Advent 2014: "And He Shall Be Called . . . Immanuel"

“For that which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved.” This affirmation, attributed to Gregory of Nazianzus, one of the 4th Century “Cappadocian Fathers,” who articulately defended the biblical view of Christ in the face of heretical challenges, succinctly captures the fulness of the salvation that has been accomplished through the obedience of Christ. In particular, Gregory was exposing the implications of teachings offered by a man named Apollinaris of Laodicea, who claimed that the Son of God could not have assumed a human mind when he assumed our existence. 

The historic teaching of the two natures of Christ, the coexistence of the divine nature and the human nature in the one person, admits that it is a mystery, but the fact of it cannot be yielded. For, as Gregory teaches, if the Word made flesh did not take on all of our existence (with the exception of our sin) then we humans remain in bondage to ourselves with no hope of rescue. Sin has so affected us that there is nothing about us that is left untouched by its destructive power. Our bodies are filled with decay and inevitable death, and our hearts and minds are prone to idolatry. We need a savior who accomplishes a full and complete salvation. This is precisely what was the Word made flesh, Immanuel, God with Us, accomplished.

That he had a body like ours is evident in that he became tired, hungry, and thirsty; that he possessed a soul like ours is evident in that he cried, became angry, felt compassion, agonized, and loved. He also obeyed the rules of logic and could, therefore, communicate with people, express ideas. All this to say, that when the Word became flesh, he became all that we are to redeem all that we are. But if any portion of us was not assumed by our Savior then we are not saved. 

But it all was assumed by the Word become flesh, God incarnate. Beginning with conception, through gestation, birth, and maturity unto death, Immanuel lived our life and, as a result, was the perfect Redeemer. One day we will experience the fulness of his salvation when we stand in the new heavens and earth with glorified bodies and incorruptible minds. That is a destiny guaranteed by the One who healed us, body and soul. 

May we join the angels in singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Advent 2014: "And He Shall Be Called . . . Immanuel"

“For that which He has not assumed He has not healed; but that which is united to His Godhead is also saved.” This affirmation, attributed to Gregory of Nazianzus, one of the 4th Century “Cappadocian Fathers,” who articulately defended the biblical view of Christ in the face of heretical challenges, succinctly captures the fulness of the salvation that has been accomplished through the obedience of Christ. In particular, Gregory was exposing the implications of teachings offered by a man named Apollinaris of Laodicea, who claimed that the Son of God could not have assumed a human mind when he assumed our existence. 

The historic teaching of the two natures of Christ, the coexistence of the divine nature and the human nature in the one person, admits that it is a mystery, but the fact of it cannot be yielded. For, as Gregory teaches, if the Word made flesh did not take on all of our existence (with the exception of our sin) then we humans remain in bondage to ourselves with no hope of rescue. Sin has so affected us that there is nothing about us that is left untouched by its destructive power. Our bodies are filled with decay and inevitable death, and our hearts and minds are prone to idolatry. We need a savior who accomplishes a full and complete salvation. This is precisely what was the Word made flesh, Immanuel, God with Us, did.

That he had a body like ours is evident in that he became tired, hungry, and thirsty; that he possessed a soul like ours is evident in that he cried, became angry, felt compassion, agonized, and loved. He also obeyed the rules of logic and could, therefore, communicate with people, express ideas. All this to say, that when the Word became flesh, he became all that we are to redeem all that we are. But if any portion of us was not assumed by our Savior then we are not saved. 

But it all was assumed by the Word become flesh, God incarnate. Beginning with conception, through gestation, birth, and maturity unto death, Immanuel lived our life and, as a result, was the perfect Redeemer. One day we will experience the fulness of his salvation when we stand in the new heavens and earth with glorified bodies and incorruptible minds. That is a destiny guaranteed by the One who healed us, body and soul. 

May we join the angels in singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Advent 2014: And He Shall Be Called . . . Son of God

This past Sunday was the third Sunday in Advent. We’ve been looking at names, or designations, for the coming child. First was “Jesus,” so called because, as the angel explained, “he will save his people from their sins.” Next, was Christ (“Anointed”), indicating that the child is the long-awaited messiah who would inaugurate an eternal and blessed rule. For the third Sunday, we consider the extraordinary title “the Son of God.”

There are several ways we could go with this: a consideration of the Trinity, or the two natures of Christ, or how the label Son of God was used for earthly rulers but was of a different and superior order for Jesus. What catches my attention, however, is the coming together of the meaning of the names “Jesus” and “Son of God” in Paul’s language at the beginning of Romans 8: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus . . . For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh . . .”

