Anyway, for December Corrisa (my co-lead) and I decided to focus on the Life of Christ, but rather than spend time on His birth (though very important, we all really have a lot of chances to learn about it), we are focusing on three key areas:
- Jesus Pre-Incarnate (before the manger)
- Jesus Humbling Himself on Earth
- Jesus at the Right Hand of God
Icebreaker: What hope do you hope is realized for 2012...big or little, what is something you'd really like to happen in the next year?
Topic: Did Jesus exist before Bethlehem?
- Jesus Christ is eternal, just as God is
- Jesus existed before the patriarch of the Jews, His own distant grandfather
- "Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.'" (John 8:58)
- Jesus was with God in the beginning and played a critical role in the creation of all things
- "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being... And the Word became flesh, and dwellt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-3, 14)
- Believers were chosen in Jesus Christ before "the beginning"
- "Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundations of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love." (Ephesians 1:3-4)
- Jesus Christ is present throughout the Old Testament (I have a spreadsheet listing many, many OT prophecies with their corresponding NT fulfillment, so just comment or email me if you'd like it!)
- Jesus at the Fall of Man
- God has entered the garden of Eden to find Adam & Eve hiding. Eve tells Him that the serpent tricked her and she ate of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, disobeying the only command God had given to Adam and Eve.
- "And the LORD God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." (Genesis 3:14-15)
- "I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed" (3:15a)
- "Her seed" - Jesus was born of a woman
- "But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law," (Galatians 4:4)
- Not of a man - "and to Jacob was born Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ" (Matthew 1:16)
- "He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel" (3:15b)
- "He shall bruise you on the head" - Jesus strikes a fatal blow
- some translators use "crush" instead of bruise
- "Since then the children share in the flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is the devil" (Hebrews 2:14)
- "you shall bruise him on the heel" - Satan strikes a non-fatal blow
- Satan Tempts Jesus, hurts Him, but does not vanquish Him (Matthew 4:1-11 & Luke 4:1-13)
- "Then the devil left Him; and behold angels came and began to minister to Him." (Matthew 4:11)
- "And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power." (Acts 2:24)
- Prophecy
- Is very confusing and can seem quite cryptic...but holds amazing truths -- both in the Old Testament for the coming of Jesus Christ, and in the Old and New Testaments for the return of Jesus Christ
- Is not a set of requirements or steps that God must find a way to fulfill when He is ready, but is a history of what is to come -- which is why all of the seemingly minor, insignificant details are perfectly true
- God is not limited by time/chronology
- "But do not let this one fact escape you notice, beloved, that with the Lord on day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (II Peter 3:8)
- Neither is Jesus
- "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30)
- Conclusions
- God did not create Jesus as a solution to the Fall of Man
- Jesus existed before "the beginning", played a role in creation, and exists outside time
- Believers were "chosen" or saved before "the beginning", therefore God's initial plan included both the Fall and the path of Salvation (as well as everything else)
- To God our prayers are already heard, our hopes are already realized or forgotten, our worries are already laid to rest - like a movie, His plan is complete, though we have yet to experience it
- "For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life...which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life span?...But seek first His kingdon and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:25-34 excerpts)
- So, if your hope for 2012 is part of God's plan, it Has already come true in His time. If it is not, then He has something even better for you!
- "And we know that God causes all thingss to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
