Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas! It is a beautiful morning; a white Christmas! It is such a wonderous, miraculous day! The day Christ was born! A great day to celebrate all that Jesus means to us. So celebrate! Celebrate the birth of Christ and give Him praise.
Ray Pritchard asks, "Have you ever tried to explain the real meaning of Christmas to a child? It isn’t easy. There is so much tradition mixed up with spiritual truth that it is sometimes hard to tell Jesus from Santa Claus and the Wise Men from the snowmen.
"Sometimes our children have a hard time understanding what it all means. Some years back there was a cartoon called 'Marvin.' In the first frame a young mother has just finished reading the Christmas story to her young son. The lad has a puzzled look on his face as he sorts it all out. Then he thinks to himself, 'Let me see if I’ve got this straight... Christmas is baby Jesus' birthday, but I get the presents?' The final frame shows him with a satisfied grin as he says to himself, 'Is this a great religion or what?!' (keepbelievingministries.com)
There is an old children's story book called The Christmas ABC Book (Florence Johnson, Illustrated by Eloise Wilkin, The Christmas ABC [Litte Golden Book #478], Golden Press, 1962). Some of you may be familiar with it. Each letter of the alphabet connects with the biblical story in a little rhyme. For instance:
A means Angel…
An Angel was the first to tell
That Christ had come on earth to dwell.
D means Donkey…
A Donkey followed Joseph's track
And carried Mary on his back.
(That's okay. Even though the Bible does't mention a donkey, it is quite possible that Mary did indeed ride a donkey since she was in the late stages of her pregnancy.)
Then there is the occasional odd one:
O means Oxen…
An Ox awoke and wondered why
So many people knelt nearby.
But all in all, it was a wonderful book. It's good for children to know the ABC's of Christmas. Even more, it's good for all of us to see through the tinsel and fantasy to the great story of Bethlehem.
There is one verse that sums up the real meaning of Christmas better than any verse in Scripture. It is just one verse tucked away in a forgotten corner of the New Testament. But in it we find the ABC's of Christmas.
2 Corinthians 8:9 tells the whole story of Christmas. It sums up the great truth behind the birth of a baby. Here we discover the ABC's of Christmas, first for the strengthening of our own hearts, and second, that we might teach these things to our children and grandchildren. Here is the true meaning of Christmas revealed in three truths.
The first truth is that He was rich. Hebrews 1:3 says that all the glory of God radiates from Christ: "He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature." Colossians 1:17 says that "in Him all things hold together." Colossians 1:16 also says that "by Him all things were created." And Isaiah 9:6 says that before He was born, He was the "Mighty God" and the "Eternal Father."
"He was rich" (v. 9a). He didn't leave heaven in search of riches. He had the universe at his disposal. He wasn't looking for money. All the money in the universe was His for the asking. Theologians speak of the pre-existence of Jesus Christ. That simply means that before Bethlehem, the Son of God existed from all eternity in heaven. Not as a pauper or a beggar, but in glorious splendor. "He was rich" (v. 9a).
That is the "A" of the ABC's of Christmas—"He Was Rich." But that is only part of the story. Christmas begins with what happens next.
The second truth is that He became poor. What does this mean? He was rich in eternity. He became poor in time. He left heaven for a remote village in a forgotten province, to join a despised race, to be born of an obscure teenage peasant girl in a stable, wrapped in rags, and placed in a feeding trough instead of a crib.
This much we all know. But notice the verb: "He became poor" (v. 9b). Not, "He was made poor." That is what happens to us. We are made poor by circumstances. But He, of His own free will, became poor. That is something we would never do. He voluntarily gave up the riches of heaven for the poverty of earth. He who was richer than any man has ever been, gave it up freely and became poorer than any man has ever been.
We understand riches. And we understand poverty. But to choose poverty is beyond us and something we would never do. But that is the heart of the gospel. The richest person in the universe, of His own free will, became poorer than the poor.
Theologians refer to this as the "Incarnation." The thought is found in John 1:14—"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." The phrase "became flesh" really means "to wrap yourself in flesh." It has the idea of God wrapping Himself in human flesh. That's what happened at Bethlehem. It was God entering the human race in the form of a man.
That is what God did. He didn't mail a letter or shout from heaven. He did the one thing we could understand. God Himself came down and entered the human race. He became poor like us so that we would hear him saying, "I love you."
We wouldn't have done it that way. We would have scheduled a press conference, called the TV stations, hired a press agent, had a parade, called in the dignitaries, sold tickets, and made a big deal so all the world could see. We would take the Madison Avenue approach.
But that is not God's way. Read the New Testament again. Instead of flash and splash, there is a frightened father, an exhausted mother, a dirty stable in wintertime, swaddling cloths and a feeding trough. There He is, ignored by the mighty and powerful. Immanuel—God with us. It's so simple that you know it must be true. Only God would have done it that way.
That is the "B" of the ABC's of Christmas—"He Became Poor." But there is one more truth about Christmas that we must know if we are to discover the true meaning of this day.
The third truth is that you might become rich. Here is the purpose of Christmas. He came so that we who were poor might become rich. How does that happen? Most of you are familiar with the term guilt-by-association. That means, if I hang around with a fellow who has committed a crime, I may be considered guilty as well because of my close relationship with him. Turn that concept around and you've got Christmas. It is grace-by-association. All the grace of God is available to me by virtue of my relationship with Jesus Christ.
Think of it! All the riches… all the power… all the prestige of His good name are mine. But someone will say, "You don't deserve that." Indeed I don't. That is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. If I deserved it, I wouldn’t need Jesus, would I? But through my association with Jesus, suddenly I am a rich man.
Theologians refer to this as the doctrine of imputation. It is what happens when I come to Jesus Christ. He takes my sin, and I take His righteousness. I do not earn it; it is imputed to me. It is credited to my account. That is grace-by-association.
When I come to Jesus Christ, I come as a pauper in the spiritual realm. My hands are empty, my pockets bare; I have nothing to offer, no claim to make. All my good works are as filthy rags; my resume is filled with failure. All my life I have gone two steps forward and three steps back. And when I come to Him, I am fed, clothed, filled, forgiven, crowned with every good thing. He takes away my rags and puts around me the robe of His own righteousness. Everything that was against me is gone. Everything I lacked, I now have.
Once I was poor. Now I am rich. That is the grace of God. And it happened because of Christmas. He who was rich became poor for my sake, that I "through His poverty might become rich" (v. 9c).
C.S. Lewis explained it like this: "The Son of God became the son of man so that sons of men may become sons of God." (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, (Publisher: Geoffrey Bles], 1952)
That is the "C" of the ABC's of Christmas—"That you... might become rich." So, the ABC's of Christmas are: A — He was rich; B — He became poor; and C — That you might become rich.
That is the true meaning of Christmas. Let us rejoice this year that these things are true and let us teach them to our children and grandchildren that they may know what this season is all about. Amen.
This much we all know. But notice the verb: "He became poor" (v. 9b). Not, "He was made poor." That is what happens to us. We are made poor by circumstances. But He, of His own free will, became poor. That is something we would never do. He voluntarily gave up the riches of heaven for the poverty of earth. He who was richer than any man has ever been, gave it up freely and became poorer than any man has ever been.
We understand riches. And we understand poverty. But to choose poverty is beyond us and something we would never do. But that is the heart of the gospel. The richest person in the universe, of His own free will, became poorer than the poor.
Theologians refer to this as the "Incarnation." The thought is found in John 1:14—"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." The phrase "became flesh" really means "to wrap yourself in flesh." It has the idea of God wrapping Himself in human flesh. That's what happened at Bethlehem. It was God entering the human race in the form of a man.
That is what God did. He didn't mail a letter or shout from heaven. He did the one thing we could understand. God Himself came down and entered the human race. He became poor like us so that we would hear him saying, "I love you."
We wouldn't have done it that way. We would have scheduled a press conference, called the TV stations, hired a press agent, had a parade, called in the dignitaries, sold tickets, and made a big deal so all the world could see. We would take the Madison Avenue approach.
But that is not God's way. Read the New Testament again. Instead of flash and splash, there is a frightened father, an exhausted mother, a dirty stable in wintertime, swaddling cloths and a feeding trough. There He is, ignored by the mighty and powerful. Immanuel—God with us. It's so simple that you know it must be true. Only God would have done it that way.
That is the "B" of the ABC's of Christmas—"He Became Poor." But there is one more truth about Christmas that we must know if we are to discover the true meaning of this day.
The third truth is that you might become rich. Here is the purpose of Christmas. He came so that we who were poor might become rich. How does that happen? Most of you are familiar with the term guilt-by-association. That means, if I hang around with a fellow who has committed a crime, I may be considered guilty as well because of my close relationship with him. Turn that concept around and you've got Christmas. It is grace-by-association. All the grace of God is available to me by virtue of my relationship with Jesus Christ.
Think of it! All the riches… all the power… all the prestige of His good name are mine. But someone will say, "You don't deserve that." Indeed I don't. That is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. If I deserved it, I wouldn’t need Jesus, would I? But through my association with Jesus, suddenly I am a rich man.
Theologians refer to this as the doctrine of imputation. It is what happens when I come to Jesus Christ. He takes my sin, and I take His righteousness. I do not earn it; it is imputed to me. It is credited to my account. That is grace-by-association.
When I come to Jesus Christ, I come as a pauper in the spiritual realm. My hands are empty, my pockets bare; I have nothing to offer, no claim to make. All my good works are as filthy rags; my resume is filled with failure. All my life I have gone two steps forward and three steps back. And when I come to Him, I am fed, clothed, filled, forgiven, crowned with every good thing. He takes away my rags and puts around me the robe of His own righteousness. Everything that was against me is gone. Everything I lacked, I now have.
Once I was poor. Now I am rich. That is the grace of God. And it happened because of Christmas. He who was rich became poor for my sake, that I "through His poverty might become rich" (v. 9c).
C.S. Lewis explained it like this: "The Son of God became the son of man so that sons of men may become sons of God." (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, (Publisher: Geoffrey Bles], 1952)
That is the "C" of the ABC's of Christmas—"That you... might become rich." So, the ABC's of Christmas are: A — He was rich; B — He became poor; and C — That you might become rich.
That is the true meaning of Christmas. Let us rejoice this year that these things are true and let us teach them to our children and grandchildren that they may know what this season is all about. Amen.
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