Knowing the God of Christmas (Radio Lesson)

Welcome to Bible Study Time. We come to you each Sunday morning on behalf of the Peace Church, and we want to invite you to join us for any of our services. We’re located 8 miles south and a half a mile west of Indiahoma, and we’re just 12 miles east of Manitou right on the Baseline Road. If you’d like more information about the Peace Church, you can find that on our website, which is www.ok-peacechurch.org

Last week we talked about the fact that Jesus Christ was not only the Son of God, but He was God the Son. The Christmas story is all about the fact that the virgin Mary conceived a son by the Holy Spirit so that her son was literally the Son of God. This is a concept that goes way back in Jewish history as well as pagan history.

In 2 Samuel, Chapter 7, God promised King David a son who would establish the throne of David in an everlasting kingdom, and God said that David's son would also be the Son of God. God's promise to David reads like this: When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. (2 Samuel 7:12-14 NKJV).

Well, the devil is the great imposter. He knows the plan of God because He knows how to read the Bible. He diligently researches every word of scripture for clues regarding the plan and purpose of God. Then he uses every resource he can muster to pervert, distort and discredit the plan of God. And this is what happened when God said that David's son would be the Son of God.

About 600 years after the time of King David, a child was born who, according to legend, was not a mortal, but rather he was the son of Zeus. This child grew up and became known as Alexander the Great. Some think that the legend was started by Alexander after he became the king, but others say it was started by Alexander's mother at the time of his birth. Regardless of this legends origin, this is typical of the way the devil works to imitate and discredit the plan of God.

The actual fulfillment of the prophecy that was given to David, was initiated when the Angel Gabriel came to the virgin Mary, he said: And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. (Luke 1:31-33 NKJV). The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35 NKJV).

Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. Therefore, He was the Son of God. But the deeper spiritual truth of Christmas is that Jesus was also God the Son. He was a member of the triune Godhead composed of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. As we saw last week, Jesus Christ was in the beginning with God, and He was God. As a member of the eternal, omnipotent, omniscient Godhead, He was God, and He was with God.

In the Bible we see that all three members of the Godhead function with absolute unity in every thought and deed. What one does, they all do. What one thinks, they all think. This is never so clearly seen as in the teachings of Jesus in the book of John.

In John, Chapter 5, Jesus healed the man at the Pool of Bethesda and this is John's account: For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. Then Jesus answered and said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. (John 5:16-23 NKJV).

In this passage, Jesus gives us a glimpse into the spiritual unity that exists between God the Father and God the Son. Jesus says that when the Father works, the Son also works, and that whatever the Father does, the Son also does. He says that the Father's love for the Son is unreserved and absolute, and because of His great love for the Son, He reveals everything He does to the Son.

Even when Jesus said that the Father has committed all judgment to the Son, we find in John 5:30 that Jesus says: I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. (John 5:30 NKJV). And in John 8:15 and 16, Jesus says: You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one according to the flesh. And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me. (John 8:15-16).

This absolute spiritual unity that exists between the three members of the Godhead is a beautiful thing, and it's the kind of unity that God wants to see in His Church today. Believers today are members of the Body of Christ, and we are therefore positioned in the Godhead with Christ. When Christians contend with one another and strive with one another, they are removing themselves from the spiritual unity that is inherent in the fellowship of the Godhead.

That's why Paul says to the Ephesians: I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:1-6 NKJV).

To the Philippians, Paul said: Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-4 NKJV).

God's desire for the Church which is the Body of Christ is that we might experience the beauty and joy of the spiritual unity that exists within the members of the Godhead. When we seek that unity, when we walk in humility and gentleness with longsuffering, we are walking worthy of our calling in Jesus Christ.

So Jesus Christ being born as the Son of God is the story of Christmas. But the story behind the story is that God the Son decided to leave the glory of heaven and take upon Himself a mortal body, a body of flesh and blood, so that He could die for our sins through the person of Jesus Christ.

Paul said to the Philippians that if we really want to fully experience the spiritual unity that exists between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we need to dedicate ourselves to being like Jesus Christ. He said: Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (Philippians 2:5-8 NKJV).

Then Paul said that because Jesus Christ was willing to humble Himself and walk in submission to the will of God, He has been exalted above all people and above all things. He said: Therefore God also has highly exalted (Jesus Christ) and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11 NKJV). The implication of this passage is that if we humble ourselves like Jesus humbled Himself, we will not only experience the joy of fellowship with the Father, but we will be glorified and exalted with Jesus Christ.

