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December 2015

INCARNATION

The Grand Miracle!

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December 2015


December 2015

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A Campus MagazineVol. 33 Issue 12December 2015

Into ThePAGES

Editorial 04

THE UNSURPASSEDMIRACLE 06Guest Author

God in flesh 12David Jebasingh

Incarnation or Avathar 14Dr. K. Jacob Kurian

Really? 16Justin Joseph

A Grain of Wheat! 22Joe John George

News 25


December 2015

The pulse

Prof. P.G. Varghese

“The word became flesh anddwelt among us , and we beheldthe glory, the glory as of the onlybegotten of the Father, full ofgrace and truth.”John 1:14 KJV)

“The word became a humanbeing and, full of grace andtruth, lived among us. We sawhis glory, the glory which hereceived as the fathers onlySon.”John 1:14 (GNB)Another Christmas is round thecorner. Every year the intensityof outward celebrations isincreasing. With sound, music,fury, dazzling display of lightsand feasts and parties mixedwith intoxicant drinks people try

to make Christmas celebrationhighly ‘spirited’. Amidst allkinds of celebrations, peopleforget that Christmas is all aboutthe greatest of all miracles – themiracle of incarnation.

Jesus Christ is the incarnatedword of God. He is the Light ofthe world (John 8:12). Christmasis known as the festival of lights.In Matthew 4:16, we read “thepeople who sat in darkness haveseen a great light, and uponthose who sat in the land ofshadow of death, light hasdawned.” When we see theChristmas lights around us inmany places, we are reminded of

Incarnation


December 2015

a single light so bright that itilluminates the whole world withtruth, justice and love. This is thelight that the world is longingand looking for (Isa: 9:2,6,7). Hehas told his followers to displayHis light so that others will seeand glorify God (Matt5:16).

It is one thing to say thatJesus is born in the town ofBethlehem in Judaea twothousand years ago. It is anotherthing to say that Jesus is born inmy heart when I accepted him asmy personal Saviour and Lord.The former is a matter ofobjective historical statementwhile the latter is a matter ofsubjective personal experience.When Jesus comes into ourhearts, He takes away all ourdoubts and fears .Luke 2:10 says: Do not be afraid ,for behold, Ibring you good tidings of greatjoy which will be to all people.”Ina world full of fear, we need toremember that Jesus came tobe the Prince of Peace (Isaiah9:6).We desperately need Hispeace and pardon. As we look tohim, He will ease our fears andcalm our hearts and minds. Hewill fill our hearts with peacethat passes all understandings.

During Christmas weexchange gifts, gifts of differentcategories and values. Paul saysin 2 Corinthians 9:15,”Thanks beto God for His indescribablegift!”. In GNB, it is rendered ,”Letus thank God for his priceless

gift!”. God’s people are not in acompetition to see who can givethe most ,but we are called to be“ready to give, willing to share“(1 Tim 6:18). At Christmas time,as we share gifts with others, weremember the generosity of Godtoward us. He gave us His onlybegotten Son. Ray Steadmansaid ,”Jesus set aside his richesand entered into His creation in astate of poverty in order toenrich us all by His Grace.” Wethank God Almighty for thepriceless gift of Christ Himself.This Christmas, we can give thegift of God’s likeness through us.When our lives reflect God wholives in us, we can be differentfrom the world and thatdifference can bless others withthe transforming presence of Hislove and grace.

God’s gracious gift, His Son, isoffered to “every tribe andnation. “For God so loved theworld that H e gave His onlybegotten Son ,that whoeverbelieves in Him should not perishbut have everlasting life”(John3:16). As we worship Him thisChristmas ,may our celebrationsbe filled with joy and wonder ofwhat incarnation is all about. O!come, let us adore Him! God’slove became incarnate atBethlehem.

Our Contact wishes all itsreaders ‘A Merry Christmas and aBright, Prosperous , PeacefulNew Year!


December 2015

THE UNSURPASSEDTHE UNSURPASSEDTHE UNSURPASSEDTHE UNSURPASSEDTHE UNSURPASSEDMIRACLEMIRACLEMIRACLEMIRACLEMIRACLE

Guest AuthorEvents unconquerable byman we characterize as wonders.We see several wonders in theWord of God that are beyond thepower of even gifted men orconjurers. Even believers in theBible tend to in-comprehend theconcept of miracles, in thecontext of wonders and magic,stated therein.

For instance, Moses’ rodturning as serpent in Exodus 4:3-4and 7:10, is a miracle againstPharaoh’s wise men and sorcerers(the magicians of Egypt) perform-ing such a magic with theirenchantments in Exodus 7:11. Wesee a series of such miracles and

magic performances in the Word.While magic, conjuring, sorcery orwitchcraft is of the world and thedevil, miracles are performed bythe power of God.

We read of the miracle offeeding the 5,000 in Mathew 14:13-21; of feeding another 4,000 inMathew 15: 32-39. Of the firstmiracle of Jesus at the weddingfeast in the town of Cana, the poetlaureate Alexander Pope said,“The conscious water saw itsMaster and blushed.”


