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The Duty of Ordered Love & the Sins of Identity Politics (State of the Church 2023)

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INTRODUCTION

As the Christian foundations of our society continue to crumble, animosity is the inevitable result, because in this New World that Christ rules, there is no other integration point, no other peace, no other fellowship. It is literally Christ or nothing. But this doesn’t stop rebellious men in their pride from forging false integration points, politically, culturally, or racially, but since they are all idolatrous rivals to Christ, they will only succeed in deforming men, inciting malice and envy (Ps. 115:8). Our presbytery recently adopted the following statements in order to address our current situation, proposing them to the full CREC to be adopted as memorials:

ON ETHNIC BALANCE

We believe the human tendency to congregate around shared affections is natural and can be good—it creates the blessing of cultures and subcultures, for example. But as with all natural goods in a fallen world, there is a temptation to exalt it to a position of unbiblical importance, thus making it an idol. While an ethnic heritage is something to be grateful for, and which may be preserved in any way consistent with the law of God, it is important to reject every form of identity politics, including kinism—whether malicious, vainglorious, or ideologically separatist/segregationist.

ON ANTI-SEMITISM

We believe the conversion of the Jews is key to the success of Christ’s Great Commission, and it is incumbent upon us to pray and labor toward that end. While, apart from Christ, the Jews are as all others––alienated from God—they have remained an object of God’s care because the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. God’s plan for converting them is for them to see Gentile nations under the blessings of Christ’s lordship, thus leading them to long for the same. Hence, the cancerous sin of anti-Semitism has no place in God’s plan.

THE TEXT

“And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these” (Mk. 12:29-31).

RIGHTLY ORDERED LOVES

Biblical love is treating others lawfully from the heart. And Augustine’s definition of virtue as “rightly ordered love” is inherent in being created, finite creatures. We cannot love everything and everyone infinitely; we must choose and calibrate our loves. Sin is disordered love: loving evil or else loving something good too much or too little. Our loves are ranked in the greatest commands: we must love God first, above all else, heart, mind, soul, and strength, and then we must love our neighbors as ourselves (Mk. 12:30-31, cf. Lev. 19:17-18, 33-34). Jesus is teaching this same ordering of loves when He insists that loyalty to Him and His people must rank over our own families and will sometimes even appear as a hatred of them or even your own life (Lk. 14:26, Mt. 12:48-50, Lk. 12:53).

But Jesus also affirmed the fifth commandment over certain church fundraising programs (Mk. 7:10-12), promised to abundantly restore families and lands to those loyal to Him (Mk. 10:29-30), and honored His own mother greatly (Jn. 19:26-27). Jesus was closer to some disciples than others: the 70 were closer than many, the 12 were closer still, but Peter, James, and John were His closest friends, while John was His best friend. A certain sentimentalism resents this as “not fair” or even “hateful,” but this is the way God made the world. This applies to friends (Prov. 27:6, 17), marriage (Mk. 10:9), and children (Is. 49:15, Mt. 23:37). Bitter and envious sentimentalism resents this and will eventually defend every form of treachery.

LEARNING TO LOVE RIGHTLY

Christ is the only true integration point of all things (Col. 1:20). But this reconciliation is not an obliteration of differences, loyalties, or loves. The fact that that there is neither male nor female in Christ Jesus does not abolish a husband’s duty to his wife; nor does his godly favoritism mean that he hates all other women. In fact, the Bible insists that we learn love from the lesser to the greater, from the closer to the further away, from the more concrete to the more abstract. The right kind of love of self teaches us to love our neighbors, beginning with those closest to us (Eph. 5:28), and ultimately teaches us to consider others better than ourselves (Phil. 2:3). David says that he learned to trust in God from his mother’s breast (Ps. 22:10). This covenant loyalty charges families to provide for their own before others, and so learn godliness and generosity there first (1 Tim. 5:4, 8), which, when done rightly, prepares justice, mercy, and hospitality for strangers and emergencies (cf. Lk. 10:25, Lev. 19:33-34). But it is not true love to give what you don’t have (2 Cor. 8:12), and where ordered covenant loves are despised, all talk of “love” is empty, aimless, selfish, and destructive. Just as you cannot really love God (whom you have not seen) if you do not love your neighbor (whom you have seen), neither can you love your neighbor whom you barely know if you do not love the neighbor who lives with you (1 Jn. 4:20).

