Got Peace Right Now? 7 Things You Need to Know about Your Justification in Christ

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Debate concerning the doctrine of justification is nothing new. In fact, it is because of wrong views of justification that the apostle Paul wrote statements like these:

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. (Gal. 2:21)

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’ But the law is not of faith. (Gal. 3:11-12a)

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom. 4:24-25)

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? (Gal. 3:1)

As sinful creatures, the gospel does not come naturally to us. We need to be reminded over and over again of the fact that God’s grace is lavish. It comes as no surprise that a biblical conception of justification would cause offense, for justification is the very heart of the gospel. That is precisely why justification is so important. “Because if this article stands,” said Luther, “the church stands; if this article collapses, the church collapses” (Weimarer Ausgabe 40/3.352.2-3).

Now that you know that justification is important, here are seven things you need to know about it and why.

1. God justifies sinners.

In Romans 3:22b-24a Paul says, “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift.” A few verses after this he asks, “Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded” (v. 27a). Have you ever felt like you sinned too gravely to be forgiven? Have you ever questioned your salvation because you really messed up? Maybe you struggle with certain sins that you can’t seem to master, and you wonder how God can possibly accept you. You are a sinner—but there is good news for you: God only justifies sinners.

The “righteous” do not need a savior; it is for sinners that Christ died. By living a perfect life in your place, dying on the cross, rising again on the third day and ascending into heaven, Christ enacted a great exchange: where he deserved life, he received your death; and in his resurrection, which proved him righteous, you are declared righteous. If you believe this, then your truest identity is no longer sinner; rather, whatever can be said about Christ with regard to righteousness can now be said about you.

2. Christ’s righteousness is your justification.

Before Luther had his breakthrough in understanding justification, he felt deeply troubled over Romans 1:17, which says, “For in it [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” This last part of the verse is from Habakkuk 2:4. “But how can one be righteous in relation to God’s righteous law?” Luther asked. He thought he had to be inwardly righteous himself to be justified.

When Luther came to realize that it is an alien righteousness received through faith that justifies, and not one’s own righteousness, he had the breakthrough that led to the Reformation. “I am not good and righteous, but Christ is,” Luther said. And the same is true for us.

3. It is received through faith alone.

Let’s be clear: faith is a gift, an instrument through which you receive Christ—not a work of your own. As Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” You are saved through faith, not on the basis of your faith. The focal point is Christ, the object of your faith, not faith itself.

Misunderstanding this distinction can lead to much emotional pain in regard to assurance. Doubts such as “But what if my faith is not good enough?” or “My faith feels weak right now” could potentially trouble the mind. Faith is the instrument through which you behold Christ. It is a gift from God, and thus it is Christ alone who saves you. Don’t look to yourself or even to your faith to save you but to Christ who is your righteousness and who has already said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), concerning what needs to be done for your salvation.

4. You can’t lose your justification.

Christ’s death was efficacious. He shed his blood for actual people. This means that none for whom he died can be lost—ever. Rather, just as surely as he has been raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, you also have been raised and are already, in Christ, seated with him in heaven (Eph. 2:6).

Nothing can alter the finality or efficacy of Christ’s blood. His resurrection is your resurrection. In him, salvation is not merely possible, but actual. This means that you can take great joy in knowing that you are truly safe in God’s mighty hand. It also means that there is no need to fear future judgment, but rather, that you can with great peace await your Savior’s return.

5. Justification is apart from your good works.

Luke 23:39-43 recounts Christ’s death beside two criminals:

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

This criminal himself said his sentence of death was just—by his deeds he deserved death. Yet, Christ told him that very day he would be with him in Paradise. Rather than a mere word of encouragement, this was a pronouncement—Christ was preaching this word to this criminal. As Isaiah 55:11 says,

“so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

    it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

Do you think the criminal had any time to merit paradise for himself after this pronouncement? What good works would he have accomplished while nailed to a cross? Yet, the Lord received him with no less love and joy, because Christ’s work was the only work that could justify him.

6. Justification is not sanctification.

Justification is a legal declaration regarding your state before God, the judge of all. Sanctification is an inward renewal and process through which you grow in godliness. Justification happens once; sanctification happens throughout your life as a believer. Justification is prior to sanctification, logically speaking (not in terms of importance). What this means is that sanctification flows out from the life of a justified person, and not the other way around.

These are important distinctions. Get this wrong, and you fall into error in your understanding of the gospel and may end up thinking you can contribute in some way to your justified state through sanctification, or that there is something left for you to earn through your own works. As John Murray wrote,

If justification is confused with regeneration or sanctification, then the door is opened for the perversion of the gospel at its center. Justification is still the article of the standing or falling church. (Redemption Accomplished and Applied [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2015], 128)

7. Our justification is not a license to sin, but a reason to express gratitude.

You are already justified in Christ. Yet, this is not a license to sin. There tend to be two main responses to the gospel: 1) sin, or 2) gratitude. There are some who, after hearing the good news of the gospel, say, “Well, if that is true, why not sin all the time?” or “Tell someone that and they’ll have no reason not to sin.” These responses come from a heart that has not yet understood what Christ has done. They have not heard the gospel.

Yet, there are others who, having been weighed down by the burden of their sin and knowing they cannot defeat it, hear the words of the gospel and with great peace, say, “I’m free.” This person does not respond with statements of doubt or sin, but with faith and gratitude; this person does not turn back to the filth in which she was enslaved, but looks to Christ over and over again, moved by the lavishness of his grace (Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 86-87). And truly, his grace is lavish.

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This article was originally published on March 19, 2018.

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The 15 Vices of Galatians 5:19-21 and How to Resist Them

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Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. — Galatians 5:19-21

Think how often you are left standing there asking yourself, “Why did I do that? What was I thinking when I said that?” Words escape your lips, and thirty seconds later you regret what you said. Yes, this is the war of desires that roars within us. This is how sin stays alive within us our whole life long. In his letter to the Galatians, the apostle Paul writes:

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Gal. 5:17)

And it doesn’t get easier the longer you are a Christian and the more mature you grow. As Luther pointed out, the more godly a man is, the more he feels the battle. And Calvin put it this way: we don’t even perceive our full depravity until we mature like a tree. Our growth in sanctification is not a realization of how holy we are, but it is humiliation at how often the flesh gets its way.

