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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
December 21, 2025
*The First Advent: The Incredible Incarnation
Selected Scriptures
Introduction
*There are many different aspects to the story of the first advent, the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and over the decades I have preached on many of them. The narratives surrounding the coming of Christ start with the angel of the Lord announcing to Zacharias the he and Elizabeth, though they were old, would have a son who would be the promised forerunner of the Messiah (Luke 1:8-29). When Elizabeth was six months along, the angel Gabriel visited Mary in Nazareth and announced to her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her so that she would conceive and give birth to a son she was to name Jesus for He would be called the Son of the Most High. (See: The Coming of the Herald)
Mary went to visit her relative Elizabeth, and when she greeted her, Elizabeth by the Holy Spirit declared that the baby in her womb, John, leaped for joy in recognition (Luke 1:39-45). Mary’s exaltation of the Lord for what He was doing is recorded in verses 46-55. (See: Responses to Jesus’ Birth) Verses 57-80 then recounts the birth of the baby, his being named John, and Zacharias’ prophecy about John as the forerunner of the Messiah.
Matthew 1:18-25 records the story of the angel of the Lord visiting Joseph in a dream to overcome his plan to end his betrothal to Mary after he found out she was pregnant. Once he understood the truth of what God had done, he took Mary as his wife and kept her a virgin until after Jesus was born. Luke 2:1-38 then records the birth of Jesus and the events immediately before it and after it. Luke is an accurate historian and explains the census that caused them to leave Nazareth to go to Bethlehem which fulfilled the prophecy of the location of the Messiah’s birth. It also explained why it was so crowded there that they could not find proper lodging resulting in Jesus being born of humble parents in a humble place. That same night the angel announced the good news of the birth of the Savior, Christ the Lord, to the shepherds which was immediately followed by a multitude of angels glorifying God. The shepherd’s quickly spread the news after they had seen Jesus in the manger. (See: The Birth of the Messiah)
Eight days later, Joseph and Mary presented Jesus in the Temple according to the Mosaic Law, and there they met Simeon who prophesied about Jesus and glorified God with the prophetess Anna then joining them and giving thanks and speaking of Jesus to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem (Luke 2:21-38).
The narrative then continues in Matthew 2 with the magi from the east coming sometime later after Joseph, Mary and Jesus were in a house. They brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh which were fitting for a child who was a king, a prophet and who would die to redeem man from sin. Their arrival in Jerusalem created a stir which provoked Herod’s jealousy which soon resulted in the slaughter of the infants in Bethlehem and its vicinity after an angel warned Joseph to take his family and flee to Egypt which fulfilled another prophecy. The visit of the Magi also revealed the indifference of the religious leaders who knew where Messiah would be born, had that announced to them, but never went the five miles to Bethlehem to see Him. (See: Responses to Jesus’ Birth, Pt. 3)
Every part of that narrative of the first advent, the first coming and arrival of the Messiah, is the fitting subject for a sermon. *There are also many theological aspects regarding the birth of Jesus that are fruitful grounds for sermons. An example of that is that only Jesus could be the promised Messiah because only He could fulfill the many specific prophecies concerning the first advent. (See: Only Jesus’ Qualifies)
*Messiah had to have a very specific lineage as a descendant of Abraham (Gen. 12:3 cf. Matt. 1:1), Isaac – not Ishmael (Gen. 17:19 cf. Luke 3:34), Jacob – not Esau (Gen. 25:22; Num. 24:17 cf. Matt 1:2), Judah – not his brothers (Gen. 49:10 cf. Luke 1:33), and the blood line of David (Isa. 9:7 cf. Luke 3:31).
*The Messiah also had to be born in a particular place as stated 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.” That is where Jesus was born (Luke 2:1-7). *And He had to be born at a particular period of time to fit the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-26. 24 “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.] 25 “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-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 26“Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. ” Without going into all the detail of the calculations of the seven and sixty two weeks, Harold Hoehner has worked out the time of Messiah being cut off to be March 30, A.D. 33. This limits Messiah’s birth to within a fairly small time frame.
Since the census of Caesar Augustus brought many descendants of David to Bethlehem, it is probable that there were other boys born at that time and location who were descendants of David. *However, Messiah had to be both of the blood line of David and have the right to the throne of David, yet He must also yet avoid the curse on the descendants of king Jehoiakim (Jer. 36:30). *Jesus’ blood line traces to David through his mother, Mary, a descendant of David through his son Nathan (Luke 3:31), and His right to the throne of David comes through Joseph, his adoptive father (Matthew 1:6-16). The possibility of another boy born in Bethlehem in that time period to a mother who is a physical descendant of David and an adoptive father of the royal line of David who could give Him the right to the throne is extremely remote so as to be impossible. But two more requirements make it absolutely impossible for anyone other than Jesus to be Messiah. He had to be born of a virgin as the son of God. That speaks of the incredible incarnation, God becoming human flesh and bone, which is the subject for the rest of this sermon. The very idea that God, the Creator of everything, could and would become a man, a creature, is mind boggling to the extreme. Yet it is true as demanded by prophecy and verified in the Scriptures.
*Prophesies of the Incarnation – Gen. 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6
The first prophecy concerning the incarnation occurs in Genesis 3:15 within the curse Yahweh God placed upon the serpent for his role in deceiving Eve leading to the fall of mankind into sin. In verse 14 the serpent lost his legs and was cursed to crawl on his belly on the dust of the ground. Verse 15 then deals with the serpent’s relationship to Eve and her descendants. 15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
The “your seed” is a reference to Satan’s followers which have the devil for a father (John 8:44; 1 John 3:10). *“Her seed” is a reference to a future savior that would come from a woman and would crush Satan’s head. That ultimately would be Jesus Christ as confirmed by Galatians 4:4, 4 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Satan will cause Him to suffer (a bruised heel wounds), but Jesus will utterly defeat Satan (a crushed head kills the rest of the body too). Satan had won a victory in enticing Adam & Eve to sin, but he will lose the war with God and be crushed.
This verse points to the incarnation and the virgin birth because there are two immediate theological issues that come with this. *First, if her seed is a descendant of a man, then he will incur the curse of Adam’s sin just as every other human has inherited. Only someone that is not born of the seed of a man could escape that curse and not be subject to death for his own sin (Romans 5:12-20).
*Second, this future redeemer had to have a value beyond one life. Hebrews 10:4 states that “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” The reason is that an animal’s life is not equivalent of a human’s life. And even a human sacrifice would not be sufficient for one life could only atone for one sin for one person provided the substitute was sinless, but that takes you back to the first problem that every descendant of Adam is born in sin and confirms it with their own actions (Proverbs 20:9; Eccl. 7:20; Romans 3:9-12, 23; Eph. 2:1).
*The solution is given in the prophecies concerning a redeemer that would be both God and man. Isaiah 9:6–7 promised 6 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will accomplish this.”
The idea that the promised Messiah would be the Son of God goes back to before Isaiah. Psalm 2:6-7 states, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” 7 “I will surely tell of the decree of Yahweh: He said to Me, ‘Thou art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee.’” Hebrews 1:5 applies that directly to Jesus as one of the proofs He is superior to the angels. Isaiah 7:14 explains how this would come about, “a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel,” a name which literally means “God with us.”
*The Announcement of the Incarnation – Lk. 1:26-38; Mt. 1:18-25
What is veiled in the Hebrew scriptures is declared directly in the Greek scriptures beginning with the announcements given by angels to both Mary and then to Joseph. * Luke 1:26-38 records that the angel Gabriel visited Mary in Nazareth and announced to her that she would be the mother of the promised Messiah saying, 31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:31–33). Mary wondered, “How can this , since I am a virgin?” Gabriel then explained, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God” (vs. 35). He added that Elizabeth who had been barren was in her sixth month of pregnancy 37“For nothing will be impossible with God.”
