THE REAL STORY OF CHRISTMAS by Adriel Sanchez for Core Christianity
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel!
It’s that time of year when Christians throughout the world celebrate what God has accomplished in history. During this time in particular, we celebrate the incarnation. For those unfamiliar with this event, and for those whose understanding could use a little deepening, here is the who, when, and why of what took place:
Who
During Christmas we celebrate the birth of God. That might sound odd (how does God have a birthday?), but it’s what the church throughout history has confessed. The Virgin Mary did not give birth to a mere man, who was filled with God’s Spirit or empowered by God uniquely, but to God the Son.
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This is why the church has called Mary Theotokos, which means God-Bearer. It’s a title meant to highlight that God himself took flesh in the womb of a virgin and was born. At times, the church fathers articulated this by speaking of God the Son being born twice. He who was eternally begotten of the Father (i.e. never had a beginning) was born in time by assuming humanity through the womb of the Virgin Mary. The baby who was born is the same one who upholds the entire universe by his powerful Word!
When
The incarnation signals a very important shift in world history. The apostle Paul wrote,
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law. (Gal. 4:4)
The Eternal Word of God was born of the Virgin Mary when the fullness of time had arrived. More than saying “Jesus came at the perfect time,” this is telling us that the “when” of the incarnation signals a shift from one era to another.
The “old age” of sin and death is coming to an end, because the light of a new age has dawned with Christmas, since “the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining” (1 John 2:8). Jesus is the “Light of Light” whose incarnation breaks through the darkness of the old age and ushers in a new one.
