Post by Don Gieseke on Dec 23, 2018 7:41:04 GMT -6
The essence of Christmas can be found in Matthew 1:23, which is a quote from Isaiah 7:14. It reads, “‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’” What we find in Christmas is God with us.
The theological term for it is the incarnation or the in-flesh-ness of God. At the heart of the holiday is the good news that God became a man. To simply worship Christ as a great person, a great prophet or a great leader is to devalue or insult Him. He is all those things but so much more. He is God who became man. In one of the greatest miracles ever, He entered into human flesh and became like us in order to bring us back to Him.
Think about the stories of Jesus in the gospels.
• One moment, He’s hungry because He’s a man. The next moment, He feeds 5,000 people, because He’s God.
• One moment, He’s thirsty because He’s a man. The next moment, He’s walking on water because He’s God.
• One moment, He’s weary because He’s a man. The next moment, He says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest”
(Matthew 11:28), because He’s God.
And keep in mind, He isn’t just 50% God and 50% man. He is the God-man; 100% God and 100% man in one person. That is the glory of the incarnation.
So, as you celebrate the holidays this year, don’t let the story of the God-man get buried under the presents and the wrapping paper. Make sure you declare the glory of the virgin-born Lord, Jesus Christ, the source of hope for all humanity and the true meaning of Christmas.
For His kingdom,
Tony Evans
The theological term for it is the incarnation or the in-flesh-ness of God. At the heart of the holiday is the good news that God became a man. To simply worship Christ as a great person, a great prophet or a great leader is to devalue or insult Him. He is all those things but so much more. He is God who became man. In one of the greatest miracles ever, He entered into human flesh and became like us in order to bring us back to Him.
Think about the stories of Jesus in the gospels.
• One moment, He’s hungry because He’s a man. The next moment, He feeds 5,000 people, because He’s God.
• One moment, He’s thirsty because He’s a man. The next moment, He’s walking on water because He’s God.
• One moment, He’s weary because He’s a man. The next moment, He says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest”
(Matthew 11:28), because He’s God.
And keep in mind, He isn’t just 50% God and 50% man. He is the God-man; 100% God and 100% man in one person. That is the glory of the incarnation.
So, as you celebrate the holidays this year, don’t let the story of the God-man get buried under the presents and the wrapping paper. Make sure you declare the glory of the virgin-born Lord, Jesus Christ, the source of hope for all humanity and the true meaning of Christmas.
For His kingdom,
Tony Evans