 As we draw to an end of this year, I want us to reflect on the incarnation of our Lord and it’s implications for our life. The act of God becoming man and identifying with his creation is the greatest event in the history of our world. St Athanasius, the 4th century bishop of Alexandria and defender of Nicene orthodoxy, said this in his pivotal work On the Incarnation, “For He alone, being Word of the Father and above all, was in consequence both able to recreate all, and worthy to suffer on behalf of all and to be an ambassador for all with the Father. For this purpose, then, the incorporeal and incorruptible and immaterial Word of God entered our world” (On the Incarnation, 2.7-8). Athanasius understood that God becoming man had major implications for our lives. First and foremost was our redemption. Only God can redeem sinful man, therefore, Jesus as God in the flesh through his propitiation is the only one able to fully redeem man. Jesus must be more than a man, because a man cannot redeem another man, only God can perform such venture. Second, the incarnation means we can know God. He is not distant, but intimately identifies with his creation. The writer of Hebrews says ”For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15 ESV). Athanasius again says, “The Savior of us all, the Word of God, in His great love took to Himself a body and moved as Man among men, meeting their senses, so to speak, half way. He became Himself an object for the senses, so that those who were seeking God in sensible things might apprehend the Father through the works which He, the Word of God, did in the body” (3.15).
The final implication of the incarnation I wish to highlight is our worship. We are now compelled to worship God together for the wonderful gift of his Son in order that we may be redeemed. Once again Athanasius says, “Worship, then, the Savior “Who is above all” and mighty, even God the Word, and condemn those who are being defeated and made to disappear by Him. When the sun has come, darkness prevails no longer; any of it that may be left anywhere is driven away” (8.55). We should not forsake intimate fellowship with one another and regular worship in the body so that we may continually feed on the spiritual nourishment provided by our Lord for our growth and his glory. Our communion should always properly reflect the glories of the incarnation, both in Christ’s humanity and deity. We should never devalue one for the sake of the other and vice versa. Because Christ came and brought with him grace, forgiveness and love, these are the things are to share with one another. Let us continually confess our sins to one another and enjoy the intimate fellowship at the Lord’s table and the proclamation of his gospel. The incarnation, once again, is the most substantial act to ever occur in the history of mankind. May we never tire of dwelling upon it’s profundity and implications for our lives and those whom have yet to come to faith. May we praise our God for his grace and truth. And may we commit to continue abiding in the body of Christ through intimate fellowship and worship, especially around the table of our Lord with his bread and his cup. May we eagerly await the return of our Lord and the hope of resurrection. As our brother Athanasius said, “Now, therefore, when we die we no longer do so as men condemned to death, but as those who are even now in process of rising we await the general resurrection of all, “which in its own times He shall show,” even God Who wrought it and bestowed it on us” (2.10). May you have peace and joy this holiday season as you ponder the sweet grace of our God, through Christ Jesus our Lord. To download a PDF copy of St. Athanasius’s On the Incarnation, click here. |
Category: Expositional Thoughts
Don’t believe them. That’s right, don’t believe a word they say. I know they entice others with their fancy words and their promises, but Christian, do not believe them. You know whom I speak of don’t you? Those ones who claim that when you come to Jesus then your pains and woes will disappear. Yes, you know them. Those one who proclaim, “IF ONLY YOU HAD MORE FAITH THEN YOU WOULD BE HEALED!” Those ones who proclaim that our Savior bears all are diseases, sorrows and iniquities therefore they are gone for good. ‘LIVE IN VICTORY!” they jump and scream from their pulpits. Shame on them. They implore you with a promise of healing, shame on them. They focus on the benefits of the Savior, rather on the Savior himself. Yes, shame, indeed. Or perhaps its a whisper in your ear that softly speaks saying, “If only you had more faith, then God would heal you.” Again it whispers, imploring you, “You were meant to have all manner of things in this life, suffer not and live in bliss.” Disease and suffering is not the ultimate enemy that is to be overcome, rather, it is sin. It is sin that lies behind our suffering and sickness, that is, the effects of sin and the sorrows it brings. Oh we need a Savior that will bear up in himself this sin and the suffering it brings. Our hope is to be in a greater victory to be accomplished in the cross of our Lord which enables us to echo the Apostle Paul when he says, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” And with a voice which exclaims in hopeful expectation, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24–25 ESV). This morning, may we see in the Gospel of Matthew more than a healing but Christ who bears up our infirmities and provides hope for those whom have come to see their desperate need for salvation. So church, do not believe them that proclaim merely the availability of all sorts of healings in Jesus, but rather listen to the Scriptures proclaim the ultimate power of our Savior: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1–2 ESV).
