I started off this first week of advent by venturing into the archives of Martyn Lloyd-Jones. In thinking about Christmas and what it’s all about and what it actually means, one might head to the gospels for a frame of reference, but today, we headed to 1 Corinthians 1:20 - 21.
Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
The message of this sermon was clear: Satan wants to abduct the message of Christ and he desires to stand between people and the real message of Christ.
The world’s Christmas message – Christmas is man at his best and man in his best mood.
BUT, is this what Christmas is all about?
The Christian message – Christmas is a challenge to the world.
In Corinthians, it asks – “Where are the wise of the world?”
It is a challenge for the wise to speak for the world. It is meant to humble the world. And Christmas is the onset of this humbling. That is the challenge inherent in the birth of Jesus and culminated in His death a nearly thirty years later. It is a display of the glory and the triumph of God. God making foolish the wisdom of the world. That is Christmas. The foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than man.
The message of Christmas is the announcement of what God has done. Any message lifting up man instead is a renouncement of the message of Christ.
So, what is it that we are lifting up this Christmas?
Christmas plays out in this threefold manner:
1. God enters world. Emmanuel!
2. What God has done on Christmas is something that does not conform to this world. It doesn’t belong to the human order. As believers, we can proclaim the miraculous and supernatural. This gives us hope! For, if we were to be saved by ourselves, then everything would be hopeless. So, Christmas should inspire us to not conform. (Romans 12:1)
3. The world does not understand. For with God, nothing shall be impossible. And this reality that the impossible becomes possible through Christ in a virgin, Mary, is overwhelming and gnaws at our brain. So, Lloyd-Jones concludes that if we have never had as issue with the Christmas message, then we may have never known it. We should struggle with the fullness of what the Christmas message reveals. The natural man struggles to believe it. And, to Mary, it was impossible too. But faith prevailed even when it baffled.
Does your faith baffle you?
God makes human wisdom look foolish.
The world, by wisdom, did not know God.
The world’s wisdom failed to arrive at a knowledge of God.
In his miracles, God exposed the failure of wisdom.
In his miracles, God revealed the triumph of faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment