Matthew 1:18-21  Christmas Begins with the Holy Spirit

Matthew 1:18-21

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Background

Christ was conceived by the will of God through the Holy Spirit, and not of man. His supernatural birth was a testimony of God’s divine involvement in the redemption of humanity. Christ’s conception through the Spirit in the womb of a woman speaks of His full deity and humanity. Jesus’ manner of birth and living becomes a model through which all believers must aspire to live.

Observation

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.

The Spirit specifically recorded the unconventional way that Christ was birthed into the world. First of all, Christ is conceived through the Holy Spirit without the union of Joseph. Many at that time would find it preposterous at the suggestion of a virgin birth. Secondly, it appears that Christ was born out of wedlock and that would certainly become a dishonor for the family. One could imagine the Child Jesus growing up with a stigma hanging over His head like a dark cloud. No one could imagine a man with such humble and insignificant beginnings but whose future could be so glorious. Jesus is a man born in an animal’s manger, He died as a criminal, and yet raised as the King of the universe.

Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

The angel appeared to Joseph to send a clear and an unambiguous message that Mary’s conception was none other than the Holy Spirit; she would conceive while a virgin. What then is the importance of the virgin birth? Firstly, the virgin birth shows that humanity needs redeeming that it can’t bring about for itself. The fact that the human race couldn’t produce its own redeemer implies that its sin and guilt are profound and that its savior must come from outside. Secondly, because Christ must be fully human as well as fully God, it necessitates the combination of both human and divine contribution to Christ’s birth. While Christ’s ordinary birth from a human mother attested to His full humanity, His conception through the Holy Spirit attested to His full deity.

Truth

The Holy Spirit causes a person to overcome all human limitations to become successful if he yields himself to Him. Jesus’ heritage and birth was considered disdainful by worldly standards. He was not considered as outstanding while a youth. But, when the Holy Spirit baptized Him at river Jordan, He began to do extraordinary exploits. His disciples were ordinary as well, unlearned and unpolished, but they turned the world inside out with the power of the Spirit. The ministry of Jesus and the Holy Spirit were inseparable. He was birthed by the Spirit, baptized by the Spirit, ministered by the Spirit, sacrificed on the cross by the Spirit, and resurrected by the Spirit.

Today, if we are baptized in the Spirit, we begin to live supernaturally like Christ did. All believers are rebirthed in our inner man through the Holy Spirit. Although we are conceived and birthed through our parents, but our inner man is birthed through the Holy Spirit. In a sense, after we are regenerated by water and the baptism of the Spirit, we are no different from Christ. Therefore, we are able to do what Christ did while in the flesh, and live the perfect life if we continue to yield ourselves to the Spirit’s rule.

Application

  1. Do you constantly depend on your own strength to solve problems supposing no one would help you? Jesus’ dependence on the Spirit for all things including His very own conception teaches us to humble ourselves to depend on God for all our endeavors.
  2. Do you mentally play down your capabilities and potential for success? If Jesus who was born an ordinary man in an ordinary way can be successful by the help of the Spirit, you can be as well.

Dear Lord, although I am weak in many aspects, I believe you can make me more than what I am today. I ask you to do through me what you have done through your Son. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

 


Comments

  1. Do we need to subject ourselves to perfection like Jesus Christ. He is Jesus Christ for a reason… isn’t it too much of a expectation from Him to be just like Him which will end up to feeling condemnation. Maybe God doesn’t asks too much from us. He knows we are humans. Just humans. Why is there a expectation to be like Jesus. When that’s impossible. I think we being created in the image of Jesus is a lie to instill fear in us starting from early ages. expectation that can’t be lived up to. Hence some will naturally feel a inadequate (which has fear involved) relationship with God rather than a all understanding and accepting relationship with God. I’m sorry for my ignorance ..I know this has been covered in other posts. But felt like stating this.

    • Romans 8:29
      For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.

      When we make a decision to become a Christian (so to speak), we make a decision to live like Christ (be conformed to the image of His Son). This is the covenant which will result in our total forgiveness. A person who does not desire to become like Christ does not have that covenant with Him. To become like Christ is to love our enemies and to make decisions for the benefit of all. He will judge each persons character on the last day and reward accordingly. Jesus says in Matthew 5:48
      Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

    • Dear Anjana,

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts so that I know there are other people reading these devotions…Hahaha

      It does feel a bit lonely here sometimes…Hahaha

      Happy New Year to you & everyone here!

      If u don’t mind, I’d like to share some thoughts with u as I used to ask these Qs myself. I’ve broken down your Qs into parts:

      Q1: “Do we need to subject ourselves to perfection like Jesus Christ. He is Jesus Christ for a reason…”

      A: You’re right that Christ is unique. In a sense, there will be one & only one Christ. We can never truly be who He is. That’s one of the reasons we worship Him.

      For one, His calling as Saviour of the human race is exclusively His.

      Then there is the Q of whether God imparts different measures of His spirit to different people. e.gs: Jesus, Elijah, Elisha, Moses & the 70 elders…Scriptures seem to support that He does.

      Q2: “isn’t it too much of a expectation from Him to be just like Him which will end up to feeling condemnation.

      Maybe God doesn’t asks too much from us. He knows we are humans. Just humans.”

      A: While we can’t be Christ, we can aspire to be “like Christ”.

      Every successful person needs a role model as an inspiration. Many successful swimmers model after Michael Phelps. If Joseph Schooling hadn’t met Michael Phelps, perhaps he might not have aspired to beat him.

      Even Christ Himself encouraged us to do better than Him, saying:

      “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” John 14:12

      Joseph Schooling didn’t have Michael’s physique & yet he aspired & beat him.

