O Come All Ye Faithful

RECORD

Well here it is, Christmas Eve Day and that means that, along with 2017, our series on the Christmas Carols is almost done

But no series on Christmas Carols would ever truly be complete unless it included the carol, O Come All Ye Faithful, that famous carol written in 1743 by a Englishman named John Francis Wade

Wade was a Catholic who fled England for France because of persecution and made a living while there teaching music and as a copyist of musical scores

Remember this was before modern printing techniques and so a person who could hand copy music with precision and neatness was considered an artist and Wade was such a man

When this song was first produced by Wade under the title Adeste Fidelis, Laetri triumphantes, it was assumed that Wade had simply copied an ancient hymn but it was later realized that he wrote it himself

Perhaps one of the simplest of all Christmas Carols it is also one of the most deep and profound and ties in with, what I think is, one of the greatest scriptures in the Bible, which says,

Revelation 1:8 NIV

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

There are three verses in this carol and so this morning I want to consider each verse separately while seeing how they all tie together

So let’s take a look at this great song of the ages and I’ll show you what I mean

In the first of the 3 verses the song says, “Oh come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant! Oh come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem. Come and Behold Him, born the king of angels.”

The King of angels! What an interesting title to ascribe to this little baby

So let’s begin with verse 3 shall we

Well I want you to listen to the words of from the Message Bible this morning, “Micaiah kept on, “I’m not done yet; listen to God’s word: I saw God enthroned, and all the Angel Armies of heaven standing at attention, ranged on his right and his left”

Joyful and triumphant!

This verse reminds us that although the little baby born to Mary and Joseph may have been His first appearance in this human form, this God-child was actually the one who had always been

Isn’t that an absolutely incredible picture painted in your mind?

“Yea Lord we greet Thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be all glory given. Word of the Father now in flesh appearing.

Oh, come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem.

The little baby that was born that day in Bethlehem may have been making His first appearance in that form but make no mistake that this was NOT his first day for He is the one that “WAS”

Come and behold him,

While Matthew, Mark, and Luke all begin their gospel accounts with information concerning the Earthly birth of Christ, Listen to how the apostle John begins his gospel account,

Born the King of angels;

John 1:1–3 NIV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

John 1:1-3

As we approach the christ child with our worship we are given a stark reminder that the one to whom we give our adoration is the one who stood with God, AS God and brought into existence all we see and know to be

Genesis 1:1–3 NIV

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

He wasn’t just there observing, He was there participating as a part of the Godhead, forming matter out of nothing more than His own Word, light streaming out of Him at 299, 792, 458 meters per second, He was there with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego walking around in the fiery furnace, He was there when King Uzziah died and Isaiah looked and saw Him high and lifted up

He is the one who was without beginning, that is the one that we come to adore

Now Let’s skip verse 2 for a moment and move right into verse 3 which says, “Yea Lord we greet Thee. Born this happy morning; Jesus to Thee be all glory given. Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.”

This is a reminder to us us that the baby that we come to adore is not just another baby but is the incarnate Word of God, both fully God and fully man

Let’s go back to John’s description of the birth of Christ

John 1:

John 1:9–14 NIV

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

He was, He existed prior to time and creation but now because of the plan of the Father He existed IN time and creation, He was but now He IS