PROVOKED TO JEALOUSY

The Bible teaches that envy is the satanic lust at the heart of much animosity (Js. 4:1-5), and vain glory and pride often feed and provoke this bitter envy (Js. 3:14-16, Gal. 5:26). But the more faithful God’s people are, the more provoked to envy their enemies will be (e.g. Gen. 26:14). However, there is also a godliness that provokes love and good works (Heb. 10:24, 2 Cor. 9:2). The Bible says that this is what God is doing with the Jews in particular, saving the Gentile nations first “to provoke them to jealousy” and “emulation” (Rom. 11:11, 14) “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Rom. 11:25). As it relates to the gospel, the Jews are no different than any other nation, but as it relates to covenant history, the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (Rom. 11:29). Paul says, “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh… As concerning the gospel, they areenemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes” (Rom. 9:3, 11:28). Paul’s example teaches us to hate what God hates (all vain glory, malice, lies, theft, unbelief, etc.) and to order our covenant loves faithfully (family, church, nation, etc.).

CONCLUSION

The vision in Revelation is of a great multitude that no one can number from every nation, tribe, people, language, standing before the throne worshipping the Lamb (Rev. 7:9-10) and the kings of the nations bringing the glory and honor of the nations into the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:24-26). This vision is of a glory that is both one and many, with unity and diversity.

No scheme of man can ever conjure this, and so we reject all identity politics: socialism, social engineering, racial vain glory, and all ethnic animosity. The gospel restores families and nations without putting them in a humanistic blender or coercing a false unity through superficial diversity (guilt manipulation, quotas, etc.). True virtue is a rightly ordered love, beginning with your own people, gathered around shared loves, with worship of the Lamb at the center.

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Jesus (Profiles in Christmas #4)

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INTRODUCTION

We’ve looked at Joseph & Mary the embodiment of the best of Faithful Israel’s longing for God to bring salvation. We’ve looked at the Wicked Dynasty of Herod which the text of Scripture intends to be viewed as the incarnation of Man’s Satanic Rebellion. But now, we must look at the babe which was born a child, and yet a King. The Lord Jesus.

THE TEXT

And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb (Luke 2:21)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The one by Whom all things were called into being is here given a name. He who separated the Light from Darkness, is here separated from the unclean world by the sign of circumcision. He who established the covenant with Abraham, receives the sign of that covenant (Gen. 17:12). He who ordained the Laws of Moses, is here submitted to the Laws of Moses (Lev. 12:3).

The eternal Christ was not ashamed to count us His brothers (Heb. 2:11), and so received an earthly name. The Omnipotent, and eternally begotten Son of God, who, by His God-hood, only ever knew true freedom, here becomes a debtor to all of Moses Law. And we might ask why did God determine to do all this. The answer is found in the explanation for this name which the Angel declared to Joseph: “thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins (Mt. 1:21).”

JEHOVAH WAS, IS, & SHALL BE SALVATION

Jesus would have been a common enough name in Israel. It is effectively the same name as Joshua. If we drill down into what the name means, we find it means Jehovah is salvation. Jehovah had always been the salvation of His people. The Ark in Noah’s day revealed that Jehovah is Salvation. The Ram in the thicket, upon Mt. Moriah, revealed to Abraham & Isaac that Jehovah is Salvation. At Penuel, Jacob wrestled with God Incarnate, only to find that Jehovah is Salvation. Genesis closes with Joseph delivering not only his own family, but the “entire world” by God’s grace, letting all peoples know Jehovah is Salvation.