December 2015

Cover StoryEven the disciples of Jesus had

performed miracles. Miracles takeplace in and through the disciplesof Jesus Christ even today.

But the birth of Jesus stands outas a miracle of all miracles that evertook place, of which Saint Paulsays in II Corinthians 9:15 –‘Thanks be unto God for His‘Unspeakable Gift’ (which isJesus Christ). For nearly 2,000years now, this unspeakable giftcould not be explained away by themost eloquent expositors of theWord of God. He still standsunique and unexplainable.

There are 4 aspects to the birthof Jesus Christ.

I. HIS BIRTH ISUNEQUALLED IN HUMANHISTORY.

Magicians largely these days,attempt to educate the minoraspects of conjuring to theirspectators. However, at the end ofit, they would perform a trick thatwould yet remain a mystery to theaudience. Just so, the birth of Jesusremains a mystery to all othermiracles in the Word.

No gifted saint or magician hasever experimented with humanbirth. Although science has beenable to bring the ovum and spermtogether under laboratory condit-ions to transplant the zygote intothe womb of the mother, and thusenable even sterile persons havetheir progeny, or attempted a testtube baby, and has even succeededin cloning, it has not made any

headway in creating either chromo-somes or the human cell. Hence itwouldn’t be incorrect to say thatscience has not been able to‘create’ anything, in spite of greatdiscoveries and inventions. It hassplit the atom, but not created anatom.

It is in this context that weconsider the non-biological,supernatural miraculous birth ofour Lord Jesus Christ.

99-year-old Abraham and 90-year old Sarah have had their sonIsaac, as well as the priestZachariah and Elizabeth in theirold age had their son John theBaptist, by the working of the HolySpirit. There are a number ofinstances of barren women such asHannah had children, by the workof the Holy Spirit.

But it is quite strange that in theBible, the birth of Jesus Christ isstated quite differently anduniquely. The Gospel according toMathew Chapter I verse 18 states:“Now, the birth of Jesus Christ wason this wise: When as His motherMary was espoused to Joseph,

Therefore, thebloodstream ofJesus is of Heaven,for, if He was bornof man or woman,he couldn’t havesaved the sinners.


December 2015

Cover Storybefore they came together, she wasfound with child of the HolyGhost.” In verse 17: Jacob begatJoseph the husband of Mary, ofwhom was born Jesus, who iscalled Christ.

Therefore, the bloodstream ofJesus is of Heaven, for, if He wasborn of man or woman, he couldn’thave saved the sinners. Further, Hewas born a child to effect cleansingfrom the very womb where sinoriginates (Psalms 51:5 – I wasshaped in iniquity; and in sin didmy mother conceive me), and

the nativity, childhood, personality,teachings, character, life, preac-hing, acceptance, rejection, cruc-ifixion, burial, resurrection,ascension, and the second comingof this Jesus Christ has been statedthrough 333 prophesies by 25historians who had not even seenHim.

II. THE UNPARALLEDWONDERS THAT TOOKPLACE AT THE BIRTH OFJESUS CHRIST:

The Son-ship of Jesus Christ isa doctrine or wonder un-under-stood even by a large number ofChristians. John 3:16 states:

“GOD SO MUCH LOVEDTHE WORLD THAT HE GAVEHIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON,THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVE-S IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERI-SH, BUT HAVE EVERLASTINGLIFE.”

What do we understand of theSon-ship of Jesus Christ? Takecare of the usage ‘begotten’ thatmeans, not ‘created’.

There are two factors attributedto the personality of Jesus Christhere:

(i) He is complete God(ii) He is complete man.

John’s account of Jesus Christstates in Chapter 1 verse 18:

“No man hath seen God at anytime; the only begotten Son whichis in the bosom of the Father, Hehath declared Him.”

God manifested Himself in theform of man, that man may be able

therefore did not come down toearth as a full man alike Adam, tosave mankind.

It has never been said in historyof any other Prophet or Messiahthat their birth would be so and so.It is not said of Shakespeare,Napoleon, Queen Victoria, AlbertEinstein, Karl Marx, MahatmaGandhi or Adolf Hitler either; thatthey would be born the way theywere born.

But 700 Centuries before, theancestry, birthplace, time of birth,

But 700 Centuries before, theancestry, birthplace, time ofbirth, the nativity, childhood,personality, teachings,character, life, preaching,acceptance, rejection, cruc-ifixion, burial, resurrection,ascension, and the secondcoming of this Jesus Christ hasbeen stated through 333prophesies by 25 historianswho had not even seen Him.


December 2015

Cover Storyto realize Him.

• At birth He disturbed thepeace of King Herod – being bornas King of Kings;

• In boyhood He confusedscribes and wise men;

• In youth He conquered all thephenomenon of nature;

• He walked gracefully over theroaring waves and silenced thewild sea;

• He cured the diseases of themultitude without pills or potion;

• He consoled disturbed heartswith His soothing words.

Although He did not attemptany writing, the libraries of theworld are crowded with books onHim.

Although He did not composeany song, there is not a theme orany person that has been subjected

to so much compositions andhymns.

