SERMON OUTLINE

Witnesses to the Incarnation of Christ

The Witness of the Angels

“For in Christ all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” (Colossians 2.9) 

Introduction

The incarnation of God – God came to earth in human flesh and with a human nature, lived among us, and is now ascended into heaven with a glorified body.

1 Peter 1.10-12

-The angels have always been interested in God’s work of salvation having witnessed the rebellion of the Devil and man, and knowing God’s promises and prophecies.

-The Devil and demons also know of God’s promise to crush the head of the serpent.

-Ephesians 3, 1 Corinthians 2.7-8; A mystery hidden in the past but now revealed through the Church. Only God knew that He would send His Son to save the world.

Luke 1.8-20

-John the messenger coming in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare for the coming Messiah. Malachi 4.5-6, 3.1

Luke 1.26-38

-Mary the virgin bringing forth a son, the promised Messiah, the Savior, the seed, the son of Abraham, and the heir of David. He is also the Son of the Most High, the Son of God, and the Holy one. God is coming into the world as a human being named Jesus.

Matthew 1.18-25

-Jesus, who will save his people from their sin.

-Immanuel, God with us.

Luke 2.8-15

-A Savior is born.

Conclusion

-The Bible witnesses to the incarnation of God in Jesus.

-Take time this week to let this truth amaze you.

SERMON NOTES

Witnesses to the Incarnation (2)           The Witness of the Angels

-At this time in our calendar year we celebrate the incarnation of God – God came to earth in human flesh and with a human nature, lived among us, and is now ascended into heaven with a glorified body. “For in Christ all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.” (Colossians 2.9) 

-Last week I tried to impress upon you the inconceivable truth that Jesus who is God, equal with the Father and the Spirit in the eternal Trinity, existing in glory in the presence of angels, came into time and space, laying aside the privileges and powers of God, and became human like us, but without a corrupt human nature. And even more than that, that Jesus served his own creation by humbly dying on the cross in shame, like a criminal, as a sacrifice for sin to satisfy the justice of a Holy God. We cannot conceive of such a radical step for what would seem to be such a useless cause – God leaving heaven and setting aside his glory as God, to die in order to reconcile rebellious enemies to God.

-This morning I invite you to join me as we think about the witness of the angels to the incarnation of God. Please turn to 1 Peter 1.10-12. [Read]

-The holy angels of heaven have always had a great interest in the work of God their creator and especially in God’s work of salvation toward mankind. The elect angels observed the Devil’s rebellion against God and its consequences in heaven and on earth. They also observed man’s sinful rebellion against God and wondered what God would do in relation to this rebellion against Him. How would God bring Glory to His name? How would God defeat this rebellion against His Holy Being? Would God destroy the world and begin all over again?

-The angels heard God’s promise in the Garden of Eden that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent’s head. The angels observed God’s choice of Abraham to be the father of the nation of Israel. And the angels heard the many prophesies of God’s future salvation through the Messiah. Like the prophets “who spoke of the grace that was to come and searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances of the coming and suffering of Christ”, so the angels longed to know these things as well. Like the prophets they knew that God would send a Messiah who would suffer and die and save the people of God, but they did not know who this person would be, when he would come, or exactly how all these prophecies would be fulfilled. The angels had foreshadows of what God was going to do but no more detail than the prophets and those who heard and read those prophecies. The angels anxiously watched and waited not knowing how God was going to work out His purposes.

-The Devil and the demons, who are fallen angels, likewise knew that one day God would bring forth the seed of the woman that would crush the head of the serpent. They attempted many times throughout history to destroy that seed or to turn the seed away from God’s intended purpose, but they too did not know how God would accomplish victory over sin, death, and the Devil.

-Paul tells us in Ephesians 3 that this mystery of salvation for all mankind, which was kept hidden in the past, is now revealed to everyone, including angels and demons, through the Church. “God’s intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to His eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (v10-11)

-We are told in 1 Corinthians 2.7-8 that had the Devil and his demons understood that God would come to earth as a man and die on a cross for the sins of mankind they would not have allowed Jesus Christ to be crucified. “We speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

-So the angels and fallen angels knew that God had a plan to save mankind from sin and to defeat the Devil but they did not realize that God Himself would come to earth as a human being and then in coming to earth die on a cross as a sacrifice for sin.

-The first angel to get more information on God’s plan of salvation through Jesus Christ was the angel Gabriel, the messenger of God. Let’s read about him in Luke 1.8-20. [Read]

-Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth had no children and had prayed to God for children but were getting old. One day Zechariah as part of his priestly duty was chosen to go into the Temple and burn the incense. This was an once-in-a-lifetime privilege and a great honor. While performing his duties the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and told him that Elizabeth was to bear him a son and they were to name him John. John was no ordinary son. John would be great in the sight of the Lord, be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb, and would turn many in Israel to the Lord their God.

