The Second Article: Begotten Of The Father From Eternity
Sermon
What's That Supposed To Mean?
Using The Catechism In The 21st Century
Object:
The Apostles' Creed -- The Second Article
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ ... purchased and won me ... not with gold or silver but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.
Sherwood Wirt wrote the following in a Christmas card: "The people of that time were being heavily taxed, and faced every prospect of a sharp increase to cover expanding military expenses. The threat of world domination by a cruel, ungodly, power-intoxicated band of men was ever just below the threshold of consciousness. Moral deterioration had corrupted the upper levels of society and was moving rapidly into the broad base of the populace. Intense nationalistic feeling was clashing openly with new and sinister forms of imperialism. Conformity was the spirit of the age. Government handouts were being used with increasing lavishness to keep the population from rising up and throwing out the leaders. Interest rates were spiraling upward in the midst of an inflated economy. External religious observances were considered a political asset, and abnormal emphasis was being placed upon sports and athletic competition. Racial tensions were at the breaking point. In such a time, and amid such a people, a child was born to a migrant couple who had just signed up for a fresh round of taxation, and who were soon to become political exiles. And the child who was born was called, among other things, Immanuel, God with us" (in Michael P. Green, ed., Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1990, 57-58).
God with us! God with us, in a real world of crime, corruption and corrosive competition! What a nice story to tell around the fireplace and put on Christmas cards. Those were the good old days.
Too bad we can't have God with us today. It surely would be nice. We face crime, corruption, and corrosive competition. Families break up every day. Teenage girls deliver babies that have no legal fathers, or worse, they kill the babies. Alcoholic men and women ruin families. Drug abuse visits the schoolhouse. Crooks and thieves control food supplies and other necessary goods. Our country used to be filled with people working hard to get ahead. Today, we have become a nation of couch potatoes getting a daily fix of sex, violence, and lust. In 1992 we elected a man as our national leader who had pledged to give homosexuality protected legal status. He had pledged to lift all restriction on abortion and to use tax money to pay for such a thing, including on our daughters who won't have to tell us first. Adultery, murder, lies, stealing, rebellion, and lust are now socially acceptable!
The good news is that we do have God with us today. "I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity ... is my Lord." By these words we proclaim that God is with us today in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
A messenger from heaven interrupted the dream one night of a certain Joseph of Nazareth. "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you will call his name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Three parts of what the messenger said shows us that Jesus is God with us. First, "that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." Most children come from the union of a man and a woman. Jesus came from the life-giving work of the Spirit on Mary, with no help from a man. This marks him as God's Son. The name "Jesus" underlines who Jesus is. "Jehovah Saves" is the meaning of the name Jesus. "He will save his people from their sins." The Bible is full of saviors: Moses, Gideon, David, Abraham, Deborah, and a host of others. But none of them saved people from sins. Only God can save someone from sins. Jesus, therefore, had to be the Lord the prophets had long spoken of.
The catechism sums this all up with the words, "begotten from the Father from all eternity." "Begotten" is a word used by kings to point out who was to take over when the king retired or died. Psalm 2:7 puts these words in the mouth of Jesus: "I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.' " The rest of the psalm describes how this Son of God would be eternal king. Psalm 110 teaches us that this king is still with us today. Paul reminds the Colossians that in Jesus, the fullness of God chose to dwell in bodily form. Since Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, He has been with us as Savior from sin and evil, according to His promise to be with us till the close of the age. God is with us and his name is Jesus!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us! We are surrounded by more evil than we can describe. Sin assaults us on all sides, including from inside us. We are like driftwood carried along on a flood of evil, powerless to stop the crime and corruption around us. Death knocks on our doors daily, claiming loved ones or threatening others. Devils fill the world with hate and work to destroy those who belong to You. As we remember Your birth, help us believe that disguised in that baby born in a barn was the full power of God that created the universe. Help us to believe that You will save us from sin, death, and the power of the devil because You are God Almighty who clothed Yourself in human flesh. Amen.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ ... purchased and won me ... not with gold or silver but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death.
