Christians need to take the event of the birth of Christ and point people to the miracles that took place at the time of His birth.
The world stood amazed and watched as man walked on the moon. They need to know, however, that there was a much more amazing event that took place in Bethlehem. Christ, while keeping His Deity, came as a baby and walked this earth. Christmas is not the celebration of the beginning of Jesus Christ, it is the celebration of His arrival on earth. It must be understood and taught that Jesus’ true beginnings were not in a stable.
The Holy Spirit wants you to catch this, “He is the image of the invisible God.” The key word is “image” (eikon) and here it means that Jesus is the image of God indicating the revelatory character of the incarnation. Yes Jesus is man; however, His character is the exact representation of God. He is the illumination of, the very essence of the heart of God. Our Lord said, “…Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) Jesus is the manifestation of God, literally displaying and proving the very existence of God. The apostle Paul writes in Colossians 1:19 that “…God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in [Jesus].” (Colossians 1:19) Jesus is a portrait of God not a mere sketch. In Jesus you see the characteristics and the distinguishing marks of God. This Greek word for image (eikon) is sometimes a diminutive form of another Greek word (eikonion) meaning portrait. It is the equivalent to our word photograph.
When Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit, the Word which painted the portrait of Christ stepped out of heaven, the Word became flesh and He is the perfect replica, the precise copy, the image of the Father who made the promise of sending a Savior who would save mankind from their sins. He is more than a picture, He can be known and Jesus, who is God in the flesh makes known to us the image of God. According to the Word of God and the testimony of the Holy Spirit who brings revelation and illumination of the written Word, God came to earth to make Himself known through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is surely a key truth of the miracle of Christmas. Have you grasped this truth?
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