Glory to God in the Highest
“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. The angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ (Messiah) the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there
was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
(Lk. 2:13-14)
The angels' praise of God during the Messiah’s birth has two parts. The
first part is "Glory to God in the
highest." We shall also study the second part “And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!".
The angels not only praised God above the shepherds in Bethlehem but had also
praised Him in heaven. In the
revelation given to him on the island of Patmos, the Apostle John also saw the
vision of angels praising before the throne of God. "Then
I looked," wrote John, and I heard
the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders;
and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of
thousands, Saying with a loud voice:
"Worthy
is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength
and honor and glory and blessing!"
"Blessing
and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the
Lamb, forever and ever!" (Rev. 5:11-13)
"Glory!" Do you know what it is?
"Glory" is the sum total of all the praise, power, honor, and majesty
that belongs to God. "Glory to God in the
highest." Men and
angels do not give this "glory" to God. It is already His and will always be His from eternity to
eternity. What the angels in the heavens and before the throne were doing is
recognizing and acknowledging the glory that has always been God's.
“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth
peace, goodwill toward men!" These words of praise
embrace such widely extended thoughts that it is difficult to explain in any
human language. We can certainly try!
I would like to clarify that although we
do not believe December 25 as the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ yet we do
rejoice over God’s gift of His Son to mankind.
Nobody knows the exact date of our Lord’s birth and it is not important
that we know what it is. If God had
wanted us to celebrate His Son’s birthday He would surely let His people know
about it. On this point He is
silent. He clearly showed the Children
of Israel the exact day of the Seventh Day Sabbath and He also commanded all
His people to observe it every week (Ex. 16:23-30; 20:8-11; Heb. 4:3-11)
“Then
I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting
gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth--to every nation, tribe,
tongue, and people-- saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to
Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and
earth, the sea and springs of water." (Rev. 14:6-7)
As children of God we can “give
glory to Him” by worshiping Him on the Sabbath day as
the Creator “who made heaven and earth, the sea and
springs of water."
Prophecies concerning
the Birth of the Messiah
There are several prophecies concerning
the birth of Jesus Christ that relate to His divinity and role as the Savior of
mankind.
“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6)
"But
you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose
goings forth are from of old, From everlasting." (Mic. 5:2)
It is important for us to believe that
our Lord Jesus Christ is the One True God who manifested Himself in the
flesh. He was born as a Child and yet
His names and titles indicate He is divine.
“And His name
will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace.” He had existed before His birth in
Bethlehem. Micah prophesied of His
birth, but yet stated that His “goings forth are from
of old, from everlasting." John
wrote that He existed “in the beginning” before
anything was created (Jn. 1:1-3). While
the Messiah is fully Man He is also fully God, as these truths indicate. He and the Father are one and the same Divine
Being (Jn. 10:30).
“Therefore
the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and
bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isa. 7:14)
This prophecy was
fulfilled when the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream, saying “"Joseph,
son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is
conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
And she will bring
forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people
from their sins."
So all this was done
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet,
saying:
"Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."
Then Joseph, being
aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him
his wife,
And did not know her
till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.”
(Mt.1:20-25)
The Gospel according to St. Luke also
attests to the virgin conception of the Lord Jesus Christ (Lk. 1:26-38)
“Now
in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named
Nazareth,
To
a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The
virgin's name was Mary.
And
having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the
Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"
But
when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of
greeting this was.
Then
the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor
with God.
And
behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call
His name JESUS.
He
will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will
give Him the throne of His father David.
And
He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be
no end."
Then
Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
And
the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy
One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
For
with God nothing will be impossible."
Then
Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according
to your word." And the angel departed from her.
The virgin birth is an essential doctrine of historic
Christianity. Jesus Christ did not have a sin nature. To be the perfect
sacrifice, as Jesus was, required that He be free of sin. Yet, the Messiah had
to be fully man. The virgin birth solved both of these requirements: The
Messiah was born of a woman so as to be fully man; yet was born as result of
the miraculous intervention of God, by means of the Holy Spirit -- the result
of which was that Adam's sin nature was not passed to the Lord Jesus Christ.
“And on earth peace,
goodwill toward men!"
Peace that is from God. What is it?
How do we get it?
Why should we want this kind of peace?
PEACE
A word with several different meanings in the Old and New Testaments.
The Old Testament meaning of peace was completeness, soundness, and
well being of the total person. This peace was considered God-given, obtained
by following the Law.
“Great
peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.” (Ps
119:165)
Peace sometimes had a physical meaning,
suggesting security.
“I
will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in
safety.” (Psm. 4:8)
Contentment
“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose
mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” (Isa 26:3)
Prosperity
“Pray
for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, prosperity
within your palaces." (Psm 122:6-7)
Also by the absence of war
“Then
the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel,
from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the
Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.” (1 Sam
7:14)
The traditional Jewish greeting, Shalom,
was a wish for peace.
In the New Testament, peace often refers
to the inner tranquility and poise of the Christian whose trust is in God
through the Lord Jesus Christ. This understanding was originally expressed in
the Old Testament writings about the coming MESSIAH:
“For
unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be
upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty
God, everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace
there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order
it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even
forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” (Isa. 9:6-7)
The peace that Jesus Christ spoke of was
a combination of hope, trust, and quiet in the mind and soul, brought about by
reconciliation with God. The host of angels proclaimed such peace at Christ's
birth: Luke 2:14 "Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
Real peace of the mind, spirit and soul
is given by the Lord Jesus Christ when we make Him our Lord and Savior.
"Peace
I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to
you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John
14:27)
“These
things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you
will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
(Jn. 16:33)
“And
let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one
body; and be thankful. Let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another
in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to
the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” (Col 3:15-17)
Please go to :à Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ
This
Article is based on the Sermon preached by Paul Wong
to
a Congregation in Houston, Texas on December 22, 2001
For
comments please write first to: ark@sbcglobal.net
May God bless you.
Updated on 01/13/04
Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the President of ARK International.
His ministry also serves as an architectural service company in Houston.
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