Moses led the people out of Pharaoh’s bondage, and the Red Sea was cleft in two, and thus the great host of delivered Hebrews saw the Right Hand of the Lord bared, and could rightly sing, “Jehovah is Salvation.” Of course, Joshua leads the covenant people on a conquering romp in judgement of the Canaanite sins, and certainly in this we see Jehovah is Salvation. The Judges were continually raised up to summon the people to return unto the Lord, and wrought mighty deeds which left it without question: Jehovah is Salvation.

David beheaded a mighty Giant, expanded the border of the Promised Land to its fullest extent, established a house of worship on Mount Zion, and filled it with melodic Psalms which proclaimed, “Jehovah is Salvation.” His son Solomon built a resplendent temple for all people everywhere to come and worship the true and living God, inviting all to come and behold that Jehovah is Salvation. The Prophets called the people to repent from their sins, warned of exile, and insisted that in Jehovah alone is Salvation. And then Nehemiah & Ezra rebuilt Jerusalem, renewed the covenant so that it might be indisputable that Jehovah is Salvation. All of Israel’s history declared that Jehovah is Salvation, but now Jehovah was Salvation.

WHAT IS IN THIS NAME

The New Testament goes on to tell us all that is contained in the name, person, and work of this child we celebrate today. If you would be saved, you must call upon this name (Acts 4:12). One day every knee will bow before this name, and every tongue confess this name, Jesus, as the Lord King of the earth (Phi. 2:11-12). Indeed as Solomon the Wise once taught, this name of the Lord is a strong tower, which the righteous run into and are saved (Pro. 18:10). By this name the Apostles summoned lame to leap and commanded demons to flee.

By faith, you bear this name. The saints are often reproached for bearing His name, but Peter tells us to rejoice when we partake of the scorn which the world holds for Jesus (1 Pt. 4:14). Wicked politicians and corrupted priests sought to restrict the teaching of the Apostles in the authority of the name of Jesus (Act 4:18). If you receive this name, you bring down all manner of accusation and scorn upon you. The enemies of God in history have hurled all manner of slander upon Christians: cannibals, atheists, rabble-rousers, trouble-makers, disturbers of the peace, devils. In our own time, holding fast to Jesus and His teaching makes you a hater, someone who needs to check their privilege, a Right-Wing Extremist, Domestic Terrorists.

But the Good News of Great Joy, which the Angels declare, and which the Apostles spread out in the world to herald, and which the church militant has faithfully taught the nations is this: “And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment (1Jo 3:23).” Here is God’s command to you: believe on the name Jesus.

ALL THINGS ARE HIS

Jesus grew up in despised Nazareth. Jesus ministry was plagued by legal problems, assassination attempts, he was betrayed by a close friend, traded for a murderer, crucified and numbered among the transgressors. Jesus’ name was brought to utter ignominy. Jesus name was brought low in the grave, by the raging of wicked rulers and envious rivals. And yet, despite it all, through it all, by the power of God, Jesus is the Name above all names. Today we rejoice in this great salvation which Jehovah brought to us.

As we exchange gifts, spread our feasts, enjoy our new toys & tools & ties, we are celebrating a Name. A Name who has the only lawful claim on all things. When you hand a gift to another, or pass around the cheese & bacon-topped potato-skins, you’re simply passing around the lawful possession of Christ the King.

He has, in His kindness, given us all things to freely enjoy. It’s like when you are visiting some enormous Ice Cream shop with dozens and dozens of flavors. You might try a flavor and say, “Oh you’ve got to try this one.” As created beings, that is all we can do. All of our giving is derivative giving.

It is imitative giving. It is tasting and seeing that the Lord is good and then handing around goodness to those around us and saying, “Have you seen this shadow-glory yet? Have you tasted this appetizer of eternal joy yet? Can you believe that this too is our birthright in Christ? This fudge is glorious, but is light as a feather compared to the eternal weight of glory which shall cascade upon us right around the corner.”

All these joys are enjoyable, because God made peace with you by the blood of Jesus. We must not overlook that the central message of Christmas is that Jesus (Jehovah is Salvation) is coupled with Emmanuel (God with Us). God’s deliverance of His people was by God taking the place of His people. You are saved by Jehovah because Jehovah is with you.

