Introduction

The Christmas season is upon us. As one who believes in the atoning work of Jesus, the Messiah, this time of year is a joyous one for me. We are in the middle of what Christians call the season of advent as we approach the day that we will celebrate the birth of our Savior. This is typically the time that those churches that hold to the Incarnation of Christ take four Sundays before Christmas to light the four advent candles. In the church I attend, the candles of hope and joy have thus far received their flame. We have the remaining two candles of peace and love to light before we celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25th. On this month’s blog, I thought I would say just a little about each of the advent candles: hope, joy, peace, and love. The theme that will run through the discussion of these four blessings is Jesus, the Messiah, Himself. These four words cannot stand on humanistic understandings. Apart from Jesus, they fall short from their true meaning.

Hope

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2nd Corinthians 5:21).

Unfortunately, we use the word hope many times to mean nothing more than wishful thinking. Biblically, the notion of hope has nothing to do with wishful thinking that may or may not come true for our lives. The Christmas season is one of hope because it is grounded in God. The advent (coming) of Christ is the basis of our hope. Indeed, He is the foundation of our hope. From Old Testament times, beginning in Genesis, God promised the advent of a savior that would defeat evil and death. We have hope because God keeps His promises. Our savior came in the Incarnation of Jesus, the Messiah, who Himself is the foundation of our future hope when we place faith in Him. Hope apart from God is meaningless. The word of God gives us the truth about our future hope of being in God’s presence through our savior, Jesus, the Messiah. Through the atoning work of Jesus through the cross – His death, resurrection, and ascension – we have the promise and the hope we can look forward to of being in God’s presence forever. We have the hope that through Jesus we have been removed from God’s judgment. Indeed, meditate on 2 Corinthians 5:21 that heads this section. God sees us through Jesus’ atoning work as the righteousness of God. Our salvation and position in Christ is totally the work of God. His eternal decree never fails. Our hope is in our rock and redeemer.

Joy

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love; just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full (John 15:10-11)

Just as the word hope has been popularized to mean wishful thinking that may or may not come true, people many times confuse the word joy with happiness. Happiness is a fleeting emotion that is based primarily on particular situations or circumstances. There is nothing wrong with happiness, but joy carries a depth of meaning to it that far surpasses the meaning of happiness. In Luke 2:10-11, the angels informed the shepherds in the field that a savior had been born to the world. This good news (gospel) according to the hosts of angels that appeared to the shepherds, would bring joy for all the people. The apostle Paul tells us that in Christ we are to rejoice always (Philippians 4:4). In John 15, what some call the abide chapter, Jesus tells His disciples that He has given them the things He told them so that His joy would be in them to make their joy complete (John 15:11). In the following chapter of John, Jesus informs His disciples that in the world they will have tribulation, but that they should not be concerned for He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Hence joy is something we hold to, not just in happy circumstances, but in times that are difficult as well. Just like hope, joy is grounded in God and what He has done through the Incarnation of Jesus, the Messiah. Through Jesus, we come into a relationship with God, knowing Him on a deeper and deeper level through our sanctification. Christmas is a joyous season because of the birth of Jesus, the Person of Jesus, and the salvation that Jesus offers to those who believe in His Person, name, and work.

Peace

Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).

We live in turbulent times. The conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and Israel and Hamas serve as examples of wars and violence that we would like to see have a peaceful resolution. We think of peace as the absence of war and turbulent times in our lives. However, again, the Biblical view of peace, like hope and joy, is grounded in God, and what He has done through our Lord, Jesus, the Messiah. Those who believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God, will not come into judgment. Those who believe in the atoning work of Jesus, the Messiah have passed out of death into life (John 5:24). Peace, rather than being the absence of conflict, is the presence of God whereby His wrath has been propitiated through the atoning work of Jesus, the Messiah. We have peace with God through Jesus Christ and His salvific work He has performed. This is something we didn’t earn, merit, or deserve. It comes to us totally by the grace of God. What does this mean about the way in which we are to respond to the turbulent times that engulf us? The only antidote to sin is the blood of Christ ( Outreach: Behold a Savior is Born, p. 38). We are to respond to the world as through Christ. This doesn’t mean we don’t call evil, evil, and good, good. We have a Biblical mandate to do so. But ultimately, the Biblical meaning of peace is the peace we have with God through our faith in the atoning work of Jesus. The Apostle Paul exhorts us: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7). We can demonstrate what this season is about through the peace we have with God by showing goodwill toward others. Who are those in our lives to which we can show goodwill, perhaps in ways we never have before?

Love

But God demon\strates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

As I have said before on this blog, we live in a postmodern world, where truth is set aside for relativity, although so-called postmodern warriors do not fail to use the political realm in coercive ways. We also live in a world where feelings supposedly describe truth rather than rationale and reason. If I feel that you have offended me, then my truth is that you have offended me. And politically, if possible, you are to be held accountable for offending me. Consequently, like the notions of hope, joy, and peace, the notion of love is caught up in sentiment, feelings, and emotions. The primary word for love, used in the New Testament, is agape. It is a love that does for others, that serves others, that helps to meet others’ needs where possible. Agape love is also grounded in God. 1st John 4:19 tells us, we love because He (God) first loved us. Apart from God we do not understand what it means to love. He is our rock and redeemer(Psalm 19:14). This is true of the unbeliever in the sense that all human beings are created in the Imago Dei, the Image of God. God’s ultimate love is seen through the sending of His only begotten Son into the world so that we may have life through Him (1st John 4:9). God did not have to save anyone. His love is shown through the gift of His Son who willingly took on our sin when He didn’t have to do so. He willingly gave up His life to have laid upon Him our sinful filth. Jesus is the Lamb of God, but He is also the Lion of Judah. No one took His life from Him. He willingly surrendered it so that His righteousness could be imputed to those who place faith in HIs atoning work. Our response to God’s gift of salvation brings us to what Jesus declared as the greatest commandment: You should love the Lord Your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind . . . you should love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). We can do this only because God first loved us. Agape love for God and neighbor is an active and serving love. The Old Testament word for love that is used quite frequently is the hesed of God, meaning His lovingkindness. Psalm 100:4-5 tells us that God’s lovingkindness is everlasting. Lovingkindness is an attribute of God that never fails us. It is available only to those who believe in the atoning work of Christ. As we approach the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, as Christians, we need to set aside the busyness of the holidays, and rejoice in God’s love, what the season is truly about.

Conclusion

The season of advent is upon us, and for those of us who are in Christ through our faith in His atoning work, it is a season where the advent candles of hope, joy, peace, and love, describe the hope we have in God’s promises, which will be fulfilled; the joy we have because of the birth of our Savior; the peace we have with God through our belief in the atoning work of Christ that propitiates the wrath of God; and the love of God seen in His sending His only begotten Son into the world that we may live through Him. Hope, joy, peace, and love are grounded in God. They are concepts that humanistic values cannot sustain. Apart from the one, true, living God, they are ultimately meaningless concepts. I encourage Christians this advent season: embrace your hope in Christ; rejoice that the advent of a Savior has been fulfilled; find peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace; and know the lovingkindness of God that is everlasting and never fails.

[All Biblical passages are taken from the NASB 1995 version of the Bible. Some of the ideas stated here are informed by the 30-Day Devotional Journal: BEHOLD: A Savior Is Born. Colorado Springs, CO: Outreach Inc.]

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./December 14th, 2023

THEOLOGY/BIBLICAL THEOLOGY