Tag: Second Advent

Categories
Sovereignty

Day 12: God’s Sovereignty in the Advent

And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Luke 2:6-7

This advent season we focused on the key characters and events identified in the birth of Christ at his first advent. We have stood with Zechariah and watched the smoke rise off the altar of  incense in the Temple. We walked alongside the righteous Elizabeth as she strove to honor God in her bareness. We’ve stood as a shadow near the throne of King Herod and examined how even a wicked king points us to the hope found in Jesus. Perhaps you can still hear the echoes of John the Baptist from the corners of the wilderness heralding the message of repentance and the news of the kingdom’s arrival. And let us not forget the lessons of both manhood and betrothal we gleaned from our time traveling from Judea to Egypt and back with Mary and Joseph. From the angels to the elderly, each person who appears at the first advent of Christ has a unique story that points us to the second advent of the Savior. And although these blessed saints have their proper place in the first advent story, it is all too easy to focus on the people in the story and miss the One whom the people and the story are meant to glorify: God.

When we come to the Bible, we must not merely think of the Scriptures as individual segments of history placed alongside one another to make a nice, cozy compendium consisting of isolated stories and events. No, to do that would be to miss the grander story that the individual stories mean to tell, for the Bible has one central plot, one central narrative. And that narrative, which works as God’s revelation of himself to man, is a storyline of God’s sovereignty over all things, particularly the redemption of man. Now, by saying God is sovereign, we mean that he has “absolute rule and authority over all things.”[1]

This attribute of God, his sovereignty, can be seen by the unfolding of events in the first advent of Christ. The timeline of these events does not begin in Luke 1, or even in Genesis 1; but rather, as the Apostle Paul teaches in 2 Timothy 1:9, “salvation is the result of a purpose given in Christ Jesus ‘before the ages began.’”[2] Yes, the Bible teaches that before God ever said, “Let there be light,” He promised eternal life. Titus 1:1-2 testifies of this truth, saying, “Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ . . . in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.” These works of the Apostle Paul show us that the redemptive storyline of the Bible began, not when Adam and Eve sinned, but before Adam and Eve were ever created. Based upon his promise of eternal life for his people, it was, as far as we know time, always God’s purpose to reconcile people to himself through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. From before time began, God’s sovereign plan for redemption was always Jesus and the story of the first advent is the capstone of God sovereignly working out the details of this magnificent plan.

Now, to be sure, we do not merely have to infer God’s sovereignty from the Bible, but rather we can learn this attribute of God from such explicit passages as Psalm 115:3, which says, “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” And Ephesians 1:11, which says that God, “works all things according to the counsel of his will.” And, as suggested previously, when we look at the story of the first advent, this is what we see God doing: working out the details of His plan of salvation that he promised before the ages (Titus 1:2) “according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11).

If you happen to doubt this, think about some of these events for a moment: From the testimony of Gabriel, we see God’s intimate involvement in the first advent. It was God who sent Gabriel to Zechariah and Mary to tell of the conception and birth of both John the Baptist and Jesus (Luke 1:19, 26). It was God who made it possible for Elizabeth to have a son in her old, barren age (Luke 1:37). It was even God who revealed to the prophet Micah that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem, and some eight centuries later it was the same promise-fulfilling, sovereign God who ordered the census via Caesar which would require Mary and Joseph to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem while she was pregnant and close to birthing Jesus (Micah 5:2; Luke 2:1-5). Coincidence? No. God’s sovereignty on display. Yes!

And lest we think that God quit and then restarted working out his plan of redemption somewhere between Malachi and Matthew, how about the genealogy of Christ listed in Luke 3? Here is a list of names, highlighted by Adam, Abraham, and David, which takes us but 90 fleeting seconds to read is, in reality, a detailed record of thousands of years of God’s sovereignty in ensuring that Jesus would be born in the appointed place, at the appointed time, to the appointed person, and for the appointed purpose of accomplishing God’s sovereign plan: saving “his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

It is the first advent of Christ that functions as the marquee event in scripture displaying God’s sovereignty over all people and all events for all time. And to display this even further, we will visit the Garden of Eden this advent season one last time. Recall that God placed Adam and Eve in the garden and in an expression of his wisdom and his will, he forbids them to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17). Upon Adam and Eve’s temptation and Fall, the Lord pronounced curses upon the couple, first to the woman and then to the man. The Lord said to Eve, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children” (Genesis 3:16). And to Adam, God said, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). Here is arguably the most somber moment in all of Scripture, save the cross, as God pronounces the curses of painful childbearing and death upon two sinners. Now, think about the first advent of Jesus. Is it not the curse of childbirth given to Eve that brought the Savior into the world when Mary conceived? Is it not the curse of death given to Adam that saw Jesus cancel the debt of sin when he was executed in his own death on the cross? Is there a greater display of God’s sovereignty? What God dealt to Adam and Eve as curses in Genesis 3, he sovereignly used thousands of years and many generations later to save his people from their sins through the birth and death of Jesus at the first advent.