      On the other hand, we have the same Holy Spirit (even if different measures, I believe we can ask God to “top up” as our faith grows) as Christ so potentially we can be (though we may never be exactly) like Him.

      In any case, why should God in His infinite wisdom & creativity wants us to be an imitation of anybody (even of Christ)?

      God has given each of us a unique personality. It does God more glory to be “a Christ in a unique personality” than a carbon or even exact copy of Christ.

      In other words, I believe each of us is created as an original masterpiece. Not an imitation of somebody (including Christ).

      When we say we’re human, we’re looking at our flesh (body & mind). But we are more than flesh. It’s true that we’re made in the image of God. In a sense like God, we’re 3 in 1: body, mind & spirit. What our body cannot overcome, our mind can. What our mind cannot overcome, our spirit can.

      Before we know Christ, our spirit is a human spirit. After we accept Christ as our Lord & Saviour, our spirit is re-born. That’s what pastor is covering in this devotion.

      Potential wise, God re-births us just as Christ was born of the Spirit. We have the same spirit as Christ. Hence the same potential as Christ.

      So in a sense though we’re walking around in the old shell, we’re a completely new person inside. Though we may not feel or realise it all the time. But it’s important we do.

      When we say we’re human, we’re looking at the old shell. That is walking by sight. The new “us” is more spirit than human. That is living by faith. It’s important to gradually understand this.

      Q3: “Why is there a expectation to be like Jesus. When that’s impossible. I think we being created in the image of Jesus is a lie to instill fear in us starting from early ages. expectation that can’t be lived up to.”

      A: Because we’re no longer the same person but a new creation, our Father wants us to live our lives as new creations not as our old selves.

      Subconsciously, we still think & act like our old selves. That’s why we need to consciously remind ourselves to become the new creation we now are. Initially, this will take more effort but over time, this gets into our subconscious & it becomes easier & easier to live as a new creation.

      I can think of hundreds of examples why we should be like Christ.

      Here is one practical living example:

      In these last days, things are moving very fast. For both Kingdom & practical living purposes, the best way to live is to move in the power of the spirit.

      That’s what Christ does all the time. Christ doesn’t live by his flesh. He lives by His spirit.

      What is living by the spirit?

      There are countless practical applications. Here is one:

      When our spirit is born again, we receive certain spiritual gifts. So in a sense, we become a gifted child.

      We need to understand the gift(s) we have received & learn how to operate it/them.

      For e.g., if u receive the gift of prophecy, God may consistently give u advance information before others.

      For e.g. He may tell u 2 years ago that Singapore’s economy is going to become very bad.

      You can imagine how valuable this info is both for Kingdom & practical living.

      Unfortunately, most of the time we prefer to live by sight (live by our flesh, be human), & therefore miss out the power of God in our lives. We never achieve our full potential. Many of us do not even know our spiritual gifts or how to operate them.

      The kingdom of God becomes handicapped.

      Q4: “Hence some will naturally feel an inadequate (which has fear involved) relationship with God rather than a all understanding and accepting relationship with God. I’m sorry for my ignorance ..I know this has been covered in other posts. But felt like stating this.”

      A: No need to feel sorry & you’re not ignorant. We’re all learning. Thanks for having the courage to speak up & the humility to admit you don’t know everything. Neither do I. Neither does pastor. Many people have Qs & don’t even dare to ask. It takes humility to ask.

      As we aspire to be like Jesus, it is important to realise that there is no need for us to feel inadequate.

      Joseph will never beat Michael if he had felt inadequate. He knows Michael is great. In fact, Michael was his idol. But he didn’t consider himself too weak to beat Michael.

      In a sense, we are who we think we are.

      If we think we’re weak, we become weak. If we think we’re strong, we become strong. As a man thinketh, so is he.

      Our mind is a very powerful gift from God. Many people have used their minds to achieve great things, even without knowing God.

      Just imagine how much more you & I can achieve if we renew our already powerful minds with the new spirit we now have!

      (The spirit is even more powerful than the mind!!)

      Jesus doesn’t want us to think we’re inferior to Him. That shows how great He is & how much He loves us.

      He wants to challenge us to do as well as Him. He wants to encourage us that, together, we can do even better than Him.

      He is confident we can because He knows that His spirit now lives not in just one person (Him) but billions of Christians worldwide.

      Can you imagine Christians unselfishly pooling their resources together? If only Christians can do that, the world will change.

      So it’s not asking too much that we do greater works than Him. It’s not a lie.

      In fact, if Jesus were to tell us that we can’t be like Him or do better than Him, He wouldn’t be telling us the truth.

      God does accept us for who we are. So we don’t have to feel inadequate.

      Whatever level we’re at, God accepts us. But that doesn’t mean He should allow us to remain at one level.

      In fact, if He does, He wouldn’t be loving us.

      Because He has given us a new spirit, He knows the tremendous potential we now have. He can also foresee into the future who we can become.

      So in His wisdom, He creates/allows opportunities to groom us up.

      We should not see problems in our lives as “tests”. We should see them as what they really are:

      Opportunities lovingly given by God to groom us up.

      Nick Vujicic was able to do that. As a result, not only was he able to bring glory to God, God honoured him with success & fame.

      Nick has supportive & loving parents.

      Likewise, Joseph probably wouldn’t be who he is today if he didn’t have loving & supporting parents.

      If imperfect parents could do what Nick & Joseph’s parents did for them, we can be assured how much more God who is perfect could do for us, His adopted children.

      If we be willing & obedient, wouldn’t God activate all His resources in the heavens & on the earth to help us be who He truly created us to be?

      This possibility is mind boggling!

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