The Mystery of Christmas - Christmas Eve Service

And tonight we are considering the greatest of all mysteries. It's the mystery of godliness. And yet in one sense it's really not a mystery. Because it's a mystery that's already been revealed. God has revealed it, he's made it known. There's no plot twist, no surprise ending, and still it's a mystery that never loses its wonder. It's a mystery that never ceases to amaze. This is a story far, far better than anything we could ever imagine or come up with on our own. And it's summarized here in this one verse that we just read from 1 Timothy 3.16.

If you're looking for one main point to take away from tonight, it's this. The greatest mystery you can ever understand is who Jesus is. The greatest mystery you can ever understand is who Jesus is. Who is Jesus Christ? What has he done? That's the most important truth. That's the greatest, most profound mystery that you could possibly come to know and believe. And from our verse, we'll consider three reasons why.

The man we need

So point number one, the man we need. The man we need. Look with me at the first line that Paul writes here.

Great indeed we confess is the mystery of godliness. He was manifested in the flesh.

Notice that the mystery is really about a person. It's about a man. It's not so much a question of what, as it is a question of who. Paul says, he, that is Jesus Christ, was manifested in the flesh. This refers to the incarnation. It's when God the Son took on flesh and was born as a baby. He was manifested, or you could say he was revealed in the flesh.

Now that's not how we typically describe the birth of normal babies. If you said that, you'd probably get some weird looks. Because every baby is born in the flesh. Every baby has a physical body. That's just what it means to be a human being. But God is spirit. He doesn't have a physical body like us. And he also existed eternally, before time. And yet, in the incarnation, God entered into space and time. God the Son took on flesh at the first Christmas. He added to himself a human nature with a real human body. Jesus of Nazareth was God made man. That baby in the manger, he was fully God yet fully man. The question we should ask is why would God do this? Why was Christ manifested in the flesh?

Paul tells us earlier in the letter, in chapter one, verse 15, he writes this.

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.

Then in chapter two, verse five, he writes this.

For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.

So why was God manifested in the flesh? It was because if sinners like us are to be saved, then we need a mediator. There's no other way. On our own, none of us can stand before God. We are all guilty before Him because of our sin. Every one of us has turned our backs against Him. Every one of us has rebelled against Him and broken His commands. Instead of worshiping and obeying God, we have rejected Him. We have chosen to live by our own ways. The Bible calls that sin. And for that, we deserve the just penalty of God's wrath for eternity in hell. Nothing we do can save us from that. Our best efforts to do good are never enough. God's standard is perfect righteousness. All of us have fallen short. We cannot stand before God on our own merit.

What we need is someone else to stand before him for us, someone else to stand between us, someone else to be a mediator, a perfect man to take our place and to atone for our sins. That's what we need. And in his love, that is just exactly what God has done for us.

Every other religion in the world says, do this, do that, work your way up to God. Christianity alone says, God came down and did it for you. And the first step on that stairway down was the incarnation. Jesus was manifested in the flesh to be the mediator between us and God. He came into this world to die, to die as a substitute for us. On the cross, Jesus gave his life as a ransom to pay for sins of those who would trust in him so that they could go free. On the cross, Jesus sacrificed himself to absorb the wrath of God that we rightly deserve for our rebellion. Three days later, God raised him from the dead to show that his sacrifice had been accepted. There's no other way for sinners to be reconciled with a holy God, but through the death and resurrection of Christ. The only way is through him.

So friends, do you see your need for Christ? Do you see that your only hope is for him to stand before the father on your behalf and say, I obeyed, I died and I rose for that one. That's your only hope. to trust in Christ to be your mediator before God. Even today, you can receive him as your savior by faith.

The incarnation is the great mystery of Christmas. Christ manifested in the flesh for our sake. The maker of mankind made man to die. How can it be? What greater mystery is there We can't fully explain the inner workings of the incarnation. We can't wrap our finite minds around it. But the New Testament never calls us to do that. What the New Testament calls us to do is to stand in awe and amazement and wonder. What it calls us to do is marvel at God's love and his condescension in coming down to us. And it calls us to accept that as true.

This mystery of godliness In one sense, you cannot fully understand it. You cannot fully grasp it and wrap your mind around it. But you can genuinely understand it and know it and believe it. God has made it known. This isn't some secret knowledge that's hidden away, that's inaccessible. This is a mystery revealed, not a mystery concealed. Christ came, he died, he rose. There's no cliffhanger. The plot is plain. Christ's coming is like the final chapter in a book that wraps up every loose thread perfectly, that answers every question perfectly.

