Tag: Incarnation

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Fence Post Devotionals “The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”

God with Skin On

“At the appointed time Jesus took on flesh and became a man. He lived here amongst us and lots of folks, includin’ cowboys and cowgirls, saw His glory and it was a sight to behold. It was the glory of the Son of God. His grace and truth done shined forth ‘cause He was plumb filled up with it.” (John 1:14).

I have heard the story and perhaps you have too or at least some version of it: A small child was reluctant to go to sleep by herself one night. After several bedtime stories, her mother told her it was time to turn out the light. “But I want you to stay,” the little girl protested. “Don’t worry,” the mom said, “Jesus is here, He will be with you all night long.” To which the child replied, “But I want Jesus with skin on!”

Have you ever wished that? That you could sit down, grab a cup of coffee and have a one-on-one talk with the God of the universe? Our first parents had that opportunity. Before their disobedience, the Bible describes those intimate moments when God visited with them in the garden, where apparently they walked together and talked with each other.

But after the fall, that changed. God’s warning was that no man could see Him and live. Moses, the “friend of God,” whom God hid in the cleft of rock allowed Moses only a glimpse of His backside as He passed by.

But has God remained hidden? Can we, like the young child in the story, know God with skin on? Well, yes we can. God the Father remains unseen by human eyes. But, through His Son the Bible promises that we can know Him. You see, He did reveal Himself to us, just as the little girl wished, God with skin on, in the person of His Son, Jesus.

That is the promise fulfilled at Christmas. The angel of the Lord said that the child born of Mary would be called Immanuel, “God with us.” God, though invisible to human eyes, is nonetheless present with us indeed. Through the incarnation, “God with skin on” in the person of Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem. And Jesus, the Son of God “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

Philip, one of Jesus’ disciples on an occasion asked Jesus, “Lord show us the Father.” In other words, Philip, like many of us, wanted to see God with skin. And Jesus answered him and us with these remarkable words, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

Yes, indeed, we do know God through His Son, who came into the world clothed in human flesh to show and reveal to us God the creator and sustainer of all things.

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What is the Fullness of Time?

In Galatians 4:4, the Apostle Paul wrote, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son” . . . When God’s time table struck the appointed hour, God sent His Son into the world. Paul called that appointed hour the “fullness of time.” What did Paul mean by that? “The Fullness of Time”?

Well, there were a number of things happening in the then known world at that particular time upon which “The Fullness of Time” hinged. Let’s examine some of them . . .

I. According to the Historical Order, it was the Fullness of Time:

  1. History records this was a time of ‘Great Expectancy’. One evidence is that of the Wise Men:At this very time in history they were studying the stars, looking for a sign. And God gave them one— Matthew 2:1b-2 “Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.’”
  2. Roman Peace: Throughout the then known world there was a sense of unity to the various lands. Because of that the empire was relatively peaceful, travel was possible, allowing the early Christians to spread the gospel. Such freedom to travel would have been impossible in other eras.
  3.  A common language: koine’ Greek was the dominant language spoken throughout the empire, making it possible to communicate the gospel to many different people groups through one common language.
  4. Roman roads: Cobblestone roads had been built throughout the Roman Empire on which the Roman armies were transported. Such roads made it possible to carry the gospel; the same roads Paul used to carry and spread the Gospel and plant churches in the Mediterranean and Asian World.

Continue reading “What is the Fullness of Time?”