God is the Creator. He created everything in heavens and on the earth; He created man and let him take and rule over every living creature.
In the land the LORD God grew kinds of trees which were pleasing to the eyes and good for food; there He put the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of Eden.
The LORD God formed the first man Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
The LORD God had the man be in the blessed garden to live a life in His utmost grace.
Every being on the earth ends when it dies except man who is made a spiritual being that never ends.
Body is from the dust so that it lives on the earthly things; spirit is from God so that it lives on His Word. ( Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew4:4)
The LORD God so gave the man Adam His Word which was the source of life, the spiritual food and the law for man to abide in.
God didn't like the man to be alone. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs from which the LORD God made a woman. And the Lord God blessed them to be united with and to become one flesh with each other. And the couple were all happy in the Eden.
Then one day the wicked snake approached to the woman to seduce her to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which was forbidden by God who said," You will die when you eat of it." Then the woman enticed Adam to join with her. Therefore every man has since become bound to the death of sinning.(Rome 5:12)
Man disobeyed the Word of God, which brought the most serious problem to every human being, the problem of death.
Because the spirit is not temporary, nor disappears after the death on the earth, the death becomes the unendurable pain in the hell, the miserable and horrible destruction of the spirit.
God is love. But no matter how great His love for us would be, He would not be able to save man from the desperate troubles of 'You will die.' Think why not. It's because God is righteous and lawful; so if not according to His righteous law, He could have broken His lawfulness and righteousness.
Therefore to accomplish the salvation of men, He could put aside none of but had to perform both of the law of love and grace and the law of righteousness and judge.
Any lack of them would prevent the effectiveness of God's love and righteousness.
The LORD God is always the Spirit of wisdom, knowledge, love and righteousness.
Really the LORD God loved, did grace, and did the law of righteousness for the redemption of men, see, not any other but through Jesus Christ who performed the Father's love and grace among men and who executed His law of righteousness into His own body.
Jesus' coming was for accomplishing God the Father's grace and righteousness to deliver human beings.
Let's see clearly why God the Father sent Christ Jesus to this world. Jesus came among us and became guilty of our sins; He undertook the death of men upon His body, which completed the demand of His righteous law.
So it is said in the Bible :" The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."(John1:14)
Not we but God knew that we humans were to die of our own sins, so He decided for the salvation of men to do His love, His grace, His righteousness and His lawfulness.
The Word became the flesh and dwelt among us in order to realize in this world His love and righteousness. This is the very meaning of Jesus' coming.
Let's have the true knowledge of Christmas. Let's understand what the LORD God wants us to know about Jesus' coming. Let's know of ourselves in sins and under the power of death, and His earnest desire for our salvation. Let's get into and stay in His grace and love so great as to come among the sinners sacrificing Himself to complete His rightful law.
Please drop every worldly idea of Christmas; take yourself out of the illusion of this sinful age. But have in your life the truth of Jesus' coming forever.
Be careful not to misunderstand the true meaning of Christmas; let's think of Christ Jesus who came in body among us and bled to the death on that cruel cross achieving God the Father's love, grace, righteousness and lawfulness wholly required for our salvation.
Let's thank and praise and glorify Christ Jesus in the Holy Spirit forever.
위 글은 교회신문 <67호> 기사입니다.