1 TIMOTHY 3:16 – Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”
It is easy to do but a real danger to do. If we allow this to occur, we lose a lot in our lives as Christians. And when it comes to the workings of the devil, here is a place he loves for Christians to go. I am referring to what the Apostle Paul proclaims in the great mystery of godliness–God manifested in the flesh. I think now would be a golden time to compliment today’s scripture with the greatest “Christmas verses” in the Bible, and I am not referring to the Christmas story found in Luke 2. No, it is the opening verses of John’s Gospel-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. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:14-17).
The incarnation of the Lord Jesus; God becoming a man is not only indispensable for our salvation and becoming a Christian but vital to maintain the joy and reality of living as a Christian. Forget we walk with a risen and living Christ and we become Christians in name only. Our profession of faith is one of mere morality not Biblical Christianity. But there is even more danger should we forget the reality of Christ becoming a man. To forget Christ is risen and alive removes from us two necessary truths we need to live the Christian life with spiritual power bearing spiritual fruit and influencing our worlds for Him.
To live the Christian life as God intends and describes in the Bible, necessitates the power of Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). Without living the awareness of His Presence in us, we won’t see our need for Him and the power from our union with Him. Forget the Incarnation and we forget the only power source for the Christian life.
Another necessary truth removed from our Christian experience by forgetting Jesus is alive is the need for real fellowship with Him. What this means is we lose the wonder and practice of communing prayer. Remember, we are not “talking” to a “Divine Genie” who just exists to answer our petitions. No, prayer is the language of love, a living language of love, between a living child of God and the living God. And it is only possible because of the living Jesus. Forget Him, and prayer is a mere lifeless function soon neglected and then stopped altogether.
So, a real and living Jesus. That is who we are to walk with as Christians. Let’s pray and ask the Father to always remind us that every day is Christmas–Immanuel God with us (Matthew 1:23).
PRAYER: “Father, may I never lose the awareness that I walk with a living Jesus, not a concept or ethic.”
QUOTE: “Christ is alive is not only a truth to believe but a reality to live each day of our lives.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim