2012 CHRISTMAS SERIES

 “COME LET US ADORE HIM”

 POSTCARD TITLE-“WHO IS JESUS?”

 PROPHECIES OF THE INCARNATION OF JESUS CHRIST

 Part 1

Will the real Jesus please stand up? Old television program, to tell the truth. Explain the program. 3 contestants all claiming to be the same person would try to stump a panel by answering question posed to them….at the end, the moderator would ask the question, would the real___________please stand up.

We are living in a day and age of serious identity theft. The greatest theft of identity stems around the Person of The Lord Jesus Christ. Who do the major world religious and religious cults masquerading as Christian say Jesus is? (READ THE CHART DEFINITIONS)

To find the real answer to the question, Who is Jesus, we must look to the book inspired by The Holy Spirit, the Holy Bible.

You and I are creatures of time. Questions like, what time it is, or what day of the month is it, are very common. Because we are creatures of time and space, it is impossible for us to think in terms outside of time. And yet, if we are going to unwrap a Biblical understanding of Who Jesus Christ is and the real meaning of Christmas, we have to begin our search before time began.

John 1:1–3 tells us, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

• Before there was a world, before there were planets, before there was light, before there was matter, there was Jesus. Coequal, coeternal, and coexistent with the Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus was with God—and He was God.
• The Jesus of Scripture, referred to as The Word, is The Creator of all things.
• Immediately we discover that the Jesus of the Bible is NOT the same Jesus referred to a moment ago. Jesus is not simply a divine being, or a perfect man or a great teacher. The Jesus of Scripture is not a created being, He is The One by Whom all things were created!
• In other words, the true identity of Jesus predatesthe first verse in the Bible, In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
• It is THIS Jesus that became flesh and dwelt amongst us (John 1.14). It is THIS Jesus of Whom it was written, without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh (1 Tim 3.16).
• It is THIS Jesus of Whom it was written, for in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily (Col 2.9).

I’d like us to explore the Mystery of the Incarnation of Christ and its purpose this morning.

The starting point for a discussion on the Incarnation is to define the term. The word incarnation simply means, "in flesh." Although the word incarnation does not appear in the Scripture, its components "in" and "flesh" do. The Apostle John wrote that the Word became flesh in John 1:14. The Apostle John also wrote of Jesus coming in the flesh in 1 John 4:2 and 2 John 7.

The word incarnation denotes the act whereby the eternal Son of God took upon Himself an additional nature, humanity, through the virgin birth. The result is that Christ remains forever unblemished deity, which He has had from eternity past; but He also possesses true, sinless humanity in one person forever, the God-Man Christ Jesus.

• Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

The Prophesies of the Incarnation

The Old Testament clearly foretold the incarnation of Christ. In fact several aspects of the incarnation are predicted in the Old Testament.

1. The Manner of the Incarnation: A Virgin Birth.

Predicted in Isaiah 7:14, Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

• Immanuel of course means, God with us, which points to another prophecy given in Isa 9.6 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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

• The first prophecy regarding the virgin birth was given in Genesis 3.15.Where the Seed of the woman would crush the seed of the serpent. In the human reproduction system, the male carries the seed not the woman.
• The virgin birth was the means whereby the incarnation took place and guaranteed the sinlessness of the Son of God. The virgin birth is that miraculous act of God whereby, Jesus Christ was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary with the result that the Second Person of the Triune God was joined eternally to a real human body and nature.

• Note that the Bible never speaks of the CREATION of Jesus Christ, but His Incarnation. Jesus is fully God and fully man. This does not mean that Jesus had the capacity to sin; this could not and would not happen. Yet He was a man. He was in a human body. He felt human emotion. He faced physical limitations. He felt real pain. It was actual blood coursing through His veins. Yet He was deity. He was God in human form.
• Fulfillment recorded in Luke 1:26-27, 30-31, "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary... And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus."
• Why does the Virgin Birth matter? Because Jesus Christ must be both God and man to atone for sin. But for this to occur, He must be conceived by the seed of The Holy Spirit and born of a human virgin. No one else in the history of the world is conceived by the Spirit and born of a virgin mother. Therefore, the Jesus of the bible alone qualifies to be Lord and Savior.
• Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts 4.12

2. The Place of the Incarnation: Bethlehem in Judah.

Predicted in Micah 5:2, "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, {Too} little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity."

• This reveals the eternal preexistence of Christ, from everlasting to everlasting.
• Fulfillment recorded in Luke 2:4-7, "And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register, along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. And it came about that, while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

3. The Lineage of the Incarnation: The Line of David.

Predicted in 2 Samuel 7:12-16, "When your days (David’s) are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took {it} away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. "And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.

• Confirmed in the Genealogies of Jesus, (Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38). Called both David’s descendant and Lord in Psalm 110. The Root of David (Rev 5.5). I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star (Rev 22.16).

4. The Date of the Incarnation: Its General time frame.

Daniel 9:24-25, "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy {place}. "So you are to know and discern {that} from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince {there will be} seven weeks and sixty-twoweeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress."

• The seventy weeks are weeks of years, which come to a total of 490 years. After the seven and sixty-two weeks of years or 483 years, Messiah will be cut off (killed). Since the weeks of years begin with the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, we can accurately discern when Messiah will be cut off. The decree occurred on Nisan 1 444 B.C. (about March 4, 444 BC), (Nehemiah 2:1-8). Taking 69 weeks of years and multiplying it by 7 years for each week and again multiplying it by 360 days in a prophetical year we get 173,880 days. Starting at Nisan 1, 444 BC and adding 173,880 days we come to the date of March 29, 33 AD, which can be concluded as the date of Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the beginning of His passion week. While this does not give us an exact date of His incarnation, it does provide us with a general time frame.

The Purposes of the Incarnation

Why did God send us His Son? What are the purposes for the incarnation? The Scriptures give several answers to this question.

1. To Fulfill the promises of God

• Romans 15:8, For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers.
• 2 Cor 1.20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

2. To Reveal God directly to mankind

• John 1:18, No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
• John 14.9 He that hath seen me hath seen the Father
• Heb 1.1-3 the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person

3. To Provide a perfect sacrifice for sin

• 1 John 3:5, And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.
• Heb 1.3 Jesus by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
• As Leviticus makes clear, animals offered as sacrifices for sin must be without blemish. All of the OT types from Gen 3, the Passover out of Egypt etc. prefigured the sacrifice of Christ who, as sinless, was able to die for the sins of others and not for Himself.

4. To Provide an example for our lives

• 1 Peter 2:21, For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.
• 1 John 2:6, The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

5. To Function as the ultimate High Priest

• Hebrews 2:17-18, "Therefore, He ad to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in tings pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted."
• Jesus did not become identical to us, but He did become identified with us. In fact He could not have identified with us any more closely than He did. He left the safety of heaven. He entered our world and breathed our air and shared our pain and walked in our shoes.
• Whatever you’re going through right now, remember that Jesus knows how you feel and sympathizes with your pain and weakness. He may not remove the anguish or change your situation, but He’ll always give you the grace to resist temptation, endure suffering, and grow in spiritual maturity.

6. To be the On Mediator between God and man

• 1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
• Heb 9:15 ¶ And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

6. To destroy the works of the devil

• 1 John 3.8 For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

7. To Subjugate all to Himself

• 1 Corinthians 15:25, For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. (Cf. Ephesians 1:9-10)

The Christian faith is all about Jesus! He is the heart and core, the touchstone of all that we believe. You can be mistaken on some secondary issues and still be a Christian, but if you are wrong about Jesus, you are wrong in the worst possible place, because to believe in the wrong Jesus leaves a person unredeemed and doomed for al of eternity.

THE LORD’S SUPPER

The Lord’s Supper is a memorial feast that Jesus said His people are to observe until He comes again. Do this in remembrance of Me.

The Bible teaches that the primary reason that the Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Tim. 1:15). If man had never sinned there would have been no reason for the Son to assume a human nature. The coming of Christ is always proposed in Scripture as a mission of salvation or as something connected to man’s deliverance.

The communion elements reminds us of the fact that the salvation of souls was the reason the Father sent the Son into the world. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (Jn 3:16-17). “The giving of the only Son clearly embraces both incarnation and vicarious death; it is the entire mission of the Son that is in view”^.

These elements remind us of the fact that in the protoevangelium of Genesis 3:15 immediately after the fall, a promise is made to send a savior who will crush the head of the serpent. Jesus’ did that on Calvary…it is finished.

These elements remind us of Jesus own stated purpose in coming to earth (Mt. 9:13; 20:28- “to give His life a ransom for many”).

The prophets of God issue this promise and waning regarding belief in Jesus Christ.

• Acts 13:38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. 40 Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; 41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

Have you trusted in Jesus Christ and His gospel for the salvation of your soul? The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

If you are not a Christian, the Bible says NOW is the accepted time, NOW is the day of salvation. My friend that means that TODAY is the time to behold the God-man Jesus Christ with the eyes of faith. Believe in His person and His embrace His work of redemption. This believing in Jesus must be more than just an emotional experience of "having Jesus in my heart." The Jesus of Scripture is not a seasonal Jesus that is placed in a manger scene once a year. Our faith must rest on the revealed truth about Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord.

There is no other name given among men by which we can be saved (Ac. 4:12). There is only one mediator between God and man, the Man Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5).

• Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.