Do you ever wish you’d lived back in the days when Jesus walked the earth?

To touch His human hand, to know His human voice, to see His human face, to hear His human laugh, and to look deep into His human eye… knowing what we know now… on this side of the Ascension? That He is God revealing Himself and He did it in Jesus’ Incarnation.

Scripture tells us that Hebrews 1:1 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Jesus answered Thomas and Philip saying, John 14:7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

Thought for the day: There was a point when Jesus-the exact representation and perfect Image of God-walked this earth. It was the Incarnation. And it was a miraculous revealing of who God is.

Questions for pondering:

1. Read John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. 16 “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” How does the work of revealing continue in the Holy Spirit?
2. Why did Jesus have to do the work of revealing in the Incarnation before the work of revealing could continue in the ministry of the Holy Spirit?

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Incarnation (2015 Advent Devotional Series) began November 29th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2015 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

Sometimes I wonder how God felt about that whole flooding-of-the-earth deal. How necessary! How awful! How terrible! How incredibly sad!

Genesis 6: 5 The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth– men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air– for I am grieved that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

God’s heart was filled with pain.

God’s heart was filled with pain.  That’s a pain we will never understand.  Why? Because His Image, resident even in these evildoers—a broken image because of sin—was still His Image. God ended up sacrificing something of Himself in the flood, and the only redemption was in a man named Noah and his family. The only salvation was because of the ark God told him to make.

And even then, God was not starting with a clean slate, but only one as righteous as existed at that time.  The shadow of Adam still loomed.  Noah was righteous but not perfect. He was not holy. But God still is.

How sad, that even the animals had to pay the price for Adam’s sin. Adam—our representative head of our race—was mortal and was a sinner. Left to man’s own ways, we’re all destroyed and God’s Image in us is lost.  Every single one.  Every last vestige of God’s Image in humanity, utterly lost!

Enter the Incarnation. Jesus is the Second Adam who lives perfectly.

He is righteous. He is perfect. He is holy. He is God’s exact Image because He is God. 

And yet in the Incarnation, He’s also fully man.  Our Second Adam.

Moreover, He is the pathway to divine judgment.

He came to be sin for us as Scripture says, 2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Thought for the day: Just as Adam represented us and made us sinners, in the Incarnation Jesus represented us and by being God’s pathway to divine judgment, He makes us righteous by His shed blood.  If we’ll only receive His righteousness by our faith in Him.

Questions for pondering:

1. How was Jesus a better solution than another flood? Read Romans 5:19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
2. How is God’s Image preserved by Jesus’ crucifixion as the pathway to divine judgment…in a way another flood would not?
3. When Jesus returns, He returns as Judge. Read Acts 10: 37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached– 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. 39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen– by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” How is Jesus God’s pathway to divine judgment without destroying God’s Image as He did in the flood?
4. How are those who refuse to believe (that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life) no different than those who died in the flood? 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

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Incarnation (2015 Advent Devotional Series) began November 29th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2015 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

One of the more intriguing concepts in the Bible is that God kept His promise to us by being both the Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God sacrificed for us.

Frankly, God was thoroughly ticked off at us. Especially at ministry leaders. They didn’t really have a clue how mad God was.  They were too busy watching out for themselves. So focused on their own needs, desires, lusts, and the horizontal of their own lives, they completely lost track of how they were openly defying the God who created them and elevated them to ministry service. There’s a whole lot going wrong with those ministry leaders.  When someone might have cautioned them about a bad decision, their motto might have been “I’m all about bad decisions!”

So God comes to the rescue.

Read Ezekiel 34:10-30 especially verses

Ezekiel 34:22 I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken… 30 Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD.

This is Messianic and “my servant David” was fulfilled in Jesus. He is not only the Good Shepherd who cares for the flock, but also He lays His life down for it.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus owns it!

John 10: 2 “The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me– 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father– and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life– only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

Thought for the day: In the Incarnation, Jesus became not only the Good Shepherd but the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God.

Questions for pondering:

1. How is Jesus the gate?
2. How is Jesus the shepherd?
3. How is He the Lamb of God?
4. Who are the other sheep not of this sheep pen (v. 16)?
5. What is it that will make us one flock and who is the one shepherd?

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Incarnation (2015 Advent Devotional Series) began November 29th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2015 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

God keeps His promises.

That is one of the most reassuring things one can ever contemplate.   In a world in which politicians will say anything to get elected and then their promises get forgotten as convenient political amnesia sets in; our friends, our neighbors, our bosses, or our co-workers will tell us anything and then break their promises to us and leave us cynical with nothing but disappointed hopes; and a world in which deep and powerful vows of marriage are simply forgotten in the fleeting passions of a mere moment…God still keeps His promises. All of them. All the time.