The prophet Isaiah writes of a suffering servant. A servant who bears our iniquities, that is, our sins and transgressions. Christ has bore our sins in his flesh, he did so by submitting himself to the will of the father and the dominion of death. Again the apostle says,“though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant,being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6–8 ESV). So what is our Gospel writer trying to convey? Surely he is confirming to us an historical event during the earthly ministry of our Lord, but what is the depth of meaning behind such an occasion which is seemingly eclipsed by other greater occasions. Church we must see; this is the essence of the gospel; he bore our sins and submitted himself to death. This is not merely a story of healing a disease, this is a moment which exposes the nature of our Savior and our utter dependence upon his mercy and grace. With a touch, with a word, with sweet and subtle approach is our Lord able to heal the sickness of our hearts. Oh if we were to focus our devotion more upon our need for healing from sin, then our need for physical healing would diminish in light of the greater need. Yet, he is not without compassion for the physical needs. Nor are we to be so.
To this end, the Apostle gives us, the church, this command,“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:12–15 ESV) Listen to the words: rejoice, not in having all your desires fulfilled but in a hope in what is to come. Of this hope the Psalmist proclaims,“O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! May my accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt. But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.” (Psalms 71:12–14 ESV) Though our world be filled with turmoil and temptation, we rest in the hope of our God. And likewise be patient, not only when the world is at peace around you, but even when in times of mayhem and confusion. For sin will reign upon the earth until the coming of our Lord to inaugurate a new heavens and a new earth. And do not neglect the consistency of prayer for the act of prayer binds the Christian to the heart of God. And may we heed the call to submit to one another and display the hospitality of Christ towards each other. And finally may we, instead of displaying a false sense of happiness, seek to truly rejoice in times of joy and bitterly weep in times of despair and sorrow. This is the church of Christ, this is the body of those who have been healed by the sweet grace of our God through his Son by the Spirit that we may manifest his grace in a very real and physical way. This is what we do. This is charity, love, faith, hope and grace. Yes, Christ can heal, but his healings are never meant to solely satisfy the recipient in the moment. No rather Christ’s healings are two-fold. They are intended to transform the receiver, as it did with Peter’s mother-in-law. Christ heals and our response is to serve him with our whole being. The second component to Christ’s healings it to draw our attention to the end of this age, where we shall burst forth from the grave as did Christ and receive from him an incorruptible body like his free from the effects of sin and death. Christ heals in order to signal a new day to come. The fact remains that those who receive healing in this life will still experience death, it is only in the resurrection that we will finally experience a domain free from the pain of death and disease. May we have the hope in which John speaks saying, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2 ESV) Now hold fast Christian to this promise of resurrection for it is our hope. Of this the apostle says to the church in Thessolonica, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16 ESV)
What else are we to learn of the grace and nature of our Lord according to this passage? Should we not see our need for imitation? Christ, who has submitted himself to the dominion of death, has given us the example for which we must set our hearts and minds to. This is not the task of the simple-minded, this is the task of those who have received the healing grace of our God through Jesus Christ but the revitalizing power of the Holy Spirit. The text says that “He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him.” (Matthew 8:15 ESV) She rose to serve him, both in the moment but also set forth an example of becoming a disciple of Christ. The Greek word here is diakano, from which we derive our word deacon, or servant. A deacon is one who is dedicated to serving Christ and the church. Are we not to imitate a life of service, whether or not we have an official title or not? Surely those who are in Christ have a commitment to follow in the footsteps, not of the old Adam, but of the new Adam, that is Christ. A Christian life apart from the imitation of Christ is anything but the Christian life. Because Christ willingly submitted himself to God, we willingly submit to our leaders and one another. Because Christ came to heal, we go and we seek to heal. Because Christ suffered, we too should expect to suffer. The one who has healed our sickness has given us the holy mandate to go throughout the nations proclaiming all that he has taught us in the Scripture (Matthew 28:19) and perpetuate disciples through baptizing and teaching. To declare to the world that which is in the Scriptures is to proclaim the words of the Prophet Isaiah when he says, “He took our illness and and bore our disease” that is “he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows.” How did he do this? Through the cross. Oh that we would proclaim that message, not of our victorious life, but of the life and passion of our Lord in order that we might stand before God at the judgement not because of our own righteousness but because of the righteousness of the Son who bore our sickness of sin. A message of healing apart from the truth of the cross is a not a message of healing but of idolatry. The charge for the redeemed is to be like Christ and proclaim the truth of the cross. May the words of the Apostle be fulfilled in our body when he says, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1–3 ESV)
