The Promise of Christmas
(December 8, 2014) |
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The first verse of the Gospel of Matthew starts by referring to Jesus as the Son of David and the Son of Abraham. Then, Matthew proceeds through 15 verses of genealogy. Don't be deceived into viewing these details as boring, for in these details is the promise of Christmas!
Jesus Christ was not a founder of a religion nor was He a one-time phenomenon. He is rooted in the eternal history of God and is the fulfillment of God's plan of redemption. The whole Bible is a history of redemption.
Christianity is not just a philosophy
nor is it teachings to live by. Christianity is a Person to live in and to live with! You can take away Buddha, Confusius, Mohammad, etc, and you still have those man-made religions and teachings. Not so with Christ. There is no Christian teaching apart from the Person of Christ.
But when the fullness of time had come,
God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4).
This is the message of Christmas! If this truth is not embraced, Christmas is relegated to general sentiments such as "a season of good
will."
This Rest Stop focuses on the very specific promise of Christmas.
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The Promise of a Seed
Right after the Fall of man, God initiated His first covenant
with man promising a Redeemer in Genesis 3:15, And the LORD God said to the serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; and He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel."
What a vivid foreshadowing of the cross of Christ!
Notice the capital S in the word Seed, a reference to, indeed a promise of, Christ.
After this first announcement of the gospel, God, through the entire Bible, repeats this promise over and over and over. In particular, the promise of a Redeemer is highlighted in God's covenants with Abraham and David.
Thus, Matthew starts his gospel by referring to Jesus as the Son of Abraham and the Son of David.
Matthew is proclaiming that Jesus is the fulfillment of all of God's promises through the whole Bible!
Son of Abraham The Promise of a Savior
In Genesis 12:2-3, God told Abraham that He would make a great nation from his family, and that through his seed all the
nations shall be blessed. This is the promise of the Messiah for everyone, not just the Jews.
Galatians 3:16 says, Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as one, "And
to your Seed," who is Christ.
Amazing! Jesus is the promised Seed of Abraham who is the Savior for anyone in the world who will receive Him. Indeed, Jesus is the Blessing to all the nations.
Son of David The Promise of a King In 2 Samuel 7:16, the LORD said, "Your throne will be established forever." This is God's promise that David's seed will forever be king. Jesus is the fulfillment of this promise!
Paul wrote of this same promise many years later in Romans 1:1-4, Paul, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection
from the dead.
Note that David's murder of Uriah is listed in Matthew's genealogy of Christ. Wow. God's promise of a Redeemer indeed cannot be thwarted! God moves heaven and earth and even overrules sin to fulfill His promise
through His beloved Son.
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It is amazing for me to realize that the entire Bible is God's history of His eternal purpose for redemption through His Beloved Son. The Bible, then, is His-Story.
And isn't it
amazing and fitting to see the cross foreshadowed and depicted throughout the entire Bible in concert with the promise of Christmas?!
God bless you, Gregg
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Journey in Christ, Inc. is a biblical, Christ-centered discipleship counseling, teaching, and training ministry with a heart to come alongside pastors and the local church in the Greenville SC area. I am a member of Holly Ridge Baptist Church in Simpsonville SC.
We have three full-time
staff members, one staff member trainee, six board members, one ministry assistant, and a multitude of ministry partners.
I would love to hear from you!
Contact me at (864) 483-3201 and/or gregg@journeyinchrist.org if you would like to know more how I can support you in your walk with Christ and in your ministry in Christ.
I would also love to share how you can partner with Journey in Christ in various ministry opportunities in concert with the local church, including the following:
I counsel Christians one-on-one on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I share the Word with a brother in Christ in jail for 30 minutes every Wednesday morning.
I teach a
freedom in Christ class each Monday evening to 30 men at the Haven of Rest mission in Anderson SC.
I am preparing to teach verse-by-verse through Romans chapters 5-8 January 22-24.
The staff of Journey in Christ are teaching discipleship Bible studies in the workplace. |
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