At this time of the year, many people around the world—Christian and non-Christians alike—celebrate Christmas. They take time off from work, gather with family and friends, and exchange gifts. Yet amid these traditions, we must not lose sight of the true significance of Christmas and what it means for the world.
God’s Promise from the Beginning
After Adam and Eve sinned, God made a remarkable promise: “the seed of the woman” would crush the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). Later, God declared to Abraham, “through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed” (Gen. 22:18). The apostle Paul explains that this promised offspring is Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16).
Ordinarily, we understand that seed comes from man. Yet in Genesis 3:15, God spoke of the seed of the woman. This points directly to Christ. Jesus is the promised seed of the woman and the One through whom all nations of the earth are blessed.
God Dwelling Among Us
The prophet Isaiah foretold the manner of Christ’s coming: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Approximately 700 years later, God fulfilled this prophecy exactly as spoken.
Luke records the moment when God set His plan into motion:
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary… You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:26–32).
Why would God, Creator of all things seen and unseen become one of His creations?
The Almighty God could have come to earth in many other ways. Jesus could have descended on the clouds and openly declared Himself Savior of the world—a manner in which He will indeed return for His Church. Yet He chose another way. He instead came down to us in a way that is common to us all. He came in the manner through which all humanity enters the world: through birth.
John writes: “All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3). And yet the Almighty God, Author of life, entered His creation in the humblest way, born to a mother.
Why Would God Become Man?
This raises a profound question: Why would the holy God, Creator of all things seen and unseen become one of His own creations?
Throughout history, people have invented things and loved what they have made, and yet none has ever dared to become their creation. Henry Ford would never dream of becoming a vehicle, nor would Steve Jobs think of becoming an Apple computer or phone. Yet God, who created humanity, became human. Why?
The answer is Love.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16). God loved us enough to redeem us from sin and death by becoming one of us, showing us the way to the Father.
God Has Spoken Through His Son
Even before Christ came, God made Himself known. Scripture tells us that God’s eternal power and divine nature were clearly seen through creation, leaving humanity without excuse (Rom. 1:20). Those who sought truth, like the Athenians, searched for the “unknown god” (Acts 17:23). God also revealed Himself through prophets in various ways (Heb. 1:1).
But now, something greater has occurred. God Himself has come down to us.
“In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe” (Hebrew 1:2).
What has God spoken through His Son? Jesus declared that He came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). He also said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Throughout His earthly life, Jesus revealed the heart of the Father. He taught us to forgive, to love our neighbors, and to resist temptation by standing firm on God’s Word. He demonstrated humility by leaving glory and taking on human form.
We give thanks to God for pursuing an undeserving people and showing us the way to Himself through faith in Christ. We give thanks for Christmas.
God Still Dwells With Us
Jesus promised His followers that He would be with them always (Matthew 28:20). Yet He died on the cross, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. How, then, is He still with us?
Jesus answered this before His death:
“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:16–18).
Jesus, Immanuel—God with us—remains with us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in all who place their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.
What Will You Do With God In Our Midst?
The parable of the tenants illustrates how apostate Jews responded when God dwelt among them.
“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him” (Matthew 21:33-39).
God gave His Son for the salvation of the world. The nonbelieving Jews handed Him over to the Romans to be crucified on a cross outside of Jerusalem. How have you received the King’s Son? Have you believed in Him?
Many continue in rejection. They reject the Almighty God, who gives them the breath they breathe. But as it follows from the parable, the King will return to judge those who have not received His Son.
Still, God remains patient toward the world, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should repent and believe in Him (2 Pet. 3:9).
Scripture teaches that if you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. God, who dwells among humans, will make home in your heart—and you will have the way to the Father.
Amen.
God among humans: The way to the Father was originally written on 12/19/2021.
