Christematic Theology (2017)

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Christematic Theology (2017)

Or, Celebrating Christmas Responsibly

December 24, 2017 • Sean Higgins

Selected Scriptures

# Introduction

The man who keeps jumping up and missing a higher level gets a better view of the side of the cliff, even if just in the moments he falls past them, than the man who made the jump successfully and is standing on top. Seeing the standard, and seeking to reach the standard, yet failing to reach the standard, may help one to appreciate the glory of and the difficulty in the standard. Someone who is "there" already, someone who more naturally does a "thing," can't always explain it or value it.

A couch to 5k-er knows running differently than a Kenyan. A more introverted kid, who grew up as an only child, handles loud laughing and large group feasting differently. A short person thinks about the top shelf differently, and is more thankful for step stools than a tall person. And image-bearers get a serious kick in the pants with Christmas truth.

Christmas is revelation. When Jesus was born godliness was manifested in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). The Word became flesh and showed glory, “glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he (the Word) has made him (the Father) known” (John 1:18). Christmas reveals attributes of God, His love and initiation and even humility (see Philippians 2:7-8). Being laid in a manger is one thing, but the fulness of God in a body itself is a bigger deal.

But Christmas does more than reveal God. Christmas also reveals the “image of God.” We learn about God in Jesus, and we see the standard of what God made us to be in Him. The more we see Jesus the more we see that all of us fall short of the glory of God.

This morning I have to goals: 1) to exalt Christ’s incarnation as good news so that we would rejoice in Him, and 2) to examine Christ’s incarnation as the true pattern of image-bearing so that we would reflect Him.

# Christ’s incarnation is good news of great joy for all people that a Savior was born to bear our sins.

Let’s rewind to the beginning of the tape. Adam was great, really glorious, made in the image and likeness of God. God gave Adam a wife to be responsible for, a garden to be responsible for, a promise of children to be responsible for, and a prohibition against eating certain fruit to be responsible for. He was given broad shoulders for a big task of loving his wife and stewarding his stuff and expanding his influence, to “fill the earth and subdue it.”

Then: sin. Adam did not fulfill his responsibility to protect his wife from the ancient dragon. Adam did not fulfill his responsibility to obey nor did he take responsibility for his disobedience. When God came to confront him he blamed Eve, and ultimately God for giving Eve to him.

The consequences of Adam’s irresponsibility continue to play out today. God cursed the ground so that man’s responsibilities would be more difficult, dirt with sweat and back-bending discomfort. God judged Eve not only with painfulness in child-bearing but also with a bent toward bossiness. Even internally, the power of sin corrupts desires and distorts reality so that we do not even know what we’re made for, let alone what to do it. Instead of fellowship we experience isolation and bitterness and hostility. Instead of meaningful work we have greed or laziness or frustration. We need redemption and yet we’re blind to that need and to the source of it.

Fast-forward the tape. Then: Bethlehem. Then: unto us a Son is given. Then: God with us. Then: the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory. Then: Christmas. Then: the Second Adam from above.

In Jesus we see the image of God that we were created to be. In Jesus all the world comes together.

A couple weeks ago Jonathan included a couple verses from “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” in his email to the music ministry group. After sharing the lyrics he wrote, “That sort of systematic theology put to a Christmas melody helps us to see that there are significant and clear reasons to celebrate Christmas.”

Absolutely. So what if we call it *Christematic Theology*? Systematic theology is an attempt to arrange and summarize biblical truths in a self-consistent whole. So we could say that Christematic theology aims to see the entire system of reality and revelation fixed together in Christ, and in some ways it starts with Christmas.

Christ is the “image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). “In him the whole fulness of deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9). “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). The good news is about the “glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

And in all of those contexts Christ is at work, responsible for creation and for salvation.

In Colossians 1 He created all things and in Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:15, 17). So also in Hebrews, the Son is the heir of all things, the one through whom God created the world (Hebrews 1:2). Even now He “upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:4). He keeps speaking and things keep existing. The planets spin and orbit, dogs bark, milk spills, whales spout, snow falls, stars shine, kids grow, all because of Christ. He is responsible for it all.

Likewise, all of salvation is His work. He was born in order to reconcile “all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of the cross” (Colossians 1:20). He was born to reconcile in His body of flesh by his death (Colossians 1:22). He was born to make purification for sins (Hebrews 1:3). He was born as the God-Man, the mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). He was born to be the righteous for the unrighteous (1 Peter 3:18). He was born to be the faithful husband laying down His life for His unlovely bride (Ephesians 5:25).

Christ was born for taking responsibility. This is amazing. I love the good news that Christ was born to die for all those the Father gave to Him. But like the doctrine of the Trinity, I thought this was great theology but not a pattern.