Whereas fame of great men lastawhile, Jesus Christ marchesahead with His eternal life andmission. King Herod could notmassacre Him; death could neithersubdue, nor blackmail Him. Why!Death could not decay Him (Hisdeath after-all lasted only 72hours); the sepulchre could notwithhold Him.

In contrast, if we look at Hiscomplete manhood,

Jesus was born to poor parents;His birthplace was a stable; Hisfriends were uneducated workersand fishermen; His companionswere sinners, the sick, the tortured,and the suffering; His death wasupon the condemned cross; Hewas buried in a hired tomb.

RevivalAfter the revival had concluded, the three pastors were

discussing the results with one another.The Methodist minister said, “The revival worked out

great for us! We gained four new families.”The Baptist preacher said, “We did better than that! We

gained six new families.”The Presbyterian pastor said, “Well, we did even better

than that! We got rid of our 10 biggest trouble makers!”


December 2015

Cover storyIn this context, some of the

following may appearcontradictions at least to some:

He hadn’t sinned – yet wascrucified a sinner. II Corinthians5:21: “FOR HE (GOD) HASMADE HIM TO BE SIN FORUS, WHO KNEW NO SIN; THATWE MIGHT BE MADE THERIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD INHIM.”

• He gave His life as ransom tomankind – yet He conqueredeternal life;

• He was counted among thetransgressed – yet He was buriedin the tomb of a wealthy man;

• He was given away to death –but none of His bones were broken;

• His limbs were pierced – yetthis was unknown at the time ofprophecy;

• He was born in Bethlehem –but was called from Egypt;

• He was cast out from the landof the living – yet His Kingdomlasted for ever;

• He was slighted and deniedby men – yet glorified of all peoplein the world;

• He was meek and humble –yet was Omnipotent God andPowerful Judge.

NO WONDER THE JEWSAND THEOLOGIANS OFTHE TIME WERE INDEEDCONFUSED.

After the Old Testament era,during the dark period of 400 yearswhen there was no prophecy asguideline for mankind, God

revealed Himself as man, fulfillingall the Old Testament prophecies.

Through the birth of Jesus,eternal life is restored to mortalman;

A Saviour is born for theremission of sinners;

A benefactor is sent to thebereaving;

A healer to the sick;A just liberator to the

oppressed;A Shepherd to the strayed

sheep.III. RESPONSE OF

DIGNITORES AT THEBIRTH OF JESUS

1. King Herod of Judea: Oneof hatred and vengeance. When theKing of Kings was born, theJudean king thought Him a threatto his position. Even today whenChrist is taking birth in the livesof men and women, those whooppress them by their rule,including the devil, are hateful anddo vengeance.

2. The Scribes and Pharisees:The Jews are an orthodox religiousgroup, still anxiously awaiting thecoming of their Messiah - withoutever realizing that His SecondComing is at hand. Even today,there are non-Jews who do notrealize or accept Jesus Christ asMessiah. Such are indifferent tothe mysterious birth of our LordJesus Christ.

3. The Wise Men and theShepherds: There are those whohad the vision of the birth of Jesus,


December 2015

Cover storywho left their all in search of Him,with only a star for a guide. Theyare those who accept Him, adoreHim, and present sacrifices andgifts to Him.

In this context it is but pertinentto consider the 3 Gifts offered toBaby Jesus.

(i) Gold – The King ofMetals, non-corrodible is gifted tothe King of Kings, Gold being Hisheritage in every respect.

(ii) Frankincense – A symbolof anointment and reconciliation tothe priests. Christ being the HighPriest of the Church, Frankincenseis a symbol of reconciliation. It isburnt at the altar during worship,even today.

(iii) Myrrh – It should appeara contradiction to have presentedmyrrh as a gift at the birth of Jesus,for, it is generally a balm appliedon the dead body as well. Yet, it isrelevant, in the sense that Jesus hasannounced His death at His verybirth. He should die that we mightlive.

The cradle is a pointer to theCrown through the Cross.

IV. THECONTEMPORARYRELEVANCE OF THE BIRTHOF JESUS CHRIST:

The religious hierarchy, lib-eral theologies or contemporaryphilosophies would not quitepermit Christ’s humble birth,interaction and transformation inthe lives of the public. If Christ-ianity would turn to Christ and

His Principles as Swami Vivek-anand admonished, the structureof Human doctrines mightcollapse. Hence, the Herod cultmust keep up their vengeance.

While the modern Phariseesand Scribes are anxiously awai-ting and preparing for a princelybirth of their Messiah, and the-reby undermine a costly salvation,let the meek and lowly, provide alittle space for His humble birthin the stable of their heart, to theOne born a sacrifice to the sinner,the oppressed and the suffering.‘For this is faithful saying, andworthy of all acceptation, thatChrist Jesus came into the worldto save sinners.’ ’For, there is noneother name under heaven givenamong men, whereby we must besaved.’ ‘Believe on the Lord JesusChrist, and you shall be saved, andyour household.’

Let this Christmas becomemeaningful to you.