Yes, the war between the flesh and the Spirit wages throughout our lives. This side of heaven, there is no armistice in this conflict—no peace treaty. Yet, this truth of our life, our ever struggle with sin, should not cause us to despair. At first glance, this battle is fairly discouraging: the flesh will get its sinful way until we die.

The guidance of the Spirit is greater than the flesh.

Yet, the unceasing hostilities don’t mean that the flesh and the Spirit are equally matched. The score doesn’t remain tied. Rather, Paul writes,

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Gal. 5:18)

The Spirit is our general, our tour guide, our master. The guidance of the Spirit is greater than the flesh, for the Spirit is the Spirit of Christ.

The Spirit gets the better of the flesh not merely by getting us to do the good, but by making us forsake our works to trust only in the works of Christ. The Spirit leads us to the once and forever victory over sin and the flesh—the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Spirit enables us to recognize that even our better works are still tainted with sin. The Spirit leads us to Jesus and reminds us of our justification, all of grace and through faith alone. Our best moments of obedience and love still fall very short of perfection. As we fail to do, the Spirit sets before our hearts that Christ did it all for us. This is the beauty and sweet comfort of the Spirit of Christ.

Though, in our battle with the flesh, Paul does want to remind us what are the deeds of the flesh. Even if we still stumble, the Spirit calls us to resist the flesh, to put to death the fleshly deeds. We need to know what deeds and desires must be killed off by the Spirit working in us. So, Paul gives us a list of the flesh’s works, which he says are evident. Having the Spirit, it isn’t hard to recognize the flesh. Yet, he does give us a list of 15 vices to deepen our perception of the ways of the flesh and to give us a more profound discernment so that we resist the flesh better and not be blind to its sophistication. Now, this list of 15 can be grouped into roughly 4 categories.

SEXUAL PERVERSITY

Sexual Immorality (1), Impurity (2), and Sensuality (3)

The first three vices fall into the first category of sexual sins: sexual immorality, impurity and sensuality. These cover transgressions such as premarital sex, adultery, pornography, homosexuality, prostitutes, strip clubs, and so on. And it is fitting that Paul puts this category first, for sexual sin is one of humanity’s deepest flaws.

The created good of sex in marriage is perverted most often. Thus, we need to remain vigilant against these desires and not be complacent—but for the grace of God there we go as well. This is especially the case as our culture is constantly sticking in our faces sexual temptations. In fact, sensuality to which Paul is referring here particularly has the sense of losing all self-control and restraint.

Exercising this self-control isn’t just about our will toughing it out; rather, it is built into our life structure, into our community. We avoid tawdry places, we block perverse websites, and we help each other by keeping one another accountable. Paul’s command—not to fulfill the desire of the flesh—is helpful here.

Sexual lusts can just pop up in our minds with little provocation. If God hadn’t made humans so beautiful, this would be a lot easier. But that handsome fellow or pretty lass walks by, and the lust appears. Such lusts may always be with us, but by the Spirit we do not complete such a desire; rather, we confess it and replace it with a pure desire. When it comes to fighting and controlling sexual desires, thank God we are led by the Spirit and that we are not under law, but under the mercy of Christ.

OTHER RELIGIONS

Idolatry (4) and Sorcery (5)

The second category of vice here takes up the next two items: idolatry and sorcery. The temptation of other religions or unbelief belongs to the flesh, and this includes both overt idolatry as well as perverse worship outside of Christ. If we worship Christ in any way not commanded in his word, we fall into this sin. As church history makes clear, we are ever prone to worship God how we want to and not how God wants us to. Along with idolatry, Paul tacks on sorcery or magic—the dark arts of the occult.

This isn’t about fun tricks of making things disappear; rather, magic is about tapping into a power that is outside of or independent of God. And it is using this power to harm others, protect yourself, and gain success for yourself. Sorcery is about you controlling your fate, your destiny. Magic is a sort of self-idolatry, as you seek to gain powers that only belong to God. As superstitions and spirituality becomes more prevalent in our culture, we should not play with such things as if they are just a bit of fun.

ANTI-SOCIAL SINS

Moving on to the third category of vices, Paul makes this one the largest with 8 vices, which can be grouped as anti-social sins—those that destroy community and relationship, especially the church. These are the anti-social 8.

Enmity (6) and Strife (7)

The first two are a pair: enmity and strife. Enmity refers to hatred that will kill. It is loathing another and desiring his or her harm. Enmity was the tension between Eve and the serpent; the history of the two seeds was written with enmity. Enmity is what made killing in the Old Testament first-degree murder.

Strife, however, is better thought of as rivalry, which is hostile competition with a friend or neighbor. Rivalry promotes itself by pushing others down. Rivalry doesn’t earn its progress, but it swells itself by shrinking everyone else. Rivalry likes to feud in order to come out on top. Enmity prefers to kill and destroy; rivalry wants to shame and disgrace.

Jealousy (8), Anger (9), Self-Ambition (10), and Envy (11)

The next four vices team up well, which include jealousy, anger, self-ambition, and envy. Jealously and envy, of course, lust for what others have—either their possessions or position. The first ingredient in envy is discontentment with what God has given you. The discontentment develops resentment and bitterness, and the resentment matures into a need to possess. You have to have their house, their wife, their job. Thus, jealousy doesn’t go anywhere without its friend, wrath. Indeed, we often can trace a person’s anger to a hidden jealousy. Fits of fury spew forth from envy; we are upset that we have less and they have more.

This mention of anger is also an important reminder for us. Wrath, which is a holy perfection of God, is something we cannot properly handle. With the flesh, we cannot imitate the fury of God.

The last teammate with jealousy, envy, and wrath is selfish ambition (rivalries)—this is self-promotion in all its sophistication. Powered by envy, selfish ambition just has to be better than the other; it thirsts for the praise, hungers for the compliment. Selfish ambition fights to be in the front of every picture. Selfish ambition is what has made Instagram so rich.

