We could approach it from the standpoint of the innkeeper. 2.Apollinarianism . What chaos and what confusion. But let’s break that down a little bit and see the component parts. You and I need a Savior. How selfless was He? Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Quite a number of you are going to be spending quite a bit of time on this aspect of your Christmas celebrations, and so—as Christians who seek to bring every aspect of our lives into submission to the Word—how should we think about Christmas presents? Yes. That’s what they did with babies. In fact, Hebrews tells us in chapter 1 and verse 3 that God exalted Him to heaven, and He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. This is important for us to be reminded of. Dr. Steve Horn . It’s code to the father that “You have just reached the end of your usefulness.” Of course, He cried, but it wasn’t a sinful cry. He prays in the garden as He begins to feel the cross coming on Him, and He knows on that cross, He’s going to bear the weight of all the sins of all the people who would ever believe throughout all of human history. He associated with sinful people. We could approach it from the standpoint of the Old Testament prophets, we could approach it from the standpoint of Mary or Joseph, we could approach it from the standpoint of the angels or the shepherds or even the wise men who came later. He became human. You find it when the … There was no mistaking about that because that’s precisely what He was doing. Maybe God could have designed that redemption be accomplished by angels. The Heavenly Father announced to Mary that she was chosen to be the Mother of God’s only Begotten Son. Born in an insignificant manger in an insignificant inn, really in an insignificant village, raised in a humble cottage, a lowly mother, a tradesman father. He was fully human and would be seen as fully human. 13–14). To put it mildly, Christmas is a little bit confusing to the watching world, I’m pretty sure. So let’s look at it both ways. Here’s that word morphē again. After all, it was angels that brought the law, maybe it could be angels that brought salvation. So did He. But I want you to look at it from the view past the event that is given to us by the beloved apostle Paul. So we begin, then, with the fact that Christ Jesus, as to being, is eternal God. Morphē describes the attributes, the inside, what is true of a person by nature or by attribute, characteristic. You ask that question, “How can Jesus in a few hours absorb all the necessary punishment for all the sins of all the people who will ever believe in the history of the world and absorb it in a few hours when it takes eternal hell and still the sins of sinners who are there are not going to go be paid?” The wrath of God was beyond comprehension. I do what pleases my Father.”. Nobody knew who He was and there He was as a little boy, and His father had probably taught Him how to make a yoke for the oxen, for the local farmer. Every tongue will confess Jesus as Lord. And this amazing statement captures His essential nature. And it repeats it in verse 8. He is fully God and fully man. And even when He embarked upon His ministry, nobody knew who He was. Yes. He became obedient, even to the death of the cross. I wish we could dig deeper, but that would take weeks and weeks and weeks to do. All we need to do is confess and forsake our sin, He does the rest. He will eventually be the King of kings and the King of Israel, but for this occasion in His incarnation, He came to be a slave. Was He thirsty? How to Obtain Help from Jesus (Matthew 15:21-28). Did He go to bed at night and sleep? He didn’t come from being the king of heaven to being a king of earth or a king of Israel. It’s hard to do. My intention today is to be straightforward and just tell the real story of the birth of Christ and have you make no mistake about its genuine significance. The above powerpoint presentation offers a unique theological perspective on Christmas and is useful for sermon, small group or sunday school discussions. “He is the image of the invisible God.” That is to say, He is a direct representation, a direct reflection of the invisible and eternal God. I never really get over that. He looked like a man. We begin to get to the depth of His slavery in verse 7. He’s not half God, half man. So on the one hand, it wasn’t something He had to snatch because it didn’t belong to Him. So had He. It is the responsibility of all of the music and all these other activities to help us keep our focus on Christmas and not get it on the peripheral matters, the secondary matters, but on the birth of … Enter your email address and we will send you instructions on how to reset your password. Don’t think for a minute that the people in hell don’t know Jesus is Lord. People want money and so they do what they’re responsible to do. While Christmas is so familiar that we sometimes wonder whether anything fresh and true can be said about it, there is a way to explore its meaning that may seem new to us today, yet is in fact quite traditional, dating back to the Middle Ages and the ancient Fathers of the Church. I only do what I see the Father do. He had an undergarment, and that’s the way everybody looked in that day. That’s not the name above every name. And even when He spoke, He spoke with a man’s voice. Christmas can only be understood theologically as the singular divine event that it was if we recognize that the eternal and infinite God intervened and took action to intersect with man in space/time human history in order to invest Himself in a human creature for the purpose of assuming the consequences of sin and restoring humanity to its divinely intended function. He was shamed. He didn’t have a robe that never got dirty or feet that never needed to be washed. Under the earth, that would be those that are in hell. It’s not the name Jesus, that’s an earthly name. He is God, impoverishing Himself, beggaring Himself, exposing Himself to evil’s spite, never sparing Himself until He makes it all the way to a cross on Jerusalem’s hill, and that cross becomes the sum and the sign of His utter selfless humiliation, and He did it for us. Here’s the word schēma. In Christ’s name. I think our story package explores the deeper theology of Christmas: not the nativity but the Incarnation. After All, God Greatly Blessed Him, And Made Him The Father Of The Nation Israel. “To put it mildly, Christmas is a little bit confusing to the watching world, I’m pretty sure. He said, “I only do what the Father tells me to do. So again I say, it’s the theology of Christmas, it tells us what happened from the divine side of the story. “In the beginning,” writes John, “was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” That is unalterable, that is unchangeable. Christmas is a great time of the year to spend with family and friends! A lesser person will use his privileges to separate him from other people, to elevate himself. Jesus was sending His disciples out on a preaching mission, telling them to stay away from the Gentiles and Samaritans for the present (v. 5). And this representative of Episcopalianism wrote this. It’s talking about absolute equality and fullness. So had He. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. That doesn’t give you any indication of character. It describes that part of a person which we all understand, His very being. “Santa Claus is God the Son. If we humble ourselves, you will one day exalt us. Homo, the same - the same as humanity, a real man, true man, a hundred percent human as a hundred percent God. So did He, born to Joseph and Mary. The music rings in our ears, music which exalts Christ, which offers praise to you for this unspeakable gift. So willing that verse 7 says, “He emptied Himself” - He emptied Himself. And according to Isaiah chapter 14, he said, “I will be like the Most High. And so He takes on not just the masquerade as a slave, not just a superficial costume, not just the garments of a slave, He takes on the very attributes, the very characteristics of a slave. He is God, putting on a king’s robe, and then taking it off and taking up beggar’s rags. Maybe He could have been the slave of God, obeying God like an angel obeys God, and the holy angels are the slaves of God, they obey God. He is a slave. This is the mystery of the incarnation. The above powerpoint presentation offers a unique theological perspective on Christmas and is useful for sermon, small group or sunday school discussions. Schēma simply means the external - the external. But He veiled His glory when He came into this world. He literally becomes a slave, a slave of God and a slave of sinners, if you will. Number one, He abandoned a sovereign position - He abandoned a sovereign position. Scripture says that Jesus is the son of God and that is theology enough for me. He is God with us. Of course, He was hungry. Text-Featuring a sermon is a less expensive way to bring this sermon to the attention of thousands on the right bar with optional newsletter inclusion. I will be like the Most High.” What did he want? You couldn’t tell by looking at Him. The Jesus of Scripture is not some kind of ghost-like figure as in Docetism. Since the UK is now no longer a member of the EU, you may be charged an import tax on this item by the customs authorities in your country of residence, which is beyond our control. 7:14 (Matt. You were accursed. ‘You better watch out, you better not pout, Santa Claus is coming to town, he knows whether you’ve been bad or good, he slips into the secrets of the heart as easily as he slips down the chimney.’ Santa Claus is God the Father, the creator of heaven and earth, in whose hand is a pack bursting at its seams with the gifts of His creation. He was beaten. The Greek verb means to pour out until it’s all gone, to pour out until it’s all gone. And even though He said things no one ever heard, they still didn’t believe He was God, and even though He wielded power that raised the dead and cast out demons and healed diseases and fed multitudes out of food created by His very words, they still weren’t sure He was God. Maybe He could have provided redemption by becoming an angel. But that was not enough to satisfy him. TTP Instructors are Michael Patton, Th.M. He’s going to bear an infinite amount of sin in a few hours. "Song of the Angels," by Adolphe-William Bouguereau, 1881. Absolute, total submission to the will of another. from Dallas Theological Seminary and an ordination from Stonebriar Community Church. Receive the salvation He offers, and you’ll go on doing that forever. He takes on the attributes, takes on the characteristics of a slave. The liturgies of Christmas offer a formidable liturgical theology to the attentive observer. As to form, He possesses all the attributes, all the characteristics that belong to God. God now highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name - the name which is above every name so that at that name which is given to Jesus, every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Father, we thank you again for your Word. There’s a final point. If you give somebody responsibilities, they will do them if you pay them. Second Corinthians 8:9 says He was rich, but for our sakes He became poor. Santa Claus deserves not just any place in the church but the highest place of honor, where he should be enthroned as the long bearded ancient of days, the divine and holy one whom we call God.”. A noble person will somehow take those privileges and spend them on other people. In fact, for 30 years, He plied His trade in the little village of Nazareth, working in a family business with His father who was a carpenter. Christmas is also the celebration of Immanuel, which means “God with us.”. He came down, but He didn’t just humble Himself to come into this world and humble Himself to work in a carpenter’s shop, He humbled Himself all the way to death, and the worst possible death, the excruciating death on the cross. In His case, it was the will of His Father that He gladly submitted to. This paragraph really, in some ways, stands in unapproachable majesty. Schleiermacher’s Theology of Christmas. Just exactly of what did He empty Himself? Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource. Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done.” And He even says, “For this I was born, to go to the cross and die.” He humbled Himself. This, of course, is what the Old Testament promises. Secondly, you can interpret it this way, that having equality with God was not something He clung to. The name above every name is Lord. The theology of Christmas also means we have a Savior who understands us. If you make it now, you will joyfully make it forever, and He will exalt you to His own throne, and you will be a joint heir and share in all His heavenly riches. He washed the feet of the twelve, and He is the one at whose feet all the angels of heaven bow. That’s the concept of morphē.Paul even says, “I want to gain Christ. It covers issus like: Early Christmas heterodoxies: 1.Docetism . “Santa Claus indeed deserves the exalted and enthroned place in the church for he is God the Son, God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit. His father probably taught Him how to make a chair for somebody, a table for somebody else. The Theology of Christmas (1 of 4) Series: Christmas Jerry Vines Galatians 4:4-5 All of these activities we have in the month of December are intended to focus our attention on Christmas, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s the name Lord. Was He ever grieved? And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. Registered User He came all the way down to being made in the likeness of men. Paul said, “Have this mind in you which was in Christ Jesus.” May we as those who know Christ and love Christ humble ourselves to do your will, no matter what it costs, knowing that to those who obey there will be an exaltation. This is one of the pure jewels in the New Testament, its beauties, its depths are beyond human comprehension, and yet to understand it is necessary - at least to the degree that is possible by the aid of the blessed Holy Spirit. If Christ had not assumed a human nature, he could not have redeemed Adam’s fallen descendents. We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel! Did they have brothers and sisters, these human beings? The last partner in this conversation is David Forbes’s And he comes in the night to sow the seeds of good humor. The Sovereignty of God. This is what’s called the Incarnation and is captured by the manger scene where the wonder and worship of God is all directed towards a tiny little baby. - Luke 2:8–20. Galatians 4:4-5; The Book of Ruth. Such teaching is embedded in the gospels and in … We thank you for the truth concerning our Savior. Please be aware that these items are sent out from our office in the UK. That is why we’re instructed in the gospel of Matthew that His name was to be Emanuel, which in Hebrew means “God with us,” El being the name or the word for God. He wanted equality with God. Related Media. Mary and Joseph and North Pole elves - kind of hard to look through this and see the reality. It covers issus like: Orthodox Definition of the Hypostatic Union. Evan: Christmas is maybe the most central Christian celebration. He came down as a slave. Play! Tried to seize it and he was instantly cast out of heaven and turned in to the devil and Satan. Willingness to do that, even on a human level, of course, is a very, very difficult thing. Jesus didn’t walk around, by the way, with a halo on His head. He, verse 8, tells us that this likeness to men was not only true on the inside, He was truly human, but it was manifest on the outside. He even gave up the independent exercise of His own will. We could approach it from the standpoint of Herod, who had a lot at stake in his own mind. That’s why I say, He approached a sinful people. He looked like everybody else looked. And we know that unfolds in the New Testament. "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. This word - this word is the word for the exterior, the outer manifestation. Raised from the dead, lifted to the right hand of God, restored to full glory, full honor, full privilege, full expression of attributes, full use of His own independent will. Did they learn a trade? Well, the New Testament lays it out for us. The dark night wakes, the glory breaks, and Christmas comes once more. And the more privileges you give them, the more they will reveal their character. Grace to You. I never really get over that. I even saw him in his car on the freeway the other day. Of course, He went to bed at night and slept. He dressed like people dressed, He put His sandals on, He put His robe on. Now back to verse 6. Nobody knew that He was God by looking at Him. Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus The selflessness shows up in the garden when He says, “Father, let this cup pass from me. So open your Bible to Philippians chapter 2 - Philippians chapter 2. He’s not done. He was God, He is God, He will always be God. He gave up His honor, gave up His riches. Someone wrote, “Still, O soul, the sign and wonder of all ages see, Christ your God, the Lord of glory, on the cross for me.” That’s the marvelous reality. The Theology of Christmas:. It was not something He needed to seize. Was He hungry? Better to confess it now and go on confessing it forever in heaven than to go on confessing it in bitterness and remorse forever in hell. The Theology Program is copyrighted and published by Reclaim... More. Had they come into this world through the natural process of a mother’s womb? What name is that? But not in the plan of God. I want to be conformed to His death.” Literally, “I want to become like Him. That would be those that are there. It can mean to seize something, to snatch something, to take hold of it and pull it away, or it can mean to hang onto something, to cling to something, to clutch something. For the most part, these carols, when listened to for their content, help us remember a biblical worldview perspective of this popular holiday. Year after year, I’m struck by the paradoxes of Christmas, the strange juxtaposition of Christianity and a kind of carnival mentality, the humility and poverty of the stable confused with the wealth and indulgence of selfishness and gift giving, the quietness of Bethlehem with the din of the shopping mall, the seriousness of the incarnation with the silliness of the party spirit and party attitude, the blinking colored lights juxtaposed with the star of heaven. O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin, and enter in, be born in us today. I’ve seen him in the toy store. He set His glory aside and gave up His honor. Accordingly, we have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions in order to comply with GDPR. Being denotes the person’s essential nature, essence, that which is inalienably, unchangeably true about Him, that He possesses this nature as God. It’s a deep mystery of wisdom and power, but it’s true. And so it goes and you’re familiar with all of that.

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