Faith Baptist Church
4258 Botetourt Road
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
(540) 473-2325
How do we explain the Christmas story? How can it be that God came down to man in the form of a baby boy, born to a virgin, in a small obscure village?
One writer says this event was one of the seven greatest events in the history of the universe. It ranks up there with the creation of the angels, and the creation of the world, not to leave out Christ’s death, burial and his resurrection, and the creation of the new heavens and the new earth.
God, the Son, would be visiting mankind personally, so personally that he shook off the garments of his heavenly glory, and allowed himself to be implanted into the womb of the virgin Mary, by the Holy Spirit, Lk.1:26-35.
The noun virgin is from the Greek word, Parthenos. The general term stresses purity both spiritually and physically. Mary was a young lady espoused to Joseph, yet not married and not guilty of fornication or adultery. She was pure in the strictest sense.
Jesus Christ was not born of a human father, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, thus He had no sin nature, Rom.5:12; he was and is Divine.
The divine essence Jesus Christ maintained never wavered when taking on his humanity.
He was forever holy, even in his physical creation as the God-Man, Lk.1:35.
And because of this He could not sin because he never stopped being God.
He was born of a human mother, thus he did have his humanity. He came out of glory and into shame. He left the supernatural to enter the natural. He slipped away from eternity, and experienced time, at least for a short while. He left the comforts and glory of heaven for the conditions and grave of the earth.
He was coming to fulfill a Divine mission, to do the Father’s will, Jn.6:40, read
By becoming a man Christ forever altered his eternal make up. Before becoming a man, he was purely God and God alone. Paul said of our Lord “For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” Col.2:9. He had never stooped so low, nor suffered in such a way as that of being a man. He had never experienced the feelings man has as expressed in a physical body.
Though he had no sin like the rest of us, he still experienced what it felt like to feel the wind on his face, and the taste of food on his lips.
He heard sounds though human ears. He tasted his own human tears when in sorrow for others. He experienced the wrath of mankind. He would no longer just see from afar the misery mankind felt, nor the slights and insults hurled at fellow human beings. He would be here on earth to receive the ultimate in human hatred, and humiliation, Isa.50:6, “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” This was fulfilled in Matt.26:67 at Christ’s trial.
No hand could have smitten Him while out there lights years away, but here on earth he made vulnerable his body and soul to the vileness and anger of mankind.
You have to remember, before His incarnation, which was his first appearance to mankind in Bethlehem that throughout all eternity past he knew this was going to happen. He knew what he was getting into by choosing to be the sin bearer of mankind.
I Pet.1:18-20 tells us this was foreordained before the foundation of the world.
Yet he would have to experience this later through his human life. But first he was a little baby boy, just as innocent at birth as he was at the day of his death. This cannot be said for us can it?
We turn our attention back to Lk.1:31-35. This passage is rejected by so many scoffers; yet just as the poor we will have with us always, so shall there be scoffers among us always.
In this very passage we see God, the Holy Spirit, creating the physical material of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and implanting it into the womb of the Virgin Mary.
From Heb.10:5 “Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:”
The verb prepared is the Greek word, katertiso, from the compound root word kata and artizo, to knit together, to unite completely.
The overshadowing of the Holy Spirit pictures the figure of a shining cloud coming upon her. This same word is used in Matt.17:5 where in Christ’s transfiguration he is seen in his future historic glory; there we find this same holy overshadowing; this Shekinah glory as the Greek scholar, A.T. Robertson notes.
Undiminished Deity traveled faster the speed of light out of heaven to earth; that is faster than 186,000 miles per second. When God plans for something to happen, it is going to happen. In an instant the world forever changed. In an instant Light pierced the darkness. Changes are slow sometimes, but not always. You will face changes and those changes reflect a new reality to you. God ordains changes to bring about His purposes. You may not understand everything about your new set of circumstances, but you can be assured God understands. Jesus Christ accepted this change in his life because he was always willing to do the will of the Father. He has always held the position of, Executor -Servant of the Divine Plan, in the Holy Trinity, yet he received such honor for his obedience to his calling. If you are willing to do the will of the Father, just as Jesus Christ did, you too will find yourself fulfilling your place in the providential will of God, and thus fulfilling your portion of the Great Divine Plan.
We should note here, that providence is recognized during changing circumstances, and with humility we see the hand of God at work, subsequently our life is altered for the good and history is forever changed, even if just for a bit. During these changes we are faced with our fears. Our spiritual maturity is tested and given opportunity to expand. To fail to accept obvious changes is a failure to accept the providence of God, and a failure thus to live in the reality ordained by God. Great changes in circumstances happened to our Lord, but these changes did not alter his character.
The Holy Spirit came to generate God’s gift of love to earth that day. Before this time, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit held the same immaterial likeness.
Now Christ Jesus would be, forever, distinct from the Father and the Holy Spirit. He would be more like us, with the promise that we could be more like Him.
Jesus Christ is God’s greatest gift to humanity. I pray that you have received Him as your Savior; as your Redeemer. Christmas is a wonderful time of year because Salvation came in a form that gives hope for more than just a better new year, but for a brighter future.
Jesus Christ is God’s eternal gift to mankind. I trust you have accepted this Gift. If not, will you do so this day? Rom.10:9-10 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”