Precursors to Christmas.The Reason for the Season

Ephesians 1:3-10

Precursors to Christmas: The Reason for the Season

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.[1]

Children today are raised to look forward to winter festivals or snow carnivals. One could almost conclude that there exist a conspiracy within the education profession—a conspiracy of individuals who fear acknowledging our European heritage—a heritage which reflects Christian roots.[2] I do not believe this is an issue which belongs in the courts, but I nevertheless consider the situation of political correctness run amok to be a tragedy of immense proportions to go through the holiday season without knowing why it is a holy-day. We who name the Name of Christ need to educate the world to know that Christ is the reason for the season.

Jesus is the reason for the season. Actually, among the churches of our Lord, that particular phrase serves as a sort of seasonal buzzword. Jesus is the reason for the season. What do we mean when we say that, however? Who is this Jesus? In what way is He the reason for the season? Perhaps the best way in which we can answer such questions is to refer to the encyclical which we have received as Ephesians. There, the Apostle begins the letter by referring to the work of God in the life of Christians. Join me in exploring the passage so that we will definitely understand what Jesus has to do with this glorious season of the year.

If, as I set out in a previous message, a settled date for the observance of Christ’s birth is not particularly mandated in Scripture, then it is proper that we always keep in mind His incarnation. It is appropriate that the incarnation of the Son of God (the prophecies concerning His birth and His millennial reign, the events surrounding His coming and the purpose of His coming) be held central to the Faith we have received.

Christmas is a Time to Praise God. Whatever else may be said concerning this particular passage, it praises God and stimulates us to praise Him as well. Focus on that first affirmation and the word with which it begins. Blessed be God … who has blessed us! Εὐλογητὸς. God is to be praised. His virtues are praise worthy. God is to be glorified by man, His creature. Therefore, God is to be blessed. The purpose for blessing follows.

Man is to bless God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, precisely because He has blessed us in Christ. We are recipients of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. What is not apparent to the casual reader of the Bible is that as Paul begins to draft this letter, beginning with this eulogia, it is almost as though he is so gripped by the excitement of the knowledge of God the he is compelled to write and write and write. The Greek sentence (if it can be called a sentence) continues for two hundred two words! Verses three through fourteen are all one long sentence in that original tongue.

The Apostle burst forth in praise and acclamation. While it is true that certain Christians have trained themselves to repeatedly use the phrase, “Praise the Lord,” there is nothing glib about Paul’s language. His is not mere formality; rather the words burst forth as an expression of the heart. All that follows is the subject of Paul’s praise of God.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is not unlike the blessings we discover in the Old Testament. Blessed be God [Psalm 66:20]. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel [Psalm 41:13]. Paul has, of course, Christianised the blessing. In the Old Testament, God is blessed for His actions on behalf of man. Blessed be God, because He has not rejected my prayer [Psalm 66:20]. Blessed be the Lord, the God is Israel, who alone does wondrous things [Psalm 72:18]. Here, God is blessed because He has blessed us in Christ. The specific blessing with which Christians are blessed include election to holiness; instatement as God’s children; redemption and forgiveness; the gift of the Holy Spirit; and the hope of glory. All this is in Christ.

In Christ, we have every spiritual blessing. Paul is unconcerned at this point with material blessing, not that they are of no importance. However, the spiritual blessings we have received are eternal, reserved in heaven and kept until that day they are to be revealed in Christ the Lord at His return. Those outside Christ cannot enjoy these great blessings, however much they may attempt to seize them or act as though they possessed them. Only those in Christ are elect to holiness, are instated as God’s sons and daughters, are redeemed and forgiven, have the Holy Spirit residing within and enjoy the hope of glory. Only those in Christ are blessed and able thus to praise God.

As an aside of no small consequence, the term eὐλογητὸς occurs in the New Testament eight times.[3] Each time, the word is used doxologically. It is never used in reference to man, but rather it speaks of man’s response to God. Never is man said to be blessed or well-spoken of. God is glorified and praised within Himself, but man is called to give Him glory or to praise Him. Faith means that we give glory to God.

