Birth of Jesus: Trinity Incarnate

As we have seen in earlier posts, God prescribed patterns of worship in the Old Testament, including feasts, to reflect His Trinity. Thousands of years later, New Testament worship continued to honor God’s Triune nature as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Worship of God the Son began when Jesus was in Mary’s womb and continued through His infancy and early childhood. Patterns of three continued to be evident in this early worship and in the circumstances surrounding Christ’s birth.

When Jesus Christ left His heavenly throne, He wrapped Himself in flesh and dwelled among us (John 1:14) so that we could behold His glory. As foretold in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 9 23-24), man was not to glory in his own wisdom, power, or wealth, but in God’s love, judgment, and righteousness. In the person of Jesus Christ, and in Him alone, were these three sources of glory fulfilled.

Before Jesus was born, three persons (Zacharias, Mary, and Joseph) crucial to His earthly life were visited by an angel who revealed their special roles in the birth of the Messiah. The angel Gabriel appeared to the old priest Zacharias to tell him that Elizabeth, his barren and aged wife, would give birth to John the Baptist, who would prepare the way for the chosen Messiah (Luke 1:7-19).

Then Gabriel appeared to the virgin Mary to tell her that God had chosen her to give birth to the promised Savior, conceived by the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:26-35). The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, telling him that Mary had conceived the Messiah by the Holy Spirit, and that he should marry her as planned (Matthew 1:20-21).

Even before Jesus was born, the first worship service of three congregants (Mary, Elizabeth, and John) honoring Him took place! Jesus later said that wherever two or three were gathered in His name, God was in their midst (Matthew 18:20), and this was literally the case on this occasion!

This happy meeting occurred when Mary arrived at the home of her cousin Elizabeth, and the Holy Spirit allowed both women and the unborn John the Baptist to recognize the unborn Jesus as their Lord and Savior. John was filled with the Holy Ghost while still in Elizabeth’s womb (Luke 1:15), and when Mary entered the room, John leaped for joy to be in the presence of Jesus! (Luke 1:41-45). At the same moment, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost and she proclaimed aloud that Mary and her unborn Babe – her Lord -- were blessed indeed.

Mary responded with a hymn of praise (known as the Magnificat) inspired by the Holy Spirit, exalting God and His Son, the Messiah Who would deliver them (Luke 1:46-55), The Bible does not say that Mary sang this hymn, but because of its poetic format, I believe it is reasonable to assume that she sang it, just as the Psalms were sung to praise God. This first praise and worship service honoring Jesus therefore incorporated three expressions of praise: dance, spoken praise (prayer), and song!

At and shortly after Jesus’ birth, He was worshipped by three groups of beings: the angels, the shepherds, and the wise men. The glory of God lit up the heavens, the angel of the Lord announced His birth, and a multitude of angels sang sweet anthems of praise and adoration (Luke 2:8-14).

The glory of God described here may have been one of three reappearances of the Shechinah Glory (the glory of God that filled the Old Testament tabernacle; Exodus 40:34-38) surrounding the birth of Jesus. At the time of His birth, the brilliance of God’s glory shone in the heavens surrounding the angel of the Lord (Luke 2:9), in the star of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-12) and in the person of Jesus Himself (John 1:14).

When the apostle John refers to man beholding the glory of God dwelling among us (John 1:14), the word for “dwell” is similar to the word in Exodus 40 referring to the tabernacle, thus strengthening the reference to the Shechinah Glory filling the Old Testament tabernacle and then tabernacling among us as the fully divine Man. That prophecy was foretold by Isaiah 9:2 and revealed more completely in the Transfiguration of Jesus (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36; 1 Peter 16:18).

The shepherds, who in that culture were considered to be vagabonds of ill-repute, represent saved sinners who repented (abandoned what they were doing once they heard the Good News), ran to worship Him, and witnessed to others of what they had seen (Luke 2:15-17-18).

The wise men (Matthew 2:1-12), who were the most learned scholars of their day in the fields of astronomy, science, and philosophy, sought and found Truth not in their parchments and scrolls, but in a young Child Who knew all things.

The three gifts brought by the wise men to worship and honor Jesus were gold, frankincense, and myrrh, representing His three roles in our salvation. Gold is the most precious metal, fit for the King of Kings (Revelation 17:14; 19:16); frankincense the most costly spice, suited to burn in worship of the great High Priest after the order of Melchisidec (Hebrews 5:6, 10); and myrrh is used to anoint the dead (John 19:39), representing that He came to die as the perfect, sinless Sacrifice (Hebrews 10:12-14) to pay our sin debt.

Included in the wise people who worshipped the young child Jesus were not only these kingly scholars, but also Simeon (Luke 2: 25-35) and Anna the prophetess (Luke 2:36-38), as these faithful Jews recognized Him as the promised Messiah Who would deliver their people. May we too have their wisdom to seek God, find Him, and give our lives to Him!

© 2012 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Lord Jesus Christ

Photo b y Paciana 2011

Our Savior, Son of God, has many titles, but in Scripture, and particularly in the writings of the apostle Paul, three of His Names often appear together: Lord Jesus Christ. These three titles help to describe His relationship to mankind, to the world, and to God’s perfect plan of salvation.

