THE REAL CHRISTMAS STORY
Bible Reading:
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.”
The real Meaning of Christmas. Part two.
I just want to share about the
real meaning of Christmas.
2. The Presented Christ, “was made flesh.”
Christ is eternal; He was present
in creation and throughout all history. But there came a time in that
history that this Eternal Presence would be “made flesh.” Galatians 4:4
says, “But when the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman.” He was presented to the
world in a manger in
A. He entered the world.
The greatest mystery of Christmas
is why God would lower Himself to come into the world as a human, to partake of
the pain and suffering of the human experience, to allow Himself to be mocked
and ridiculed by His own created beings who did not even know Him for what He
was.
“He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew
Him not.
He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.” We know
in our minds that the answer to that mystery His love for us. But the mystery
is still real. How could God love us so? It is immeasurable!
B. He was examined by witnesses.
This was no trick or sleight of
hand. While Christ was God, He was also just as many men. He was not 50% God
and 50% man. He was both ALL God and the perfect sinless man.
1 John 1:1 tells us 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, of the Word of life; His life was one of purpose
and example. He showed humanity how it could have been had sin not corrupted
it.
C. He is enthroned by the wise.
This baby born in a manger was
not just an example or an apparition of God, He came for a purpose. His
presentation to this world was not complete at
When Christ was “made flesh,” it started a process in
which humankind could approach God and become His child. Verse 12 in our present chapter says, “But as many as received Him, to them gave The power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on His name.” So today, we must all
answer a question. Will we receive Him as our Saviour?
3. The Personal Christ, “and dwelt among us.”
Psalm 8:4 says, “What
is man, that You are mindful of him? And the son of man, that You visits him?”
If God were to come down to visit man, surely, He would separate Himself from
us; surely, He would distance Himself from such lowly beings. But no, Christ became
flesh and dwelt among us, He took up residence right alongside us.
A. For Understanding.
Christ dwelt among us so that we might understand more about the
person of God. We are finite beings; spiritual things are hard for us to
discern. Many times, in the Gospels, Jesus seeks the understanding of His
disciples. “Do you not yet understand?”
He spoke in parables and stories; He used illustrations of the wind, the sea,
and the flowers of the field.
Through His words to the
disciples, He teaches us even that today. In John 14:25-26, Jesus promises us full understanding. “These things have I spoken unto you, being
yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all
things to your remembrance, what so ever I have said unto you.”
B. For Friendship.
G. Campbell Morgan, in a message
from our text, says that the phrase, “and
dwelt among us” can be rendered “pitched his tent by us.” What a beautiful
picture of the personal Christ! The Christian is a pilgrim in this world, with
darkness all around us. Our home is in heaven, as are our riches and treasures.
We are strangers here, with no abiding place. But Christ has pitched his
tent beside us!
He goes with us on our pilgrim
journey! Though we have no pleasures in this world, we have joy with the One
who goes with us! Dr. Morgan says that this phrase is a figure of the Arab
nation, where one promises to make to take the same journey with us, under the
same conditions.
C. For Worship.
This phrase also reveals another
truth. It calls up an image of the tabernacle of the Old Testament. The word “dwelt” means “tabernacle.” The tabernacle was a place of worship. It was a place
where God Himself met with His people and accepted their adoration. Christ
tabernacles with us so that we might worship Him. We do not need to travel to
Therefore, we can worship Him
anywhere! We remember His words to the Samaritan woman: “But the hour comes and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship
the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in
truth” John 4:23-24.
End of
part two, part three tomorrow.
