Address—C. Hendricks
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Read a verse to start with from First Timothy 3.
First Timothy 3.
Verse 16.
And without controversy. Drake is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the.
Justified in the spirit Queen of angels preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world.
Received up.
Into glory.
I'd like to talk about the first.
Part of this verse God was manifest.
In the flesh.
I would turn to second John for some verses.
They had this before us last night, second and third, John.
So I'll just reread some of the verses we had before us.
Second John. 9 Whosoever.
Transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ.
Hath not God?
He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. So what we're going to talk about this afternoon is a truth so important that not to abide in it is not to have God, and to abide in it is to have both the Father and the Son. In other words, we're going to talk about.
Fundamental truth.
That which, if one does not hold, is not the Lord's.
He is not saved.
And if one does hold it, he has both the father.
And the sun.
The doctrine of Christ, the teachings were Doctrine simply means teaching the teaching concerning Him.
Who is he? I wonder if everyone in the room knows who he is.
And some of the precious truths that we'll be looking at.
First, we'll turn to Genesis chapter 3. The Lord here is speaking to the serpent who has seduced the eve into a fall.
And he says in verse 14.
And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman.
She was the one that he had seduced into sin.
And she had listened to him, and had eaten of the forbidden fruit, and then Adam after her. I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed. That's the serpent's seed and her seed.
If that is the seed of the woman, it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. So here we have the first recorded prediction of a coming Redeemer. He's here called the seed of the woman who would crush the serpent's head.
That one who had brought sin in and.
Had brought in all the troubles and the sorrows, and the evils that attend upon it. The sicknesses and the infirmities, the wars, the riotings, the fightings, the hatred, the evil that's in this world, is all introduced by that fall when they disobeyed God.
Adam and Eve.
And so the very one that introduced it, the serpent, the devil and Satan, he's called.
Says the seed of the woman. He introduced sin through the weaker vessel, the woman, and the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head. First prediction of a coming Redeemer.
Now we'll turn to Isaiah Chapter 7.
Isaiah Chapter 7.
Verse 10.
Moreover, the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God. Ask it either in the depth or in the height above.
But A has said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.
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And he said, Hear ye now, O House of David, Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but really weary my God also. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.
And shall call his name Emmanuel. Emmanuel.
God with us.
Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, the seed of the woman, the virgin would conceive and bear a son.
Now some of the modern translations render that a young woman shall conceive and bear a son.
We're going to trace this subject through the Scriptures and we'll see that that rendering is impossible to to give in the light of the testimony of the Holy Spirit when he talks about the person of Christ, the person of Christ.
It's not just a young woman that wouldn't have been assigned to anyone. Young women bear sons every day. But here was the miraculous sign of a virgin bearing, conceiving and bearing the sun. And his name would be an annual God with us, God and man and one person.
That's the doctrine. Christ, God and man and one person. If he was not the virgin born son of God, we don't have a savior. There is no savior if he wasn't born as the seed of the woman.
So here we have the first prediction, the second prediction of his coming. Now let's turn to the New Testament and we'll read a number of verses in Matthew first of all.
And we will see, as we trace these passages, how the Spirit of God guards the person of Christ.
And the first statement made in Genesis 3. The seed of the woman shall bruise and crush the serpent's head. He guards that truth.
All through.
The scriptures.
Though it's not a question of just the meaning of that one Hebrew word in Isaiah 7, whether it means virgin or young woman.
But it's a question of the teaching of the Holy Spirit about Christ all through Scripture. Matthew 1. Now I'm going to read this genealogy. I'll read it rapidly.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren, and Judas begat Pharaohs and Zerah of Themar And Pharaohs begat Esram, And Esram begat Aaron, And Aaron begat an Inadab and a Minidab begat Nayasin and begat Salman, And Salman begat Boaz of Rakab, and Boaz begat obit of Ruth and obit begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David the King.
David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah.
