Remaining what he was he assumed what he was not
It is Christmas 2012. Have we lost touch with the birth of Emmanuel, God with us. Have we forgot that Jesus was a human being in everyway as us but without sin. Remaining what he was, the Word of God, he assumed what he was not, humanity. Jesus the creator of everything that is seen and unseen entered into his creation and became part of it so that his creation could become part of him through faith in the work that God the Father sent him to do.
The church fathers of the early centuries of Christianity found it necessary to come together to formulate doctrine or doctrines of what to teach and how to teach these doctrines to the community of believers in Jesus Christ and how to explain Gods revelation of himself through Jesus Christ, his Only Begotten Son, to all of humanity.
In the fifth century the Bishop, Cyril of Alexandria, brought into theological debate a Latin translation of a Greek phrase he calls a communicatio idiomatum. Communicatio means a communication or a sharing. Idiomatum means attributes or properties. This became part of the formulazation of the Doctrine of the Incarnation, which is about how God united himself with humanity in the birth of the Word of God, Jesus of Nazareth, which was also God's plan from before the beginning of the creation.
The Gospel of John speaks of this unifing in oneness. How God united himself with humanity and how through faith in the resurrected man, Jesus, we are united with Jesus Christ in oneness and through Jesus we are united with God the Father in Oneness, all in one. Read the Lord's prayer to the Father just before the crucifiction in chapter 17 of the Gospel of John.
The first verse of the Gospel of John reads, In the beninning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. See the attached: Gospel of John. It is about how God made a way to unite us in an eternal relationship with himself.
The early church had a saying, God became humans so that humans may become divine, meaning sharing immortality. The early church in the first century A.D. worshiped Jesus of Nazareth, the man, the resurrected man. He was crucified, he died, he was buried in a tomb , but on the third day he was resurrected from the dead. He was dead but not anymore and not only that the man, Jesus of Nazareth, the human being was exalted on high and is now seated at the right hand of God. This man, Jesus of Nazareth, was the first human being raised from the dead unto eternal life.
The disciples and the followers of Jesus walked with him, they listened to his teachings, they saw the miracles and the healing of the sick, they broke bread with him and he touched their flesh and they his.
50 days after the Jewish festival of Passover, the Jewish Passover during which Jesus was crucified, Jews from all over the world had come to Jerusalem for the festival , Shavuot in Hebrew which means Feast of
Weeks, in Greek, Pentecost. These Jews spoke different languages and they had difficulty understanding each other.
At this same time in Jerusalem, the disciples and other followers of Jesus were gathered together in one room and then there is a sound of a rushing mighty wind and they appeared something like cloven tongues of fire that descend upon all of them. They began speaking different languages proclaiming the gospel to these Jews who had come from all different parts of the world. They were hearing the gospel preached in their own language.
Then Peter stood up and he preached the first christian sermon. He says, this is the Holy Spirit descending upon these believers, [in the old testament it was the God of Israel who sent the Holy Spirit upon the prophets]. Now Peter, making this bold statement, it is Jesus who has sent the Holy Spirit descending upon those that were gathered together in his name. Peter says, 50 days ago Jesus was crucified and then he was resurrected from the dead and having ascended to the throne of God, and is now seated at the right hand of God, and it is Jesus who is now sending the Holy Spirit just like the God of Israel did.
At the ending of his sermon, the people said what shall we do? Peter said unto them repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. See the attached: First and Second chapters of the book of Acts.
Jesus was given a name that is above every name that is named and everyone who calls upon the name of Jesus shall be saved. Life eternal is only found in the name of Jesus, the Christ of God. If you haven't called upon the name of Jesus, do so. You will have his full attention when you speak your beleif in Jesus.
It is Christmas 2012. This is the Christian celebration of the birth of the Incarnate Word of God, Mary's son , God's only Begotten Son, Jesus, born in Bethlehem. God in the flesh, the same flesh that the first Adam was formed out of and the same flesh that we dwell in. It is simple and it is beautiful.
Gospel%20of%20John.docxActs%20Chapters%20One%20and%20Two.docx
Michael
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