The Incarnation is proof of the lengths to which God will go to see that His precious promises, His covenant, will always be kept.

Hebrews 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance– now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

The Bible is filled with God’s promises that He keeps because He’s faithful even when we are not. There is the covenant (promise) not to destroy the earth again with a flood because of human sin…so God sent His Son to die in our place.

The covenant (promise) to bless Abraham with offspring—ones who would be counted righteous because of faith—and God sent His Son so that our faith would have God Himself as the very One in whom we trust.

Thought for the day: The Incarnation—the Son of God as the Christ Child in a manger—was always pointing forward to His crucifixion on Good Friday and the empty tomb of Easter morning. It was a keeping of the Covenant by our faithful Father!

Questions for pondering:

1. Have you ever had someone break a promise to you? How did that make you feel?
2. Unconditional love by definition has no conditions. In the covenants, God didn’t say, “If you agree not to sin anymore then I won’t flood the earth” or about the offspring of Abraham “If you can prove your ancestry back to Abraham by genealogical record, then you’re in the club.” What does God say? Read Jeremiah 31:31-34 for insight.
3. What did Jesus say?  Luke 22:14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” 17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
4. Read John 12:27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.” How does this demonstrate God keeping His promises?

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Incarnation (2015 Advent Devotional Series) began November 29th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2015 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

The Incarnation wasn’t just something decided upon in the Trinity somewhere in the upper atmospheres and then dropped onto us on earth for our benefit. There was something earthly in it for God, too. It was practical and hands-on.

It was God’s avenue to being Prophet, Priest, and King…offices of relationship that belong to this world for the sake of men.

God didn’t need to be a prophet, priest or king within the Trinity. The Godhead is complete within itself.

God gave us prophets so we’d hear from him accurately.

God gave us priests so we would learn how to worship Him rightly.

And God wanted to be our king, but sadly, we were not content with that.

1 Samuel 8:1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel…3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. 4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” 6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.

That is one of the most depressing passages in the Bible, ranking right up there with the decision to rebel against God in the first place and eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. We are forever making bad choices and on our own, we’re likely to get the worst of humanity: false prophets, fraudulent priests, and failed kings.   Because we rejected hearing from God, worshiping Him rightly, and serving Him as our King, we gave up on having God’s presence in our world and a relationship with Him.

The Incarnation, however, made this Prophet, Priest, and King accessible in Jesus. He was a man and therefore someone we could relate to. And yet He is God so there’s nothing false, fraudulent, or failed about Him.  God restored our proper relationship, communication, worship, and service and He did it all through the Incarnation.

Thought for today: The Incarnation was God’s avenue to accommodate us, to give us an accessible leadership, a perfect shepherd, and a King of kings and Lord of lords worth serving.

Questions for reflection:

1. There is relationship within the Trinity. Why should it matter to God that mankind has a Prophet, Priest, and King in Jesus?
2. Thinking about relationships, what does a Prophet bring to us? What about a Priest? What about a King?
3. How did the Incarnation of Jesus (Emmanuel, God with us) bring us into a new relationship with Him?

In the Incarnation, there was a little insider stuff going on in the Trinity.

God was gaining from the Incarnation in another way: In Jesus’ submission to the Father.

Some of you may be thinking, “Shut your mouth!”

After all, submission of Jesus within the Godhead is one of those hot-button topics in theological circles. It makes some theologians genuinely angry at the very suggestion.

Submission, in general, is kind of a taboo topic for men to discuss (and women to do). To this group, it reeks of all the patriarchal stuff that modern men and women associate with a different era, like the Stone Age.

Well, I’m one woman who doesn’t mind submission because I understand it. I understand it and I see Jesus doing it. When I am in submission to authority in my life, I look like Jesus and He looks like love. I’m bearing His Image. And it’s all good!  Yay!

Where am I finding Jesus’ submission in the Incarnation?

John 12:44-50, especially John 12:49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

John 5:18-30, especially John 5: 19 Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. …30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

John 12:27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

Mark 14:36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Thought for the day: Jesus was Incarnated in order to demonstrate a perfect submission to God and God’s ways…something that Adam refused to do. Jesus models for us how mankind should live.  The Son of God had to experience submission even in the “surely die” because Adam didn’t take God’s word as loving, life-giving boundaries in the days prior to the death sentence.

Questions for reflection:

1. Read John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”   What is the connection between love and submission?
2. In the Godhead, submission looks like love. It does not look like power. Why is this an important distinction? Why is it important for the Incarnation?
3. What is the difference between the Father forcing Jesus to die and what happened on the Cross?
4. For insight, read John 10:17 “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life– only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

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Incarnation (2015 Advent Devotional Series) began November 29th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2015 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

What was in it for God? Why did God do the Incarnation?

Did He do it only for us?