Praise is the inevitable outcome of Christian experience. Praise and thanksgiving are the great characteristics of the Christian life. Those who know the Lord Christ are a grateful people, and in gratitude to Him they burst forth in praise. Try though they might to stiffle the joy which bubbles in their souls, it breaks out in joyous exclamations or praise and glad songs of thanksgiving to God.

I want to indict the few who reveal their sour dispositions. Some who share our services look as if they were weaned on dill pickles. They seldom smile, and always wear a sober and solemn expression as others about them rejoice and sing. They make no attempt to join in the songs of Zion, their demeanor defying joy and expressing their dissatisfaction with life in general. Rejoicing in the Lord is foreign to their lives.

Children of God who are free of condemnation cannot help but laught and rejoice. Their infectious joy causes them to praise God. Praise of God and thanksgiving differentiate us from the world. The world is miserable and unhappy, full of cursing and complaints. However, praise, thanksgiving and contentment mark the Christian as no longer belonging to the world.[4]

Praise distinguishes the Christian particularly in his prayer and in his worship. All the great devotional manuals of the centuries recognise this truth and urge the saints of invest time in adoration and worship of God. Seriously, what role does adoration and praise play in your private prayer life? If adoration and praise are so rare in public worship, what part must it play in private prayer? Be honest with yourself. When did you last find delight simply in being in the presence of the Lord? When did you last lose yourself in adoration of the Lord your God? Do you know what it is to cry out spontaneously, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Here it is Christmas, and we have a glorious opportunity to honour the Lord. Do we priase God? Or is there grumbling? Can we lift our hearts from this moment to thank God for the spiritual blessings we have received? Or shall we complain that we haven’t enough of this world’s goods? What will the pagans about us hear? Will they hear praise to God for sending His Son to redeem us? Or will they hear us grumble that things aren’t as we wish?

Some among us grumble and complain about our lot in life. Brother, look up! Christ has come to set you free from the bitterness of heart which sentences you to eternal grumbling. Sister, look up! Christ has come to bring you salvation. He has given us the people to God to share our condition, and though these people are not all perfect as you yourself, they love you and rejoice in God’s goodness to you. Can you not rejoice in this glorious gift and praise God that He has given you each of them?

If you cannot praise God for the gift of His Son, what will you praise Him for? Perhaps you can cease focusing on yourself for a moment and praise God for the church. He has placed you here and given you all these who share the service with you. Perhaps you can praise God for not giving you what you deserve and for showering you with grace and mercy instead.

Christmas Reminds us that God Elected Us to Holiness. In Christ, we are chosen. This singular concept comforts me so very much that I can scarcely speak of it. I know how sinful I was, and I know how sinful I am. By faith, I accept that I now stand holy and pure before the throne of God. This is not an accident of time and space, but it is by the determined will of the Father that I have been chosen in Christ for this purpose.

In Christ, God chose His people before the foundation of the world. This particular phrase denotes the divine act of election as taking place in eternity. Unfortunately, election has become the battleground of far too many of the people of God. Christ makes it clear that He chose us—we did not choose Him.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you [John 15:16-19].

F. F. Bruce has pointedly stated, “Time belongs to the created order: believers’ present experience of the blessings bestowed by God is the fulfilment on the temporal plane of His purpose of grace toward them conceived in eternity. As the fulfilment is experienced in Christ’ so it is in Him that the purpose is conceived. If, as Colossians 1:16 affirms, it was in Him that all things were created, so, we are here assured, earlier still it was in Him that the people of God were chosen.”[5]

Harold Hoehner speaks of God’s election as a source of comfort. What follows is a summary of Hoehner’s observation. In choosing, God is the subject. He did not choose in a vacuum, but in the light of all known options. There is no indication of dislike toward those not chosen. Thus, it cannot be said to be a rejection with disdain. Nowhere is election contrasted with reprobation. Since the verb is in the middle voice, it indicates that God chose with great personal interest and not by a random and impersonal choice. Lastly, we who are chosen have no legal claim on Him who chooses. The real problem is not why some are not chosen, but why any are chosen![6] This is why God is to be praised.

