The Miracle & Message of The Incarnation - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Now as we know, today we recognize one of the most glorious, heart throbbing, soul stirring truths about the God that we serve and sing to. And that truth is that God, from eternity past before anything was ever created, the world included, came into the very world he did create in such a mind staggering and heart winning way. And God did manifest himself in many, many ways, especially in the old testament. But it was two thousand years ago that God chose to reveal himself in stunning fashion by taking on human flesh. This is what Christians would call the incarnation of the eternal Son.

And this truth can be summarized in the famous compacted verse found in John chapter one beginning at verse 14. If you have your bibles, please turn there. John one fourteen. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the father, full of grace and truth. The whole celebration about this season is hinged on one word, Became.

Became. The word, capital w, as John would later reveal is Jesus Christ. The second person of the triune godhead became flesh. Now that does not imply that the word, the eternal son, existed or began to exist two thousand years ago. You read verse one, two and three, you see that the word was with God and the word was God from the beginning.

Neither does it imply the word becoming flesh that in doing so that he laid aside his deity. That he lay aside his Godhood by becoming man. What this implies is, not that God abandoned his divine nature when he was supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a young virgin lady. Rather, he became man by taking on human nature in addition to his divine nature. So God entered into humanity.

He wrapped himself in flesh while maintaining his divinity. And as we look at Jesus Christ in the New Testament, you and I can safely identify him as the God man. And as one person said it, remaining as he was, God, he became what he was not, men. It's a staggering thing to think about. He became flesh and he was not partially human when he took on flesh.

When he did this thing, this mysterious though miraculous thing, he's very much fully human. Very much. Everything that would describe a human, he became. Bones and muscles and nerve endings. A mind, a personality, a soul.

He was not part human, he was truly human. Except for one thing, he did not inherit a sin nature. He did not inherit a sin nature. And those people out there would argue that he was not truly human but hold on, Adam was fully human before the fall. He was truly human.

And that is very important to understand that he was actually one of us, though he did not have an inclination to sin. He did not inherit Adam's curse. And this happened two thousand years ago, but believe this, that it was anticipated for hundreds and hundreds of years in the Old Testament because it is the very theme of hope in the scriptures. Not just for the nation of Israel, but for all creation. And this is not the point of the message today, to see how the old testament alone, you can just look at the old testament alone and see that the incarnation is obvious.

To deny that Jesus Christ came in the flesh according to first John four:three is of the spirit of the antichrist is not of God. To deny that is not of God. And we can all this afternoon nod our heads and agree doctrinally that Jesus Christ did come in the flesh. That God was able to perform such a miraculous though mysterious manifestation of himself. But in the process of nodding our heads, we can at the same time fail to realize the message behind the miracle.

And if we really understand the heart behind the incarnation, by this word if our hearts are open, it will cause our hearts to follow the lyrics of that glorious hymn to what? Come and behold him, the king of angels. Oh come let us adore him. The incarnation should provoke us to adoration. And here's why.

When God became flesh, it was not a mere stunt. It was not something that just flex his miraculous ability to generate such a possibility. Interwoven in the incarnation is one of the most tender and inspiring things concerning the God that we serve. And it's clear that the scriptures reveal that God becoming man is not limited to these things, but at least declares three things concerning the God that we just sang to. Number one, the incarnation proves the humility of our God.

Now we can all say, yes, God did become men. God did choose to become flesh. But let's ask ourselves this question. What kind of a man did God choose to become? Did he choose to enter into this world to be born of a royal family?

Did he choose to position and place himself in a palace? Did he choose to come from heaven to earth in a way that he would maximize his comfort and leisure throughout his journey here? No. What did he choose to do? He chose to come in one of the most humbling ways possible.

He chose to come. And when He chose to come, He did so in such humbling manifestation. Think about it. He could have come as a man, a full grown man and just walked out. No, He chose to come as a baby.

He chose to come to be raised up by imperfect parents and to submit to them perfectly. He came in a way that he would grow up in stature. He would need to learn how to speak. He would himself need to learn how to walk. This is how he chose to come.

And throughout his life, he directly and indirectly made statements of his own humility. Think about it. He comes into the world and again he submits to imperfect parents with perfect submission. He comes into the world and he chose to step into water that he created to be baptized by a man that he called to be his forerunner. He comes to what?

Celebrate yearly feasts that he himself instituted. And on top of that, all of those feasts pointed to him in the first place. He comes to do what? Wash the feet of 12 grown men that have constantly walked in doubt concerning his statements and even what he was to do? So when we think that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, never forget this, he took off his heavenly robes to put on an apron.

He chose to come in a specific way as a man, not just man itself. Philippians two six and seven. What does it say? Who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality of God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. He chose to become a servant.

