The Incarnation of Christ (2) ; The Virgin Birth of Christ

We've been in a doctrinal study on the doctrine of Christ or what we've entitled what the Bible teaches about Christ. What we're trying to do is kind of what's often called systematic theology. And that is theology, a study of doctrine which is systematic in nature, which pulls the strands of truth from all of the Scriptures about that particular doctrine and pulls them together in a systematic fashion logically moving through various topics that deal with that particular area of doctrine. That's what we're doing with what the Bible teaches about Christ. And so we began by looking at the pre-existence of Christ, that Christ existed in eternity past long before He came to this earth. And then we looked at the deity of Christ, that He is truly God, fully God. And we spent 11 weeks on the deity of Christ because it's such a critical doctrine, a doctrine that is at the heart of the attacks of Satan against the Christian faith. And so we spent a lot of time showing that the doctrine of the deity of Christ is really a part of the fabric of the New Testament. It's not just based on a couple or three proof texts. It really is found throughout the New Testament and really throughout the Word of God. Then we started last week on the incarnation of Christ. And so let's pick up and just review a little bit of what we talked about last week and then pick it up from there. The incarnation of Christ, we looked last week at the meaning of incarnation. Literally it comes from two Latin words which mean in flesh, incarnation, in flesh. The idea is that Jesus Christ, who had existed forever in eternity past in heaven, along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now takes on a human body. He becomes man. He is now in flesh. And so the incarnation is really about Christ becoming man. And what all is involved in that, taking on a full complex of human attributes and adding those to his divine attributes. Then we looked at several important passages that teach the incarnation. John 114, Philippians 2, 6 through 8, and some verses in Hebrews chapter 2, critical passages, primary passages that teach the incarnation. Then we started looking at the purposes of the incarnation. Why did Jesus become man? Why did he take on a human body, a human nature, human attributes? Why did he do that? And we saw last week the first lesson and the most primary reason for the incarnation is to die for sinners. Jesus became man so that he might die for sinners. And the book of Hebrews makes that very clear. That it was necessary for him to come one of us so that he might die for us. And of course God as spirit cannot die. God must have a body in order to die. Only a body can die. And so Jesus took on a human body so that he could actually give up his life for us. Let's pick it up from there tonight. The second reason for the incarnation is to give eternal life to people. Now that one is obviously tied very closely to the first one. Jesus Christ came to die for sinners. In order that he might give eternal life to those who trust him. And so the two are tied together. We're going to look at a couple of verses which tie the giving of eternal life directly to the incarnation. And not just to his death, but directly to the incarnation. We're going to look at John chapter 6 and verse 51. We've looked at this verse recently on Sunday morning. So it'll be familiar to you. I used to hope it will be familiar to you from our study on Sunday morning. John 6, 51. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Now that's a statement of the incarnation. Christ came down from heaven. That means he became man. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world. So he came down from heaven. He became man. And in the figure of speech here, he's bread. Come down from heaven. And if we eat of that bread, if we partake of that bread, and obviously the symbolism means by faith, we partake of Christ. We receive him as our Savior. Then we will have eternal life. So Jesus came down from heaven so that we might have eternal life in a very similar statement in John chapter 10, verses 10 and 11, where Jesus says the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. In the context he's talking about, false teachers, false prophets, false messiahs, people who have claimed to be the shepherd of Israel, but they weren't. And ultimately, obviously the grand thief is Satan himself. But the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come, Jesus says, that they may have a life and have it to the full. So I am come, come down, come down to this earth. And the reason he has come is so that we might have life and have it to the full. That's eternal life. By the way, in the New Testament, eternal life, the very word that used for eternal life, does not only refer to duration. In other words, that lasts forever. It also refers to the quality of life. The word that used is a particular word having to do with the quality of life. And that even now, even this side of eternity, knowing Christ is the best quality of life you can possibly have. And so Jesus came to give us life and that we might live to the full, that we might experience human life here, right here and now, to the fullest. And then he goes on to say in verse 11, I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. People who claim to be shepherds who really were false shepherds of Israel, really