Liturgy for Sunday, PM Confession of Dependence and Divine Greeting Ps.118:1,6 Profession of faith Ps.118:7,8 Prayer for illumination and blessing Ministry of the Word Reading: Luke 1:26-38; Philippians 2:1-11 Hy.25:1,2,3 Text: LD14 As God s eternal Son Christ emptied himself and became a servant for us. We ll consider: 1. How Christ remained God while giving up his heavenly glory and riches. 2. How Christ became man in order to serve as our Mediator. 3. How Christ calls us to humble lives of service. Hy.23:1,2,3,5 Offering Hy.20:1,2,4 Prayer of thanksgiving Hy.69 Divine blessing Songs for worship taken from the 2010 version of the Book of Praise See http://www.canrc.org/?page=23 for pdf files of Psalms and Hymns Rev. Joe Poppe 1
Singing: Ps.118:1,6; Ps.118:7,8; Hy.25:1,2,3; Hy.23:1,2,3,5; Hy.20:1,2,4; Hy.69 Reading: Luk.1:26-38; Phil.2:1-11 Text: LD14 Beloved congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, Are you familiar with the Christmas carol, Away in a Manger? The lyrics go something like this: Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head, The stars in the bright sky looked down where he lay, The little Lord Jesus asleep in the hay. The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes I love thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky. And stay by my side till morning is nigh. This song describes some of the events surrounding the birth of the Lord Jesus. It paints a romantic picture of the events that occurred in Bethlehem some two thousand years ago. Yet this song makes a statement that I would like you to consider more deeply. It says that when the little Lord Jesus awakes, no crying he makes. Did the baby Jesus cry? Or didn t he? Some people would argue that as a baby Jesus did not cry. They say that crying is the result of sin. Since Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, sin did not get passed on to him, like the rest of humankind. And so these people argue that since Jesus was not polluted by sin, he could not have cried. They think that if he had cried then he would not have been God, and then he could not have been our Saviour. Others argue the opposite. They would say: of course Jesus cried. Babies cannot talk. They have no other way of communicating that they are hunger, or that their diaper needs to be changed. They point to what the writer of Hebrews says in chapter 2. He makes it clear that Christ shared in our humanity, and that he had to be made like his brothers in every way. Thus these people argue that of course Jesus cried. If he didn t cry he was not human, and then he could not have been our Saviour. By examining this Christmas carol s claim that the little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes we are introduced to a serious debate about the two natures of Christ. The question is: how could Jesus be both God and man at the same time? What did this look like? How divine was he when he came to earth? And what exactly happened when he became flesh? Did Christ retain his full divinity when he became man? Or did he stop being God in some ways when he became man? These are important questions, for they address Christ s ability to serve as our Mediator. This afternoon we ll consider what we believe when we say he was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. I preach to you the Word of God under the following theme: As God s eternal Son Christ emptied himself and became a servant for us. We ll consider: 1. How Christ remained God while giving up his heavenly glory and riches. 2. How Christ became man in order to serve as our Mediator. 3. How Christ calls us to humble lives of service. This afternoon we read together from Luke 1. Luke gives us a summary of the events that led up to Christ s birth. He speaks of the angel Gabriel appearing to the virgin Mary, and telling her that she would be with child and give birth to a son. Mary asked how that was possible, since she was a virgin, and had never been with a man. The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luk.1:35). Rev. Joe Poppe 2
Humanly speaking, this was impossible. Yet to assure Mary that God would work this miracle, the angel pointed to another miracle the Lord had already performed. How Elizabeth, a barren woman, far past the child-bearing age, was expecting a child. Gabriel assured Mary saying, For nothing is impossible with God. From this we see that the birth of the Lord Jesus was a miraculous event. God, by the power of his Spirit, caused his Son to be conceived in Mary s womb! The Bible s presentation of the facts is clear and simple. And our catechism summarizes these events in a clear and simple way. Concerning our confession that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit born of the virgin Mary it states: That the eternal Son of God, who is and remains true and eternal God, took upon himself true human nature from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary through the working of the Holy Spirit. While the facts are clear, we struggle to understand how Jesus could be God and