In his sermon titled The Crux of Christmas, Pastor Alistair Begg concisely connects the dots between God’s sovereignty, the first advent of Christ, and the redemption of man, saying,

Here’s the point, though: the storyline of the Bible . . . is not of a plan that God instituted but which went wrong and then had to be, if you like, reconfigured and reinvented. No, not for a moment! If you read your Bible from the back to the front or from the front to the back as well, you will discover . . . that God’s purpose from all of eternity was not Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden but was Christ in the garden of Gethsemane. It was Christ on the cross that from the very beginning of the work of God in his kingdom—it was to establish that people that are his very own . . . You see, the great mystery of it is that when you look into the cradle in Bethlehem, you gaze into the face of “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” I suggest to you, that really is the crux of Christmas.[3]

If the unchanging God sovereignly worked out all things to accomplish the first advent of Christ, we joyfully expect him to sovereignly work out all things to accomplish the events of the second advent of Christ. God’s sovereignty is where our hope rests and where our worship finds direction; and this is true, not just this advent season, but in every day between now and the second advent of the Savior.

[1] John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue, eds., Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Biblical Truth (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2017), 937.

[2] Samuel Renihan, The Mystery of Christ: His Covenant & His Kingdom (Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2020), 152.

[3] Alistair Begg, “The Crux of Christmas,” Truth for Life, Parkside Church, December 2, 2018, https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/crux-christmas/.

Categories
Second Advent

Day 2: The Second Advent

So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Hebrews 9:28

At Christ’s first coming, his arrival was marked by humility as he was wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. His first coming was primarily to deal with sin. At Christ’s second coming, his arrival will be marked with magnificent power and might as he returns –not to die for sin, but to judge and be with the those whom he died for. Throughout the Old Testament, the Prophets often pointed Israel toward the hope of their Messiah’s first advent. As we will see now, likewise, throughout the New Testament, the Apostles often pointed the Church to the hope of Christ’s second advent.

The Promise of the Second Coming

In Acts 1:9, Luke details the ascension of Jesus into heaven, saying, “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.” Those men who were “looking on” when Jesus was “lifted up” were the apostles (Acts 1:2). Luke records that after his resurrection, the Lord “presented himself alive” to these apostles during a period of forty-days (Acts 1:3). Now, here in Acts 1, the apostles stand with Jesus for the last time of their earthly lives, listening to the Lord’s teaching—and rather suddenly—he ascends into heaven. Perhaps a bit dumbfounded, the apostles stand gazing up into the heavens when two men standing nearby, dressed in white, promise the second advent of Jesus, saying, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Here you see that following Christ’s ascension, the apostles were the first people to receive encouragement at the promise of Christ’s second advent. They knew first-hand the hope and encouragement of thinking upon Jesus’ return to earth for a second time and they, along with the Apostle Paul, would go onto to share such hope with the New Testament Church.

The Second Advent

The Christian Advent is, “The season of the ecclesiastical year when the church engages in self-examination in expectation of his second coming in glory to judge the living and the dead.”[1] Reflecting on the first coming of Christ ought to cause us to think about the second coming of Christ; and as this definition suggests, the second coming of Christ is a summons for self-examination. This is precisely what Peter taught his beloved audience in his second letter. The Apostle Peter, writes pertaining to Christ’s second coming, “Since all these things are being dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace” (2 Peter 3:11-14).

It’s clear here that when Peter taught about the second coming, he called for self-examination. Since Christ is returning, Peter calls God’s people to live lives of holiness, godliness, spotlessness, and peace. But why does Peter think it is important to call for such self-examination in light of Christ’s return? To answer this question, let’s turn to another apostle who stood nearby Peter, and also heard the angels predict Jesus’ second coming back in Acts 1: The Apostle John.

Jesus’ Promises to the Righteous and to the Wicked

In Revelation 21, the Apostle John records Jesus’ words, which are addressed to two audiences: the conquerors and the cowardly. To the latter group, Jesus says, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). For those who do not know Jesus as their Savior, his second coming is not good news but is the promise of eternal damnation in the lake of fire; however, for those who do trust Jesus’ death as the payment for their sins against God and rely on his resurrection as the foundation for their justification, the second coming of Jesus is the greatest news one could ever hear. To those conquerors who have been reconciled with God through faith and repentance, Jesus says, “I will be his God and he will be my son” (Revelation 21:7). 

