THE PROPHETIC CALL OF THE CHURCH

“Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience (James 5:10).”

The book of James is an interesting and controversial book. The German Reformer, Martin Luther, viewed it as “chaff amongst the wheat.” To the mind of Mr. Luther, Brother James drew too heavily from the wisdom of God’s Law. Perhaps, he thought this New Testament epistle was more suited for the Old Testament, rather than the New. Regardless, he thought James lifted up the Law of God to the point that it cast too great a shadow over the grace of God to suit his theological tastes. To Mr. Luther, this constituted “chaff amongst the wheat.”

BACKGROUND

Most scholars agree the epistle of James was written by the step-brother of our dear Lord. If so, clearly, he had a privileged position to observe our Lord not only based upon His public persona, but by being brought up in the same home. Apparently, he was not always a fan of his big brother. He participated in the family taunt to provoke Jesus to go the Feast in Jerusalem, knowing full well that there were enemies seeking our Lord’s death (John 7:1-9). I imagine living with “Mr. Perfect” had the potential to produce a dangerous jealousy.

Thankfully, James grew older and became wiser. He eventually came to understand the true nature of his elder brother. He was God in the flesh. Through the years, James rose in prominence. In the church and throughout Jerusalem, he was known as James the Just: The Safeguard of the People. He was also called Camel Knees.

One day the city fathers of Jerusalem came with a request. They asked James to climb up to the pinnacle of the Temple and address the city. They hoped James would help quell the rumors that were circulating concerning the teaching and preaching of Jesus Christ. James honored their request and took his position high above the gathering crowds. He then proceeded to assure everyone there that everything they had heard about his elder brother concerning the Gospel of the Kingdom was absolutely true. He was indeed the promised Messiah. Obviously, this message was not received anon with joy by those who asked James to “set the record straight.”

Betrayed by the truth, the city fathers called to those near the brave man of God. “Throw him down,” they cried. James hit the ground with a thud. Amazingly, the great fall did not kill him. Living up to his name, Camel Knees, he rolled over on his knees, presumably to pray for his persecutors like Jesus and Stephen before him (Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60). The frenzied crowd at this point took up stones to pelt him to death. The barrage of stones failed in their deadly mission. One can only presume God desired the people to hear more of James’ prayers for them. Finally, a fuller, who makes cloth bulkier by dampening and beating it, smashed the man of God in the head with his iron instrument. James, the brother of Jesus, mercifully succumbed to death and received a martyr’s crown.

James is writing to “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.” These were Jewish Christians under the boot of religious and civil tyranny. His purpose was to reach from Jerusalem as a faithful elder of Christ to care for their souls and encourage them to press on in the faith. In our opening verse, James 5:10, he wraps up his epistle to encourage the fledgling church to draw strength, inspiration, and encouragement from the prophets who had gone before them. In other words, he was seeking to tie the church to the prophetic realm of Almighty God.

Where would he get such a notion? Perhaps, he paid attention to his brother’s famous Sermon on the Mount. Maybe the Beatitudes helped to lead him in this direction. Matthew 5:10-12 states:

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

The connection our Lord is seeking to make here is irrefutable. Once again, the witness of God’s word seeks to bind the church to the prophets of old. In other words, the plight of the prophets would be similar to the plight experienced by God’s people. In other passages, Jesus declared, “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city (Matthew 23:24).” He further warned the religious leaders of His day in a parable found in Matthew 21. He told them that the Kingdom would be taken from them and given to a nation worthy to bear the fruit thereof. All this was due to their rejection and mistreatment of the prophets and Himself (Matthew 21:33-46).

Jesus as Prophet

In Matthew 16:13-15, Jesus asked two profound questions. God’s word states:

When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

It is interesting to observe the view of Jesus by the people of His day. They related His ministry to the prophets of old. All the men mentioned were bold, righteous men of God. They were rough, tough and hard to bluff in their service to the Lord. Apparently, there was something in our Lord’s manner, perhaps, it was the fire in His eyes or the thunder of His voice that reminded the people that someone like Elijah, Jeremiah, or John the Baptist was in their midst. We know Jesus confronted Israel’s evil just like Elijah (1 Kings 18; Matthew 23). He wept over the city of Jerusalem like Jeremiah (Jeremiah 9:1; Luke 19:41). He even warned the Jews not to trust in being the physical seed of Abraham as the basis for their salvation like John the Baptist (Matthew 3:9; John 8:39).

Besides this, remember how Jesus defined John the Baptist? He asked the people:

What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.

Jesus reminded people of John the Baptist. This view was so strong that Herod the tetrarch erroneously believed Jesus was John the Baptist raised from the dead (Matthew 14:1, 2). Obviously, this view of Christ is conspicuously absent in the modern day church and the corrupt culture we have failed to impact. Most folks today view Jesus as an effeminate guru that wouldn’t harm a flea and His bloody cross as a good citizenship award. The civil and religious leaders of His day knew otherwise.

Obviously, this modern view of our Lord is a far cry from the people of Jesus’ day. And whether consciously aware of it or not, the people back then were adding their amen to a prophecy given by Moses. God promised to raise up a prophet similar to him. Acts 3:22, 23 records:

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

The Nature of the Prophetic Call

Jeremiah 23:22 states, “But if they had stood in my counsel, (false prophets) and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.” The prophetic realm is the realm of reformation. It is a call to reform our ways, thinking, and behavior that is out of step with God’s righteous and holy character. Mankind tends to forget and go astray. God, in His faithfulness, raises up prophetic witnesses to bring us back into remembrance. He faithfully calls us back to the ancient paths we abandoned to our own demise (Jeremiah 6:16). The New Testament counterpart to this divine calling would be our Lord’s admonishment for the church to be salt and light in our perverse and corrupt world. Ultimately, this call is to protect people from the idolatry and immorality, which invokes God’s wrath upon disobedient men and nations (Deuteronomy 28).

Parable of the World’s Hill

To illustrate the importance of prophetic ministries in our day, consider this modern day parable. I call it the Parable of the World’s Hill. It seeks to distinguish the difference between mercy ministries and prophetic ministries in our crooked nation.

Picture, if you will, the world as a hill. The masses of the world gather at the top and by their foolish, sinful behavior cast themselves headlong off the cliff. At the bottom, some of the Church waits for the inevitable thud. Thankfully, a mercy ministry ambulance picks them up and whisks them away. Christians then work feverishly to try to piece back together again the broken lives impacted by the fall.

Prophetic ministries, however, make an extra effort to climb up to the top of the hill and place itself between the foolish, sinful behavior and plead with the world, “DON’T JUMP.” Prophetic ministries seek to intervene before the world mangles itself by hurling their lives against the reality of God and His moral commandments.

A good example of this difference is the battle against the culture of death fueled by abortion. Thank God for post-abortive, mercy ministries that help women cope with the aftermath of the grievous sin and crime they committed against their own offspring. Prophetic ministries seek to intervene in order to spare men, women, and children the horrors of abortion. Thus, the more we have prophetic ministries, the less we have need of mercy ministries. Both are important, however, when it comes to serving our Lord and loving others in His name.

As a wise man once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure,” especially, when it comes to the many issues in this life mankind will inevitably experience. Whereas mercy ministries seek to provide a cure after mayhem and disaster strike, prophetic ministries seek to prevent disaster from happening in the first place. Mercy ministries bind the wounds, while prophetic ministries seek to prevent the wounds. In other words, it is better to avoid disobedience, idolatry, and immorality, which devastates lives and ruins nations. How will men and nations know what is the source of their calamity? God raises up and sends forth prophetic witnesses.

Typically, the world will not manifest bulging veins and secular denunciations if the church exercises mercy ministries. In fact, the world may even render reluctant praise towards those in the church who feed the poor or clothe the naked. On the other hand, the world and even segments of the church will bear “tooth and claw” and howl against those who have the courage to “stand in the counsel of the Lord to turn them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.” This situation is responsible for the majority of the church supporting mercy ministries while distancing itself from prophetic ministries. Our nation is bearing the fruit of this lopsided emphasis by the American church, which seeks to sever the tie between us and the prophets of old, our Lord and the Apostles sought to establish.

Conclusion

Lastly, in order for the church to be effective in the prophetic call, we must get over the suffering and death issues. As Christians, we must get use to the idea that we will suffer for two reasons. We will suffer for doing what is right and we will suffer for doing what is wrong. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). There is a connection between sin and suffering. In fact, Peter taught, “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin (1 Peter 4:1).” The Psalmist would concur, “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word (Psalm 119:67).”