just fleeced the flock. They just came to kill and maim and destroy the flock. But Jesus has the good shepherd came, he became man in order to give his life for us so that we might have eternal life. Okay, so Jesus has to give his life in order for us to have life. So numbers one and two go together. He came to die so that we might have eternal life. And that's the real purpose of the incarnation. Okay, comments or questions on that concept or those verses before we move to the next reason for the incarnation. Okay, we're good to go. Number three, to know human life by personal experience. Now think about this one for a little bit. Jesus became man so that he might representing God, know human life by personal experience. The book of Hebrews talks about that in a couple of passages. Let's look at them in Hebrews 2 verses 17 and 18. The thought really goes all the way back to around verse 9 or 10. But in verse 14, the writer of Hebrews says, since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that the death he might destroy human world's power of death, that is the devil. So he's talking about Christ becoming man and then skip down to verse 17. For this reason, he had to be made like his brothers in every way. He was talking about brothers in humanity, those with whom verse 14, he shared humanity. Okay, so he had to become like us, his brothers, in every way, in order of that, he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make a tonement for the sins of the people. Now what does it mean to be a merciful high priest? What idea does that communicate to you? Forgiving? Yes. What else? Willing to sacrifice for sure. Sympathize? Yes. Gentle? Yes. Exactly. Anything else? Come to mind. Merciful? All of those ideas are packed into that word and no doubt it would take a long time for us to really plum the depths of this concept. But Jesus is a high priest who feels with us, who understands, and all of those concepts you mentioned, go into that, that he really does understand what it's like. He's not a high priest that's way up above us and has never experienced anything we go through. He's experienced it, and the thought is finished in verse 18, because he himself suffered when he was tempted. He is able to help those who are being tempted. He feels. He knows. He knows what it's like. He knows the pressure, the strain of human life. And so it's great to know that we're praying to one, and we have one who's representing us before the Father, who has been here. He knows what it's like. He's lived human life. The same thing is communicated in chapter 4, then in verses 14 through 16. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess, for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses. But we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet was without sin. Let us then, or let us therefore, because we have this kind of high priest, in other words, who can sympathize with human weakness, because of that, let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. So the point of these two passages is that Jesus really does understand. He really does sympathize with human life because he's been here. He's lived it. He knows what it's like. Let me pause just a moment. There's another point I want to make there, but let me pause a moment and see if you have any questions about that concept. Comments you want to make. Certainly, it makes us love him more, doesn't it? Because he knows, he understands. He has empathy with us, doesn't he? Yes, he's been there and done that. He does have empathy with our human experience. Now there's a sense really in which you might, if you think about that, you might say, well, is that really necessary for him to actually come here? Isn't God omniscient? Doesn't he know all things? Doesn't he know what human life would be like, even if he didn't have to experience it? And on a certain level, I think the answer would be yes. Obviously, God is omniscient. It's not like he comes down here and says, oh, I never knew it was like this. I never understood what human life was all about. It's not that. I think really the whole concept that the writer of Hebrews is getting across is more for our benefit. You know, the encouragement in both of those passages is in verse 18 that we know we find help when we suffer. And in chapter 4 verse 16, it gives us confidence to approach the throne of grace, knowing that we'll obtain mercy and find grace to help us in time of need. Why? That's for our benefit to understand that Jesus came and understands. In other words, no one will ever be able to stand before God in judgment and say, but you don't understand. And by the way, remember who the judge is going to be in all the judgments in the future. It's going to be Christ. John 5, we saw it on Sunday morning a few weeks ago that the father has committed all judgment to the son. Acts 1731, he has given all judgment to Christ. Christ will be the one judging. No one will ever be able to look at Christ and say, yeah, but you don't understand what it's like to. He does understand. He's been here. He's walked this earth. He has experienced human life as a real human being. And so it is really for our benefit, for our comfort and encouragement and confidence in approaching him that we find statements like this. And I think that's clear from the way the writer of Hebrews ends those sections by giving us encouragement from them. Okay. Comments, questions