And Solomon begat Reborn, and reborn begat Abaya, and Abaya begat Esau, and ASA begat Josephat, and Josaphat begat Joram, and Joram begat Isaias, and Ozias begat Jillitham. And Jotham begat Achas, and Achaz begat Ezekias, and Ezekias begat Manassas. And Manassas begat Ammon, and Ammon begat Josias. And Josias begat Jeconias and his brethren about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconias begats Elathio and Salathiel begat Zerobo, Bell and Zerobabel begat Abayad, and Abaya begat Iliacum, and Eliakam begat Azor, and Azor begat Sadik, and Sadik begat Akum, and Akum begat Eliad.
And Eliot began. Ilyaser Eliezer begat Matt Fan, and that Fan begat Jacob.
And Jacob begat Joseph.
And it doesn't say, it can't say it wasn't so that Jacob, we got that Joseph begat Jesus. No, here we have the change. Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Mary is called over and over again in the Scriptures, Jesus, mother.
Joseph never by the Holy Spirit.
It's called Jesus, Father.
The people round about referred to him as such, and even Mary did once, but the Lord, very gently, and you'll see that passage shortly, corrected her.
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And we'll see how that this truth is very jealously guarded by the Spirit of God.
Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus. He was called Christ. You see, if Joseph had anything to do with that birth, we don't have a Savior.
Because he would then have been the seed of man. Everyone in this room is the seed of man.
But here was a true human who derived his humanity, not from his father, because he had no earthly father, but from his mother.
The Roman Catholic Church called Mary the Mother of God.
Well, as to the deity, he has no mother.
Only a father.
As to his humanity, he has no father, only a mother.
Let that sink in to each one here.
As to his deity, he has a father. As to his humanity, he has a mother.
We're going to trace out this precious doctrine of the virgin birth of the Son of the living God.
So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations, and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are 14 generations, and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ our 14 generations. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wild when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
In the case of all of the births that we read of in the in the genealogy that we read.
The father begats. The father begat. The father begat. In the case of this verse, there was no father to be guessed.
It was different.
He was a female, just as human as any of us been apart.
God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, preserve.
That humanity of Jesus.
So that there was no scene.
No sense. Well, we'll, we'll come to that shortly.
She was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Verse 19. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privilege. 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 now.
My Bible in the margin is a little note there by the word conceived.
And it corrects it correctly, and it says the word is in the Greek begotten. That which is begotten in her is of the Holy Ghost.
What Matthew is talking about, as he does in the genealogy, is Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac begat Jacob and so on down the line. And so here we have the getter in connection with the birth of Christ is the Holy Spirit.
Not a man, but the Spirit of God.
That which is begotten in her is of the Holy Ghost. We will see when we turn to the Gospel according to Luke.
That Mary conceived the Word conceived there is proper, but here in Matthew's Gospel it's begotten. The Holy Ghost begat Mary and peace.
That which is begotten in hers of the Holy Ghost, and she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
He shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Now here he quotes Isaiah 714, and there's no question in the Greek As for the meaning of the word, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth his Son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted.
As God with us. And in that verse we have the doctrine of Christ.
We have his true and proper humanity, the Virgin bearing the sun.
And.
The.
The Son being God with us.
A virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel. God, which manifest in the Christ. This is this is one of the if not one is not the most important. It's hard to say which is truth of all scripture.
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Because everything hangs upon the truth of this person.
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary is impossible because Mary had an earthly father.
And the sin of the race was transmitted to Mary, and she says herself, I rejoice in God my Savior. She needed a Savior just as much as you and I, but Jesus had no worthy Father.
In place of that was the beginning of the Holy Spirit.
Mary conceived.
The Holy Ghost is that.
Emmanuel, God with us, Tremendous.
Tremendous faith. I don't want to Passover these verses too rapidly so that the import of them is sink into our souls. God became a man.
He added his own creation, The creator of the universe, the Upholder, the Sustainer of all things, enters his own creation.
Even as to his humanity, it's not right to speak of it as being created. The Spirit of God never talks of His humanity has been created. Never.
A body hast thou prepared me to do 10.
He entered through the avenue of birth born of a woman.
Born under the law.
But he came through the normal process of birth.
