JESUS AS SAVIOUR AND KING
Luke 1:30-33
Morning Meditation 10/5/2015
"And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."
"Great disaster of the world,
When Adam from his throne was hurled;
When the tempter seem'd to win
Through unfathomable sin.
Ah! But it was only seeming;
Lo! The Christ has come redeeming."
Jesus the Lowly Child, yet the "Mighty God," stripped of His glory, and still glorious in His weakness. Great is the mystery of godliness. Let's look first at,
HIS SAVING NAME
Matthew 1:21, "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." The name Jesus is the Greek equivalent to the Hebrew Joshua. It means "Saviour."
The words, "He shall save" expresses the same as the name, and on this account the name was given to him. He saves men by having died to redeem them; by giving the Spirit to renew them, by his power in enabling them to overcome their spiritual enemies, in defending them from danger, in guiding them in the path of duty, in sustaining them in trials and in death; and he will raise them up at the last day, and exalt them to a world of purity and love. As a Saviour He saves from,
1. Sin. He saves from its defiling and condemning power, from the love of it, and from the wrath that is to come because of it. 1 Thessalonians 1:10, "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come."
2. Self. Galatians 2:20 says, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." The "I" is to be crucified with Christ that the body of sin might be destroyed. This is brought out in Romans 6:6, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." This verse teaches co-crucifixion of the believer with his Saviour. This is how God sees it and we are encouraged to operate in this life on this truth. Romans 6:11, "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."
3. He saves us from this present evil world. Galatians 1:4, "Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:" Galatians 6:14, "But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." Jesus paid it all. He did at the cross all that needed to be done to rescue and redeem the fallen. No matter what this world does to the Christian he is a victor in Christ's victory over this present evil world.
NEXT WE SEE HIS WONDERFUL CHARACTER
Luke 1:32, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:"
1. He shall be great in His origin. Isaiah 9:6, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." This is way over the head of unbelieving Bible scholars. But it stands as eternal truth set for in God's infallible Word.
2. He is great in His love. His love was consistent with the greatness of His character, and was stronger than death.
3. He is great in His power. The power of Jesus was the power of His faith. He believed and spoke, and it was done. Luke 1:37, "For with God nothing shall be impossible."
FINALLY WE SEE HIS GLORIOUS PROSPECT
1. He shall have a throne. Luke 1:32 says, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:"
2. He shall reign over the house of Jacob. Luke 1:33, "And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." This has not taken place yet. It will and I believe soon.
3. His kingdom shall have no end. The kingdom of God that is within us shall certainly have no end. We shall never cease to be under the rule of Him who is our exalted Redeemer. But the kingdom of this world has not yet become the kingdom of our Lord and if His Christ. Revelation 11:15, "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."
4. 1 Timothy 6:14-16, "That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen."
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
