When I came to Christ, it was the fall of 1990 and I had just gone through a time in my life when there were a lot of major changes that were very troubling. However, while this emotional upheaval made me very sad and it continues to do so even today if I think about it, it drove me to want to seek out something that would give me comfort and joy. Although comfort and joy can be found in many things, I found it when I sought out answers in the Bible. What I discovered was a comfort and joy like nothing on earth could provide. As the holiday season came upon me I thought of how the birth of Christ was part of a miracle that happens in each person that trusts Christ as their Savior. Considering that as I sit here today writing this, once again, I am reminded of how the birth of Christ gives us comfort and joy to live for Him.
What is the foundation of comfort and joy?
When we think of the word comfort, we can learn that it is simply “a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint” or “the easing or alleviation of a person’s feelings of grief or distress” [1]. When we think of the word joy, we can learn that is “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness” [2]. Combined, we find that it is when we find comfort, we experience joy.
Spiritually speaking, when we find comfort in Christ, we experience joy. The question is, why is this? There are a number of reasons. Primarily, it is because the moment we hear the truth of salvation through Christ and believe it, God gives us the Holy Spirit as the earnest, or non-refundable guarantee upon our inheritance as He saves us (Ephesians 1:9-14). The Holy Spirit seals us until the day of redemption and gives us the power to walk in newness of life (Ephesians 4:30; Romans 6:1-11; Ephesians 2:1-10; 2 Timothy 1:7). It is this deliverance from the penalty of our sin, our new life, and hope for the future that comforts us here and now from the things that we struggle with on this earth. This is why Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter (John 14:25-27; John 15:27-28; John 16:7-14). He gives us comfort. This is because when the Holy Spirit enters our life, He not only has saved us, He starts producing fruit in us.
The fruit of the Holy Spirit, or evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1), is found in Galatians 5:22-23 as follows: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:21-23). It is important to note is that the first part of the fruit on the list is love. It is the love of Christ because of what He did on the cross, saving us, that inspired us to love Him (1 John 4:19).
It is this love for Christ, inspired by His love for us, that is the foundation of the remaining parts of the fruit of the Spirit. In other words, it is love that serves as the foundation that produces joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. When we step back and think about it, God’s love for us, producing comfort and joy is the motivation to live for Him. And that is a miracle!
The Miracle of Comfort and Joy
Since, God’s love for us produces a miracle in us to live for Him, how does His birth figure into it? It is because, when Jesus was born, it was more than one miracle of the virgin birth, it resulted in three miracles as follows [3]:
“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)
The first miracle of the birth of Christ is the incarnation [4]. The incarnation is the miracle that God the Holy Spirit created a baby, the living Word of God, in the virgin Mary and it was in this baby that God took upon Him human flesh to live amongst us as Emmanuel to give us new life (Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6-7; Matthew 1:18-25; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1:20-21)
The second miracle of the birth of Christ is the inspiration [5]. The inspiration is the miracle that God the Holy Spirit inspired man to write and produce the written Word of God, by which faith comes by hearing and enables man to be born again into His family (John 14:27; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11-13)
The third miracle of the birth of Christ is the incorporation [6]. The incorporation is the miracle that God the Holy Spirit created His bride, the church, as His body and inspires us collectively to live for Him and to share the story of the living Word of God and the written Word of God with others so that they too may be incorporated into His body (Romans 12:1-13; Ephesians 4:1-16; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31).
When we consider these three miracles produced by the birth of Christ, they enable us to have God the Holy Spirit physically in us to save us from death, God the Holy Spirit Spiritually in us to inspire us to walk in newness of life, and God the Holy Spirit working through us to incorporate into His body, the church, to serve humanity. These three miracles of His birth give us comfort and joy to live for Him.
Conclusion
The birth of Christ gives us comfort and joy to live for Him. Just as the baby Jesus was created in Mary, God the Holy Spirit made us a new creation. Just as God the Holy Spirit inspired men to create the written Word of God, He inspires us and equips us to read, understand and follow His Word. Just as God the Holy Spirit incorporated us into His body, the church, He enables us to be incorporated into a local church to inspire and serve others and gives us comfort and joy, which inspires us to live for Him.
Take a look at this related article: Why I Celebrate Christmas
Resources – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, King James Version. [1] “Comfort”. Retrieved from Google, https://www.google.com/search?q=comfort. [2] “Joy”. Retrieved from Google, https://www.google.com/search?q=joy. [3] Williams, Michael L. “Preaching: The three miracles of Christmas,” Parts 1, 2 and 3 retrieved from http://wisdom4today.org/?s=miracle+Christmas. [4] Williams, Michael L. “Preaching: The three miracles of Christmas – Part 1, the Incarnation,” retrieved from http://wisdom4today.org/preaching-the-three-miracles-of-christmas-part-1-the-incarnation/. [5] Williams, Michael L. “Preaching: The three miracles of Christmas – Part 2, the Inspiration,” retrieved from http://wisdom4today.org/preaching-the-three-miracles-of-christmas-part-2-the-inspiration/. [6] Williams, Michael L. “Preaching: The three miracles of Christmas – Part 3, the Incorporation,” retrieved from http://wisdom4today.org/preachingthe-three-miracles-of-christmas-part-3-the-incorporation/
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