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Unbelief on Christmas Eve (Christmas Eve 2022)

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Unbelief has a mysterious ability to tie knots in just about anything. Because unbelief is a function of the heart and will, it can operate in defiance of right reason, known facts, unambiguous texts, and just plain good sense. Unbelief knows what it wants, and what it wants most of all is the liberty to lock its knees and to just say no.

On one occasion, the Pharisees and chief priests sent out some officers to bring Jesus in (John 7:32). When they came back empty-handed, they were asked the reason why, and they said that no one ever spoke the way Jesus was speaking (John 7:46). The unbelieving rulers replied with a verbal sneer. Has anyone important or accredited believed in Him (John 7:48)? Nicodemus intervened and asked whether or not they ought to hear Jesus out before passing judgment (John 7:50-51). At this the rulers and Pharisees responded with another sneer. Are you from Galilee too? Check into it, bozo, and you will find out that no prophet arises from Galilee (John 7:52).

But what does Isaiah say, that prince of prophets? What did he say about Galilee?

And this was no obscure passage in an obscure book. We need to realize that this great light arising from Galilee is one of the brightest lights in the entire Old Testament—and it shines in words familiar to just about everyone here, because they are kind of impossible to miss.

That is what rises in Galilee.

And if we wanted to speak with a biblical trope, we could say that this passage has adorned a multitude of Christmas cards, in number like the grains of sand on the sea shore. It is one of the most well-known passages from the entire Old Testament.

What was the nature of this light? The light was going to begin small. Unto us a child is born. The light was going to start as a fertilized egg, and was going to appear in the world as an infant boy. This boy was doing to grow up in Galilee, but because the prophet Micah had also spoken, it was necessary for Caesar Augustus to wield what he thought was his prerogative, and to order that the whole world be taxed (Luke 2:1). As a consequence, this boy was born in his ancestral town, which was Bethlehem of Judea, but afterward His family returned to Nazareth, which was in Galilee.

Christ is that light who came into the world, and He did so in order to enlighten every man (John 1:9). Wake, o sleeper, Paul says, and Christ will shine on you (Eph. 5:14). This is the light of the kingdom that this child king brought into the world. This is the rule and realm of Jesus Christ, and the light of this kingdom is an ever-increasing light. Isaiah tells us this expressly. Does he not? “Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it.”

This rule of Christ is the light, and the rule is an ever-increasing light. Not only will it never go out, it will never stop getting brighter. Christmas lights are the future of the world.

But when we look at the stupidity of our race, coupled with our venality and corruption, we find this kind of staggering promise a little hard to believe. And this is why we must pay attention to the last phrase in this promise—the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. It will not be the wisdom of man that does it. It will not be the pure motives of our parliaments and presidents. It will not be the sophistication of our universities that ushers in this state of affairs. No, it will be the zeal of the Lord.

I spoke a moment ago about the stubbornness of unbelief. We think in our folly that we can brace ourselves in such a way as that such unbelief could put God off. No, remember that the zeal of the Lord is going to convert the entire world, and will never stop growing in that world.

And so I want to conclude with a word to the unconverted. Christmas is a time of year when you are reminded more often than usual of the centrality of Christ. So if the zeal of the Lord of hosts is coming for you, then realize that whatever you do to resist will be entirely futile. There you are, barricaded in the dirty little apartment of your heart, and you have all the furniture you possess piled up against the door. You think that will do it? You think you can hold out against this Christmas message? Christmas is just the first few words of the message, and the whole thing includes His life, His passion, His burial, and His resurrection. And after His resurrection, remember how He just appeared in the upper room, with no need to use the door. So when He wants you to follow Him, He can just come in, without so much as a “by your leave,” and start cleaning things up. The zeal of the Lord of hosts is up to whatever challenges you present.