*Matthew 1:18-25 records God’s intervention with Joseph when he found out that Mary who was betrothed to him was pregnant. Being a righteous man, Joseph sought to break the betrothal quietly. An angel of the Lord then “20 . . . appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the One who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew then comments directly that this was so that “22 . . . what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
*The Nature of the Incarnation – John 1:1-5, 14; Phil. 2:5-11
The nature of the incarnation is mind boggling. It is one thing to say that “God is with us,” for so He is for He is intimately involved in what He has created and especially with man. That is amazing enough as David expressed it in Psalm 8:3-4, 3 “When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have established; 4 What is man that You remember him, And the son of man that You care for him?” But it is much more amazing, astonishing, beyond full human comprehension that God, our creator, would become a creature like us. It is hard for us to grasp what that entails and means even with the scriptural descriptions of it. It is a truth so radical that most people in the world reject it by either refusing to believe that Jesus was also God or refusing to believe that Jesus was actually human. The New Testament is clear on the matter.
*Look first at John 1:1–3. Whereas Matthew begins his gospel account with Jesus’ genealogy, conception and birth, and Luke begins with the prophecies of and then the births of John the Baptist and Jesus, and Mark begins with the ministry of John the Baptist, John begins his gospel account in eternity past. 1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.“
*The Word here, oJ lovgoV / “the logos,” is not the logos of Greek philosophy. This is the logos of Jewish thought. It refers to the God who creates by speaking and who reveals Himself through speech as seen in Psalm 33:6, 9, 6 “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host . . . 9 For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.”
*1 John brings out the eternal preexistence of the Word in the first phrase of verse 1. Eternity past is not something we can fully understand because we are finite creatures bound by time. A strict translation of this verse into English would be, “In the beginning was continuing the Word.” That is poor English, but it makes the right emphasis. John takes us back to the edge of eternity past and states that the Word was already existing and continuing when God brings time into existence. The Word is eternal past and future.
*The eternal relationship of the Word with God is set in the second phrase. Translating in a way to bring out the emphasis of the verb tense and the prepositions used would be, “The Word was continually face to face with God.” That points to the intimacy and equality of Jesus with God the Father expressed in Jesus’ prayer in John 17:5, “And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.”
*Translating the final phrase of verse 1 to emphasize its verb tense would be, “and the Word was continuing as God.” This refuted the gnostic idea that Jesus was a man that took on aspects of deity at His baptism and then lost them prior to the crucifixion. Jesus is, always has been, and always will be God. That is also contrary to the heresy of Arianism which denies the trinity in favor of Jesus being a lessor god. The Jehovah Witnesses follow that heresy which is why their Bible translation incorrectly renders this as “the word was A god.” That also makes them polytheistic.
John 1:1 is an incredible theological statement given in very compact form. The Word was always existing. The Word was distinct from but in perfect fellowship with God. The Word was continuing as God in character and essence. While we may grasp some aspects of the concept here, we cannot comprehend these great truths in the fulness of their reality.
Verse 2 reinforces these declarations by combining the first two phrases and referencing the third by stating that (ou|toV / outos) this one, this Word (“He” – NASB; “The same” – KJV) was in the beginning with God. John’s declaration is that Jesus, the Word, exists from all eternity as a distinct person who has intimate fellowship with the Father and is Himself in character and essence God.
In keeping with the Hebrew use and understanding of the Logos, in verse 3 John demonstrates that this Word is God by attributing to Him the creation of all things. John states this from both as a positive viewed from the past and from a negative viewed from the present.
*First, “All things came into being by Him.” The Word is not a created being, but the creator Himself. Colossians 1:16-17 states of Jesus, 16 “For by Him all things were created, [both] in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created by Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” These same actions are attributed to God not only in Genesis 1, but throughout the rest of the Scriptures to Revelation which we saw in chapter 4 states that “the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come” is worthy “to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created” (vs. 8, 11).
