Second Reformed Church
132 Elmwood Ave.
Irvington, NJ 07111
“Great indeed, we confess, is the
mystery of godliness:
“He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the
Spirit,
seen by
angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the
world,
taken up in
glory.”
(1 Timothy 3:16,
ESV).
December
17, 2016
Dear
Members and Friends of Second Reformed Church,
Paul wrote to his beloved son in the
ministry and quoted to him the confession printed above.
In the first line, the Incarnation
is addressed: God was manifested in the
flesh. God, Who is spirit, was
manifested in the flesh. God Who is
Almighty, was manifested in limited, human flesh. God with us became a little, fragile, human
Baby. God with us experience birth in
being manifested in the flesh.
Who can understand this?
And yet, wonder of wonders, this
mystery is and must be if we are to be saved.
God has to be manifested in the
flesh to understand what it is to be in the flesh, to live a holy and sinless
life under His Law, to suffer and die at the hands of sinners and under the
Wrath of God, and still physical rise and ascend to the Glory of God and for
our salvation.
Ponder these things and treasure
them in your heart, even as you open the lesser gifts you receive this
Christmas.
In His Service,
Rev. Dr. Peter A. Butler, Jr., pastor
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