And I believe that his scripture teaches his birth was normal in every respect except the conception.
The begetting.
Wasn't a man that begat this child, it was the whole event.
But the seed of the woman, the seed of the woman, we're all the seed of man.
And here we have the seat of the woman entering his own creation, coming in through the through the weaker vessel. Isn't it striking that when he entered the scene, he entered, he entered through the weaker vessel, the woman?
The one who had been deceived by Satan and who had given of the forbidden fruit to harassment and sin came in.
And Atom is held, of course, responsible because he was the head. He's responsible. Scripture doesn't say by one woman sin added into the world, but by one man.
Or it was Adam's responsibility to keep his wife in the proper place.
As the hint he was the hip.
Things got out of order and they've been out of order ever since because sin, which was introduced in that way. So it's true, the weaker vessel that God is going to destroy, the one that introduced all this havoc that we feel the effects of everywhere.
It's through that very vessel that God is going to enter. He did enter.
His own creation through the woman.
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted as God with us. Verse 24. Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the Angel of the Lord had bitten him, and took unto him his wife, and knew her not.
So she had brought forth her first born son and he called his name Jesus. Now there's two there's two very important guards here in verse 18. 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 the child of the Holy Ghost. That's the first statement before they came together. The second is in the last verse. And he knew her not till she had brought forth her first born son, and he called his name Jesus. So before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. And during the whole nine month period while the child was forming in her womb and then born, there was no relations between Joseph and Mary.
Whatsoever.
The Spirit of God guards.
This person, Joseph, had nothing to do with that birth.
And if he had, they wouldn't have a statement.
But he had nothing.
It was Mary the Mother, and the Holy Ghost began.
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Chapter 2 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the King, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the King had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
And they said unto him, And Bethlehem of Judea. For thus it is written by the prophet. And thou, Bethlehem in the land of Judah, art not the least among the Princess of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel.
Here's the side of his person, if I can put it that way. That brings out his deity again, the governor.
The one who will rule Jehovah.
Then Herod, when he had privately called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared, and he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search diligently for the young child. Now notice that expression, the young child. We're going to come across it numbers of times in this chapter as we read through it. And here the young child is spoken of as.
Distinct from and apart from and at a distance from Herod.
And the force of it, as we read it, will be the same. Go and search diligently for the young child, and when you have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him. Well, he didn't want to worship them. He wanted to destroy him because there was a rival king. He hated him.
When they had heard the king, they departed, and lo, the star which they saw in the East went before them till it came, and stood over where the young child was.
And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were coming to the house, notice now they saw the young child with Mary his mother. The young child and marry his mother are always associated together, for she was his mother. A question about that. And the Spirit of God calls her that over and over again, and they are put together.
They saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
The gold symbolizing his deity, the frankincense, his perfect humanity, and the myrrh is atoning suffering in order to bring us into black.
And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way, and then they were departed. Behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying another carefully, the language of the Holy Ghost. Arise and take the young child and his mother. It is not Arise and take your son and your wife.
That's not the line which of the Holy Ghost?
Arise and take the young child and his mother. Joseph is here viewed as removed from, apart from at some distance from the young child and his mother.
The Lord Jesus and Mary, the Spirit of God, emphasizing this truth.
Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word for Herod will I will seek the young child to destroy him. And he arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled. Which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt, have I called my son?
Who is speaking?
Quoting the Lord speaking out of Egypt, have I called my son? He was the son of God, He was the son of the Father, but he wasn't the son of Joseph.
Only legally.
But not actually.
Out of Egypt have I called my son. Verse 16. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wrath, and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from 2 years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise man. Then let's fulfill that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying In Rhema was there a voice heard lamentation and weeping.
And great morning Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they are not.
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But when Herod was dead, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared in the dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother.
Again, we have that same expression.
And go into the land of Israel, for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
And he arose and took the young child and his mother.
And came into the land of Israel the way it's put.
Joseph doesn't seem like he's the father, does it? He took the young child and the young child's mother.