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December 2015

Feature

One of the basic tenets ofChristian faith is that God becameman in Christ. The disciple Johnafter writing about the preexistence of ‘Word’ wrote, ‘Hebecame flesh and made Hisdwelling among us. We have seenHis glory, the glory of the one andonly, who came from the Father,full of grace and truth’ (John 1: 14).Incarnation is the proof of God’slove for us which is narrated in theverse, ‘God so loved the world thathe gave his one and only Son, thatwhoever believes in Him shall notperish but have eternal life.’(John3:16)

When we share our faith withnon-believers, one of the issuesthat might confronts us is theVirgin birth and deity of our Lord

Jesus Christ. There is attack ontrue Christian faith from manyangles because Satan knowsbiblical faith alone is the savingfaith. In the first century, a fanaticJew called Saul was so muchagainst Christian faith that be triedto persecute the church. Hisintellectual mind could notcomprehend how a Jew, born toa carpenter and died like criminalcould be worshipped as God. Buteverything changed as heencountered the living Lord Jesus!

David Jebasingh


December 2015

FeatureHis whole life was transformedand he could not remain silent. Inhis own words he wrote, ‘they onlyheard the report “The man whoformerly persecuted us ispreaching the faith he once triedto destroy”(Gal 1:23).

The truth of incarnation, ‘Godbecame flesh’ runs through theNew Testament writings. God theHoly Spirit, based on the truth ofincarnation has forewarned usthough the Scripture about theapostasy that will arise in the latterdays. While giving his farewelladdress to the Ephesian believersApostle Paul said, ‘I know thatafter I leave, savage wolves willcome in among you and will notspare the flock. Even from yourown member, men will arise anddistort the truth in order to drawaway disciples after them.’(Acts20:29 & 30) Paul was worriedabout the Corinthian church. Hefeared that they may be led to‘another Jesus’ who is differentfrom the Jesus he preached.( II Cor.11:4)

One of the reasons ApostleJohn wrote his first epistle was toprotect the believers from goingaway from faith. For John,incarnation was fundamental. Hewrites, ‘ This is how you canrecognize the Spirit of God. Everyspirit that acknowledges that JesusChrist has come in the flesh is fromGod.’( I John 4:2) He further wrote,‘many deceivers, who do notacknowledge Jesus Christ as

writes, ‘here is a trustworthysaying that deserves fullacceptance; Christ came in to theworld to save sinners – of whom Iam the worst.’( I Tim 1:15)

If you take away the truth ofincarnation, Christ becomes agood human, a righteous teacher,a moral philosopher and even ayogi as some new agephilosophers claim. To ascertainHis divinity and preexistence,Christ once claimed, ‘beforeAbraham was born, I am’ (John 8 :

coming in the flesh have gone outin to the world. Any such personis the deceiver and the antichrist’II John 7). What an apt descriptionof our age!

We live in a pluralistic world.Holding on to the biblical Christianfaith without compromise is beingchallenged. But take heart! Whatthe Bible says alone is truth; thebiblical message alone is thesaving message. Apostle Paul

(see page 24)

To ascertain His divinityand preexistence,Christ once claimed,‘before Abraham wasborn, I am’. He is Godeternal who came inthe flesh.


December 2015

There are two kinds of divineincarnations. One is to adopt ahuman or animal form. The other isto become a human being like in thecase of Christ. The Hindu avatarsare of the former type. TheDasavatar, for instance, are of takingthe shape of a human or animal ortheir mixture like the Narasimhawho is half man and half lion.

When Christ incarnated hebecame a real man. He was fullyman and fully God. He was not fifty

percent God and fifty percent man.When a scholar in Greek addsscholarship in Hebrew to his existingscholarship in Greek, it does notreduce the scholarship in Greek to50%. In the same way full humanitywas added to full divinity of God theSon.

There is another major differencebetween incarnations in Hinduism

Incarnation orAvatar?

Dr. K. Jacob Kurian


December 2015

Featureappearance of homo-sapiens. TheAvatar who carried a bow and arrowalledgedly represent early man.

The only hope for the sinner isthe incarnation of Christ who borethe guilt of his sins voluntarily as hisrepresentative and suffered thepunishment already. What the

and incarnation of Christ. InHinduism, incidentally, it was not thegod of creation namely Brahma northe god of destruction namely Sivawho incarnated 10 times, but the godof preservation namely Mahavishnu.He purportedly did so whenwickedness abounded on the earth.He Intervened supposedly topreserve the righteous and to punishthe wicked.

Brahma should not be mistakenfor Brahman, the All-pervading soulwho is like an ocean into whicheverbody and everthing merge, theonly reality, while all the rest ismere’Maya’ or illusion (not vanity)and lose ‘aham’ which is ego andshed individuality or distinction.

Christ, unlike the Dasavatarcame to save the unrighteous. Thisis a sharp contrast with the Hinduincarnations, the Dasavatar ofMahavishnu who came to save therighteous and to punish the wicked.In listing the 10 avatars there is nocommon agreement. For Instance,Buddha is included in one list andexcluded from another list ofDasavatar.

