Today's "Faith Food" by Kenneth E. Hagin is a very important part of the Christmas story! In TRUTH, it is the MOST important part!
He Came To Save
"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).
The first step in redemption was Christ's identification with our humanity. This took place in His Incarnation. Christ was made flesh (John 1:14). Hebrews 2:14 says, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same...."
But at the time of His Incarnation, Jesus did not partake of the nature that reigned in the spirit of man. Had He done so then, He would have been spiritually dead during His earthly ministry! Then He could not have pleased the Father by doing His own will. No, His identification with the spirit nature of man didn't take place until His crucifixion.
There God actually made Jesus Christ to become sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our sin nature itself was laid upon Jesus Christ until He became all that spiritual death had made man. In the mind of God, it was not Jesus Christ who hung on the cross; it was the human race who hung there. Therefore, each of us may say with Paul, "I was crucified with Christ."
Confession: Because Jesus came to save me from my sins, I can claim Galatians 2:20, which 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."
Do you see that the most important message of Christmas is that JESUS left His glory in Heaven and came to this earth, through a virgin so that He did not inherit the sin nature of fallen man, for the purpose of living completely as a man, with every temptation that man faced. He did it without ever sinning! He was/is the PERFECT man! He lived and died as a man, but He was still God! The perfect ONE to stand in the place of both and obtain a SALVATION for us that cannot ever be contested! The only stipulation for mankind is that each of us, individually, must BELIEVE and RECEIVE! I hope that you will not only remember so great a Salvation yourself this CHRISTmas, but will make it a priority to give the very best Gift ever given to everyone you know, and even those you don't! That IS the very best present that WE can give to HIM! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with another Christmas song, "The Reason Why":The first step in redemption was Christ's identification with our humanity. This took place in His Incarnation. Christ was made flesh (John 1:14). Hebrews 2:14 says, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same...."
But at the time of His Incarnation, Jesus did not partake of the nature that reigned in the spirit of man. Had He done so then, He would have been spiritually dead during His earthly ministry! Then He could not have pleased the Father by doing His own will. No, His identification with the spirit nature of man didn't take place until His crucifixion.
There God actually made Jesus Christ to become sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Our sin nature itself was laid upon Jesus Christ until He became all that spiritual death had made man. In the mind of God, it was not Jesus Christ who hung on the cross; it was the human race who hung there. Therefore, each of us may say with Paul, "I was crucified with Christ."
Confession: Because Jesus came to save me from my sins, I can claim Galatians 2:20, which 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."
Shalom in Him!