And so the Spirit of God emphasizing that truth, he arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
And then he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea, and the room of his father Herod. He was afraid to go further, notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee, and He came and dwelt in the city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophet. He should be called a Nazarene, despised, rejected.
He did passed out.
Now let's turn to the Gospel of Luke, please.
Luke chapter 3.
We'll begin at verse.
19.
Luke 319 But Herod the Tetrarch being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, added this. Yet above all, that he shut up John in prison.
Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him.
And a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved son, and thee I am wealthy.
And here it's God the Father speaking from heaven, calling Jesus his Son properly. So he was exactly that.
Notice the very next verse.
Luke gives a moral connection in thoughts, not chronological.
But not sequence as the time, but moral connection. The Father says, this is my beloved son. Thou art my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. The next verse and Jesus himself began to be about 30 years of age being Here's the guard being as was supposed.
The son of Joseph.
Which was the son of Eli? Which was the son of Matthew and son? Notice Luke doesn't talk about forgetting, he says. Which was the son of? Which was the son of? Which was the son of?
And when he says he was the son of Joseph, he said I have lost support.
Are you listening?
Now let's turn back to Chapter 1.
Verse 24. After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
And in the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph.
Of the House of David, and the Virgin's name was Mary.
And the Angel came in unto her, and said, Hail thou that art highly favored.
The Lord is with thee, Blessed art thou among women. I believe it's in Daniel 11.
We are positively chapter. I think it's Daniel 11 which speaks of the Antichrist, and it says he shall.
Not regard the desire of women.
What was the desire of women? What was the desire of a godly Jewish woman? It was to bear the Messiah.
To bear the Christ. That was the desire.
Of a godly Jewish woman, and here is this.
This vessel chosen Mary.
Wonderful.
Humble.
Lowly Maiden of Israel.
That was to become the woman.
To bear the speed of a woman.
To be that virgin.
That would conceive and bear a son.
Hail thou that art highly favored. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.
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And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
And the Angel said unto her, Fear not Mary, but now it's found favor with God, And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and there the word conceive is proper. Luke talks about Mary conceiving, Matthew about the Holy Ghost begetting.
Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth the Son shall call his name Jesus, that word Jesus.
Oh, it's the most wonderful word.
God has decreed that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow of heavenly and earthly and infernal beings.
And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Jesus means Jehovah the Savior.
And that brings in the two truths of his.
He became a servant. He became a true man.
It never says even as to humanity that was created, it was prepared.
It was begotten and conceived.
And so a true man.
But.
Or how different?
From from us.
Verse 32. He shall be great.
Shall be called the son of the highest.
The son of the highest.
Highest, of course, is there.
Fashion for God and sex.
And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his Father David.
And he shall reign over the House of Jacob Forever.
Here's one who is eternal.
Eternal, but a man.
But God will all bless his birth.
And of his Kingdom there shall be no end.
Then, said Mary notice.
Unto the Angel How shall this be, seeing I know not a man.
She had had no relations with man.
Notice the answer Tremendous verse 35.
And the Angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall over shadow thee.
Therefore that also that holy thing.
Which shall be born of thee would be called the Son of God.
But Adam was created. He was innocent.
Without sin.
And he did sing.
Innocence is.
Sinless, but capable of singing.
After he sinned.
If humanity changed as to its condition is a sinfulness.
And you and I all partake of that sinful humanity.
The sound of says in sin as my mother conceived me, born in sin, in shape and innocuous.
We're all sinners.
By nature we sin because we're sinners, when we're not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we sinned sinners by nature.
But there's a third kind of humanity.
That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called upon holy humanity, sinless, but more than that, incapable of sinning.
What holiness is Holiness is the light in what is good and abhorrent of evil.
And the humanity of the Lord Jesus.
Is that holy incapable of a fall? The very suggestion to him of doing anything other than his Father's will was apparent to him.
But we've had humanity and innocence.
Sometimes we look at a newborn child and we look at that sweet little thing and say, oh, that innocent little child. But that's not true. Innocence is gone.
He should say that simple little child, that's true.