Factions (12) and Sects (13)

There is one more pair within the anti-social 8, which is made up of dissensions and divisions, or better, factions and sects. These include heresies and schism, and false doctrines that divide the church into splinter groups and denominations. Why? Because the flesh desires to make its own truth; the flesh loves to twist God’s word into its own doctrine. The Judaizers that Paul is dealing with here are drowning in this very vice.

Their flesh whipped up another gospel. Indeed, the key DNA of heresies and sects is the narcissism of small differences. We are so narcissistic that we demand our doctrine—our truth—to be uniquely ours. It tolerates input from no one other than self. Many heresies and cults are built on elaborate academic structures, which are mere covers for narcissism and pride. Such divisions slice and dice up the body of Christ; and the flesh does this while wearing the costume of holy orders or pious martyr.

DEBAUCHERY

Drunkenness (14) and Orgies (15)

There are two more vices left in this list of 15, which can be paired under the festival of Mardi Gras: drunkenness and orgies. This is excessive drinking, revelry, and debauchery.

The raunchy feast for Dionysus was the epitome of this in the first century, but for us today it is basically club life—partying all night with sex, alcohol, drugs, and whatever one’s perverse imagination can conger up. The flesh can dress up as a monk in a sect, or it can undress to party in Vegas.

Galatians 5:21 is a warning—and one we should take to heart.

The flesh is hardly contained in these fifteen vices but expresses itself in all such perversions. Yet, Paul makes clear that all who practice the ways of the flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:21). Heaven is not the inheritance of the flesh, but the destiny of the flesh is hell. This verse is a warning and one we should take to heart.

Yet, this warning is not meant to shake your assurance in Christ. First, Paul’s words “those who do such things” refer to habitual, regular practice of them. Practicing the desires of the flesh is to be without struggle, repentance, and the Spirit. This vice list basically describes the world without the Spirit, so it receives everlasting condemnation.

The Spirit will always bring back God’s children to Christ and his forgiveness.

Remember that Paul headed this list by saying, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Gal. 5:18). Having the Spirit, you regularly overcome the desires of the flesh. The Spirit works humility and repentance in you. The Spirit works grace and faith in you. The Spirit spurs you on to please the Lord.

Yes, believers will be guilty of these sins, and they will fight the flesh their whole lives. Yet, the Spirit will always bring back God’s children to Christ and his forgiveness. The Spirit will speak to you, especially in your moments of failure, that you are not under law. There is no condemnation for you, for your entrance into the kingdom of God depends not on your good deeds or your fleshly deeds.

Rather, your eternal life rests exclusively on the righteousness of Christ. Jesus already merited resurrection for you. You are saved all of grace, and the flesh has nothing to do with it. As long as you live in your mortal body, the struggle will continue between your flesh and the Spirit, but the victory stays the same—Jesus died and rose for you.

This is the leading of the Spirit, a leading us in Christ and back to Christ each and every day, until our hope of righteousness becomes sight in the resurrection. Praise the Lord for the sweet gospel of Christ and power of the Spirit living in our hearts.

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2 Things Jesus Did That Everyone Desperately Needs

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All human beings are made in God's image and they are also accountable to their Creator to meet his standard of holiness. Here are two things Jesus did that everyone desperately needs:

1. Jesus kept the law perfectly (Matt. 5:17; Rom. 10:4).

God made humans in his image, and everyone is responsible for keeping all of his commands (Lev. 18:5; Luke 10:28). When Adam disobeyed God in the garden of Eden, he brought guilt upon not only himself but also all his descendants, because Adam represented all humanity.

Furthermore, the corrupt nature we inherited from Adam causes us to heap more guilt upon ourselves because everything we do is tainted by sin. Jesus, being both true God and true man, kept the law perfectly on behalf of all who trust in him for their salvation:

For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. (Rom. 5:17)

2. Jesus was the one and only perfect sacrifice for sin (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 10:12).

The author of the book of Hebrews reminds us that the Levitical priests had to offer sacrifices daily for sins, but these offerings could never take away sin entirely (Heb. 10:11). He goes on to explain:

But when Jesus had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Heb. 10:12–14)

Only the shed blood of the One who had no sin, Christ Jesus, can atone for sin, and there is no way for any of us to be justified in God’s sight apart from his finished work on our behalf (John 19:30).

If you have not already done so, receive Jesus as your Savior today.

No matter how hard people try to be right before God or how much they try to make atonement for their sins, they will never be able to do either. Because of his unfathomable love for the world, God sent his Son to do for us what we could never accomplish because of our fallen state:

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:17-18)

When you receive Jesus as your Savior, his perfect righteousness is counted to you, and your sin is counted to him (Rom. 5:18–19). Peace with God is found only by his grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone.

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This article was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life on June 3, 2019.

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15 Ways to Reduce Daily Stress and Be More Fruitful in 2025

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Here are fifteen ways, along with corresponding Bible passages, to reduce your daily stress and be more fruitful in 2025:

1. Begin each day remembering God's blessings.

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. (Ps. 143:8)

2. Go to bed at a reasonable hour and get a good night's sleep—you'll be well rested and better able to complete your pursuits.

It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. (Ps. 127:2)

3. Follow Jesus' example and start your day by praying to your heavenly Father.

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1:35)

4. Remember the gospel.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Cor. 15:1-4)

5. Read your Bible daily and go to church on Sunday to hear the preached word of God.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. (2 Tim. 3:16)

6. Be content with the gifts and opportunities God has given you; don’t covet what other people have or what they’re doing.

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

7. Don’t be afraid to take on a new challenge; you don’t know how God is going to use both your successes and failures for your spiritual growth and his glory.