Romans 5: 6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

I’d like to go out on a limb and suggest that while God did the Incarnation for our benefit, God also did it for Himself. God’s Image was at stake. And God’s Image looks like Love. The Incarnation was God’s supreme love on display—His perfect Love in His perfect Image, Jesus Christ.

1 John 4: 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Reading this passage, what was in it for God?

1. He rescued His Image-bearers from surely dying. His Image in us is preserved by His love.
2. He exerted His sovereignty even while our free will is upheld. His authority and power remain unchallenged and our free will was not violated.
3. He maintained His Image as loving and His judgments as holy–all at the same time. His character of holiness is unaltered.
4. He amplified love to its completion, perfection, and fullness. His love is displayed as supreme.  This cannot be underestimated.

Thought for the day: It doesn’t diminish God’s supreme and sacrificial love for God to have gained from the Incarnation as well.

Questions for pondering:

1. Had God just let His Image go to waste, what would that say about God?
2. If God had just ignored our sin, what would that say about His character?
3. John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” How do Jesus’ words alert us to the supremacy of God’s love and what God might have gained from Jesus’ death for our sins?

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Sometimes technology is imperfect and I’m sorry.  I have no idea why yesterday’s devotional ended up listed as “missed schedule” and it just decided not to publish in time for the mail delivery.  Yesterday’s is probably along with today’s instead.  Life is like that, I guess.  Thanks for understanding.

Incarnation (2015 Advent Devotional Series) began November 29th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2015 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

At one point in my life, I worked in the garden department at Home Depot. It was the only work I could get. I would have liked to believe that I might have been hired at some church for a ministry job, after all I was seminary trained and was told in my exit interview from seminary that I had very strong “gift clusters” of leadership and teaching.

The cold, hard reality is that my theology is far too conservative for denominations that welcome women and denominations that might appreciate my perspective on the Scriptures, well, I was far too female.

One day when I was having a pity party for poor old Barb-n-garden and was hoisting heavy pallets onto a stack in the loading dock, I started to cry. It was hard, heavy, and humiliating work…especially when I considered that my peers from seminary, those men, were younger and stronger than I am and here I was, doing manual labor. Humiliating. Humbling. Hoisting. Hauling. Sweeping up dead leaves and dirt when I ought to have been teaching the Bible somewhere.  Such was the pity party.

Now don’t get me wrong, I was valued at the Home Depot. I loved my coworkers and our customers…and they loved me. I loved being with the plants and being useful and so I stayed for quite a few years. Even beyond the mission trip which was the reason for needing paid employment at the time.

I learned a lot about humiliation, condescension, and accommodation from being there. That pity party I’d had back in the loading dock?

It had revealed I had far too little humility and thought I deserved something better.

The truth is that I had far too much pride and deserved far worse.

*.*.*

Pride is ugly and insidious and the solution is humiliation, humbling, and accommodation.

*.*.*

What does this have to do with the Incarnation?

Everything.

Philippians 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus was not arrogant in the tiniest sense though He was God in every sense. And yet, He humbled Himself. The Incarnation was God’s accommodation to mankind who deserved every last bit of wrath. And Jesus came to humbly show us the way of salvation. He was humiliated for our deliverance. He had no insidious pride and yet took upon Himself all that we deserved (wrath) so that we could receive what He would give (grace).

Thought for the day: The path to exaltation is through humiliation. The Incarnation was both God’s accommodation to mankind and the perfect display of love worth exalting.

Questions for reflection:

1. What types of things stand in the way of your attitude being what is listed in Philippians 2 above?
2. Have you ever felt like some type of work was beneath you or you were asked to stoop beneath your dignity? What kinds of feelings did it foster?
3. Re-read Philippians 2 above and also Isaiah 53:5 and highlight what Jesus gave up in the Incarnation as God’s accommodation for what we could not do for ourselves.

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Incarnation (2015 Advent Devotional Series) began November 29th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2015 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

Aladdin’s Genie: What would you wish of me? The ever impressive… the long-contained… the often imitated, but never… duplicated… (duplicated… duplicated… duplicated…) Genie of the Lamp! Right here, direct from the lamp. Right here for your very much wish-fulfillment. Thank you.

Jesus is not a genie from a lamp or a genie that was put in a lamp of a human body. What happened in the Incarnation is totally unique! Jesus is always impressive, long-contained starting with about 33 years on earth and continuing into eternity.  He’s often-imitated in good ways (at least we’re supposed to be imitators of Christ), but He is lampooned by those who really have no clue what they’re doing.

One thing’s for sure: Jesus’ Incarnation is never ever duplicated and it certainly did not happen so that He could grant wishes. Why is the Incarnation unique? Because He’s God.

