Down from His Glory
I am so glad you’ve come to read the Word, learn and grow with me. The Word of God is our guide for life and with Jesus, it is a life more abundant. Praying you will have a new appreciation of the cost of the gift we were given by God becoming flesh. Eric
December 25 is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Whether or not December 25 is the correct day is unimportant. What is important though is that Jesus, the Son of God, became flesh and dwelt among us.
By the Holy Spirit exerting creative energy upon the womb of the virgin Mary, she became pregnant with the One who was 100% God and 100% Man - the Son of God and the Son of Man.
As believers, we are familiar with the Christmas story. Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem, where He was laid in a manger. Shepherds watching their sheep were visited by an angel of the Lord, then by a great company of the heavenly host proclaiming that the Messiah, the Lord was born! The shepherds hurried to find the baby and declared what they had been told by the angels to all those they encountered. (Luke 2; Matthew 2)
Then three wise men from the east, traveled to find whom they declared was the King of the Jews and presented gifts and worshiped Him.
The focus of our post today will be on who Jesus is and what estate He came from. The main question we will investigate is: “What did Jesus sacrifice to become God in the flesh?”
To gain a full revelation of who Jesus is, we need to begin with John 1: 1-4, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” In verse one ‘Word,” logos in the Greek, means a transmission of thought, communication, an utterance, divine revelation, talk, statement, instruction, divine promise, divine doctrine and divine declaration. Jesus is the living ‘logos,’ the Bible is the written ‘logos’ (Hebrews 4:12) , and the Holy Spirit utters the spoken ‘logos’ (1Corinthians 2:13). In verse 3, John declared that Jesus was the divine agent who was responsible for the entire creation.
Looking at John 1:14, we read, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. According to Blue Letter Bible, "‘Word’ logos in verse 14 means, “the essential Word of God; i.e. the personal wisdom and power in union with God; his ministry in the creation and government of the universe, the cause of all the world’s life both physical and ethical, which for the procurement of man’s salvation put on human nature in the person of Jesus the Messiah and shone forth conspicuously from his words and deeds.”
‘Flesh’ (sarx) is defined as flesh and carnal. Vine’s defines it as “the totality of all that is essential to mankind, spirit, soul and body.”
I believe we can gain valuable insight from looking at Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges commentary. “The logos, existing from all eternity with the Father manifested His power in Creation and influence on the minds of men but manifested Himself in the form of a man of flesh. He took the whole of man’s nature, including its fraility.”
Additionally, Benson’s Commentary states, ”He united himself to our inferior and miserable nature with all its innocent infirmities. How did he do this? “NOT by conversion of the Godhead into the flesh but by taking of the manhood into God.” (The whole mankind, the complete human nature, consisting of soul, and body, and not the body only but also a finite understanding , a will of his own, human passions, and affections.)
Jesus, as the Son of God, existed (lived) with a divine and spiritual nature, not with a human and material nature.
So, what did Jesus sacrifice to become God in the flesh? The second part of John 1:14 stated, “we have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full (thoroughly permeated with) of grace and truth. Doxa, translated ‘glory’ means the absolutely perfect inward personal excellence.
Jesus left that glory which He had before the world began! What a price He paid to come to earth as a man to be able to be the perfect sacrifice needed to provide the way of reconciliation between fallen mankind and God!
Prior to going to the cross, Jesus prayed, “And now Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (John17:5).
In learning more about the ‘glory’ He had before the world began, looking at Hebrews 1:3a, it reads, “The Son is the radiance (reflected brightness) of God’s glory (majesty in the sense of the absolute perfection of the deity) and the exact representation of his being sustaining all things by his powerful word.” ‘Exact representation ‘ means the very image of His substance. Jesus is the precise reproduction of God in every respect! This is what He left in coming to earth as a man!
Looking further, reading Colossians 1:15-17, we learn that he is the image of the invisible
God. In Him all things were created; things in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, thrones, powers, rulers or authorities and in him all things hold together.
Through these Scriptures, we get a glimpse of Jesus’ glory before He came to redeem us. He left that position of glory, splendor and power in obedience to become a man and do the only thing that could redeem mankind. Philippians 2:6-8, ”Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death--even death on a cross!
As a man, this glorious God, faced trials, tribulations, hatred, rejection, betrayal, having his beard plucked from his face, being spat upon, beaten and crucified.
What Jesus had to endure to save me from my life of sin continually amazes me!
I am convinced that if you or I were the only one to accept this amazing gift, He would still have come willingly and endured the same suffering to save even one.
Hebrews 12:2 reveals that He suffered the cross for the joy set before Him. That joy is you and me and anyone who reestablishes a relationship with God and is restored from the separation caused by our sin. He endured the cross, despised the shame, held His ground in conflict, bore up against adversity, held out under stress and stood firm for us!
John 3:16 (NKJ) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
The way for us to be restored to right relationship with God has been made clear in Romans 10:9,10 and 13, “If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ... 13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Realizing the tremendous commitment, hardship and sacrifice Jesus made for you, if you have never recognized, acknowledged or accepted the gift of love and life, I pray you will choose to do so now.
May we celebrate the birth of Jesus with awe and thanksgiving for this wonderful gift of love. Only Jesus could provide this gift by leaving the glory of heaven facing the shame, cruelty and pain of the cross for you and me.
Merry Christmas!
All Scriptures were taken from the New International Version unless noted otherwise.
NKJ New King James