before we move to the fourth reason for the incarnation. Yes, sir. Is it referring more to the judgment in talking about this. In chapter four, like verse 16, where it talks about coming to the throne. Yes. Now it's a good question. I really believe it's talking more about our daily walk and are coming to him in prayer than it is approaching the ultimate judgment throne. I really think it's talking more about the help that we need now to live human life. We can have confidence that we can become come before his throne in prayer. Come into his presence in prayer. The whole concept of Jesus being our high priest is a prayer kind of context. He represents us before God and he makes our way before God known. So I think it's talking more about that. Certainly the other is true. The other is true and that would be found in passages like 1 John 3, where we can have confidence before him in the judgment. Okay, great question. Anything else? I mean, if you think it's something that we found in the right way, all of us, you first think that you could not just walk in the higher floor and say you know, say things. Yeah. But we have that in terms of God, God, right? And the Christ, the Christ, the Christ, the God, the Advent, He is made a way to God. Yeah, it's a good point, Steve. And especially in ancient kingdoms, you had to be invited into the presence of the king. In fact, if you just barged in, we know that little govester. You know, if you just barged in, the king did not invite you in. You could be put to death. So there's a certain amount of fear and trembling about entering the presence of the king. But not with our savior and not with our God. Even in the church, prior to the death of the king. In the church, prior to the death of the king, you could just go into the temple and do the holy holy economy. You could just walk in there and express yourself to the God on the heart. Yeah. And that's really what the writer of Hebrews is focused on is the Old Testament symbolism of the temple and tabernacle where you could not walk into the presence of God. The average is right. Even the average priest could not walk directly into the presence of God back in the holy of Holy. Only the high priest once a year. And so the idea of the unapproachableness of God, the holiness of God, his separateness from us is communicated in that. And that's why the writer of Hebrews talks so much about Jesus having torn the veil and opened Hebrews 10, opened a new and living way for us directly into the presence of God. There is no more barrier. Jesus has broken down all that. It's a great, great concept. Yes. And there's a good balance, Gene. We should enter into prayer reverently. When the Bible says that we can have boldness and confidence, when we go into the presence of God, it doesn't mean a buddy kind of familiarity like treating God like, you know, pal down the street. He is our friend. We can come to him with absolute confidence. But the confidence is not an arrogance that he's on my level. There is a degree of reverence that we should have when we approach the presence of God. The confidence is the confidence to know that we can come to him and we can come to him with anything. The way is made open for us, but certainly the spirit is still one of reverence. Good, good balance there. John. Good point. Yeah, that's great. That's a great thought. That the word confidence is not just talking about our attitude coming into his presence, but the fact that we can speak freely what's on our heart. We can lay before him anything. Yeah, great point. Okay? Good. All right, thank you. Thank you for adding to our study. Anything else, but we have a commoner question. All right, the fourth reason why Jesus became man was to reveal ideal humanity. Okay, to reveal ideal humanity. In other words, to give us a living example, walking this earth of everything that God intended for man to be. We never really got to see it in Adam because none of us were around. I mean, Adam, Eve, I mean, we could probably ask Eve and heaven, what was it like to live with a perfect man? She probably would say it didn't last long enough. But the only perfect man we've ever seen walk this earth who presents the model for us of human life is Christ. And a couple of passages that highlight that, one is in 1 Peter 2. So let's look at that one. 1 Peter 2. This is a very specific example having to do with the way Christ responded to the injustice of his death. The context is suffering and Christians who are suffering. And particularly those who were in bondage, even in slavery in chapter 2 of 1 Peter verse 18, slaves submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. Verse 19, for it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. And he's talking about in general terms, how do you respond when you suffer unjustly? When you haven't done anything wrong, but people are still after you, or critical of you, or attacking you, or whatever. How do you respond to that? Well, look at this verse 21. To this you were called because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. Now here's the example. He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate. When he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. That goes on, verses 24 and 25, to talk more about the purpose of the atonement and bearing our sins. But the point in these verses that we've just read is the example that he set in his spirit and