More Than A Man

“Though He was in the Form of God

He chose not to cling to equality with God.

But He poured out Himself into a vessel brand new;

A servant in form, and a man indeed.

The very likeness of humanity.

He humbled himself, obedient to death – a merciless death

On the cross!

So, God raise Him up to the highest place

And gave him a name above all.

So, when His name is called, every knee shall bow,

In Heaven, on earth, and below.

And every tongue will confess Jesus, the Anointed One, is Lord.

To the glory of God our Father.” Philippians 2:6-11

At the end of every year, people all over the world stop to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We wonder, in awe of the immaculate conception, we sing songs of joy to world, for the savior is born, we share the biblical account of the wise men, the shepherds in the field, the crowded town of Bethlehem, with no vacancies, we even celebrate the manger, and we even embellish the story with a little drummer boy, for good measure. 

Who does not like the story of a miraculous birth of a savior king, who will rescue us from the enemy. This is the stuff of tales, but this no tale, because He is more than a baby, “For unto us, a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

The Bible tells us that He was in the Form of God. The verb “To Be” defines that something exists.  The Voice version says” Though He was in the Form of God. The New King James Version says, Being the Form of God, the NIV version, says, being very nature God.

He is God, in form, in existence, in nature, and purpose. God said, though I AM God, I will put down my Godliness. Though I AM God, I will put down my divinity. Though I AM God, I will put down my Omnipresence. Though I am God, I choose not to cling to my Godliness.

The I AM poured himself into a vessel, brand new. He poured himself!

The Greek word represented here, means to empty. The I AM emptied himself completely. The I Am emptied His reputation, of being God of all creation. He did not leave anything behind. There were no leftovers, he emptied himself. There was no turning back, He emptied Himself, There was no other way, He emptied Himself.

Man needed a redeemer, He emptied himself. Woman needed a savior, He emptied Himself. Every man, woman, boy and girl, that has ever been born, needed to be saved, so He emptied Himself.

He found a vessel, brand new, and this vessel was called man, and He emptied himself into this new vessel, He came as a baby, God almighty, the Creator of all emptied Himself, and became a vulnerable, feeble, human baby. God almighty, the Creator emptied Himself into the form of the created. The King became a Servant, Adam’s creator, became a Son of Adam indeed, a man, the very likeness of Humanity.

Luke records this pouring of the Son of God into vessel, made new. He does so poetically, yet with simplicity. The transaction is both heavenly and earthly, heaven and earth are joined as the the angel Gabriel visits Elizabeth, the barren wife of Zacharias. She is old, and feeble. Her cousin, Mary is young and full of possibilities.

We know the story, Mariam, “Mary” a young lady, living in Nazareth, out in the country. The Bible says in the “Voice” version, she is in the “rural province of Galilee”. She was just a poor country girl. Looking forward to her soon marriage to her fiancé, by way of family arrangement. She was simple, poor, faithful and hopeful. She looked forward to the day of her wedding because this was her way, her path to a full and complete life. For women in this time, marriage, and motherhood, was not just welcomed, it was essential.

Elisabeth, her cousin, was married, yet childless, Mary was a young virgin, and childless. It is interesting that God would use these two to remind us that we serve an awesome God. We do not serve a God of impossibility, we do not serve a God of probability, we do not serve a God of maybe; we do not serve a God of I think I can, we serve a God who says it, and it is done.

 It was Isaiah who wrote, “Ah, how beautiful the feet of those on the mountain who declare the good news of victory, of peace and liberation, the voice that calls to Zion, that chosen place for God’s promise people, announcing to them, “Your God rules!” Isaiah 52:7

Our God rules in heaven and earth, and He rules the wombs of ordinary women. If they are barren in old age, He rules. If they are young and in waiting, he rules. If they are full, He rules. If they are empty, He rules. Our God rules.

It was this God who inspired the prophet Isaiah to write in Chapter 40:3-5

 “A voice wailing, “in the wilderness, get it ready! Prepare the way; make it a straight shot. The Eternal would have it so. Straighten the way in the wandering desert to make the crooked road wide and straight for our God. Where there are some steep valleys, treacherous descents, raise the highway; lift it up; bring down the dizzying heights, fill in the potholes and gullies, the rough places. Iron out the shoulders flat and wide. The Lord will be, really be, among us. The radiant glory of the Lord will be revealed. All flesh together will take it in. Believe it. None other than God, the Eternal has spoken.”

Our God rules in heaven and earth, He poured out the voice of prophecy into the womb of Elisabeth, and the one who would come before, and prophesy the way of the Lord was born. John was born of Elisabeth. He was not the Christ, but he pointed the way to Christ.

Sometimes, we just need to stop and ask ourselves, Father, what is it that you would have me to do? We get so busy trying to survive this life, we forget about His call upon our life to point others to Christ. Sometimes we get so busy trying to survive this life, that we forget that He has called us to care for the sick. Sometimes we get so caught up in this life, we forget to live a full life in Christ, living a life according to His will. As John was called to point others to Christ, we too are called to share the Gospel of the Lord who poured himself out for you and me.