So do not believe them, Christian. Do not believe those who promise a life of fullness now, but believe those who point the way to Christ as the means for fullness in the life to come. Turn your eyes away from the vulgarity of those who proclaim that faith in Jesus Christ will produce for you all your desires for health and wealth. Our God is sovereign and will heal those whom he chooses, but take greater comfort in the grace shown to sinners in the healing power displayed upon the cross. The center point here is not the multitude of healings, but rather, the power of our Lord who now sits at the right hand of the Father pleading our case before him and awaiting that moment for when the trumpet shall sound and the Lord shall descend and we will finally have all that we need in Jesus Christ, that is, a body free from the sting of sin and death. So do not believe the embellished words of the false teacher, and turn away from the whispers of sinful lusts which give you cause to doubt the aim to which you proclaim faith in Christ. But rather watch and pray O Christian, for the coming of our Savior and take comfort in knowing that he has carried the penalty of our sins to the cross. He is the bearer of our infirmities, and with his cleansing blood, those in Christ have a new hope and a new purpose. Do you have this hope today? Have your affections and devotion turned to God or do they remain focused on temporary matters? Do you look forward to the day when sin and death and it’s effects will be forever removed? Has the Holy Spirit shown you the effects of sin and drawn you to God through Jesus Christ? I pray that God will so enlighten your heart and draw you to the hope of Christ.
Resolutions? Or should we just do the right thing? Certainly Christians should strive to make markers in their lives where they choose to stop a habit which is harmful, or perhaps begin one that is beneficial. However many resolutions John Edwards made, I’ve never been one for them. Why not just say you are going to do something, and do it. This does not have to mean you will be perfect in your weight loss, running distance, and your reduced intake of chips and queso but it is something you are striving to do which is right. Do the right thing. Choose to do something that is great and begin doing what you need to in order to achieve that great thing.
A reading from God’s word, in the Gospel According to Matthew:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7–11 ESV)
After exposing our sinful hearts and our need to actively seek God in verses 1-5, Christ goes on to show us how much God desires to give us great things. He asks a rhetorical question, yet we should consider the spiritual implications here. Parents, you likely gave your child a gift for Christmas this year that they really wanted. A gift that they just had to have, or at least something that you just wanted to give to them. This came out of love, no doubt, but alas the gift is temporary. Parents, I know you desire to give your children good things and even many of the desires of their heart, but are you giving the best of what they need spiritually? We don’t desire to give our children stones to eat, but often we settle for spiritual stones over true bread. What have you given to your child that might be a stone rather than bread? Has a temporal activity replaced an eternal one? Maybe you’re not addressing spiritual questions, and rather just letting them “figure it out on their own.” What about the things you allow into your home through entertainment and other media? Stones do not nourish, they may be useful for a single purpose, but they can not satisfy our true need. In our pragmatic society, we settle for activities which will accomplish some good yet do not fully satisfy our true need. Jesus’s statement should cause us to question whether or not we are giving our children, and to each other, that which we truly need.
Sadly, we do not trust that the great spiritual things of the faith will satisfy and nourish our souls. Instead of a fish, which is something that is good for health and nourishment, we often give each other snakes which are harmful and potentially fatal. Because the effects of spiritual practice are not readily noticed, we often forsake them for something that can only satisfy in the short-term. Though we understand what is good to give to our children physically, we often choose to do otherwise spiritually. Jesus’s point here is that we know what we should give each other, but, our Father who is great has that which is ultimately best and will not give us that which is harmful. James 1.17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
Because we are sinful and can do nothing apart from him, we must seek after the great things of God. Prayer is our channel of expressing lament, joy, grief, desire and adoration. This is one way we can seek after God. He will either answer our prayers, change our desires, or answer in ways we couldn’t possibly imagine. This was the message of the Hines’ testimony during Advent: God provided in ways that they couldn’t foresee. Fasting will allow us to consider that which is eternally satisfying and forsake that which will satisfy for only a moment. Are we so prideful to think that we would not gain a greater depth of spiritual discernment from simple fasting and prayer? Ask the Lord to aid you in your struggle with sinful habits, fasting will help. Christ has given us holiness and new life, are we to waste it on things that are unclean? This is his message to us this morning. To what things are you throwing your pearls? Or what affections are you exchanging for the most holy of affections? Knock on the door of God’s word. Maybe you want to stop giving out spiritual stones, but don’t know where to start. Take advantage of resources that will aid in your spiritual growth. Bible reading plans, catchecism study guides and accountability groups are just a few places to start.