There are scholars who even tryto read Darwinistic evolution into theDasavatar. The first avatar wasMalsya(fish). Life originated in wateraccording to Darwinism,“Amphibians preceded other moreadvanced land animals”, Darwinsaid, though Darwinism is outdatednow.

Avatar Narasimha stands for anintermediate stage prior to

representative does is reckoned asdone by the represented. Here ofcourse, it is the penalty paid byChrist in the place of the sinner.However for the penalty to be onbehalf of or instead of the sinner, hehas to accept it as substitutionary.Otherwise the representation will notbecome operative. It is likedemocracy wherein there is rule bythe people when the electedrepresentatives rule. There is validityin representation only when bothparties agree, i.e; when both thebefefactor and the beneficiary agree.

The only hope for thesinner is theincarnation of Christwho bore the guilt ofhis sins voluntarilyas his representativeand suffered thepunishment already.What therepresentative doesis reckoned as doneby the represented.

Dr. K. Jacob Kurian is a Bible teacher who lives inKottayam. He has served as President of UESI –Kerala and Principal Emeritus of IBTS,Areepparambu. Presently involved with CRMMinistry. Sosa and Mariam are his daughters andthey are settled with their families. He may becontacted at 0481-6453429.


December 2015

Feature

The first response of a personwho hears that “God becameman” may be, “Really?”! Thisisn’t too simple an idea forhuman brain to grasp! We can’tphysically see such kind ofthing and it is extremelydifficult to provetransformation of God to man!And it requires faith beyondreasoning to believe that thishas happened! At the sametime, this isn’t irrational!

Did God become man?! Thisis what Bible says!

There are people whobelieve in Bible and still denythe divinity of Jesus! I wouldlike to cite few Biblical versesthat shows that Jesus Christ is

God!· In the beginning was the

Word, and the Word was with God,and the Word was God. (Joh 1:1)

Here the word “word” isused to denote Jesus Christ that(v14) that He was with God, theFather, and He was Godhimself! I have heard severalarguments from this verse todisprove deity of Jesus Christ.

The first argument I heardwas “Greek Bible doesn’t saysso!” The argument goes like

Justin [email protected]


December 2015

Featurethis: In Greek the article for“the” isn’t used when it says“Word was God”! Therefore itmeans that Jesus is a God!Simple answer to thisargument is nothing but theabsence of article “a”! Theyassumes that absence of “the”means presence of “a” but itisn’t true! There are severalportions in which God isreferred without an article (Mat27:43, Mar 11:22) and thereforethis argument does not hold !

Next argument I heard is allabout changing the meaning of“Word” into literal words ofGod! They say that this verse issaying about words coming outof God that his words existedwith Him, by which everythingwas created including Jesus!They also take portions of otheroccurrences of “Word of God”and say that it doesn’t makesense if we replace Word ofGod in other portions by JesusChrist!! Are they true!? Eventhe first verse itself testifies thatthey are wrong! John 1:1 says“Word was God”! Word itselfis called as God, and thereforethe word “word” isn’t used inusual meaning here, but it isused as a synonym for God! Aspecial title for “Jesus Christ”!In verse 14 we read that “wordbecame flesh”, not “wordcreated flesh” or “throughword flesh was created”! Henceit is understood that word isn’t

just words of God, but it is JesusChrist, the eternal God! Why heused the word “Word” here? Ithas to do something withGreek philosophy! In Greekphilosophy, “logos” was usedfor divine knowledge by Philoand other contemporaryphilosophers. Here John, theapostle is trying to say thatlogos, the true divine person isnone other than Jesus Christhimself!

· Jesus said to them, “Truly,truly, I say to you, before Abrahamwas, I am.” (John 8:58)

Jews asked Jesus that “Haveyou seen Abraham”? The replygoes like this “Truly, Truly I sayto you, before Abraham was, I am”!Jesus wasn’t just saying he wasthere before Abraham, but hewas saying in regards with hiseternal nature beyond time thathe IS before Abraham! Wemight wonder what thismeans! Here Jesus is usingpresent tense (I am) to describea past event!! This indicates thatJesus is beyond time, and weare left with the only option,

John 1:1 says “Word wasGod”! Word itself iscalled as God, andtherefore the word“word” isn’t used inusual meaning here, butit is used as a synonymfor God! A special titlefor “Jesus Christ”!


December 2015

FeatureJesus is God

· And we know that the Son ofGod has come and has given usunderstanding, so that we mayknow him who is true; and we arein him who is true, in his Son JesusChrist. He is the true God andeternal life. (1John 5:20)

· who, though he was in theform of God, did not count equalitywith God a thing to be grasped(Philippians 2:6)

Jesus is said to be in the formof God as well in equality withGod! Who is equal to God? Godhimself! No doubt in that!

· (Rom 9:5) To them belong thepatriarchs, and from their race,according to the flesh, is the Christwho is God over all, blessed forever.Amen.

· waiting for our blessed hope,the appearing of the glory of ourgreat God and Saviour Jesus Christ(Titus 2:13)

These are some verseswhich says directly that JesusChrist is God! If we thinkattributes of Jesus Christ,names called by Jesus Christand so, we’ll get moreevidences regarding deity ofJesus Christ! So, in conclusion,Jesus Christ is God!