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

8. Do good works in gratitude for all God has done for you in Christ, not to earn God’s favor, for his love for you is everlasting.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Col. 3:17)

9. Plan ahead so you will be prepared.

"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’" (Luke 14:28-30)

10. Don't overcommit yourself—God will give you the time you need to complete the work he has for you to do.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. (Eccles. 3:1; see also Eccles 3:2-8)

11. Be diligent like the Proverbs 31 woman; don’t waste the precious time God has given to you.

She seeks wool and flax,
    and works with willing hands.
She is like the ships of the merchant;
    she brings her food from afar.
She rises while it is yet night
    and provides food for her household
    and portions for her maidens.
She considers a field and buys it;
    with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. (Prov. 31:13-16; see also Prov. 31:1-31)

12. If possible, try to take some time each day to enjoy the simple daily pleasures of life God has given to you.

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. (Eccles. 5:18)

13. Put people first—don't vainly strive for excessive wealth and achievements.

Again, I saw vanity under the sun: one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business. (Eccles. 4:7-8)

14. Consider implementing a simpler lifestyle as is practical for your particular circumstances.

For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. (2 Cor. 1:12)

15. Remember that this world is passing away—keep your focus on the things that will last.

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:16-17)

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This article is adapted from “14 Ways to Keep Your Focus on the Things That Matter Most in Life” at beautifulchristianlife.com and was originally published on July 26, 2018.

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Are You Missing Out on the Gift of the Good and Abundant Life?

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The entire life and ministry of Christ was one of apparent weakness, and this began at his birth. The King of the universe born in a cattle stall? That's a hard sell. Therefore, the great question posed to the human race has always been: Do we have the faith necessary to rest in such a Savior? Do we trust that a strong and sure salvation can come from one who seems so small and so inadequate?

Tragically, the majority report on the answer to that question has been "no." It's especially tragic this time of year to see the whole world searching for some kind of happiness and fulfillment and love, and yet they look right past Jesus who alone is able to provide all of those things in the fullest. 

Are you looking past Jesus for your happiness and fulfillment?

Dare we do the same? As we look through the pages of Scripture, we know that Christ is not small or inadequate in the least:

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. (Heb. 1:3)

He is, as Samuel Rutherford puts it, "bottomless and boundless." Even when Jesus was a helpless infant, the government rested on his shoulders (Isa. 9:6). So we are to look past the apparent weakness and see the underlying glory and wonder that is our Savior. Thus, Rutherford writes:

O, pity for evermore that there should be such a one as Christ Jesus, so boundless, so bottomless, and so incomparable in infinite excellency, and sweetness, and so few to take Him! O, ye poor dry dead souls, why will ye not come hither with your vessels and your empty souls to this huge, and fair, and deep, and sweet well of life, and fill all your vessels? O, that Christ should be so large in sweetness and worth, and we so narrow, pinched, so ebb, and so void of all happiness, and yet men will not take Him! They lose their love miserably, who will not bestow it on this lovely one. (Letters of Samuel Rutherford [Carlisle: Banner of Truth, 1984], 446)

Jesus gives us an explicit reason for his coming to earth in John 10:10. It is in his great lesson on the sheep and the Good Shepherd, and he says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” His purpose was to give us something: life. But note, it’s not just any kind of life. It’s an abundant life.

Jesus came to give us the good and abundant life.

Whether we are consciously aware of it or not, we are all on a search for “the good life.” We are all after that person, place, or thing that will make us satisfied, someone or something that will give us meaning in this world. And since that’s what we’re all looking for, that’s what everyone else is trying to sell us. Someone may claim that the good life is entertainment or that the good life is found in riches or religiosity. There have been countless objects touted about as the secret to lasting personal peace and satisfaction.

But they all come up short. Why? Because nothing and no one except Jesus can give us not just the good life but, even better, the abundant life—a life that is so full it is beyond measure. For that to be the case, it certainly cannot be capped by our lifespan here on earth. That is certainly measurable. Rather, Jesus gives life that begins here on earth but reaches to eternity. The abundant life is a life lived with one foot on earth and the other in heaven.

This is the great gift that Christ brought us through his incarnation—life, death, resurrection, and ascension. He left his abundant life in heaven and took up a meager and miserable life like ours here below. And he says, “Put your faith and trust in me, believe that I have done everything necessary to satisfy you, and you can have the good life, the abundant life.” And it’s all a gift—one that we open now by faith and will enjoy by sight for ages without end.

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This article was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life on December 14, 2018.

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The St. Nicholas of History (Sort Of)

Nicholas of Myra (Menologion of Basil II); image from Wikimedia Commons; .

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

R. Scott Clark is professor of Church History and Historical Theology at Westminster Seminary California. For more content from Dr. Clark, please visit The Heidelblog at heidleblog.net.

After the recent Heidelcast episode on Christmas and Santa Claus, Brad Isbell, co-host of the Presbycast podcast, reported that his better half asked something to the effect of, “But what about the real St. Nicholas?” This is a great question and one that I have intended to investigate. Denizens of Twitter and other BigSocialMedia platforms may read about St. Nicholas punching the heretic Arius in the face at the Council of Nicea (AD 325). Memes of this abound but what is the history and what is the hagiography? What do we really know about Nicholas, Bishop (Επισοκος) of Myra?

The primary source of our knowledge about Nicholas is a hagiography (a life of a saint) by Michael the Archimandrite (a supervisor of monks) dictated to scribes c. AD 710. This presents significant problems since, according to modern studies, Nicholas lived c. AD 260 – c. 335. This puts considerable historical distance between Nicholas and his hagiographer. We have one source a little closer to the life of Nicholas, a work of praise (Encomium) of Nicholas from c. AD 440, but it is quite brief, and another work, author unknown, from c. AD 400, Stratelatis (The Soldiers). The first half reminds one of the more straightforward parts of the Martyrdom of Polycarp (c. AD 150) and the latter half reminds one of the later, hagiographic additions to the Martyrdom of Polycarp. In the modern period Gerardo Cioffari, a Dominican monk, has devoted his life to the study of Nicholas of Myra.

According to Adam English’s 2018 survey, The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus: The True Life and Trials of Nicholas of Myra, Nicholas was born in Lycia, in what is now Southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean. There are many legends about him. He came to be regarded as a θαυματουργος (i.e., a wonder worker) and later came to be associated with the distribution of gifts to children. Hence would arise the myth of Santa. He is said to have been imprisoned during the Diocletianic persecution (c. AD 303–11). When Nicholas was born there were perhaps two million adherents to Christianity and by the time he died there were about thirty-four million. Of course, the influx of people into the church, at least in part because Christianity was now in favor with the emperor, brought with it a new set of problems but that is the stuff of another essay.

