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God Incarnate
Incarnation means the living form or personification of someone. This message is to explain how Almighty God could take human form and willingly enter a world He already knew would oppose Him, reject His message, and crucify Him. God lived with us as a human but without diminishing His deity in the least. The angel made an astounding announcement Luke 1:19, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news!” Then he says 32 that Jesus “will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.” The incarnation of Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. Genealogies were needed for proof of legal rights to land ownership and other purposes. If a religious leader wanted to refute Jesus’ claim to be Messiah (and they did) all they had to do was check the genealogies because only a son of David could be the Messiah. On this point their silence speaks volumes. Two genealogies were necessary. Luke shows that Jesus was a blood descendant of David through Mary, and Matthew that Jesus had the legal right through Joseph. Jesus voluntarily set aside the powers that were His as God but did not give up being God. Philippians 2:6-8 “Though he was God [in nature, in the form of], he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross.” The incarnation of Christ is so vitally important that we must fully understand the significance of His visit and what that means to the true believer. There are many false teachers giving wrong doctrines that could jeopardize our eternal life. Many groups think that Jesus was a great teacher or prophet but not God. “In the beginning the Word was God” John 1:1, 14 ”And the Word came in the flesh, and lived for a time in our midst, so that we saw His glory—the glory as of the Father’s only Son, sent from His presence. He was full of grace and truth” WEY. Nathaniel was surprised that Jesus knew things only God could know. John 1:48-49 "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." Then Nathanael declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." The Samaritan woman realized who Jesus was and said to the townspeople John 4:29 "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?" Jesus was Creator God and He proved that by doing what only God could do. John 14:11 “Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of what you have seen me do.” He created wine from water John 2, restored sight to the blind Matthew 9, gave hearing to the deaf Mark 7, created food to feed thousands Mark 6, walked on water Matt. 14, and healed those who believed in faith Luke 8. The entire New Testament is about God incarnate in the Person of Jesus. Colossians 1:15-16 ”He is the [visible] image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” Teaching His disciples about prayer they were instructed to Matthew 6:6 “go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Through Jesus the invisible God was made visible. Colossians 1:19 ”For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,” and 2:9 ”in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” The angel appeared to Joseph and said Matthew 1:23 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." The presence of Almighty God is with us at all times, and we must know that in order to receive the benefit and blessing of His presence. God is with us to answer every question, supply any need, and give any solution. The believer has Someone present all the time Who knows everything, controls everything, and has the power to do anything. God wants to do things for His children. James 1:17 ”Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” Jesus is God who knew why He came to earth—to save His people from their sin Matthew 1:21. He healed the sick, cast out demons, cleansed lepers, ministered to the needy, fellowshipped with the poor, fed the hungry, and gave His life to save the lost Luke 19:10. God promised “everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he made the universe and everything in it” Hebrews 1:2. The expanse of the universe is beyond human comprehension. A hollow sphere the size of our sun would hold one million earths and the star Sirius Canis Major is twice as big as the sun. Hebrews 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” The apostles John, Peter, and James would witness the glory of Christ and describe it Matthew 17:2 ”There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.” That is why the apostle wrote John 1:14 ”We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” God’s presence will be passive if we ignore Him, but He wants to be an active presence in our life. Jesus said John 14:19 "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.” God is with us whether anyone believes that or not. 1 John 1:3 “Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” The presence of God is with us because Jesus left His Spirit with us. God has never been far away from anyone, but the unbeliever does not enjoy the benefit of God’s presence. The believer, however, can receive the good things God wants to give. The idolatrous Athenians had a sign on an altar Acts 17:23 “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you” the apostle Paul said. 24-25 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.” Life and everything else is the promise from Almighty God Who is not far from anyone 27 if we would seek Him. Satan will do everything possible to hide the fact that God is with us and will supply any need we could have. Anyone can have outward piety and seem to be religious, but still not know God and what His presence in the world means to the true believer. What counts is going into our room, getting on our knees, confessing our sins and unbelief, and asking God to show us His presence so we can claim and receive all those things He wants to give. God is closer than any idol the Athenians could have had, and far more powerful than any one we could depend on in this life. The Creator of the universe is by our side and His power is waiting to do things for us every day and every hour. It is possible not to give God anything to do, but He is with us just the same. Acts 17:28 ”For in him we live and move and have our being.” We are told Hebrews 13:5 ”Let your conversation be without covetousness” to remind us not to get our eyes on any human source of supply. We are to look away from any human source and keep our eyes on God (Who is waiting to supply whatever is needed). We often look north, south, east, and west when the only direction to look is up to Almighty God. Our words must not hint of our needs if our conversations are to be without covetousness. God will shower us with His blessings when our eyes are off human sources and on His divine supply. True believers are children of a wealthy Father Who stands by to give whatever they could possibly need. Psalm 145:16 ”You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.” God Himself is with us and ready to give whatever we need if we will ask Him in believing faith. He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you” Hebrews 13:5. God is telling us that all we could need spiritually, physically, or materially, His presence and power will supply. Jesus said to His disciples Matthew 28:18, "All power in Heaven and over the earth has been given to me.” Many in the Bible wondered who Jesus was and who they had with them when He calmed the storm and healed the sick. Emmanuel is God with us, Who made the world, parted the sea, and is standing by to do whatever we need accomplished. John 15:7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” †††
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Century Gospel Church © 2010 |
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