The Meaning of Christmas

1 John 1:1–4 ESV

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

(Let’s Pray)

Now at Christmas you can go to a passage that has angels wisemen, shephered, a manger. This is a passage that is not describing the events of Christmas its telling us what they mean. It doesn’t tell us what happened it tells us what they mean. So this morning I want to speak with you on this subject: THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

This is the beginning of 1 John, this is the same John who wrote the gospel of John plus these three letters 1,2,and 3rd John. What I’d like to show you is that there is four things that this passage tells us that Christmas means. Its very easy at Christmas time not to actually think about what it means, all you have to do it seems sometimes is just remember that it happened , and when we do like we said last week that the greatest miracle God ever did becomes the most common thing in our lives at this time of year.

The greatest miracle God ever did was coming in human form in the person of His Son and dwelling among us.

It is easy to make you feel good at Christmas, but I would actually like to make you think about what Christmas actually means. When the Bible talks about the birth of Christ, the Son of God the Lord of Heaven being born as a human being laid in a manger, what does that mean?

Salvation is by Grace

Do you notice how John talks about Jesus here?

In chapter 1 of John Jesus is called the Word, In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God” Jesus was called the Word and here He is called the Word of Life.

1 John 1:2 ESV

the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—

Now, were not being told here that Jesus Christ has life, or gives life, and this is not just life in general this is eternal life. It doesnt just say that He has it or that He gives it, it says that HE IS IT. Heres one of the first things we can say that makes Christianity different than any other religion. In every other religion the founder is always a prophet or teacher, and the founder says heres the way for you to find eternal life.

Do this, do this, do this and do this and you will connect with eternal life. Do this, do this, do this, do this, this is way to eternal life. BUT JESUS SAYS I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. He says I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.

Because Christianity does not say Jesus is a great prophet pointing the way to God and how we can save ourselves Jesus Christ (according to Christmas) is God coming to save us. He has come to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. To know Him IS eternal life. Its not that He comes and you follow Him and you doo all the right things and do the things you should do and then inherit eternal life and then God blessesyou and saves you NO NO HE IS THE LIFE!

Over the years I have had people say to me, “you know I don’t know what I believe about Jesus because I really dont think it matters what really matters is that you live a good life.”

Do you know what that means?

What they are really saying is this: I am really not so bad that I need a Savior, I am not so messed up that I cant pull myself together and live a good enough life. So when you say what matters is that I live a good life. what your really saying is this, Jesus and who He is doesnt mater all that matters is that I get my life in order before I die and be a good person.

What your really saying is that you think you can be saved by your works rather than by grace. I tell you this, if you do say I am trying to live a good life in order to hopefully get into Heaven one day. I want you to know that your life will be characterized by fear, and insecurity, because you will never feel like your being quite good enough.

or it will be marked by pride and disdain if you feel like you have been good enough or it will be marked with devastation and self loathing if you think you havent been good enough. SO your going to be scared and insecure, or your gonna be proud, or your going to go through phases over and over again and if Jesus Christ didnt actually come, if the story of Christmas had never happened which we know it did, historically proven.

But even if it had not happened, there is no hope for any of us because even on our best day we are not worthy of Heaven. The Bible tells us that our best efforts, the best that we have to offer God is filthy rags, the Bible also says without Christ we are spiritually dea in our sins and trespasses against a Holy and Righteous God.

I am here to remind you friends that WE NEED A SAVIOR! We have one! MERRY CHRISTMAS!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Oh the gifts that Jesus brings!

Joy- unspeakable and full of glory

Peace- that passes all understanding

Goodness- true goodness

Love- the kind that sacrifices itself for someone else

Self control- I dont have to live life the way I have always lived it anymore

freedom from sin

FREEDOM FROM WORRY

FREEDOM TO BE WHO I WAS CREATED TO BE

FREEDOM TO LIVE OUT GODS PLAN FOR MY LIFE

PURPOSE- A LIFE MISSION

OH AND BY THE WAY DID I MENTION ETERNAL LIFE!!!

I dont have to fear the grave, but most of all I dont have to fear life! I’m telling you this is not some fairy tale this is the greatest miracle God ever did when HE sent His son.

1 John 1:2 HCSB

that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us —

1 John 1:3 ESV

that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Why is John making it a point to tell you He saw with his own eyes? Why is he being so emphatic?

When John says we have seen it and testify to it, and then he talks about seeing hearing and touching. He is not making conversation He is telling you of the reliability of the things which you are hearing. God became a man and lived among us. What John is trying to say is this its not just a nice story about Jesus He really lived He really died, we saw Him rise from the grave and we want you to have confidence in this.

He is not just a wonderful teacher HE IS GOD IN THE FLESH, if Christmas is just a nice story your on your own. But if Christmas is true, and John says as an eyewitness it is true then you can be saved from your sins, and recieve eternal life by repenting and turning from your sins and placing your faith in Christ alone.

So first of all Christmas means salvation by grace.

Christmas means YOU Can Have Fellowship With God.

Why is He talking about this?

1 John 1:3 ESV

that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Christmas is about fellowship, were being told here it is not enough simply to believe God or even try to obey Him. Christmas means God Himself has come infinate lengths to draw near to you, to have a personal relationship with you. God is not content to simply be a concept to be believed or even something to make your heart warm at this time of year.

He is not even happy simply with being known as some powerful force tha you bow to in some way. Because H became HUMAN!

One of the reasons is so that we can have fellowship with Him, intimacy, friendship, look at the sun, no dont, bc if you try to look at the sun you wont be able to see it will you? Why?

at best it will just be a blur, its glory will be too great for your eyes. It will overwhelm you at best you will see a blur, at worst it will blind you, and therefore if you really want to see the glory of the sun you need a filter.

