On this first Sunday of Advent, we are thinking about “revelation.” Revelation means to uncover, to explain, or to reveal.
Ron and I love the Advent season. We did not grow up celebrating Advent. Our focus was just on Christmas. In the last 20 years or so, we have been a part of churches that recognize and celebrate Advent. We have come to appreciate the emphasis on the coming of Jesus, the expectation and anticipation.
How we know who God is and what he is like –
The revelation we are considering today is the disclosure of who God is and what God is like through Jesus Christ.
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”
Hebrews 1:1-3a NIV 1984
We can know what God is like because he has revealed himself to us. His ultimate revelation of himself is found in his son, Jesus Christ. The words and works of Jesus display the glory and nature of God. If we want to know God better, we need to look at the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus bears the exact imprint of the nature of God.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:1, 14 NIV 1984
The baby Jesus whose birth we celebrate is more than just a baby in a manger scene. God came down to man in human form.
Jesus is the Word who was with God and was God. He is the one who came from the Father full of grace and truth, the One and Only, God in flesh. His name is Immanuel, meaning “God with us.”
This is the amazing revelation from God to humanity. Jesus has come to reveal God to us.
The So-What Question: Why does revelation matter
When I reject the revelation of God, I reject the God of revelation. When I reject the God of revelation, I am left to my own imagination to determine what God is like. This never turns out well. God is so transcendent that no human imagination can conceive him as he truly is. Thankfully, I do not only have my imagination to know God – his nature and character. He has revealed himself in his son, Jesus.
God’s revelation of himself demands a response. This Advent season, I respond in faith again to the Lord Jesus; He reveals God to me. How about you?
(The original author of this piece is Ron Ferguson. I modified it slightly for this platform.)
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