The Real Christmas Carol The Spirit of Christmas Present

(December 20, 2020)

Ask any teenager what has been the most significant world event of their lifetime? – Most would say – COVID 19 - obviously. Ask their parents. Most would still probably say COVID 19 – but some might say 9/11. Ask their great grandparents and almost all would say – clearly World War 2. These events were globally significant and changed the course of world history. We speak of the world before and after 9/11 – before and after the war. And the day will come when we will speak of BC – Before COVID and AD – After Donald. But as momentous as these events seem to us – from the perspective of heaven – there is only one event that actually transformed eternal history – the coming of Jesus Christ. In a sense the world understands this. Historians divide human events into BC – Before Christ – and AD – Anno Domini – After the year of our Lord – after the year Jesus was born. The birth of Jesus is the one truly transformative event of history. It is true that there have been other crucial events in history – creation, the fall, the flood, the Second Coming – but it is undeniable that the birth of Jesus is the one true

universe defining event that exists between the fall of man and the end of human history. And every part of this event – the coming of Jesus into history – was planned within the Godhead – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – in eternity past – worked out in history – and will reverberate for all eternity. It is why Christians pause each and every year to celebrate this event. So, as a church, we thought it would be fitting to spend three weeks viewing Christmas in terms of God’s plan of salvation – or as theologians usually speak of it – the plan of redemption. And because Dickens’ A Christmas Carol – is a favourite Christmas classic for many of us – I love it – in fact I am going to watch it this week at QPAC – we thought we would fashion this series around Dickens’ novel and call it – The Real Christmas Carol. We have chosen to look at The Spirit of Christmas Past, Present and Future. The point of this whole series is that: The real song of Christmas is God’s plan to redeem His people. The reason we gather every year and rejoice is to celebrate the truth that God decreed a plan to save His people – enacted it – and changed the course of history for all eternity. Christmas did not begin and end 2000 years ago. It actually began before there was a world, it is the most crucial truth in history today and its effects shape all eternity. Last week we began with The Spirit of Christmas Past where we saw that:

Before time the plan of redemption was orchestrated in love Because God is love and because of the love that exists within the Godhead – the plan of redemption was the inevitable outcome. The love of God expressed itself in the salvation of the lost. I don’t understand the Trinity let alone all the workings of the Trinity – but we are told that the plan to redeem us flowed from the perfect love that exists within the Trinity. This week we move to consider something a bit easier to get our heads around – The Spirit of Christmas Present. We will look at how the plan of redemption is worked out in history – the period of time from Creation to the Second Coming. What we will see is that:

In time the plan of redemption was played out through obedience

At the perfect time – God initiated the plan that would save His people – through the obedience of the Son. And then on Christmas Eve we will see this:

For all time the plan of redemption is celebrated with joy What happened in Bethlehem will reverberate with joy through the pages of eternity. This morning we turn our thoughts to celebrate this truth.

In time the plan of redemption was played out through obedience I want us to work our way through this: First, this plan was executed: At the perfect time Timing is everything. And God’s timing is always perfect. To see this – look at Galatians 4:4:

When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.

Jesus came – born of a woman – human. He came – born under the law – into a cursed world that exists under the judgment of God. He came – when the time had come to completion. Completion is the word – pleroma. It means in full measure, in the perfect or the right time. In Ephesians 1:9–10 we read:

He purposed in Christ as a plan for the right time (pleroma)—to bring everything together in Christ.

The plan in Christ was enacted at the right or perfect time. Back in Galatians 4 verse 2 Paul speaks of the time set by the Father. This is the idea of this word. A perfect time – determined by God. Don’t mistake what this means. Don’t think of God the Father and God the Son just waiting around twiddling their thumbs from the moment of creation waiting for 4BC to arrive. Don’t think of the Son in heaven getting a bit impatient and asking – is it time yet – can I go now? He watches the flood – is it save the world time? He watches the Exodus – now? He sees Israel carted off into Babylonian captivity – surely now? No – the Father and the Son predetermined this perfect time before the world existed. While we can’t know all the reasons why this is the perfect time, we can say that this was the time that would save people in a way that would most glorify God for all eternity. We must not think of God like a Master Chess player – reacting to events as they unfold. OK – now that Caesar made that move – I will play My big gun – time to go Jesus. No! God is the Supreme Architect designing every facet of history before there even was a world. He sets the time for everything.