man at the same time. Our reading from Philippians 2 helps to shed light on this. Paul speaks of Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. What Paul is saying here is that Jesus Christ, who was in his very nature God, became man. Yet the manner in which Paul describes this is very significant. It helps to explain how Jesus could be both God and man. The key phrase in Philippians 2:6-7 is that Jesus made himself nothing. Literally the Greek says that Christ emptied himself. The Greek word that is used is kenosis. Liberal Bible scholars have come up with a new interpretation of our text. It is called the kenosis theory. Basically, their point is that in his birth Christ emptied himself of his divine qualities. The basic point that these critical scholars make is that when Jesus came into this world as a man, he left his God-head, his divine nature behind. These people deny that Jesus had either the character of God, or any of the attributes of God. Consequently, they deny that Jesus had any special powers. They deny the supernatural knowledge Jesus had, and the miracles he did. They base their unbelief on this kenosis theory, that Christ emptied himself. Obviously, we disagree with such unbelief. We confess that when Jesus came into this world he remained true and eternal God. Paul makes that point plainly in Philippians 2:6, when he speaks of Christ being in very nature God. By that Paul means that Christ Jesus always had been and always continues to be God. With respect to his inner nature, his essential being Christ was and remained true and eternal God. He remained God, even when he became man. The Bible clearly teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ remained true and eternal God even when he became man. Just think of John 1:1, where we are told, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John goes on to say that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (Joh.1:14). Or consider Hebrews 1:3, which says that Christ was the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being. Christ existed before he was born into this world. He has always been true and eternal God. That did not changed when Christ came into this world. Jesus claimed to be divine. He called God his Father; he claimed that he was not of this world, but that he came from God (Joh.8:11,23,42). Jesus forgave people their sins, something that only God could do! The disciples confessed Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God, their Lord and God (Mat.14:23; Luk.9:20; Joh.6:69; 20:28). The fact that Christ is divine can be seen in the knowledge he had. It is true that as he was growing up Jesus did not know everything, but grew in knowledge and wisdom (Luk.2:40,52). Yet he also had supernatural knowledge. Jesus made this known when he revealed the condition of Nathaniel s heart and what he was doing before they met (Joh.1:47-48). He knew the intimate details of the life of the Samaritan woman whom he met at the well (Joh.4:17f). He knew that Lazarus was dead before being given news about this (Joh.11:11-14). Rev. Joe Poppe 3
The fact that Jesus retained his divine nature can also be seen in the power he had. The gospels record many miracles that Jesus performed: healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, making the lame walk, casting out spirits from those who were demon possessed, and even raising various people from the dead. These wonderful acts of our Saviour were meant as signs, to testify that the Messiah had come. To help the people believe that Jesus was indeed the Christ. Yet they also serve as a powerful testimony of the fact that Jesus remained true and eternal God during his sojourn on this earth. The fact that Christ did not empty himself of his divine nature or godly characteristics is made absolutely clear by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Colossians. Colossians 1:19 says, For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him. In Colossians 2 Paul says that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (v.3). For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form (v.9). All the fullness of God dwelt in Christ bodily during his earthly ministry. So then, what does it mean when our text says that Christ emptied himself, that he made himself of no reputation? What changed when Christ came in human flesh, when he was born in Bethlehem some two thousand years ago? Of what did Christ empty himself? Of what did he let go? Christ did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, something to be held onto. Christ was equal with God in glory, honour, riches and majesty. Yet he did not stand on his rights. Christ did not demand that these things remain his. He was willing to let them go. Christ gave up his heavenly glory and riches when he became man. We need to understand Christ s majesty and power in heaven. Revelation 4:11 says, You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being. Christ is eternal God. All things were made through him (Joh.1:3; Heb.1:2). As the Creator of the universe he is worthy of all glory and honour and power. In heaven Christ received homage from all the angels; they obeyed every command he spoke (Psa.103:20; Heb.1:6; Rev.7:9f). Yet Christ humbled himself; he made himself of no reputation. He gave up the glory he had in heaven for a life of service on this earth. In heaven Christ was the object of most solemn adoration, before whom the seraphim covered their faces (Isa.6:1-3; Joh.12:41). Yet he voluntarily came to earth, where he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. (Isa.53:3). The fact that Christ laid down his glory is seen clearly from the prayer he uttered on the night before his crucifixion. He prayed, And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. (Joh.17:5). Our Lord gave up his majestic position as King in heaven above. Despite his glorious kingship, he was born in lowly circumstances. Luke shows us that Christ s birth involved a great humiliation. The manner of Christ s coming into the world did not fit his royal position as Lord and King. Luke 2:7 says that Mary gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. He was born in a poverty and squalor that we find hard to imagine. Christ gave up his glorious position as heavenly King, in order to come and save us from our sins. Christ s servant attitude continued during his life on earth. Although Jesus was Lord and Master of all of creation, he experienced great poverty while on earth. Jesus told a would-be follower, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. (Mat.8:20). Christ was continually borrowing things: a house to sleep in, a boat to preach from, an animal to ride on, a room to celebrate the Passover in, and a tomb to be buried in. He did not consider equality with God something to be hung onto. Instead he humbled himself and became a servant for us. This brings us to our second point. In it we ll consider how Christ became man in order to serve as our Mediator. Philippians 2 speaks not only of Christ laying down his divine privileges, but also of how he took on our human flesh. Verse 7 says that Christ made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. When Paul speaks Rev. Joe Poppe 4
about Christ being made in human likeness he means that Christ shared in our human nature. He became a real human being, just like us. Again this is something that is supported by the rest of Biblical teaching. The Belgic Confession summarizes this beautifully in Article 18. It says that Christ is a descendant of David (Act.2:30); born of David according to his human nature (Rom.1:3); of the womb of the virgin Mary (Luk.1:42); born of woman (Gal.4:4); a branch of David (Jer.33:15); a shoot from the stump of Jesse (Isa.11:1); descended from Judah (Heb.7:14); descended from the Jews according to the flesh (Rom.9:5); of the seed of Abraham (Gal.3:16), since the Son was concerned with the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, yet without sin (Heb.2:16,17; Heb.4:15). Those who encountered Jesus during his days on earth experienced him as a real person. They did not struggle with his humanity. They considered him an ordinary man. Jesus had a family; the people knew his mother and brothers. Jesus got hungry and thirsty. He ate food and drank water. Jesus walked and talked. There were times when he got tired and lay down and slept. When confronted with Lazarus death and the sorrow of his family, Jesus was deeply moved in spirit, and wept (Joh.11:33,35)! In the Garden of Gethsemane his soul was overwhelmed to the point of death (Mat.26:38). Jesus experienced all the troubles and sorrows of this life, for he was truly man. The question we need to consider is this: why did Jesus have to be a real human being? Why was it necessary to take on our flesh and blood? Our catechism asks, What benefit do you receive from the conception and birth of Christ? It answers: He is our Mediator, and with his innocence and holiness covers, in the sight of God, my sin, in which I was conceived and born. Our problem, beloved, is that we are all conceived and born in sin. The fall into sin of our first parents Adam and Eve has caused mankind to become corrupted. This corruption is passed on from one generation to the next. David confesses in Psalm 51:5, saying Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. No one that is conceived of a human father and mother is free from the stain of sin. Yet Christ is. For he was born in a miraculous way. You see, beloved, Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. By the powerful working of the Spirit, he was conceived in her womb, and born from her body. To put it into today s terms, Jesus had Mary s DNA. He was true and eternal God. Yet he truly became a human being, just like you and me. Christ came in human flesh in a special way to avoid the stain of sin. His unique conception and birth make it possible for him to represent us before God. There are two things Christ needed to be to serve as our Mediator. Christ had to be a real human being. For God is a just God. Man sinned, and man must