Category: Christ’s deity

Was It a “White” Christmas?

Monday, December 19, 2011

“And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” (Luke 2:7,8 KJV).

Religious tradition demands Christmas is Christ’s birthday. Was our Lord Jesus really born in wintertime? Today’s Scripture replies with an emphatic NO. According to the Bible, on the night of Jesus’ birth, there were shepherds out in the fields watching their flock. Would shepherds be abiding outside on a cold winter’s (perhaps snowy) night? This is only one line of biblical evidence that Jesus was not born on Christmas. However, there is a biblical significance to late December.

God had commanded Israel through Moses that Jews were to celebrate many feasts year-round. One of them was the Feast of Tabernacles, observed during late September/early October. During this seven-day feast, Jews were to dwell in “booths” (tents, tabernacles) (Leviticus 23:39-44; Nehemiah 8:13-18).

The Bible likens our physical bodies to “tabernacles” for our souls and spirits (2 Corinthians 5:1-4; 2 Peter 1:13-15). Furthermore, Isaiah 40:22 says God “spreadeth [the heavens] out as a tent to dwell in:” God created the universe so He could dwell in it, specifically on a little planet… earth. When Jesus Christ was born, “the Word was made flesh [God became a man], and dwelt among us [He “tabernacled” in a human body]” (John 1:14). Jesus Christ came to tabernacle/abide with mankind on earth, to establish that earthly kingdom prophesied throughout the Old Testament!

To make the Word flesh (for Jesus Christ to be a man), God’s Holy Spirit conceived a physical body inside of the virgin Mary, a body in which Jesus’ Spirit could dwell (Matthew 1:18-20; Luke 1:35; Hebrews 10:5-9). Jesus was named “Immanuel,” or “God [dwelling] with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). As we will see in tomorrow’s devotional, the Bible indicates that Jesus was conceived—not born—in late December. Jesus Christ was actually born in late September (coinciding with the Feast of Tabernacles).

When the Fulness of the Time Was Come – 333’s 200th

Saturday, December 17, 2011

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4,5 KJV).

In the beginning God set the first man, Adam, on earth to “subdue [control] it,” to “have dominion” over it and everything on it (Genesis 1:28). Alas, Adam sided with Satan, joining the rebellion against God. The human race, now marred by sin, was unable to fellowship with its holy Creator God.

Fortunately, God promised mankind’s Redeemer in Genesis 3:15: a Man who would do what Adam failed to do—rule earth for God’s glory. Adam was “the figure [preview/type] of him that was to come” (Romans 5:14c). About 4000 years after Adam, the “him that was to come” finally came—Jesus Christ. How human history was forever impacted when that Redeemer came!

Jesus Christ’s birth was not some haphazard event of nature. God the Father had preplanned the exact moment of the incarnation of His Son, Jesus Christ (today’s Scripture). Recall that, unlike us, before His physical birth, Jesus Christ lived as a Spirit in heaven’s glory with His Father (John 1:1,2; cf. Micah 5:2).

When the appointed time came, at His Father’s behest, Jesus’ Spirit came to earth to indwell the body in the virgin Mary’s womb. For nine months, God Himself actually lived inside Mary’s womb! Being delivered, He lived a sinless life of 33 years, despised by His family (Israel) and the world. As one dear Christian brother explained, “That was the greatest life ever lived in a human body!”

No event in human history compares to the coming of Jesus Christ. As today’s Scripture teaches, the Lord Jesus became a small Baby… to become a grown man… to become Israel’s rejected Messiah… to ultimately die for us, the wretched Gentiles! God became a man, to “give Himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:6).

We are ever grateful that “when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son….”

Saints, we have reached a milestone – #200. WOW!

The LORD Who Stilleth the Raging Sea

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

“O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them” (Psalm 89:8,9 KJV).

“[O God of our salvation] which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people” (Psalm 65:6,7). Psalm 107:28,29 says: “[The LORD] maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.”

Ponder God’s words quoted above. The LORD (JEHOVAH) stills the raging sea and commands the storm to calm. Of what New Testament event are you reminded?