And in this grand plan – the ultimate event was the coming of Christ and that occurred at the perfect time. Timing is everything. The day Christ was born was the perfect time in all history to work the purposes of God in redeeming a people for Himself. No other time would have been as perfect. I do not know how long the time from Creation to the Second Coming will be. What I do know is that the coming of Jesus occurred at the perfect time, the time set by the Father. No other time in history would have achieved His purposes. Why was 2000 years ago the perfect time? Why didn’t Jesus come as the first-born child of Adam and Eve – sort all of the mess out early? Why not come in the days of Noah or Abraham or David. Or for that matter – why not pick 2020 – a year when the world desperately yearns for a Saviour? I don’t know all the reasons. I can speculate on some. The Bible says that Jesus came to redeem a myriad of people – from every tribe and tongue and nation – it took time for these people to fill the earth. As well, I suspect that our pride is such that if Jesus had come much earlier than He did – people would have said – you know what – You should have given us more of a chance to save ourselves – we can do it. No – we needed the time before the cross to show us what abject failures we are in terms of saving ourselves. By the days of Noah the whole earth was filled with people who had rejected God. Their rebellion was so profound God destroyed them at the flood. Clean start – but then came Babel. We had not learned anything. So, God chose one man – who became one nation. God gave them everything. He redeemed them from Egypt. Gave them a land, the Law, Priests, Judges, Kings – and they turned from God. So in love, He sent Prophets to warn them – they killed them. Finally, they were exiled – and in a show of great grace were returned to the land where they soon returned to their pagan ways.

By the time Jesus arrived – no one should ever have been proud enough to say – actually we don’t need You – we can save ourselves. The best of men, Abraham, Moses, David – had failed. Clearly, we can’t save ourselves. As well, there is another sense in which the timing was also perfect for the spread of the gospel and the church. Rome had prepared the way. The pax Romana – the Roman peace – and the Roman roads meant travel was easy and relatively safe. Rome had introduced a lingua franca a common language. Most spoke koine Greek. The result is that night in Bethlehem was the perfect time in all human history for God to send the Saviour into the world. This is the moment the Word became flesh. Jesus entered this world born of a woman – He came as a newborn baby. He looked just like any other baby – warm, soft, vulnerable. But, there were many differences between Jesus and every other child. Divinity, sinlessness, eternality – to name a few. But here is one difference that might not readily come to mind. A few weeks back Alyssa Hindle gave birth to little Grace Elizabeth Robyn Hindle. Here is the thing. Little Grace had no say at all in whether she would be conceived at all, when she would be conceived and when she would be born. Her birth was entirely out of her control. Even Mitch and Alyssa did not have complete control over those things. If you are a parent of teenagers – you have probably had them spit the dummy at some point and cry – I didn’t ask to be born you know! But Jesus did. Jesus is the only person who ever had total control over every facet of His conception and birth. In Hebrews 10 – we are told God prepared a body for Jesus – Jesus chose to enter that body to do the will of the Father – which is die for the sins of His people. Jesus is the only person ever born who chose to be conceived, chose when that would occur and even chose His birthday.

Almost certainly it was not December 25 in the year 1 AD – it was probably between 6 and 4 BC. Whenever it was – it was the perfect time to save the world. But that is not all – this plan was executed: By His humble obedience We often say – Jesus didn’t have to come to save us. But there is a sense in which that is not true. Because He is love. Because He loves the Father. Because the Father loves the Son. This perfect love compelled Him to choose to humble Himself, to leave heaven and enter our world. None of us love perfectly – but if we see our child fall in a swollen river – we don’t think should I act or not – we just jump in to save them. And our love is very imperfect. I don’t know exactly how decisions are made among Father, Son and Spirit. But I can tell you how it did not go. It was not a discussion in eternity past like – wow – we decided to create men and women – well we all know that these humans will rebel. So, the question before us now is – are we going to save them? Show of hands – should we save them? OK – save them it is. Alright we all know what that means. One of us has to leave heaven and go and save them – divine rock, scissors, paper – sorry Son – it is You. That is blasphemous. While I do not know exactly how the Godhead makes decrees – I know they are an inevitable consequence of their attributes. God is love. It is this love that compelled the decree to save us. Also, the Son loves the Father and the Father loves the Son. This divine inter-Trinitarian love compelled the Son to be the One who would redeem a people who will glorify the Father for all eternity. At every point the Son makes the choice that brings glory to God.

