Life Capsule for Today 22nd Dec, 2022
Theme: Reasons for Christmas (5)
Topic: Christ Became Eternally Man
Memory Verse: Matt 1:21
21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” NKJV
Today’s Reading: 1 Tim 2:5-6
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, NKJV
Words of the Ministry
Today as we consider the theme reasons for Christmas, I would want to state one of the less emphasized realities of Jesus’ incarnation which aside being a reason for Christmas seems to answer one of the common objection raised by critiques over the continuous celebration of the birth of Christ. Many argue that while it may be proper to celebrate the death of Christ for mankind, there is no justifiable reason to celebrate his birth. What they seem to forget is that although Jesus died, he rose and lives forever more in a unique state different from what he used to be. Before the incarnation, Jesus was Spirit as the father and the Holy Spirit but since incarnation, he became man and even after ascension he is both God and man in a glorified man form. This may sound a little difficult for those reading this for the first time but as we would soon see that it is the revelation f scriptures.
Christ as God became a man through incarnation (Jhn 1.1-3, 14). In this state, Jesus was described to have the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col 2.9) so while he walked on earth, he was God in human form. He was both God and man and was severally referred to as the son of man to express his humanity, this concept is referred to as hypostatic union. In Jhn 20. 19-20, 27, we see that the resurrected Jesus had a physical body that could be felt and at the same time could pass through walls without limitation, so while he remained God he was still a glorified man. The account in Acts 1.9-11, the angels promised he was to return the same way he was taken to heaven, he was glorified man before the ascension and would return a glorified man. John speaking about his coming and appearing in 1 Jhn 3.2 said we men would be like him when he come, in other words he would be man like us, to further buttress that in 1 Cor 15.51-54, we are told our bodies would be glorified, we can therefore conclude that indeed Christ would return a glorified man. To further buttress his humanity in heaven, we see Stephen the deacon in Act 7.55-56 referring to the Lord Jesus as the son of man, the same term used to describe his humanity. Again in 1 Thim 2.5-6, our mediator, the Lord Jesus is called a man with the word ‘is” to indicate its present. In Revelations 1.12-13, John the apostle saw him as the son of man again depicting his humanity.
Concerning the earthly ministry of Jesus as our High Priest, he entered as our forerunner becoming the high priest for us after the order of Melchizedek (Heb 6.20) and can therefore save those who draw near to God through him (Heb 7.25) since he made intercession for the saints continually. In order to be a priest, Jesus has to be a man. A spirit cannot be a priest after the order of Melchizedek, and if Jesus is not a man now, He could not hold His priesthood, and He could not be forever interceding for us. Therefore, to deny Jesus’ present humanity is to deny His priesthood and His intercession on our behalf. Without His intercession, we are lost. Saints, isn’t it wonderful? We can see another reason for us to celebrate the birth of Jesus as that was the day he became man not just on earth but eternally and because he lives forever, we should celebrate his birth. Hallelujah, my Jesus is a glorified man eternally.
Bible in One Year: 2 & 3 John. Jude. For further fellowship send us an email on info@godman.org.ng or visit our youtube channel: @godmanmedia, our website is www.godman.org.ng. You can also interact with us by dropping your comments on our facebook page. Our physical meeting (PENIEL) comes up once a month, every last Sunday of the month from 4pm to 6.30pm at Embraze Event Center, Opposite Tipper Garage, Before the Train Station, Byazhin Kubwa Abuja