With Christmas fast approaching, it is good for us to realize that the Good News of Christmas is more than just the fact that God the Son came to earth to live among men; the Good News is that Jesus Christ came to die for our sins so that we could enter into fellowship with God. In his first epistle, the Apostle John spoke of Jesus and said: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life — that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. (John 1:1-4 NKJV).

Many people spend their whole lives running from God. But the truth is that God wants only good things for us. We may think that money and the pleasures of this world will bring happiness, but real joy and happiness come from fellowship with God. God is the source of all true love, peace and joy, and we can only gain access to those things as we enter into fellowship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

When we look at the Bible as a whole, and when we think about the full scope of the life of a believer, we can see that there are actually three distinct stages that people have to go through in order to enter into fellowship with God. These three stages relate to the three major programs of the Bible which are the Old Covenant Law, the New Covenant, and the Church which is the Body of Christ.

The Old Covenant Law represents the time in a person's life when he or she develops a moral conscience. The Old Covenant Law revealed to mankind the righteousness of God, and when I think about the fact that God had Israel live under the Law for 1500 years before Christ came into the world, I have to conclude that this stage of spiritual development is absolutely critical.

That's essentially what Paul said in Galatians, Chapter 3. Beginning in verse 9 we read: Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. (Galatians 3:19 NLT).

The Law was given to teach mankind about God's standard of righteousness. Before people can believe that Christ died for their sins, they must first come to grips with their sin. God gave the Law to teach us about sin, and God gave children parents to teach them about sin. Parents who don't teach their children the difference between right and wrong are actually interfering with the spiritual development of their children.

This aspect of spiritual development is so sadly lacking in our world today. It is so difficult to share the gospel with people today because so many have no real sense of right or wrong. As a result, we have parents who are drug addicts, teachers who are pedophiles, pastors who are adulterers, wall street executives who are thieves, politicians who are liars, and the list goes on and on.

Jesus knew that people need a moral conscience, they need a clear understanding of sin and its consequences before they can understand that Jesus Christ came to die for their sins. But those who do develop a moral conscience are ready to move to the next level in their spiritual development, and that's the level that is represented by the Biblical program known as the New Covenant.

The nation of Israel proved over and over again, that man has no capacity to live by the righteous standards of the Old Covenant Law. So, God judged Israel and while she was away in captivity, God gave the promise of the New Covenant. Through men like Ezekiel and Jeremiah, God said that He would someday give His Holy Spirit to live within the hearts of men and that the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit would give people the power to live according to God's righteousness.

However, the prophets did not actually tell the people all that God would have to do to make the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit possible. They did not mention that God the Son would have to enter into creation with a mortal body in order to die for the sins of the world. God knew that that was the only way to cleanse the human heart from sin, but He kept that secret from the prophets.

So when Jesus was about to shed His blood for the sins of the world, He told His disciples that His blood would be the blood of the New Covenant. His blood would be the instrument that God would use to cleanse the hearts of men from all unrighteousness. And it was the Apostle Paul who taught us that the cleansing power of the blood of Christ is made available only to those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

As a minister of the New Covenant, the Apostle Paul said: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23). But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed . . . even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. (Romans 3:21-22).

After people come to grips with their personal sin and believe in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation, that's when they are ready to move on into the third stage of spiritual development. This stage is represented by the Biblical program known as the Church which is the Body of Christ, and it’s the stage in which a person becomes spiritually one with Jesus Christ in his everyday walk with the Lord. The Apostle Paul was given the special revelation concerning the Church which is the Body of Christ, and according to that revelation, those who believe in Jesus Christ are given the privilege of becoming spiritually one with Jesus Christ.

Paul said: For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free — and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13 NKJV). Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. (1 Corinthians 12:27 NKJV).

Matthew, Mark and Luke did not talk much about this, but the Apostle John says that Jesus Christ often taught His disciples that they could become spiritually one with Him just like He was spiritual one with His Father in heaven. In the Gospel of John, Jesus said: My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one. (John 10:27-30 NKJV).

Jesus said: Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5 NKJV). And again He said: If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31-32 NKJV).

During this Christmas season, we at the Peace Church wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas. We pray that God will bless you with a clear understanding of the righteousness of God, of the salvation that is available to us through faith in Jesus Christ, and of the joy that comes to those who become spiritually one with Jesus Christ.

Thank you again for studying with me today. We trust that you'll be able to join us again next week for a special Christmas program with Chas Robbins. Until then, may God richly bless you in every way.