How could God both judge sin and show mercy? The answer is Jesus Christ and His cross. How would God fulfill His promises from the Old Testament? Who would the Savior be? The answer is Jesus Christ. The mystery is revealed in Him. That's also why Paul says a few lines down below,

he was proclaimed among the nations.

In Genesis, God made the promise to Abraham that through his offspring, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Jesus Christ is that offspring of Abraham. That's how the New Testament opens, in fact. The very first verse of Matthew declares this.

Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham.

He's here. God's promise to bless the nations is now fulfilled in Christ. He is the desire of nations who has come, as we just sang. He is the savior of the world, the savior of people from every tribe, every tongue, every nation.

How could such good news be kept secret? The book of Acts describes how the gospel went forth so rapidly. It began in Jerusalem and expanded to Judea, then Samaria, all the way to the ends of the earth. And even today, 2,000 years later, the church continues to proclaim the gospel among the nations. Why? Because Jesus Christ is the man that we need. His coming is the good news of great joy for all people.

But how can we have confidence that this good news is true? How can we be sure that this mystery of godliness that we have just read is trustworthy? Well, that brings us to point number two.

The mystery we can trust

The mystery we can trust. The mystery we can trust. Look with me at the second line that Paul writes.

He was vindicated by the Spirit.

Vindicated by the Spirit. To be vindicated means to be proven right. It's when you demonstrate that something or someone is correct or true, especially after being doubted. I had an experience of being vindicated actually around the same time last year. It was just before Christmas, so I had ordered a couple gifts on Amazon. A few days later, I got the notification that the package had been delivered. When I went outside later to pick it up, though, it was nowhere to be found. Good thing there was a security camera, so I went ahead and pulled up the footage to see what had happened. Turns out the driver had left the package and taken a picture of it as the proof of delivery as usual. But then he lingered a couple seconds. And even on the footage, I could see the gear starting to turn in his head. Sure enough, he glanced left and right quickly, went back for the package, and took off with it. So I let Amazon know. I gave them a call. And at first, customer service was not convinced. They asked me, are you sure you didn't miss it? Did you check the other entrances? Well, I assured them, and then I told them, you know, I have camera footage. I have video evidence that settled the matter. End of discussion. Amazon customer service doubted me, but video evidence vindicated me. It proved that I was right, that I was telling the truth.

And here Paul is saying that something similar happened with Jesus. Only he was vindicated by something infinitely greater, by someone infinitely more trustworthy than video evidence. He was vindicated by God himself, the Holy Spirit. During Jesus' life and ministry, many people had their doubts about him. If you read the Gospels, it records how even his own family thought he was out of his mind. His hometown said, we know this guy, isn't he the carpenter's son? The Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day, they accused Jesus of blasphemy. Even until the very last hours of his life, at his crucifixion, the crowd mocked him, saying,

if you are the son of God, come down from the cross.

Jesus was doubted by many. Perhaps you're here today with doubts of your own. We're so glad you're here. We welcome you to come with your doubts, What Paul is saying here is that you don't have to stay there. You don't have to stay with your doubts. You can truly have great confidence about who Jesus is, about this mystery of godliness, because he was vindicated by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit confirmed, he proved Jesus' identity.

There are some ways that we could point to in Jesus' life. At his baptism, we remember how the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove and there came the voice from heaven,

this is my beloved son.

All throughout Jesus' public ministry, the Spirit empowered him to perform miracles that proved that he was from God. But you see, none of that matters if Jesus was dead. As Jesus was hung up on that cross and then placed in that grave, It looked like the crowds were right. It looked like Jesus was wrong. He was just another man. Maybe he was confused, maybe he was a liar, maybe he was just another prophet or teacher, but certainly he was not the son of God. I mean, surely the last thing the savior of the world would do is get himself hung on a tree to die. That's what everyone thought.

But three days later, vindication came. There in that dark tomb outside Jerusalem, when all hope seemed lost, Jesus' heart started to beat once again. His lungs began to breathe. His body was resurrected with indestructible life and power by the Holy Spirit. Yes, the same spirit that hovered over the waters, that creation, that overshadowed Mary's womb, he breathed new life into Jesus and he raised him from the dead. And through the resurrection, the spirit vindicated Jesus. He cleared his name. He proved his identity as the son of God. The empty tomb cleared every accusation. The empty tomb silenced every enemy. The empty tomb declares, Jesus is who he says he is.

