From His Heart

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Today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve. An always timely question to get an answer.

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Our question for today is who is this stranger in the manger? What child is this? As we sing in that Christmas carol, who is this one?

Well, Isaiah tells us he's the mighty God, the eternal Father.

I want you to see three insights from the person of Jesus. They're simple insights, but they're critical because if you don't get these down, you miss Christianity by a million miles.

Speaker 1

The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus was born a human, but also fully God. How can this truly be the case? And more importantly, why? Pastor Jeff Shreve will answer that question today on From His Heart.

Thank you for being with us for a clarifying Christmas series entitled "What a Beautiful Name." Isaiah's description of the promised Messiah will be explored today in an eye-opening message to help us understand how Jesus was indeed both the Son of Man and the Son of God, and how he is the one and only Savior of the world.

If you'd like to get an MP3 of today's broadcast, or any broadcast, you can download it free at fromhisheart.org by clicking the listen link.

But first things first, open your Bible now to Isaiah, chapter nine, as Pastor Jeff explains the compelling truth about what really happened when God became a man.

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It was July 20, 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon. Many remember that famous line from Neil Armstrong, "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." President Nixon, when they touched down back to earth, was so overwhelmed by what had taken place that he said, "This is the greatest week in the history of the world since creation." He considered that the greatest event, but he was wrong. Because the greatest event in the history of the world since creation is not man planting his feet on the moon, but God planting his feet on the earth.

We sing at Christmas time so often, "Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King." You know that song written by Charles Wesley so many years ago has a line in it that says, "Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see; Hail incarnate Deity, pleased with us in flesh to dwell." Jesus, or Immanuel, what happened on that first Christmas? God became a man. He took on human flesh. We call that, in theological terms, the incarnation. Lots of people wonder, "What does that mean, the incarnation?" An easy way to remember is that when you eat chili con carne, you know that it's chili with meat. The incarnation means God with meat, God with flesh. And that's what happened on that first Christmas.

You see, the heart of Christianity is Jesus Christ. Christianity, as Adrian Rogers used to say, is not a creed, it's not a code, it's not a cause, it's not a church. It is Christ. It is knowing Jesus Christ, having a relationship with God through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Not knowing about him, but knowing him. And in order to know him, you have to know who he is. Isaiah, who wrote 700 plus years before the birth of Christ, said this: "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders. And his name will be called, will be proclaimed, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."

Our question for today is, who is this stranger in the manger? What child is this? As we sing in that Christmas carol, who is this one? Well, Isaiah tells us he's the mighty God, the Eternal Father. I want you to see three insights from the person of Jesus. We know him as Jesus. We call him Jesus. No one ever called him Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Those weren't names like you saw him in the morning, "Hey, Prince of Peace." They didn't do that. They called him Jesus. Jesus of Nazareth, Yashua in their language, in the Aramaic, that's what they would call him. But he was those things that Isaiah said he was: Emmanuel, God with us.

So, three critical insights into the person of Jesus. They're simple insights, but they're critical because if you don't get these down, you miss Christianity by a million miles. Who is the stranger in the manger? He is Jesus. And Jesus is the Son of Man. The Son of Man. That's what Jesus liked to call himself, the Son of Man. We read that phrase, the Son of Man, in the Gospels 84 times. Son of Man. 82 of them are Jesus speaking of Himself. The other two times were people asking Jesus about it. "You say the Son of Man. Who is the Son of Man?" They were just turning that back on Jesus. You talk about the Son of Man. Who is the Son of Man? Jesus loved to refer to himself as the Son of Man, and that title speaks of his humanity.

During his earthly ministry, his three and a half year ministry, no one ever doubted his humanity. Jesus was obviously human. The people all knew he was human. I mean, you could see him, you could touch him, you could talk to him, you could pinch his skin. He was obviously human, and nobody had a problem with that. Everybody knew that he was human. But after his ascension into heaven, heresy began to come into the church in the form of Gnosticism, from the Greek word "to know," Gnosis. It came from these people who said, "We have a deeper knowledge of Christianity." The Gnostics said, "This matter is evil and spirit is good." So anything that is flesh and blood, anything that is matter, would be evil; only the spirit is good.

So, they claimed Jesus couldn't have a body because if Jesus had a body, then he would be trapped in evil. That can't be so. They said Jesus wasn't a man; he just appeared to be a man. There are many verses in the Bible that contradict that, obviously, but Colossians and First John really zero in on that. In the first century, toward the end of the first century, it was incipient Gnosticism. In the second century, it was full-blown Gnosticism, and it was leading people astray. John said this in First John chapter four: "Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus has come in the flesh is not from God. This is the spirit of Antichrist."

Very, very important to know that Jesus is human. It says in Hebrews 2:14, "Since all of these sons and daughters have flesh and blood, Jesus took on flesh and blood to be like them." Jesus became a man, and he was found, Philippians 2 says, "in appearance as a man." He was a man. He was as much man as you are, as I am. Even though he's also God, he's the God-man. Jesus referred to himself over and over as the Son of Man, the Son of Man, the Son of Man.