And this should humble us because the incarnation shows us that God did not remove his nature, but he did step away from his position. A position that he later prayed for in the high priestly prayer for God to restore. The extent of the humility of Christ does not show us that he only became a servant, but it led him to go further than that. Not just servanthood, but to be a sacrifice. A sacrifice.

And I pray that as we go into this part, you know what can happen to us Christians? It's like, yeah, I heard this before. Let's just fast forward. God, open our eyes this afternoon. And God is so merciful that we can humbly come and say, Lord, don't let my heart become so numb to this truce.

Let it cause me to adore you again. Let it cause me to stand in awe of you. The incarnation is not just a message of the humility of God, though it includes that. The incarnation itself is a mission, is a mission from God. Because we can give 10 reasons why and what it means that Jesus became flesh, but let us just zone in into the central purpose.

Let's go to the core. The reason why Jesus took a body is so that he could be the appropriate sacrifice that would deal with the sins of humanity. That's why he came. And the only way that that sacrifice would be pleasing and acceptable to God is what? If there was a body that was prepared for the son to put on.

Hebrews ten five, listen to these words here. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. In sin offerings and burnt offerings, you are not pleased. Then I said, behold, this is Christ speaking, quoting Psalms 40. Behold, I've come to do your will, oh God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.

In that conversation, in that one statement by the author of Hebrews, you know what he's saying? That God was not pleased with those animals though there were thousands of them slaughtered. God wanted a body. And God prepared a body and Christ would take that body and perform the will of God. What is the will of God in Christ taking a body?

Yes, to walk in perfect obedience, but ultimately to manifest his obedience to die on a cross. To die on a cross. This is what would satisfy God when a body would be taken up. Think about it for a moment then. That there was a face prepared for Christ for vicious sinners to spit on.

There was a beard prepared for Christ for worthless people to pull on. There was a back prepared for Christ to be whipped and scourged. There were veins prepared for Christ so they would be punctured and his blood would be shed. So you think about that tender baby and it's a very precious sight to meditate on, but you have to realize that that baby was prepared for what? To perform the will of God.

What is the will of God ultimately in Christ? That he would be punished and pulverized for you and me. Let's not fail to realize what this season is all about. That as warm and fuzzy as it is, it's at the same time bloody. That Christ came as a gift to humanity to pay a debt that we owed to God.

And he comes to step in on your behalf and mine to pay that debt before a holy God. And I'm sure that most people in here are gonna receive gifts this Christmas and that's a great thing to express love to one another. But I can guarantee you this, the majority of your gifts and mine will get old very quickly and will be replaced by new gifts next year. But there is a gift that will never grow old and that is the gift that Jesus Christ offers, eternal life. It's a gift for this life and the life to come.

Have you received it? Have you received it? Is it yours? It's a free gift. You don't have to pay for it.

It's something that extends to you and that you need to receive by faith. Have you opened it and embraced it? Or is it sitting on a shelf somewhere in your mind contemplating about it, doubting it, skeptical about it. Christ this season wants to give you that gift. And listen, that gift is not a philosophy nor is it some insurance card for the next life.

In that gift is the person of God himself. Christ longs to give himself to you and me in personal relationship and it took a bloody death for it to be possible. Why would you reject it? Why would you refuse it? He paid a high price for you to have it.

And it's in moments like this where people come to church when they usually don't come to church. That Christ wants to make himself loud and clear to you. I wanna give you myself. I wanna give you eternal life. Would you do it?

Would you take it? The incarnation proves the love of God. It proves the humility of God. But this is probably a part of the incarnation that we don't think about. It proves the power of God.

When we celebrate this season, you know what we think of? Jesus Christ became flesh and absolutely right he did. But do we realize that he did not just become flesh, he kept his flesh? This might stagger our minds this morning but it's nevertheless true in Scripture. Jesus Christ did not come into the world to take on flesh for thirty three years only to disregard it and to be in heaven as a disembodied spirit.

When Jesus Christ took on flesh, he stayed in the flesh. And when he came to the point of dying, that flesh was glorified and raised up. The humanity of Jesus is still in continuation, though glorified. Those scars are still in his hands, in his feet, in his side. He ate food when he came in his resurrected state.

And so the extent of the love of Christ is not that he just came into the flesh to visit and to just leave that flesh like he shed it off. The extent of the love of God in Christ is that he knew that as he came to take on flesh, he would stay in the flesh. Christ was one in nature, fully divine. But when he came in the incarnation, do you realize that he took on another nature forever? Fully God, fully man, and that did not cease when he fulfilled his mission.

Yes, it's a glorified body, but hear these words in first Timothy two five. What does it say? For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Paul used the language, the man Christ Jesus in his current state. Acts seventeen thirty one, because he has fixed a day in which he would judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed.

And of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. Revelations twenty-two 16, from the lips of Christ himself as a glorified savior, as an exalted God, what does he say? I am the root, not just the root, and the descendant of David. Currently, I am a descendant of David. Was David a spirit?

