The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
Another King
[A Christmas Message]
[A Christmas Message]
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When Paul and Silas visited Thessalonica, they were accused by the Jews of “defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus” (Acts 17:7). Of course, such an accusation was prompted by jealousy, and was said with the purpose of stirring up trouble for the apostles and those in the city who supported them. Yet there is a sense in which their statement was true, there was another king - the King - and His name was Jesus.
When Jesus was born into this world, He came not only as the Saviour of the World, but He also came as the One to whom God the Father had promised a special gift - the throne of David. In his announcement to Mary, the angel Gabriel said, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:31-33). The gift of David’s throne was from God the Father to His Son at the first Christmas.
God was the first to give Christmas gifts, because not only did He give David’s throne to His Son, but He gave the greatest of all gifts when He gave His Son to be the Saviour of all mankind. Since that time the claims of Christ as Saviour and King have challenged men and women down through the centuries. His claims are as valid today as they were when they were first made. Modern society with its so-called modern and “enlightened” ideas does not diminish those claims. It is this challenge of “another king, one called Jesus,” that at this Christmas time needs to be presented afresh to the world, and no doubt in your Church you are charged with that responsibility as you present the Christmas story in the various ways that you do.
Why is such a presentation so necessary? Because the world around us, especially the world within striking distance of our Church doors, has not yet come to realise that Christ is the answer to all the problems of our present-day society, with all its contradictions and heart-aches—a world that is producing more and more each year and yet more and more people are starving; a world where knowledge is increasing by the day, wealth is being generated by the millions (some would even say, billions), yet civilisation is rapidly becoming morally and spiritually more and more bankrupt. It is a frightening anomaly, but in a world where there are the potentials as never before for the fulfilment of happiness, joyous hopes and security, instead there is perhaps more unhappiness, frustration and despair than at any other time in history - and the area around your Church is a almost certain to be a microcosm of the world, which brings the responsibility right home to us.
At the coming of Christ, “another king”, the incarnation of the Living God, two thousand years ago, He was heralded with the message of peace and goodwill to all mankind, yet man seems to be further away than ever from achieving such hopes. It appears that the more men express their desire for peace and security, the less likely it becomes a reality in our modern world. Yet God has not changed; unhappiness, frustration and despair are not God’s way for this world; so if Christ is the answer to all the problems of our present-day society, how should the challenge of “another king, one called Jesus” be presented to the world at this Christmas time?
Perhaps part of the answer can be found in the words of Jesus to “a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus”, recorded in John, chapter 3 - “I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God…You should not be surprised at my saying, you must be born again.” It logically follows that if a man (or woman) is “born again” of the Spirit of God and thereby enters into the kingdom of God, he must of necessity own allegiance to the King of that kingdom - the Lord Jesus Christ. Our conversion experience, our being born again, came through faith in the Christ of Christmas as did the precious gift of salvation He came to obtain for each of us on the Cross. He is both Saviour and King.
To begin the Christian way of life we must know the Saviour personally, but to continue that way of life in all its fulness and in ways pleasing and acceptable to God, we must acknowledge Him as King of our lives. The Christ of Christmas, the Saviour of the World, meets the needs of the sinner, because it is through His atonement that man, upon repentance through faith, finds forgiveness and pardon, and freedom from the guilt and penalty of sin. But to know what the hymn-writer meant when he wrote, He breaks the power of cancelled sin, and sets the prisoner free”, we must experience the rule and reign of Christ as King in our hearts and lives. As King He challenges all forms of unrighteousness and breaks the power of cancelled sin to give us freedom to serve the Lord with gladness.
Naturally, at Christmas time, our thoughts are centred on the First Coming of Christ. But the day is coming, and it may not be too far distant, when Jesus will fulfil His promise and come again - the Second Coming of Christ. When Christ comes again He will not come as a Babe in a manger, nor as the Lamb to die for the sins of the world, but as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Indeed, the message the world so desperately needs this Christmas, the one that our Churches are challenged to present in its various forms, is that of the King, the “one called Jesus”, the One Paul revealed to the Philippian Church and God now reveals to us through His Word.
The Christ of Christmas is the One, “Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbles himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6-11).
These two aspects of God becoming Man in the person of Jesus Christ are revealed all through the Scriptures - as Saviour for the redemption of mankind, and as King that His rule and reign should be made effective on earth. What greater rule can there be than that He reigns supreme in the lives of His people, His true Church here on earth, of which your Church (and mine) are a part? The Cross of Christ stands between the Manger and the Throne. Had there been no Manger at Bethlehem, when God became Man, there would have been no Cross at Calvary and therefore no redemption for fallen mankind. Likewise, without the resurrection of Christ and His ascension to the Throne, the triumph of the Cross would have been incomplete. The Manger, the Cross and the Throne are all part of God’s great purpose in the First Coming of Christ, that first Christmas.
It is worth remembering that the problems of how the promised Messiah could be a suffering Saviour and also a victorious King was inexplicable to those who waited for His coming during Old Testament times. Today, with greater understanding in the light of New Testament teaching, we find no difficulty in relating the various passages of Scripture to the two aspects and in explaining how the two seemingly contradictory prophetic revelations are reconciled and fulfilled in one Person - God made Man, Jesus Christ, Saviour and King.
When Jesus was born into this world, He came not only as the Saviour of the World, but He also came as the One to whom God the Father had promised a special gift - the throne of David. In his announcement to Mary, the angel Gabriel said, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:31-33). The gift of David’s throne was from God the Father to His Son at the first Christmas.
