What is the true meaning of Christmas? In our secular culture, it can be very difficult to discover. But thankfully, the Scripture makes it abundantly clear. Christmas reminds us that when our world was ruined and in misery, God did something about it, by sending His Son!
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The True Meaning of Christmas
1 Timothy 1:15
In our secular age it can be very difficult to discover the true meaning of Christmas. It is not politically correct to speak of “Christmas” parties, so we must talk of Holiday Parties, or Winter Parties instead. Public manger scenes have even been outlawed in certain areas. We all have Christmas traditions. At this time of the year we see decorated trees, mistletoe, presents, and Santas and reindeer everywhere. We send and receive Christmas cards. We sing “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…” We may watch “It’s A Wonderful Life”, or “A Christmas Story.” But what does all of that have to do with Christmas? To be honest, absolutely nothing!
This morning I want to strip away all of the cultural trappings and traditions related to Christmas, and go to the Scriptures to discover what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. As Christians we know that God sent His Son into the world. Everywhere we turn in the Gospel of John we read about the Father sending the Son. The real question we need to ask in order to understand the true meaning of Christmas is “Why did the Father send the son into the world?” “Why did Jesus come?”
In want to meditate with you on a single text of Scripture, 1 Timothy 1:15 to find the answer to that question. The true meaning of Christmas has to do with a Person, a Place, and a Purpose. Until we understand that, we will never understand the meaning of Christmas from a Biblical perspective.
The apostle Paul is writing to his young assistant in the ministry, Timothy. He begins his statement with a notable expression, “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance.” Paul knew that what he was about to say was extremely important, and could be depended on with entire confidence. You can go to the bank on this one. Nothing can be more sure than what Paul is about to say. Many people have called this verse “The Gospel in Miniature” or “The Small Gospel.” It is like John 3:16. This verse squeezes the message of the Bible into its irreducible minimum – “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
This morning let’s take each word and phrase of that priceless sentence in order to extract all its richness and sweetness. We should be like a little boy with an orange, that keeps sucking on that orange, until there’s nothing left but seeds and skin.
1. The Person “Christ Jesus”
Christ. There is a world of meaning in that one word. It is actually a title, not a name. The word “Christ” means “Messiah” or “Annointed One.” The word “Messiah” is actually only found twice in the Old Testament, both in Daniel 9, in which there is a prophecy of when Messiah the Prince would come. The Messiah was that One that God’s people had been looking for and waiting expectantly for for centuries. There are dozens of prophecies about this Coming One. Genesis 3:15 says that though the devil would inflict a temporary would upon Him, He would crush Satan’s head. The Scriptures reveal that He would be of the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Genesis 12:3 says, “In you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” He would be a prophet like Moses, a priest like Melchizedek, and a king like David. He would be born of a virgin in Bethlehem. Isaiah 7:14 says, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” He would be the ultimate and final sacrifice for sin, prefigured in the hundreds of thousands of animals sacrificed in the Old Testament.
Jesus. When the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, he said, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” which translated means, “God with us” (Mt.1:21-23). The name “Jesus” means “Jehovah is salvation.” Here we have, without a doubt, the most profound truth of Christmas of all. The One God sent into the world is none other than God the Son, the 2nd person of the Triune God. The Father did not send an angel. The Father did not send a mere human. The Father sent His Only Begotten Son. That’s what we find in John 1:1,14. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Then verse 14 says, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The Word was God. But the Word became flesh. What does that tell you? It tells us that God became flesh. This is the most wonderful truth of all – the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ! Jesus is God manifested in the flesh. He is God over all, blessed forever. He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His nature. He is the image of the invisible God. In Him all the fullness of God dwells in bodily form. Oh, my friends, the true meaning of Christmas is that God became a man!!!
2. The Plan “Came”
This word “came” implies the pre-existence of Christ. Now, of course, we would have known that by the word “Jesus” which means Jehovah is Salvation. If Jesus is God, then of course He existed prior to His birth. However, this word “came” makes this truth doubly clear. If Jesus came, then He had to exist before He arrived. So, if Jesus existed prior to His birth at Bethlehem, where did He dwell? He dwelt in heaven, and was the object of worship of all of the angels. The highest creature couldn’t approach Him without the greatest reverence. All of God’s creatures rendered instant and implicit obedience to His every command. He was infinite in power, knowledge, wisdom, and justice. From all eternity His glory filled the universe. Jesus was the object of the Father’s love and pleasure. From all eternity, the Father, Son and Spirit enjoyed uninterrupted communion together. They were the objects of one another’s delight. Jesus must have dwelt in a state of matchless happiness and joy, being in constant fellowship with His Father.
