Creator, Father, King #354

At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED how much emphasis we put on baby Jesus during this time of year? With our carols, greeting cards, church plays, and other seasonal hallmarks, we sometimes fawn over him as if he were still a cute, chubby newborn cooing in his mother’s arms.

There’s nothing wrong with these Christmas traditions, as long as they are a worshipful means to an end, not the end itself. Too often, however, we tend to leave Jesus in the manger. But the eternal, incarnate Son of God didn’t stay in a Bethlehem feeding trough any more than he remained nailed to a Roman cross or entombed in a Jewish grave.

In Philippians 2:6-11, the apostle Paul details Christ’s progression of glory:

Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (ESV).

What’s It Mean?

In these verses, Paul masterfully takes us from Jesus’ preexistent state, to his incarnation, his humiliation, and his glorification. The Savior is certainly not still wrapped in swaddling cloths, trapped in perpetual infancy!

At the height of Jesus’ messianic exaltation, there’s a handoff. Did you notice it? It’s glory of God the Father!

Having achieved supreme victory, Jesus willingly gives all glory back to God. What an example of humble submission!

The Christmas story is about so much more than a cuddly baby in a manger. It’s about the sinless Son of God becoming an atoning sacrifice for human sins—something no one else in history could or would do—then returning all his fame, honor, and praise back to the Father.

Now that is something to sing about!

Now What?

When you sing carols about Jesus’ birth, remember the full purpose of his incarnation!

Did You Know?

“Silent Night” is the most popular Christmas carol ever, with 733 copyrighted recordings from 1978 through 2014, according to Time.