Glory to God in the Highest

“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“’Glory to God in the highest,

    and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’

“When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’ And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” (Luke 2:8-20 ESV)

Jesus Christ is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is Israel, and all who believe in him are Israel, the Israel of God, the body of Christ. And he was with the physical nation of Israel when they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. He was the spiritual Rock that followed them from whom they drank spiritually. Yet many of them were guilty of putting Christ to the test and they did not enter into God’s eternal rest (1 Corinthians 10:1-11). 

So Jesus Christ did not just come into being when he was born as a baby to a human mother, conceived of the Holy Spirit. He is God, and he always existed with God, and he is our creator God who left his throne in heaven, and humbled himself, and came down to the earth, and willingly submitted himself to take on human form. So why did he do that? He did that so that one day he would die on a cross as our sacrificial lamb to take away the sins of the world so that we could be delivered from sin and now live for him.

So when Jesus lived on this earth he was both fully human and fully God (God incarnate, in the flesh), but without sin. He was not born with a sin nature as the rest of us because he was conceived of the Holy Spirit and not of man. And during his time of ministry on the earth he performed many miracles in the sight of the people, delivering them from demons, bringing the dead back to life, and healing the sick and afflicted. And he preached repentance and obedience to him as necessary for life eternal with God.

For Jesus came to this earth to be the Savior of mankind, to deliver us out of our bondage (addiction, slavery) to sin so that we will now live holy lives pleasing to our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands, by the grace of God, via God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in our Lord which is not of our own doing, but which originates with God and is also defined by God and not by us humans. So we don’t get to decide what this faith looks like. God does. And so we need to know what the Scriptures teach in full context.

And what was the gospel message that Jesus taught? It was that we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in walks of surrender and in obedience to his commands, then we have life in him. And if this is where we remain, steadfast in faith, then when Jesus returns, he will take us to be with him for eternity.

For Jesus Christ did not come to this earth just to be born as a baby and then to do “good deeds” during his lifetime on the earth. And he did not die on that cross just to forgive us our sins so that we will go to heaven when we die one day. He came to deliver us out of our addiction to sin so that we will now serve him the rest of our days in obedience to his commands and to his callings upon each of our lives individually. He is now to be Lord of our lives, and our lives are now to be surrendered to doing his will, not ours. 

And honestly, he does not want to be remembered as a helpless baby lying in a manger unable to do anything and totally dependent on his mother and father. Especially he does not want to be pictured in this way alongside the worship of Santa Claus (alias Satan) who wanted to be God and whose creators have given him the attributes of God – all seeing, all knowing, and present everywhere. Jesus asked to be remembered as the one who died on that cross to deliver us from slavery to sin so we will now serve God.

And he wants to be worshipped, not as a helpless baby lying in a manger, but for who he is – Almighty God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and as all powerful, all knowing, and present everywhere at all times. He wants us to see him, not only as the Savior of mankind, but as the judge of mankind who will judge all of us according to our deeds. And for those who continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and who do not walk in obedience to the Lord, they will not inherit eternal life, regardless of what they profess.

So please see Jesus Christ as Almighty God who has not only the power to save us from our slavery to sin, and to empower us to live holy lives, pleasing to him, but who has the power to and who will cast off many who claim him as their Lord and Savior but who did not forsake their sinful lifestyles, and who did not walk in obedience to his commands. This is what it means to fear the Lord, to believe him, but not just his promises to the obedient, but also his warnings to the disobedient. Your life depends on it!

Jesus’ life, humanity, deity, death, resurrection, why he died

[Isaiah 53:1-12; Matt 7:21-23; Matt 26:26-29; Lu 9:23-26; Lu 17:25; Jn 1:1-36; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 8:24,58; Jn 10:27-33; Jn 20:28-29; Rom 5:8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 9:5; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 11:23-32; 1 Co 15:1-8; 2 Co 5:15,21; Eph 4:17-24; Php 2:5-11; Col 2:9; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 1:8-9; Heb 2:14-15; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1; 1 John 3:4-10]  

Mary, Did You Know?

Songwriters: Greene Lee Rufus / Lowry Mark Alan

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would one day walk on water?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would save our sons and daughters?

Did you know that your baby boy

Has come to make you new?

This child that you delivered, will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Is Lord of all creation?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy

Would one day rule the nations?

Did you know that your baby boy

Is heaven's perfect Lamb?

That sleeping child you're

Holding is the great, I Am

Mary, did you know? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01tZP5mODhg

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