And so here is your Christmas invitation. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Come. Come now. No need to hold out, and as you should realize, no use holding out. Christ is Lord. Give up your unbelief. Lay down your arms. A prophet does arise from Galilee.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen

And merry Christmas.

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Rise the Woman’s Conquering Seed (Christmas Eve 2022)

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Christmas is a celebration of the birth of the great dragon slayer so that the human race might become a race of dragon slayers. In the beginning, God put Adam and Eve into a perfect Garden, in a perfect world, with a perfect marriage, a perfect job, and a perfect relationship with God and one another. And then God allowed a dragon into that world, a talking dragon, a crafty dragon, a lying dragon. And the woman listened to the voice of the dragon, and the man listened to the voice of his wife, and plunged our race into a snakebit darkness, poisoned with selfishness, bitterness, guilt, shame, death, and accusation.

But we serve the infinite, omnipotent God who is not stymied by anything. He is not puzzled by anything. There is nothing that can stop His plan, and everything that tries to is only taken up into His plan: He works all things together for good. And so in His mercy and justice and power, He promised to take away the sin of man, satisfy His perfect justice, and at the same time deliver man, crush sin, Satan, and death, and restore all things. And He promised to do it all through the seed of the woman, the seed of Eve. And we should have known that this would be beyond anything we might expect even from this first promise, since properly speaking, a woman does not have seed. A woman may conceive seed, but properly speaking, it is the male part of the human race that has seed, but his seed became poisoned, disfigured, and evil.

And so the women were barren: Sarah was barren, Rebekah was barren, Rachel was barren, and Hannah, and Ruth, down to old Elizabeth. Only God could open wombs. Only God could give conception. All their schemes turned into trouble and misery. But the promise was unmistakable: the seed of the woman would kill the dragon. But a woman does not have seed. And so the prophet finally said what everyone had to be thinking: a virgin will conceive and bear a son. The seed cannot come from a fallen man, a snake-bit man; God will provide the seed.

So He did, and Mary brought forth her Son, never having known a man, and laid him in a manger. Here at last in Bethlehem, for the first time is the seed of the woman. No other woman has ever brought forth a child without the aid of a man. The Holy Spirit hovered over that empty womb, and said Let there be light: and there was the Light of all Light, the Lightest Light, the Brightest Light. And she called His name Jesus, because He came to kill the dragon and save His people from their sins.

But the poison of the serpent infects everything. It is death and uncleanness in everything. Everything that a sin-infected person touches is covered in it. Evil thoughts, envy, jealousy, biting words, rage, bitterness, lust, pride, arrogance, hatred, deviance. You can’t wash it off. You can’t make up for it because even your good deeds are still full of it, your best deeds still reek of the serpent smell, the foul odor of selfishness, pride, fear, resentment, shame. The dragon is a tape worm sucking life from every corner. So how can the Seed of the Woman kill this hydra-dragon, this many-headed tape worm? The only way is for every infected human to die. Like all parasites, if the host dies, the parasite dies. But then the problem in our case is that the human has died.

So the Seed of the Woman was born in order to take the human race with Him down into the pit of the snake, down into the lair of the dragon, down into the heart of the earth, down into death itself. And there, to receive the justice for all our sin, receiving all our darkness, all our filth, every accusation, all the condemnation of the Devil, nailing the handwriting of ordinances that was against us to His cross, until every last one was paid. Until every single tape worm was dead, until the last drop of shame was starved, until perfect justice was paid.

The power of the dragon is the power of death, and he had the power of death because He accuses guilty sinners of their sin. But the Seed of the Woman has no sin. He can fight the dragon because the dragon has no power over Him. The dragon came and tempted Him, but He did not yield. He has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet He remained without sin, so that He can fully sympathize with us in our weakness, and yet He understands all of it better than us because He has never once yielded for a moment.