Sherwood Wirt wrote the following in a Christmas card: "The people of that time were being heavily taxed, and faced every prospect of a sharp increase to cover expanding military expenses. The threat of world domination by a cruel, ungodly, power-intoxicated band of men was ever just below the threshold of consciousness. Moral deterioration had corrupted the upper levels of society and was moving rapidly into the broad base of the populace. Intense nationalistic feeling was clashing openly with new and sinister forms of imperialism. Conformity was the spirit of the age. Government handouts were being used with increasing lavishness to keep the population from rising up and throwing out the leaders. Interest rates were spiraling upward in the midst of an inflated economy. External religious observances were considered a political asset, and abnormal emphasis was being placed upon sports and athletic competition. Racial tensions were at the breaking point. In such a time, and amid such a people, a child was born to a migrant couple who had just signed up for a fresh round of taxation, and who were soon to become political exiles. And the child who was born was called, among other things, Immanuel, God with us" (in Michael P. Green, ed., Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Company, 1990, 57-58).
God with us! God with us, in a real world of crime, corruption and corrosive competition! What a nice story to tell around the fireplace and put on Christmas cards. Those were the good old days.
Too bad we can't have God with us today. It surely would be nice. We face crime, corruption, and corrosive competition. Families break up every day. Teenage girls deliver babies that have no legal fathers, or worse, they kill the babies. Alcoholic men and women ruin families. Drug abuse visits the schoolhouse. Crooks and thieves control food supplies and other necessary goods. Our country used to be filled with people working hard to get ahead. Today, we have become a nation of couch potatoes getting a daily fix of sex, violence, and lust. In 1992 we elected a man as our national leader who had pledged to give homosexuality protected legal status. He had pledged to lift all restriction on abortion and to use tax money to pay for such a thing, including on our daughters who won't have to tell us first. Adultery, murder, lies, stealing, rebellion, and lust are now socially acceptable!
The good news is that we do have God with us today. "I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. What does this mean? I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity ... is my Lord." By these words we proclaim that God is with us today in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
A messenger from heaven interrupted the dream one night of a certain Joseph of Nazareth. "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you will call his name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Three parts of what the messenger said shows us that Jesus is God with us. First, "that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." Most children come from the union of a man and a woman. Jesus came from the life-giving work of the Spirit on Mary, with no help from a man. This marks him as God's Son. The name "Jesus" underlines who Jesus is. "Jehovah Saves" is the meaning of the name Jesus. "He will save his people from their sins." The Bible is full of saviors: Moses, Gideon, David, Abraham, Deborah, and a host of others. But none of them saved people from sins. Only God can save someone from sins. Jesus, therefore, had to be the Lord the prophets had long spoken of.
The catechism sums this all up with the words, "begotten from the Father from all eternity." "Begotten" is a word used by kings to point out who was to take over when the king retired or died. Psalm 2:7 puts these words in the mouth of Jesus: "I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.' " The rest of the psalm describes how this Son of God would be eternal king. Psalm 110 teaches us that this king is still with us today. Paul reminds the Colossians that in Jesus, the fullness of God chose to dwell in bodily form. Since Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, He has been with us as Savior from sin and evil, according to His promise to be with us till the close of the age. God is with us and his name is Jesus!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us! We are surrounded by more evil than we can describe. Sin assaults us on all sides, including from inside us. We are like driftwood carried along on a flood of evil, powerless to stop the crime and corruption around us. Death knocks on our doors daily, claiming loved ones or threatening others. Devils fill the world with hate and work to destroy those who belong to You. As we remember Your birth, help us believe that disguised in that baby born in a barn was the full power of God that created the universe. Help us to believe that You will save us from sin, death, and the power of the devil because You are God Almighty who clothed Yourself in human flesh. Amen.