We are also called to serve each other and those outside the church.Peter says in his first epistle, chapter four, verse eight, “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” Make the church of Christ and her work in the world your priority. Christian, you are a spiritual person, not in the shallow worldly sense, rather you are truly spiritual because of God’s Holy Spirit indwelling you for the purpose of showing forth Christ and making you holy unto his service. This is Paul’s message in Ephesians 2:8-10; we are saved to be set apart for his work.
Because of Christ, we now have access to the Father and been adopted into his family; being freed from the bondage of sin. We must now seek the greater things of the Lord through prayer, fasting and abiding in the body of Christ and trust that the pursuit of these things are greater and will increase the abundance of life that Christ promised. This is the message of Christ today for us: our spiritual growth is an active process. Will you seek the greater things of God in 2011, or continue to feed upon the unsatisfying spread of stones and snakes? Trust that the pursuit of the greater things of God will increase the abundance of life that Christ promised. Christ came to give us life and life to the full; may we seek after the life which he has made possible.
Peace in Him,
Coleman
A reading from God’s word, in the Gospel According to Matthew:
“Judge not, that you be not judged.For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you. Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:1–11 ESV)
The word of God is capable of continually exposing our human faults. It’s interesting how we continue to struggle with these things even though we may be in Christ and in-dwelt with the Holy Spirit. If we are in Christ our eternal destination is secure but there remains the reality of constantly exposing, working through and dealing with our flaws, faults, and sinful habits. Even so, we continually turn to things that will not satisfy. We too often choose the temporal satisfaction over the greater actions of holiness. Christ shows us in this passage that, though we are sinful, we must constantly seek after God. We should desire the great things of God! Our spiritual growth is an active process! We are called to constantly evaluate our lives, or repent, and seek the great things of God rather than the temporary feast of stones and snakes that this world has to offer.
Take, for instance, the Christmas tree which remains in your living room (unless you are extremely proactive regarding the removal of Christmas decorations. I, myself, am not so proactive) and the (possibly fictional) peach, apple or other fruit-bearing in your backyard. One is temporary and one is meant to give fruit and prosperity for all time. While the Christmas tree is attractive and looks appealing, it’s only temporary. In fact, the tree is either fake or dead. According to David in Psalm 1, those who seek after the Lord are a living vibrant tree. This relates to our passage in Matthew’s gospel as we talk about spiritual growth because our spiritual growth is an active process.
Abiding in Christ is not a temporary relationship, it’s an eternal one. We cannot believe the lie that once we have accepted Christ then we have done all that we should do. Scripture time and time again testifies to our need to guard our hearts from sin and seek after holiness, and this this message from Jesus illustrates this well. As the Psalmist says our delight is to be found in God’s word (Psalm 1.2), and the product of that delight is true growth. This is what Christ means when he commands us to ask, seek and knock in Matthew 7.7. These are active, not passive, verbs. We are the ones who are to do these things and this is the process of spiritual growth, guided by the Holy Spirit and the Word, in the life of the believer. Spiritual growth is an active process! Are you acting? Are you seeking and knocking? Prayer, fasting and growing in the knowledge of the Lord are the actions of a believer! However, we so often forsake spiritual actions for temporal activities. My question is: Are you seeking in the stillness of prayer that which you are trying to accomplish in the commotion of life? Are you asking of the Lord that which you are trying to attain through your own effort? And are you knocking on the door of contemporary self-help and man-made programs or knocking on the door of the church built on the word of God? We should desire and seek the greater things of God.
Christ commands us to not throw that which is holy to unholy things. How does this command relate to the spiritual life of the believer? Are you casting your spiritual pearls before things that will trample your soul? Once again, our spiritual growth is an active process; we must choose not to cast that which is holy into places where it might be trampled upon. We are holy because of Christ, set apart for his good work (Eph. 2.8-10). Do not cast yourself upon things that are unholy and will likely turn to attack you and your soul this year. Actively seek after the greater things of God this year of 2011.
- Coleman
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Matthew 24:42-44