Child hasn't seen yet, but it has a nature.
And as soon as it can, it will stiffen it back in rebellion against this mother. Where did that come from? Came from?
Proving that we all partake of sinful humanity.
But sinful humanity cannot enter heaven.
And so the Lord Jesus came, holy humanity, that holy thing, Brother asked me recently. Why doesn't it say that holy one? Why does it say that holy thing?
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Well, my thought on it is that.
Talking about his holy nature.
His holy nature.
He's holy as to the essence of his humanity.
Very nature is holy, and you know that is so because John tells us in the first epistle that he that is born of God cannot sin, for his seed remaineth in him and he cannot sin because he is born of God. In the new nature that we have in the new creation is born of God. It is incapable of sin because it's just like Christ.
That would be one of the most wonderful parts of heaven is the flesh will be gone, the old man, the old nature will be gone forever, and will be there in the Newman, the new nature, that holy nature of Christ himself.
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall over shadow thee, and the power of the Highest preserved the holy nature of the Lord Jesus.
So that when he was brought forth.
He was wholly humanity, just as much a man as any of us. It's the condition of humanity will change by the fall.
Innocent. Sinful.
And now in the new creation in science, hope.
That which shall be born of thee, that holy thing which shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God.
The Son of God from all eternity.
Enters his own creation, and he carries his sonship into time. He didn't become a son in time. That's a terrible doctrine. He was the Son from all eternity. When we talk about him as the Son of God, they're talking about the name of the person that was always that Son with the Father from all eternity. But when he entered his own creations, a man, that holy thing that was born of Mary, was called the Son of God.
He didn't cease to be that. Philippians 2 Says that he emptied himself, but he didn't empty himself of his sonship.
He didn't empty himself with His Holiness. He didn't empty himself of his grace and all his moral attributes.
He emptied himself with his outward majesty and of the form of God, and assumed the form of a certain.
Here we have.
This Blessed One entering his own creation in this special way, that preserving power of the Holy Ghost that came upon Mary, preserving.
The humanity of Christ from any taint of sin.
So that his humanity is called, That holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Verse 36 Now and behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she has also conceived the Son in her old age, And this is the 6th month, which with her who was called Baron. For with God nothing should be impossible.
And Mary said, Behold, beautiful, beautiful. Her response? Not a word. While I'm not worthy of this Lord, No, she says, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me, according to thy word. And the Angel departed from her.
She just submitted perfectly, beautifully, humbly to the message that she had heard.
And Mary arose in those days and went into the Hill Country with haste into a city of Judah, and entered into the House of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And when she is this to me, that the Mother of my Lord should come to me for, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in.
Ears the babe leaped in my womb for joy, and blessed is she that believes.
For there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said, Now we must read this.
What Mary says, it's so beautiful. My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior.
Whether she understood the full import of these words that she uttered?
God, my Savior, she was bearing that very one to be her son.
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And he was God, her Savior.
Spirit hath rejoiced in God, my Savior. She needed a Savior. She was not sinless, but He was her Son.
And he hath, for he hath regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden. For behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed, And indeed she is.
For he that is mighty hath done to me great things, and holy is his name.
And His mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with his arm. He hath scattered the proud and the imagination of their hearts.
Yet put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. Yet filled a hungry with good things, and the rich He had sent away empty away. You have hope in His servant Israel, and remembrance of His mercy, as He spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to His seat forever.
And Mary abode with her about 3 months and returned to her own house.
I would like to read the rest of that chapter, but the interests of time I'm going to pass into the 2nd chapter now.
Verse one.
Came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
And this taxing was first made when Serenius was governor of Syria.
And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, under the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife.
Being great with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. She brought forth her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a Manger because there was no room for them in the end. Oh, to think of the Creator.
The person that here came.
And the lowly circumstances in which he came born in a stable, late in a Manger.
No room for him in the end. No room.
They're in the same country, shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them in the glory of the Lord, shone round about them, and they were so afraid. And the Angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this should be a sign unto you. You should find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes.
Lying in a Manger.