attitude and response when he was unjustly treated. And I think we would probably all say, this is hard to measure up to. And only by the spirit's enablement can we measure up to this? I mean, think of all that Jesus went through and he never attacked back. He never tried to get even. He never even said a word of harshness toward those who put him on the cross. In fact, you know the words he did say, father, forgive them. They know not what they do. So in that sense, in that particular sense in this passage, he's an example to us. Now there have been some who have taken this wrongly and have said that Christ's death was intended to be an example to us. And their liberals who say, that's all Jesus' death was about. He was just dying to give us an example of how to respond to unjust treatment. And that's why I think it's so important to look at the last part of the passage, verses 24 and 25, which go on to say that his death was a substitutionary atonement for our sins. That's the real meaning of his death. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness by whose wounds you have been healed. Okay, Christ died for us. But in doing so, the way he responded to the unjust punishment was an example to us. That part of his death was an example. And so in that one illustration, he's an example to us. But the other passage, first John 2.6, kind of broadens that out to a more general statement. Whoever claims to live in him, and that's Christ going all the way back to verse 1, whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. If we claim to live in Christ, if we claim to have his life in us and claim to know him as Savior, then the order is the model, an example is, to live like he lived. Again, that is only possible by the enablement of the Spirit. But Jesus reveals what God really intended man to be. It is interesting that Paul calls him the second Adam in 1 Corinthians 15. And that likeness is also in Romans 5 as an Adam all die, so in Christ all are made alive. He is actually called in 1 Corinthians 15 the second Adam. Adam was created perfect and fell. Jesus was perfect and didn't fall and continued to live a perfect life and then gave his life on the cross for us. So he's called the second Adam in that sense. So our goal is to be more like him. That's our goal in life is to be more like Christ. It's a high goal. It is unattainable in a perfect way this side of heaven, but that is our goal. He's our model. And at least in a couple of different ways, I think I have these verses for you on the screen. Philippians 310 shows that we are to attain unto him in a moral sense. Paul said, I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. Now that's the moral likeness to Christ. We should want to be like him in every way morally to live as he did. But then we're also headed toward being like him physically. And the last part of the chapter talks about that, but our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control will. Here it is, transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Now this side of heaven, it is our goal, and he is our model in this, to be more like Christ, to know by experience Christ, like Paul said in verse 10, to know by experience who is and to live like him and know the fellowship of his sufferings, be conformed to his death, to really understand what it means to die with him and live a new life. That's the moral likeness to Christ, but then Paul also talks about the very physical likeness to Christ, that's still to come. And that comes in the resurrection when Christ will change our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body. And that will happen at the rapture and the resurrection. For instance, if you're still in first John, look at first John, chapter 3, verse 2, Dear friends, now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. So when Christ comes and takes us home to heaven, we will be perfectly like him, physically and morally, spiritually. We will be like him, a glorified body. But he reveals what I do, humanity is, it's one of the reasons why I love the gospels, and I love to preach the gospels. I would stay in the gospels all the time if I didn't have the charge from the Bible to preach the whole council of the Word of God. So it means you need to preach some from Psalms and Ezra and Plesiastes and books like that too, but I would stay in the gospels all the time if I could. One of the reasons is I never cease to be challenged just by looking at the life of Christ and seeing how he responded to situations and people, because he is our model and he's the goal that we should be patterning our lives after. Reveal our deal of humanity. Okay? Comments or questions on that thought. Steve? I do it, it is can of worms. It is a huge issue and I'm not sure it's really germane to our topic, it's a little off topic, but, and it is such a complex issue. Like you said, it is a personal issue, how far we go with, you know, it opens up the whole issue of self-defense, of what you do to protect yourself, where do you cross the line of protection, self-protection to aggression. There are a whole complex of issues there that I'm not sure we can get into, but the basic concept is Jesus was treated wrongly and what he did was not retaliate in kind. I don't think that means that there's never a place for defending yourself or standing up for yourself, but Jesus did not strike back in kind. Somebody hits me, I'm going