And that choice meant He willingly entered this world to save His people. So, somehow the very shape of history is a consequence of the love of God – such that every detail of the coming of the Son was determined in eternity past. Perfect love sent Jesus into this world. And coming to this world meant humbling Himself. Philippians 2:5–8:

Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death — even to death on a cross.

This verse is about as Christmas as you get. Christ always existed in the form of God – but in order to come into the world and humble Himself on the cross – He chose not to hold onto that privilege but to humble Himself – taking on the likeness of humanity. The Word became flesh. The Son humbled Himself to the point of becoming human – clothing Himself in humanity. However, a God who would willingly humble Himself and suffer is not how most people picture God. Philip Yancey tells us that:

When Muslims conquered Asia Minor they converted many Christian churches into mosques, carving this stern inscription for the admonition of any remaining Christians: “God did not beget and is not begotten.”1

That is a quote from the Qur’an (Qur'an, 112:3). God did not beget and is not begotten. Inscribing these words was a statement. You Christians claim God became man. We say shame on you. How dare you. God would never humiliate Himself like that. To them the idea of God humbling Himself to become a man is so ungodly. It is weak, it is demeaning, it is degrading. Possibly the only more degrading thought is God dying on a cross. But here is what I want to say in the strongest possible terms.

1 Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995) p. 54.

The incarnation – God becoming man – and the atonement – God dying for man – are perhaps the two most Godlike acts ever performed. While many see them as weak – they are in fact out-workings of perfect love. Divine perfect love compelled Jesus to lay aside many of the privileges of deity – while still being in essence God – and He did this in order to save His people. It is so hard for us to imagine how great this act of humbling was. Every year I preach on Christmas – the incarnation. That is a lot of sermons. I still struggle to grasp the enormity and wonder of it. I can’t even imagine what it is like to be God – eternal, all-powerful, existing in all times and places, completely satisfied in Himself, in a divine relationship of love with the other members of the Trinity. And then to leave that perfection. To shrink down to a single cell in a virgin’s womb – and enter this fallen, flawed, filthy world – as a helpless, vulnerable child. To swap heaven for a manger. To lay aside omnipotence to become helpless. To leave perfect unity for a world filled with illness, strife, war and death. To live a perfect obedient life under the Law, only to be persecuted by man and then to die on a cross as payment for our sin – and in this way – to save His people. And He did it for one reason – love. I for one can’t really get my mind around this. The sacrifice is too great. I am certainly not worth it. There is a part of me that understands why the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Muslims and the Jews say – whoever Jesus is – He simply cannot be God. Call Him good – declare him an angel or prophet – but don’t say He is God. My God would never humiliate Himself by becoming weak. And yet – unless the one in the manger is fully God – the very message we rejoice in each Christmas has no power, no worth, no reality. True Christianity has never wavered or strayed from this – the single greatest truth in history – is that the love of God compelled the Son to humble Himself and become man to save us.

The great church councils affirmed it. The gospel has always proclaimed it. And true Christians have always rejoiced in it. And it could be no other way. We can only be saved by His humble obedience. We cannot be saved by our imperfect attempts at obedience. Why because saving obedience must be perfect obedience. God is not only love – He is holy – completely holy. To be reconciled with God – we have to be holy – not somewhat holy – perfectly holy. Listen to what Paul said in Galatians 3:10:

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed.

Because the Law is an expression of God’s character – it means that unless we are perfect – without sin – unless we do everything written in the Book of the Law – unless our obedience is perfect – we are under the curse of a holy God. If you are going to rely on your obedience to get you to heaven – you better bring it – because the standard is perfection. You better be ready to keep every single command – perfectly. Leviticus 18:5 tells us that the way to life is to keep every single decree. If you break the Law at any point you have fallen short of the standard and the full penalties of the Law will fall on you. You are not holy – you are not fit for heaven. If you live your 80 years – conception to death – without sin – no lying, no envy, no lust, no anger – always making the godly choice – never losing it – obeying God perfectly at every point – welcome to heaven. The justice and holiness of God will not be offended by your life – you qualify. The problem as Paul points out is that no one qualifies. All have sinned and fallen short. Psalm 14:2–3:

The LORD looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise, one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one.

