The Greatest Christmas Gift Ever Given Series

The real message of Christmas is not the gifts that we give to each other. Rather, it is a reminder of the gift that God has given to each of us. During this Christmas season, we’ll hear one word more than any other. It’s “the Name of Jesus.” It’s “a gift” God has given the world the gift that is so perfect nothing compares. Many people think that gift giving at Christmas was started by the Wise Men when they brought gifts to the baby Jesus. But it was God who gave the first Christmas gift. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

On the first day of Christmas, God gave the greatest gift of all — he gave his Son. The word "given" is derived from "give" which has root in the noun "gift". The theme of giving is prominent in Scripture, with such words as “give,” “gift,” “gave,” etc., appearing more than 2,000 times. Jesus Christ was God’s Christmas Gift, and God never gives anything but the best! The Bible says in James 1:17 " Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.," He gave his Son to die on the cross so you can have your past forgiven, peace with God, a purpose for living, and a home in Heaven. Jesus is the original, perfect, personal, and indescribable Christmas gift. And the amazing thing is that not only are we able to receive this gift, but we are able to share it with others. That is what Christmas is all about.

Did you know there are about 300 prophecies in the Old Testament about the coming of Christ? And Fulfilled prophecy is one of the greatest proofs of the Deity of Jesus Christ. Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, the Old Testament prophet Isaiah looks into the future and tells his audience in such beautiful words that a Child has been given to mankind. Not just an ordinary child but One Who has come with multifaceted purpose and benefits. Seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet said, (Isa. 9:6). "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." That prophecy was fulfilled in the words of that blessed text, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

It is unfathomable what it meant for our transcendent Creator God to become finite man. Nevertheless, the One who was “so much superior to the angels” (Hebrews 1:4) willingly set aside His deity, descended from the authority of heaven’s throne, and “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). The word incarnation does not occur in the Bible. It is derived from the Latin in and caro (flesh), meaning clothed in flesh. Its only use in theology is in reference to that gracious, voluntary act of the Son of God in which He assumed a human body. In Christian doctrine the Incarnation, briefly stated, is that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became a man. It is one of the greatest events to occur in the history of the universe. It is without parallel. Beyond stepping down from the glorious form of God to the humble form of a human slave, the King of heaven took on “the likeness of sinful man” (Romans 8:3) and “became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). In this way, God graciously showed His great love for us by giving “His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10) Sinners are pictured in the Bible as lost sheep. The Scripture says, "All we like sheep have gone astray" (Isa. 53:6). How wonderful at this blessed Christmas season to think that the greatest Gift ever given was; indescribable we didn’t ask for it, but "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8).

Salvation is not an afterthought with God. The Bible says concerning Jesus, "…the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8).This is why Apostle Paul wrote, ''without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh. . (I Timothy 3:16)If it weren’t for God’s grace and love, we would have nothing. The air we breathe is a gift of God’s love and care. The fact that our hearts are beating is a gift of God’s generosity. Every good thing in your life — including your life — is a gift of God’s steadfast love. But God’s greatest act of love came on the very first Christmas when he gave us Jesus. Clearly, the greatest of all gifts was when God gave Himself for a lost and undeserving world—because it revealed the greatest grace and love, met the greatest need, and had the greatest scope and purpose of any gift that could possibly be conceived in the heart of God. Such a gift from God is abundantly sufficient to provide salvation and eternal life for the whole world.