Death only holds those who are guilty. Guilt is a millstone and death is the ocean of God’s justice. And the dragon only needed to shove you off the plank, and sinners sink all by themselves by the weight of all our sin. The Dragon accuses, and guilty sinners cower in fear. The dragon accuses, and guilty sinners plunge beneath the waves of guilt and shame. But the Seed of the Woman is not guilty of any charge, and so when the seed of the woman died, when He was crucified on a Roman cross, the only way He could die was by virtue of identifying with us. He claimed us as His own, and in so doing, He claimed our filth, our sin, our rage, our evil thoughts, our drunkenness, our rebellion. He claimed it all, and sunk into death because of it all. But when it was all paid, when it was completely finished. There was nothing holding Him down. And so He rose: like light bursting out of the darkness, like a seed out of nowhere, like a buoy surging up through the waves, but when He rose, He did not rise empty handed. He rose with us in tow. He rose with us under His Everlasting Arms. He went down, identifying with us, with our serpent-sins, our snake-bit poison, but when He rose, He identified us with Him. He took us down so that we might die, and all our sin died in Him. And then He rose, so that we might live, so that all His Life and Light might live in us.

Jesus is the Seed of the Woman, and He crushed the head of the dragon. He defanged the Accuser by paying for all the accusations. But the way He did it turns all those who believe into dragon-slayers. So how do the saints overcome the dragon? Through the blood of the Lamb and their testimony (Rev. 12:11). And how does that work? If we walk in the light as He is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, the Lamb of God, cleanses us from all sins (1 Jn. 1:7). How does the blood cleanse us? If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:9).

How do you fight the dragon? By confessing your sins to God and one another and forgiving one another quickly. When you confess your sins, you stomp on the head of the dragon. When you confess your sins, a little more Light breaks out in this world. And this is our testimony: that we have been washed and forgiven by the blood of the Lamb, and now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and now we are not afraid anymore.

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of the great Dragon-slayer, and in Him, the birth of a race of dragon slayers. So lift up your heads. Lift up your hearts. Christ is born. The Seed of the Woman has come. The dragon has been mortally wounded, and you have been set free. So take up your arms. Confess your sins. Forgive one another. Rejoice and sing and celebrate. This your testimony, and by this testimony you overcome the dragon.

In the Name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Amen.

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Mary (Profiles in Christmas #3)

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INTRODUCTION

The godliness & virtue of Mary coupled with the profound significance of the task appointed to her of bearing God in the flesh in her womb, has led some to revere Mary in her own rite. But, when we look at her life, we must resist two temptations. One would be to overly reverence her (the Roman Catholic error), the other to disrespect her (the error of our irreverent age). She ought not be venerated, but rather, emulated.

THE TEXT

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:26-33).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The Angel Gabriel comes as one of God’s “mighty ones” to a virgin from Nazareth in Galilee. Two important descriptions are noteworthy: first, she is an espoused virgin; second, that she (as we saw with Joseph) was of the house of David (vv26-27). Gabriel’s greeting is packed with regal honorifics: she is hailed as with royal (not divine) honor, she is highly favored, the Lord is with her, and she is blessed among women (v28). While she is quite flummoxed by this greeting (v29), the Angel goes on to unfurl the most important tidings any Angelic messenger had ever given. Mary had found favor in God’s sight (like Noah, Abraham, and Moses); like all moments of redemption, this was God’s free grace at work (v30).

This Incarnation of God in the flesh was the crowning jewel of all of God’s grace towards man. Mary is told that she would conceive & give birth to a son, who should be named Jesus (v31). So far, nothing that abnormal. Human mothers had birthed human sons before. Angels had come with these sorts of messages before. Prophets had made these sort of predictions before.

But then the Angel sets forth the towering glories of this Son. In Mary’s Son all the Messianic glories are brought into full flower. Her Son would also be divine. He would be great, the Son of the Highest, the fulfillment of God’s messianic promise to seat an eternal heir on David’s throne (v32), He was the prophesied Star which would arise out of Jacob to reign unto endless eons (v33, Cf. Num. 24:17).

THEOTOKOS

As you recite the Definition of Chalcedon at Christmastime each year, you shouldn’t forget that almost every phrase in it was the topic of long debate. One of the principle debates was whether it was right to call Mary the “God-bearer”. The Greek word is theotokos. This debate centered on who Jesus was. Was He a Son of Man which God used? Was he the eternal Christ, but more of an apparition than a true human?