*Second, John states that “apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” This is a view from the present stated from the negative and so it makes greater emphasis. There is nothing that exists currently that was not created by Him – no exceptions!
All those who seek to deny the deity of Jesus Christ must reject what John says here or be crushed under its simple, but powerful proclamation. Jesus is not a created being. He is the Creator.
*We will come back to John 1:3 in a few minutes, but jumping down to verse 14 we find, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Word is God and He became flesh! That is an amazing truth demonstrating and even more astonishing humility. (See: The Word Made Flesh – John 1:1-14)
*Go to Philippians 2:5-11 where Paul uses that humility as the example for Christians to follow in their interactions with each other, and in doing so, it points to the very nature of the incarnation. 5 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
*Verse 6 describes the nature of Jesus. Already having the form of God, He would not regard being God something for which to grasp at, or as the KJV states it, “who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal to God.” There are two reasons for this attitude. First, He already had equality with God so trying to grasp that was not necessary. Second, the Father would exalt Christ and restore Him to His full glory in the future as stated in verses 9-11, so Jesus did not need to strive for that either. You do not need to “snatch at” what you already posses nor grasp at something you already know will be restored to you.
*This is referred to in theology as the kenosis from the Greek verb kenovw / keno in verse 7 translated as “emptied” Himself. The verb means to “make empty” “make of no effect” or “lay aside what one possesses.” While we cannot fully comprehend this, we do understand that Jesus laid aside certain aspects of His deity to become a man. Jesus set aside the fullness of the glory He had with the Father when He became a man. Peter, James and John saw a glimpse of that glory at Jesus’ transfiguration (Matt. 17). It is a glory that will be returned to Him (John 17:5). He set limits for a length of time on certain of His attributes. God is omnipresent, but Jesus limited Himself to one physical body spatially present in one location at a time during His life on earth. He limited His omniscience since Jesus “kept increasing in wisdom, stature and favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52). He also limited His omnipotence since He became physically tired (John 4:6), hungry (Matt. 4:2; 21:18) and thirsty (John 19:28). These things alone would be a wonder above all wonders, and cause for our rejoicing, but Jesus did even more than this.
*Jesus is God and He became a man, but not just a man, but a dou:loV / doulos, a slave. He was born into a poor family and earned his living as a carpenter until he about 30 years old (Luke 3:20). During His years of ministry, He lived on what others gave Him and had no home of His own to lay His head (Matt. 8:20). Then going beyond all that “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” That gets into the purpose of the incarnation which I will expand on in a moment, but what I am emphasizing here is the nature of the incarnation. It is much beyond what we can fully comprehend. (See: The Humility of God – Philippians 2:5-11)
*Not only is the idea of the Creator becoming a creature mind boggling, but we cannot fully grasp what Jesus set aside in leaving the glories of heaven become a man. We have gained some glimpse of God’s glory in our study of Revelation, but John like Isaiah before Him in his vision of heaven grasps to describe the glory there in terms of earthly things. John uses the term wJV / h s, which is translated as either “like” or “as” 71 times in Revelation, with about 28 of those related to something glorious in heaven. If we cannot fully comprehend even the glories of heaven, we cannot understand what it meant for Jesus to leave to those to become a man dwelling on the earth. Even more so, we are at a loss to know what it meant for Him to limit the exercise of some of His attributes of being God to become a man. Earthly analogies such as a king becoming a peasant do not begin to accurately compare.
*There are two primary responses we should have toward this. The first is wonder, astonishment, amazement that results in worship of Him. The angels, the shepherds, Simeon, Anna and the magi understood that and did so. The religious leaders condemned themselves because they did not.