He poured out Himself into the womb of an ordinary country girl. And our savior was born. In a manger. “The King of Glory stooped low to take humanity. Rude and forbidding were His earthly surroundings. His Glory was veiled, that the majesty of His outward form might not become an object of attraction. He shunned all outward display. Riches, worldly honor, and human greatness can never save a world from death: Jesus purposed that no attraction of an earthly nature should call men to His side. Only the beauty of

heavenly truth must draw those who would follow Him.” In a crude building where the beasts are sheltered…. Here the Redeemer of the world is born.” E.G. White, The Desire of Ages, Chap.4

You and I are not attractive enough to call men to the side of God. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts the heart of man to accept the saving grace, freely offered to them. Yes, it is good to sing songs of praise, but we are to love our fellow man, as God loves us. Yes, it is essential for us to preach His word, but preaching should point people to know who God is, and not be about our own selfish desires. Yes, it is essential to build churches and institutions for worship, but we must remind people that the Holy Spirit desires to dwell within us. It was Paul who wrote:

1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV

Don't you know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? The Spirit is in you, and you have received the Spirit from God. You do not belong to yourselves.

Christ poured himself out, laid down divinity, took up humanity, borne by a virgin, foretold by the prophets of old, born in a manger.

Yet while He was born a baby, He was more than a baby. He Is the breath of life. He was more than a Baby; He Is the bright and morning star. He was more than a baby; he Is the blessed assurance. He was more than a baby, He Is the bread of life, He was more than a Baby, He is our beautiful savior. He was more than a Baby; He is our Blessed Redeemer.

While I love this story, it is beautiful, it’s nostalgic, it’s powerful and it’s inspiring. Yet, this is not the whole story. God did not pour himself out into a new vessel, just for a wonderful story of virgin birth. He laid down His divinity so that He could save humankind. And so, this baby boy, born in a manger, was not the whole story, this baby born in a manger, would grow to be man, so that He can be about His father’s business.

It is time for us to be about our Father’s business. No more Baby food. It is time to eat solid food. No more swaddling clothes, it is time to put on the robe of grace. No more suckling at our mother’s breast, it is time to drink from the fountain of life.

Proverbs 8:35 TPT

For the fountain of life pours into you every time that you find me, and this is the secret of growing in the delight and the favor of the Lord.

In the spring of each year, we remember the savior’s sacrifice on the cross, culminating his ministry on this earth. Some people celebrate the Passover, others celebrate the holy communion, others still celebrate resurrection morning. We thank Him for His sacrifice, we remember his pain and suffering, the thorny crown, His pierced side, the nails in wrist, or the palms of His hand, the blood and water rushing from His, His cry, Eli, Eli Lama Sabathani. My God, My God, why have they forsaken me!

We love to tell the story, of unseen things above, of Jesus and his Glory, of Jesus and His love. This is a remarkable story of redeeming love. How one man laid down His life for all our sins. This is an easy story to love. It is the story of the white knight and the damsel in distress. This is an easy story to love, it is the story of a cowboy rushing in to save the town from the Marauding gang. This is an easy story to love, it is the story of your big brother coming to your rescue in the playground at school.

This is a great story, a wonderful story, we love to tell this story. We make movies about this story. We write books about this story. We perform plays in church, telling this story. It is a great story; it is an essential story. It is a love story; in fact, it is the greatest love story ever told.

For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, this is what the Prophet Isaiah says:

Isaiah 53:3-6 NKJV

“He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

[4] Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.

[5] But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

[6] All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, everyone, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

This baby became a man, the man Christ Jesus. This man came to remind us of who God is. This man came to remind us that we were fearfully, and wonderfully made.

This man came to remind us that we have a maker, and we call him Lord. He fed those who were hungry bread from a boy's basket, yet He is the bread of life. He came to meet the woman at the well, yet He is the fountain of Living Water. He healed the sick, for he is the creator, for He can fix whatever is broken. He casts out demons, because even demons tremble at the sound of His voice. He raised Lazarus, for He is the resurrection and the life.

He died on the cross, so that we might live!

We need to understand the depth of this love. The creator of the universe died that we might live! Because of the wages of sin, death abounds all around us. Funeral parlors have made a business out of death. Each year at the end of October, some celebrate death. Wars abound, mass shootings occur almost daily. The young get sick, the old get sick. Pain and suffering are normalized. Yet, we think that all we can do is offer our thoughts and prayers and move on to tomorrow’s story. We can do more than that, we can tell people that they have a savior.

He is more than a Baby, He is Our savior. He is more than a man. He is king of King, Our Lord, and Savior. And because He is Lord, soon and very soon, sickness will be no more, pain and suffering will be no more, heartache and pain will be no more, backbiting and gossip will be more, hatred will be no more, racism will be no more, war will be no more, death will die.

A New Heaven and a New Earth. Rev 21:1-4 NIV

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

Revelation 5:1-14 NKJV

And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?"

And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it. So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."

[And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."

Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!"

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!"

He is more than a man; He is the Lion of Judah that takes away the sins of the world.

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