to hit him back. No, that's not the proper response, but it doesn't mean that there's, you should just put yourself in harm's way. So there are a whole complex of issues there that I'm not sure we can settle in just a few moments. So you were right, it does open up a lot of issues that I'm not sure we want to get into tonight. That's a whole study, a whole study of forgiveness, a whole study of how you treat hurts and things that have been done to you. But what we do know from this passage, it is wrong to strike back in kind, retaliate. Somehow we have to leave judgment with God in the ultimate sense and move on with our lives. I think I'll just leave it there and I know that opens up a whole lot of other questions. All right, let's move on to number five to provide an everlasting revelation of God in visible human form. One of the reasons why Jesus came to this earth as a man was to provide us and kind of take this one apart, to provide us an everlasting revelation. In other words, to unveil, to make visible, to make clear what is unclear or invisible. He provided a revelation of God in invisible human form and that is, I believe, an everlasting revelation of God in visible human form. Now, let's look at three passages which will help us kind of wrap our minds around this a little bit at least. John chapter one, which is the beginning of this whole concept of Jesus becoming man, taking on human flesh, and in so doing, he reveals God to us in a visible form. John 114, the word became flesh. We saw that was basically the definition of incarnation and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only who came from the Father full of grace and truth and then verse 18. No one has ever seen God, but God, the one and only who is at the Father's side, has made Him known. Now, no one has ever seen God, you can find in some ways, exceptions to that. People have seen how God has manifested Himself in certain ways at certain times, but no one has ever seen God in the fullness of His glory. Nor could we see that and live. But Jesus brings Him down to our level where we can see Him. So Jesus takes on a human body so that we can see the glory of God in human form so that we can see the invisible in visible form. So that was clearly from this passage one of the reasons why He came. But my point is that I believe that's an everlasting revelation that He will always be in human form. Look at Acts 1, verse 11. This is when Jesus leaves the disciples, ascends back to heaven and verse 10, while they're looking intently up into the skies, He was going when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. Verse 11, men of Galilee, they said, why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, not a different Jesus, not a Jesus in another form, this same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven. Lots of layers of this on one level, it means that He will come back slowly at His second coming. And so the reference here is to the second coming, not the rapture. He will come all the way to the earth slowly at the second coming and we know from Matthew 24 and 25 that's exactly what happens. But it also means He will come back in bodily form, this same Jesus, not in a different form, not metaphysically different, this same Jesus. In a glorified body, we'll come back. So whenever the second coming is, He's going to come back in a glorified body. In fact, the third passage I want you to look at, Revelation 19, shows us this very clearly. When Jesus comes back at the second coming to defeat the armies of the Antichrist and set up His kingdom after the tribulation time, He will come back in a physical body. Revelation 19, verse 11, I saw heaven standing open. I want you to see all of the physical references here. So heaven standing open there before me was a white horse whose rider is called faithful and true with justice He judges and makes war. So first of all, He's riding a horse. That's physical presence, terminology. His eyes, okay, He's got eyes. His eyes are like blazing fire and on His head, He has a head. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed. So He has clothes on. He is dressed in a robe, dipped in blood. His name is the word of God. The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean, out of His mouth. So He has mouth. Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron scepter. He treads. So He has feet. He treads the wine press of the fury of the wrath of all of God Almighty on His robe and on His thigh. He has this name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And you go right on through the rest of the passage. It's a very physical presence here. This is Jesus coming back in visible human form and a glorified body, yes, but still in His body. And this is at least 2,000 years or almost 2,000 years from the time this was spoken until this time and who knows how much longer it will be in the future. And Jesus still has a physical body. And so my conjecture from that, the implication is that Jesus will always keep His physical body. It is a glorified body and so it has some properties that are different than ours. First Corinthians 15 talks about a physical body and a spiritual body, a body that has some characteristics that although it is a real human body has supernatural characteristics as well. You know, Jesus can appear in a room, in the upper room. He can appear through the wall, through locked doors, but He