December 2003 New Horizons

A Savior Is Born

by Scott Willet

In God's good providence, I was present for the birth of my daughter. I was there for the whole process. I witnessed her first breath. It was incredible! And yet, from another perspective, it wasn't really that momentous. Sure, it was important to me and my wife. But to put it into perspective, women have been having babies for a long time. Day after day, month after month, year after year, century after century, women give birth to babies. There is nothing unusual about it. But there was something extremely unusual about the birth of Jesus, something utterly unique. He was, after all, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. He was the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Son of God, who was with God in the beginning, and through whom all things were made. The holiday that many celebrate this month has the emphasis all wrong. It's not simply a birth that we recognize. It's the Incarnation . It's not simply about a baby boy born in a stable. It's about the eternal Son of God made ... Read more

Immanuel

by Charles Hodge

The names of persons in ancient times, and especially among the people of God, were significant. When given by the parents, they were expressive of what they, the parents, designed either to symbolize or to commemorate. When given by God, they were a mode of revelation. God's giving to the Son of the virgin the name Immanuel was a revelation of the fact that God was to be with us . In what sense is God said to be with his people, or with man? Nearness Immanuel expresses the general sense of nearness. God is, of course, everywhere, but he is said to be where he especially manifests himself as present. He is not far from any one of us, for in him we live and move and have our being. This kind of nearness is common to all creatures, and especially to all rational creatures. Favor and Assistance It expresses the general sense of favor and assistance. When we say, "The Lord be with you," we pray that he would aid and sustain those whom we address. The psalmist says of the Lord, "He is at my ... Read more

Son of God, Son of Mary

by Peter J. Wallace

Children, who is the Redeemer of God's elect? Jesus. If you know that much, you're on the right track! Our Shorter Catechism gives a little more detail: Q. 21. Who is the Redeemer of God's elect? A. The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continueth to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever. Now, why must the Redeemer be both God and man? The Heidelberg Catechism answers this question nicely: Q. 16. Why must he be a true and righteous man? A. He must be a true man because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which has sinned should pay for sin; he must be a righteous man because one who is himself a sinner cannot pay for others. Adam had sinned. Israel had sinned. David had sinned. As we hear from Isaiah, "The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man [to bring about justice], and wondered that there was no one to ... Read more

"He Was Called Jesus"

by Nelson D. Kloosterman

"And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb." —Luke 2:21 We tend to view the events of our Lord's life through the lens of our own experience. Children singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus are learning to project their experiences upon his. In ways like this, we encrust singular events of God's saving work with emotional and intellectual speculations that allow us to sympathize with him. But it is not we who sympathize with Christ; it is he who sympathizes with us. Human experiences cannot decode the truth for us. Rather, the gospel unlocks the secrets of humanness (created, fallen, and restored) by proclaiming Christ's self-revelation as the unique Son of God who was born under the law to redeem sinners. Notice that this verse speaks about something done to the Son of God; he was named. The Time of His Naming Contrary to the uninspired headings printed in many Bibles, the focus of this ... Read more