God was the first to give Christmas gifts, because not only did He give David’s throne to His Son, but He gave the greatest of all gifts when He gave His Son to be the Saviour of all mankind. Since that time the claims of Christ as Saviour and King have challenged men and women down through the centuries. His claims are as valid today as they were when they were first made. Modern society with its so-called modern and “enlightened” ideas does not diminish those claims. It is this challenge of “another king, one called Jesus,” that at this Christmas time needs to be presented afresh to the world, and no doubt in your Church you are charged with that responsibility as you present the Christmas story in the various ways that you do.
Why is such a presentation so necessary? Because the world around us, especially the world within striking distance of our Church doors, has not yet come to realise that Christ is the answer to all the problems of our present-day society, with all its contradictions and heart-aches—a world that is producing more and more each year and yet more and more people are starving; a world where knowledge is increasing by the day, wealth is being generated by the millions (some would even say, billions), yet civilisation is rapidly becoming morally and spiritually more and more bankrupt. It is a frightening anomaly, but in a world where there are the potentials as never before for the fulfilment of happiness, joyous hopes and security, instead there is perhaps more unhappiness, frustration and despair than at any other time in history - and the area around your Church is a almost certain to be a microcosm of the world, which brings the responsibility right home to us.
At the coming of Christ, “another king”, the incarnation of the Living God, two thousand years ago, He was heralded with the message of peace and goodwill to all mankind, yet man seems to be further away than ever from achieving such hopes. It appears that the more men express their desire for peace and security, the less likely it becomes a reality in our modern world. Yet God has not changed; unhappiness, frustration and despair are not God’s way for this world; so if Christ is the answer to all the problems of our present-day society, how should the challenge of “another king, one called Jesus” be presented to the world at this Christmas time?
Perhaps part of the answer can be found in the words of Jesus to “a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus”, recorded in John, chapter 3 - “I tell you the truth, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God…You should not be surprised at my saying, you must be born again.” It logically follows that if a man (or woman) is “born again” of the Spirit of God and thereby enters into the kingdom of God, he must of necessity own allegiance to the King of that kingdom - the Lord Jesus Christ. Our conversion experience, our being born again, came through faith in the Christ of Christmas as did the precious gift of salvation He came to obtain for each of us on the Cross. He is both Saviour and King.
To begin the Christian way of life we must know the Saviour personally, but to continue that way of life in all its fulness and in ways pleasing and acceptable to God, we must acknowledge Him as King of our lives. The Christ of Christmas, the Saviour of the World, meets the needs of the sinner, because it is through His atonement that man, upon repentance through faith, finds forgiveness and pardon, and freedom from the guilt and penalty of sin. But to know what the hymn-writer meant when he wrote, He breaks the power of cancelled sin, and sets the prisoner free”, we must experience the rule and reign of Christ as King in our hearts and lives. As King He challenges all forms of unrighteousness and breaks the power of cancelled sin to give us freedom to serve the Lord with gladness.
Naturally, at Christmas time, our thoughts are centred on the First Coming of Christ. But the day is coming, and it may not be too far distant, when Jesus will fulfil His promise and come again - the Second Coming of Christ. When Christ comes again He will not come as a Babe in a manger, nor as the Lamb to die for the sins of the world, but as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Indeed, the message the world so desperately needs this Christmas, the one that our Churches are challenged to present in its various forms, is that of the King, the “one called Jesus”, the One Paul revealed to the Philippian Church and God now reveals to us through His Word.
The Christ of Christmas is the One, “Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbles himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6-11).
These two aspects of God becoming Man in the person of Jesus Christ are revealed all through the Scriptures - as Saviour for the redemption of mankind, and as King that His rule and reign should be made effective on earth. What greater rule can there be than that He reigns supreme in the lives of His people, His true Church here on earth, of which your Church (and mine) are a part? The Cross of Christ stands between the Manger and the Throne. Had there been no Manger at Bethlehem, when God became Man, there would have been no Cross at Calvary and therefore no redemption for fallen mankind. Likewise, without the resurrection of Christ and His ascension to the Throne, the triumph of the Cross would have been incomplete. The Manger, the Cross and the Throne are all part of God’s great purpose in the First Coming of Christ, that first Christmas.
It is worth remembering that the problems of how the promised Messiah could be a suffering Saviour and also a victorious King was inexplicable to those who waited for His coming during Old Testament times. Today, with greater understanding in the light of New Testament teaching, we find no difficulty in relating the various passages of Scripture to the two aspects and in explaining how the two seemingly contradictory prophetic revelations are reconciled and fulfilled in one Person - God made Man, Jesus Christ, Saviour and King.
This, then, is our Christmas message - it is to the Christ of Christmas as Saviour that we owe our eternal salvation, and to the Christ of Christmas as King that we owe our unswerving allegiance.
O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold Him
Born the King of angels:
O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!
Hark! the herald angels sing:
Glory to the new-born King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With the angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Hark! the herald angels sing:
Glory to the new-born King.
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold Him
Born the King of angels:
O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord!
Hark! the herald angels sing:
Glory to the new-born King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With the angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Hark! the herald angels sing:
Glory to the new-born King.
O come, let us adore and serve Him, Savour and King - the greatest Gift from God the Father to the world at Christmas time, for all time!
© 2005 Denis A. Wheadon. All rights reserved. Website: http://www.Pen4God.co.uk. This document is the property of the Author and
must not be displayed on any other websites without permission. Copies may be downloaded and printed for personal use only. Any contact with
the writer or comments concerning an article, can be made by email addressed to: denis.wheadon@Pen4God.co.uk
must not be displayed on any other websites without permission. Copies may be downloaded and printed for personal use only. Any contact with
the writer or comments concerning an article, can be made by email addressed to: denis.wheadon@Pen4God.co.uk