Every sign that's connected with the Lord's coming into this world, the sign of humiliation.
Sign of lowliness.
The place that he took when he became a man.
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.
It came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven.
The shepherd said one to another, Let us now go even unto death for him, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a Manger.
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the same which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds, that Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. We read expressions like this about Mary, not about Joseph.
Well, it does say once at the end of the second chapter they both pondered them. No, it says they didn't understand. But here Mary pondered them in her heart.
There were two people that knew that the birth of Christ was altogether different.
From any other birth. And that was Mary, Especially Mary.
And Joseph?
They both knew.
Joseph knew he had nothing to do with that birth, and Mary knew it full well.
But she conceived.
Under the beginning power of the Holy Ghost.
Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned, verse 20, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told them.
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And when 8 days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the Angel before he was conceived in the womb. And when the days of her purification according to the Law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
As it is written in the law of the Lord, every nail that openeth the womb should be called holy to the Lord.
There was never a male that opened the womb that was as holy as this one.
That holy thing which was born.
Was called the Son of God.
And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves and two young pigeons. This was a provision made in the law of Moses for the poor of the flock, for those who were in poverty. The Lord entered into His own creation in the most.
The most poor conditions that there were.
And so they they offered just what they could afford.
A pair of turtle doves are two young pigeons. Behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
And the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him, and it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And he came by the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents.
Notice they're called the parents. I don't have any trouble with that. That's what they were legally.
When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now let us thou thy servant, depart in peace according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. Now notice verse 33.
And Joseph?
And his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.
Joseph has always spoken out separately.
Joseph and his mother.
I have some more comments to make on verse 33, but I'll pass that for right now. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother. Notice how often that expression occurs. Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against. Yeah, a sword shall Pierce through thine own soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Then we have Anna.
And I'm going to Passover those verses for for the time's sake.
And go to verse 40.
And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Now, whenever it speaks of the Lord Jesus growing, increasing in wisdom, and so on, it's referring to its humanity.
In his deity he could not increase in wisdom, for his understanding is infinite. 147 Psalms.
He could never know anything more than he does know, for he knows everything, and he can never know anything less than he knows, because he's the same. He doesn't change as to his deity, but as to his humanity.
He grew.
And he waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom. The grace of God was upon him.
I remember I was talking with a young Christian boy. I trust he was truly the Lords. We've been raised in a Hindu family.
And the one verse that really puzzled him was in Mark's gospel, where he's presented as the perfect servant.
And it says the.
The only one that knows the hour is the Father. Neither the angels nor the Son says, nor the Son, but the Father only knows the hour.
Of his coming.
And he couldn't understand. How can he be God and know everything?
And yet not know the hour.
And I said, because he's a man.
And especially because in the Gospel according to Mark, he's presented as a servant, and a servant doesn't know what his master is doing. So in keeping with that character, he doesn't know.
But as God, of course, he knows.
Now in the modern translations which use different a different Greek text, they also have that verse in Matthew's Gospel. It doesn't belong in Matthew's Gospel, but he neither the Son knows belongs in Mark's Gospel where he's the servant.
There are many things. He was weary.
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He slept.
He was tired.
He was hungry.
He ate. He drank.
The Lord never gets weary, I mean God.
But as man, he'd become a man.
And here we have the greatest mystery that none of us in this room or anyone else, can really happen.
God and man.
The one person, the banquet.
Memphis Great is the mystery of God bless.
God was manifested in the Flash.
The Word became flesh and brought the money.
We beheld His glory.
John says we beheld his glory. The glory is of an only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
They pierced that human veil which veiled that glory, and he saw.
The personal glory of the Son of God, the only begotten Son of the Father.
In the in that flesh.
Paul gives us a tremendous verse. Washington 28.
For in Him while with all the fullness of the Godhead.
Now if the first stop there, we would we would have to just ponder and ponder and ponder. But it says bodily.
That is in the man Christ Jesus.
In Him bodily the one who took a body, the one who entered into his own creation, became a man, a perfect servant, all the fullness of the Godhead.
