Why Is Christmas So Important? God Visits Earth

Apostle Paul and Timothy: ¹⁵ Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, ¹⁶ for through Him (Christ) God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we cannot see — such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him (Christ) and for Him (Christ). ¹⁷ He (Christ) existed before anything else, and He holds all creation together. ¹⁸ Christ is also the Head of the church, which is His body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So He is first in everything. ¹⁹ For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ, ²⁰ and through Him (Christ) God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the Cross. Colossians 1:15-20 (NLT)

Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year! During the Christmas season, we celebrate the living God coming to visit earth through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (see Matthew 1:21-23; Luke 1:31-32, 35; Luke 2:10-12). The Lord Jesus Christ was not simply a “man who fell to earth,” but the Son of the living LORD God, sent to do the work of His Father (e.g., see Matthew16:16; Matthew 26:63-64; Mark 1:1; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-5, 14, 18, 49; John 17:3; John 20:31). In the Lord Jesus Christ was true life and light that gives life and light to everyone who accepts Him by faith (e.g., see John 1:4, 9; John 8:12; John 9:5; John 11:25-26; John 12:46; 1 John 1:2; 1 John 5:11). Everyone who genuinely and wholeheartedly comes to the Lord Jesus Christ no longer stays in darkness (see John 12:46). Even more, the Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior because He was born to save humanity from our sins through faith in Him (e.g., see Luke 2:11; John 3:16-17; Acts 4:10-12; Acts 5:31; Acts 13:23, 38-39). The name Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the Lord saves. For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all humanity through the Lord Jesus Christ (see Titus 2:11).

The Holy Scriptures does not reveal the exact date of the Lord Jesus Christ’s birth. Only the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell the story of the Lord Jesus Christ’s miraculous birth by God’s Holy Spirit (see Matthew 1:18-2:12; Luke 1:26-38; Luke 2:1-20). The Gospels of Mark and John do not give a birth narrative of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Gospels of Mark and John, there are no Christmas scenes: any stables, shepherds, or wise men. Only the Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell of the Lord Jesus Christ’s birth and youth. The Gospels of Mark and John introduce the Lord Jesus Christ as the adult Son of God (see Mark 1:1; John 1:1-5).

In the first century, the early church celebrated the Lord Jesus Christ’s birth on many different days such as January 6, April 18, and May 20. However, the early church eventually settled on December 25 to celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ because this date also coincided with the pagan festival celebrating Saturnalia and the winter solstice. The early church presented the Lord Jesus Christ at the Sun of Righteousness, replacing the sun god, Sol Invictus, celebrated during these pagan festivals (see Malachi 4:2).

Now, many Christians around the world celebrate December 25 as the day the living LORD God Almighty came and visited earth as a human and lived among us humans through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (e.g., see John 1:1-5, 14, 18; Romans 1:3; Philippians 2:7-8; Hebrew 2:14, 17; 1 John 4:2)! Biblical scholars refer to the Lord Jesus Christ coming to earth as Man the Incarnation. In the Lord Jesus Christ, the fullness of God lived in a human body, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the exact likeness and visible image of His Father, the living LORD God Almighty (Colossians 1:15, 19; see also John 14:9-11; Colossians 2:9-10).

The Lord Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, which means “God with us” (see Matthew 1:23), and He radiates the glory and expresses the very nature of His Father, the LORD God Almighty (see John 14:9; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Philippians 2:6; Hebrews 1:3). The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully Man – the God-Man. Even more, the Lord Jesus Christ and His Father, the living LORD God Almighty, are One (e.g., see Deuteronomy 6:4-6; John 10:30; John 17:11, 22-23). The true and living God of heaven and earth is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (see 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; Colossians 1:3). No one has ever seen the living LORD God (also known as Yahweh, Elohim, the King, and El Shaddai), who is invisible and lives in unapproachable light (e.g., see Exodus 33:20; John 1:18; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 Timothy 6:16; 1 John 4:12, 20). However, the Lord Jesus Christ radiates the very glory and character of His Father, the living LORD God Almighty (e.g., see John 14:9-10; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Hebrews 1:3).

