Advent week 4 - The Angel Candle
Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:16, 1 Peter 1:12
Do you know what I know?
You know 2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
But do you know 1 Timothy 3:16? Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.
We have what can be considered the very first
Christmas carol. This brief verse is by all scholars considered a hymn of the early
church, and therefore, based on the very first line, it would be a Christmas
carol.
He appeared in a body,
(The
incarnation - Christmas)
was
vindicated by the Spirit, (proven to be right)
was seen by angels, (before,
during, & after his birth)
was
preached among the nations, (The good news of Jesus - never meant to be
kept private)
was
believed on in the world, (belief/faith is the essential
response to the preaching)
was taken up in glory. (full circle of the incarnation - returned to heaven)
We are to preach (or tell) what the angels have seen - They saw him before he appeared in a body, they saw him appear in a body, and they saw him after he had appeared in a body (was taken up in glory)
Last week we saw the birth of Jesus through the eyes of a shepherd. I have known other dramas or sermons that have looked at the birth of Christ through the eyes of Zechariah, Joseph, Mary, the wise men, even Herod. Have you ever considered what the story of the incarnation - the birth of Christ looks like through eyes of the angels? To look at HIStory through their eyes gives a view we can't get through anyone else.
Said the night wind to the little lamb - Do you
see what I see? (Do you see what I see?)
-
Way up in the sky, little lamb - Do
you see what I see? - (Do you see what I see?)
A star, a
star, dancing in the night - With a tail as big as a kite - With
a tail as big as a kite
Think about this, Angels, like us, are
created beings. However, they predate us and seem to already possess eternal
life - they appear to have no end. The fallen angel - lucifer/Satan was in the
garden tempting Adam and Eve. Cherubim, a type of angel, were immediately
dispatched to guard the entrance to the garden to keep the first man &
woman from getting back in, and get to the tree of life. Even as the
sound of the apple (whatever fruit) was still crunching in their mouths, no
doubt the angels were already helping Jesus pack for the journey he would one
day be taking to enter humanity.
Even as angels attend to us unaware - they attended to Jesus out in the open. Even Satan knows that when he says from the top of the temple - "Cast yourself down, for it is written, Matthew 4:6 He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." Matthew 4:11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
The angels have seen Jesus way more
than any of us every will this side of heaven. Therefore, we should long to try
and see Jesus through their eyes. The author of Hebrews reminds us that angels
are vital to heaven's work, but they are not greater than the one they serve -
Jesus.
Hebrews
1:1-12
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the
prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has
spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom
he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact
representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After
he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he
has inherited is superior to theirs.
For to which of the angels did God
ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become
your Father"?
Or again, "I will be
his Father, and he will be my Son"?
And again, when God brings his
firstborn into the world, he says, "Let all
God's angels worship him."
In speaking of the angels he says,
"He makes his angels winds, his servants
flames of fire." But
about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and
righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness
and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your
companions by anointing you with the oil of joy."
He also says, "In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end."
Considering what the angels have seen, will allow us to see Jesus more closely.
THE
ANGELS SAW JESUS IN HEAVEN BEFORE CREATION
John 1:1-3 In the
beginning was the Word (Jesus), and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was
God. Jesus was with God in the beginning. Through Jesus all things were made;
without Jesus nothing was made that has been made. John 1:14
Jesus became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his
glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace
and truth.
Colossians 1:15-16 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
THE
ANGELS SAW JESUS IN THE MANGER
DO you think God sent an email to the angel who announced the good news to the shepherds that the Messiah was born and is laying in manger and then God tweeted so all the other angels would know and show up to sing praises? NO! They saw him, they were there. They saw Jesus from the moment he created them and had been worshipping and serving him in the glories of heaven and were there when he steps down from heaven to be born into humanity. That makes their announcement and praise authentic and shows why they seem so excited, as if to say to the shepherds and the world - "Do you know what has just happened? Do you know how much favor has come to you? Do you realize that the one seated on the throne in glory stood up so he could step down to meet you where you are? Do you get that Jesus assumes what is ours, so that we may inherit what is his?
THE
ANGELS SAW JESUS AS HE WAS TEMPTED
Satan tempted Jesus exactly how he tempted Adam and Eve - with food. Him eating would have been a sin because he would have put his human desires above his divine desires. Three times in three ways -he was tempted by every temptation we would ever face and each time he fought those earthly flesh desires in the same way we can - by the strength of God's word. He did not use his God power to defeat the devil in the desert…and the angels saw every moment of this battle and must have been in agony wanting to help him. We read it earlier - let his angels come rescue you so you don’t hurt your foot. He would not allow what we could not use to defeat temptation. We know this by the fact that when the temptations were over, he was physically, mentally and spiritually exhausted - just like we would be. Matthew 4:10-11 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
THE
ANGELS SAW JESUS IN THE GARDEN, ON THE CROSS,
HIS
RESURRECTION, & HIS ASCENSION
Imagine the angel who had worshipped the Christ in heaven
now hears God the Father tell him- "Go help my son!" Luke 22:41-43 He
withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup
from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."
An angel from heaven appeared to him and
strengthened him.
As he was arrested to be taken to be crucified, Jesus said,
Matt 26:53 Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and
he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? The angels must
have been leaning over the edge of heaven ready to rescue Jesus from the cross,
but permission was never granted to interrupt God's will.
Multiple accounts show the angels were
present at the resurrection, even so joyously and boldly to roll away the
sealed stone and sit on it as if to say - Look, even all the power of man, the
devil, and even death itself could not hold the one who came from glory. He
is not here! He is risen, just as he said!
Jesus ascended into heaven and the angels
were there seeing it all. Acts 1:9-10 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and
a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as
he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into
the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come
back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
Back in heaven thousands and 10 thousands upon 10
thousands of angels worship Jesus.
THE
ANGELS WILL SEE JESUS AND BE WITH HIM WHEN HE RETURNS
Matt 25:31 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
CONCLUSION
1 Peter 1
talks about the Holy Spirit giving words of a future salvation to the prophets
who wanted to know when and how that would take place. They wrote about what
they never saw - salvation through Jesus. Angels, apparently do not need
salvation but having seen Jesus from the creation, through his birth, temptation,
death, resurrection, and ascension; they now long to see what we have seen -
and what Simeon experienced in the temple while holding Jesus - Salvation. Our salvation experience is the one thing the
angels will never know but, oh how they want to see this one thing that we can
see.
1 Peter 1:12
It was revealed to them (the prophets) that they were not serving themselves but you (us), when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.
Because we have experienced what they have not - God's grace, mercy and the forgiveness of sins, we are compelled to tell others, not what we assume, not what we perceive, we are to tell people the truth - what the angels have seen - the indescribable gift that came from glory, to assume our life - the life of being human, so that we could inherit life from him - life eternal - life in glory with him and the angels…forever.
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