Thursday, 25 December 2014
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:14
On 25 December of each year, we remember the birth of the Lord Jesus. Actually the Bible pinpoints the delivery of His birth to the September/October time-frame, but backing that up for the nine months of human gestation, we arrive at the 25 December time-frame. The most astonishing moment in human history occurred on this day. God united with human flesh in the womb of a virgin of Israel; it is His birthday.
Christ Jesus was born in sinless perfection. All other human beings who have ever existed since the creation of man were born of Adam. When Adam fell, man fell in Adam. All people have received Adam’s fallen sin-nature. It is inherited through the father. But at the time of Abraham, God gave the Hebrew people the sign of circumcision. It is a picture of cutting away the sin-nature in man through the cutting of the flesh of the male organ where sin is transferred. Christ Jesus came and fulfilled that picture.
Being born of God the Father, He didn’t receive man’s fallen state; inherited sin is cut off in Him. And being born of a woman, he received full-humanity. Thus He is the God/Man. But there is more. He was born of a woman of Israel and thus born under the law; God’s standard. As He was born without sin, He was the first person since Adam who was capable of fully pleasing God and thus redeeming man. However, He needed to fulfill the law perfectly in order to replace Adam’s fallen state. He was capable, but could He also qualify?
The answer is, “Yes!” The four gospels are recorded to show us that not only was He capable of fulfilling the law, but that He actually did fulfill the law. Where Adam failed, Christ prevailed. After fulfilling the law, He gave His own life in exchange for the sins of fallen man – both inherited sin as well as committed sin.
Where we were born in Adam and destined for eternal separation from God, we can now be “in Christ” and destined for eternal fellowship with Him. In Christ, all that is needed for restoration, propitiation, and fellowship with our Creator is obtainable. And it is available through a mere act of faith.
God asks us to put aside our useless deeds which are ineffective to restore us to Him, and to put our full trust in the work of Christ alone. By faith, and by faith alone, we are moved from Adam to Christ. It is by grace you are saved, God’s grace, through faith in God’s provision. It is not by works where we can boast before God, but instead it is by His mighty right arm that together the redeemed of the Lord will for eternal ages proclaim –
“Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Hallelujah to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Hallelujah to Yeshua the Messiah of the Jews; to Jesus the Christ of the nations! Hallelujah to our glorious King. Hallelujah! Christ has come!
Life application: Never stop telling others about the Lord Jesus. He is the one and only way to be reconciled to God the Father. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.
Heavenly Father, today we celebrate the moment You came and united with human flesh in order to save us from our sins. We thank You and we praise You for the marvel, the splendor, and the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ – fully God and fully Man. He can stretch His infinite arm out to You for us, and He can stretch His finite arm out to us for You. And thus, through Him, the path to eternal righteousness is restored. Hallelujah to Yeshua the Messiah of the Jews; to Jesus the Christ of the nations! Hallelujah to our glorious King. Hallelujah! Christ has come! Hallelujah and Amen!