“Lord” refers to His relationship to mankind. He is One Person of the triune God, often referred to in the Old Testament as “LORD,” all in capitals to emphasize His supreme power and preeminence.

He is “Lord” to all who have been born again (John 3:3-8) by trusting in His death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6). In this mysterious transformation, we are changed from God’s enemies (Romans 5:10) to God’s children, as well as joint heirs with His Son Jesus Christ (Romans 8:14-17) and ambassadors for His kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:20). Should we not fall to our knees in awe and gratitude to our Lord for His unspeakable gift? (2 Corinthians 9:15)

Yet those who pray the sinner’s prayer wanting to escape eternal punishment in hell, but unwilling to surrender their lives completely to Him, may want Him to be their Savior but fail to follow Him as Lord. He is not just our “get out of hell free” card, but our Master Whom we should reverence in total submission and holy fear (Hebrews 12:28).

He is not our “buddy,” even though He is the Friend Who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). He is not some glorified version of Santa to whom we bring our wish lists, even though He is the source of all blessings (James 1:17). We should never refer to Him casually as “the man upstairs,” even though He is seated at the right hand of God the Father, making intercession for us and defending us from Satan’s accusations (Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 10:12; 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22).

The Lord Jesus Christ is our Lord, without Whom we are nothing, have nothing and can do nothing (John 15:5). He deserves our utmost respect; our time, talent, and treasure; and our very life presented to Him as a holy, acceptable, living sacrifice, which is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1).

If we honor Him as our Lord, we will trust in Him and not in our own “wisdom” and acknowledge Him in all our ways (Proverbs 3:5-6). We will love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). How dare we call Him Lord if we do not obey Him? (Luke 6:46)

Those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ in their earthly life of course do not recognize Him as Lord, but the day is coming when He returns in victory as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 17:14; 19:16). At that time every knee shall bow to Him and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord, whether they are in heaven, on earth, or in hell (Philippians 2:9-11). There is no escaping or denying His omnipotence and Lordship!

But sadly, the unsaved world does not realize that He is God, the self-existent One Who spoke the worlds into existence (John 1:10), present as part of the Trinity since before the beginning of time (John 1:1; Revelation 1:8; 22:13). They refer to Him merely as “Jesus,” which was the name He had in His earthly ministry, as proclaimed by the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:31).

Some despise the Name of Jesus, even though it is the Name above all names (Philippians 2:9) and the only Name by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12). Others accept the historical presence of Jesus as a man who lived two millennia ago, and may even agree that he was a good man, prophet and teacher (Matthew 16:14). They may believe that he was crucified, but for them the story stops there, falling short of His resurrection giving victory over sin, death and the grave (1 Corinthians 15:12-57).

Interestingly, the disciples of Jesus never referred to Him by His given Name, but always as “Lord,” “Master,” “Teacher” or “Rabbi,” appropriately emphasizing His Lordship and absolute authority over their lives.

The third part of our Savior’s appellation, “Christ,” helps explain His essential role in God’s perfect plan of salvation. The Greek word “Christos” means “Anointed One of God,” and it is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Mashiach, or “Messiah.”

In Scripture, “God’s anointed” also refers to a king chosen by God (1 Samuel 24:6), and as it pertains to Christ, it foretells the day when He will rule over all nations while seated on David’s throne in the Millennial Kingdom (Genesis 49:10; 1 Chronicles 17:11-14; Psalm 72: 10-11; Zechariah 9:9; 14:9; Matthew 2:1-12). Christ is God’s anointed King, foretold in prophecy to deliver His people as well as to reign over them (Daniel 9:25; Isaiah 32:1).

Kings were anointed with oil to symbolize their holy calling by God (1 Samuel 10:1), and two women anointed Christ with precious oil and ointment during His time on earth (Matthew 26:6–7; Luke 7:37–38). God Himself anointed Christ with the oil of gladness to demonstrate that He is King of Kings, holy and without equal (Hebrews 1:9), and with the Holy Spirit and with power to do good, for physical healing, and for casting out evil spirits (Acts 10:38).

Isaiah prophesied that Christ would be anointed by the Holy Spirit to bring good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, and set free the prisoners of sin, proclaiming liberty (Isaiah 61:1). This deliverance from the power, the penalty, and ultimately even the presence of sin (Luke 4:18; Romans 6:23) is only possible through our Messiah, the One Who came to this earth to reconcile sinful man to Holy God (1 Timothy 1:15).

By taking on human flesh (John 1:14), He could experience all our sorrow, weakness and frailty, including physical, emotional and spiritual suffering, epitomized by His agony on the cross (Hebrews 4:15). Yet He was without sin, so He was the perfect Sacrifice, the only Lamb of God Who could take away the sins of the world (John 1:29) by paying in full the price demanded by our sin debt (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23).

In this Christmas season, church celebrations honor the baby Jesus. But let us not forget that His mission did not begin in Bethlehem nor end at the cross. He is not only Jesus, but the Christ Who saves all Who ask Him (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13) and Who will return victorious to rule over all nations. May we honor, obey and serve Jesus Christ as our Lord, for He alone is Lord of Lords! 

© 2017 Laurie Collett