Brothers and sisters, do you hear the empty tomb? This is what it declares to you. It says, your sins are paid for in full. The wrath of God has been satisfied. Newness of life is yours. And on the last day, you too will be raised from the dead with an imperishable body. That's what the empty tomb declares. Death is defeated. Death had no claim on Christ because he was innocent. He was sinless and righteous. Death could not hold him down because he did not deserve it one bit. In the resurrection, Christ was vindicated. In the resurrection, God got the last word.

If Jesus remained dead, then his sacrifice wasn't enough because he'd still be suffering the penalty of sin. If Jesus remained dead, why pursue godliness? Why not eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die? If Jesus remained dead, then Christians are to be pitied above all people because our faith, our lives are built upon a lie. But if the resurrection is true, and it is, then it proves beyond all doubt that Jesus is who he said he is. He is indeed the Son of God manifested in the flesh. Likewise, if you accept that fact of the incarnation, is the resurrection really a surprise? The theologian J.I. Packer makes this point in his book, Knowing God.

The real mystery of the gospel,

he says,

lies not in the Good Friday message of atonement, nor in the Easter message of resurrection, but in the Christmas message of incarnation.

Once you grant that Jesus is God in the flesh, everything else makes sense.

All the miracles that he performed in his earthly life, his atoning death that could atone for the infinite penalty of sin, his bodily resurrection from the dead, none of that is unreasonable if you accept the fact that Jesus Christ truly was God the Son incarnate. It's no surprise then that this mystery of godliness would be accepted by so many all around the world.

Paul writes,

he was believed on in the world.

Believed on in the world. The Christian faith is a very reasonable one. There's abundant evidence for the resurrection. One in particular I'll point out is, why would Jesus' disciples risk their lives to proclaim a message they knew to be a hoax, a lie? That doesn't make any sense.

On the night of Jesus's crucifixion, they were so afraid, so fearful, that they all abandoned him. They all scattered. And yet, after Jesus rose from the dead, they were different. They were changed men. They were willing to openly defy the authorities and boldly proclaim the gospel. Many of them even risked their lives and died as martyrs. What accounts for that? Why would they do that? It's because they finally understood the mystery of godliness. It's because the mystery of godliness meant everything to them. They believed it with their whole heart.

Jesus appeared to them after he rose from the dead, and he commissioned them, go and proclaim the gospel to all nations. They obeyed him. Their proclamation among the nations led to belief in the world. And today we look around, there are believers from every walk of life, from all different societies and cultures, from among Jews and Gentiles, children and adults, men and women. Paul's words here have stood the test of time. The mystery of godliness has been believed on in the world.

True faith

So what about you? If you're here today, do you believe? What Paul writes here in this verse is what every single Christian believes. Every single Christian confesses these truths to be true, these six lines. But a Christian is also not someone who merely accepts a set of truths intellectually. After all, even the demons believe and shudder. True faith is far more than mere intellectual agreement. True faith is wholeheartedly acknowledging who God is, what he has done, and casting yourself upon him for mercy.

True faith is trusting in Christ alone as your only hope of salvation. That's why true faith always, always responds with gratitude and worship and obedience and godliness. That's why Paul calls this the mystery of godliness. Don't miss that. These are the beliefs, he's saying, from which godliness flows. I mean, why does Paul write this verse here? Why does he include it? Well, he tells us in the verses right before, in verses 14 and 15.

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you, so that if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God.

If you claim to belong to the household of God, the church, does your behavior back that up? If you profess to believe, is there godliness in your life to show for it? Paul writes these truths because they are the source, the foundation of godliness. These aren't just six abstract statements with no bearing on reality. For the Christian, these truths are everything. If you truly understand them, it changes everything. It changes how you live, how you think, how you relate to other people, even how you talk. It transforms your behavior and character to become more and more like God. To be like God is the original design for which we were actually made. God created male and female in his likeness and image. Godliness is how we live out the purpose for which God originally created us.

I mean, what greater purpose in life is there than to be like God? We all seek that by nature, I hope you understand, but we seek it the wrong way. See, we want control, we want power, we want status, we want the praises of others. We want to be in charge of our own lives. All those things belong to God, not to us. All those rights belong to Him, and yet we desire to take them. In our sin, we want to become like God, but we do it in a corrupted way. We do it in a wrong way, and all it does is ruin our lives.

