Advent Week 4; Purpose

''Twas a humble birthplace, but O how much God gave to us that day From the manger bed what a path has led What a perfect, holy way. Alleluia! O how the angels sang Alleluia! How it rang!

And the sky was bright with a holy light 'Twas the birthday of a King.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Jesus, fully man and fully God, humbled himself as the creation he created. He took on human form so that in Him we would have a way to draw near to God. We celebrate Christmas to celebrate the birth of Christ. He was born in a stable and laid in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. From the moment Jesus entered the world, there was humility. Christ “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

All throughout Jesus’s earthly ministry we see time and time again humility and serving. He came not to be served, but to serve. So, because Jesus humbled himself to earth, lived a sinless life, and died on the cross for our sins, we have security in our calling and the ability to live out that calling by His divine enablement.

Purpose Sourced in Who God Is

God is holy. I am not. But because of what Christ did for us, God now sees me as he sees Christ, holy and blameless. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). What a miraculous and beautiful exchange! Colossians 1:22 tells us that Christ “has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” God sees me as He sees Christ.

Why is this exchange necessary? Because we all begin life “in Adam.” Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” A holy, sinless, and just God could not allow transgression into heaven. This position we are born of “in Adam” leads to death. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.” Death is my eternal separation from God. Not only does my being born “in Adam” lead to death, but it also robs God of the glory justly due Him. Romans 3:23 says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” BUT CHRIST. Without the hope of Christmas and Jesus’s entering the world, we would be fully hopeless. But Christ. Romans continues to tell us of our free gift of eternal life through faith in Christ. Because of Christ’s holy humanity, obedience to the cross, and selfless sacrifice for us, we have access to God. Because of our position in Christ, we can draw near to God. God is holy. I am not. But God sees me as he sees Christ.

“You stand before God as if you were Christ, because Christ stood before God as if He were you - He in your stead, you in His stead” (Spurgeon).

Purpose Centered on Who Christ Is

We have hit on the legality of our position before God because of Christ, but the story does not stop there. Now that we are justified by faith and positionally seen as Christ before God, we must live like who we are – one with Christ. How does this look? It’s not complicated. Know who you are – one with Christ, reckon this truth to be true, in other words, grab ahold and believe it, and yield in obedience to this truth. Take the time to study all Christ is and renew your mind with these truths so your heart’s affections can be in alignment with this beautiful promise. As believers, we are one with Christ.

Christ came to earth not to be served but to serve. This is where I want our minds focused for the rest of this post. If I am one with Christ and wanting to live like it, why would I do anything other than serve? That is why He came to earth. He served. Easier said than done, but because of my union with Him, I know I can live that way, empowered by His strength. Which leads me to my next point.

Purpose Enabled by the Spirit

The enablement of the Holy Spirit in our lives is not some overwhelming, mysterious concept we can never understand. We believe in the Trinity, and we believe in the Holy Spirit’s presence in the believer’s life. He “dwells with us and in us.” 1 Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?” The Holy Spirit is in us and working in us change into the image of our Savior. Our duty is living in dependent obedience. We take what we know about who God is and how he views us as he views Christ, we believe we are one with Christ, we yield in obedience to what God’s word says, and we do this all by being dependent on the Spirit’s divine enablement. Jesus told the disciples in John 14, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

In conclusion, our purpose here on earth is to be like Jesus for the glory of God. Our purpose is sourced in who God is, centered on who Christ is, and enabled by the Spirit. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.” This Christmas season let’s continue striving to be more like Jesus. Let’s purpose to serve.