*The second is humility on our own part. That was Paul’s point in Philippians 2. The example of Jesus leaves no room for Christians to be proud or arrogant. If He did that for us, then is very reasonable for us to follow the commands in verses 3 & 4 to 3 “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
*The Necessity of Incarnation
My final point this morning has already been mentioned or alluded to already. The incarnation was necessary in order to accomplish two primary purposes – to know God and to redeem man.
*To Know God: John 1:4-5 continues on to explain about Jesus’ nature and purpose of the Word. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Verse 14 then adds, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Verse 18 then adds, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” Hebrews 1:1-3 explains, 1 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature . . .” Jesus Himself said in John 14:7–10, 7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.”
*While God declares certain of His attributes through creation (Rom. 1:20) and had previously declared His nature, character and will through the prophets, a specific purpose of the incarnation was for Jesus to reveal God to people in a much fuller way. To know Jesus is to know God which is therefore a reason to worship Him. However, a more important reason for the incarnation is the redemption of man.
*To Redeem man. I pointed out earlier that the solution to man’s sin problem would require a redeemer that was both man and God. Animals are not an equivalent to man, and every descendant of Adam is born condemned by his inherited sin nature confirmed by his own sinful actions. Only in the incarnation, God becoming the man Jesus Christ, is there a human that meets all the requirements to be the perfect sacrifice of atonement – without sin and of infinite value to redeem all men of every sin. That redemption is applied to the individual through repentance from sin and self righteousness to humbly believe in the person and atonement of Jesus Christ. God reckons that faith as righteousness so that person receives forgiveness and adoption into God’s family.
*Jesus said that He came to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10) by giving “His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). As John 1:12–13 explains, 12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” *You receive Jesus Christ by believing in Him. Do you believe the incarnation is true – that Jesus is fully God and fully man? Do you believe that Jesus died as the fully adequate substitute sacrifice for man’s sin? Have you turned from your sin and self-righteousness to cast yourself wholly and solely on those truths and Jesus’ promises to forgive your sin, grant you eternal life and that He is returning to take you to be with Him in Heaven for eternity? Those are the beliefs of those who have become children of God. *Salvation from sin is by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone and not because of family heritage or the desire of other people or even of yourself.
If those are not yet your beliefs, then you are not saved from sin because you are not yet born of God, but you can be! *God is long suffering with sinners because He does not desire for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Your part is to simply heed His command to repent and in faith seek Him knowing He rewards those that do (Heb. 11:6). *The wise men saw a star and at great personal cost sought out Jesus because of the prophecies they had been told. You have been given much more of the truth. Will you seek Him as they did? Do not remain indifferent as did the religious leaders at that time. They knew the truth, but failed to act on it, and it only added to their condemnation.
Sermon Notes – 12/21/2025
The First Advent: The Incredible Incarnation – Selected Scriptures
Introduction
There are many different aspects to the _________story of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ in Matt & Luke
There are many ______________aspects related to the birth of the Messiah
Prophecies of a specific __________: Abraham Isaac Jacob Judah David
Prophecies of a particular _________(Bethlehem – Micah 5:2) at a particular _________(Daniel 9:24-26)
Messiah had to be of the blood line of David but _______ Jehoiakim, yet still have right to the throne
Davidic blood line through Mary is through _________, Davidic line through Joseph had right to the throne
Prophesies of the Incarnation – Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6
Genesis 3:15 – “her seed” – one born of a __________(Gal. 4:4) who would have victory over Satan
All descendants of Adam inherit his _________- Messiah would have to be a man born apart from that curse
The value of Messiah’s life would have to be ________if it was to apply to more than one sin of one person
