Pastor’s Corner December 2006

The following was published in our monthly newsletter, the Redeemer Report.

Advent is a time to Appreciate the Incarnation

Very simply and practically, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ means that he gave up his honor and glory, he let go of his position and he relinquished all of the riches of heaven, in order to become one of us, in order to save us from our sins.  More technically, the bible teaches that Jesus Christ “became flesh” when he was miraculously conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. In the Incarnation, the divine nature of the Son was perfectly united with human nature in one divine Person. This person, Jesus Christ, was both truly God and truly man. This fact is made explicit in the Bible.  The truth of the Incarnation runs as a unifying thread through out the New Testament, making possible the events and work of Jesus’ life. As I will explain later, understanding the Incarnation is indispensable and foundational to truly grasping the significance of the gospel. The Apostle John is most overt-

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

An extremely important question to ponder during Advent is-  Why is God becoming man so important to us, or why should it be?  J.I. Packer stated accurately- “The incarnation is in itself an unfathomable mystery, but it makes sense of everything else that the New Testament contains.  Think about it-the Virgin Birth is not a problem if God has become Man.  The miracles of Jesus are perfectly understandable if God has become Man.  The teachings of Jesus which claim greater authority than the OT Prophets are to be accepted without question when you consider Jesus is God.  Jesus’ claims of equality with God make perfect sense in light of the Incarnation.  Most importantly, the Resurrection itself is not only believable, but to be expected when God has become man.  The Incarnation of Jesus Christ is one of the essential tenets of biblical Christianity and a glorious truth for us to spend time pondering every Advent season.

For the next five sermons, including Christmas Eve, I will use five of the great Advent Hymns of the Christian Faith to guide the sermon content for the Advent season.  In these sermons I will teach a bit of the hymn’s story, analyze the lyrical content to see its biblical depth, and try to make some modern applications regarding the deep theological and spiritual truths proclaimed by the hymns.  This year I will focus on O Come All Ye Faithful, O Little Town of Bethlehem, God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen, Angels from the Realms of Glory, and Silent Night! Holy Night!

Why such a focus on hymns at this time?
Good hymns, those marked by sound theology and a fitting match of text and music, have endured because they are timeless and because they are based on scriptural truth.  It is said that at the beginning of a sermon, the great Reformer Martin Luther held up a Bible and said: “This is the Gospel.”  And then in the other hand he held up a hymnal and continued:  “And this is how we remember it.”  Furthermore, George Sampson said well- “The hymn echoes in the heart when the sermon is forgotten.”

“Christmas” hymns beautifully explore and proclaim the wonders of God’s love expressed in the Incarnation of Jesus.  As we study together, I hope we will renew our amazement once again at the magnificence of God becoming man.  We should be astounded by the radical humility of our Lord in taking on flesh for us.  May we each grow more in love with Jesus

In the Lamb,
Pastor Tony Felich