Wikipedia uses this definition of Incarnation:

Incarnation literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. It refers to the conception and birth of a sentient being who is the material manifestation of an entity, god or force whose original nature is immaterial. In its religious context the word is used to mean the descent from Heaven of a god, or divine being in human/animal form on Earth.

Because they define it as being basically a temporary form change, a morphing, avatar, or visitation, they are able to suggest that many world religions have gods who have been incarnated. Some suggest that the Pharaohs were incarnations of gods.  All kinds of beings get all kinds of bodies.

The bad side-flip side is that some believe the flesh is bad and therefore the goal of religion is to be free from a body.

Ugh.  Whatever. People believe all kinds of bunk.

The truth is the biblical idea of the Incarnation is a huge stumbling block to all but those who are willing to see that Jesus is totally unique as The Son of God/Son of Man.

Thought for the day: Jesus didn’t just take on a human form and then go back to being an immaterial entity or change into many different bodies like Aladdin’s Genie.

Questions for reflection:

1. What is the difference between an avatar (a manifestation or visible representation) and the Incarnation?
2. A theophany is a visible manifestation of God to humankind. Read Gen 18:1-3 and 32:24-25, 28-30. How is this different than the Incarnation?
3. This list of verses talks about “the Angel of the Lord” whom many believe are references to the pre-Incarnate Christ. Gen. 16:7-11, Gen 22:11-15, Exo 3:2, Num. 22:22-35, Jdg. 2:1-4, Jdg. 5:23, Jdg. 6:11-22, Jdg. 13:3-21, 1 Ki. 19:7, 2 Ki. 1:3-15, 2 Ki. 19:35, 1 Chr. 21:12-30, Ps. 34:7, Ps. 35:5-6, Isa. 37:36, Zech. 1:11-12, Zech. 3:1-6, Zech. 12:8. If “the Angel  of the Lord” is Jesus before He was fully man (in addition to fully God), how is His Incarnation superior to even this?

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Incarnation (2015 Advent Devotional Series) began November 29th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2015 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><

• Captain Hook: Fly! Fly! Fly! You coward!
• Peter Pan: Coward! Me?
• Captain Hook: Ha-ha-ha! You wouldn’t dare fight old Hook man-to-man. You’d fly away like a cowardly sparrow!
• Peter Pan: Nobody calls Pan a coward and lives! I’ll fight you man-to-man, with one hand behind my back.
• Captain Hook: You mean you won’t fly?
• Wendy: No, don’t, Peter! It’s a trick!
• Peter Pan: I give my word, Hook.
• Captain Hook: Good, then let’s have at it!

Having the power to do something yet experiencing some level of constraint is a curiosity of the Incarnation. What happened here?

It’s not exactly like Peter Pan fighting man-to-man and refusing to do what was within his power (i.e. flying) to save his own life. It is even more than Pan’s self-decision… for self-restraint. Yet, Jesus had divine power as the Eternal Word. Powerful enough to create the entire universe with it. In the Incarnation, though, His human body had certain limitations without leaving Him powerless.

These limitations are referred to as making Himself “nothing” in Philippians 2: 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

This making Himself nothing, sometimes called emptying or kenosis, is a confusing concept. It’s easier to identify what He did not empty Himself of. He did not give up His divinity, His divine attributes, His divine power, His intrinsic equality with the Father or His nature as the Eternal Word of the Godhead.

I’d like to propose that what He emptied Himself of was His independent use of His divine attributes. He depended on the Father, showing the perfect fruit of the Spirit in perfect love and perfect self-control.

How do I arrive at that?

Matthew 26: 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” 42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

Matthew 26:53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

The spirit is willing but the body is weak. Jesus experienced all the weakness of humanity, all the frailty, all the sorrows.  Jesus knew He could call upon His Father to relieve Him of these human limitations and yet, He submitted Himself as a servant would to the will of the Father. He submitted to the full attributes of humanity, including mortality.

Thought for the day: Jesus modeled what a life looks like when a person is fully submitted to God.

Questions for pondering:

1. In what ways is Jesus the perfect man?
2. Is the perfect man in perfect control, perfect submission, or both?
3. In what ways did Jesus’ limitations not act as limitations at all?
4. Could we, if we were fully submitted to God, rely upon Him and receive full power from the Father as Jesus did?
5. Why does submission get such a bad rap?

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Incarnation (2015 Advent Devotional Series) began November 29th.  By way of reminder, if you haven’t signed up yet, you can receive these devotional studies in your email throughout Advent 2015 by entering your email address on the SeminaryGal.com home page in the space provided in the sidebar.  Or “Like” the SeminaryGal Facebook page to access them there.  If you like these devotionals, I’d really appreciate your letting others know so I can continue to spread the Good News far and wide.  Blessings to you, in Christ always, Barbara <><