The redeemer would be both ____________________(Isaiah 9:6-7; Psalm 2:6-7; Heb. 1:5; Isaiah 7:14)
Announcements of the Incarnation – Luke. 1:26-38; Matthew 1:18-25
Luke 1:26-38 – Gabriel’s announced to Mary she would conceive ____________by power of the Most High
Matthew 1:18-25 – an angel tells Joseph that Mary’s child was by the ____________ – fulfilling Isaiah 7:14
The Nature of the Incarnation – John 1:1-5, 14; Phil. 2:5-11
It is _____________that God even pays attention to man, yet He does – Psalm 8:
John’s gospel begins in ______________________- John 1:1-3. In the beginning was the Word, the Logos
The Jewish concept of the Logos is the one who both _________and reveals Himself by speech (Ps. 33:6, 9)
John 1:1 – The Word is eternally ____________________
The Word has always been continually “___________________with God” – See John 17:5
The Word has always been and continues ______________- (Contrary to Arian heresy – Jehovah Witnesses)
John 1:3 – The Word is the ___________of all things (See Colossians 1:16-17. Also Gen. 1; Rev. 4:8, 11)
______________has been created apart from the Word – no exceptions
John 1:14 – the Word became ___________- God became a man in Jesus Christ
Philippians 2:5-11 – the ____________of the incarnation
Jesus has full ________________with God, so it was and is not something for Him to grasp at
The Kenosis. Jesus laid aside / set _____on aspects of His deity to become a man – glory, omnipresence, etc
Jesus became a doulos, a ________- born to a poor family, lived as a carpenter, obedient to die on the cross
We do not understand the full glory of heaven, so we can’t comprehend fully what it meant to set that _____
We should respond in wonder, astonishment, amazement resulting in ___________of Him
We should follow His example of ____________in considering others and their interests above our own
The Necessity of Incarnation
To Know God: John 1:4-5, 14; Hebrews 1:1-3; John 14:7-10
Jesus reveals God better than Creation or the prophets – to know Jesus is to __________________
To Redeem man – The incarnation provides a sinless equivalent _______________of infinite value.
Jesus came to seek and save sinners by giving His life as the __________payment (Luke 19:10; Mark 10:45)
John 1:12-13 – you receive Christ by ____________in Him – His incarnation, His atonement, His promises
Salvation from sin is by God’s _____alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone – not heritage or works
God is longsuffering and desires sinners to ____________and be saved (2 Peter 3:9)
The wise men saw the star & __________out Jesus – you have been given truth, will you seek out Jesus?
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Count how many times the word “incarnation” is said. 2) Discuss with your parents the meaning and importance of the incarnation.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. What are your favorite parts of the narrative of Jesus’ birth? Explain the importance to you of that part of the story. Trace the blood line lineage of the Messiah according to the prophecies. Trace Jesus’ genealogy in fulfilling it. Where did Messiah have to be born? Where was Jesus born? To what time period does the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-26 limit the timing of Messiah’s birth? Was Jesus born in that time period? How is Jesus a blood line descendant of David with a right to the throne and yet avoid the curse on Jehoiakim? What does Genesis 3:15 reveal about the future birth of a redeemer? How does Gal. 4:4 confirm that? Why was it necessary for the Messiah to be born of a virgin? Why was it necessary for the Messiah to be both God and man? How did Mary conceive Jesus? Why did Joseph consent to take Mary as his wife though she was already with child? Read John 1:1-14. Who is the Word? How long has He been in existence? What is His relationship with God? What is His relationship with Creation? Who created all things according to: John 1:3? Genesis 1? Colossians 1:16-17? Revelation 4:8, 11? What is the nature of Jesus according to Philippians 2:6? How did He humble Himself according to Phil. 2:7-8? What should your response be toward Jesus in light of His example? The Kenosis – of what did Jesus “empty Himself” in becoming a man? How does John describe the glories of heaven in Revelation? What is your response to the fact that Jesus had to set aside those glories to become a man? Why was the incarnation necessary for man to know God? Why was the incarnation necessary for man to be redeemed? What did Jesus say about the reasons He became a man? How does someone “receive” Jesus according to John 1:12-13? Have you received Him? If so, how has that affected your life? If not, what is keeping you from doing so? How will you overcome that hindrance?
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