“Life-Giving Grace!” – FBC Morning Light (12/27/2024)

The Incarnation as a Display of Condescending Love

Well, a good Friday morning to you, as we wrap up this Christmas week of meditations on the Incarnation. I want to read this from Stephen Charnock, the theologian of old. He wrote this, he says, What a wonder is it that the two natures, infinitely distant, should be more intimately united than anything in the world, and yet, without any confusion, that the same person should have both a glory and a grief, an infinite joy in the deity and an inexpressible sorrow in the humanity, that a god upon a throne should be an infant in a cradle, the thundering creator be a weeping babe and a suffering man.

These are such expressions of mighty power as well as condescending love that they astonish men upon earth and angels in heaven. Expressions of mighty power, condescending love, and I would say further, amazing and marvelous grace.

Remember that fourth stanza of Newell's hymn at Calvary begins, Oh the love that drew salvation's plan, oh the grace that brought it down to man. We've been meditating on that grace the last couple days as it's been expressed in the visitation of the angel Gabriel to Mary, announcing to her that she is going to give birth to a baby boy whose name was going to be Jesus.

In that enunciation, we've been meditating on the grace that's displayed there. I want us to see further here, a grace that is life-giving is brilliantly on display here, a grace that is life-giving.

Life-Giving Grace Beyond Human Cooperation and Capability

After all, what is going to come from the virgin's womb? What's going to be created in that virgin's womb but the life of the Christ child, the God-man, the Lord Jesus? What I want us to notice about this life-giving grace is that it is beyond human cooperation.

Listen again to what the angel tells Mary in verse 31. He says to her, behold, and listen to the verb forms, you will conceive in your womb, and you will, understood, bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

You get the significance of that? Gabriel doesn't say, listen Mary, as long as it's okay with you, or Mary, if you're willing to go along with this, no, no. Gabriel says, this is what's going to happen.

You will conceive, and you will bring forth a son, and you will call his name Jesus. It's all non-negotiable. This life-giving grace is really beyond human cooperation. Of course, Mary is befuddled by this.

She's a virgin, and she's not married yet, and she and Joseph are not going to come together until after the marriage is all finalized, and so forth. She, understandably, asks this profound question in verse 34.

How can this be? How can this be, since I don't know a man? It's inconceivable how this could possibly be. It's beyond human cooperation. It's beyond human comprehension. But then also I would have you notice that this life-giving grace is beyond human capability.

There is nothing that Mary can do of herself to create this life within her. It requires the Holy Spirit for that conception. This is brought out in verses 35 and 36. She says, how is this possible? The angel says, well, this is how it's possible.

The Holy Spirit will come upon you. Notice, non-negotiable here, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, the power of the highest will overshadow you, and the Holy One who's to be born will be called the Son of God.

There's no human way of work going on here. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is needed for the conception. The Holy Spirit is vital for the incarnation itself, the power of the highest overshadowing her.

This all requires divine intervention, and it's divine intervention that is wholly possible because it's God doing it. For with God, the angel says, nothing will be impossible. By the way, as a way of reassuring her that this is going to happen, he tells her that, look, your aged relative, Elizabeth, who is far beyond childbearing years, she's in her sixth month of pregnancy and she's going to give birth in about another three months, so God did this.

With God, nothing is impossible. The grace of God is a life-giving grace, and as that was true at the incarnation of Jesus, so is it true in God's giving of spiritual life in those who are dead in trespasses and sins.

New Birth in John 3 and the Work of the Holy Spirit

This is brought out beautifully in the Gospel of John, the third chapter, in Jesus' interaction with Nicodemus. You remember this? Nicodemus comes to him, and Jesus says to him, to Nicodemus, he says that spiritual life is beyond your cooperation.

He says in verse 3, most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, or born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Do you get that? You have to be born from above in order to be able to see the kingdom of God.

What's interesting is that Nicodemus responds to that statement of grace needed with a similar question to Mary's. He says in verse 4, how can this be? How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?

How is this even possible? Yes, this new birth is beyond our comprehension. I don't understand how it works, I don't understand the mechanics of it all. All I know is that it's God's gracious work through his Holy Spirit.

Just as the life implanted in Mary Mary's womb was the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus says spiritual life, being born from above, is the work of the Holy Spirit. Look at what he says in verses 5 and following.

Verse 5, John 3, Jesus said, most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water, that's physical birth, and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh, your physical birth, and that which is born of Spirit is Spirit.

Spiritual life, spiritual birth, requires the Holy Spirit's work. Do not marvel, I say unto you, you must be born again, or born from above. He says in verse 8, the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes.

So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. Yes, even our new birth, when you came to faith in Christ, there was a spiritual work going on within you that you weren't conscious of. God in his grace sent his glorious Holy Spirit to give life to you who were dead in trespasses and sins.

Thanksgiving for Amazing Grace in Salvation

This is the marvelous, gracious work of our gracious God. Oh, the love that drew salvation's plan. Oh, the grace that brought it down to man. Our Father and our God, we are grateful today for your amazing grace, seen so beautifully on display in the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, but also seen in brilliant display in the salvation of every sinner whom you give life, to whom you give life, new birth, they might enter into the kingdom of God.

Thank you for your amazing grace. We pray that you would bless these thoughts to our hearts, and we ask it in Jesus' name, and for his sake. Amen. All right, well listen, I hope these Christmas meditations have been a blessing to you, and I also trust that you'll get to church on this coming Lord's Day, end out the year in the right way, worshiping the Lord with God's people, and get the new year off to a great start.

Well, have a good weekend, and may God bless.