According to English, until the work of Cioffari, whether Nicholas was even present at Nicea was in considerable doubt, since his name appeared only in some of the lists of bishops. Traditionally it has been said that there were 318 bishops present at Nicea, but, in fact, the different lists give different numbers. It is likely that there were about 300 present.

We do know that his remains were discovered in 1953 in Bari where they had been taken in 1087. His face and head were digitally reconstructed. Apparently, he had a broken nose, which makes it tantalizing to imagine him boxing with Arius, but imagination is not history. For what it is worth, he was about 5 foot, 4 inches tall.

According to Michael the Archimandrite, Nicholas was an exceptionally pious boy and well educated (in Greek). At around the age of eighteen his parents died, perhaps of a plague that swept through Asia Minor about that time. His inheritance made him wealthy. According to Michael, Nicholas used his new wealth to help the poor, e.g., by providing for a family so that a father would not be tempted to sell (into slavery or prostitution) his daughters in order to pay his debts. He is said to have put some gold coins in a bag and to have tossed it through the window in the dead of night. In the morning, the father awoke delighted to find the crisis averted by an unknown benefactor. Then, according to Michael, Nicholas did the same again to provide a dowry for the girls. We know the story because Michael reports that the third time Nicholas attempted to provide for the girls he was caught by an anxious father. Again, hagiography is a mixture of legend and fact, and we are left to sort out what is what as best we can.

The Bishop of Myra died in AD 295. English observes that Nicholas was most probably thirty years old (contrary to the medieval myths of the boy-bishop) when he was elected. He would have been rather young to be what was still, for the most part, more like a senior pastor than a regional administrator, which is what we think when we hear the word bishop. The office was becoming such (e.g., Cyprian in Carthage and Stephen I c. AD 250). Candidates for office frequently demurred. It happened so often that it became commonplace for those elected to write or something to the effect that they had been compelled to take the position.

Nicholas was arrested during the persecution ordered by Diocletian (and the instigation of co-regent, Galerius) in AD 303. Diocletian’s order was intended to remove Christians from military service and from Roman life. He was going to restore Rome to her former glory. In these persecutions Roman authorities demanded that suspected Christians would confirm their Christian faith (Christianus es?): “Are you are Christian?” The interrogator would ask the question three times. Should the suspect answer in the affirmative the interrogator demanded the Christian to renounce Christ, to swear by the genius of Caesar, and to pour out a drink offering to the Roman gods. Of course, Nicholas refused. According to English, he was tortured. Methodius, the Bishop of Patara, was martyred. According to a fourteenth-century Byzantine account, several of the bishops at Nicea (Nicholas included) had physical scars from the Diocletian persecution.

English notes that, with the accession of Constantine in 311 and his profession of Christian faith, the Eastern Emperor became even more suspicious of Christians. Even though Constantine had declared Christianity a legal religion (in half the empire), Licinius ejected Christians from government service and banned them from gathering on the basis of health concerns (ahem). He restricted bishops to their homes. In AD 324 Constantine defeated Licinius and extended protection to the Christians throughout the Empire. Property and position were restored to Christians. Those who had been enslaved for Christ’s sake were liberated. Remarkably, bishops were even given authority to make civil judgments. By the end of AD 325, the same officials who had harassed him were asking him what he needed to build his new church.

As English observes, it is unlikely that Arius—a presbyter, not a bishop—was at the Council of Nicea. Michael tells us that Nicholas was firmly with the orthodox against the Arians. Though physical violence has broken out at church councils, there is no evidence that any such thing happened at Nicea or that Nicholas slapped or punched Arius at Nicea or any other time. The Encomium does praise Nicholas for doing battle with the cult of Artemis/Diana of the Ephesians. He is said to have preached not only in church but also in the market. For centuries Christianity would co-exist with paganism across the Empire.

It is difficult to distinguish the Nicholas of history from the Nicholas of hagiography and myth. Were we to boil down what we actually know to be solid, historical fact, it is not much. Is there probably some truth to the stories that grew up to make Michael’s hagiography? Probably. Mainly we should be thankful for faithful pastors like Nicholas and others like him who accepted the office with its burdens and risks. We should give thanks that the Lord delivered his people from a terrible persecution and ask for courage and grace for those who are facing persecutions now. May the Lord equip us with the courage of men like Nicholas and Athanasius as the West makes its journey into post-Christian neo-paganism.

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This article by R. Scott Clark was originally published at the Heidelblog.net.

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Justin Martyr on the Importance of Fulfilled Messianic Prophecy

This portrait of Justin Martyr by Theophanes the Cretan (1490-1559) was accessed from Wikimedia Commons; .

Justin Martyr was a prolific Christian writer who lived in the first half of the second century. Though much of his work has been lost to history, a few of his treatises still remain to this day. One of them is a defense of the Christian faith written to the Roman emperor and senate around 150 AD, referred to as Justin’s First Apology. Here’s an abridged version of his opening:

To the Emperor, his sons, and the sacred Senate, with the whole People of the Romans, I, Justin, native of Palestine, present this address and petition in behalf of those of all nations who are unjustly hated and wantonly abused, myself being one of them…Our opponents proclaim our madness to consist in this, that we give to a crucified man a place second to the unchangeable and eternal God, the Creator of all; for they do not discern the mystery that is herein, to which, as we make it plain to you, we pray you to give heed… In fact, we shall now offer proof, not trusting mere assertions, but being of necessity persuaded by those who prophesied of Him before these things came to pass, for with our own eyes we behold things that have happened and are happening just as they were predicted; and this will, we think appear even to you the strongest and truest evidence.[1]

I recently interviewed attendees at a Christmas festival here in the St. Louis area about the meaning of Christmas, and the contrast between Justin’s approach and the views I heard from Christians during these interviews couldn’t be more pronounced (if you’d like to listen to them yourself click here). Whereas Justin appealed to the clear match between the publicly known facts about Jesus and the ancient Hebrew prophecies about the coming Messiah, most of the believers I spoke with appealed to faith itself, to their subjective feelings and experiences, or to the way they happened to be raised.

Justin appeals to the argument of fulfilled prophecy throughout his treatise.

As we think about the situation in which we find ourselves today, many people—both inside and outside the walls of the church—seem to be unfamiliar with the line of reasoning that was of central significance to Justin, namely the argument of fulfilled prophecy. Of course, Justin didn’t invent this approach, since it is found in almost every speech given by the apostles as recorded in the book of Acts (cf. 2:22ff, 3:21ff, 8:28ff, 10:39ff, 13:27ff, 26:22ff, 28:23). And the apostles apparently received it from Jesus himself: “‘These are my words that I spoke to you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled’” (Luke 24:44).

Notice how Justin Martyr emphasizes this approach in his argument to the emperor and senate:

There were, then, among the Jews certain men who were prophets of God, through whom the prophetic Spirit published beforehand things that were to come to pass before they happened. And [in] their prophecies…we found Jesus our Christ foretold as coming, born of a virgin…and healing every disease and every sickness, and raising the dead, and being hated, and unrecognized, and crucified, and dying, and rising again…and being called, the Son of God. We find it also predicted that certain persons should be sent by Him into every nation to publish these things…among the Gentiles…For things which were incredible and seemed impossible with men, these God  predicted by the Spirit of prophecy as about to come to pass, in order that, when they came to pass, there might be no unbelief, but faith, because of their prediction.[2]

Justin appealed to external truths, not his own subjective experience or changed life.

Throughout his First Apology, Justin spends a great deal of time quoting all the various prophecies recorded throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and showing how they were fulfilled by Jesus. One important prophecy he interacts with is Micah 5:2-4, which was instrumental in my own conversion. Written some 700 years before the time of Jesus, the prophet Micah says:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient days…And he shall stand and shepherd his flock…And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. (Mic. 5:2-4)

Justin also cites Psalm 22, which foresaw that the Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced, and Zechariah 9 that Israel’s king would come to his people humbly, riding on a donkey and speaking peace, not to Jerusalem only but to the nations.[3] “It was also predicted,” Justin writes,

that Christ should heal all manner of diseases and raise the dead [as Isaiah foretold]: “At His coming the lame shall leap…the blind shall see, and the lepers shall be cleansed; and the dead shall rise and walk about.” And that He did these things, you can learn from the Acts of Pontius Pilate.[4]

Here it’s worth pointing out that Justin is appealing to external truths, rather than to his own subjective experience or changed life. In fact, in this section of his apology, he encourages the emperor, and members of the Roman Senate, not to consult the Christian gospels, but to examine the public records about Jesus, which at that time were still available.[5]

The Humble Skeptic Podcast Episode 64: “Christmas: Legend or History”

Justin then cites other important selections from Isaiah, such as this portion from the early part of chapter nine, which was made famous in Handel’s Messiah:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. (Isa. 9:6-7)

This is another prophecy that was significant in my own conversion from a secular Jewish background. It seemed clear to me that whoever this child was, he was unambiguously being identified as God incarnate. In an article I recently wrote on this passage, I discuss the fascinating ways in which this verse has been interpreted in Jewish circles, both before and after the time of Jesus—some even referring to the subject of Isaiah’s prophecy as Israel’s promised Messiah.[6]

Fulfilled prophecies and testimonies, not beliefs “governed by passion,” are the proofs that ground Christian conviction.

Justin also goes on to cite, almost in its entirety, the amazing prophecy of the Suffering Servant from chapters 52 and 53 of Isaiah. “[H]ear what was…said by Isaiah,” Justin writes, “‘Because they delivered His soul to death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, He has borne the sin of many…He was despised, and of no reputation. It is He who bears our sins, and is afflicted for us.’”[7] Justin then concludes this section of his Apology by writing this:

Though we could bring forward many other prophecies, we judge these sufficient for the persuasion of those who have ears to hear and understand; and considering also that those persons are able to see that we do not make mere assertions without being able to produce proof, like those fables that are told of the so-called sons of Jupiter. For with what reason should we believe of a crucified man that He is the first-born of the unbegotten God, who will pass judgment on the whole human race, unless we had found testimonies concerning Him published before He came…So many things therefore, as these…are enough to produce conviction and belief in those who embrace the truth, and are not bigoted in their opinions, nor governed by passion.[8]

After successive waves of apologists like Justin Martyr, Western Culture was eventually Christianized. But across the span of time, people began to take Christian truth claims for granted. In short, they no longer needed reasons to believe the Christian story, since it was something most people already assumed to be true. However, this certainly is not the world we live in today.

Some years ago, Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith interviewed thousands of young Christians from across the denominational spectrum for a research project and later coined the phrase “moralistic therapeutic deism” to describe their convictions.[9] Contemporary churches, it seems, had been promoting Christianity not as a truth claim but as a kind of therapy to help believers cope with the ups and downs of life. And as it turns out, this therapy was quite vague, even about Jesus. This happened at a time in which most of our institutions had been thoroughly secularized, meaning they no longer take Christianity for granted. In fact, many of today’s educational institutions are downright hostile to the Christian message. Is it a wonder then that so many individuals today are “deconstructing” their faith?

Unlike all other worldview options, Christianity makes sense even when comfort is nowhere to be found.

What we need is to go back and retrace our steps. How did Christianity become the dominant belief system of the Western World in the first place? Justin Martyr shows us how it was done. He didn’t talk about his own personal experience with Jesus, the comfort he had felt, or even the impact that the gospel had on his life. This isn’t to say that these things are unimportant—they just aren’t good reasons to believe that Christianity is true in contrast to all the other competing worldview options. All religions give people comfort, provide solace and a sense of meaning, but Christianity makes sense even when comfort is nowhere to be found. Justin writes:

We—who, out of every race of men, used to worship Bacchus, Apollo, Venus, Aesculapius, or other gods—have now, through Jesus Christ, learned to despise them, though we be threatened with death for it…they who live irrationally, and were brought up licentiously in wicked customs, and are prejudiced in their own opinions…kill and hate us; whom we not only do not hate, but as is proved, pity and endeavor to lead to repentance.[10]

You see, Justin wrote these words at a time when Christianity was still illegal, and when Christians were still being persecuted and martyred for their faith. And this of course helps us to see how radical this new faith really was. Christians of his day needed something beyond coffee mug platitudes to get them through the day, since they were often arrested, beaten, and tortured for their convictions. In fact, Justin himself was beheaded for his faith sometime around 165 AD, which is why he was posthumously given the name Justin “Martyr.”