The fact that the Son took on our human existence is integrally involved with his saving us from our sins. We’ve all been so profoundly and inherently affected by the failings of our first parents that we’ve been rendered incapable of meeting the demands of the law. This places us inescapably under God’s wrath. But with the arrival of the Son of God in the “likeness of sinful flesh,” there was one who could meet the law’s demands and thus break the power of the law, sin and death. By our faith union with him we share in that victory. And what a victory it is! Paul can emphatically say that there is “NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

And to add to this gracious outcome we are instructed by Paul that the Son’s taking the law, sin and death on, was so “the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Not only are we saved from condemnation, we are also saved from a life of futile striving in our own strength to meet the law’s demands. We now have the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us enabling us to pursue the righteousness and holiness to which we are called.

What an amazing reversal of outcomes. A Christmas gift worthy of thanksgiving and celebration!

Advent 2014: And He Shall Be Called . . . Christ

The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that the child that was to be conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit, would be given by the Lord “the throne of his father David,” and he would “reign over the house of Jacob forever,” and “of his kingdom there [would] be no end.” The pronouncement signaled the fulfillment of a covenant that God had made with David some thousand years before (2 Samuel 7:12-13). What’s remarkable is that Mary didn’t need any explanation as to what the angel’s announcement meant. Neither did Simeon, or Anna, or Zechariah, or even the lowly shepherds who learned of the Christ’s birth from an angelic messenger. Despite the fact that the promise was a millennium old, the people of Israel had imbedded in their collective conscience that a Messiah, an anointed one, the anointed one, was going to come.

What would keep such a promise alive in the minds of the descendants of Abraham? Two things to suggest: the first is that it was stated by Yahweh, the one, true, and living God, whose word does not fail; the second is that with the Messiah’s arrival would come to pass all the wonderful things that had been prophesied about him, and chief among those promises was that his reign would be one marked by peace, prosperity, justice and righteousness (among the many passages see Psalm 72; Isaiah 11:1-12:6). Who wouldn't want to live under the reign of such a perfect king? Who wouldn't continue to hold fast to God’s promise no matter how long it took to fulfill?

We have even greater reason to hope than those who received Jesus into the world. He himself announced that his reign had begun (see Luke 4:14-21) and Scripture testifies that it will continue until all his enemies are subdued (Hebrews 1:1-13). The envisioned “peaceable kingdom” will come. 

What are we to do in this “already, not yet” state? Knowing what the consummation of history looks like we must help others to see it and experience it even now. If we faithfully follow our king and allow him to use us as ambassadors of his kingdom we can offer people a picture of what it’s like to live under his gracious rule. 

Advent 2014: And He Shall Be Called . . . Jesus

The name of Jesus is an ordinary name. It was in wide use during the first century AD. To the Christian, however, it is an extraordinary name. It means “Yahweh saves.” It is the name that the angel told Joseph he should name the child that would be born to Mary, his betrothed: “. . . you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus is an extraordinary name for it has within it the problem that plagues humanity, the purpose for which Jesus was sent, and the promise that his purpose would be fulfilled.

All people are plagued by the same problem, they are sinners. This is because all human beings have inherited the penchant for defining their existence apart from God. This makes all human beings, in one way or the other, idolators, and idolatry is the root of sin. Idolatry places all human beings under the judgment of God. No one, therefore, escapes the need of a savior; and Jesus came to save his people from their sins.

The merciful reality is that the baby to be born will be named Jesus on purpose. Through his life, death, and resurrection he would accomplish all that was necessary to save his people from the consequences of their idolatry. He would take upon himself our need to fulfill all righteousness, and he would take upon himself the penalty due for our having not fulfilled all righteousness. He is, therefore, aptly named Jesus, “Yahweh saves,” for the purpose for which his heavenly Father sent him was to save his people from their sins.

Lastly, the name of Jesus holds within it a promise. The angel speaks with certainty of the completion of the purpose for which Jesus in named: “you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Read that statement again. He does not say, “may save,” or “might save,” or “possibly save.” He says Jesus “will save.” The angel can speak with confidence because what is unfolding in the lives of Joseph and Mary is a plan of salvation that was established in the will of God before the universe was even created (see Ephesians 1:3-14).

The name of Jesus is an extraordinary name. Indeed, it is “the name that is above every name,” and the only name “under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Philippians 2:9; Acts 4:12).