If we suffer for being a true Christian, however, God’s Spirit and glory rests upon us and is working for us an eternal weight of glory (1 Peter 4:14; 2 Corinthians 4:17). Revelation 12:11 sums up the prophetic call to the church to defeat Satan and evil, God’s word declares, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” So Be It!

We are getting ready to publish our next book. It may be Abortion Violation, America’s Primary National Security Issue. Since it is time to address the infamous Roe vs Wade Decision, perhaps some excerpts from the book will help to clarify the urgency in defeating child-killing in America. The bold headings denote the different chapters, which reveals abortions many violations.

Dedication

To our nameless sons and daughters in America, who perished by the sin and crime of abortion, this book is dedicated. This book acknowledges your humanity, personhood and intrinsic value as a child made in the image of God. Please forgive our nation for sacrificing your tomorrows that we might have a better today. I trust that you have found the light, love, and life in heaven that you were denied here on earth in Jesus’ name!

God

Typically, many books, articles, columns, and treatises that address abortion tend to deal with its effects on the woman, baby, society etc., but few cover how the God of the Bible views this particular violation. It is this ignorance, or in most cases, willful ignorance that endangers us as a nation. In fact, I dare say this lack of knowledge poses one of the greatest threats to America’s national security. Prayerfully, as you continue to read this book your eyes will be opened to comprehend why abortion represents such a clear and present danger.

Kingdom of God

God’s Word describes how parents were bringing their little children to Jesus to be blessed by him. Instead of the disciples welcoming the opportunity, they rebuked them and tried to send them away. Jesus stopped this madness and declared, “Let the little children come to Me and do not forbid them: for such is the kingdom of heaven.” The implications of this passage of Scripture are colossal. It gets to the heart of how abortion violates the kingdom of God. One cannot escape the incredible equation put forth by our Lord. In his divine mind, children equal the kingdom of God.

Church

Apparently, he experienced a series of rebukes from the folks in Africa while he was ministering. He was asked how he could come to Africa and preach the gospel, when his own nation killed their babies by abortion. Some of the folks challenged him to return to America, end the bloodshed in his own back yard, and then return to share the good news of God’s Word. Obviously, this experience rocked his world and for the first time in his life, he was confronted with the reality of how abortion violates the integrity of the church.

Doctrine of Bloodguiltiness

Obviously, sexual sins that lead to child sacrifice can disrupt a land. Unchecked, they can eventually dispossess nations. Do we think America is suffering from a string of bad luck concerning the natural disasters that are striking with increased frequency and intensity? Do we honestly believe earthquakes, fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, mudslides, and other assorted plagues “vomiting out” our fellow Americans are a coincidence? Our nation can try to escape this biblical correlation by clinging to the “Global Warming” propaganda. But all the new and improved light bulbs in the world will not “save” our nation as we are turned into hell by forgetting God and killing his babies (Psalm 9:17). This lesson is inescapable. Either Americans cleanse this evil from our land or God will cleanse the land of Americans.

Government

Clearly, as man drifted from the knowledge of God, perversion and violence filled the earth. This wretched condition remained consistent throughout human history. To this day, this premise is verified. The more our country removes the knowledge of God from the public life of our nation, the more violent and perverse we become. With the advent of civil government, however, lawful restraint against evil helped to curb its destructive power amongst men and nations. In God’s common grace, he desired an added measure of safety and security to help protect person and property from the ravages of sin. Ultimately, the divine purpose in creating civil authority was to avoid the pre-flood wickedness that harmed humanity and grieved the heart of the Lord.

Law

Frédéric Bastiat declared:

[W]hen [the law] has exceeded its proper functions; it has not done so merely in some inconsequential and debatable matters. The law has gone further than this; it has acted in direct opposition to its own purpose. The law has been used to destroy its own objective: It has been applied to annihilating the justice that it was supposed to maintain; to limiting and destroying rights which its real purpose was to respect. The law has placed the collective force at the disposal of the unscrupulous who wish, without risk, to exploit the person, liberty, and property of others. It has converted plunder into a right, in order to protect plunder. And it has converted lawful defense into a crime, in order to punish lawful defense.

