Christmas and the Manger

Today I had the privilege to speak at Fosterville Baptist Church, my first church where I served as pastor. I brought a message concerning the difference between the nature and function of God the Father and God the Son specifically as it relates to the birth of Jesus.

To put it very briefly, as it is 1:26 am on Christmas morning, before our attention focuses on the shepherds, the wise men, the star, the humble setting or even the future cross of Jesus, what Christmas morning should first bring to mind is the willing submission of God the Son to God the Father that eventually brought about the cross. God was not looking for volunteers when he turned to Jesus. God, through His divine purposes and plan, sent God the Son to the earth in the form of flesh, a rather unique method to bring about salvation for a needy people. But the "God in flesh" could never have happened if not first for the submissive nature of Christ to God the Father.

In John 8, Christ is clearly explaining how he does nothing on his own authority, rather, he only does the will of the Father who sent him. He then in the very next breath explains that if we will follow this example, we will be set free by the truth. How odd that Christ would link freedom with only doing what the Father wills. By our standards, only acting and shaping our lives in ways that someone else lays out for us is far from freedom. We would call that slavery. However, Scripture teaches that Christ has been the only fully free person to ever live. How is that possible? Because he is only person to ever, without sin, fully and completely submit to the will of the Father in all circumstances, including the coming to earth in a manger.

So, what is the first thing to notice in the nativity setting? We should first notice that God the Son was willing and joyfully submitted to the will of the Father and through his continued growth and submission to the Father, true freedom was experienced. The same is true for us. This day, Christmas day, should be a day of submission to God, a truth that will begin to make us more free than we have ever been. To God be the Glory!