Friday, April 1, 2016

The Creator became Created


The Creator became Created

Some say that all men seek answers to there are several philosophical questions. Among them are at least three that stand out: a. Who am I?; b. Why am I here?; c. Where am I going? Imagine Christ, finding out the answers to these questions about Himself; this is something we do not often ponder. As He read the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit must have revealed this to Him, "This is about You." Christ probably prayed about it, choosing to accept it by faith. Imagine how He must have felt when He went to Jerusalem when He was twelve and witnessed the sacrifice of the animals. What crossed His mind? "Oh, that poor beast! That will be Me in a few years." Not an easy thing to accept. But, Christ did. Did Christ answer those three questions about Himself? Judging by what the disciples write about Him, I think He did. Let us read some of those passages.

John 1 – 4, 14 reads,
John1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
John1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
John1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

This passage identifies who Christ is before His incarnation. Then it says Christ that was made flesh. Matthew sheds light on how this was so. Let us read Matthew 1: 21 – 23.

Mat1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Mat1:22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Mat1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

This passage says that He was born of a virgin maid. The child had been conceived by the Holy Ghost (Matthew 1: 18). Then in verses 21 and 23 we find two different names for the child. Verse 21 calls Him Jesus and verse 23 Emmanuel. The meaning of Jesus in Hebrew is Savior or God saves. Interestingly, this name answers the question, "What did He do?" Of course, the answer is, "save man." Emmanuel in Hebrew is God with us. This name answers the question, "How did He do it?" The answer is, "By Being with us." How was he able to be with us? Let us go back to John 1:14. Christ was able to be with us, by becoming flesh, in other words, by becoming one of us; this means that the One, who made all things and that without Him not anything that was made was made (John 1:3), became one of those things He created. How can this be?

God created Adam and gave him life. When Adam was fruitful and multiplied, he gave his progeny the life that God gave him. Adam was given the capacity to multiply the flesh and life God gave to him. All of us are a product of that multiplication. So, when Christ was conceived He took the same gift of life that He gave to Adam.

God sent His Son into our world to be our Savior. The Son came to Earth as Jesus and Emmanuel. The Son came in the form of a created being, and in this form He saved Man; this shows God's love for man, in that He humbled himself to become something He created. Yes, it would it have been easier to create a new one. (Especially, since all He had to do is speak it into being.) However, God loved Adam, and all of us in him. A new creation would not have been Adam. He wanted to save Adam, and He did whatever it took, which included becoming one of us.-- 

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