The word “came” also implies that Christ came on a mission. There was a purpose and a plan in His coming. Christ didn’t come into the world for no reason at all, but was sent here by the Father. Theologians refer to this as the Covenant of Redemption. Charles Spurgeon, in a sermon entitled “The Blood of the Everlasting Covenant” preached in 1859 said this:
“I, the Most High Jehovah, do hereby give unto My only begotten and well-beloved Son, a people, countless beyond the number of the stars — who shall be washed from sin by Him; who shall be preserved, and kept, and led by Him; and at last, who shall be presented before My throne without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing by Him. I covenant by oath, and swear by Myself, because I can swear by no one greater, that these whom I now give to Christ — shall forever be the objects of My eternal love! These, I will forgive through the merit of my Son’s blood. To these, I will give a perfect righteousness. These, I will I adopt and make my sons and daughters. And these shall reign with Me through Christ eternally!”
Thus run that glorious side of the covenant. The Holy Spirit also, as one of the high contracting parties of the covenant, gave His declaration, “I hereby covenant, that all whom the Father gives to the Son — I will in due time quicken. I will show them their need of redemption. I will cut off from them all groundless hopes, and destroy their refuges of lies. I will bring them to the blood of sprinkling. I will give them faith whereby this blood shall be applied to them. I will work in them every grace. I will keep their faith alive. I will cleanse them and drive out depravity from them. And they shall be presented at last spotless and faultless in Heaven!” This was the one side of the covenant, which is at this very day being fulfilled and scrupulously kept.
The Lord Jesus also, as one of the high contracting parties of the covenant, gave His declaration, “My Father, on My part, I covenant that in the fullness of time, I will become man. I will live in their wretched world — and for My people, I keep the law perfectly. I will work out a spotless righteousness for them, which shall be acceptable to the demands of Your just and holy law. In due time, I will bear the sins of all My people. You shall exact all their debts upon Me. The chastisement of their peace — I will endure; and by My stripes — they shall be healed. My Father, I covenant and promise that I will be obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. I will magnify Your law, and make it honorable. I will suffer all that My people ought to have suffered. I will endure the curse of Your law — and all the vials of Your wrath shall be emptied and spent upon My head! I will then rise again, and ascend into Heaven. I will intercede for them at Your right hand. I will make Myself responsible for every one of them — that not one of those whom You have given me, shall ever be lost! I will bring all My sheep of whom, by My blood, you have constituted Me the Shepherd — I will bring every one safe to You at last!”
This was the plan of God in sending His Son. You cannot understand the true meaning of Christmas without understanding this solemn and wonderful truth!
3. The Place “into the world”
For Jesus to come into the world, meant that He must leave heaven. He had to leave behind the His divine glory. He spent nine months as a developing embryo in the womb of a young woman. He was made in the form of a servant. He was born in a stable and laid in a manger. He was raised in obscurity.
Jesus came into this world, planet earth. Why? Because it was on this world that God’s creatures had ruined themselves. They had transgressed God’s laws, despised His authority and cast off His yoke. They had defaced the image of God. They had become darkened in their understanding, rebellious in their will, and lustful in their affections. The horrible result is misery in life and death. Man’s ruined condition accounts for all the misery we face in this life. All the horrors of war, all the diseases like cancer, heart disease and AIDS, all the acts of murder and rape, and ultimately every death result from our great Fall. The Bible tells us in 1 John 5:19 that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” Satan rules over this world, and seeks to show hatred toward God by destroying those made in His image. And not only that, but when we die we must then face our Creator to give an account. We will face him guilty, undone, and helpless.
All of us must stand before the Judgment throne of the incensed, almighty, ever-living God who is our enemy! Jesus came to those to whom He was the object of their contempt and hatred. He knew they would murder Him, yet He came anyway. He knew they would condemn Him unjustly, mock Him, insult Him, spit upon Him, beat Him, and pierce Him with nails and spear. He was despised and forsaken of men. He came to His own and His own received Him not.
4. The Purpose “to save sinners”
To Save. Jesus didn’t come primarily to teach or to set an example. He didn’t come primarily to heal or to cast out demons. Now, of course, He did do all of those thongs, but that was not His primary purpose in coming. Listen to the word of God.
Mt. 20:28 “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and give His life a ransom for many.”
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”
John 3:17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.”
John 10:10 “I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.”
Christ Jesus came into the world to save. But what did He come to save us from? In Matthew 1:21 the angel says to Joseph, “you shall call His name Jesus, for He who will save His people from their sins.” The real issue was not sickness, demons, or poverty. The real issue was sin. Now, what was so serious about sin, that Jesus had to come to save us from it? Sin involves the transgression of God’s Law, which results in the outpouring of the wrath of almighty God. The word “saved” means to be rescued. Picture several children trapped in a burning house. The doors are locked, and they have no key, and there are no windows. They can’t escape. Their only hope is for someone to come to them from the outside and rescue them. That is the exact condition of this world.