The question is, well, why does he have to be a man? He had to come down on our level to communicate with us, to represent God. See, God is invisible, and the Bible says no man has seen God at any time. The only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has. The writer of Hebrews says he's the exact representation of his nature. Paul says in Colossians chapter one, he's the image of the invisible God. And the Bible describes, John describes Jesus this way: "In the beginning was the Word." He loves to call him the Word. "And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by him, and apart from him, nothing came into being that has come into being."

Now, what is a Word? A word is an expression of an invisible thought. The only way you know what I'm thinking is that I put it into words. If I got up and just said, "Well, I got a really good sermon, but I'm just going to think it and hope that you get it," well, you wouldn't get it, right? I have to put it into words so you'd get it. Well, in the beginning was the Word. And John says in verse 14, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

Now, suppose you wanted to communicate with a lesser being, a lesser creature. Suppose you wanted to communicate with a honey bee. How would you go about doing that? I mean, we live on a totally different realm, on a totally different plane than a honeybee. We have interaction with honeybees normally. It's not a good one, and you know you want to, "Hey, get away from me. Don't sting me." But if you wanted to communicate, you know, the honeybees communicate with other honeybees in a really interesting way. It's called the waggle dance, the dance of the honeybee. And if you wanted to talk to a honeybee, the best way to talk to a honeybee is to become a honeybee. Then you know how to communicate on their level.

We don't live in the realm of God. God is so far above us. So what did God do? He became one of us so that he could communicate with us and we could see the invisible God. He was human because he wanted to communicate with us. And because the Lord Jesus was human, he knows by experience what it's like to be human. He knows by experience what it's like to be you. Sometimes we get frustrated with the Lord and we think, "Well, you don't understand, God, what I'm going through. You don't understand how I'm hurting here." And the Lord says, "Oh, I don't? I was laughed at, I was mocked, I was ridiculed, I was betrayed, I was spit upon, I was beaten, I was scourged. They nailed me to a tree, and I died." He understands all of that, and he understands what it's like to be tempted.

It says in Hebrews 2:17-18, "For this reason, Jesus had to be made like us, his brothers and sisters, in every way. He became like people so that he could be their merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Then he could bring forgiveness for the people's sins. And now he can help those who are tempted. He is able to help because he suffered. He Himself suffered and was tempted." Every time you're tempted, the Lord's able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

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Why?

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Because he says, I know exactly what that feels like. Now listen. God the Father, it says in James, chapter one, he can't be tempted by evil. God the Son can become a man and be tempted. Evil he shares with us in our infirmity, so to speak, in our weaknesses, so to speak. As a man. Jesus is the Son of man. Who is this stranger in the manger? He looks just like any other baby because he is 100% man. He is just like you and just like me.

But insight number two. Jesus is the Son of God, not like me and not like you. He is different from you and me because he is God as well as man. And he's not half God and half man. He's all God and all man at the same time. There will never be another like Jesus. He is unique. And Mary, his mother, when she was just a young girl engaged to Joseph, betrothed to Joseph, she had the visit from the angel Gabriel. And Gabriel told her that she was going to be the mother of the Messiah. And she said, how can this be since I'm a virgin? And the angel said to her, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And for that reason, the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God. And she said, behold the bondslave of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word.

You know, Mark Lowry wrote that blockbuster song, "Mary, Did You Know?" I can answer that. Yes, she knew. She knew, right? Because she was told before she ever conceived by the Holy Spirit, she was told, this is what's going to happen. And that child is gonna be the Son, Son of God. Son of God. Now, Son of Man refers to his humanity. Son of God refers to his deity. Five times in scripture, Jesus referred to himself as the Son of God. Most of the time, 82 times he's talking about himself as the Son of Man, but he's also the Son of God. Twenty-five times in scripture that's used, Son of God in the gospels, but it's typically from other people. It's from Nathaniel who said, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? And then he met Jesus and he said, master, you, Rabbi, you are the Son of God. When Jesus would cast out demons, the demons would cry out and they would say, you are the Son of God. When Jesus at Caesarea Philippi asked the disciples, who do you say that I am? And Peter said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. When Jesus died on the cross, the centurion who oversaw his death, when he saw the way he died, he said these words, truly, this man was the Son of God.

Now, the Son of God is another way of saying, your God, your deity, Son of man, humanity, son of God, deity. And so I want you to see the proofs of his deity. Because so many people come to church and they believe that Jesus is God, but they don't know how to defend that Jesus is God. And if some cultist comes to your door and tries to tell you that Jesus is not co-equal with God the Father, that he is something lesser than God, you don't know how to combat that with Scripture. And see, just as in the end of the first century, in the second century, they denied the humanity of Christ in the world in which we live. The false cults, Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons and people like that, they deny the deity of Christ. Jesus said, unless you believe I am he, you will all die in your sins. To say, well, you know, I think Jesus is a good teacher. That's not an option. I think Jesus is a great moral leader. That's not an option. Jesus is the Son of God and God the Son. And those things, Son of God and God the Son, those are synonyms. Those mean the same.

