An After Advent Exhortation | Sunday, December 26, 2021

So when they had performed all the things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. (Luke 2:39–40)

After all the advent build-up and the celebration of Christ's birth, what does it mean for us to grow as Jesus grew—strong in spirit, full of wisdom, and increasing in grace?

After Advent

If you're watching this on the day it's broadcast, happy Boxing Day—though that's not really a thing in my country. This is the day after Christmas. All the lead-up to Christmas is done. After all the parties, after all the presents, here we are now, after advent.

The prophets predicted that the Prince of Peace would come. They foretold that the hope of all Israel would arrive in Bethlehem, born of a virgin, the only begotten Son of the Most High God. And just as they foresaw, Jesus was born to the virgin Mary in Bethlehem, which we celebrated yesterday with our close friends and family. After he was born, after the shepherds visited, after his circumcision and dedication at the temple, after the devout Simeon's prophecy and Anna's blessing and testimony, Luke writes that they returned to Galilee to their own city of Nazareth, and the child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

That's it. The whole nativity story ends right there—not a lot of fanfare. Mary and Joseph returned to Nazareth, presumably married, and had more children. Jesus had brothers, two of them named James and Jude, and the gospels tell us they had sisters as well. Joseph taught Jesus his trade, carpentry, and Jesus grew strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

Fully God and Fully Man

The family of Jesus was, for all intents and purposes, just like all the other families in first-century Israel. They went to synagogue on the Sabbath, observed the holy days, and went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of Passover. Jesus was in so many ways just normal.

I think we sometimes forget this. Sometimes we fail to realize that Jesus was fully man. That's not to say he wasn't fully God—the teaching of the church from the very beginning has been that Jesus was fully God and fully man. In fact, pretty much the biggest discussion in the church for the first two hundred-plus years was about the nature of Jesus. He was and is fully God and fully man. But we can't forget that he was a Jewish man who lived in relative obscurity for nearly the first thirty years of his roughly thirty-three-year life. More than ninety percent of Jesus's life was lived in basic obscurity.

And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast... the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem... Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers... And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" ...And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:42–52)

This is really about all we know of Jesus's youth. He was strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and favored by both God and men. He astonished the priests in the temple with his questions and his answers. He understood who he was; he knew his father was God the Father, and he knew he should be about his Father's business.

The Man Who Reordered History

Think about this: more than ninety percent of Jesus's life was lived in relative obscurity. Only three of his thirty-three years have any historical record, and even that record, when you consider its length across Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, is proportionally small. And yet the man Jesus of Nazareth has reordered and transformed all of human history. This is because Jesus is no ordinary man—he is the God-man, come to do his Father's business.

In his book Person of Interest: Why Jesus Still Matters in a World That Rejects the Bible, apologist and author J. Warner Wallace chronicles the many ways Jesus has reordered and transformed human history. Wallace highlights how Jesus changed the arts, music, literature, science, education, and virtually every other aspect of culture throughout nearly the whole world, especially in Western culture.

Jesus has done this at the macro, global level, but also at the micro, local level—in our communities and in our own lives. He reorders and transforms us as individuals; he makes us whole, and he makes us wholly new. This is why Paul wrote:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

If you have received Christ and the gift of his grace and salvation, then you have been made whole and wholly new in him.

God's Desire for Us in the New Year

With that in mind, on this last Sunday of 2021, I want to key in on two things the Spirit inspired Luke to write about Jesus as a child. In Luke 2:40, "the child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him." And in Luke 2:52, "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."

Why direct your attention to these? Because if you are in Christ, if your life has begun to be reordered and transformed by his grace, then I believe it is God's desire for you and for me, as we come into 2022, to be reordered and transformed so that we become strong in spirit, full of wisdom, and growing in grace. If Jesus—who is fully God and fully man—needed to become strong in spirit, full of wisdom, and to increase in grace, then it is certain that I need to do so as well. This is my prayer for us as a church: that we would grow in grace, grow in wisdom, and become more filled with the Holy Spirit, both as a church and as individuals.

Paul's Prayers for the Churches

This was certainly the way the apostle Paul prayed for the churches he ministered among.

...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling... (Ephesians 1:17–18)

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent... being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:9–11)

...that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:9–10)

Paul's prayer for the Christians in Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossae is essentially my prayer for our church at Cross Connection—and not only my prayer, but I believe God's desire for us: that we would grow in grace, grow in wisdom, and have a greater experience of the fullness of the Spirit in 2022.

Working Out What God Works In

So how does that actually happen? As I've shared many times, especially over the last half year, God works in us and we work these things out. As Paul wrote:

...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12–13)

God works his forgiving grace and salvation into us, and we are to work these things out in our daily lives as we are enabled and empowered by his Spirit. But what does that practically look like? For the answer, I want to look at Colossians 3.

