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Lesson Three

Matthew 1:18-19

Matthew 1:18-1918 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

Matthew 1:20-22

Matthew 1:20-2220 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

Matthew 1:23-25

Matthew 1:23-2523 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Luke 1:26-28

Luke 1:26-2826 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Luke 1:29-31

Luke 1:29-3129 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

Luke 1:34-35

Luke 1:34-3534 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Focus Verse

Luke 1:35And the angel answered and said unto her, The

Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Focus Thought

The Incarnation is the key to

understanding the Godhead. Jesus was

God manifested in the flesh.

IntroductionIntroductionAlthough the unbelieving world rages against it and seeks through every conceivable means to eradicate it from public life, the Christmas story majestically endures. What is its enduring appeal? Why do young and old alike enjoy hearing the story repeatedly? It is because the story of Christmas is the story of God’s becoming one of us in order to save us from our sins.

IntroductionThe word itself does not appear in the Scriptures, yet we refer to this miraculous event as the Incarnation. To become incarnate means that a non-human entity becomes flesh so that it may appear in human form. When we say that God was incarnate, we mean that the eternal Spirit in some way became mortal and dwelt among us.

IntroductionThe word incarnate can also mean to serve as a living example. For instance, we might speak of a very wicked person as “evil incarnate.” Thus, when we think of Jesus, we can think of Him as God incarnate. However, we also could consider Him as a living example of the qualities and attributes of God. Therefore, we could describe Jesus as “love incarnate” and “holiness incarnate” since these are primary attributes of God.

I. One God in the Old Testament

One God in the Old Testament

At the beginning of his Gospel, John spoke of the Incarnation when he wrote, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Some imagine that this one called the Word was not God Himself but a second person of a divine triad. This false ideology asserts that “God the Father” did not come in flesh and lie in a manger, but that the newborn Christ child was instead “God the Son.” If this were true, however, it would mean that God did not become incarnate at all, but that this babe in Bethlehem was only one of multiple divine persons. Such ideas about God are unbiblical.

I. One God in the Old Testament

This distinction between God and the Word is, in part, the result of a misinterpretation of John’s statement, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). This verse reveals that in the beginning God had a logical plan in mind for His creation. “Word” translates from the Greek word logos, which means “a rational expression of ideas.”

I. One God in the Old Testament

This plan was “with God” in that it was His thinking. Yet, that plan also “was God” in that the plan was that the invisible God would make Himself known to mankind through the Incarnation. In the fullness of time, God fulfilled His plan by manifesting Himself in flesh and dwelling among us as Jesus Christ.

I. One God in the Old Testament

Isaiah the prophet, foreseeing the first Christmas morning, declared, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). The child who was born was not a second divine person, but He was the everlasting Father Himself. He was the eternal Spirit of God revealed through an authentic human existence.

I. One God in the Old Testament (A-B)

A. The Lord Is OneThe Scriptures do not support the idea that there are multiple eternal personages within the one God. The Word of which John wrote does not possess a distinctly separate existence from the heavenly Father. According to John’s first epistle, “There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (I John 5:7). We could distinguish a person’s word and his spirit from the individual, but they have no existence apart from him. An individual, including his word and his spirit, is one person—not three. In the same way, our Lord is one!

I. One God in the Old Testament (A-B)

The Scriptures affirm the absolute oneness of God. This was a key issue after Moses brought the Israelites out of Egypt. While in captivity, a heathen society that worshiped multiple gods and various assemblages of divine beings surrounded the Israelites. Grouping three gods together into a divine triad was a common practice among all non-Hebrew societies, and in ancient Egypt, the gods Osirus, Isis, and Horus formed a well-known trinity.

I. One God in the Old Testament (A-B)

As Moses was preparing the people to enter the Promised Land, it was vital that they reject all paganistic ideas about deity. They had not been rescued from Egypt by three divine beings; only one had brought them out. Therefore, standing before the Israelites, Moses declared, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). These verses reveal that the God who delivered Israel out of bondage is one! He is neither a multiple being nor a divided being. He is one! Perhaps that is why He expects us to love Him with undivided heart, soul, and strength.

I. One God in the Old Testament (A-B)Jesus affirmed the supremacy of this statement by

saying, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:29-30).

I. One God in the Old Testament (A-B)The Hebrews refer to Deuteronomy 6:4-9 as the

Shema, which is the first Hebrew word in this foundational statement of faith. The word shema means more than just to hear with the ears; it means “to pay close attention, to listen carefully, to attend to, and to obey.” In fact, it is translated “obey” many times in the Old Testament.