David was a man. And Christ says in that verse, I'm a descendant of the Davidic lineage. Fully God, fully man. What does that imply? It implies many things.

Many things does that tell us. But there is one thing for certain, it proves the power of God that gives you and I hope in this life and the life to come. We're tripart beings. And if we die today, God forbid, our spirits go into the presence of the Lord. We're in his presence, are we not?

That's what the scripture says. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. Have you ever wondered why Jesus wants to resurrect our bodies? We're in heaven anyway. Why?

Why take up those dusty things that are just collecting maggots and are why? What's the point? Why does he want those old bodies? Why does he give us new bodies? I believe that the resurrection, I believe that the resurrection is a statement that God wants to make and that Christ already made.

It is this, that to take up those bodies is to reclaim what was corrupted by sin. And whatever death thought it had claim on concerning you and I and even our bodies, Jesus Christ wants to reclaim for himself. He does not just wanna save your soul and your spirit. He wants to save the whole man, including your body. And instead of making new bodies, he wants to make a triumphant statement, I'm going to restore what was corrupted, including your body and mine.

And Jesus Christ has already proven that victory because he is there with his glorified body as the first fruits for many to follow. And so we can take hope, we can take hope that we will be resurrected one day and that these bodies will come and be restored. And Christ wants to use these bodies. These things are precious to the Lord to make a glorious declaration in the face of death itself. You have no victory.

I have the victory. Oh, we can go on and on and on. The fact that Christ became flesh, now he can sympathize with our weaknesses. He knows what it feels like to be tempted. He knows what it's like to be bruised.

He knows what it's like to be betrayed. And when you and I go through those things in life, we could come to a king who does not look at us and say, well suck it up and realize who I am. He goes, I can sympathize with you. And to sympathize does not mean that we can sin and he goes, it's fine. Just go on.

I understand what time no, no, no. He gives us power. And he gives us grace. And he gives us assistance. And he walks with us.

And when we do fall, he picks us back up. Oh, we can go on and on. We are just scratching the surface of what the incarnation means. But let me say this in closing. God has done everything he needs to do already to make sure that you can have salvation.

He's already made the move. What will you do with it? We do not believe that Jesus Christ, because he died for the world, that automatically the world would be reconciled to God. It demands a response. And there are churches filled this morning with people that have not made that response and perhaps even in this church this morning that have not yet submitted to the lordship of Christ.

Meaning what? Meaning this, that you and I, we choose to submit to the righteousness of God. You know what that means? That you give up trying to work your way to heaven. That you try and you try and you try to impress God.

And God says enough. We think of repentance of turning away from our sin, absolutely, but it's also turning away from your attempt to attain your own righteousness. And Jesus Christ comes in the flesh to do what? To walk on your behalf. And to receive the penalty for your sin and to say, listen, I paid the price.

Will you take that payment? Will you take that payment? That is what this thing is all about. That is why we get to sing. That is why we get to rejoice because you know what God could have done?

Because he's done it before. He flooded the world and said, let's just try to start this thing all over again. Instead of flooding the world, you know what he does? He sheds his own blood. But here's the reality.

God will flood the world again, not in water, but in fire. In judgment, he will. And that time seems to be closer than ever before, but here is the opportunity to receive peace and joy in Christ with the father. Receive him. Receive that gift.

Receive Jesus Christ. I adjure you, I implore, I beg of you, do so. If you do not have that assurance, do not walk out of those doors today without knowing that you have received that gift. How do you receive it? Confess with your mouth.

Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that, yes, this Jesus did come in the flesh. This Jesus did come for me, and realize that it was your sin and mine that put him on the cross. And in realizing that, you turn from your sin, you turn to Christ, you embrace his grace, and you walk out of here with a new heart. And you don't walk out of here just with some distant future hope. You know who you walk out of here with?

Christ in you by the spirit of God. That can happen between now and those few steps when you get into your nice car. That can all change. It just requires humility. It requires a realization of the love of God for you.

And it requires you to respond by receiving him. If you've received him, would you pray with me in this moment to say, oh, God, open the eyes of my heart to realize the price that you've paid to rescue me. Please bow your heads. Lord we come to you and we we say to you thank you for loving the world so much that you sent Jesus. And not just the world, loving us individually.

Having each of us in mind when you prepared a body for the second person of the trinity to take upon himself, to perform the will of God that was our due penalty, Lord we ask, please by the spirit, open the eyes of our hearts to behold the majesty and the wisdom of God in the incarnation. And Lord we ask for those who do not know you, that they would realize what you have done to reach them and that they would reach their hands back to you and receive this gift. Lord, we worship you. And we choose to follow those lyrics of that hymn. We adore you, we adore you.

Help us imitate you. This Christmas season as we go with our families, help us speak about you with boldness and wisdom. And help us, Lord, in this new year, love you in a way that we have in 2018. We give you praise and glory in Jesus' name. Amen.