All over the world right now, people are putting up trees and decorations, shopping for gifts, and traveling to see family for the Christmas season. As Christians, we often talk about the “true meaning” of Christmas and what we’re “really” celebrating, but today, I want to really put that into perspective for you. I want to help you renew your awe, wonder, and gratitude for the greatest miracle that ever took place — the moment when God took on human form.

Doctrinally this event is called the “Incarnation,” and it is described in many verses throughout the Bible, but right now, I want to focus on Philippians 2:6-7:

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

Friend, there are so many amazing, baffling truths packed into this verse, and it starts with the statement that Jesus was “in the form of God.” We need to understand that this is a declaration that Jesus is not just a component of God separated from the whole — He is God. Before He came to the earth, He was ruling up in Heaven, dressed in glory and splendor. He possessed the same shape and outward appearance of Almighty God — a presence so strong that no flesh could look upon Him and live.

Knowing that, the Incarnation takes on a new depth. For God to come to earth, He literally had to reclothe Himself in a form that could be tolerated by man! What Paul is describing is the miraculous moment when God reached into the material world and took hold of flesh, dressed Himself with it, and was found in the womb of the Virgin Mary. In that moment, He literally took on the likeness of man in every way, stepping into a body that could grow tired, hungry, and cold.

This was such a humble act that Paul describes it by saying that Jesus “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:7). Think about it, friend: God — who sits on the throne clothed in glory and has angels worshiping and glorifying Him every day — dressed Himself in human flesh and came down to earth to be a baby. He put away the form of all-powerful, self-sufficient Creator to become an infant who couldn’t even walk, speak, or feed Himself. This wasn’t just some miracle — it is the greatest miracle that ever occurred!

Friend, this is why we celebrate His birth! It is mind-boggling that such an event could even take place, but what makes it even more incredible is the reason that He did it: to reveal the heart of the Father to us and solve a problem that only God could solve.

You see, in Romans 5:12, we read that because of Adam’s disobedience, sin passed into the entire human race. As a result, all men are born sinners (see Psalm 51:5 and Psalm 58:3). In the same way that no one needs to teach a newborn fish to swim, no one needs to teach a newborn human how to sin. It is in our nature the moment we are conceived.

Friend, our God is merciful, but He is also a just God, and Romans 6:23 states emphatically, “The wages of sin is death.” Because of our sinful nature, we all earned death, and we couldn’t pay the price that was required to escape that punishment. God could have left us in our debt of sin. He could have gotten rid of this sinful world and started over, but He loved us so much that He decided to fix the problem instead, and He did it in a way that only He could — by transferring all that debt to Jesus on the Cross (see Isaiah 53:6).

This reminds me of Hebrews 9:12-14:

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

In the Old Testament, the people of Israel had to offer sacrifices to pay for their sins, but those sacrifices just weren’t enough to cover every sin, so they had to keep going back to the temple again and again to offer more sacrifices for new sins every time something happened. When Christ offered His own blood, however, He paid for every sin, past, present, and future.

I want to give you an illustration of this. I remember looking out at the snow once, and as I watched it falling outside and blanketing everything, I told my friend, “I love the snow because it makes me think of forgiveness, making everything clean and pure.” 

My friend looked at me and answered, “Bishop Rick, the snow is really a picture of the Old Testament, because all it does is cover the real problem. But remember, according to the New Testament, we have the blood of Jesus, and it doesn’t just cover — it goes through every layer of sin and completely removes it.”

I know that during this season, we love to think about the peaceful manger scene and the sweet baby Jesus, but we must remember that He was born to die a horrific death on a cross. He was born to die as the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. That is the real message of Christmas!

Friend, what an incredible miracle this is, that our God really did love us enough to put off His own glory, clothe Himself in flesh, and appear in the earth to die on the Cross. There is only one appropriate response, and it is to do as Romans 10:9-10 commands us and receive the salvation that He came to give:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

According to verse 9, two things are required: You have to confess with your mouth and believe in your heart.

Some people only do one of these. Maybe they privately believe, but they never really talk about it or make any kind of public confession. They think that it’s okay if it’s just between them and the Lord. But this verse tells us that you need to take the next step, friend! The deal is not finished until with your mouth you’ve declared, “Jesus is the Lord of my life.”

There’s no point in holding back from doing this, friend. Philippians 2:9-11 tells us that there will be a day when every knee will bow and every tongue will make this confession. When He returns as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, everyone’s going to bow — the entire universe, in unison, is going to declare “Jesus is Lord!”

Friend, I really want you to understand this, because some people say, “I’m not declaring that, because I want to live my life the way I want to live it.” This is so tragic to me, because these people don’t realize that even if they refuse to surrender now, eventually a moment will come when they will recognize Jesus as the King of kings — even if it’s from hell.

However if we will bow now and receive salvation and declare out of our mouths that Jesus is Lord, it will change our eternal status. Salvation is yours, friend. It has your name written on it, and Christ is just waiting for you to claim it.

Friend, I encourage you not to just go through the motions this Christmas. Use this season to really reflect on your heart and to reach out to your friends and family who are unsaved. Ask the Holy Spirit, “Do I understand that I am a sinner who needs the blood of Jesus, or do I minimize my sins? Am I keeping my salvation to myself, or am I declaring Jesus as Lord? Do I realize the power and wonder of Jesus’ birth, or am I taking this unbelievable event for granted?”

God Almighty laid aside His glory, took on human flesh, and appeared on earth so that He could humble Himself even further to death on the Cross, and He did all of that so that you would have the chance to choose Him right now and change your eternal status forever. Don’t let that gift pass you by.