“The complete Shema is found in three passages from the Old Testament: Numbers 15:37-41; Deuteronomy 6:4-9, and Deuteronomy 11:13-21” (Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary).

I. One God in the Old Testament (A-B)

One writer told of a personal lesson regarding the Shema: “I gained a better understanding of how the word shema is used while touring Israel in 1998. We were on a large bus cruising toward the Carmel Mountains, anticipating our next Holy Land experience. Our Israeli guide was sitting on a fold-out seat at the front of the bus across from the Israeli driver. I noticed that our guide was constantly giving the driver instructions in a most emphatic manner. Curious to hear what he was saying, I moved up closer to the front. I found that whenever the guide wanted to get the driver’s attention, he would shout ‘Shema! Shema!’ Of course, he was saying, ‘Listen up! Pay attention! I’m about to give you some important instructions.’”

I. One God in the Old Testament (A-B)

Several specific statements in the New Testament confirm the truth of the oneness of God. For example, Paul declared, “Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one” (Galatians 3:20). It is impossible to derive the idea that God is three from this verse of Scripture. Furthermore, the apostle James stated, “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). In this verse, James used the same words as Paul. He wrote literally, “You believe that God is one. You do well.” The demons actually tremble at the revelation that God is one!

I. One God in the Old Testament (A-B)

B. There Is None OtherShortly after declaring that God is one, Moses went on to say, “Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; (for the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 6:14-15). The worship of other so-called gods has always been unacceptable to the one true God. This is not only because He alone is the true God, but also because He is the only one who can save us.

I. One God in the Old Testament (A-B)

When giving the Ten Commandments to Moses, God began by declaring, “I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:2-3). Israel was to have no other gods because Jehovah had brought them out of Egypt all by Himself. Through the prophet Isaiah, God declared, “I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour” (Isaiah 43:11).

I. One God in the Old Testament (A-B)

In his commentary on the five books of Moses, Everett Fox translated the first of the Ten Commandments: “You are not to have any other gods before my presence.” The Stone Edition of the Torah translates it: “You shall not recognize the gods of others in My presence.” These Jewish versions make it clear that those of us who worship the one true God are not to have, or even recognize, the false gods of the world around us.

I. One God in the Old Testament (A-B)

Moreover, this is not limited only to the idea of religious deities. Today, many people worship movie stars, recording artists, TV personalities, and sports figures—all modern-day gods of our society. We are to reject them outright and worship only the one true God.

The Christmas story is the account of the one and only true God coming into the world as one of us. No other so-called god has ever done such a thing. God did not send another to fulfill His divine mission, but He came Himself through the divine manifestation of the Christ child.

II. Born of a Virgin (A-B)Born of a VirginThe Bible describes Jesus Christ as “the only begotten of the Father” and “the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father” (John 1:14, 18). The term “only begotten” refers to the manner in which Jesus was conceived and brought forth into the world. He is the only human being ever to come forth in this particular way—the only one of an only kind. That is why the Incarnation lives on as such a dramatic and miraculous event.

II. Born of a Virgin (A-B)A. Conceived by the Holy Ghost

Before Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, every human being, with the exception of Adam and Eve, had been conceived by the coming together of a man and a woman. However, the direct intervention of God in the womb of Mary caused the miraculous conception of Jesus Christ. As the angel told Mary, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

II. Born of a Virgin (A-B)Many individuals have endeavored to understand how Mary’s conception took place. Did God create chromosomes? Did the Holy Spirit become chromosomes? However, understanding the biology of the Incarnation is not what is important. What we need to know is that the Son of God was born miraculously because God Himself caused the holy conception by supernatural means.

II. Born of a Virgin (A-B)There is absolutely no distinction between God and His Holy Spirit. The term spirit refers to God’s non-moral attributes: “God is a Spirit” (John 4:24). The term holy refers to His moral attributes: God is holy (I Peter 1:15-16). Unlike all other spirits, God is the one Spirit who is holy in His spiritual essence. He is therefore the Holy Spirit. No distinction of personhood exists between the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Father of Jesus Christ was the Holy Spirit of God. Generally, the Bible uses the term Father when referring to God in relationship to His Son, and the term Spirit when referring to God in relationship to His creative or regenerative activity.

