The “good will” that the angels referred to is not man’s but God’s good will. It is because of God’s good will that we can receive His peace. The KJV rightly translates it as “good will toward men.” This good will that is towards men originates from God. God is the source of peace. God’s peace is a free gift. It is purely by His mercy that sinful men are bestowed His peace. Since salvation is purely by His grace, only He can boast when sinners are saved, and that is why to Him and Him alone the glory belongs. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:6-8).

His Life and Death

Philippians 2:8 reveals that the Lord Jesus took the form of a man in order to die for our sins: “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Galatians 4:4-5 sheds additional light that Jesus became man not only to die but also to live for us: “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.” Jesus kept the law perfectly in His life to redeem us. It is important to understand that we are saved by the two-fold obedience of Christ—He saved us not only by dying (ie, passive obedience), but also by living (ie, active obedience) for us.

Spirit of Christmas

The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of humility. The birth of Christ was not witnessed by the high and mighty, but the meek and lowly. The angels brought the wonderful news of the birth of Jesus not to the kings, but to the shepherds. The Lord Himself was born not in a palace, but in a stable, and laid in a manger. Why such an ignominious entrance and visitation? God intended right from the start to have all know that His good will and peace are given only to those who humble themselves before the Lord Jesus Christ who had humbled Himself for them.

It is from the Lord’s self-effacing example that Paul drew inspiration to exhort the Philippians to be humble: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil 2:5-8).

Our Supreme Example

The Lord Jesus Christ is the supreme example of humility and selflessness. Christ is God Himself. He is in very essence God. He was God, He is God, and He will forever be God. Although the preincarnate Christ possessed equality with His Father in terms of the fulness of His deity, He resolved not to cling to it. In an act of supreme, unconditional love for man, Christ “made himself of no reputation” (ie, “emptied himself”). What did Christ empty Himself of? The answer is found in what He put on after He divested Himself: He (1) “took upon him the form of a servant,” and (2) “was made in the likeness of man” (v7). The word “servant” is the Greek doulos which literally means “slave.” Christ, though sovereign, was willing to give up His kingly status to take on a most lowly position of a slave. As Creator, He ought to be served by His creatures, but He chose to serve them instead (Mark 10:45). Christ became man by taking on human flesh. He gave up His shekinah glory in order to be clothed with flesh and blood. The second person of the Holy Trinity voluntarily unseated Himself from His divine throne, and disrobed Himself of His divine glory to become a slave and a human being, thereby becoming the Theanthropos—the God/Man—to save His people from their sins by His work on the cross. The victory Christ achieved through His Cross-work saw Him being exalted to His original position of kingship and glory, and more.

So what did Christ empty Himself of? It must be categorically stated that Christ never, in any way, dispossessed Himself of His divine essence or deity. He remained 100% God when He was on earth. What Christ temporarily gave up was His throne and His glory in order to be 100% Man. Having accomplished the work of redemption, He remains both God and Man forever (Heb 7:24-25), full of glory and grace. JK

GOD’S ANNUAL AMNESTY

Timothy Tow

When a king is blessed with a first born son after  many years he is so delighted that he declares an amnesty to his people who are imprisoned. To celebrate the happy occasion he declares a pardon for all the prison inmates.

When our Lord Jesus Christ was born, God sent an angel to announce to them, “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 to Joseph in a dream, “for he shall save his people from their sins.”

The second part of the message that comes to us is that since God’s Son Jesus Christ is born our Saviour, God now declares him to be our Amnesty, the pardon from all our sins.

What I would awaken you to is every Christmas, Jesus Christ is offered to save us, God’s Son to die on the cross for our sins. These two facts Mary the Virgin Mother sees clearly in her heart as expressed in Winter Moon, a new carol:

“O the thought that God’s Son is born!
Sweeps o’er her soul this first Christmas night.”
“O the thought that He’s born to die!
Sweeps o’er her soul this first Christmas night.”

People celebrate Christmas for its love, peace, hope and abundant life, but of what use when they miss the vital fact that Christ is born finally to die that our sins may be forgiven.

May I ask again: Why do we so celebrate every Christmas? Do you believe Jesus is Mary’s virgin born Son from God and he has come to die on the cross to pay the penalty of your sins? Then you will become a Christian and be saved. And once you are saved, you will want to be baptised and become a member of the church.