Next question will be, “Is itrational”? Well, this questioncan be on the basis of Bible aswell as based on rationalgrounds! There are somequestions regardingconsistency of “God becoming

man” with other portions of thescripture. Common questionsare

· God is not a man, that heshould lie, nor a son of man, thathe should change his mind. Doeshe speak and then not act? Doeshe promise and not fulfil (Num23:19)

Balaam says about God thathe isn’t a man. Those whoargue against divinity of Jesusoften takes this verse and askthat “Is Jesus Man, and if yes,he is not God” Does this versemeans that? Of course not!What it really says is all aboutreal nature of God! God isn’tman, which means that God isof some other nature. In John4:22 we read that God is spirit.So, God isn’t man! But it doesn’tmean that God cannot come inhumanly form or some otherform for sake of any specialtask! That doesn’t nullify thisverse too! For example, if aperson comes in monkey’soutfit, will one say that he is nota man anymore? No one will!He is man itself, but his outfithas changed. That doesn’tmatter when we look from theperspective of who he really is!For the same reason, God isn’tman, i.e. his true nature isn’thumanly. But he can come inhuman form and that’s what hedid!

· Every good and perfect gift isfrom above, coming down from the


December 2015

FeatureFather of the heavenly lights, whodoes not change like shiftingshadows. (Jas 1:17)

Argument goes like this, “IfGod cannot change, how he canbecome human?” The fact is,I’ve already said the answerabove! God wasn’t changing hisentire spiritual nature to ahuman form. Rather, he wascoming in human likeness. Paulsays “being madein humanlikeness” (Phil2:7). As I saidbefore, it is justlike changingoutfit. If I changethe dress I wear,does that meanI’ve changed!?Surely not!!

Some ask that“How is thatpossible? HowGod can do allthings that human do?” Wemight know that human consistof 3 parts: body, soul and spirit.Body is the physical aspect inus. When we die what left isbody. What makes body alive(biological life) is all about soul.It may include our thoughts,emotions and intellect. Physicaldeath occurs when bodyseparates from soul! Coming tothe spirit, it is the real person!Spirit is the one who decides,connects to God, care for othersand so! Human consists of

these 3 parts. We know thatGod is spirit (John 4:22). Andwhen he became human, whathappened is, God created aspecial human body, and gavelife to it, and he came in that!In other words, human bodywith God (spirit) in it. It is JesusChrist. It is possible and notirrational! So Jesus Christ isGod in human form. So, when

we look attributesand qualities ofJesus Christ, wemust keep in mindthat Jesus Christ isGod in humanform. In order tocome in thisnature, God hassacrificed hisseveral divinequalities! Thatdoesn’t make Him“non-God”! It isjust like: If we

wear tight outfits, we won’t beable to do what we can doreally! That is what happenedhere! Since God came in humanform, he laid aside his glory,humbled himself and took thehuman form! That is what wecan in his death! Critics arguethat death of Jesus Christproves he isn’t God! The fact is,death is just separation of soulfrom body; not end ofeverything! Since Jesus is Godin human form, and when hisspirit separated from the body

He is man itself, buthis outfit has

changed. That doesn’tmatter when we lookfrom the perspectiveof who he really is!

For the same reason,God isn’t man, i.e. his

true nature isn’thumanly. But he cancome in human form

and that’s what hedid!


December 2015

Feature(due to physical tribulations),death occurred/spirit separatedfrom body!

· Finally, “why shouldGod come down by suchhumbleness and all? Isn’t thismaking your God inferior?”

There is a specific and clearreason for arrival of JesusChrist. Jesus Christ says that“just as the Son of Man did notcome to be served, but to serve, andto give his life as a ransom formany.” (Mat 20:28) The answerfor “Why Jesus Came?” is “togive His life as a ransom formany”! And here, the questbegins!

Why should Jesus come togive life!? Why God can’t justforgive our sins? Many answerthis question as follows: “OurGod is God of Justice. Even thecourt here will punishcriminals for their offences.Then how much more our Godwill do! It is God’s law thatthere isn’t redemption withoutshedding of the blood. So, Godcame here as human, gave hisblood for our redemption”

This answer makes critics toask few more questions. “OurGod isn’t just a court, he isloving and caring God like ourfather! If we do sin and repentsincerely, will our fatherpunish? Normally no! If we goto Bible, we see severalincidents that God forgavetheir sins, just by repenting (not

by blood sacrifices). For e.g.people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:10),Isaiah (Isaiah 6:6-7), sins ofIsrael (2 Chronicles 7:14),Psalms 40:6, Proverbs 28:13,etc... If you’re saying that thereisn’t forgiveness withoutshedding of the blood, and thisis why Jesus came, it seems likeGod is making rules for hisown sacrifice. What if Hedoesn’t make that law (noredemption without sheddingblood)?”

