Christ became a man "that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9). In 1871 Darwin published his book, The Descent of Man, but he said very little that had not been said before. World English Bible. Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:54, 57). Saint Bernard says that first God's power was manifested in the creation of the world and His wisdom in its conservation, but His merciful goodness was especially manifested later in His taking human nature on Himself, in order to save fallen mankind by His sufferings and death. . Nothing else do I seek of Thee. Because Jesus Christ wished that His love for us should win all the love of our hearts for Himself, He would not send an angel to redeem us, but chose to come Himself, to save us by His Passion and death. Other men had died on crosses, but this Man, the eternal Son of God, voluntarily and willingly died the kind of death meted out to criminals, even the death upon a cross. ThoughtSaint Paul says, 'The goodness and kindness of God, our Savior, has appeared.' And now to all of us who have been redeemed by His precious blood, the Apostle Paul writes: "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (I Corinthians 6:20). The Lord came down to see the city and the tower which … Paul gives another significant passage on the Incarnation in his Galatian Epistle: ''But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons'' (Galatians 4:4, 5). One of the many beautiful, natural wonders of nature is when rays of sunshine find their way through the clouds and brighten up the horizon. Galatians 3:13). This was the ultimate Hunger Games scenario, and the odds were not in his favor. In the Bible, God termed this action of coming down working with Moses on Earth in the cloud, talking to the children of Israel notably and openly, “Face to Face.” Its only use in theology is in reference to that gracious, voluntary act of the Son of God in which He assumed a human body. (2) The state of this glorious Church is first described generally to Re 21:3-8, and then specially and by parts, in the verses following. Many of the ancient philosophers marveled at the starry heavens above them and the moral law about them. Referring to the matter of death, the Word affirms that the Son of God became incarnate that "through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." 2 I also saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. The magic is that he came down, and did all that, to rescue us. The primary fact that man needs to know about himself is his origin. If this city is to be the embodiment of eternal values, if it is not a thing but a people, then something must have been happening to shape and prepare them so that such a condition could be possible. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. taught about Jesus. But the glorious attributes of a loving God manifested in behalf of sinners can be found in no place or person apart from Jesus Christ. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. . Although He entered into a new state of being, His becoming Man did not exclude His possession of Deity, for He was and is today a Person who is both God and Man, Divine and human, perfect in His Deity and perfect in His humanity. No man can comprehend just how perfect and holy God is until He comes face to face with the sinless Son of God. Men may hinder or suppress the truth by their unrighteous living, but there is that which may be known of God which ''is manifest in them." At Calvary Satan was brought to naught, and now "death is swallowed up in victory. the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel" (II Timothy 1:9, 10). The Apostle Paul writes, ''I say then, Hath God cast away His people? For what greater proof of His kindness towards us could the Son of God show us than in taking on Himself the punishment we had deserved? Christ is the one described as coming down. Thank God the Saviour came. Acts 4:2), not our going to heaven. . But the Lord Jesus could say, " I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do." Over thirty-five authors, writing over a period of fifteen hundred years, wrote consistently and coherently, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, of one historically accurate plan of salvation. He always was God the Son; He continued to be God the Son in His earthly sojourn as Man; He is God the Son in heaven today as He will remain throughout eternity. . " I am so sorry for having vilely despised Thee, my sovereign Good, that I could die of grief. Young's Literal Translation. Babylon is this world where we all live today (Revelation 18). But in the Incarnation He laid aside, not His possession of Deity, but His position in and expression of the heavenly glory. How sinful is the heart of man? He opened the door into the kingdom, but only the regenerated could enter. . When the Incarnation had been announced, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He that is born king of the Jews? . The Son was given in eternity past before we knew Him. Alongside Christ's perfect life and works, man can see the sin and guilt of his own heart. Any reader of the Old Testament cannot escape the clear teaching that the Messiah was promised to Israel. and the tree of knowledge of good and evil" (Genesis 2:9). For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him" (Matthew 2:1, 2). In order that man should see himself, not in the light of his own goodness, but beside the perfect standard of God's holy Son, the Son of God became Incarnate. Said the angel, " Thou shalt call his name JESUS (meaning Saviour), for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). In order to be true to Himself, God had to deal with the problem of sin. Christ's crucifixion by wicked hands was "by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew . There had been sin all along, as God's dealings with the human race through its four thousand years of earlier history prove. The Lord Jesus said, "If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin . Ascension— After His resurrection, Jesus gave the Great Commission to His disciples and then He ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:9-12). Theirs was "the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises" (Romans 9:4). This latter verse is dual in meaning, referring to both Israel as God's "firstborn son" (Exodus 4:22-23) and the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Father's only begotten Son. God took special care in the creation of man, for " God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them" (Genesis 1:27). Hence they never heeded the Saviour's call to salvation. neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him'' (Matthew 11:27). The day must come when all things will be subjected unto Him (I Corinthians 15:28). God promises that this earthly throne and kingdom are to continue forever, and that the One to occupy it shall be David's seed, his rightful Son (I Chronicles 17:11). God was ''sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin'' (Romans 8:30). From the