Notice the text says that Christ Jesus came into the world “to save.” The truth is, we don’t save ourselves. We don’t even save ourselves with God’s help. God doesn’t even save us with our help. This is not a 50-50 proposition. It’s not even a 99-1 proposition. God didn’t do 99%, and then ask and I to cooperate with 1% to make the salvation He provided effective. The truth is, God does it all! “God saves sinners.” Titus 3:5 says, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.” Many people think that God did almost everything, but He requires us to use our free will to choose Christ, and thus be saved. In this scenario, God does 99%, but unless we chip in that final 1% we will not be saved. In that scenario, ultimately, we are co-saviors with Christ. True, we didn’t do very much, but we did something to contribute towards our salvation. The Bible declares that when we were dead in our transgressions, God made us alive together with Christ (Eph. 2:5). A spiritually dead man can’t contribute anything. He’s dead! This is the trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance. Christ came into the world to save – period! Jonah 2:9 sums this up very well, “Salvation is of the Lord.” Until we truly understand this great truth, we will think that we should get some credit for our salvation. However, if salvation is truly of the Lord, then there is nothing I can take credit for at all! He saved me when I was dead and couldn’t make a move toward Him. My friends, until we understand this we can’t understand the true meaning of Christmas.
Sinners. If you and I had never heard this verse of Scripture read before, we would be waiting in breathless silence. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save….” Who?! Who did He come to save? Our hear would beat with fear that perhaps we were not included in those He came to save. Thankfully, this text doesn’t save He came into the world to save the righteous, or the wealthy, or the learned, or the Jews, or the Asians. He came into the world to save sinners. Sinners of every stripe. Respectable and vile sinners. Proud and despairing sinners. He came into the world to save the whole black lot of us. Now, my friend, if you are not a sinner, Jesus did not come to save you, and you can’t be saved! Did you hear me? If you are not a sinner, there’s no hope for you. You can’t be saved, because that’s the only kind of person Jesus came into the world for. But fortunately for you, you’re a sinner! “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:23). “There is none righteous, no not one” (Rom.3:10). You qualify!
Conclusion
As you can see, the true meaning of Christmas from the Scriptures has nothing to do with all of our traditional and cultural trappings, and everything to do with Jesus. Christmas marks that glorious event in which God invaded human history on a mission to save sinners! We live in a world ruined and devoted to destruction. Christmas is when God decided to do something about our plight. It is when He set about to redeem that which was lost, and reconcile that which was estranged.
Believers, I encourage you at this Christmas season, to make this all about Jesus, because that’s what it is about. I encourage you to spend time worshiping with your family on Christmas. Start the day with songs of praise. Read the Scriptures. Thank God for His indescribable gift. Thrill your soul with what God has done for you in Christ. Then, if you want to exchange gifts, or play games, or do something as a family, do it to the glory of God. But God forbid that you would leave Christ out of Christmas.
Furthermore, just as God sent Jesus on a mission to save, so Jesus has sent us on a mission to save. We are His representatives in this world. Pray for, and look for an opportunity to share the glorious gospel of God’s Son to others. Christmas usually presents us with wonderful opportunities to share God’s truth. What would you think of a person who is sitting by the side of a lake with his family feasting and rejoicing, when a neighbor’s child falls into the water and is drowning. However, the person feasting with his friends is too busy enjoying himself to take the trouble to help the drowning child. You would say that he has the heart of a monster, and you would be right! However, if all we are willing to do on Christmas is feast and rejoice, while we are aware of others perishing in their sin around us, and we are unwilling to reach out to help, we are as bad as he is. C.T. Studd once said, “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell!”
Let me speak a word to those of you who are still unsaved. My friend, you can’t save yourself. But that doesn’t matter, because you don’t need to. Jesus can save you! All you can do is accept and receive the One who can save you. Are you a sinner? Do you feel it? Do you know it? Then you may receive God’s greatest gift! “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom.6:23). This is God’s indescribable gift. Someone once came up to the famous evangelist, D.L. Moody and asked him, “What must I do to be saved?” Moody responded, “It’s too late!” The anxious man replied, “Too late? Too late? You mean it’s too late for me to be saved?” Moody replied, “No, it’s not too late for you to be saved, but it’s too late for you to do anything to save yourself. You see everything has already been done by Jesus Christ. You must simply believe on Him and all that He has done on your behalf. If you have never become a Christian, this Christmas can become the greatest Christmas of your life. God offers you the gift of eternal life in His Son. Will you embrace Him? Will you receive Him and all that He is into your life today? I pray you will!
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