So, why does Peter think it is important to call for such self-examination in light of Christ’s second advent? As John has shown us, those who are not prepared for the second coming will spend eternity in hell and those who are prepared will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus; the stakes could not be higher anywhere else in all of life when it comes to where you will spend your eternal life, and so, a thorough self-examination for the presence of salvation and a life that bears the fruit of repentance is most appropriate for all people. 

God with Us

Across the evangelical spectrum, there are various theological positions and opinions pertaining to the details of Christ’s second coming. Nonetheless, there is some significant agreement and solidarity among believers regarding many of these eschatological events. One detail that is unanimously agreed upon is found in Revelation 21:3. John writes, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’” No matter one’s millennial view or eschatological hermeneutic, Christians agree that Christ’s second coming will result in God making his dwelling place with man forever. And in this promise we hear the echoes of the first advent, as Matthew writes, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name ‘Immanuel’ (which means, God with us)” (Matthew 1:23). Both the first advent and the second advent carry a promise that God will be with his people. At the first advent of Christ, the Savior in a manger made his dwelling place among man and so the writer refers to him as God with us. Although Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell the redeemed, at his ascension, he physically left the earth he created; however, at the second advent of Christ, according to the angels in Acts 1, the Savior “will come in the same way” he left – on the clouds in glory. And at the second coming, Jesus will return to physically dwell with his people forever and God will again be with us.This advent season we will reflect on the lives and circumstances surrounding the first advent of Jesus and uncover how they point us to find hope in the second advent of the Savior. As we journey through the story of Christ’s birth from Luke’s perspective, please engage with me “in self-examination in expectation of his second coming in glory to judge the living (that’s you) and the dead.”[2]  If your life does not display the fruit of repentance (Matthew 3:8), confess to the Lord your need for his salvation, ask him for the gifts of faith and repentance (Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:25), and seek his healing in your life.

[1] Walter A Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology Second Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001), 27.

[2] Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 27.

Categories
First Advent

Why The Twelve Days of Advent?

In December 2017, my wife and I were new parents to a one-year-old boy and a one-month-old girl. We committed to the Lord and each other to raise these two children for the glory of God, no matter the cost or circumstance. When the holiday season came around that year, I found myself perplexed regarding the fulfillment of my oath to my God and my wife. Red and green were everywhere: lights on houses, bulbs on trees, inflatables in front yards. Once, we took our children on a neighborhood walk in their strollers, and we found ourselves in the shadow of a 30-foot Santa Claus – no exaggeration. Of course, this is normative for the neighborhood, but what about inside the Christian home? What about inside the church? Should we utilize pagan practices to usher in the celebration of the Savior’s incarnation? Especially for a Savior who died to rescue his people from their pagan practices! In short order, I examined the scripture, the history of Christmas, and decided that “as for me and my house,” we would point ourselves and our children to the birth of Christ in December.

Then, I silently surveyed the practices of many people around me during the holidays while genuflecting on my own traditions. I became deeply convinced that the people of God around me who were married, single, with kids, without kids, young, old, college student, retired, etc., including myself, struggled to focus on the meaning and implications of the incarnation for two primary reasons: 1) the culture we live in largely pressures us into the rat race of consumeristic gift giving and receiving to the point that it usurps our affections away from Christ, and 2) we have ample practice celebrating the holidays according to the culture and don’t really know a different way to celebrate the season.

At this point, I knew I needed to do something for God’s glory to point the Bride of Christ back to celebrating the historical ecclesiastical calendar in the observance of the first advent. In June 2020, I began studying, reading, listening, writing, and talking to anybody who would listen about the first advent of Christ. During this time, I observed the connection between how the Prophets pointed Israel to the first coming of the Messiah with how the Apostles pointed the Church to the second coming of the Messiah. This observation led me on a journey that uncovered the connections between the first and second advent of Jesus. I committed to sharing these connections with as many Christ-followers as possible. And, in September 2021, I finished recording the final episode of what has come to be called: The Twelve Days of Advent. 

Starting December 2nd thru December 24th, a new episode, 5-10 minutes each, will be released every other day. You can access each episode wherever podcasts are available. My vision is to glorify God by providing his people with a tool to help them start a new tradition in their lives, homes, families, and churches; a tradition that reflects on the meaning and events surrounding the first advent of Christ and projects the hope found in the second advent of the Savior.

Special thanks to my wife for patiently listening and affording me time to work on this endeavor. 

God is faithful,

John Fry