Racism

This modern form of racism is far more detrimental than any other our nation struggled with previously. While many Americans are acquainted with the racism that led to slavery and segregation, most seem ignorant of the racism that has led to genocide. In our day, this deadly racism, like slavery and segregation prior, has become institutionalized. Perhaps this explains some of the blindness that cannot discern between the media/political, generated race industry and a racism that has led to the death of millions. Regardless, the “powers that be” that view life through the grid of Marxist, racial, social class warfare, instead of good and evil, exploit racism to fill their coffers and expand their political empires.

Personhood

President Abraham Lincoln stated, “Nothing stamped with the divine image and likeness was sent into the world to be trodden on.” In his day, President Lincoln was addressing the plight of our black brothers and sisters held captive by slavery. Although the time and issue has changed, the principal remains. Clearly, preborn children are so stamped, so how can we callously tread them down?

Family

This syndrome has led to a host of other ills that have undermined the family. Guilt, anguish, trauma or living in a state of denial, have contributed to countless families imploding. Many have turned to alcohol, drugs, sexual addictions, and other dangerous habits to cope. They desperately seek to escape the torment associated with taking the life of their own children. In the vain attempt to distance themselves from their culpability, however, they end up distancing themselves from each other. Tragically, the bonds of family become severely damaged, intimacy destroyed, and cold indifference or in some cases, anger becomes the “normal” expression of relating for post-abortive families.

Medical Profession

These medical developments raise serious ethical complications and quite frankly add one more indictment against the abortion industry. Just as abortion created schizophrenic law, it has managed to spread its confusion to the medical field. What nation in its right mind would pass laws, build clinics, financially fund, intellectually defend, and politically support the slaughter of children in the womb of its mother and then go to incredible medical exertions and expense to seek and save these same lives in the womb? Where is the consistency legally, ethically, or medically?

Health of Women

As a minister, I know firsthand the devastating impact abortion has upon women’s health. Through the years, numerous women have confessed terrible complications they suffered in the aftermath of their abortions. It covers the spectrum of human suffering, misery, and woe. Some admitted to major sexual dysfunctions. They either went headlong into sexual promiscuity and multiple abortions or became frigid and incapable of intimacy. Others turned to alcohol or drugs in a vain attempt to deaden the pain and cope with the guilt associated with “choice.” While others fought against shame, depression, severe anxiety attacks, eating disorders, inability to rest, and fits of rage. Still others believed they had committed the “unpardonable sin” and were plagued with thoughts of suicide. Some stated that they felt alienated from their surviving children and were unable to bond with them emotionally. Some even admitted to violently abusing their remaining offspring. These maladies only deal with the psychological impact. The physical problems, however, are just as detrimental and dangerous.

The Political Left

It is the political left that continues to promote as a sacrament to their godless religion, the sinful and criminal act of abortion. As stated previously, they are caught adhering to beliefs and actions that cannot sustain their future. They are literally wiping out their own base of support by pursuing this fatal path. For instance, most blacks in America vote for the liberal, leftist agenda, which promises them a socialistic utopia, but is in reality responsible for the current devastation and demoralization of their race…What will the political left do once the black race has dwindled? The day is coming when the cause of their agenda is going to run smack into its affect. Where will they be then? Who else will they exploit to further their political agenda in the future?

Future

Abortion has wrought many other violations in our beleaguered land, which includes our future. This book has sought to emphasize most of the major ones. If there are some non-violations associated with abortion, all of them tend towards strengthening man’s inhumanity against man. In other words, abortion does not violate man’s greed. It does not violate man’s selfishness. It does not violate his blood lust. It does not violate enhancing his life at the expense of others. It does not violate the strong victimizing the weak. It does not violate the hard heart, the seared conscience, and the reprobate mind. It does not violate rebellious, autonomous men who seek to replace God and become a law and god unto themselves. No, abortion enables these debilitating, sinful propensities that plague the sons of men.