There is a tendency on the part of man to reject what God clearly says because it is difficult to understand. I will grant you that. However, because that which God says is hard to accept is no reason to reject it. Notice that this is a statement and not a position to be debated. Paul simply states that this is what God has done and that we should praise Him for it. Instead of worrying whether it is fair or equitable, we should praise Him. Instead of debating the issue, we should receive this as the Word of God, acknowledging the mystery of what He has revealed and rejoice in the knowledge that He has chosen us.

We should ask ourselves why we are Christians. Did you actually pursue God? Isn’t it true that He first loved you? Isn’t it true that long before you looked to Him, He wooed you by His Good Spirit? Isn’t it true that as you read the Word of God you see revealed on page after page the truth that God knew you before the world began and that He called you by His grace in Christ before the foundation of the world?

Why are we here worshipping God, instead of lying abed at home as are thousands of our fellow citizens? Why are we endeavouring to honour God instead of pursuing our own dreary self-interests? Isn’t it because God has performed a marvellous work in our hearts? And the genesis of this glorious work was in the call of God before the world began.

This electing grace of our God is not some novel doctrine, but it is the Apostolic Faith, emphasised by the great Augustine and continued through the great theologians until the time of the great defection from the Faith during the Enlightenment. Listen to the Word of God.

Jesus said, No one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father [John 6:56].

Peter pens his first epistle to those who are elect … according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood [1 Peter 1:1, 2].

Paul writes to the Thessalonians of their call in Christ. We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ [2 Thessalonians 2:13, 14].

In His high priestly prayer, our Lord prayed, reminding the Father of His work and the calling which the saints have received. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them [John 17:6-10].

The purpose of God’s choosing was that we might be holy and blameless before Him. At Christmas, I should praise God because I am not what I shall be. I may not now enjoy my victory over sin, but I know that Christmas is a promise that the day shall come when I shall be in fact holy even as now I enjoy that blameless standing before the Father. This is the promise of God to which we each look.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we will be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure [1 John 3:1-3].

Christmas Reminds us that God has Adopted us as His Beloved Children. In Christ, we have been predestined for adoption to sonship. I regret that my translation has left out the fact that we are adopted as sons. The prepositional phrase εἰς υἱοθεσίαν which is omitted in the English. Perhaps the thought that we shall be called His children is what the Apostle meant to communicate here, and so simply knowing that we are called children of God should satisfy our minds. However, I am convinced there are no superfluous words in Scripture and that we should ask what was to be received in the words the Spirit inspired.

Paul was a Roman citizen, and he prized his citizenship. He was writing to people who were citizens of Rome, and thus familiar with Roman law. Even those who were not Roman citizens would have been quite familiar with adoption, since the successors of the Caesars were adopted according to Roman practise. In order to understand adoption, one must understand the structure of the Roman family. The father had absolute power over the family. He could even kill a member of the family, and the act would not be considered murder since he was the absolute authority.

Under Roman law, the procedure of adoption had two steps. In the first step, the son had to be released from the control of his natural father. This was done through a procedure whereby the natural father sold the son three times to the adopter. The one adopting the son would release him twice and he would automatically come under the rule of the natural father. With the third sale, however, the adopted son came under the rule of the adopting father. The natural father no longer had any authority over him. The adopting father became the new father with absolute control over him.

The purpose of this adoption was so that the adopted son could take the place of a natural son in order to continue the family line and maintain property ownership.[7] The adopted son enjoyed all the rights of the natural son and inherited all the family goods. The emphasis conveyed through the Apostle’s choice of words is our inheritance and not our relationship! Because we are adopted as sons, the Spirit now testifies that we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [see Romans 8:17].