Can you grasp that? I care. Can we fathom that? No.
The hymn writer put it his darkness to my intellect, the sunshine to my heart. I can believe and enjoy what I cannot fathom.
Cannot understand.
And I'm so thankful I can't fathom him because if I could, he wouldn't be God and I wouldn't be a creature.
No, he is all that we are seeing now let's just read on.
Verse 41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover, and when he was 12 years old they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus turned behind in Jerusalem.
And notice again, and Joseph and his mother knew not of it, Joseph being kept separate.
And married his mother.
That they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kin spoken acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him, and he came to pass. That after three days they found him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him they were amazed.
I noticed this, and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us?
Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.
I don't know.
What? Whether Mary?
Believe that he understood who he was, and of course.
If he was who he was, he definitely understood it or how he got here that his birth was not a normal birth. But she says as was very appropriate. You might say, how else could she say it? My father and I have sought the sorrowing. Notice how he gently corrects her in the next verse.
And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me, wished you not, that I must be about my father's business? And that wasn't Joseph he was talking about. He was talking about God his father.
Wish thee not, but I must be about my Father's business. So all through we see how the Spirit of God guards.
The truth.
As to.
Joseph having anything to do with that birth.
Verse 50 says, And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.
You might wonder, why didn't they understand with all the light that they had? Well, look at you, look at me. How feebly we enter in, how slowly we grasp these divine truths from the Word.
Sometimes it takes this year before we we see some of these precious things and it says they didn't understand.
Then he said, a boy of 12 wished you not that I must be about my father's business.
The last word where it is finished.
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Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.
Finished his father's business.
But they ended. They didn't understand yet. Mary pondered these things in her heart.
And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. But his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
And Jesus, increased in wisdom and stature, has to be referring to as humanity.
And in favor with God and man.
He doesn't increase as to his deity.
But as to this humanity, he did.
Now I just must say this in the modern translations which use a different Greek text.
43 reads at the end, instead of Joseph and his mother, it reads his parents knew not of it.
Well, that expression occurs in verse 41 even in our King James and.
I don't have any trouble with that, but verse 33 is the big problem. Verse 33 reads.
In the modern translations and his father and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.
Now, this is not a translation problem. This is a Greek text problem having to do with the different manuscripts.
That's the one verse, in my opinion, where Mr. Darby chose the wrong reading because his translation reads his father and his mother.
And I believe what we have in our King James is correct.
Joseph and his mother, because that preserves the distance between Joseph and Lord Mother Mary, as all the other scriptures that we've been looking at testify.
If you happen to have Mr. Darby's Moorish edition.
Where he gives the manuscripts that support the different readings, you'll note that he has a note there and he gives Joseph and his mother as an alternate reading and gives the manuscripts which support that.
But in my opinion.
He chose the wrong reading in that case.
Well.
The truth as to his person one more verse and then we close I read we read this verse in the.
The morning meeting, the 69th Psalm.
I noticed it when I read it this morning.
The 69th Psalm preserves this same glorious truth.
Verse 7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach, if the Messiah speaking.
Shane have covered my face. I've become a stranger unto my grin and an alien unto my mother's children. Not my father's children. Couldn't say that my mother's children. So all scripture testifies to this story too. Let me ask. Let me ask the children that are here.
You know him? Do you know who Jesus is? You really know him?
Very God, very man, true man.
Just as human as any of us without sin, no?
That this human, more human, in fact true humanity, is only seen in Jesus.
Sinful humanity Is there something false about?
Something wrong about it. Dreadfully wrong. That's what we all partake of from our fallen parents, Adam and Eve.
Sin for humanity is not the norm.
It's the abnormal, and that's what we're all part of. But in the new creation, we partake of Holy Command.
That was the life of Christ.
God and man.
In one person.
You know that man?
You know that glorious one? He's your creator, He's your God, He's your Lord.
But he became one of us.
He came to where we were.
Born through that virgin, the seed of the woman.
That he might die for our sins, put up the way for us to be brought into blessing. There was no other way. No other way.
Crazy.