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth... Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry... But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth... Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering... But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. (Colossians 3:1–14)

Saved Unto Obedience

There are nine imperatives in these seventeen verses, and all of them are conditioned by Paul's opening clause: "If then you were raised with Christ." I can't reiterate this enough: your salvation is not conditioned upon your obedience. You're not saved because you obey, but you are saved—and I'm saved—unto obedience.

Paul tells the Romans that through Christ we have received "grace for obedience to the faith" (Romans 1:5). Peter implies the same when he writes that we are "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience" (1 Peter 1:2). And Paul in Ephesians 2 says we are saved for good works, not by our good works.

So if you were raised with Christ, what should your response be? I'll sum up Colossians 3:1–17 in four simple steps for transformation: seek, set, put off, and put on.

Step One and Two: Seek and Set

First, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. The word translated "seek" is also defined as "to aim at." I really like that idea of aiming. Jesus uses the same word in the Sermon on the Mount: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33). If your aim is off, your life will be off. If you find yourself in the wrong place, thinking, saying, or doing the wrong things, it is highly likely you're not seeking those things which are above.

Second, set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth. This is a parallel step. If the first clause is about your attention and focus, this one is about your mindset. Peter was rebuked by Jesus for the wrong mindset: "Get behind Me, Satan!... you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men" (Matthew 16:23). Paul wrote:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Romans 8:5–6)

The steps of transformation begin with focus, attention, aim, and mindset. Show me a person immature or backsliding in their faith, and I'll show you a person whose aim and mindset are misplaced.

Step Three: Put Off the Old Man

Since we have the hope of appearing with Christ in glory, Paul says, therefore put to death your members which are on the earth. These things are imminently practical. Most of what Paul lists in verse 5 is sexual in nature—the Greek word translated "fornication" is porneia, which sounds like something familiar. Uncleanness, passion, and evil desire are all connected to sexually immoral acts. Paul's command is that these be dealt with with deadly seriousness, because these are the very things that invite the wrath of God upon unbelievers. They should not even be named in the lives of believers. You once walked in these things, but now you've been raised with Christ—so stop.

Paul continues practically. If you have a bad temper and desire retribution, put away wrath. If you're given to fits of rage, stop. Put off malice. Maybe you don't visibly lose your cool, but internally you wish harm upon others and hold ill will—the Scriptures call that malice, and we're to put it away.

Nor are we to have blasphemy. You may think you'd never do this, because you think of blasphemy only as speaking wickedly against God. But there is a blasphemy directed not at God but as slanderous gossip spoken against anyone. If you find yourself slandering or gossiping, stop. Put off filthy language—abusive or obscene foul language. And if you're given to lying, stop. By God's grace and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, you can and must put off the old man.

Step Four: Put On the New Man

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another... But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. (Colossians 3:12–14)

These things don't require much explanation, but they are essential. God, by his grace and the enabling power of his Spirit, can give you the ability to put off the old man and put on the new—to put on kindness, mercy, meekness, patience, longsuffering, and love. Not only can we do these things; we ought to do them. And as we do, we will be letting the peace of God rule in our hearts and the word of God dwell in us richly.

Healing Division in the Body

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly... And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:15–17)

As we step into 2022, I have to acknowledge that 2020 and 2021 brought a lot of division within the body of Christ—division over COVID, over politics, over race, over all kinds of things. I've seen it in the larger church and in local churches throughout our community. There's not a single church in our community, or nationwide, that has not been affected. This wedge of division has caused Christians to disconnect from one another.

I believe God wants to do a work in us, but that will only happen as we seek first his kingdom, set our minds on things above, put off the old man—which loves to cause division through anger, wrath, and malice—and put on the new man, putting on love, which Paul says is the bond of perfection. As we allow God's peace to rule in our hearts, it becomes possible to live as one body in Christ, his word dwelling in us richly, enabling us to challenge, encourage, and admonish one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

Our church has been focused for many years on a clear mission: life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus. But that life in connection is not possible if we're not putting off the old man and putting on the new man. In 2022 I believe God wants us to grow in wisdom, love, stature, and grace with God and all men—but that won't happen if we're not seeking first the kingdom, setting our minds above, putting off the old man, and putting on the new. May it be, by God's grace, that we do just that.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I pray for your church as we stand at the end of another year and prepare to enter a new one. For some people, this is just a date, just a transition. But I pray it would be an opportunity for a new and fresh start. People will make all kinds of resolutions, plans, and goals, but Lord, I pray that more than anything we would resolve to seek first your kingdom, set our minds on things above, put off the old man, and put on the new man. May we grow in wisdom, be filled with your Spirit, and may the fruit of the Spirit be evident in our lives and in our interactions with one another. So God, do a work in me, do a work in my brothers and sisters within your church, and as you work in us, cause us to shine brightly in a world that so desperately needs your love and your grace. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.