TRINITYWOMEN: News You Can Use December 2015

December is the month during which we celebrate the birth of Jesus. This year, I have been considering more deeply the glorious wonder of the incarnation: God becoming man and the Trinity, a word not expressly found in the Bible but the concept of which, nonetheless, is quite evident throughout Holy Scripture.

From the first verse of Genesis when God inspired the author to use the Hebrew word “Elohim” - a plural noun, singular in meaning- to refer to Himself, continuing in His promise of a redeemer for fallen mankind through the seed of a woman in Genesis 3:15 (alluding to the virgin birth) and then throughout Holy Scripture, He chose to reveal His nature as One God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He also, through encounters with Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, Daniel and a host of other Biblical figures, revealed that He would, one day, wrap Himself in human flesh, come to earth, live an absolutely righteous life, die to pay the penalty for mankind’s sin and be resurrected so that we could be restored to the pure fellowship that our fore-parents, Adam and Eve, had with Him before sin entered the world. Imagine the Infinite revealing these truths to finite creatures such as us!

In one of those encounters, the burning bush incident found in Exodus 3:14, God identifies Himself to Moses as “I AM THAT I AM”. It is not a coincidence that over a thousand years later, Jesus - in a conversation with a group of Jewish leaders as recorded in John 8:58 - used that same identifying language to refer to Himself.

Eight hundred years before Christ was born as a baby in Bethlehem, the prophet Isaiah in chapter 7, verse 14, foretold that His name would be “Immanuel”, meaning “God with us”. Matthew 1:23 clearly indicates that this prophecy was fulfilled in the birth of Jesus. When I read or hear that other verse from the prophet Isaiah that is so often quoted during Christmas, Isaiah 9:6, my love of our great God is further intensified. With the coming of Jesus to earth, the human child was born, the eternally-existent Son was given and all three members of the Trinity are represented. For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. As Colossians 2:9 reminds us, For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

Why is the incarnation so critical? Because the holiness of God demands that we either live perfectly holy lives or experience death as the payment for our sin. As we can all personally testify, no human being is righteous enough to meet that standard of holiness (All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23) and no imperfect person’s substitutionary death is sufficient to satisfy the debt that we all owe to Him. Only God could save us. So, the second Person of the Trinity, Jesus, laid aside the glories of His prerogatives as deity in heaven and, came humbly to this earth, lived perfectly for 33 years then, as the spotless Lamb of God, took on the curse of sin for us. As Romans 3:25-26 so beautifully states, 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. At Calvary, God, the Just One, never violated His holy nature, yet, simultaneously paid the sin debt for us, serving as Justifier, all in the Person of Jesus. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

In December, as you are engaged in the activities of this holy season, I encourage you to look for opportunities to share the good news of the gospel with people. More hearts are open to this message of salvation now than at any other time of the year. From a simple greeting of “Merry Christmas” to sharing the spiritual truths found in many of our Christmas carols and a myriad of ways in between, use this month to point people to Jesus. This same Person, who once came to earth as a lowly baby, will return as the Sovereign King. Don’t you want everyone whom you encounter to know Him as their personal Lord and Savior, bowing their knee willingly in love and adoration of Him now? The dreadful alternative is to bow before Him later as a condemned soul on the way to a Christ-less eternity in hell (Revelation 20:15). As Philippians 2:10-11 so powerfully states, 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Let’s celebrate Jesus!

Hark! The herald angels sing/“Glory to the newborn King/Peace on earth, and mercy mild/God and sinners reconciled!”/Joyful, all ye nations rise/Join the triumph of the skies/With th’angelic host proclaim/“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored/Christ the everlasting Lord/Late in time, behold Him come/Offspring of a virgin’s womb/Veiled in flesh the Godhead see/Hail th’incarnate Deity/Pleased as man with men to dwell/Jesus our Emmanuel.

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!/Hail the Sun of Righteousness!/Light and life to all He brings/Ris’n with healing in His wings/Mild He lays His glory by/Born that man no more may die/ Born to raise the sons of earth/Born to give them second birth.

Come, Desire of nations, come/Fix in us Thy humble home/Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed/Bruise in us the serpent’s head/Now display Thy saving power/Ruined nature now restore/Now in mystic union join/Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface/Stamp Thine image in its place/Second Adam from above/Reinstate us in Thy love/Let us Thee, though lost, regain/Thee, the Life, the inner man/O, to all Thyself impart/Formed in each believing heart.

Refrain: Hark! the herald angels sing/“Glory to the newborn King!”

Charles Wesley, 1739

In this month’s newsletter, you’ll find our small group meetings listed in a feature titled, “The Gathering Place”. Jane Lyall wrote the piece that is found in the “TWAM” section. In “The Family Room”, we have an article supplied by Cheryl Joel offering parental guidance in developing children who have a grateful heart, a subject that is particularly a propos during this holiday season. The author of this month’s devotional in the “God’s Woman” series is Jeanetta Churchill. This month’s “God’s Money and You” features advice from Loema Titanji. In our new health and wellness-based feature, “Making Me Whole”, we have an article provided by Carolyn Maynard, a registered dietician and nutritionist. Look in “The Cook’s Corner” for a holiday beverage recipe from the kitchen of Carola Suyen. The “Sneak Peeks” section will give you a hint of future growth and fellowship opportunities and we list some other ways that you can connect with us in the “Did You Know?” feature. Enjoy!

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