Title: The Song of Incarnation
Bible Book: Hebrews 10 : 5-7
Author: Franklin L. Kirksey
Subject: Incarnation; Jesus, Birth of; Christmas
Objective:
Introduction
Sing, sing, O universe, till thou hast exhausted thyself, thou canst not afford a song so sweet as the song of Incarnation,” writes, Rev. Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892). He continues, “Though creation may be a majestic organ of praise, it cannot reach the compass of the golden canticle—Incarnation! There is more in that than in creation, more melody in Jesus in the manger than there is in worlds on worlds, rolling in grandeur round the throne of the Most High.”[1]
Dr. George W. Truett (1867-1944), longtime pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, stated, "Christ was born in the first century, yet He belongs to all centuries. He was born a Jew, yet He belongs to all races. He was born in Bethlehem, yet He belongs to all countries."[2]
Dr. Steve Lemke, provost, professor of philosophy and ethics and McFarland chair of theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, shares, “As we celebrate Christmas, we focus on one of the most important Christian doctrines—the incarnation. Jesus was ‘Emanuel,’ ‘God with us’ (Matt. 1:23). He concludes, “We celebrate at Christmas not just that Jesus came as the baby of Bethlehem, but that He was God in fleshly form. The incarnation really matters!”[3] Dr. F. F. Bruce (1910-1990) explains, “If there is among the distinctive articles of the Christian faith, one which is basic to all others, it is this: that our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man for our salvation. This is the affirmation that we have in mind when we speak of the doctrine of the incarnation.”[4] Dr. J. I. Packer shares, “The incarnation is in itself an unfathomable mystery, but it makes sense of everything else that the New Testament contains.”[5]
We read in Hebrews 10:5-7, “Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, / But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin / You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’”
Allow me to share several things Jesus Christ did through the Incarnation.
I. Through the Incarnation, Jesus Christ affirmed the Father’s Way. (Hebrews 10:5a, c)
We read in Hebrews 10:5a and c, “Therefore when He came into the world. . . . But a body You have prepared for Me.”
From John 14:6 we read, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
We find these words recorded in Proverbs 14:12, repeated in Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seems right to a man, / But its end is the way of death.”
Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Remember, the way of salvation is a narrow way not a broad way.
The Apostle Peter declares in Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Saul of Tarsus renamed Paul the Apostle shares the following in his testimony recorded in Acts 22:4 “I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.”
Long ago, someone penned these words, “The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter. Here Paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed.
Christ is its grand subject, our good the design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labour, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents.” Remember, “The Bible contains. . . . the way of salvation.” It is the only place to find the way of salvation.
II. Through the Incarnation, Jesus Christ announced the Father’s Word. (Hebrews 10:5b, 6)
In Hebrews 10:5b and 6 we read, “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire. . . . In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.”
We read in Psalm 40:6-8, “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; / My ears You have opened. Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. Then I said, ‘Behold, I come; / In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God, / And Your law is within my heart.’” In addition, we read in Psalm 51:16-17, “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; / You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, / A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.”
God through Asaph calls to His people in Psalm 50:7-11 “Hear, O My people, and I will speak, / O Israel, and I will testify against you; / I am God, your God! I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices / Or your burnt offerings, / Which are continually before Me. I will not take a bull from your house, / Nor goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, / And the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, / And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.” God reminds His people that their sacrifices and offerings do not enrich Him since He owns it all.
In Isaiah 1:11, 16 we read, “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me? Says the LORD. ‘I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams / And the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, / Or of lambs or goats. . . . Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; / Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.” From Jeremiah 6:20 we read, “For what purpose to Me / Comes frankincense from Sheba, / And sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, / Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.” In addition, we read in Jeremiah 7:21-23, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat. For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’”
God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac, his only begotten son, on an altar as we read in Genesis 22:1-18. In Hebrews 11:17-19 we read the following divine commentary, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called,’ concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.”
