God with Skin On

“And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:12

Have you ever thought about how profound this statement is? I have read, or heard, the Christmas story countless times. Recently I was struck by the fact that God, creator of the universe, became an infant human baby. In the verses prior to this one, the shepherds were out in the field at night, watching the sheep and suddenly an angel appears out of nowhere, the first words of the angel is?…Do not be afraid. I have never seen an angel but I am sure that if I did I may have the same reaction others in the Bible would have had…to be afraid.

In the book of Isaiah we know that he was taken into God’s presence and it was terrifying. in the book of Revelation the apostle John fell down as if he was dead when he saw the angel. We can see also that after Adam and Eve sinned their reaction to God was to run away and hide from Him. Sin is the single cause to destroying God’s perfect plan and world. God can not be in the presence of sin. Sin cut human beings off from the life giving source, their creator. God had two options destroy everything He created and allow Satan to beat Him or He could fix the problem. Jesus is God’s fix to the problem of Sin. The truth is that Jesus is both God and Man which means He is 100% of both.

As God Jesus could do Miracles, forgive sins, see the future and ultimately defeat sin and conquer death. As a man the God of the universe emptied himself, became a baby. Completely helpless, trusting in His creation to care for Him and keep him alive. The ALL powerful God could not talk, walk, feed himself, He was 100% dependent on human beings to ensure His survival till the official plan, saving the world could take place- His death and resurrection. Today would like to share some insights as to why God became man as well as the lasting effects that still liger today.

JESUS AS MAN

For the first time in scripture we can see the effect of Jesus becoming man. It says in the end of chapter 2 of the scene of Jesus, as an adolescent, lecturing and debating with the Rabbi’s in the temple. Jesus took the only form that allowed Him to be able to minister to His creation. For the first time in all of History ordinary people could hold a conversation, a debate with God in visible form. In order for Him talk to His mother, or anyone he does not need to announce, “Do not be afraid.” Through Christ, God truly is Immanuel, “God with us”.

Jesus as a man also knows every aspect of the human condition. He knows how difficult it is to be born in sin and how hard it is to fight sin. That is why he calls us to come to Him when we are struggling with sin, because He is the only one who was able to confront that sin and master it so that it did not affect Him. In Christ we have that same power. Jesus has victory over sin and He can be trusted to help you with everything that you are going through. God does not hold our sin over us constantly reminding us of what we have done. In Christ we are forgiven immediately and never need to fear, retribution or wrath. God’s has already poured out the full extent of His wrath on Jesus Christ and because of that fact everyone who claims His righteousness, will be saved.

The truth is that the only way that God could save mankind was to become mankind. The reality of sin would never let God approach His people because our natural reaction is to run from God, hide from Him, reject His wisdom. In order for satan to be defeated a man would have to live a perfect life and fulfill all of the commands of the Law, perfectly and then be willing to be held accountable for the most vile acts that humans, could conceive. Jesus did all of this. Jesus humbled himself, became a baby, followed all of the Laws that God gave and ultimately died the death that we all deserve, for only one reason, LOVE. God loves us so much that there is nothing that He is not willing to do bring us back to Him. That is Jesus’ accomplishment as God.

JESUS AS GOD

We know that Jesus was crucified by the Romas after pressure from the Jewish religious leaders. After death Jesus was raised form the grave and after 40 days of walking the earth He ascended into Heaven where He sits at God’s righthand. This means that all of God’s authority has been give to Jesus. To this day, Jesus, in Human form, is waiting to come back to Earth to take HIs rightful throne as the leader of the world. On that day God and Man will live as one. However until that day we are living in the reality of the already, not yet. This means that Christ has already secured a place for everyone who believes in Him, this is the kingdom of Grace. God gives us Grace because that is the only way that we can seek God and do His will.

He gives us the ability to approach Him, to do what He created us to do and He has the power to forgive us when we make mistakes and sin. Through Christ’s blood shed on Calvary we are saved. Because of Christ our sin can be forgiven. We do not need to be afraid to approach God to confess our sin because we have confidence that for the sake of Christ our sins are forgiven and we do not need to fear anything.However Jesus is coming back and when He does He will not be a baby, He will be a terrifying conquering Hero. He will restore justice and obliterate sin forever.

CONCLUSION

This Christmas let us remember the true reason for hope, joy and peace. The only reason we have these are because Christ came into the world and He fixed it. It is not perfect yet, but it is just a matter of time before it is. This Christmas let us remind others of the source for hope in our life, that is Christ. PK told us last week that 80% of non-churched people will come to church if we just invite them. Let’s invite them. We don’t have to do anything, we are not responsible for what they chose to do with the information they are given. Our job is to not save them but invite them to join us in our journey as we travel through life together. (Story about Church on Sunday - Giblin family, Jacquie with 4 and ex-husband, family ministering too.)