The Significance of Christmas

Most of us have experienced things in our life which took us years to understand the significance they would have. We go through life every day, experiencing new things, every day, no matter how routine, significantly different than the day before. However, how often do we stop to examine the significance of each day, and each choice we make? Every choice we make has some significant affect on our lives. Even something as mundane as brushing your teeth every morning, if you don’t believe me, ask someone who lost all their teeth because they didn’t. In the same way, and to a much greater degree, every choice God makes has an eternal significance. But, how often do we recognize the significance of God’s choices?

Every year, we celebrate Christmas, but how many of us stop to consider the significance of Christmas in God’s grand plan? Some people celebrate it for the hope it brings in their life, others for the joy of giving presents, seeing friends and family, and others celebrate it simply because of all the festivities that go on during that time. Even among Christians, who celebrate the coming of Christ, how often do we actually consider just how significant His birth was in God’s plan?

Turn with me to , because through Paul’s prayer for the Philippian Church, I believe we can understand the significance of Christmas.

Philippians 1:9–11 HCSB

9 And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, 10 so that you can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

In this passage, Paul opens this letter by telling the Philippian Church how he has been praying for them. He tells them that he has been thanking God with all joy for their acceptance of the Gospel, but not just their acceptance, but their willingness to be partners for the Gospel, and that all through his imprisonment, he has been supported by the knowledge that they were out there doing the work of the ministry, even though he was under house arrest.

In the same way, and to a mch greater degree, every choice God makes has an eternal significance. Every year, we celebrate Christmas, but how many of us stop to consider the significance of Christmas in God’s grand plan? Some people celebrate it for the hope it brings in their life, others for the joy of giving presents, seeing friends and family, and others celebrate it simply because of all the festivities that go on during that time.

Every year, we celebrate Christmas, but how many of us stop to consider the significance of Christmas in God’s grand plan? Some people celebrate it for the hope it brings in their life, others for the joy of giving presents, seeing friends and family, and others celebrate it simply because of all the festivities that go on during that time. Even among Christians, who celebrate the coming of Christ, how often do we actually consider just how significant His birth was in God’s plan?

He goes on to say that in addition of his prayer of thanksgiving for them, he also prays on their behalf.

Every year, we celebrate Christmas. Some people celebrate it for the hope it brings in their life, others for the joy of giving presents, seeing friends and family, and others celebrate it simply because of all the festivities that go on during that time.

He goes on to say that in addition of his prayer of thanksgiving for them, he also prays on their behalf.

The first thing I want to draw your attention to is:

1. What Paul Prays ()

He prays that the love they possesses, and presumably exhibit, will continue to grow within them.

However, Paul is not talking about mere sentimental love. He mentions two specific ways in which he prays their love would grow.

1. He Prays for their Love to Grow based on their Increased Spiritual Awareness of God

2. He Prays for their Love to Grow based on a Complete Understanding of God’s Ways

One of the reasons many people give in defence of two people living together before marriage is that they need time to get to know one another before they actually commit to a life together. The idea is that, once you live with another person, you get to know all their quirks and habits that might drive you crazy if you had to live with them the rest of their life. They say living together will give you a chance to see if they are compatible enough with you that will can honestly say you can love them forever?

They argue that it is better to find this out before you say I do.

However, what many fail to miss is that these things are not what endears a person to another person. It is the depth of how well they are in tune with them, and how well they know them as a person. How well they understand the things they do. If you really know someone, the things about them that would drive most people crazy are often times the things you miss most when they are gone. It’s the individual aspects of their personality that you really grow to love. But, you never realize that until you really get to know them on a level that exceeds the superficial sentimentality of affection.

This is what Paul somewhat the meaning Paul has when he says that they would grow in knowledge and every kind of discernment. His desire for the Philippians is that they would come to love God in a way that is based on their spiritual understanding of who God is and the depth of their insight into His ways. Because, once they understand Him fully, and can grasp why He does the things He does, they will love Him all the more.

So, first Paul prays, essentially, that they will grow in their love for God. Next, I want to show you why Paul prays.

Now, Paul give us t

2. Why Paul Prays ()

Paul goes on to explain what it is that he hopes will come of his prayer for them.

Whenever we hope or pray for something, we generally have a reason for it. For example, when most people pray to win the lotto, they are praying for it so they can either help themselves of someone else who is in dire financial need. OR, they pray just so they can live a comfortable life and never have to work again.

Either way, they have a motivation behind their prayers. I think we can safely say that the same can be said for any prayer.

In Paul’s case, his reason for prayer on behalf of the Philippians was twofold.

1. Paul prayed so that the growth in these areas would produce an ability to discern God’s desire in all things.

The closer we are connected to God spiritually, and the better we understand why it is that God does what He does, the more equipped we will be to understand the will of God. Paul says it is so that they may approve or test or discern the things that are superior.

If you have ever been with a kid at an ice cream store, or with me for that matter, you can understand the dilemma sometimes involved in deciding what flavor to get. I mean, it’s all ice cream, so whatever flavor you pick will be good. But, if you do not get ice cream very often, you want to make sure you pick the very best flavor you can, because you don’t know when you will get a chance to have the choice again.