–Verse 17 is particularly important. John was to “go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous – to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

-Part of this statement is taken from the last verse of the last OT book of Malachi where God promises to send Elijah before the coming of the Lord. This Elijah is to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers so that the Lord will not have to strike the land with a curse. Also in Malachi 3.1 God says, “See, I send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the Lord.” Zechariah as a priest would be familiar with these OT verses and the promise of the Messiah and would know what Gabriel meant by describing John as “coming in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children”, and as a “messenger to make ready a people prepared for the Lord”. To Zechariah and the angels it was now revealed that the Lord was going to come to His people and that the promised Messiah, the Christ, was very near.

-Now turn to Luke 1.26-38. [Read]

-Sixth months have passed since the announcement to Zechariah and now Gabriel is sent to Mary, a virgin living in Nazareth. Gabriel tells Mary that she has found great favor with God and that she is to give birth to a son and that she is to name the child Jesus. This son will be called the Son of the Most High, the Son of God, and the holy one. He is to receive the throne of David, he will reign over Israel, and his kingdom will never end. When Mary asks how this will be possible since she is a virgin, Gabriel tells her that she will supernaturally conceive Jesus by the Holy Spirit and not by a man. Mary will remain of virgin and yet be pregnant with Jesus and deliver the child.

-Now it is obvious to the angels, to the demons, to Elizabeth and Zechariah, and to Mary and Joseph that God is coming to earth as a baby to live with his creation, as one of his creation. Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Savior, the seed, the son of Abraham, and the heir of David. He is also the Son of the Most High, the Son of God, and the Holy one. God is coming into the world as a human being named Jesus.

-The angels must have gasped at such an idea. The Creator, the Ruler of heaven, the Eternal God, being born as a human baby and coming to live with His creation as part of that creation. Inconceivable!

-The angels would encounter an even greater shock 33 years later when Jesus the God-man, would die on a cross. The shock would reach its climax when they would see God the Father turn His face away from His eternal Son as Jesus took upon himself the sin of the world, becoming sin for us.

-Now we turn to Matthew 1.18-25. [Read]

-When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant he prepared to divorce her. They were not yet married but in that culture engagement was as binding as marriage. Because of Mary’s apparent unfaithfulness, Joseph prepared to divorce her quietly so she would not be disgraced for her unfaithfulness.

-An angel came to Joseph in a dream and confirmed Mary’s story that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, and told him to take Mary home as his wife. He was to name the child “Jesus because he will save his people from their sins”. Jesus literally means “the Lord saves”. The angels did not yet know how God would save his people in Jesus Christ but they understood that God would save His people through Jesus Christ.

-Matthew mentions to us that the birth of Jesus from Mary the virgin is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah that “the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”. (Isaiah 7.14) Then Matthew tells us that Immanuel means “God with us”.

-As God works out His plan the angels are the first to find out about the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus the Messiah.

-Then finally we read in Luke 2.8-15. [Read]

-On the night of Jesus’ birth angels visited shepherds who were in the fields near Bethlehem. At first one angel appeared to them and gave them a message full of good news of great joy for all people. “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Then a multitude of angels appeared praising God and declaring peace on those of whom God’s favor rests.

-In amazement the angels saw their Creator, their Lord, as a baby in a manger. How they must have been amazed and filled with wonder at this sight. I can imagine that God would allow all the myriad of angels in heaven to come and have a peek at this inconceivable sight of the Son of God as baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

-This baby Jesus that was born of a virgin and was conceived by the Holy Spirit was the promised Messiah, the promised seed of the woman, the promised son of Abraham, and the promised heir of David who would reign over Israel and whose kingdom will never end.

-This baby Jesus was the Son of the Most High, the Son of God, and the holy one, the God-man, Immanuel “God with us”.

-This baby Jesus was the Savior, who would save his people from their sins.

-I have not told you anything new this morning. What I want you to see is how the Bible witnesses to the incarnation of God. The Bible is a revelation from God that teaches us all we need to know about God, how we can know God, and how we are to live in fellowship with God.

-I ask you to spend some time this week just thinking of the fact that God the Son came to earth, lived like us, gave his life on the cross for our sins, and now is in heaven standing before God the Father on our behalf as our perfect sacrifice for sin. Jesus now stands before God in heaven as a pledge for all those who believe in Jesus for salvation, a pledge that you will stand before God one day and be fully accepted by God and will receive the gift of eternal life. Because Jesus became a man and died on the cross you too will stand before God if you put your trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. I am overwhelmed with joy each day when I realize, “Ron, not too long from now you are going to stand before God and you are going to be with God forever”.

-Brothers and sisters you are going to stand before God one day soon and you are going to be with Him forever. Don’t quit. Don’t sin. Live a holy life. Use your energies and resources to seek God and Jesus Christ now and you will rejoice with Him for eternity.