The Son of God existed long before anything was created on earth as the Lord Jesus Christ is the first born of all creation, and He is supreme over all creation (see Colossians 1:15, 18). Through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, the LORD God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth because life and the light lived in the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:16; see also John 1:1-4, 10; John 11:26; 1 Corinthians 8:6). The LORD God made the things we can see and the things we cannot see — such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world (see Colossians 1:16). Everything was created by the Lord Jesus Christ and for the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:16; see also Hebrews 1:2).

Moreover, the Lord Jesus Christ existed before all things and before anything else, and He holds all creation together (Colossians 1:17; see also John 1:1-2; John 8:58; Hebrews 1:3). The Lord Jesus Christ is also the Head of the church, which is His body (Colossians 1:18, 24; see also Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:27). Even more, the Lord Jesus Christ is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead; therefore, He is first in everything (Colossians 1:18; see also Revelation 1:5, 8, 17-18).

As mentioned earlier, for the LORD God Almighty in all His fullness was pleased to live in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:19; see also Colossians 2:9). From the fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ’s grace we believers have received one blessing after another (see John 1:16). Through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, the living LORD God reconciled everything to Himself (Colossians 1:20; see also Romans 5:10-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17-19). Even more, the living God made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of His Son Christ’s blood and sacrificial death on Calvary’s Cross for the sins of the whole world (see Colossians 1:20).

The Lord Jesus Christ is our confident peace, hope, and joy (e.g., see Luke 2:14; John 14:27; Ephesians 2:14; Colossians 1:5, 11, 27; Colossians 3:15). Through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, one finds complete treasure, wisdom, knowledge, blessings, grace, and salvation (e.g., see John 1:16; Romans 1:16-17; 1 Corinthians 1:24, 30; Ephesians 1:7-8; Colossians 2:3). In other words, we are made complete and find oneness with the living God through our wholehearted faith and obedience to His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (see John 14:15, 19-21, 23-24; Colossians 2:6-7, 10). The Apostle Paul wanted to emphasize to all people the Lord Jesus Christ is ENOUGH! Through our faith in God and obedience to His moral commands, God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ comes to live inside all believers, and believers now share in His glory (see Colossians 1:27). Even more, our wholehearted faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ rescue believers from the kingdom of darkness and adopts believers into the Kingdom of His dear Son, who is the Light of the World (Colossians 1:13; see also John 1:12-13; Acts 26:18; Ephesians 5:8-14). The Lord Jesus Christ purchased all believers’ freedom, forgave our sins through faith in Him, and now reconciles us to the living God (see Colossians 1:14, 21-22). In the living God’s eyes through faith in His Son the Lord God, believers are declared holy, blameless, perfect, and righteous – without a single fault (Colossians 1:22; see also 1 Corinthians 1:30).  

As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul encourages all believers faithfully to walk and live in all goodness, righteousness, obedience, humility, and truth (Colossians 1:23, 28; see also John 15:4; Ephesians 5:8-14; Colossians 2:6-7; Titus 2:11-14). True wisdom is a godly living! Repeatedly, the Apostle Paul encourages believers to put-off their old sinful nature and walk in godliness (e.g., see Colossians 3:5-10). Our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ should make a difference! A believer’s good and righteous life honors and pleases our Lord Jesus Christ, obey God’s commandments, and produce every kind of good fruit and light as we grow and learn to know the Jesus’ Father, the living God better and better (Colossians 1:6, 10; see also Exodus 20:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:6-21; John 15:5, 8, 16; Ephesians 2:10; Ephesians 5:8-14; Colossians 3:8-10). Sadly, our disobedience and unfaithfulness to the living God and His righteous commandments drive us away from the living God and makes us God’s enemies, separated from Him (Colossians 1:21; see also Ephesians 2:1-3, 12). This Christmas let us all make a wholehearted commitment to walk and live for Jesus Christ!

May God our Father give you grace and peace (Colossians 1:2, NLT).

References

ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008).

New Student Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992).

NLT Study Bible (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2008).

Zondervan NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008).

Elwell, Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Second Edition (Grand Rapids, MI:  Baker Book House Company, 2001).