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In a couple of weeks the world will celebrate Christmas. As the years march on, the controversy surrounding this day magnifies. The mainstream church seeks to defend its language, “Merry Christmas” from the Christ denying “Happy Holiday” or “Winter Solstice” substitutions. Some Christians view it as an unholy alliance between Christianity and paganism, which should be avoided like the plague. Of course, the same case is made for Holy Week and the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection. In typical fashion, the God-hating world consistently dishonors the significance of Christ by substituting His preeminence with pagan themes. The question then becomes, should we throw out the baby with the bath water? In other words, should we reject God’s original due to satanic counterfeits? I’ll leave these questions to each man’s conscience to consider.

The view of Christmas has other implications as well. Some Protestants cringe at the last three letters mas as it may be a reference to the Catholic Mass. Some point out that Christ was not born on December 25th, so why even bother. Others seek to avoid the commercialism surrounding the birth of Christ by concentrating on the “reason for the season.” Obviously, Christmas has become many things to many people.

But whether people honor or protest Christmas, its annual commemoration is certain. I suspect it will remain this way for the foreseeable future. Minimally, the merchants of the earth have a vested interest to secure the day if for no other reason than to boost their bottom line. The purpose for this article, however, is to understand the birth of Christ from a Biblical perspective. Does the Bible honor the day? If so, in what ways is the birth of Christ distinguished?

There is no doubt the God of the Bible viewed it as a major production. There were several hundred prophecies, types, and shadows that predicted, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given (Isaiah 9:6).” In fact, there are over three hundred prophecies concerning the Messiah interwoven throughout the Old Testament. Some of them are duplications of the same prophecy. For instance, the prophecy concerning Jesus being from the house of David is repeated about fourteen times. The prophecy that foretells the birth place of Messiah as the city of Bethlehem is repeated five times (Micah 5:2). The number of non-repeating distinct prophecies, however, comes in at about one hundred and ninety.

M.B. Bleecker, an engineer, took one hundred and fifty of these noteworthy prophecies that Jesus fulfilled and calculated the odds of His fulfilling them all. The odds of one man fulfilling one hundred and fifty prophecies in one lifetime are one in -
1,039,851,278,722,473,896,502,516,467,047,788,121,009,514,090,594,304

The odds of Jesus fulfilling just eight of them in His lifetime are one in -

100, 000, 000,000,000,000

Following up on this mathematical probability, consider Peter Stoner in (Science Speaks, Moody Press, 1963). Mr. Stoner demonstrates that coincidence is ruled out by the science of probability. Stoner suggests that by using the modern science of probability in reference to eight prophecies, “We find that the chance that any man might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 10 to the 17th power.” That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000. In order to help us comprehend this staggering probability, Stoner illustrates it by supposing that “We take 10 to the 17th power silver dollars and lay them over the face of Texas, so that they cover all of the state two feet deep.”

Mr. Stoner continues:

Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly, all over the state. Blindfold a man and tell him that he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing these eight prophecies and having them all come true in any one man.

In the realms of astronomy, the Star of Bethlehem has garnered for itself “the world’s most famous celestial event” in history. God rearranged the heavens as a sign that something of dramatic worth was transpiring upon the earth. Of course, it was never a common occurrence that the heavens would open and a choir of angelic hosts would appear to sing praise to God as they bring “good tidings of great joy.” What was the reason for such a bodacious display? They were carrying a divine message, which stated, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

The Bible records that there was no small stir to the holy announcement. The most famous response came from the woman who was chosen to conceive and give birth to the Son of God. Today, we recognize Mary’s prophetic reply as the Magnificat. Pay close attention to her declarations as it pertains to this poor fallen world. Mary cries out:

My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

Mary acknowledges the incredible favor that has been demonstrated to her personally. Beyond personal considerations, she proclaims there will be powerful ramifications that will greatly impact the world. Wrongs will be righted. Justice will eventually prevail. Oppression, in due course, will cease. Tyrants, dictators, the ruling elite, and the proud will be cast down. The hungry, poor, outcast, and disenfranchised will be helped. All this and more is guaranteed by the promise God spoke to Abraham and is now coming to pass with the birth of Christ. Is this something that should be ignored or should it be shouted from the rooftops now and forever more?

The theological term for this glorious event is called the Incarnation. In general terms it means in the flesh or to become human. When it comes to the birth of Christ, however, who or what is becoming human or coming in the flesh? The Gospel according to John grants us the Biblical meaning, John 1:1 and 1:14 states:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God… And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Denial of the Incarnation is what actually constitutes the dreadful designation the Bible calls Anti-Christ. Any person, religion, or philosophy that denies Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is Anti-Christ (1 John 4:1-3). Perhaps, there is more to this Christmas business than meets the eye.

