I preached a mini-sermon on this text this evening:
I. The incarnation was an act of war (14-15) – Jesus came to defeat Satan and rescue us from slavery.
II. The incarnation is inextricably connected to the atonement/propitiation (16-17) – you have to keep the cradle and the cross together in your mind. He was born to die.
III. The incarnation is permanent and has implications for our daily Christian living (18) – Jesus comes to our aid as the God-man to help us when we’re tempted.
SDG,
Ezra
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Posted by Allen Smith on December 21, 2009 at 11:02 am
Great outline! It preaches well. I especially like the first point. The incarnation as an act of war – God’s surprise attack against Satan and death itself. Like Bryan Chapell’s illustration of the acorn, we can say many true things about the acorn, but if we don’t explain that inside the acorn is a tree, we’ve missed the point. If we don’t explain the mission of baby Jesus, we’re left with a weak, helpless, manageable Jesus. His warfare is completely tied to point 2, he had to go through humiliation, shame, and death of a cross, absorbing His Father’s wrath, in order to come out the other side victorious.
Please greet your family for me!
Allen