Scripture Memory: Living for Christ.
VERSE : Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

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O Worship the LORD in the Beauty of Holiness

23 December 2007
9.30 am Combined Christmas Praise Service:
Mark Chen (Live the Gospel, Leave the Bustle)
6:00 pm Rehoboth Evening Service:
Rev Charles Seet (Wise Men From The East)

30 December 2007
8.00 am Worship Service:
Quek Keng Khwang (A Courageous Faith)
10.45 am Worship Service:
Eld Khoo Peng Kiat (A Living Sacrifice)
6:00 pm Rehoboth Evening Service:
Dr Steve Reynolds (The Sands of Time Are Sinking)

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These words of John 1:14 express the mystery of the incarnation very well: That in Jesus Christ, the all-present, all-mighty and all-knowing God was manifested in our own frail human flesh. What makes this so amazing is that "the flesh" that our God assumed unto Himself in the incarnation is, of all things, human flesh – in all its frailty and mortality! 1 Peter 1:24 tells us: "For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away." What an apt illustration grass is, of the frailty of our flesh!

Here then is the greatest mystery of all time: How can God become a frail and mortal creature? This frailty becomes even more pronounced when we consider that He did not become flesh immediately as a full-grown man, but as a newborn baby. A newborn elephant or giraffe is able to stand on its feet within twenty minutes. A newborn monkey is able to cling to its mother while she swings from tree to tree. Newborn kittens are able to smell and feel their way to their mother’s belly to begin drinking milk within just a few minutes of birth. How about a newborn human being? The only thing that it can do is to cry loudly for help! There is really no stage of growth where a person’s frailty is more evident than at the time of his birth. When a newborn baby has just emerged from the womb, it needs all the tender loving care that it can get in order to survive. And the question to ask is: How can it be possible for the all-powerful God to be reduced to this?

The difference between deity and humanity is so infinitely vast that many who have tried to understand the incarnation through their own human reasoning have failed to grasp this truth. This is why false doctrines concerning either the deity of Christ or the humanity of Christ have ravaged the church from time to time. In the 2nd century the Gnostics believed that it was not really God who became flesh in Jesus, but only one of His lesser emanations. At the same time there was another group, called the Docetists, which believed in the full deity of Christ, but completely denied His humanity. In the 4th century there were the Arians who denied the deity of Jesus, and today there are many cults (e.g. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons) that do the same. The reason for the emergence of all these heresies is always the same: It is the inability to accept with simple child-like faith what the Bible plainly teaches about the incarnation: "The Word was made flesh."

To us who believe in the incarnation, this is not merely a doctrine to be defended, but a precious truth to be fully appreciated and applied in our life. For it is through the incarnation that we have now received the fullest revelation of God. God did not lose any of His divine attributes when He was made flesh. He entered into a new dimension of existence through the gateway of human birth, but He fully retained His divine nature, while taking on an additional human nature. Hence Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. That makes Him God’s ultimate and final revelation of Himself to us, which is clearer and sharper than any other mode of revelation – whether by the Old Testament Law that Moses gave to Israel (v.17), or by the prophets, or by visions and dreams.

If we can liken revelation to viewing a picture, then all the earlier modes of divine revelation would be like looking at an old low-resolution photograph, which does not show much detail. That is what we had to be contented with back in the early days of monochrome photography. The ultimate revelation of God when He was made flesh would then be like watching a high definition moving image on a 60 inch screen where even the tiniest details can be seen most clearly. This is definitely much better than the all earlier low-resolution photographs we used to look at. And we thank God that this is the kind of revelation of Him that we now have in Christ: God manifested in the flesh!

One result of God being manifested in the flesh is that His disciples who walked with Him, talked, ate and lived with him for about three and a half years could testify in v.14 that they had ‘beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father’ and that they had all received of His fullness and grace for grace (v.16). According to the next verse even John the Baptist was able to recognise the eternal God revealed in Christ, since he testified, "He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for He was before me." The last part of this may not have made much sense to the people who heard him at that time, since it was generally known that John the Baptist was at least 6 months older than Jesus. By saying that Jesus existed before Him, John was showing Christ’s pre-incarnate existence as the eternal God.

In addition to all this Jesus Himself said plainly, "he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). And John 1:18 states the same truth so well: "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." Jesus came to declare God, to ‘tell out’ God. That is why John designated Him in our text as the Word (V.1 – "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.").

