I believe that the question of origins is an important question. For example, from where did the world come? Did it just happen? Most rational people believe that the world had to have had a beginning, but how did that come about? Was there nothing and then there was something?

The Creative Power of God

The Bible says that God created the world. It says that he spoke the world into existence by His Word. He spoke the sky and the seas, the land and the trees, the birds and the bees into existence by his mighty word. Now, for you or me, this would be an impossibility. No man can simply speak a fish into existence, for example. (Although I know of some fishermen that sure wish they could!). But God can because God is not subject to natural laws like we are. God is All-Powerful. Therefore, God can speak the entire cosmos into existence.

I believe this is an important thing to remember when it comes to the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. How did the Lord Jesus come into this world? It was a miracle, just like the creation of the world was a miracle.

The Bible says that Jesus was born to a virgin named Mary. In Luke's account we read of an encounter between Mary and the angel Gabriel:

"Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:30-35).

A Miracle of God

This passage clearly states that the birth of Jesus would not be of the conventional type. When the angel tells Mary that she is going to have a baby, Mary asks how this can be since she was a virgin. Some liberal critics at this point say that the term "virgin" simply means "young woman." And it does mean that. But it also implies a young woman who has not had marital relations. This is clearly the way Mary is using this term. She knows who she is and what she's been doing. And because she knows what she's been doing, she knows that she should not be included in the category of expectant mothers. This is why the angel's words were so shocking to her and why she asked for an explanation. The angel answers that it will be a work of the Holy Spirit. In other words, a miracle! Before Mary and Joseph would consummate their marriage, Mary would have a baby growing in her belly. And not just any child, but the very Son of God.

The conception of the Lord Jesus in the womb of the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit is not a bit of Bible trivia. It is of vital importance to who Jesus is and what Jesus did. This is why the Apostle's Creed has this critical theological concept in its reading.

One of the finest expositions of the Apostle's Creed ever written is contained in the Heidelberg Catechism. What does the Catechism say in regard to this article of the Apostle's Creed? Questions 35 and 36 address this important concept.

Question 35 of the Catechism asks, "What is the meaning of ‘conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary?'" The answer is, "That the eternal Son of God, who is and continues true and eternal God, took upon Himself the very nature of man, of the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, by the operation of the Holy Ghost; so that He might also be the true seed of David, like unto His brethren in all things, except sin." Let's look at the answer to question 35.

First of all, note that it is the eternal (emphasis mine) Son of God who is conceived in the virgin's womb. This means that the Son of God did not come into existence at this time. He already existed. In fact, he has always existed, co-eternally, with the Father and the Spirit. The Bible teaches that God is one in his essence but three in person. The three persons of the Holy Trinity are known as Father, Son and Holy Ghost. God has always been Father, Son and Holy Ghost and always will be Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The three members of the Godhead exist eternally in perfect union and communion. So when the Holy Ghost caused Mary to conceive, the Spirit was not creating the Son of God.

The Significance of the Virgin Birth

But why did Jesus come into the world in this fashion? If he already existed as the Son of God from all eternity, why not just appear? God has been known to show up on the earth from time to time and manifest himself in physical form. Recall the story of Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis 32. In that passage, Jacob is on his way to meet his brother Esau. But before their meeting, Jacob was accosted by a "Man" who wrestled with him until daybreak. The "Man" touched Jacob's hip, putting it out of joint. Without going into the details of this story, we see at it's conclusion that Jacob deduced, "I have seen God face to face" (v. 30). So if God can be manifested in such a way that he could actually wrestle with a man for several hours, why not come that way instead of through the virgin's womb?

The issue here is not of Christ's deity. Rather, it is an issue of humanity. The reason Jesus came was to "save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). God did not sin. Neither did the animals. It was humanity that sinned. And for humanity to be redeemed, humanity needed a human redeemer. This is why the Catechism says that he "took upon himself the very nature of man."

When God created the world, he created a man in his very own image and after his own likeness. This man was called Adam. Adam was a literal, historical figure. He was as real and as historical as Moses, David, Paul, Peter, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy or George W. Bush. As the first man created, Adam was the federal head of the human race. As such, the actions of Adam would affect all of humanity. According to the Bible, God placed a forbidden tree in the Garden in which Adam lived. He also gave the law which was that Adam was not to eat of the forbidden tree. It's not as though there was anything physically or chemically wrong with the fruit of the forbidden tree; it wasn't poisonous. Rather, the law was a test of fidelity to God and to God's Word. By refraining from eating of the forbidden tree, Adam would be demonstrating belief in and subjection to God's Word. By eating, he would be rebelling against God, becoming a law unto himself.

