Sola Scriptura-11

Few pastors truly teach just how much Jesus humbled Himself in coming to earth to take on flesh. When did Jesus become flesh? Was it at His birth? Was it when he went into the Temple at Passover when He was around 12? Or was it when the fertilized egg was implanted into Mary?

Mary, as with all of humanity, was born with a sin nature. Jesus knew no sin and lived a perfect life, something no one else could do or every did. How did Jesus escape the dangerous sin nature which has plagued humanity since the garden?

Luke 1:31  "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 1:32  "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 1:33  and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." 1:34  Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"  1:35  The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.

Conceive in the Greek can simply mean to become pregnant. Surrogate mothers are not rare in our current age of the advances in medical science. The implanted egg may be from the mother or another. The mother may be the wife but cannot give birth on her own. The birth mother may be a stranger, but still can be implanted. The difference, the egg is not her own in any way. This is the only plausible explanation for Jesus being born sinless.

This raises another very important fact, which is how much did Jesus humble Himself, make Himself low, when He left His throne in Heaven?

Philippians 2:5  Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 2:6  who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 2:7  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 2:8  Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 

2:9  For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,  2:10  so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 2:11  and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Becoming flesh was a humbling that far exceeds our minds. God leaving His throne, descended into earth to become a man but remained God. But He did not descend as a man but as a fertilized egg. He left His life entirely in the hands of His Father, as He could not have been conscious of His descent as an egg. He would not begin to restore His consciousness until He had grown at least to the age of 4-6, and then only partly.

Matthew 23:11  "But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 23:12  "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. 

He is our perfect example. He humbled Himself and was then exalted as He returned to sit down at His rightful throne in Heaven.

Acts 1:6  So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" 1:7  He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 1:8  but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." 

1:9  And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 1:10  And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. 1:11  They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.

Mat 19:28  And Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel

Hebrews 8:1  Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,  8:2  a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. 

Hebrews 12:1  Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  12:2  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Revelation 4:9  And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, 4:10  the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 4:11  "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created." 

Revelation 22:1  Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 22:2  in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 22:3  There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 22:4  they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.  22:5  And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. 

Jesus will be our judge as well as judge the world from His throne. There are numerous references to His throne and God’s throne. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and He sits on His rightful throne. This clearly magnifies the vast humbling of Jesus as He took on flesh. This makes His sacrifice even more meaningful. The cross is His ultimate example but His entire life is important as well.

More next Saturday.