“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.” Ps.139:14
“What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?”
Ps. 8:4
I love this time of year. The music changes and echoes what I suppose are the eternal refrains between heaven and earth.
I love Christmastime because it forces mankind, whether wittingly or unwittingly, to consider what the birth of the babe in Bethlehem has to do with each one of us. Jesus stands at the end of the road for all mankind.
It is significant the Lord visited us as a man. Not as a superhero, or an other worldly creature like Zeus or Jupiter. Jesus’s favored self-reference was “the Son of Man” and he used it no less than eighty times . He is man as man was supposed to be.
Man was the Lord’s crowning creation. Even in his fallen state, secular writers like Shakespeare could appreciate the unique status held by man: “What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty!…” (Hamlet, Act II, Scene 2)
Augustine marveled that “Men go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains , at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without even wondering.”
Adam, our forefather, fell victim to the Adversary and as a consequence he lost our first estate. Among the execration that followed, there was still a promise of redemption. The Lord says to the serpent: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head , and you will strike his heel.” (Gen.3:15) Then the story of God’s meta-narrative unfolds over the centuries through the lives of Abraham and His people Israel.
“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” (Gal.4:4-5) The seed of woman, who would crush the head of the Adversary, as prophesied in Gen.3:15, was fulfilled in Bethlehem; “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isa.7:14)
It was high noon. The Son of Man was on the scene; man as man was supposed to be. Everything Jesus did during His ministry on earth He did as a man; as one who knew who His Father was. Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and it will be enough for us. Jesus answered : ‘Don’t you know me, Philip…Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?….Very, truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing and will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:8-10)
“For he must reign until he had put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death….The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit……The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to “God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor.15: 25,45,56-57)
“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” As we come to the communion table during this Christmas season we can be glad for the babe in Bethlehem, for a God that keeps His promises, and for the life-giving spirit of the last Adam.
Questions to Think About
Your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.” Ps.139:14
“What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?”
Ps. 8:4
I love this time of year. The music changes and echoes what I suppose are the eternal refrains between heaven and earth.
I love Christmastime because it forces mankind, whether wittingly or unwittingly, to consider what the birth of the babe in Bethlehem has to do with each one of us. Jesus stands at the end of the road for all mankind.
It is significant the Lord visited us as a man. Not as a superhero, or an other worldly creature like Zeus or Jupiter. Jesus’s favored self-reference was “the Son of Man” and he used it no less than eighty times . He is man as man was supposed to be.
Man was the Lord’s crowning creation. Even in his fallen state, secular writers like Shakespeare could appreciate the unique status held by man: “What a piece of work is man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty!…” (Hamlet, Act II, Scene 2)
Augustine marveled that “Men go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains , at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without even wondering.”
Adam, our forefather, fell victim to the Adversary and as a consequence he lost our first estate. Among the execration that followed, there was still a promise of redemption. The Lord says to the serpent: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head , and you will strike his heel.” (Gen.3:15) Then the story of God’s meta-narrative unfolds over the centuries through the lives of Abraham and His people Israel.
“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.” (Gal.4:4-5) The seed of woman, who would crush the head of the Adversary, as prophesied in Gen.3:15, was fulfilled in Bethlehem; “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Isa.7:14)
It was high noon. The Son of Man was on the scene; man as man was supposed to be. Everything Jesus did during His ministry on earth He did as a man; as one who knew who His Father was. Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and it will be enough for us. Jesus answered : ‘Don’t you know me, Philip…Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?….Very, truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing and will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:8-10)
“For he must reign until he had put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death….The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit……The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to “God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor.15: 25,45,56-57)
“What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” As we come to the communion table during this Christmas season we can be glad for the babe in Bethlehem, for a God that keeps His promises, and for the life-giving spirit of the last Adam.
Questions to Think About
- Do you find it easier to see “wonderful works” in nature than in your own mirror?
- Beyond the tradition and music of Christmas , what is the personal significance of Christ’s birth to you this year?
Posted in The Last Adam