Today is the second message in our series, “Christmas Through the Ages.” Today, we travel back 99 years to 1914. I chose 1914 instead of 1913 because 1914 was a monumental year.
APRIL 15, 1914 marked the sinking of the Titanic. In July and August the nations of Europe declared war one against another marking the beginning of World War 1. It was called “The War to End all Wars,” and “The Great War.”
World War 1 is all but forgotten here in the US. However, it is indelibly etched into the minds of the citizens of Great Britain. I had the privilege of visiting Wales three times in 2000, 2002 and 2003. I ministered at High Street Baptist Church in the small mountain village Abersychan.
This church was built in 1827! That is the same year the Beethoven died!
The church has no parking lot because there were no cars when it was built! It was built before electricity and indoor plumbing.
There are two sobering memorials in the back of the church. They both commemorate “The Great War.” When I first saw them, I thought they referred to the Second World War. However, the Great War is a reference to WW1. One of them reads, “To the Glory of God - In honored memory of those who fell and those who served in the Great War, 1914-1918 - To preserve the sacred ideals of freedom and secure a world peace.”
1914 was a year when the fear of War turned into a horrifying WORLD WAR.
In 1914 the world was desperate for PEACE because of the fear of WAR
TODAY - 99 years later, we are still looking for PEACE
The “War to end all wars” did not end them! Wars only became worse. TODAY our world is still at the brink of calamity:
- Economic collapse
- A fear that Iran is developing nuclear weapons
- America’s longest war - 12 years in Afghanistan
- Central African Republic - Thousands of Christians have fled to the safety of the airport to escape Muslims who have murdered hundreds of civilians.
Can there be peace?
Today we will examine a Colossians 1:19-20. This passage refers to Christ, but it’s not a passage we that we typically associate with Christmas.
“For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:19–20, ESV)
“Peace on earth” is a familiar Christmas greeting. It was announced by the angels to Judean shepherds. However, peace on earth is as elusive today as it was 2,000 years ago. Did Christ then fail in his mission in coming to earth?
The key to answer that question is to remind ourselves that the Bethlehem event was only part one of a two part story. Christ’s work of redemption was completed through his birth in Bethlehem and his suffering, death and resurrection. But his complete work still await the final culmination that will take place during the Second Advent - His coming in judgment and rule.
What are the distinctions of these two advents?
I. Christ’s FIRST ADVENT brings Peace to my Soul. We can have Peace because we are RECONCILED to GOD. “Reconcile to himself all things...”
In the theological terms of the Bible, to reconcile means “to reestablish proper friendly ... relations after these have been disrupted or broken” (Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 501.
Two Important Theological Truths make this possible
The FIRST is that God became man. We find this theological truth in the first part of Col 1:19-20. “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,” (Colossians 1:19, ESV).
The world “Fullness is the Greek word pleroma. It represents the total quantity. The complete number. Nothing left out.
One of my favorite soft drinks is Honest Tea. One of their trademarks is that every bottle is filled to the very top. Always filled! That’s a good way to think of this word “fullness.” Christ was filled to the very top with the attributes and qualities of God.
Some of the usages of pleroma demonstrate its meaning further.
“For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,” (Colossians 2:9, ESV)
Christians can be filled with All of God’s Being. “and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:19, ESV)
Time can be filled... “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,” (Galatians 4:4, ESV)
Christians receive the full measure of God’s Grace. “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” (John 1:16, ESV)
The SECOND great theological truth that describes the manner in which we can be made at peace with God is that The God-Man suffered. We find this in the second half of our passage. Col 1:20 “by making peace through the blood of his cross.”
The Bible clearly links the peace we have with God to the suffering of Christ.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13, ESV)
“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:10, ESV)
Illus - Mark Winter tells the story of Bible Translators who were translating the Bible into a tribal language. The NT, the word for peace means “to reconcile or join,” but the tribe had no word for peace. At last, a native who was working with them found a combination of words that captured the concept—“a heart that sits down.” When the heart sits down with Jesus—when we join with God through his Son—there is peace.” http://www.sermoncentral.com/Illustrations/SearchResults.asp?keyword=reconciled
But there is not universal peace. Has Christ’s mission failed?
NO. His birth was PART ONE of God’s plan to reconcile all things.
II. Christ’s SECOND ADVENT brings Peace to Creation.
“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:20–23, ESV)
In Christ’s Kingdom, there will be no more earthquake, pestilence, famine, plague. This is because God will remove the effects of the curse that are on the world. One passage indicating this theological “New World Order” is Isaiah 11:1-8
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord— and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest.” (Isaiah 11:1–8, NIV84)
III. Christ’s COMING KINGDOM brings Peace to the Nations
“From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.” (Revelation 19:15, ESV)
“For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon her knees.” (Isaiah 66:12, ESV)
“I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” (Zechariah 9:10, ESV)
There is a touching story from the early days of the first world war. Less than 6 months into the war, soldiers from both sides were locked into trench warfare, holding their lines against one the opposing army. It was Christmas Eve, 1914. There are varied accounts of what happened, but for during the night of Christmas Eve and on the following Christmas day, soldiers from both sides declared an unofficial “truce.”
Some say it started when the German troops lit candles on Christmas trees that were sentn to them from home. Eventually, Carols were being sung in German, and echoed in English and French. English bagpipers accompanied German soldiers singing “Silent Night.”
Throughout the night, soldiers exchanged greetings, and by daylight, many ventured across the barbed wire into “no mans land” to shake hands with their enemies. The men exchanged buttons from their uniforms, and Christmas treats from home. One English private wrote home to tell his parents how much the Germans loved mom’s “Christmas Pudding.” He wrote “if we would have had an ample supply of Christmas pudding, every German on the lines would have surrendered” (Private Frederick W. Heath, http://open.salon.com/blog/lost_in_berlin/2011/12/23/the_christmas_truce_of_1914_an_eyewitness_writes_home
Gary Kohls documents the events in his story.
“An over-confidant Kaiser Wilhelm had even ordered 100,000 Christmas trees, with candles for decoration, to be delivered to the German trenches for Christmas, ...to boost morale. And then the spontaneous events happened at various points on the 700-mile-long trench lines that stretched all across France. The singing of Christmas carols started an extraordinary chain of events that culminated in acts of mass treason that would never be duplicated in the history of warfare. One of the best-loved versions of the story was that the Germans started singing “Stille Nacht” and the British responded by singing the English language version, “Silent Night.” Then, the French and Scots joined in and all sides sang together in their own tongues, the Scots accompanying the Germans with their bagpipes.” Gary Kohls, “The Christmas Truce of 1014" http://consortiumnews.com/2011/12/16/the-christmas-truce-of-1914
Stanley Weintraub, writes more about this unique night in his book, “Silent Night.”
For a moment, Jesus brought PEACE.
One Day, he will enforce peace on earth through his uncontested power and strength.
Today, he brings his peace to those who humble themselves before him.
If you want peace in your heart, in your family, you must come to Jesus for peace. He offers it through the blood he shed on the cross. His blood provides the say for you to be reconciled to God.
