INCARNATION RADIO SERIES
ISAIAH 9:6
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W h jle most B ible scholars agree December 25 was probably not the birthday of our Lord, other times of the year such as January 6, March 25, and November 18 have been ob served. In the mid-fourth century, the Bishop of Rome arbitrarily set Decem ber 25 as the uniform time of observ ance. Christmas, however, isn’t just a sin gle date on the calendar. It is a univer sal, wonderful, spiritual fact of his tory. This we do know, that Christ was actually bom one day in Bethle hem. The subsequent days to His death, burial and resurrection has brought salvation to millions of peo ple down through the centuries. C. H. Spurgeon declared, “The gos pel of Christmas is not something new. It didn’t start just 1900 years ago. It didn’t even begin in Bethle hem. It all began in the Garden of Eden when our first parents sinned against the Lord. They were immedi ately blessed by the promise of the coming Redeemer (Gen. 3:15). They, and all their God-fearing descendants down through the years, believed the promise continuing to have faith and hope. They passed it along to their children in succeeding generations. Those who have believed knew that there would be a day of fulfillment when God would send His only begot ten Son into the world to make good that Old Testament promise. While they died in that faith, through it they were eternally saved from their sins.” Dr. Vine illustrates this particular point by taking us back to Isaiah 9:6. This promise was written 800 years before Christ’s actual coming. All those who believed this prophecy were so sure about Christmas, that they talked about it as though it were a present reality. They already en joyed the saving power of Jesus’
birth because they believed He would appear even before He had ever come. They had full assurance that He would make atonement for their sins. To them, Bethlehem was an accom plished fact. Christ was divine on one hand and human on the other. He was not only born a child with an earthly mother, but also was given by God whose real Son He is. He had no earthly father. He was conceived miraculously by the Holy Spirit. He is the only One without sin. The person of the Son of God is inseparably united with the human nature. The two are united in one single Person. Each nature still retains its own distinctive properties. Isaiah and the men of his own day be lieved that the coming S av iou r would be altogether unique in this fashion. This great mystery was not a stumblingblock to their faith but rath er a reason for it. They knew that to be saved from sin meant the necessity for this God-man to come to redeem them. The first name Isaiah gives our Lord is “Wonderful Counsellor.” Some Bible expositors believe these two titles should be separated. I prefer to believe that they form one wonderful Dr. and Mrs. Jamas H. Christian enjoy the fellow ship of a student program on the Campus. Dr. Christian, a graduate of Biola, is dean of the College. Mrs. Christian has headed an important project of seeking out used furniture and other items which would be helpful to student and faculty families.
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