4. He was buried. So was I. My former life is no more. I testified of this fact by following through in obedience by believer's baptism, which pictures me having buried my former identity in a watery grave and being raised to walk forth in newness of life. (Romans 6:4-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 2:11-12)
5. He was raised from the dead. As Christian, I too can claim a resurrection in my spirit that occured at the moment of saving faith. I am a new creation in Jesus Christ, having been quickened by the resurrection power that raised Jesus from the dead. I look forwar dto the day when my physical body will be transformed into a glorified resurrection body like His (Romans 6:4-11; 1 Peter 1:3, 23; 1 John 3:1-3)
6. He ascended and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. As a Christian, I too was positionally seated with Him in the heavenly realms by grace through faith. (Ephsians 2:6-10)
As we close out today's blog, I'm reminded of the lyircs of a more recent Christian song: "He came from Heaven to earth, to show the way. From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay. From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky, Lord I lift your name on high."
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