This adoption I now enjoy had nothing to do with my own desire, but it was according to the purpose of His will and to the praise of His glorious grace that I was adopted. The will of God is always for the good of the church, which is the Bride of Christ and for the glory of the Saviour. He distributed His gifts to the redeemed, according to His will [Hebrews 2:4; 1 Corinthians 12:11]. It is His good pleasure to give to us who are His chosen His Kingdom [Luke 12:32]. Because we are predestined to this adoption, we are the ones with whom He is pleased and of whom the angels said,

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among

those with whom He is pleased.

[Luke 2:14]

Christmas reminds me that I no longer am under the control of the prince of this fallen world [cf. John 8:38, 44], but rather I am under the rule of God who cannot die. Whereas I was once a son of disobedience and a child of wrath [cf. Ephesians 2:2, 3], I am now a son of God and a child of the King. The devil may have once been my slavemaster, but now I am under the rule of One who is generous and compassionate. All this is in Christ the Lord. I will receive not only a place in His eternal home, but I shall inherit all that is His to give. What a glorious reason to praise God our Father.

Christmas Reminds us of Christ’s Redemption. In Christ, we have redemption through His blood. In [Christ] we have redemption through His blood. Before the coming of the Son of God, I was held in thraldom. We have been set free from the slavery of our former master. As though auctioned in the marketplace, we have been purchased by that which is precious to all heaven. Perhaps you recall the words of a previous text.

If you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God [1 Peter 1:17-21].

This process of redemption as described by Paul in this encyclical is paralleled in Colossians 1:13, 14. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. It is greatly to be doubted that any of us can fully understand what is taught through this statement that the price of our redemption was the blood of Christ.

Of course, the statement refers to His death. What is difficult for us to grasp is what this meant. God became a man. Before salvation could be accomplished, God would taste death—offering His life in the place of His fallen creature. That is the part we can never understand, though we are compelled to accept it. Perhaps the closest we can come to seizing the horror of the thought that God should taste death is to refer to the great prophetic words of Isaiah.

Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

we have turned every one to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;

he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for sin,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.

[Isaiah 53:3-6, 10-12]

Christmas Reminds us of God’s Forgiveness. In Christ, we have the forgiveness of our trespasses. In [Christ] we have … the forgiveness of our trespasses. Intimately tied to the thought that we are redeemed is the concept that we are forgiven. A major stumbling block which keeps many from receiving the message of our Good News is the thought that they require forgiveness.

Many people are willing to seek a religion which offers them a solution to their immediate problems, but the Christian Faith does not begin with such promises. The Christian Faith begins with the bad news that we are sinners who have offended the holiness of God. Therefore, we are at enmity with Him and before anything can be accomplished, we must be forgiven of our sin. It is precisely this demand that we acknowledge our condition and seek His forgiveness that is odious to the natural man.

The forgiveness of sin is the only problem with which God was ever confronted. God is not an indulgent Father who can overlook our rebellion. He is holy and just. His holiness requires that sin be judged and put away forever. His justice demands that sin be judged and condemned in the harshest terms. The forgiveness of sin proved such a problem for the Father that only the shedding of the blood of His Son could deal with it. Listen, once again, to Dr. Lloyd-Jones.

God could not forgive sins merely by speaking a word. It was for Him a simple thing to create the world by the fiat of His word: ‘Let there be light.’ We ask with reverence, why did not God say, ‘Let men be forgiven?’ The answer is that forgiveness did not come in that way. And that is so because—I say it again with reverence—He could not do so. ‘God is light, and in him is no darkness at all’ [1 John 1:5]. God is eternally just and righteous and holy, and He cannot contradict Himself. There was only one way whereby God could forgive sin. ‘There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin.’ It is only ‘by the blood of Christ’ that forgiveness becomes possible. Think of the power and the might of God. We see it in the snow and in the frost, and we can read about it in many places of Scripture… By the power of His word God rules nature and creation, and the nations of the world are to Him but ‘as the small dust of the balance.’ But when the problem of forgiving the sins of mankind arose it was necessary that the Son of God should leave the courts of heaven and come to earth and be born as a babe, suffer the contradiction of sinners against Himself, be put to death and shed His blood. It was the only way. Such is the difficulty raised by the problem of the forgiveness of sins.[8]