In Mark 4:35-41, the Lord Jesus and His disciples are traveling in a small ship on the Sea of Galilee. As Jesus sleeps, a windstorm causes the water to pile into the ship. The disciples fear shipwreck, so they frantically awaken Jesus, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” Verse 39 says, “And he [Jesus] arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

Matthew 8:27 says (cf. Luke 8:24), “But the men marvelled [were amazed], saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!” The men accompanying the Lord Jesus Christ knew that He was unique. They were awed. No man could command the sea and winds, yet Jesus did.

Here, beloved, we see the deity of Jesus Christ clearly manifested. The Creator who created Earth’s winds and water back in Genesis, though confined to a physical body in the context of today’s Scripture, still possessed His omnipotence. Jesus Christ set His eyes on that storm, and exclaimed “Peace!” Instantly, the tempestuous waves were stilled. The wind died down. WOW! What a sight.

The JEHOVAH of today’s Scripture, the Being who created the laws of nature, was the Jesus Christ who manipulated those laws so as to prevent the sinking of a ship. What manner of Man was that, who stilled the raging sea? The God-man… Jesus Christ… the LORD who stilleth the raging sea….

The Salvation of the Lord

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

“Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32 KJV).

Simeon, a believer dwelling in Jerusalem, had been “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (verse 25). By faith, he anticipated the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of Israel’s coming Messiah-King and kingdom. The Holy Ghost revealed to him that “he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (verse 26). In verse 27, the Holy Ghost compels Simeon to go to the Temple. There he encounters Joseph and Mary presenting 41-day-old baby Jesus to the Lord (verses 21,22).

Simeon picks up baby Jesus and holds Him (verse 28)! Can you imagine holding your Creator as an infant? Wow! Simeon blessed God, and then spoke the words of today’s Scripture. He has seen His Messiah (Christ), “a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of [God’s] people Israel.” Finally having beheld his King Jesus, Simeon is comforted and can now die peacefully.

God’s purpose in forming the nation Israel was to bless the nations (Gentiles) through Israel in her kingdom (Genesis 12:3; Isaiah 61:6). Isaiah 60:1-3 speaks of Israel in her kingdom, with her Messiah ruling: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee… the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”

Through Simeon, the Holy Ghost declared that Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled with the birth of Jesus Christ. Now that her Messiah is born, Israel can finally inherit her kingdom and be the channel of God’s blessings to Gentiles. Sadly, Israel rejected and crucified Jesus Christ, and that kingdom has yet to be set up.

At Christ’s Second Coming, Israel’s kingdom will finally be established on earth. Then, all the world will see “the salvation of the Lord!”

Is Mary Really the Mother of God?

Friday, August 19, 2011

“And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43 KJV).

Roman Catholicism uses today’s Scripture to argue that Mary is “the mother of God.” Does the Bible teach this?

In verse 35, Gabriel the angel told Mary, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” While the King James’ rendition “holy thing” is often frowned upon for being an “irreverent mistranslation,” “thing” refers to Jesus Christ’s physical body.

Technically speaking, Jesus Christ always existed. He did not come into existence in Mary’s womb. The King James Bible predicted that Israel’s Messiah would be “from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2)—modern Bibles corrupt this verse! Jesus Christ has no origin because God has no origin.

We must always remember that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He has always been God, but He has not always been man. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Verse 14 says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us….”

Considering these verses, Mary is not “God’s mother.” She is the mother of Jesus Christ’s humanity: she was the vessel God used to generate Jesus’ physical body. Jesus Christ had always existed as an invisible Spirit until He entered the physical body that was in Mary’s womb. In today’s Scripture, Elisabeth simply acknowledged that Mary would produce Christ’s human body. She knew that Old Testament reference in Micah that spoke of Israel’s Messiah as being “from everlasting” (that He existed prior to His physical body being conceived in Mary’s womb).

To call Mary “God’s mother” is very blasphemous and heretical, for that would be exalting Mary as someone higher than God. If Mary is “God’s mother,” then who would be God’s father? See what difficulties and confusion arise when we insert church tradition into Scripture? Toss out tradition, it has no authority whatsoever!