Remarkably, the same Word that spoke the heavens and the earth into existence, the same Word canonized in the Bible, the same Word that God sent to heal us, and deliver us from destruction became flesh and dwelt among us. One of the specific words is the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14 which states, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Matthew interprets the name Immanuel as God with us. C. S. Lewis defined the significance of the Incarnation as, “The Son of God became a man so that men could become the sons of God.”

The first mention of the promise of the Incarnation traces back to Genesis 3:15. God promised, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Normally, I present this passage of Scripture to teach on the battle that is raging for the souls of men, the lives of children, and the future of our planet. For this article, however, the emphasis will change. The spot light will focus on this passage as the first mention of the Gospel of the Kingdom and the glorious Incarnation as God’s remedy to correct the fall of man. To make this possible, God had to establish a seed line.

God tapped Abraham and said, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.” Why did God choose Abraham? This might have something to do with it. Genesis 18:19 states, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”

The promise of Messiah passed from Abraham to Isaac from Isaac to Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons, which became the twelve tribes of Israel. Out of the twelve tribes, the tribe of Judah was chosen. Genesis 49:10 promised, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” Out of the tribe of Judah, the House of David was chosen. 2 Samuel 7:12, 13 declares:

And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever.

Finally, the book of Galatians announces The Promise is born. Galatians 4:4, 5 records, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

Having traced the seed line that brought about the Glorious Incarnation, it is time to explore its ramifications. There are many wonderful blessings associated with the Incarnation, but for our purposes, I’d like to concentrate on just two of them. One is corporate that concerns the world and the other is individual.

The corporate implications of the Incarnation are discovered in Isaiah 9:6, 7. God’s word states:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

When did the Kingdom of God come and the establishment of God’s government commence? When the Son was given and the Holy Child was born. What does this mean in the real world? “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever (Revelations 11:15).” How or when shall it completely take place? All we need to know is “the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform it.”

The Gospel according to Luke reveals how Christmas relates to us as individuals. God’s word states:

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:28-35).

Biblically, the same manner in which Mary conceived Christ physically is the same manner we receive Christ spiritually. Be it unto us according to thy word. 1 Peter 1:23 affirms this powerful truth, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” James concurs, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls (James 1:21).” The Apostle Paul agrees as well, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 3:15).”

The circumstances surrounding the birth of Christ into our poor fallen world are highly significant. There was no room for him in the inn. This world and each sinner in it have a natural repulsion towards Christ. We suppress the truth in unrighteousness. We reject the light and walk in darkness for fear our evil deeds will be exposed. We go astray from the womb because we are conceived in sin. We are born alienated from God and seek to be a law and god unto ourselves. Thus for many, there is to this day no room in our wicked hearts for Christ.

He was born in a stinky stable and laid in a manger. The manger was not a crib, but a feeding trough for animals. To think that the King of the universe chose this humble estate in which to become one of us is quite humbling. It is, as well, a powerful description of the state of our lives before the King of Glory by the power of the Holy Ghost takes up residence in our immoral lives. We suffer from stinking thinking and sinful actions. When Christ regenerates our lives, however, the sanctifying power of His precious blood goes to work to purify and cleanse our “smelly stables” or if you prefer, our darknened souls.

Lastly, the ruling elite were clueless as the lowly shepherds saw and heard the glorious announcement:

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:10-14).

So it is today, many glory in their riches, power, and wisdom, while those who are being saved boast in the Lord. In this way Christmas, among its many other accomplishments, also reveals our calling brethren:

For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Just as in His resurrection, Christ refused to appear to Pilate, Caesar, and the High Priest, but rather visited His rough and unsophisticated disciples, so at His birth, the angels appear to lowly shepherds and bypass the rich and famous. As Jesus grew into an adult, His attitude towards the proud never changed. He prayed, “I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes (Matthew 11:25).” “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out (Romans 11:33)!”

Much more can be shared about the implications of the Incarnation, but this will have to suffice for now. With that said, I want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and most blessed New Year in God’s Kingdom!