Not even one! God looks down at all these men and women trying to be good enough to please Him – and God’s verdict is – you all fail – no one is good – not even one! We are all little sin factories. Lie there. Lust there. Greed there. Anger there. And despite all of this – our deceptive hearts keep telling ourselves – you are better than most – don’t worry I think you are good enough – I think you have done enough to deserve heaven. No you don’t! Jesus said that you have to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. He said your righteousness – your holiness – your Law keeping had to be beyond that of any Scribe or Pharisees. Wow! These are the men who devoted their life to knowing the Law and keeping the Law. They tithed the herbs they grew! And they didn’t make it. That is why Paul can confidently say – no one is justified by works of the Law – because no one can meet God’s standard. Our obedience is not good enough. It is why Jesus had to humble Himself – live a perfect life – die a sacrificial death – in our place – and to impute – to bestow on us His perfect life. When God looks at us – He sees the perfect life of Christ and approves. Without Bethlehem there could be no Calvary – there could be no heaven. Without the humbling of God becoming man – no one could be saved. Finally, this plan was executed:

To His people’s salvation. Without Christmas there would not be any people in heaven. Because or Christmas and Calvary there will be a multitude of sinners – washed clean – clothed with the perfect works of Jesus – and glorifying God as trophies of grace for all eternity. We often talk about a Christmas miracle. This is the greatest miracle in history. The impossible was made possible – the salvation of lost men and women was actually accomplished. Now don’t mistake this. Saving us did not meet some deep pressing need in God. He did not need to save us to be complete. God – Father, Son, Holy Spirit – existed in perfect unity and satisfaction in eternity past. In terms of needing something – being complete – they did not need to create the universe or humanity. But, in some way creating us, saving us, calling a redeemed people to glorify Himself for all eternity seems an inevitable consequence of God’s glory. Jesus coming to save His people brings eternal glory and praise to the Father. Without this, we would not have seen facets of God’s character – Creator, Redeemer, Lover. There would not be a people for His name to declare His glory for all eternity.

So while Jesus coming to save is an inevitable consequence of His glory and love – it is no less remarkable and almost beyond comprehension. To see this, I could have us look at the rest of passage in Galatians. Galatians 4:4-5:

When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Jesus came at Christmas – as one under the Law – to redeem us from the power of the Law – to make us sons. Instead of slaves – we become sons – heirs – those who will enjoy heaven with Him for eternity. But, most often I get asked to look at a more traditional Christmas passage – so lets look at Matthew 1:18–21:

The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

The Son – Christ – had to become human – a son of Adam – in order to redeem the sons and daughters of Adam. To die in place of men and women – He had to be human. Justice means God can’t just forgive sinners – the penalty must be paid. And only God could become a sinless man to pay our penalty. To redeem the sons of Adam you have to become a son of Adam. But, if you are God – how do you become human? You have to be born. To be born – you need a mother. God sovereignly chose Mary. We believe Mary was young – 13 or 14 years old. Most likely, Joseph – her betrothed – was just a teenager himself. But as the time approached for their marriage to move to the final state – them formally marrying and living as husband and wife – something changed everything.

Luke tells us that Mary had an encounter with the angel Gabriel. Sometime after this Mary found out that she was pregnant! I can only imagine the questions in Mary’s head. How? Why? What will happen now? The account in Luke tells us that Mary got out of Nazareth and went to her cousin – Elizabeth – in the hill country of Judah. It seems likely that word began to filter back – Mary took off because she is pregnant. Wow – wouldn’t want to be her. Maybe Joseph found out that way. Maybe Mary told him face to face. I suspect that most of us have had awkward, difficult conversations at some time. But I doubt any of us have had a conversation quite like Mary would have had to have at some point:

Joseph – my love – my betrothed.

Yeah … There is something I have to tell you.