II. Born of a Virgin (A-B)B. God in Flesh

As Spirit, God is invisible. In Him we live and move and have our very existence (Acts 17:28). In planning the course of human events, God determined that there would be an Incarnation. Speaking of such, Paul penned these words: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh” (I Timothy 3:16). The word manifest means “to appear or to become visible.” Who was it that became visible in the flesh? It was God—not the Son of God and not God the Son. It was God Himself—the Creator, the Father, and the Savior—who manifested Himself as Jesus Christ.

II. Born of a Virgin (A-B)When the Bible stated that God was manifest in the flesh, it meant that He took upon Himself everything that pertains to humanity. When we think of the Incarnation, we should not think merely of God in a human body, but we should think of God as manifesting Himself as an authentic human being.

II. Born of a Virgin (C)C. The Image of the

Invisible God

The result of the Incarnation was that through it God had an image, a visible aspect that humanity could see. This is why John could write, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

II. Born of a Virgin (C)The apostles saw Him. John recorded that before the Incarnation, no one had seen God at any time (John 1:18; I John 4:12). However, after Bethlehem’s child was born, John could declare, “The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:18). The Son of God makes the invisible God visible to mankind.

II. Born of a Virgin (C)When Philip asked Jesus to show him the Father, the Lord replied, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” (John 14:9). He did not say that seeing Him was seeing someone like the Father or someone representing the Father. He said that to see Him, Jesus Christ, was actually to see the Father Himself, in the only way humanity could see Him.

II. Born of a Virgin (C)In fact, the only way anyone will ever see the invisible heavenly Father is by looking at the One who was born, the man Christ Jesus, in whom dwelled all the fullness of God (Colossians 2:9). This is why Paul referred to Jesus Christ as “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).

III. The Son of God (A)The Son of GodPaul described what he called the “mystery of God” and said that it pertained to “the Father, and of Christ” (Colossians 2:2). In other words, to understand this mystery we must understand that God, the heavenly Father, was manifest in the flesh as Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Concerning the flesh, Jesus was the offspring of Mary, David, Abraham, and Adam. (See Luke 3:23-38.) Concerning the God who was manifest, however, He was the Father, the Word, the Spirit, the Creator, and the Savior of mankind.

III. The Son of God (A)A. His Humanity

Some people have proposed wrongly that the humanity of the Son of God was in some way different from other human beings. Others errantly say that His flesh was divine, suggesting that the Holy Spirit placed a divinely created and fertilized egg in Mary and that Mary’s egg was not involved. However, neither idea is biblical. Genesis 3:15 distinctly described the coming Messiah as the seed of Eve, meaning that like the rest of humanity, He would come as a direct descendent of Adam and Eve.

III. The Son of God (A)With respect to His humanity, Jesus Christ had no advantage over any of us. The writer of Hebrews stated that He shared in, or partook of, the very same “flesh and blood” as all human beings. (See Hebrews 2:14.) The author further stated, “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren” (Hebrews 2:17). In other words, through Jesus Christ, the Incarnation, God became like all humanity.

III. The Son of God (A)Some have suggested that Jesus had “sinless flesh” due to His special qualities. However, the Bible clearly reveals that Jesus was an authentic human being of genuine flesh and blood and that He was tempted as we are tempted. The difference was that He successfully resisted temptation, for He was “without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). The Scriptures also say that He “knew no sin” and “did no sin” (II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:22). He overcame sin so that through Him we might be saved from our sins.

III. The Son of God (A)The Son of God faced and struggled with temptation just as every other human being does; but because He overcame temptation, His blood remained pure and untainted by sin. Sin is transgression against God, and Jesus resisted temptation and refused to transgress. He shed His “precious blood” to provide the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of all humanity (I Peter 1:19). Moreover, because Jesus Christ was God manifest in the flesh, Luke was able to describe the blood that Jesus shed as God’s “own blood” (Acts 20:28). That is the beauty of the Incarnation: through it God gave His life as a ransom to redeem His people from their sins!

I John 3:16

“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives

for the brethren” (I John 3:16).

III. The Son of God (B)B. His Divinity

Although the humanity of Jesus was authentic humanity in every sense, it would be incorrect to say that the Son of God was only human. The Son of God was a unique human. He was God manifest in the flesh. His flesh was God’s own flesh; therefore, Jesus was indeed a human, but He was more. As much as He was human, He was also God.