You need something between you and the sun so that you can see the flames bursting on the surface, the sunspots, the eruptions. If you wanna see the glory of the sun you cant just look at it, you need something to look at it through.

This is the same thing with God, when we pray, and when we sing hark the herald angel sing. Theres a line that goes like this:

“veiled in flesh the godhead see, hail the incarnate diety”

Charles Wesley who wrote that hymn he says because God has become a human being we can see His glory i such a way because otherwise His glory would just overwhelm us.

Because remember Moses tried to look at the glory of God and God says no you cant handle seeing me, it will kill you. No one can see God and live!

Yet says “GOD BECAME FLESH AND DELT AMONG US, AND WE BEHELD HIS GLORY!

What does that mean?

When you see Jesus and you read the gospel your seeing God Himself its like a filter! You can see His love, humility brilliance, wisdom, compassion, all the attributes of God are right there in Jesus.

God says I cant show you my face directly but through my son I can show you just who I am!

GOD WENT TO INFINITE LENGTHS TO GET NEAR TO YOU!

He lost His glory, He lost Heaven, HE lost His Son, He Son,

He was hungry, He was tired, He was rejected, He was mocked, He was scorned, He was beaten, His flesh was torn, His brows so beaten His own mother couldnt recognize him. His back was laid open so that HIs ribs were shown, His side was peirced, they put fake royal robes on Him, the blasted nails through his flesh, cracked a crown of thorns on top of His head,

You know what Jesus would say?

I’D DO IT ALL AGAIN IF IT MEANS I GET TO HAVE YOU!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS THIS IS HOW MUCH GOD LOVES YOU!

Now you must be willing to go to great lengths to draw near to Him, its not enough simply to believe in Him, many of you know there are things in your life that He is displeased with. Thats why your not that close to Him, many of you are simply not taking enough time to pray.

Christmas means God wants to be near you, He wants to be close to you.

(Little House on the prairie)

She wanted to see here children so bad that she faked her death.... GOD WANTED TO BE NEAR YOU SO BAD THAT HE ACTUALLY DIED TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO BE NEAR TO YOU!@

the Word says draw near to God and He will draw near unto you, if you want to be close to God you have to put Him in the center of your life and you have to put in the time and make Him a priority, I’d say He made you one didn’t he?

Christmas means God is not content to be someone you know from far off He went to infinite lengths to get close to you, now you go to inifinte lengths to get close to Him, what will it take?

Christmas is a challenge there,

Christmas means salvation by grace

Christmas means you can have friendship with God

Christmas means LOVE REALLY MATTERS

The secular world says: this world is all there is you are nothing but flesh, you don’t have a soul, you don’t have a spirit there’s nothing that happens after you die there’s just you. Just the physical, so live it up you only live once right.

If there is no other thing but your body if this life is all there is, then all that matters is being as happy as you can right here and right now whatever that means for you. But there is so much more than just your body, there is so much more than just the here and now.

(p.s. YOU DONT ONLY LIVE ONCE!!!)

How you treat people matters how you love matters because Jesus says they will know that you are my disciples by the LOVE you have for one another!

Christmas tells you that LOVE REALLY MATTERS

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 5:8 HCSB

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

Galatians 4:4 ESV

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,

Galatians 4:5 ESV

to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

God doesn’t just talk about love He is love and he showed us His love by sending Jesus!

Every other reigion says that is an impersonal force, BUT THE GOSPLE SAYS GOD BECAME A MAN BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU!

Love created the world, love is redeeming the world and love is a person and His name is Jesus Christ.

Why did God come to Earth? Why did he go through all of this trouble to be seen and tasted and touched?

in 1961 Yuri Gragarin was the first Russian cosmonaut to orbit the Earth. Nakita Kruschev who was the premier of Russia said He said we in Russia are atheists and now we have even more evidence for Atheism now than ever because we sent a man into the Heavens and there was no god there.

C.S. Lewis was a Christian author and he heard what Kruschev said and he wrote a little essay called the seeing eye and he said:

“Think about it, if there was a God you wouldnt realte to God the way a person who lives on the first floor relates to a person who lives on 2nd floor. you see Kruschev was thinking about God as someone who lived on the second floor we were donw onf the first floor and we sent a man on the second floor and there was nobody up there so there must not be a God.

and Lewis said thats not how it works, you wouldnt relate to Him this way, you would relate to him the way shakespere relates to hamlet.

Shakespere created Hamlet, and the only way Hamlet can know anything about shakespere is if Shakespere writes something about Himself into the play. Hamlet is not going to know anything about shakespere by going upstairs at the auditorium and looking around. Only if the creator reveals Himself to His creation will he know anything about the one who created him.

You only know something about your creator if he writes something about himself into the play of your life.

Lewis says AH but God did something better than write some information in, he came into the drama of life to show himself to us!

Christmas teaches that the God of creation who knows we have rebelled and who knows we have gone away from Him, He looks down and He has loved us and came to rescue us!

to live the life we shouldve lived to die the death we shouldve died in our place and set us free from the curse that sin brought on us!

There is a a barrier between us and God but when Jesus came he bulldozed the wall and became the door for us to walk through to get to God!

Love is an action not a reaction!

JOY

1 John 1:4 ESV

And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

1 John 1:

(JOY is happiness no matter the circumstance)

You see when you know that God has loved you with an eternal love and has done everything to set you free from fear and death and the grave.....

(preach the gospel!)