Don’t worry. I’m not blind – look at you. I know what is going on. Joseph you have to believe me that this is the truth. I have not been unfaithful. Gabriel an angel of the Lord appeared to me.

An angel huh? He called me – the favoured woman – and said that the Lord was with me.

Favoured? Not what the people here in Nazareth are saying. Well the angel said this, “Mary, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.” I’m thinking – what!! Are you saying I am going to be the mother of Messiah? Joseph – this was an angel – a genuine angel. Initially I thought – OK – if that is true then you will be the father. But then I became pregnant – and I haven’t been with a man! I haven’t!

You are sticking with that? … OK. Let me get this right. You want me to believe an angel from the Lord appeared to you – a 14 year old girl from Nazareth – and told you that you would miraculously become pregnant and the child will be the Messiah of Israel?

… Yes.

OK … Mary, I’m going to make this simple. I need the truth. I won’t like it – but I do need the truth. So, stop the angel stuff. Just the truth?

… Joseph that is the truth. I’m struggling too. I asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?” He answered and said, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Yeah right. However you cut it – you are pregnant and I’m not the father. Joseph – I know how this sounds. Will you believe me?

Now the questions are Joseph’s. How could she do this? How could she do this to me? Why is she lying? What do I do now? Joseph was a good man. He could have accused her publicly – instead he sought to divorce her secretly. You read this and you say – wouldn’t there have been a less painful way for God to become man than destroying Mary and Joseph’s life? But here is the thing – for Jesus to save His people – He had to become one of them. For Him to become man – it required a human mother – a descendant of Adam. There was no other way for it but a virgin birth – human mother – the Spirit of God coming upon her – the result is Immanuel – God with us – God become man. This was all laid out in the Old Testament. It was part of the plan of redemption designed before the creation of the world. So, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”

Now, put yourself in Joseph’s shoes – even when an angel of God turns up – being told your betrothed is pregnant by the Holy Spirit requires huge faith. Mary being unfaithful would still seem like the much more likely scenario. But the reality was very different. In eternity past God chose Mary as the vessel through which God would become man. And it was the only way:

She will give birth to a son. Your beloved Mary will give birth to a son – and you are not his father. Sounds like bad news. Sounds horrible. It is actually anything but – it is the greatest news Joseph could hear.

And you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.

All of the pain, the hurt, the innuendo was necessary because Messiah had to come – or there would be no forgiveness of sin. There was no other way to save anyone other than Christmas, the Word become flesh, Immanuel – God with us. What Joseph had to understand was that the stigma that his wife was unfaithful was not the worst thing that could happen to him. Being forced to flee to other cities and foreign lands was not the worst thing that could happen to him. The worst thing that could happen to Joseph is that Messiah would not come and he would die in his sins and spend eternity in hell. As good a man as Joseph was – he was a sinner. All men are sinners. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But the angel said – you shall call His name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. Joseph – this Child will save you. Joseph didn’t know all the facts. How could the Child in Mary’s womb save the world? How could this Child be God? But, this Child came to save His people from their sins.

Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the new-born King; Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”

Born that man no more may die, Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth. Hark! the herald angels sing, “Glory to the new-born King.”

This was good news – great news. This news makes sense of all the confusion, the questions, the pain. Sometimes I wonder at the plan of God. Choosing one nation. One seed. A virgin birth. A gruesome crucifixion. Why 2000 years ago, why in Israel, why Nazareth? Because in eternity past – love compelled the plan of redemption. A perfect plan – involving a perfect Saviour, at the perfect time, perfectly executed. This plan did the impossible – saving you and me. This plan will be sung about in the new heavens and earth for all time. Revelation 5:9–10:

And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slaughtered, and you purchased people for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation. You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth.

Christmas is so much more than a manger, some animals and a few wise men. It is the climax of history. It is the moment the plan of God was made manifest. It changed everything. But, if you don’t trust in the plan – place your life in the hands of Christ – then for you – all of this might as well never have happened. You rely on your imperfect obedience to please a perfectly holy God and that never ends well. Don’t waste the Christmas miracle. Trust in Immanuel – God with us – to save you. And if you are a Christian – paise amid the carnage of festivities, food and family – to reflect on the incredible love that manifested itself in an outrageous plan – that was executed perfectly – so that you might live. That is the real Christmas Carol.