Friday, September 9, 2005
Romans 1:1-3 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh.
GOD IS BORN
Notice that Paul calls Jesus Christ God's Son. Paul calls Jesus Christ our Lord. If God's Son is our Lord, that means that God's Son is God Himself, and we know this to be true. He who was eternal God from eternity, the very Son of the God the Father, who was and is Himself God, this eternal One was born, Paul says.
The prophets of the Old Testament promised this birth. Already in the Garden of Eden God Himself spoke of the Seed of the Woman, who was to crush the head of Satan and take away his power. As the years went by, God through His prophets became clearer and clearer as to who this Woman's Seed would be. Noah's son Shem first received the blessing. Then it went to Abraham, then to Isaac, then to Jacob, and to Jacob's son Judah.
For many years no more was said, until from the tribe of Judah came David of Bethlehem. God said to David: "I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish His kingdom."
Finally the day came for all of God's promises to come to pass. The angel Gabriel came down to talk to Mary from David's family and tell her: "You will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
And so it happened there in Bethlehem, David's town. Jesus was born of the seed of David according to the flesh. He who was God from eternity became man in the person of the baby Jesus. Why is this such good news for us? We all know the answer, because the name Jesus means Savior. Yes, Jesus of the seed of David is the Savior of the world, our Savior, and we should never get tired of rejoicing in His birth and praising His name.