still has a body. He eats with them. And they can touch human feeling. So He's got a human body. So although it's a glorified body, it's a human body. So Jesus came to provide an everlasting revelation of God in visible human form. Okay, comments or questions there? Yes, Greg? You know, it's a little difficult to say although Revelation 5 John sees Him in heaven pictured as a lamb that was slaying. A lamb as though He had been slaying. And so the, although the terminology is very picturesque and metaphoric, the indication is that He bears the marks of having a heart. And I think, you know, He was in a glorified body after the resurrection and He held out His hands to Thomas and said, feel my hands, feel the place in my side where the spear went in. I think that we're still, that will still be visible. Follow up there, Greg, sure. I'm not going to let you know that you're still just doing the same thing. I know they are raised to the same thing. Yeah. There are, you know, there's not much information on that. The question is, so we get it on tape. No one has seen God, the Bible says, will we see Him in the future in heaven is what you're talking about, right? Greg, will we, in our glorified bodies, be able to see Him? There's not really much information about that, but there are two little bits of information that make me think we will. One is that we have a glorified body now, which is able to handle more than this fleshly body, like ours, with all of its fall in this can handle. That gives me some indication we might see God. That one is in Revelation 21 and 22, it talks about in the New Jerusalem, God will be with them, and He will be their God, and we will be His people. And the idea of God being with the Greek preposition, Meta, means face to face with. And so I get the impression that there will be some physical manifestation of God that we will see. Again, that's evidence, very scant, it's very small, we don't really know for sure. Yeah, the Bible says Adam and Eve saw Him, He came down and walked with Him in the garden, and was that God just taking on a human presence so that they could see Him? So they were in a perfect human body, but it was not a glorified body. It was a little bit of a difference. So I don't know, it may have been in the garden, it may have just been God assuming some kind of visible human presence so that they could actually fellowship with Him. It may not have been God in His glory coming down. It's hard to know for sure. Those are probing questions, great questions. Okay, anything else? I think we will see it because one of them may be able to find God in the same place, not in the same place. One of them may be able to find God in the same place. Well, that may very well be true. There are other reasons we're having a glorified body, obviously, and one is that we'll never die, and that will be in a perfect place where there can be no sin and all that, but that may well go along with it. The fact that in a glorified body, we'll be able to handle His glory, whereas we would not in this fallen body. Yeah, yes? When is your heart of the Holy Spirit going to be shared with us? There is. That's in the Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5. Blessing of the pre- and heart, but they shall see God. If we were to go to the Beatitudes and follow through all of those blessings that are, they're basically talking about the fact of being in His presence, of being in heaven. Another one says they will inherit the earth, and so it's talking about being in His kingdom, basically. Whether or not it is to be taken so literally as the fact that we will eyeball Him, that we will literally see His presence, it could include that. Yeah, and that's a good passage to indicate that maybe we will actually with our eyes see Him in His kingdom when we are in a glorified body. But I think generally those terms in Matthew 5 are talking about will be in His kingdom, will be a part of His family forever. Certainly to say it that way seems to indicate that we will see Him physically. Okay, Jim, we've got to use the same songs next week. I'm sure you'll with your creativity find others that will fit just as well. And we will talk about the Virgin birth, which is really the means of the incarnation. That's how Jesus came into the world and took on human flesh through the means of the Virgin birth. And we will see next week, although the Virgin birth is an accurate term, it is not the best term. Really, the miracle was not the birth, the miracle was the conception. The fact that Jesus was conceived and marries womb by the supernatural power, the Holy Spirit, and not through the normal process. And so that really is where the miracle is. Technically, it should be called the Virgin conception, but that's just not popular terminology. So we'll talk about that next time. Okay, let's pray. Father, thank you for the blessing, the privilege we have to study what your word teaches about our great Savior. And especially to meditate and think a little more deeply, maybe, than we do sometimes about why He came to this earth. And the more we uncover and unwrap about why He came, the more in all we are of your love for us. And the fact that you gave Him, you sent Him, and He willingly and voluntarily came so that He might die for us. And for all of these other reasons that we've seen. Thank you again for your wonderful plan of salvation in Christ. In His name we pray, amen.