"Big Words, Little Words..."

The following is a paraphrase from the sermon given by Rev. Alan Johnson at Old Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Duluth, GA, on Christmas Eve:

Rev. Johnson used Luke 2:11-12 and commented on the two verses as to the BIG words and the SMALL words. In verse 11 God sent angels to the Shepherds with a very great message, a child was born in the city of DAVID, a SAVIOR, who is CHRIST the LORD. The big words DAVID, SAVIOR, CHRIST, and LORD, God uses to tell us the Gospel message.


DAVID points to Christ's lineage as David's promised Son who would sit on the throne of David forever. SAVIOR points us to the name Jesus, which means God will save. God will save His people from their sins. CHRIST is the New Testament Greek word for Messiah and points to Jesus as the promised Messiah to which all of the Old Testament pointed. And LORD is the New Testament Greek equivalent to the Old Testament Yahweh, and declares Jesus Christ as the second member of the Godhead.

In verse 12 God points out the small words, BABY, WRAPPED IN CLOTHS, MANGER to show us how the God of the universe made Himself manifest the first time He came to earth. He came humblely, grew up meekly and died a humiliating death for His people.

But, praise God, that's not the end of the story. On the third day God the Father raised Him from the dead, first born among many brothers. He has ascended to the right hand of God the Father where He is crowned with many crowns, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and sits as our Eternal High Priest. And from there He will come again and at that time He will come in ALL POWER! And every eye will see Him and every knee will bow, and every voice confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! Hallelujah! Come Lord Jesus, come!

"And the greatest of these......"

Did you know that LOVE, which is one of the attributes of God we can imitate, is the only attribute that is both a Gift of the Spirit AND a Fruit of the Spirit?! As I was listening to R. C. Sproul's tapes about the growth in grace of a Christian, I was really caught up in his comparison of 1 Corinthians 13 and Galatians 5:22-23. He pointed out that all the Fruit of the Spirit found in the Galatians' passage can also be found listed in the 1 Corinthians 13 passage describing Love.

So as we practice the First and Greatest Commandment, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (and with all your strength)... , and the second,"You shall love your neighbor as yourself," we are also putting into practice the Fruit of the Spirit,"...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control..." We can't have the Fruit without first having the Love. The Fruit is bound into and completed by Love. Take time to read 1 Corinthians 13 and find in it each of the Fruit of the Spirit. Be blessed as you do.