infinite position of eternal Godhood to the finite limitations of manhood! In order to deal justly and, at the same time, mercifully, someone had to suffer the death penalty for the sin of the world. Revelation 21:1-27 ESV / 13 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. This is where maybe we get “heaven” right: if this city is being prepared, and if it indeed comes to earth from heaven, then it’s possible that the New Jerusalem is under construction in heaven … Yet we know that both national restoration and national regeneration for the Jew are a definite part of the plan of God. . From this verse, as well as verse 14, it is evident that the eternal Son became flesh in order to die. In these verses Paul establishes the fact of the Incarnation-- " God sent forth His Son, made of a woman.". When the Old Testament prophets wrote of Messiah's offices, they included that of King. ]First published in hisChristian Year, 1827, in 11 stanzas of 4 lines, as the poem for Whitsunday.In an abbreviated form it is in extensive use. The Word, who is the eternal Son of God, became flesh and was obliged to be made in the likeness of man in order to redeem him. But thanks be to God for the Incarnation of His Son. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. Thus Christ’s coming from Heaven is to be understood likewise; he was created on earth, by the Holy Spirit acting upon the womb of Mary (Lk.1:35). . " But the coming of Christ to the earth revealed the heart of man in cruel hatred for Divine holiness. Man is so constituted that he recognizes the fact and the power of God by the things that are made. At Christmas, even the secular world makes much of the Christ child, born in a manger. Anti-Semitism, raging throughout the world today, might lead one to question the future restoration of the Jew. Moreover, all of history and prophecy moved toward that goal even as all subsequent movements have proceeded from it. It comes “down out of heaven.” (Rev 21:2) This New Jerusalem doesn’t just appear: it’s brought to earth from the abode of God. Although all men are unrighteous, those scribes and Pharisees called themselves ''righteous," for they were possessed of self-righteousness that is as "filthy rags" in God's sight (Isaiah 64:6). You will notice that the wall of the city is adorned, and also that the adornment of the city itself is spoken of as being suitable for a bride. It is the consummation of that coming and the final revelation of the glory of Christ which is shown to us in the form of this heavenly city, "coming down from God out of heaven". Where should I be now, if Thou hadst not borne with me so patiently, but hadst called me from life while I was in the state of sin? Time has not improved human nature. Evolution was taught by Roman and Greek philosophers and even by ancient Egyptians. Study Hosea 3:4,5 and see plainly the scattering and the gathering with the period between. Our Lord died as no other person died or ever will die. There were many who had no Scriptures at all in Christ's day, and they needed this revelation. Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same [flesh and blood]; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:9, 14, 15). In Levi's house, however, there were those who recognized their sinful state. When our Lord said in Matthew 21:43, that "the kingdom shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof," He was not referring to any Gentile nation but to regenerated Israel. After the re-creation, God reveals the New Jerusalem. However, after the fall this condition changed. Two of these trees are mentioned; ''the tree of life . Of this the prophets spoke and wrote. "The prince of this world is judged" (John 16:1 1). Eating the fruit of the latter tree would bring sin and death, for, said God, " In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17). The prophets spoke of the Messiah who would come to deliver the people from their sins. 21 Then I saw () a new heaven and a new earth, for () the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. One of the purposes of the Philippian epistle was to check the rising tide of dissension and strife growing out of Christians thinking more highly of themselves than they ought to think. . He who was one with the Father from all eternity became Man, taking upon Him a human body. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:6-9). Since a son shares the nature of his father, so our Lord shares the Godhead coequally with His Father. The purposes underlying this phenomenal occurrence can be summed up in seven points. God came down in the cloud with Moses and in the time of Jesus to bring deliverance to His people. But Thou canst not abandon a soul that seeks Thee. Three verses, linked together, assert that the coming of Jesus Christ was to destroy the devil. A perfect kingdom demands a perfect King. . 4. It also says in Revelation 21: 2–3, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven … Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. He is God. The Seed of the woman traversed the realms of death but was not captured by the enemy. Jesus Christ is man's Redeemer, his Saviour. The character of God, which is righteousness, absolute and uncompromising, demands that every sin be dealt with. 3. But such teaching does not go far enough. A noteworthy passage pertinent to the Divine purpose in the Incarnation is recorded in the Gospel according to John-- ''And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory. He must look down … The next great event in God's calendar is the return in glory of His Son Jesus Christ. Because of the solidarity of the human race, sin and death have passed upon all men (Romans 5:12). Day and night pass on their testimonies giving clear evidence of the existence of the One who made them. All creation lies in hope (expectancy) of a rescue from present corruption and of deliverance to that place God gave it in the beginning. This bridal city represents the sum of God's working through the ages. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and he will be there God. If thou prayest for me, I am sure of grace. "Unto them were committed the oracles of God" (Romans 3:2). Through His Incarnation Jesus Christ reveals man to himself. 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. Since God is an infinite Being, no man could understand Him fully save the Son who is One in equality with the Father. Confessedly, by common consent the Incarnation of Jesus Christ is outside the range of human natural comprehension and apprehension. There is no one who has gone up to Heaven, but there is One who has come down from Heaven, namely the Son of Man whose home is in Heaven. His own countrymen considered crucifixion the worst kind of disgrace. Study, for example, such passages as Isaiah 12:1-6; Joel 2:26, 27; Zephaniah 3:14-17; Zechariah 8:3-8. Had there been righteousness in the human heart, there would have been no need for the Incarnation of the Son of God. The word incarnation does not occur in the Bible. 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