We read in 1 Samuel 15:10-31, “Now the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, ‘I greatly regret that I have set up Saul as king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commandments.’ And it grieved Samuel, and he cried out to the Lord all night. So when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, ‘Saul went to Carmel, and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around, passed by, and gone down to Gilgal.’ Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, ‘Blessed are you of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord.’ But Samuel said, ‘What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?’ And Saul said, ‘They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.’ Then Samuel said to Saul, ‘Be quiet! And I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night.’ And he said to him, ‘Speak on.’ So Samuel said, ‘When you were little in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?’ And Saul said to Samuel, ‘But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.’ So Samuel said: ‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, / As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, / And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, / And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, / He also has rejected you from being king.’ Then Saul said to Samuel, ‘I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.’ But Samuel said to Saul, ‘I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.’ And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.’ Then he said, ‘I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.’ So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.”
Jesus said in John 17:17b, “Your word is truth.”
III. Through the Incarnation, Jesus Christ accomplished the Father’s Will. (Hebrews 10:7)
We read in Hebrews 10:7, “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me’—To do Your will, O God.”
In the Gospel of John we discover many things about Jesus Christ’s accomplishments. For example, we read in John 4:34 “Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.’” Later in John 5:30 we read, “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.” In addition we read in John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” From John 17:1-5 we read, “Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: ‘Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.’” We read about our Lord’s crucifixion in John 19:28-30, “After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!’ Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”
Before His crucifixion we read in Matthew 26:36-46, “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go and pray over there.’ And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, ‘My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.’ He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.’ Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.’ And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.’”
We read in Philippians 2:5-11, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
In More Good News for Great Days, Dr. O. S. Hawkins former pastor the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, asks, “Since our Lord declared that he had come ‘to do’ the Father’s will should we do less?”[6]
Conclusion
Down through the years some deny the deity of Jesus Christ, while others deny his humanity, like the Gnostics. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, Gnosticism is “the thought and practice especially of various cults of late pre-Christian and early Christian centuries distinguished by the conviction that matter is evil and that emancipation comes through gnosis.”[7] Don’t be fooled by those who practice and promote Gnosticism. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. We read from John 1:1, 14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John combats Gnostic heresy in 1 John 1:1-3, where we read, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” John further combats the false teaching of Gnosticism in 1 John 4:1-3, where we read, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.” John warns in 2 John 7, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”
In the lyrics of the last stanza of his beloved hymn titled, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” Edward Perronet (1726-1792) declares:
O that with yonder sacred throng
we at his feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song,
and crown him Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song,
and crown him Lord of all.[8]
Through the Incarnation, Jesus Christ affirmed the Father’s Way.
Through the Incarnation, Jesus Christ announced the Father’s Word.
Through the Incarnation, Jesus Christ accomplished the Father’s Will.
May we forever sing the song of Incarnation.
[1]Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Gems, (New York: Sheldon & Company, 1859), 105
[2]Christian Christmas Quotes, Accessed 12/10/13, http://quotations.about.com/od/specialdays/a/christmas10.htm
[3]Steve Lemke, “The Incarnation: Why Does it Matter?, The Baptist Messenger, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, December 16, 2011, Accessed: http://baptistmessenger.com/the-incarnation-why-does-it-matter/
[4]F. F. Bruce, “The Person of Christ: Incarnation and Virgin Birth,” in Carl F. H. Henry, ed., Basic Christian Doctrines, (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1962), 124-125
[5]J. I. Packer, Knowing God, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1973), 47
[6] .S. Hawkins, More Good News for Great Days, (Dallas, TX: GuideStone Financial Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, 2008), 139
[7]Accessed 12/10/13, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gnosticism
[8]Edward Perronet, “All Hail the Power of Jesus Name,” (1780)
By Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey, pastor First Baptist Church of Spanish Fort 30775 Jay Drive Spanish Fort, Alabama 36527
Author of Sound Biblical Preaching: Giving the Bible a Voice Available on Amazon.com and WORDsearchbible.com
http://www.wordsearchbible.com/products/Sound_Biblical_Preaching_1476.html
http://www.webspawner.com/users/franklinlkirksey / [email protected] / (251) 626-6210
© December 15, 2013 All Rights Reserved