What is the real problem!?Why Jesus came!? It starts fromthe beginning! When Adam didsin, he became a sinner. Andthe sin has two kinds ofpunishments! First one is allabout consequence of sin, andsecond one is punishment ofsin from God’s anger. Let ustake an example of Father andson.

A father and son lived in abeautiful house. Their househad a fence, and there are somethorns beyond the fence. So,Father asked son not to gobeyond that fence. What didthe son do? He sinned! Hecrossed the gate when Fatherwasn’t around! As a result athorn got into his leg, and hewas hurt! So, suddenly he cameback to his home, appliedmedicine, and took rest. Laterfather came to know aboutwhat the son did! He gotangry!! At this moment of time,


December 2015

Feature

son is facing two kind ofpunishments! He got hurt bythorn (consequence of doingsin), and his father is going tobeat him (punishment from theanger of father)! What he cando now is, say sorry to hisfather, and this can lead toforgiveness from father. But hisson has to bear pain from hiswound!

The same thing happens incase of human too. When man(Adam) did sin, he missed thetarget set by God, as a result hebecame sinner! He has to bearconsequence of being a sinner!!And there are punishmentsfrom anger of God, whichmight be forgiven according tomercy of God and ourrepentance! But we cannotescape from the consequence ofbeing a sinner. And theconsequence is nothing but theHell itself (Romans 6:23)!!Therefore, God cannot forgiveour consequence of separationfrom God, but He can forgiveis His anger as we saw inseveral verses in Bible! In orderto save human from separation

from Hell, what God did was,He took this pain of separationso that we can be saved in Hisname. In other words, Godhimself paid the cost (of ourconsequence)! This is whyJesus came to earth. Hismission was all about “give lifeas ransom”! So what we see inlife of Jesus Christ, his talks, hisactions is all about a mediatorbetween God and human, cameas a servant of God to die forour sins!

But he was pierced for ourtransgressions, he was crushed forour iniquities; the punishment thatbrought us peace was upon him,and by his wounds we are healed.(Isa 53:5)

What is left to us, is justaccept that God has paid thepenalty for our sins so that wecan attain salvation andrelation with God through God(Jesus Christ). Those whohaven’t accepted this fact andinvited Jesus Christ as personalsaviour and Jesus Christ, maytake time to pray this simpleprayer with a repentant heart“I am sinner and I agree thatyou took my punishment. Iaccept you as my personalSaviour and Lord, Please comeinto my heart…”

Let us praise God for whoHe is and what He’s done!

Justin Joseph is a Graduate Volunteerof UESI-Kerala based at Pathanamthittaafter his B.Tech. studies.

In order to save humanfrom separation fromHell, what God did was,He took this pain ofseparation so that we canbe saved in His name.


December 2015

On Monday, the 24th of August2015, we assembled at TiruvallaRailway Station. All thirteen of uswere on a mission exposure trip toAndhra Pradesh. Needless to saywe were really excited about thetrip. Even as we travelled, wemade use of the time to worshipthe Lord and have fellowship withone another.

Mr. Premkumar, the Statesecretary of UESI-AP received usat Guntur railway station and tookus to UESI- AP STUDY CENTREat Nambur. He gave us a brieforientation regarding the trip andwe decided to split into twogroups. The 1st group led by Mr.Sujoy Jacob (South CentralRegional Staff) had the followingmembers - Varghese Mathew

(Ranny EGF), Pretty AchaVarghese (St.Thomas College,Kozhenchery), Neethu SusanChandy (St.Theresas’ BethanyConvent Higher SecondarySchool), Abraham Samuel(Regional Secretary) and RubenAnand (President, MarthomaCollege EU) . The second groupwas led by Mr. Samson Philip(Central Regional Staff) and themembers were Justin Joseph(Coordinator, Pathanamthitta

A G r a i n o f W h e a t !A G r a i n o f W h e a t !

Prayer Life

Pretty Acha Varghese


December 2015

Prayer Life

JANUARY - SOCIAL MEDIAFEBRUARY - TEENSMARCH - FASHION TRENDSAPRIL - ESSENTIALS OF CHRISTIAN FAITHMAY - USE OF INTERNET & CELL PHONESJUNE - CHRISTIAN LIVING IN A SECULAR WORLD

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),Bobby Simon (Alappuzha EGF),Missy Varghese ( Ranny EGF) ,Andrew Sunil George ( MarthomaHigher Secondary School,Kozhenchery), Susan Thomas(St.Thomas College, Ranny) andPrince Mathew Varghese (St.Behanan’s HSS, Vennikulam) .

We visited many EUs and EGFsand were impressed by thepassion and commitment of thestudents and graduates . And theytook care of us wonderfully! Weheard about the founder of APministry, JOSEPH ABHISHEKA

RAO. It was a CMTC held atKottagiri that changed Joseph’slife at the age of 18. During aninformal fellowship time with Bro.P.C. Varghese he accepted JesusChrist as his personal Saviour. Hecame back from the camp with agreat burden for Andhra Pradesh.He began to pray for Andhraplacing his hands on the map ofAndhra Pradesh. He collectedprayer points from all the 23districts of the state and sent it toall the students and graduates.After completing his studies hejoined UESI as a staff worker. He


December 2015

Prayer Lifetravelled the length and breadth ofAndhra Pradesh and laboured toestablish student groups. Heprayed with great burden forunreached districts. When hepassed through such districtsduring his train journeys he wouldget down from the train, kneeldown in the station and pray thatGod will raise students in thatplace to bear witness to the gospel.

Because of untiring work andextensive travel he became sick.He was advised to avoid travel andtake rest. But he could not remaininactive. He continued his travelsand continued his ministry amongstudents. But he reached a stagewhen he could travel no more. Hebecame seriously ill. At the climaxof his passionate journey, God

called him to eternal rest at the ageof 23. He was the perfect exampleof a grain of wheat that fell on theground and died. During thefuneral service, ten people touchedhis burial ground and committedthemselves that they would fulfilthe vision of Abhisheka Rao. Godused them wonderfully to initiateEU ministry in different parts ofthe state. Over the years, thenumber of students and graduatesmultiplied and the ministry spreadto all the districts in the state ofAndhra Pradesh. As we see theflourishing ministry of UESI in APtoday, we remember the grain ofwheat that fell on the ground so asto produce many seeds.

Pretty Acha Varghese is a B.com finalyear Student of Finance & Tax at St. ThomasCollege, Kozhenchery.

58). He is God eternal who camein the flesh.

Why did the Word becomeflesh? Why God become man?What does it mean to us? Theauthor of book of Hebrews writes,‘Since the children have flesh andblood, He too shared in theirhumanity, so that by His death, Hemight destroy him who holds thepower of death- that is, thedevil’(Hebrews 2:14). Further hewrites, ‘For this reason He had tobe made like his brothers in everyway, in order that He mightbecome merciful and faithful high

priest to God and that He mightmake atonement for the sins ofthe people’ (Hebrews 2:17).

What a joy to know that wehave a God who is available to uswhen ‘we are tempted’ for ‘He isable to aid those who aretempted’(Hebrews 2 :18). What aprivilege to live for Him ‘who madeHimself nothing, taking the verynature of a servant, being madein the human likeness’ (Phil2:7).

(from page 14)God in flesh

David Jebasingh works withTANGEDCO at Nagercoil and involveswith UESI ministries as afamily. Contact:[email protected]


December 2015

News

The last cave dwellers of PalestineAbout 1,500 Palestinians in a dozen West Bank hamletsmaintain a unique tradition of cave dwelling.Eloise Bollack | 08 Aug 2015 Poverty & Development, Politics, Arts &Culture, Middle East, Palestine

Masafer Yatta, occupiedWest Bank - In the district ofMasafer Yatta, in the southernpart of the occupied West Bank,about 1,500 Palestinians in adozen hamlets maintain a uniquetradition of cave dwelling.

“We live the same way myancestors used to. It is a verysimple life; we live with theseasons, taking care of the flock,harvesting the fields. We collectwater from two wells, and apower generator provideselectricity,” said MahmoudHussein Hamamdi, who lives inUm Faqarah, a cave hamletwhere the Israeli military hasprevented the building of any

new structures.According to research by Ali

Qleibo, a Palestiniananthropologist studying thesecommunities, the tribes from thesouth of Jerusalem to theoutskirts of Beersheba were allcave dweller communities untilthe 19th century.

“The powerful symbolism ofthese caves still resonates in theJudeo-Christian-Muslimtradition, as is evident in theCave of Abraham in Hebron, theCave of the Nativity inBethlehem, and the cave underthe Dome of the Rock,” Qleibotold Al Jazeera.

New Delhi under threat of ‘aerialstrikes’ from ISIS: ReportANI | Nov 28, 2015,

Drones could be used tolaunch attacks on Delhi.threat of aerial strikes fromdifferent terror outfitsincluding the Islamic State of

Iraq and Syria(ISIS), theministry of home affairs said.

The report said thatsecurity agencies have takennecessary steps to foil anysuch attacks and have


December 2015

News

prepared a list of 15 key areasin the Indian capital that theyfear might be targeted.

The areas under threat,according to the ministry ofhome affairs, include thePrime Minister’s house, theresidences of home ministerand vice-president,Rashtrapati Bhavan, Rajpath,India Gate and the CGOComplex that houses theheadquarters of key agenciessuch as the CBI, CISF andBSF.

Various objects likeunmanned air system (UAS),drones, and paramotors couldbe used to launch theseattacks, the ministry said.

The security agencies havebeen instructed to shoot downany unidentified or suspiciousflying object once it is

declared ‘non-friendly’ by theIndia Air Force (IAF).

“Delhi is the most sensitivemetro in India. It has beenfacing threats from variousoutfits. But aerial attackthreats are now the mainfocus. Security andintelligence agencies havegiven reports about suchattacks in Delhi. Thegovernment is coming outwith a plan to counter thethreat,” a top governmentofficial was quoted by theDaily Mail as saying.

Last month, a suspecteddrone had been noticed at theairport in Delhi. However,security agencies are stillunable to demystify theincident.

Stay updated on the go withTimes of India News App.


December 2015

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