By the death of Christ the Son of God, through the shedding of His blood, every transgression, every act of rebellion, every violation of the law of God, every injustice, every unrighteous act has been permanently cancelled. I am no longer held accountable for these misdeeds and offences against righteousness. By His death, I have been permanently released from all guilt and condemnation. Never again shall I fear that my error or misstep will sentence me to death. As the old spiritual states: “free at last, free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, I’m free at last.”

I am compelled by the continuing actions of professed people of God to address this issue a little farther. Why are we expected to forgive one another? The reason is that we have been forgiven so very much. Our tendency is to hold a grudge against our fellow saints, thinking that we are justified in our anger—we have no justification at all. We would each do well to read once more that parable Jesus told to illustrate the teaching concerning how to handle sin and reconciliation.

I haven’t time to read the account now, but I urge you to read once more Matthew 18:21-35. I urge you to consider the application Jesus delivered and apply it to your own treatment of your fellow saints. If we fail to forgive from the heart, we invite the harshest judgement from the Father, and I would not wish that on any of us.

Christmas should remind us of the cost of redemption and it should also remind us that we have received the forgiveness of sins. This is a wonderful reason to praise God. He has provided so richly for each of us and we are called to bless His Name.

Christmas Reminds us that We have a Future. Christ has come in the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth. We live in uncertain times. Islamic militants threaten to destroy us because we look to a God of grace. North Korea threatens to create awesome nuclear armaments, and with an unstable dictator at the helm, we are threatened with a nuclear wasteland. Perhaps the world will witness a raging war in Iraq which unleashes terrible plagues and chemical weapons which invent new means of death. Even if there is no war, our government flits from one position to another like a silly dove, and their every action leaves us more impoverished then before. All this leaves us breathless. What is a Christian to do?

I quit worrying. I read the end of the book. I know how it all ends. We win. We can bless the Name of the Lord because, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, all things will be united in Him. I do not lie awake at nights wondering whether Mr. Bush will phone to ask me what to do next, and no one need lie awake wondering whether the arrogant Mr. Chretien will ask for advice. Though the leaders of the nations will not consult me, nor inquire of the Word of God, I am authorised to speak these words which God has given to all who are called by His Name.

Christ the Lord was born to bring all things to completion under His reign. We who are the redeemed have obtained an inheritance, and we are destined to reign with Him. This is the meaning of the words which are written in Philippians 2:5-11.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Christ is the reason for the season. Joy is the proper response of the Christian. Perhaps we should each begin now to ensure that we bless the Name of the Father, rejoicing in all that He has provided in sending His Son. Ah, God, how glorious is Your Name. You, God, have blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. In Christ, we have been chosen from before the foundation of the world, and we are holy and blameless before you. In Christ, we have received the adoption of sons, according to the purpose of Your will. In Christ, we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sin. Now, Lord, we live in anticipation of the day of His return. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

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[2] cf. Ian Bailey, Tone down religious ways, schools urged, National Post, December 12, 2002, http://www.nationalpost.com/national/story.html?id={76437414-36CC-4BC5-99ED-62E2C96761F5}

[3] Mark 14:61; Luke 1:68; Romans 1:25; Romans 9:5; 2 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 11:31; Ephesians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3

[4] Lloyd-Jones, D. Martyn, God’s Ultimate Purpose: An Exposition of Ephesians 1 (Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI 1978) 49

[5] F. F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians: NICNT (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI 1984) 254

[6] Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Baker, Grand Rapids, MI 2002) 175-6

[7] Hoehner, op. cit. 196

[8] Lloyd-Jones, op. cit., 166