John 3:13 (5-21) The Son of Man has descended from — and ascended to — Heaven
There are well-meaning dear brothers and sisters in Messiah who do not celebrate the birth of the Savior at this time of year. They have their reasons for this, just as I once did. The danger, however, is that we will harden our hearts from being able to rejoice at all in the birth of Yeshua – from singing the great songs of Heaven over His coming into the world He made to redeem people like you and me and them.
Jesus came into the world to defeat the works of the devil, and so give hope and joy to persons who are looking and waiting for salvation and redemption from futility and despair. God came in the weakness of flesh and blood to deal a death blow to spiritual forces of wickedness who are oppressing the whole creation of a loving and good Father.
This same Jesus who died and rose again ascended back to the presence of God His Father, and this same Redeemer will come again to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth. Meanwhile, He is establishing the Kingdom in the hearts of men, women, and children who turn from their ways unworthy of God and instead put their hope and trust in His mercy and grace. Yeshua has come and God has given us the Holy Spirit to empower us to live a life freed up to give honor and glory to God. We learn to say ‘no’ to sin and ‘yes’ to righteousness, because the Son of God has set us free from the power of sin and given us the power of holiness. This is His love for us so that He can live within us, and that we can live in His presence. God is not only for us; He is not only with us – Immanuel; God is in us: Messiah in us, the hope of glory. The incarnation was the beginning of the end for Satan because Messiah, Son of David, came to utterly defeat the Goliath of this world.
God’s desire is that none should perish but rather inherit eternal life through believing in and loving His only-begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is the mediator between God and man, and so we are commanded to pray for and to seek the salvation of all persons through the preaching of the glad tidings.
Just as Mary was pregnant with the Holy Child within her, so too does the Holy Spirit conceive Messiah in every born-again child of God. It is as Christ grows within our hearts and thoughts and every act of our lives that the reality of the glory of God becomes more real and visible – as a light shining in darkness. Do people see Messiah in us? Do they see the truth of the incarnation: that God has come to dwell in the midst of His people, according to His promises? Is there this witness in our relationships with our fellow human beings?
Indeed, the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly awaits for the revelation of the sons of God.
Jesus teaches what He lived and died for: to make peace – true peace, God’s peace – to all who truly come to Him for salvation. He forgives; He cleanses; He heals. Jesus is truly the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
The Holy Spirit is working to transform (convert) us into God’s likeness, that the glory of God would be revealed in and through us; that the name of our Father in Heaven would be sanctified in us. It is all for the honor and glory of Yeshua, the Son of the Father’s love, who was crucified in order that God’s love would be manifest to all. He did not create this world just so that it might be destroyed by the devil and all who take his side – whether actively or passively.
God paid the ultimate price to have what He wants: us. The whole Earth will be filled with the knowledge of YHVH as the waters cover the seas. With the angels we sing, “Glory to God in the highest”. The holy and spotless Bride of the Lamb of God cries out, “Come, Lord Jesus”.