Then a few years ago I read N.D. Wilson’s book, [_Death by Living_](https://www.amazon.com/Death-Living-Life-Meant-Spent/dp/0849920094/). The L2L leaders and wives and elders and wives are talking through it together this year at our Wednesday meetings. It it N.D. offers an inescapable picture of the image of God.

When Eve ate the forbidden fruit, what should Adam have done? There are at least a few options. He could have eaten it with her, joined her in disobedience in order to die with her. He could have distanced himself from her, expecting that God could make him another wife if He wanted, so she would die and he wouldn’t. Or, Adam could have done what he was created to do: die *for her*.

> Adam would not have been the well-behaved Mormon teenager, abstaining from the fruit. He would have looked at Eve, seen her curse, seen her enemy, and gone after that serpent with pure and righteous wrath. He would have then turned to face the pure and righteous wrath of God Himself (that Adam had just imaged), and he would have said something quite simple, something that would be said by another, thousands of years later.
>
> “Take me instead.”
>
> Adam could have been conqueror rather than conquered. Regardless, fallen or unfilled, he was born to die. (_Death by Living_, 80)

This is what the Second Adam did. The Second Adam did not distance Himself from the rebels. He clothed Himself with frail humanity. He took on flesh and became like His brothers in every respect so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest (Hebrews 2:17). He sympathizes with our weaknesses, and has in every respect been tempted as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).

The Savior was born to take responsibility for sin, for us. This is the image of God.

# Christ’s incarnation is the pattern of and power for all people to bear God’s image.

It is both truth to believe and an example to follow. The incarnation is a reason to rejoice as well as an archetype to reflect.

> The apostle Paul clarified this question (in 1 Corinthians 15) when he spoke of the first and second Adam. He uses the name Adam in the sense of the head of a race, one who continues living as part of that entire race and corresponds to its type. (Kuyper, _Pro Rege_)

Adam was made in the image of God and he *failed*, not just to obey a rule but to reflect His maker. The Second Adam revealed the image of God in fulness, also not only in His perfect obedience but in His loving sacrifice.

What are we asking for when we sing verse 4 of “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”?

> Adam’s likeness, Lord efface,
> Stamp thine image in its place:
> Second Adam from above,
> Reinstate us in Thy love.
> Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
> Thee, the life, the inner man:
> O, to all, Thy self impart
> Formed in each believing heart.

The work of the Second Adam is to restore the image of God, fallen in the first Adam. Which means that as the image of the Second Adam is stamped on us, as we are conformed more and more to the image of God in Christ, we will be taking responsibility for others. This includes their unlovely parts.

This includes how we celebrate Christmas. We ought to celebrate Christmas *responsibly*, by which I don’t mean soberly, not getting drunk. Don’t get drunk, yes, but that’s because there is more to do.

I understand that it is a vacation day for most, as in you don’t have to go in to the office or store or truck or wherever. But there is food to make and tables to set and kids to watch and relatives who are *needy*. It is good to rest, but God gives rest so that we can give ourselves for others. Our sacrifices don’t redeem others, but loving sacrifice for others is a significant part of living as the image of God.

When you get time, what do you do with it? When you have money, how do you spend it? When you are strong, who are you serving? I know some with ongoing health problems, chronic and debilitating pain in some cases. Whey they have a day of less pain, or when their meds kick in, they use it to spend on themselves. I’m thankful for the example of my wife who does the opposite. She spends herself on the kids or the school or some big project for someone else.

It’s quite difficult to fully embrace our personal responsibilities, let alone as those who are responsible for others. It is not everyone’s first instinct to run toward the fire. But this is Christmas. This is the incarnation of God to deal with our hostile disobedience. He didn’t watch us from heaven, He came to earth to spend Himself on our behalf.

As you grow in Christlikeness, you will see more clearly how short you fall of Christlikeness. You will jump, trying to reach the next level, and you will hit your shins on the hard edge. You will jump and grab onto the edge with your fingernails before slipping down.

But this is also part of the good news. Christ not only came to forgive us for failing, He promises His own strength for following in His steps. He promises grace to the weak. He exalts the humble. He imparts Himself to every believing heart.

When the house is messy and the kids are surly and the relatives are complian-y, when the presents aren’t wrapped yet and the car breaks down, when you’re tired and overwhelmed and you want to get away, remember Christmas. Celebrate Christmas responsibly as an image bearer.

# Conclusion

Christ made us with the capacity for responsibility, and He took responsibility to save us and fill us to bear His image.

> Come behold the wondrous mystery
> He the perfect Son of Man.
> In His living, in His suffering
> never trace nor stain of sin.
> See the true and better Adam
> come to save the hell-bound man.
> Christ the great and sure fulfillment
> of the law; in Him we stand.
> (“Come, Behold the Wondrous Mystery”)

The world is blinded from seeing this gospel, of salvation from death and of mankind’s purpose to give ourselves for others. It is no wonder their Christmases are so hollow and disappointing.

> And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:3–4)

We rejoice in the good news of salvation and we are being transformed reflect the Second Adam. May we be worn out as clay pots, showing that the surpassing power belongs to God, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. Merry Christmas, and celebrate Christmas responsibly.

Christmas Biases (2019)

December 22, 2019 • Sean Higgins

John 8:12 # Introduction My intention this morning is to encourage you that Christ is always the answer, and that when you see the world in His light, you see the world the right way. This includes Christmas. I surprised myself a few days ago when I was looking at a list of sermons I've preached on, or right before, Christmas day since TEC began. This makes the ninth time that I've preached a Christmas sermon, though twice my message combined the coming of Christ with the next passage in a book study (1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 13). I've been told by a member that if I did _not_ preach a Christmas sermon near Christmas that he would walk out, and I've also been told by a member that if I _did_ preach a Christmas sermon that he would walk out. That doesn’t leave a lot of room to work. As one of the shepherds, and for that matter also as one of the sheep in the flock, I have grown to think that the typical Christian Christmas celebrations, ones that I grew up seeing around me, are often superficial and sentimental, and also that the typical Christian Christmas humbugging as a response to typical Christmas celebrations are also, ironically, superficial and sour. That not more helpful. What to do? What do we need? As a shepherd of this flock, with the responsibility to feed and protect and lead, how can I help get you ready for not messing it up, either way? How can I help you be ready to make it so that your kids grow up wanting Christmas to be like you want Christmas to be? I stated my answer at the start. I want to encourage you that Christ is always the answer. What we celebrate at this time of year is crucial not just for thinking about Christian holidays or family traditions but for thinking about our view of the world and mankind as part of it. In making this case I will admit that I am biased. To be biased is to be bent in a certain direction, inclined to have a certain outlook. A biased person tends to expect certain answers to questions, to have favorites. Bias and prejudice are bad words in our current culture, and they have come to carry a kind of baggage with them. But it is _biased_ to say that having a bias is always wrong. _That_ is blind. We need to ask more questions: Biased about what? Biased in what way? I am commanded by God to be biased in my loves, for example, with an impulse to love my wife _by default_ more than any other woman. That's biased about the right thing. If my bias causes me to punch other men's wives, then I’d be holding by bias wrongly. When we think about what we want for a person in the womb or a person in the emergency room, our bias should be toward wanting life. A wise person is biased towards wisdom, which is part of what makes him wise. A thankful person is biased toward gratitude, which is part of what makes him fun to give gifts to. More on this in a bit. One of the dangers is that we are often biased for the _wrong_ things, and we go searching for, or only admit to, the evidence that backs up what we already thought. There is a fancy name for it called "confirmation bias." If I only read commentaries on the book of Revelation that I knew I would agree with, or read commentaries with different views but took a black Sharpie to their arguments while calling their conclusions stupid, that would make me stupid. We shouldn't want to be stupid. But, I've labored in this introduction to ask, what if your bias is _right_? What if you're good at finding confirmation for your bias because there's going to be a lot of confirmation for truth? How will you know if your bias needs to be corrected or if your bias _should be_ confirmed? Christ is always the answer. # Correction Bias at Christmas The Incarnation of Christ—the word for when God took on flesh and became a son of Mary born in Bethlehem—confronts and corrects a view of Christmas that says mankind is good, or that any man or woman is good, or that any man or woman can fix his or her own problems. The angel told Joseph that his pregnant fiancé was with child from the Holy Spirit, and that the Son's name should be Jesus because He would save His people from their _sins_. > “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) There is no resolution for guilt, no offer of forgiveness, no escape from blindness and darkness apart from the coming of the Light. Christmas corrects any worldview biased toward the goodness of man. If men were good, then there was no need for God to become a man and then die as a man. Christmas corrects any view of the world that says good food can fix what ails us, or that family is all the bond we need, or that the giving and receiving of gifts brings us eternal life. Without Christ, even Christmas is a millstone that drowns men in eternal death. Christ is the answer. He is The Light of the world. Christmas isn't a holiday because we were already having hearty family celebrations in December but wanted to kick our parties up a notch, or a contract made among businessmen agreeing to buy more stuff from each other and to take off work the same day. Christmas is a thing because we are dead in our transgressions. Christmas is a thing because of the bad news of our distance from God. And the facts that God, in the Son, was born of a woman, as a baby in a manger wrapped in swaddling cloths, lived on earth and among His family and later His disciples, that He ate and drank and built birdhouses (as a carpenter with his dad) and went to weddings and camped and washed feet and took naps, corrects the alternative way to miss the point of Christmas. Oh the Christian fussers who _fear_ the stuff, fear the body, fear the laughter, fear the gifts, do not yet see the world in The Light of the World. If God thought that the best place to celebrate the Incarnation was _out of the body_ then that would be at best ironic, and at worst blasphemous, to take on a body Himself. Christmas corrects dualists who are biased toward the “spiritual” as defined in avoiding earthly things. Christmas corrects fear mongers who are prejudiced against the material world, as if sin was in the ham not in the heart. # Confirmation Bias at Christmas Are there good ways to be biased? Yes. Here are four biases that Christmas confirms. _Christmas confirms a bias toward humility._ Jesus was born a baby, in a stable, to an unwed virgin, not at home. Jesus was born into flesh and blood, as a human, as a servant, on earth. Whenever it was that the wise men showed up with their gifts for a king, it was _out of place_, not because Jesus wasn't a king, but because He wasn't in a palace. The wise went went to Herod’s palace first because, well, that's where one expects a prince to be born. Paul wrote about the "mind of Christ" which all believers should have, and this "mind" was revealed in the Incarnation which is also referred to as Christ's Humiliation (Philippians 2:5-11). _Christmas confirms a bias toward generosity._ When we worship, and when we consider why we worship at Christmas, we see the Lord God Almighty, all-powerful and wise, _giving_. Generosity is not the same as unselfishness. In _The Screwtape Letters_ C.S. Lewis unwrapped the distinction. > ‘She’s the sort of woman who lives for others—you can always tell the others by their hunted expression.’ Lewis has the demon say that it’s a game best played with more than two players, in a family with grown-up children. If you’re going to give, then let go. _Christmas confirms a bias toward thankfulness._ All is gift. What do you have that you have not received? Christmas does not confirm your bias that you deserve anything, it does confirm a bias that you get way better than you deserve. Christ’s glory is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14), and “From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16). The truth is, you needed _and_ you get grace. Do you resent the person walking up to you with something in her hands because all you can think about is the effort it will take you to write a thank you note? Do you hate being in the position of receiver because you feel like that makes you indebted? As I said, there are bad givers, but God isn't of their number, and whether you like it or not you will never catch up counting your blessings. Be “giving thanks always and for everything” (Ephesians 5:20). _Christmas confirms a bias toward joy._ Being biased doesn't mean you can't see the other side, it's just which side you lean to. The first coming of Christ had been prophesied for centuries, and God's people had been in exile, in battle, in anticipation and even in _misery_ for a long time. When Christ was born and began His ministry and rose from the dead, not everyone received their King. The night was long. The night feels long again as we wait for His second advent. Which song should be our crescendo? To ask is to answer. > Let all mortal flesh keep silence, > and with fear and trembling stand; > ponder nothing earthly-minded, Those lyrics channel Habakkuk 2:20, yes, yet the third verse in the song demands that we _not_ be silent: > Rank on rank the host of heaven > spreads its vanguard on the way, > as the Light of light descendeth > from the realms of endless day, > that the powers of hell may vanish > as the darkness clears away. Which is why we rejoice: > He comes to make His blessings flow > Far as the curse is found And sing: > Joy to the earth the Savior reigns > Let men their songs employ “Everything created by God is good” and to be received with thanks, sanctified by the Word of God and prayer (1 Timothy 4:4-5). The truth of Christmas sanctifies us so that we have sanctified biases. # Conclusion Apart from Christ, Christmas is hell. In Christ, all are yours. Unbelievers need to be corrected. _Believers_ need to be corrected. Unbelievers think it's all about gifts and parties and family. Some believers think it's all about _not_ caring about gifts and parties and family. Ironically, both define it according to worldly standards. One misses the Baby, the other misses what the Baby was born to do. > Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) “Life” in the “light of life” is the object on which the light shines. The Light illuminates the cosmos, the Light makes the cosmos visible for us to see for what it is. Any real understanding of life comes from Jesus because He made it and He sustains it. We do not need to get off the earth before Jesus does us any good. Christmas disciples us to look to Jesus and, when we look to Jesus, we see what is wrong and what is good on earth. Christmas reveals the deadliness of envy and lies and gluttony, of pride and grabbing like the first Adam. Christmas also disciples us in the light of grace and truth and thankfulness, of humility and giving. The second Adam from above is effacing the first Adam in us. As He does so, our increasing likeness to the new Adam includes cinnamon and butter and bread and yeast and hops and child-proof toy packaging. It also includes patience with immature children–which is okay, you are helping them to grow up, as well as grumpy, complaining kids–which is okay in a different way because Jesus came for _sinners_. Christ is the star that lights the way. When you see the world in His light, you see the world, and Christmas, the right way. --- ## Charge This would usually be a good place to charge you to live at peace with others as much as depends on you (Romans 12:18), to be patient, to serve, to die to bring life. The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. So, while you're not being angry, I'm exhorting you to look for a strategic moment to light a verbal candle and really let the room, or your relative, have it. If your bias is a good one, then—he who has ears to hear—give someone a reason to complain about it. Don’t hide your Christmas bias under a basket (Matthew 5:15). ## Benediction: > The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. > > He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! > > The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. (Revelation 22:17, 20–21, ESV)

Always Christmas (2018)

December 23, 2018 • Sean Higgins

1 Corinthians 13:8-13 # Introduction The sermon for this morning is a combination gift. It's like getting socks for Christmas, but socks that you needed, even asked for. So you're getting the next sermon from 1 Corinthians 13, but it is both practical for and pertinent to the holiday. The entire chapter is about love, all the way to the end. And while it isn't directly connected to the incarnation, without the incarnation we wouldn’t know what love looked like in pants. In _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_ the White Witch cast a spell so that it was “always winter, never Christmas.” “It is always winter in Narnia—always winter, but it never gets to Christmas.” The lament comes out seven times in the book, and we can feel their cold, stiff sorrow. But in our world, “a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world” (_The Last Battle_), and since that time, there is a sense in which winter is vanishing and it will be always Christmas. More than a day of celebration, the birth of Christ brought tidings of comfort and joy, of loving fellowship with the Father forever. > And the angel said to them [the shepherds], “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10–11) Because of Christmas the cold, dark, bitter winter cannot win. The Christians in Corinth had gotten to a point where their priorities were at best upside down. Many of them had come to measure their spirituality and spiritual value according to the wrong standards. They elevated certain gifts, and the persons who exercised those gifts, over other spiritual gifts, not realizing either the reality that the Spirit gives all the gifts or that the persons are gifted variously for the whole body's benefit. The source of the gifts is the same source, and the benefits of the gifts are reciprocal benefits. Elevating one above another, or putting distance between one another, is not right. There is a more excellent way. That excellent way is the way of love. Paul began the chapter by showing that superlative supernatural gifts, exercised without love, amount to nothing (verses 1-3). Then he described love's active nature, what it does and won't do (verses 4-7). And now he'll finish this focus by comparing love to good but temporary things (verses 8-13). Love is the greatest. There are four parts to this final paragraph: the comparison (verse 8), the explanation (verses 9-10), the illustrations (verses 11-12), and the conclusion (verse 13). # The Permanent Comparison (verse 8) Gifts, spiritual (and Christmas) gifts, do not last. Love does. **Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.** The idea that **love never ends** is not new to the discussion, since Paul just wrote that love "endures all things" (verse 7). He also finishes this paragraph by declaring that love "abides," it remains, it isn't going anywhere. The Greek word in verse 8 for **ends** is more simply translated "fall." The NASB has "love never fails," so it never collapses, it never goes down, it isn't ever ruined or finished. That's quite a statement, and it deserves more attention, including *why* is this the case? What is it about love that makes love permanent? For the moment, however, the point Paul wants to make is that not everything is permanent like love, especially the things that the Corinthians valued above love. Paul refers to three of the gifts previously mentioned in chapter 12, gifts also repeated at the beginning of chapter 13. **Prophecies** and **knowledge** ... **will pass away.** I understand prophecy to be more than preaching and teaching, and knowledge also refers to the spiritual gift of knowledge, of discernment about a situation or a prophecy rather than knowledge that any believer can have. The most important part, though, is that these gifts don't last. A point in time is coming when there’s nothing more to reveal; every judgement will be brought to light. The same is true of **tongues**, **they will cease**. Paul uses a different verb, and the verb has a different voice (middle), and a whole lot of words have been written about this change in vocabulary and grammar. But I’m on the side with those who do *not* think a great point can be made *from this verse alone* about when tongues as a gift no longer functions. Cessationism is a thing, but it’s not the thing here. *The* issue is that tongues, even the tongues of angels (which, by the way, presumably would never cease), which the Corinthians esteemed as the sign of spirituality par excellence, isn't even something that will last. # The Perfect Explanation (verses 9-10) When the power turns back on, candles just aren't necessary any more. And when we see the Lord, we won't need information about His return through prophecy and knowledge. **For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.** Tongues adds nothing to the comparison that we don't get with the other two. Tongues communicates God's revelation to be known in another language, tongues just adds another step requiring translation. If we don't need to go anywhere, we don't need the car, let alone the trailer hitched to the back. The revelation that we have (what we **know**), or that we get (what comes by **prophecy**), is only **partial**. Partial things are not incorrect, they are just incomplete. I don't need to know quantum physics in order to do arithmetic, and even to know that my answers are correct. But it's just some of the whole. What we have is true, but it isn't perfect. **When the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.** But what is **the perfect**? There are three main options: the perfect refers to the completion of the New Testament, or it refers to the Christian's personal maturity, or it refers to Christ's return (related to either the Rapture, the Second Coming, or the Eternal State after the Millennial Kingdom). There are decent arguments for each of these, but even if all three gifts mentioned in verse 8 were sign gifts (rather than tongues by itself), Christians have not been made complete by having a completed Bible. The Bible lets us "see" God, but not face to face (like verse 12). When **the perfect comes** also does not sound like our individual arrival at maturity. So the best option is that **the perfect** comes when Christ comes and we see Him. > For Christians the eternal state begins either at death, when they go to be with the Lord, or at the rapture, when the Lord takes His own to be with Himself. For Tribulation and Kingdom saints it will occur at death or glorification. (MacArthur) When we are with Him, **the partial**, as in the spiritual gifts as we know them, **will pass away**. I will be able to give you the *perfect* explanation about this, when the perfect comes, and when you won’t need the explanation anymore. # The Personal Illustrations (verses 11-12) There are two illustrations that Paul uses that show how our current experience is not the final experience. **When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.** He uses himself as the example of growth. There is a natural progression of things, and while talking and thinking and arguing like a child is good for when you're a kid, it's not good if it lasts forever. Kids live more in the moment and for the moment. Kids think less about how what they do affects others. Adults have a longer view, and ideally a broader view than themselves. The analogy works with spiritual gifts. They are good for when they are appropriate; they are God-given. But the Corinthians, to some extent, considered tongues-talking as the evidence of greatest maturity. It wasn't. **For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.** The first-century Corinthians had mirrors, usually made of bronze. Even if we have better self-gazing technology, their mirrors weren't bad for the day. It's not a problem that the mirrors didn't work, that they were too blurry or distorted or dark. The problem is that a mirror isn't the person. It's only a mirror image, so there is some degree of separation. That will not always be the case, someday we will see **face to face**. It won’t be an image on a screen, it will be God in person. **Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.**. This is an amazing truth, both in the present and for the future. We are **fully known** by God. He is infinite and knows all things, but this type of **known** is more than data data, it is familiarity. He knows us, He *loves* us. And though we love Him, we do not see Him. We will. And we will enjoy that personal fellowship with Him forever. We do know Him now, but we will know Him even better later. When Paul says that he will know **fully** he doesn't mean that he will become omniscient; finite beings don't become infinite. But there won't be distance between us. # The Paramount Conclusion (verse 13) **So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.** Paul connected faith and hope with love already (verse 7): love "believes all things, hopes all things." And since love doesn't end, love keeps believing and hoping. Unlike spiritual gifts, these cardinal (meaning, of greatest importance, fundamental) virtues will go on and on. They **abide**, they will not pass away when the perfect comes. Faith and hope must look somewhat different when we’re with the Lord, since faith is the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1), and likewise hope that is seen is also not hope (Romans 8:24). But faith, as it is *trust*, won't stop in heaven; we will always be depending on God. So hope, as it is eager and expectant for God to do great things, may only increase in heaven; we will always be ready for God to do more. Faith, hope, and love are the trifecta. They are all great, but the **greatest of these is love**. God is not faith (though He is faithful), God is not hope (though He is steadfast), God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). God was love before Genesis 1:1. God will be love in the new heavens and the new earth for eternity. God enfleshed love when the Son was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. Love will be different then in some ways, less of a challenge, more Trinitarian. # Conclusion The things that some the Corinthians loved and valued weren’t the things that we’re going to last. Wrong assessment happens in the church. It happens in our marriages and families. It happens in our hearts. It happens at Christmas. But because of Christmas it is always the Christmas season. Because of the incarnation and the resurrection, there is always a way to deal with sin, always love that overcomes the separation of death. Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, our Lord, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered, died, was buried, and rose again on the third day. His is the Savior, Christ the Lord. The Son in flesh will wipe away more wickedness than the flood. He makes His blessings flow far as the curse is found. The Second Adam from above is reinstating us in His love. Winter is vanishing. Faith overcomes the world (1 John 5:4), love will outlast it. For now, Christmas love is inconvenient, humbling, costly, messy. But also now, Christmas love changes people(s). Love is of cardinal and cosmic greatness. We will never get tired of it, we will never grow too old for it, we will never know what its absence will feel like, we will never question its power. We will see Him face to face, and we will know perfect love.

The Return of Christmas (2016)

December 25, 2016 • Sean Higgins

Luke 2:8-20 # Introduction What is the right way to respond to Christmas? I’m not actually concerned with the holiday, with a day off of work on December 25. I mean what is the appropriate response to the birth of Jesus? To the extent that our global holiday appreciates the Word made flesh, that’s great. Jesus had a birthday, and it’s fine with me if we all agree to recognize the same day on the calendar every year. But if we really grasp the meaning, and therefore the importance of the incarnation of God, what will we do? We can learn a lot by considering how a group of pastors responded. These were pastors in Latin; in English we would call them *shepherds*, and not the figurative kind. “There were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.” This wasn’t an outdoor, late-night accountability group, it was a plurality of men guarding a group of sheep, either theirs or someone who hired them. Perhaps no one else in the nativity story got it so good as these shepherds. Mary and Joseph both heard from angels, Joseph in a dream (Matthew 1:20) and Mary had a conversation with Gabriel who visited her (Luke 1:26-39), but the shepherds got a *show*. “An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them” (Luke 2:9). After the announcement, “suddenly there was with the angels a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased’” (Luke 2:13-14). The earthly parents received some explanation beforehand, the shepherds received a same-day report of the birth from an angelic choir. The wise men, who came over a year later, learned about the birth from a star (Matthew 2:2). But the shepherds got a direct and divine announcement that included an invitation to go and see the baby. The shepherds also had the least amount of distance to travel. They were “in the same region,” outside of Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph had to travel from Nazareth in Galilee to the city of David (Luke 2:4), a distance of almost 70 miles. Also, as far as we know, none of the shepherds were pregnant. They were also much closer than “the wise men from the east” (Matthew 2:1), a reference to astrologers in Persia or Babylon, a journey of around 900 miles. So the shepherds got a personal invite accompanied by the heavenly host singing and they were relatively close. That’s a trifecta. They invested the least amount of effort in the story and arguably got the greatest return on Christmas. It’s actually astonishing. What had they done to deserve this? Why did God choose them, out of all the people anywhere? Simeon, who was “righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him (Luke 2:25), *knew* “by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26). Simeon did get to see Jesus, but not in the manger on His birth day. Anna the prophetess also got to see Jesus, since “she did not depart from the temple, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day” (Luke 2:36-37). The shepherds weren’t noted for being especially righteous, devoted, prayerful, or eagerly “waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). Yet think of what the shepherds got. # Think of the theology! When the angel appeared and the glory—the bright, brilliant light—of the Lord shone around them, “they were filled with fear.” That’s appropriate: humble fear. Then hear what the angel said to them. > “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10–11) This birth is without precedent, but not without prophecy. The shepherds must have picked up on some of the terms, and we are in a privileged position to connect even more. They certainly heard the echoes of Isaiah. Isaiah looked forward to increasing joy brought by a birth. > For to us a child is born, > to us a son is given; > and the government shall be upon his shoulder, > and his name shall be called > Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, > Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. > Of the increase of his government and of peace > there will be no end, > on the throne of David and over his kingdom, > to establish it and to uphold it > with justice and with righteousness > from this time forth and forevermore. > The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. > (Isaiah 9:6–7) Hear the echoes of joy (Isaiah 9:3), unto us (Isaiah 9:6)/you is born, the throne (Isaiah 9:7)/city of David, Savior-Christ-Lord, host (Isaiah 9:7). Here is the world-changer, the world-ruler, the one who carries the burden and increases peace and establishes a throne of justice forevermore. And He is *born this day!* This child is *Savior*. Soteriology is His. All things that belong with salvation are from Him and in Him and for Him. God gave an entire sacrificial system to deal with sin and guilt, a system that pointed to a better sacrifice. He comes to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found. He rescues, He heals. The Savior is born! He is *Christ*, the Anointed One, the Messiah. This is not Jesus’ last name, it is His title. He was chosen for this office, this responsibility. He is not only the sacrifice, He is the High Priest who presents the sacrifice in order to satisfy God’s righteousness and bring us to God. Christ is born! He is *Lord*, the Master. He redeems and He reigns. He is King, His kingdom is forever, His kingdom is fruitful and all who serve Him flourish. He is in charge by virtue of His possessing all things, the highest authority. The Lord of glory is born! The shepherds may not have understood all the fine theological footnotes or been able to locate all the cross-references in the prophet’s scrolls, but they knew what Savior, Christ, and Lord meant. Lord, in particular, always translated *Yahweh*, the covenant name of *Elohim*=God. Perhaps the shepherds also thought of a little earlier in Isaiah. > Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14) “Immanuel” means “God with us,” as an angel of the Lord told Joseph in a dream (Matthew 1:23). How can this be? It would take a few centuries to clarify the relationship of Jesus’ humanity and His deity. But somehow, from a virgin, from Mary, would be born the eternal Word who was God and was with God. The creator of the universe, who sustains it by His Word, had to work out of a womb-office for nine months. The one who clothed mountains with snow was clothed by his mom in swaddling clothes. He causes seed to sprout and crops for food to feed animals, and He was laid in a feeding trough His first night on earth. Here is glory in submission, glory in humility, glory in giving up oneself for others. A few centuries later, Augustine wrote: > Man’s Maker was made man that > the Bread might be hungry, > the Fountain thirst, > the Light sleep, > the Way be tired from the journey; > that Strength might be made weak, > that Life might die. Unlike the Greek and Roman pantheon of gods, unlike those who believed that matter is evil and spirit is good, who were offended by the idea of holiness embodied on earth, Jesus redefined categories of thinking. His birth built new shelves for a library of truths, and the lowly shepherds were lifted into the presence of divine incarnation. How their lives would be changed by these truths. # Think of the doxology! *Doxa* is a Greek word that means “glory.” It is used in verse 9, “the *doxa* of the Lord shone around them.” It is also the first word in the angels’ song, “*Doxa* in the highest to God.” The angels were praising God, saying, perhaps singing in a great chorus. A *doxology* is a hymn or verse in Christian liturgy that glorifies God. We ahem an English, capital D, doxology that we sing a lot (“Praise God from whom all blessings flow…”). It is a word, *logia*, or expression of *doxa* , glory. So “Gloria in excelsis Deo” is called the “Greater Doxology” and it is the Latin translation of Luke 2:14. The army of angels did not just perform for the shepherds, and yet the shepherds were the *only ones* who witnessed this glorious worship. So how did they respond? “when the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made know to us.’” How could they *not*? The announcement and song came with a sign. No more momentous event had ever happened in history up to this point, and only one other event in history has more importance, the death and resurrection of Christ. History itself is divided at this birth line. Of course they had to go. “They went with haste,” certainly appropriate. What did they do with their flock? Does it matter? They were going to meet the Savior, the Christ, the Lord! They were going to meet the fulfillment of a long night of waiting for Israel. They dropped everything for the highest priority of meeting this child. They “found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. And Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” The shepherds believed what they were told, so they went and they made it known. Perhaps Joseph and Mary also told them what the angels had revealed to them. And the result was that all “wondered,” they marveled at the significance of it. Mary made a mental collection of these truths and meditated on the nature of this child’s coming into the world. All of this fits with glory. This is how you respond to glory. A unique and glorious birth called for an immediate change of plans on the shepherds’ part. Priorities were rearranged. It upended their night in the field, and certainly the story continues with their whole lives being upended, right? There’s no way that anything could be the same for them after this. But verse 20 takes the most unexpected turn in the story, and, in light of the theology and doxology, it could be called unappreciative, disobedient, even blasphemous. “And the shepherds returned.” Returned where? To the temple for prayer and fasting and psalm-writing? To a king to announce the arrival of the new king? Of course not. They returned to *work*. They went back out to the same field to keep keeping watch over their same flock by night. Shouldn’t they have stayed with Jesus? If they really believed what the angel told them, then why didn’t they follow Jesus’ family around, devoting themselves to serving Jesus and praising Him? Wouldn’t that have been the right response, the *spiritual*, God-honoring response? How could they return to work after this? In the same way, shouldn’t we celebrate Christmas *every* day? Shouldn’t we drop everything we’re doing and sing “Gloria in excelsis Deo” on non-stop repeat until the Second Coming? Who cares about the dumb sheep, we’ve got the Chief Shepherd. Well, no. God forbid. The return of the shepherds to their work was the great Christmas blasphemy that *wasn’t*. It was right that they gave attention to the angel. It was appropriate for them not to cover their ears and scream “la-la-la we can’t hear you!” when the angels sang. It was fitting for them to go see the child and good to talk with Mary and Joseph. It was proper to *wonder*. Then it was right for them to go back to work, to the same responsibilities they had before, though now they did it differently. “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” “Glorifying” (*doxazontes*) and “praising” were words used of the heavenly host. The shepherds were changed that night, not mostly in what they did but *how* they did it. They watched their sheep differently. It’s right for us to stop and sing about the angels singing. It’s appropriate for us to gather, in pajamas around a tree or in special dresses or bow ties with the church, and retell what was seen and heard that night so long ago in Bethlehem. We should believe, we should marvel, we should give glory to God in the highest. And if we’ve done Christmas celebrations right, there will not be a let down when we’re done, there will be a lifting up of everything else we return to do. Cold, sleepless nights defending against wild animals, or listening to coughing kids, making food, changing diapers, registering for the census/paying taxes, whatever our station of responsibilities, Christmas will help us be spiritual in bodies. # Conclusion Christmas Sentimentalists hate work, before, on, and after Christmas day. But that means they don’t get it. Christmas understood *balances* us, it does not throw us off balance. It does not wreck the rhythm of our hearts, it is the main beat. If you’ve lost your balance and want to blame the season, okay, but remember? Christmas! Enjoy today. Rejoice exceedingly with great joy today. Let men their songs employ! And then tomorrow, or later today, let men their skills deploy! Go back to work glorifying and praising God for all the good news of great joy for all the people, that a Savior, Christ the Lord was born, and He is coming again for His people.