pay for his sin. It would not be fair for God to punish another creature for our sins. That is why Jesus had to become man. So that he could represent us before God. Christ also had to be sinless. This is clear from the instructions the Lord gave about the sacrifices Israel was to offer to him. God required two lambs to be offered each day as sin offerings (Exo.29:38-42). Numbers 28:3 specifies that they were to be without defect. Christ had to be pure and holy in order to present his body as an acceptable sacrifice for our sins. Christ came into this world as an acceptable sacrifice for our sins. When John the Baptist saw the Lord Jesus approaching he said, Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (Joh.1:29). Peter testifies in 1 Peter 1:19 that we were not redeemed with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. The point, beloved, is this: our salvation depends on Christ being an acceptable sacrifice for our sins. Already at Christ s birth we have a pure sacrifice. Christ was born in the line of Adam, but not included in Adam s sin. Because of Christ s innocence and holiness the sacrifice of his body is acceptable to God. He became man to serve as our Mediator. Rev. Joe Poppe 5
This brings us to our final point: How Christ calls us to humble lives of service. Lord s Day 14 explains how Christ came into this world fit for service. Yet that is not all. What it also makes clear is that Christ makes us fit for service. He accomplished this by his suffering and death. Paul explains in Philippians 2 that being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! (Phil.2:8). Here we see the extent to which Christ was willing to be a servant for us. He offered his body and blood on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Thereby he has restored us to God s favour. What should our response to this be? Does it make any difference to our lives that Christ has paid the price to cover our sins? It should! Remember what it cost your Saviour to deliver you from your sins and misery. He had to walk the pathway of suffering. He had to bear the shame and agony of the cross. He was forsaken by God, so that we might nevermore be forsaken by him. Out of thankfulness for God s grace we are called to live humble lives of service. Paul speaks about his in the first verses of Philippians 2. Paul calls us to have the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who emptied himself and became a servant for us. He calls us to be like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. (Phil.2:2). He commands, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (Phil.2:3). What does it mean to have the same attitude as Christ Jesus? Our Saviour did not focus on his own rights, but laid them aside. In humility he considered us more important than himself. He was willing to not only lay down his glory, majesty and splendour to become man. He was even willing to voluntarily suffer and to sacrifice his life for ours. Christ had a servant spirit, and that is what Paul calls us to imitate. It was pride and self-interest that led to the fall of mankind. Adam and Eve were placed in the garden to serve God by obeying him and ruling over his creation. Rather than obey God, they desired to be like God to elevate themselves and thus they fell into sin (Gen.3). Instead of following the pathway of the first Adam, we re called to follow the pathway of the second Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus showed this attitude of humble service in John 13. His disciples were constantly fighting about who would be the greatest in his kingdom. Yet Christ took on the role of a servant, and washed their feet. Then he said, Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. (Joh.13:14-15). In Matthew 16:24 Jesus uttered this call, saying, If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. In Romans 15 we re called to please our neighbour for his good, for even Christ did not please himself but bore the insults aimed at us. In Ephesians 5 we re called to live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Practically speaking, what does that mean? To take up our cross and follow Christ means to give Christ service that costs time, money, work, and tears. To take up our cross means to say no to every selfish desire, and instead to be obedient to the will of God. Not only to look out for our own interests, but also for the interests of others (Phil.2:4). To love one another as Christ first loved us (1Joh.4:11). Beloved, our Saviour s coming into this world involved a great humiliation. Christ was willing to lay down his heavenly glory and majesty and to become a suffering servant for us! Although he was God, he took on our human nature, so that he could serve as a sin offering in our place. He was even willing to suffer the agony of the cross to redeem us. May this motivate us to live humble lives of service to God. May we live together in the joy and the unity that Christ brings. By taking on the attitude of Christ, and following his example! Amen. Rev. Joe Poppe 6