More than anything, it’s clear from his defense of Christianity that Justin never promoted any form of blind faith. No, instead, he wrote to the emperor and the senate in order to offer proof, rather than mere assertions, since, as he says, he was persuaded by those who prophesied about Jesus centuries before he came on the scene. In fact, he referred to fulfilled prophecy as the "strongest and truest evidence.”[11] I humbly suggest that we return to this same approach in our day as well.

The Humble Skeptic Podcast Episode 64: “Christmas: Legend or History”

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Notes:

[1] Justin Martyr, First Apology in The Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. 1, edited by Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001; reprint of the 1867 Edinburgh edition), 247, 254, 266. For other editions, see chapters 1, 13 and 30. This work is available online at https://bishoysblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/ante-nicene-fathers-vol-1.pdf

[2] Ibid., 266-267 (ch. 31; 33).

[3] Ibid., 269-270 (ch. 35).

[4] Ibid., 277 (ch. 48).

[5] Though some ancient texts with the title, The Acts of Pontius Pilate, have survived, most scholars are agreed that these are fictional documents written long after the first century.

[6] See for example the Aramaic Targum of 9:5-6.

[7] Ibid., First Apology, ANF-01, 278-279 (ch. 50).

[8] Ibid., 280-281 (ch. 53).

[9] See his book, Soul Searching (New York, Oxford University Press, 2005), or listen to this White Horse Inn interview featuring Smith when the book was first released: https://ift.tt/raNgP5V

[10] Ibid., First Apology, ANF-01, 263; 283-284 (ch. 25; 57).

[11] Ibid., 266 (ch. 30).

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Advent Sunday Week 4: A King Is Born

Image by Shutterstock.com

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone who would step in when you are bullied, protect you from harm, and make sure you are safe and cared for? In the modern day there are lots of agencies that advocate for those who are hurting, but in ancient Israel, the person who was supposed to stop abuses and protect the weak was the king. 

It’s hard to imagine people wanting a king, but kings were those who would hold the loyalty of the people and bring everyone together for protection and political success. The Israelites wanted a king during the time of Samuel in the Old Testament, but they looked at the outside appearance of the candidate, not at the heart.

Israel’s first king, Saul, was not humble before God.

When Israel asked for their first king, they asked for a king like all the pagan nations around them, and God gave them the wish of their heart, which ended up being a disaster:

So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking for a king from him. He said, These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots…. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.” But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”… And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” (1 Sam. 8:10-11, 18-20, 22)

The people liked Saul because he was tall and handsome; however, he was not humble before God and ended up killing his own people, the priests of God (1 Sam. 22:21).

God sought a king who would rule justly, keeping all of God’s commands.

The next king, David, was God’s pick, and he was a man whose heart was set upon serving God:

“But now your [Saul] kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” (1 Sam. 13:14)

A king was coming who would earn the right to rule forever.

God promised David that in his descendants a king would come who would rule forever. This coming king would be greater than King David himself:

“‘And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” (2 Sam. 7:16)

“David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared,

‘““The Lord said to my Lord,
‘“Sit at my right hand,
    until I put your enemies under your feet.”’”  (Mark 12:36; see also Matt. 22:44 and Ps. 110:1)

Jesus was the king who perfectly followed the words of his heavenly Father.

The king who was to sit upon David’s throne would not only have perfect love for God, but would rule people spanning all times, ethnicities, and backgrounds. He was born in a manger, not in a grand palace. He also wasn’t a handsome man like Saul. He was not a person who you would pick out from a crowd as special. Yet, unlike Saul, Jesus was a king who followed the words of his heavenly Father, and he was a king who would protect his people, a shepherd who would gather from all over the world, from every race and nation.

Jesus is the great Shepherd-King.

A shepherd cares lovingly for his sheep, guarding them from wolves and bears, as well as guiding and protecting them from their own foolish straying. As our great king, Jesus calls us to lovingly submit to his good rule, knowing that what he calls us to do is good for us and pleases God. Jesus also protects us from our fierce enemy, the devil, who is like a hungry lion, always seeking to destroy Christians.

King Jesus earned life everlasting for his people.

We are protected from spiritual harm by our King Jesus. Unlike King Saul who failed to protect, but even killed his people, Jesus died for his people. Jesus laid his life down for us to defeat our greatest foes—sin and death. In this act of self-sacrifice, Jesus went to battle on our behalf, being the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice for our sins and living a righteous life, thereby earning everlasting life for those who put their trust in him.

Jesus is a king like no other!

Jesus’ rule always blesses his people. In the midst of this Christmas season, reflect on how you have a king who laid down his life for you. It is under his protection and blessing you now live. The little child born in the manger is a mighty King for his people—the King of all creation and your personal Shepherd-King. 

Click below to read the entire Advent Sunday series!

Part 1: Advent Sunday Week 1: The Story of a Warrior Child

Part 2: Advent Sunday Week 2: A Priestly Child Is Born

Part 3: Advent Sunday Week 3: The Prophet in the Manger

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This article was originally published on December 20, 2020.

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The Presence and Activity of the Spirit of Christmas

Photo Credit: Botticelli, The Annunciation; Everett Collection at Shutterstock.com.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning Beautiful Christian Life LLC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through its links, at no cost to you.

One of the most neglected parts of the incarnation accounts in the gospel records is that which touches on the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of Christ. We rightly wonder at the coming of the eternal Son of God into the world in true human form while wrongly neglecting to wonder at the accompanying role of the Spirit of God in the ministry of the Redeemer.