But God in his grace restores us to become like him in a way that is proper, in a way that is good and right, that brings blessing and flourishing and joy. Christ came not only to die the sacrificial death we needed. He also came to live the perfect life of godliness that we have all failed to live. Jesus is the second Adam, the perfect man. He restores us. back to being God's image bearers more fully. The Son of God brings us into his family so that we can become like our Heavenly Father. Godliness is our goal. We now belong to the household of God. We are a church of the living God.

So brothers and sisters, beware of sin that would bring shame upon God's name. Let your life of godliness bear witness to your confession of the mystery of godliness. And as you do so, don't forget this, Christ dwells inside you. Yes, this Christ, God in the flesh, risen from the dead, he abides in you by spirit. He empowers you to live the life of godliness.

The message of victory

So far we've seen that Jesus was manifested in the flesh to be the man that we needed and also that we can have great confidence in that mystery because he was vindicated by the Spirit. There's one final movement in this verse that is key for understanding who Jesus is. So that takes us to point number three, the message of victory. The message of victory. He was seen by angels, Paul says, and taken up in glory.

Seen by angels, taken up in glory.

Both of those statements refer to the ascension of Christ. 40 days after he was resurrected, Jesus ascended physically up into heaven, and there he was seen by angels.

We often picture angels as little babies with a halo and wings. But angels are greater than humans. They are the mighty ones who do his word. They're fearsome and majestic beings who minister in God's presence. And yet when these angels saw a man, Jesus Christ, returning up to heaven, they rejoiced. They marveled. They worshiped. In the incarnation, Jesus humbled himself to become lowlier than the angels. Now in his ascension, he was exalted back above them to his rightful place as Lord. This is a picture of victory. In ancient Rome, there is the practice known as the triumph. What happened is a Roman general who was successful in war, he would return from the battlefield to his city. And there, waiting for him, there would be a great procession He would parade through the city. There would be a great celebration before the people. All of them would see him and honor him and celebrate him. That's kind of what happened in Christ's ascension.

The commander of heaven succeeded in his earthly mission. The mighty champion crushed the forces of evil beneath his feet. And then he returned back to heaven in triumph and victory. He was received into glory, beheld by angels, crowned by God as king. installed at his right hand in power and dominion. Jesus won the victory.

But you may ask, if Jesus has won the victory, why is there still so much sin and suffering and brokenness in this world? Why does it often look like evil and darkness have the upper hand? The answer is that we are living in between D-Day and V-Day. During World War II, D-Day was the Allied invasion of Normandy. It took place on June 6, 1944. It was the decisive military victory that guaranteed the enemy's defeat. But the actual surrender, the actual end of the war, V-Day, wasn't until almost a year later on May 8, 1945.

D-Day won the war. But before V-Day, there were still battles. There were still casualties. It's not so different with us. Christ has already won the victory by his death and resurrection and ascension. But the battle still continues to rage. We live between the cross and the crown. Victory will only be fully consummated when Christ comes again.

And on that day, God says he will judge the world in righteousness. On that day, God will right every wrong. He will punish every sin, every act of wrongdoing in perfect justice. I wonder if that's good news to you. It can only be good news if you're on his side. Because if you persist in rejecting God, you only make yourself his enemy. If you persist in rejecting God, you make yourself a rebel who will one day have to stand before him on trial and face his perfect justice.

Yet the good news is God is patient. The sin we see around us is actually evidence of that. Christ is reigning right now in glory, but he still holds out his hand all the day long to offer pardon, to offer mercy to those who will bow the knee to him. Christ is reigning right now and he patiently commands and invites all people everywhere to repent of their sins and to return to him.

Christ is patient. But you also must realize that patience will not last forever. Jesus' first coming was to save. His second coming will be to judge. In the end, there will be a final victory. There is no room for neutrality, for indifference. The mystery of godliness is a message, a victory. The only question is, whose side will you be on?

For those of us who trust in Christ, his victory is ours. For Christ came in the flesh, he died, he rose, he ascended victoriously into heaven. Great indeed is the mystery of godliness. And great also is the hope that we have. Because he who has taken up into glory has promised to come again. And when he returns, he will take us up into glory with him.

So let us remember the words of those angels to the men of Galilee.

This Jesus who has taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way that you saw him going into heaven.

Come Lord Jesus, come quickly.

Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for the mystery of godliness. Thank you that you sent your son to become incarnate for our sake, that he willingly humbled himself and died on the cross and rose for our salvation. We pray that this mystery will become more and more dear to us. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.