Sometimes, this is the same dilemma we face in ministry. There are often many choices one can make when it comes to doing good works, whether in a formal ministry sense or in our personal life. However, sometimes you do not have the ability to do everything you want to do, so you face a dilemma of determining which is the very best choice in keeping with God’s will.

This is what Paul is referring to. The more the Church grows to understand God and God’s ways, the more they will be able to understand and know that which is superior, the things God desires in each situation.

2. Paul prayed so that the growth in these areas would result in them living lives that are above reproach.

Paul says that he prays so they would be blameless and pure. The word Paul uses for pure, eilikineis, is a compound word that comes from two words that mean sun and judge. The idea behind this word is that something could withstand judgment that is made apparent by the light of day.

The Bible tells us that those who practice evil love the darkness and hat the light because it reveals their ways. This is the concept that Paul is praying will occur in their lives as a result of the growth of their love. His hope for them is that they will live lives that can withstand scrutiny of the harshest of light that could be shined on their activities, and that when it is, no cause for blame may be found.

Recently we have seen a rash of celebrities and politicians face accusations that stem form the skeletons in their closet. Things they believed they had gotten away with, and hid away where no one could find them, came out in ways that they did not expect, because the closet doors were finally opened and the light was turned on for all to see.

Paul says that his hope is that their lives will have no skeletons to dig out after they have come to Christ. Living lives that are consistent with God’s will naturally produce this kind of life. If we always live according to what God desires for us, agreeing with Him about the best course of action for each decision we can make, then we will find that our lives will be such that there is nothing for people to find when they go digging.

One thing the Bible is clear on is that anytime we pray, we can be certain that God hears it, and if it is in line with God’s will, we can be certain that God will do it. He will make it happen, if it is consistent with His will. So, the question here is, how certain was Paul that God would answer His prayer for the Philippians?

To understand this, we need to look back a few verses to at the context of Paul’s prayer.

3. The Context of Paul’s Prayer ().

Philippians 1:6 HCSB

6 I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Paul’s prayer was based entirely on the fact that God had already begun this work in their lives. Paul prayed that their love would continue to grow. This means that it had already began to grow at some point in the past.

Paul knew that God’s will for them was that they would know God and know His ways so that they could make daily choices consistent with God’s will, producing in them a pure sanctified life.

How could Paul be so sure of this? I’ll give you two reasons.

1. God’s Work in the life of the Individual ()

Paul tells the Philippians in verses 4 & 5 () that he had been praying for them with all joy because of their partnership from the very first day until now.

Now, on a side note, what Paul is essentially saying about this church is that they began serving the Gospel from the very first day they heard and believed. That’s a whole different sermon right there, or as they used to say at Fruitland, “That’ll preach.” However, what I want to point out to you today is the timing, that First Day.

Every person sitting here today who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior had a first day. A first day they heard the Gospel, a first day they believed the Gospel, and a first day they committed their life to the promise of the Gospel. Everyone here who has accepted Christ had a first day when He became their Lord and Savior. The Bible say that this wasn’t something accomplished by ourselves, or by any effort on our part. Instead, it was entirely based on the work of Jesus Christ and the free grace of God.

Paul’s prayer was based on the fact that God had already began His work in their life, and just as God worked for 6 days creating the universe, before He rested, He would not rest from His work in their life until His work is finished

So, first, Paul’s certainty of God’s will was based on God’s work in the life of the individual.

2. God’s Work on Behalf of All Mankind (; ).

Before God did anything in the life of any believer to bring them to salvation and then sanctification, God began His work on behalf of all mankind.

When the angel appeared to Mary in , he said to her:

Luke 1:31–33 HCSB

31 Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.

Luke 1:31-33

The angel’s words were direct references to Isaiah, as well as several of the Psalms that spoke of the coming of the Messiah, but it also a fulfillment of , which says the virgin shall have a child and they will call Him Immanuel. Immanuel which means God with us and Jesus which means Yeshua saves, are direct testaments to the work that God was preparing to do.

The birth of Jesus has essential significance in the work of God, because it not only stands as the point that God officially began His salvation work in the lives of men, but it also serves as a continual reminder of God’s desire for all men.

God desires for us to know Him and love Him. He desires for man to be reconciled to Him, and the coming of God in the flesh is the ultimate testimony of that desire. Jesus Himself said that:

John 3:16 HCSB

16 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Paul equivocates this verse in .

Romans 5:8 HCSB

8 But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!

The significance of Christmas is this:

The recognition and celebration of Christmas is an annual reminder that God loves us, and desires for us to know Him and live in fellowship with Him. And, the fact that He began this work 2017 years ago, give or take a few years, is a testimony that God will complete the work in you that He began on the day of your salvation.

However, That is the catch

Conclusion

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians is the same one he would offer today for each and every one of us. However, it is contingent on whether God has begun a good work in you.

Has He?

Have you believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Have you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior? If so, you have more reason to celebrate than many who are celebrating Christmas this year. Let this year be a time of remembrance of what God has done in your life, and let it be a time to rejoice over what God is still doing, and will do in your life.

If not, then it’s time you get started. It’s time you accept Christ as Your Savior. There is no point in putting it off until later, because later might be too late.