A few other suggestions were proposed: theotokos should be combined with anthropotokos, or Christokos. But by landing on calling Mary the God-bearer, the theologians of Chalcedon said more with less. It forced the Church to affirm the unity of the human & divine nature of Jesus Christ.

This isn’t just theological hair splitting; there are important practical implications, even if it gives us a bit of a headache in trying to get it pinned down. God the Son was manifested in the flesh. The Son never resigned His divinity while taking unto Himself true humanity.

If you erroneously split that theological atom, you end up with either a Christ who can’t suffer in our stead, or a mere man who can’t bring us up to glory. One is a ladder that isn’t tall enough, the other is a ladder that floats just out of reach. But theotokos puts both together. Jesus is God. Jesus is man. Mary bore God in her womb. Yes, this is mind-blowing. This was the most impossible thing to ever happen, and Mary herself knew it (Lk. 1:37).

GOD MY SAVIOR

One of the central errors of Mariolatry is that it neglects to reckon with Mary’s own words. This is seen particularly in her Magnificat. She describes there her wonder and worship at all that had befallen her in terms of fulfillment of OT types.

All the Psalmists’ pleas for God’s swift deliverance of His people (including Mary) are now answered. Mary sees Hannah’s exultation over her adversary (satan) played out once again in her own story, but cosmically, the woman’s seed overcoming the serpent’s seed. She sees that her Son is the Seed of Abraham, and this was the blessing for all the earth, for all generations.

She rejoices in “God my Savior.” She does not set herself above all others, but sets herself as the first blessed amongst all others who would receive this great blessing of the Savior. Mary needed a Savior. Later on in Jesus’ ministry, we also get a bit of a sense that Mary was pushing Jesus forward into being the sort of Savior she (as well as the other disciples) envisioned the Messiah would be. Simon surely prophesied well when he told Mary that a sword would pierce her own soul.

Mary was there when God first took on flesh, and she beheld when that flesh was hung––mangled and tortured–– upon a the accursed Roman tree. She understood, imperfectly at first, and then on Calvary she came to see more clearly, that her Son was also her Savior.

RECEIVING AS A CHRISTMAS VIRTUE

Generosity requires two parties: the giver & the receiver. One is active, the other is passive. Every gift we give is play-acting God’s creative power. It is He who made us and not we ourselves. Can the pot say to the Potter, “What gives?” Our modern world thinks that being can be taken for granted. Your existence isn’t your possession for you to do with however you please; it is a gift to be received and rightly used. All the modern jargon about “self-expression” & “finding your true self” is continuing the root rebellion of mankind.

Mary’s response is that of true faith: “Be it unto me according to your word.” Mary receives the unearned favor of God with humble faith. She doesn’t resist or object in doubt. She receives the gift. This sort of faith insults our modern egotistical age, and confronts it as a putrid rebellion against God.

What do you have that you did not first receive? Man wants to try to clean himself up to please God, before he receives God’s gift of cleansing. Man tries to reform himself, before receiving the reforming grace that God gives. Man tries to find rebirth in himself, before receiving the New Birth in Christ. The order matters, immensely. God casts His favor upon you, through no merit of your own, and calls you to receive it. Only then can you be remade.

ANOTHER REBELLIOUS MIRIAM

Mary’s namesake was Miriam, Moses’ sister. Her name meant resistant/obstinance. Miriam notoriously resisted Moses’ authority (Cf. Num. 12). Here we have a profound contrast between two Miriams. Mary the resistant, says, “let it be.” Mary receives grace, and so resists the proud.

By God’s grace, the rebellious become the receivers. This is how Mary, and all true believers, overcome the world. We receive in order to overcome our adversary. We who were once rebels of God, when we receive His gracious favor, we are made more than conquerors through Christ, the Son of Mary. The overthrow of Satan had begun, because Christ was born of Mary.

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