And you're going to see as we unfold this, Isaiah says his name is going to be called the mighty God, El Gabor. It's kind of a strengthening term. El means strong, and gabor means strong and mighty and valiant and a warrior. That's who he is. He's the mighty God. He's the everlasting Father. Not that he's God the Father, but that he is the Father of eternity. From everlasting to everlasting. He is God, the Father of eternity.

So let's look at some things about him. Number one, he was born of a virgin. That is very plain. That is very clear in Scripture. Born of a virgin. Just as Gabriel told Mary, that was the way it was going to be. Now, some people will deny that. The liberal theologians, they say, oh, no, no, you can't. Born of a virgin, come on, that would never happen. And so they try and just say, you know, that's really not very important. Born of a virgin. Let me tell you, it's critically important. Critically important. Because if you don't believe Jesus was born of a virgin, you don't believe Luke chapter one. And if you don't believe Luke chapter one, what other chapters do you not believe in? So you put yourself and you say, no, God's word is wrong. My understanding is better. Jesus wasn't born of a virgin. He was born of a virgin. It says he was born of a virgin.

Furthermore, if he's not born of a virgin, then that means Mary is an immoral woman who had sex with Joseph or somebody else before she was married to Joseph. That would be a terrible thing. The mother of our Lord is an immoral person who had sex outside of wedlock. And you know, that's what they said about Jesus. John, chapter eight. They said we were not born of fornication. Were we? When he was arguing with the Jews, they used that against him because they said, well, Jesus was born before she was married to Joseph. He's the illegitimate kid, and they would use that as a slur. We were not born of fornication like you were. So if Jesus isn't born of a virgin, then the Bible's not true. Then Mary is an immoral person.

And let me tell you something else. If Jesus isn't born of a virgin, then Jesus is born. He has a human father, just like you do, just like I do. And if Jesus is born in Adam, we're in big trouble. Why? Because First Corinthians, chapter 15 says, in Adam, all die. Here's the progression. If Jesus isn't born of a virgin, then Jesus isn't sinless. No virgin birth, no sinless life. Because you're born with a sinful nature. If he's born with a sinful nature, just like you and me, then you can't be sinless. No virgin birth, no sinless life. No sinless life, no atonement on the cross. Because as it says in Psalm 49, no man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him. For the redemption of his soul is costly. It takes an unblemished lamb to redeem his soul. No virgin birth, no sinless life. No sinless life, no atonement. No atonement, no forgiveness of sins. No forgiveness of sins.

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No.

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No hope of heaven. No hope of heaven. That means everybody throughout the ages is going to die and go to hell.

All because if you don't believe the virgin birth took place, then everything collapses in Christianity and your hope of heaven collapses like a house of cards.

Jesus was born of a virgin.

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Well, thank you, Pastor Jeff, for showing us how important it is to not compromise these critical truths describing the person of Jesus. The lesson today called "When God Became a Man" is from the Christmas series. What a beautiful name. Isaiah's description of the promised Messiah.

Hey, I've got some news for you today. Some big news. And I promise you, you haven't heard anything about this on the newscast in America or the world for that matter. But it is huge news. Are you ready? Here it is. Thousands of people have come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior this year. In fact, countless millions. It's incalculable how many have come to Christ this year, really? Believers in churches have taken a stand for biblical truth at great personal cost. And new believers can be found everywhere.

We also know that more people than ever have heard the Gospel through From His Heart this year than ever before because we've expanded our coverage exponentially around the world. Yes, God has done incredible things through your partnership this year. And there's so much more we can do and need to do together in the year ahead. That's why we're bold enough to ask you to consider giving sacrificially today to help us reach a very challenging year-end goal by December 31. The impact that's possible is so needed today.

If these messages have blessed you and you want to bless others in 2026, we'd like to say thanks for your generous gift this month by sending you the beautiful new year-long daily devotional book called "The Heart is God's Home." It's written by Pastor Jeff and 38 other pastors and leaders around the nation. It's a beautiful keepsake 365-day devotional book that will sink real truth into your heart from God's heart. To get your copy, call 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or simply go online to fromhisheart.org. Thank you so very much.

Pastor Jeff intends to expand From His Heart to reach multitudes more for Christ next year. Together we can make more big news for God's glory that the world will not tell you about, but it'll be headline news in heaven. Call 866-40-BIBLE or go to fromhisheart.org. God bless you.

Thank you for joining us today on From His Heart. I'm Larry Nobles, trusting you'll be right back here on Tuesday for part two of this inspiring lesson, "When God Became Man." That's next time when we'll again open up God's word and share real truth, real love, and real hope from His heart.

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There is treasure, there is love, there is hope that you always dream.

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From his heart. Is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more@fromisheart.org.