This designation comes from the word ‘logos’ which the Greeks used to express the ideas of reason and creative control, the principle which controls the universe and animates the world. When used in the Bible however, the keynote idea of logos is divine revelation. And here it is used to designate God the Son as the ultimate and final revelation of God to all mankind. Just as we use words to express our thoughts to others, so the Son expresses God to us. Just as our words reveal our heart and mind to others; so the Son expresses, manifests and shows God to us.

Besides all this, ‘the Word became flesh’ reveals another wonderful truth to us: It means that God is now perfectly identified with us. He has experienced the undiluted frailties of human existence and can fully understand all that we go through in life. The second part of John 1:14 tells us that the Word "dwelt among us." The verb translated "dwelt" literally means "to pitch a tent." And this may be an allusion to the Tabernacle, the large tent that was pitched at the centre of the Israelite camp where God dwelled with His people during their journey to the Promised Land. To the people of Israel, there was no blessing greater than to have God dwelling among them. They could see Him visibly leading them as the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, and whenever they set up camp to rest in their journey, that same pillar would rest on the Tabernacle.

When Christ was born, God dwelt with His people once again, but this time, the tent He used was not one that is made of cloth and animal skins like the Tabernacle was made of. This time, the tent was frail human flesh and blood, in which He ‘tabernacled’ among men for 33 years. He accepted the austere conditions of human life and environment, with all the attendant temporal limitations that all humans experience. He experienced hunger, thirst, tiredness, pain and suffering. The birth by which he began His human existence took place in the most unsterile delivery room – in a stable where cows and asses gave birth. His baby cot was a manger, which was a feeding trough for animals stained with the saliva that drools from their mouths as they eat from it!

But through all this suffering and deprivation that He suffered, He is now perfectly identified with us. It is no wonder that the prophet Isaiah called Him, "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." (Isaiah 53:3). Hebrews 2:11 speaks of how complete His identification with us became as a result of this – "For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren."

Now, what should all this mean to you? Since the Word was made flesh, you can now know God and walk closely with Him. Dear Reader, Jesus is the only true Light who shines the knowledge of God within your heart. He gives you divine Life from the moment you are born again, and thus you are spiritually alive and able to comprehend the things of God. If you are truly born of God what priority do you give to knowing Him? Are you allowing the cares of this world to rob you of the blessings of having a close walk with Him? If the Lord has spoken to your heart during this Christmas season and convicted you through His Word, please do something about it. —CS

1) Catechism Class for Easter 2008 baptism begins 6 Jan 08 with Rev Charles Seet at Chinese Svc Hall, 9.30 am. Those seeking baptism, reaffirmation of faith and transfer of membership must attend the Catechism Class.

2) Bro & Mrs Mark Chen depart for London tonight via flight QF 9 at 11.25pm from Terminal 1.

3) Scripture Memory Verses 2008 - "The Growing Christian". Memory verse booklets are available at the front counter from today. Free Audio CD recordings of the verses are available at the reception counter.

4) Life B-P Church Calendar 2008: Members who wish to have additional calendars as Christmas gifts for their friends and loved ones may request for up to 3 additional ones from the deacons.

5) YF/YAF Anniversary, 31 Dec 07, 7.00 pm, Chinese Service Hall. "Let Brotherly Love Continue" Heb 13:1. Speaker: Eld Ng Beng Kiong.

6) Australia Orientation Meeting, 19 Jan 08 (Sat), 5-7 pm. Chinese Service Hall. Encouragement by: Elder Sherman Ong. Others: Info session, Fellowship, Refreshments.

7) Vacancy for full time programme/teaching staff for a period of 3 months urgently needed for the SCC. Interested, please contact Dn Victor Chan HP 9669-0781 or Sis Linda Chan HP 9367-6789.

8) Turkey Bible Study Tour (23 May - 3 June 2008). Open to Lifers and Visitors of Life Church. Not recommended for infants and the physically infirmed. Register now, limited spaces (35 people max)! Forms available from the church office and front counter. Submit forms and deposit to church office by 18 Feb 2008. For more information, contact Mark Chen mchen at lifebpc dot com, or logon to www.lifebpc.com/turkey.htm

9) Our condolences to Lai Shieh Mei and family on the homegoing of her grandmother on 20 Dec 07.

Preaching appointment: Rev Seet at Emmanuel BPC, 2pm and Rehoboth Evening Service, 6pm.