Some of that is understandable. What greater mystery can there be than the mystery of Christ? He is the eternal mystery of God (1 Tim. 3:16). All God’s revelation points to him, and everything necessary for salvation flows from him (Col. 1:15-22; Heb. 1:1-3). Yet, throughout the gospels the Spirit is revealed as the accompanying agent of redemption. He was active, from start to finish, in the life and ministry of Christ.

This opens the important question, “Why was it necessary for the Spirit to be at work in the life and ministry of Christ from the virgin conception to his resurrection from the dead?”

1. The Spirit came to indwell Jesus to sustain him as the Last Adam.

The Spirit was the agent of the virgin conception, the anointing of Christ for ministry as Prophet, Priest and King at his baptism, and the leading of Christ into the wilderness to be tempted by the evil one. The Spirit is also the one by whom Christ cast out demons and overcame the kingdom of darkness. He was indwelling Christ as the Last Adam in order to enable him to present himself without blemish to God on the cross. The Spirit is also said to be the agent by whom Jesus was raised from the dead (Rom. 1:4; 8:11). 

To be the head of the new redeemed humanity, Jesus had to do all that he did in humble reliance upon the Holy Spirit. This began even before his birth. When Mary asked the angel Gabriel how she would carry the Redeemer in her womb, since she was a virgin, Gabriel told her,

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)

Just as the Spirit hovered over the waters of creation, so he hovered over the virgin Mary at the great work of bringing about the new creation through the incarnation of the Son of God.

Christ was dependent upon the Spirit for his miraculous works. If Jesus had simply performed miracles by his divine nature, then the divine nature of the eternal Son would have imparted to the human nature something (e.g., omnipotence) that is not proper to human nature and so destroy the human nature. Jesus acted as fully God and fully man in one person in all that he did. However, as the Last Adam, he had to rely on the Spirit to impart to him the grace he needed to do such things as perform miracles of healing. 

Jesus also needed the Holy Spirit for his own consecration and to sustain him in sinlessness. Fallen humanity doesn’t not need a superhuman holiness; what we need is a human holiness. Jesus came to do what Adam failed to do—namely, to obey the commands of God in the place of his people. The earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus, from start to finish, was a record of his perfect obedience and Law-keeping. Herman Ridderbos summed up the totality of Jesus’ law-keeping when he wrote:

Jesus behaves in accordance with the precepts of the law when he goes to the temple, keeps the festivals, the Sabbath, pays the temple-tax (Matt. 17:24ff)…refers to the priest the lepers he had cured (Matt. 8:4), defends the sacred character of the temple against those who use this building as an object of gain (Matt. 21:12; Mark 11:16). (The Coming of the Kingdom [Paideia Press, 1978], p. 292)

Phil Ryken makes the important observation that, “What qualified Jesus to redeem us from the law was the fact that he kept it perfectly.” William Still put it in even more striking terms when he suggested, “The most victorious thing that Christ ever did was to die sinless.” This is one of the foremost reasons why Jesus needed the Spirit in the Incarnation.

2. The Spirit came to bring the fuller revelation of Christ.

The presence of the Spirit and the activity of the Spirit marked the dawning of a new age. The Spirit had been withdrawn from the old covenant people for nearly four hundred years. Over four centuries, he had not given any new word of revelation. There were no accompanying sign-miracles during that period, until just prior to the coming of Christ. God had suspended the presence and activity of the Spirit between the Old Testament canon and the coming of Christ. Jonathan Edwards explained the significance of the Spirit returning at this new period of redemptive history. He wrote, 

The return of the Spirit; which indeed began a little before, but yet was given on occasion of his birth. I have before observed how the spirit of prophecy ceased, not long after Malachi. From about the same time visions and immediate revelations ceased also. But on this occasion, they were granted anew, and the Spirit in these operations returns again. The first revealed instance of its restoration is the vision of Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, (Luke 1.) The next is the vision which the Virgin Mary had, (ibid.) The third is the vision which Joseph had, (Matt. 1.) In the next place, the Spirit was given to Elisabeth, (Luke 1:41.) Next, it was given to Mary, as appears by her song, (Luke 1:46, &c.) Then to Zacharias again, (ibid. ver. 64.) Then it was sent to the shepherds, (Luke 2:9.) Then it was given to Simeon, (Luke 2:25.) Then to Anna, (ver. 36.) Then to the wise men in the east. Then to Joseph again, directing him to flee into Egypt; and after that directing his return.

In John 16:14, Jesus said that the Spirit would bring Him glory by revealing all the truth about him to his people. This was, no doubt, reference to the fuller revelation that the Spirit would breath out through the Apostles. However, that fuller revelation began at the inauguration of the entry of the Son into this world. The Spirit is the agent of the divine revelation. It is no wonder that He is so active in giving that revelation to the central figures in the nativity accounts, after such a long time of withholding more revelation. 

3. The Spirit would be the agent of the application of redemption.

How can it be possible for Christ to have died thousands of years ago and yet the benefits of his death and resurrection are effectual in the lives of believers? The answer is bound up in the activity of the Spirit at the cross. The writer of Hebrews, in what is one of the most astonishing verses in the Bible, writes,

The blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purifies our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Heb. 9:14)

The blood of Jesus is sanctifying blood when it is applied to the consciences of believers by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is able to apply the blood of Christ to the believer’s conscience because he was present with Jesus on the cross. The same Spirit who enabled Jesus to die sinlessly—when offering himself as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of his people—is the Spirit who now indwells believers and cleanses our consciences from the guilt and corruption of our polluted hearts.

As we celebrate the incarnation anew, fixing our minds on the wonders of the mystery of Christ, let’s remember the presence and activity of the Spirit in the events surrounding the nativity. The Spirit who was forming a human nature for the Son in the womb of the virgin Mary and bringing the Son back from the dead in the darkness of the tomb is the same Spirit who indwells believers and conforms us to the image of the Son. That’s the Spirit of Christmas we most desperately need. 

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This article is adapted from “The Spirit of Christmas” at feedingonChrist.org.

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