III. The Son of God (B)With respect to His divinity, Jesus Christ was the mighty God and the everlasting Father. (See Isaiah 9:6.) The erroneous idea that the Son of God was a secondary divine being was first articulated in the second century by Justin Martyr, and, eventually, it evolved into the full-blown doctrine of the trinity. Justin’s doctrine, however, was closer to that of the modern-day Jehovah’s Witnesses, who say that Jesus was merely an archangel or prophet. Justin also made this claim.

III. The Son of God (B)It sometimes seems as though everyone wants either to embellish the humanity of Jesus or diminish His divinity. However, we should let God be true and every man a liar. The Word of God is clear and unambiguous—Jesus Christ is both God and human, both Father and Son, both Spirit and flesh. With respect to His mother, Jesus was the Son of Man; with respect to His Father, He was the Son of God; and with respect to His divinity, He was the eternal Spirit, the only true God, manifest in the flesh.

Colossians 2:9

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily”

(Colossians 2:9).

IV. The Name (A)The NameThe ancient Egyptians considered names as mystical and powerful. Some believed, similar to voodoo participants today, that if a person inscribed the name of his enemy on an object and then broke it, his enemy would be afflicted and possibly die. To the Egyptians, knowing a name was powerful and using a name could bring great benefits.

IV. The Name (A)Each of the Egyptian gods had five names, and each name was a descriptive statement about the god, such as strong, virile, or majestic. It was with this backdrop in mind that Moses asked God, “Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?” (Exodus 3:13). God’s answer was to identify Himself as “I AM” (Exodus 3:14).

IV. The Name (A)A. Jesus—Jehovah the Savior

The four-letter, unpronounceable name known as a tetragrammaton, which we sometimes pronounce as Yahweh, or Jehovah, is a variant of the Hebrew word meaning “I AM.” Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary states: “The four-letter Hebrew word YHWH was the name by which God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3:14).” The King James Version of the Bible represents the tetragrammaton with the word LORD in all capitals.

IV. The Name (A)While this provides an interesting topic of study, the most important thing to know is the meaning of this name—“I am.” This name describes God as the One who is, the One who exists, or the self-existing One. In stark contrast to the so-called lords and gods of many cultures who existed only in the minds of mankind, the God who appeared to Moses was the God who really is.

IV. The Name (A)When the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, he spoke of Mary, saying, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The name Jesus is not a different name from the name God gave Moses. In Hebrew, the name Jesus is Yeshua, which is a compound word meaning “I AM the Savior.”

IV. The Name (A)In the Old Testament, God partially revealed Himself and partially revealed His name as I AM. However, through the Incarnation, God fully revealed Himself and fully revealed His name as Jesus.

IV. The Name (B)B. Above All Other Names

There is no greater name than the name Jesus. It is above every name in heaven or in earth or under the earth. (See Ephesians 1:21; Philippians 2:9-10.) No other name under heaven exists among mankind with the power to save us (Acts 4:12).

Colossians 3:17

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17).

IV. The Name (B)Indeed, Jesus is the fully revealed name of God. By placing this name upon His manifestation in the flesh, God has issued an eternal descriptive statement about Himself as the Savior. When we call upon this name, we have power with God and bring wonderful benefits to ourselves and to those around us.

Zechariah 14:9

“And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be

one LORD, and his name one” (Zechariah 14:9).

ReflectionsThe Christmas story reverberates more vibrantly today than ever before. It gains spiritual momentum every year, every week, every day, as we move closer to the second coming of the Lord. To know that the true God is the One who was manifest in the flesh and identified as Jesus Christ is the most valuable information any human being could possess.

ReflectionsAs we experience the Christmas season this year, let us remember the Incarnation—God manifesting Himself in the flesh, the pivotal event in human history. Everything before the Incarnation pointed toward it and everything since points back to it. What a marvelous event and truth we celebrate in the knowledge of the significance of Christ’s birth!

ReflectionsThis does not mean that our faith consists merely of knowing about a historical figure. Rather, it involves the truth that at the birth of Jesus Christ, God was manifest in the flesh. Moreover, Jesus Christ presently is alive, and He will return physically to catch away His people out of this heathen world. Then we will be with Him forever. This is the great promise and hope of the church.

Reflections“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ”

(Titus 2:13).

ReflectionsWhen that glorious day arrives, all false descriptions of the one true God will vanish as the morning mist in the presence of the rising sun. All inhabitants of the world will know who the true God is and will know that His name is Jesus.

Reflections“And the LORD shall be king over all

the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one”

(Zechariah 14:9).