As the story goes, Adam disobeyed God and ate. This evil act plunged not only himself but all of humanity into a sinful rebellion against God. God had warned Adam that if he sinned, death would be the penalty. Adam sinned, and humanity died that day. This death is both physical and spiritual. Because of this death we see all around us manifestations of this death. We see war, disease, suffering, pain, even natural disasters and, yes, physical death. Death, hell, and the grave gained power over humanity on that dreadful day.

We have no one to blame for all of this sin and misery but ourselves. We, as a race of people, rebelled against God and have been reaping the consequences of that rebellion. God is innocent in all of this. He is only being just by allowing the product of our rebellion to bear fruit. And if we left it at that, we would have a just and holy God.

But God is not only just. He is not only holy. God is also abounding in grace and mercy. And because he is so full of love, he has acted in history to bring about so great a redemption that not only will he save and deliver a people in such a way as to bring joy and happiness to them, but he would also do it in a way that brings glory and honor to his name. This great redemption all began in the womb of a virgin named Mary.

The Second Adam

Just as Adam went to a tree and rebelled against God, a Second Adam, Jesus, would go to a tree (the cross) and redeem a people for God. But there are certain requirements for this Second Adam. He must be true God so that he can contain the full wrath of God against sin. But he must also be a true and righteous man so that he can be a true substitute for man. A sheep can't be a right substitute for a man. We need a man to be a substitute for a man. This is why Jesus came through the virgin's womb; to take upon himself a human nature, "like unto his brethren in all things, except sin." Jesus, the sinless Son of God, free from any taint of human sin, came into the world with a human nature to save us from our sin.

Question 36 of the Catechism asks, "What benefit do you receive from the holy conception and birth of Christ?" The answer is, "That He is our Mediator, and with His innocence and perfect holiness covers, in the sight of God, my sin, wherein I was conceived." That's a classic gospel statement in a nutshell.

The Father so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. And this Son was given, conceived by the Holy Ghost, to take on a human nature in the womb of the virgin Mary. In so doing, the God-Man redeemed a people for the glory of God. And for this, all of God's people should rejoice!

When we think about worship today, we are confronted with different approaches. On the one hand, you have contemporary worship with its watering down of much that is considered offensive, in order to be seeker sensitive. With it there has come a loss of the creeds and confessions and even the preached word. On the other hand our reformed worship has suffered, because for many it is no longer personal and meaningful. Rather it has become a duty without much delight.

Worship in the Old Testament however, stands in contrast to much of what takes place today. Rather than a watered down form of worship, there was depth and meaning behind every element. In the book of Leviticus we learn about worship, we see that every action by the worshipper and every ritual by the priest had great significance, literally or symbolically. In particular with the burnt offering we see that every part of it was weighty and heavy with meaning.

As we consider the subject of worship from the book of Leviticus it is good for us to get a sense of the feel, smell, and sounds of worship from the Old Testament. In particular, it is good if we can see how meaningful and moving worship was for the Old Testament believer. It was not a passive time of pew sitting, but a deeply personal and active time of confession, forgiveness, praise, and adoration.

As we consider this, our theme is as follows: God instructs us that worship of Him is volitional, conditional, and personal.

The burnt offering is the first offering listed in Leviticus because it was the offering that symbolized atonement for man's sin. It is called the burnt offering because essentially the whole offering was consumed by the fire of the altar.

Volitional Worship

Yet verse 3 also tells us that it was a volitional part of worship-meaning that it was an act of man's will. We read, "If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord." (Leviticus 1:3) Worship in the Old Testament involved the will. Approaching God, seeking to confess sins and be forgiven was an act of the will, and that is how the burnt offering was to be brought.

There were times that the burnt offering was offered otherwise. In general it was to be offered twice daily by the priest on behalf of the people. In addition, Numbers, chapters 28 and 29, tell us that it was offered on the Sabbath, at the beginning of the month, on Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles and the other feast days. And, of course, on the great Day of Atonement-Yom Kipper.

But what we read about in this passage is the personal voluntary offering of the individual. It was to be brought if a man had sinned whether intentionally, unintentionally, or had become defiled in some way. It was to be brought on special occasions, such as when a vow was fulfilled, a priest ordained, or a child was born. Yet the common element was that it was voluntary.

As we see throughout Leviticus, what was to be brought was regulated by God. He demanded the best of the herd or flock. And as we see in this passage, how it was to be brought was also explicitly made know to the worshiper. And even though God told the people that this is how they were to maintain their relationship, He left it to each man to voluntarily bring the offering. And I believe that the reason is that it was to be a personal act of devotion.

It was to be from a sincere desire to maintain one's relationship with a heavenly Father. It was to restore what was broken and remove God's anger. It was not to be done as a mindless exercise, as a superstitious ritual, or only with a sense of compulsion. But rather, willingly with a sincere desire for restoration and forgiveness.

The writer of Psalm 66 knew of this and wrote about it many times. He did not write that he was obligated to bring offerings or reluctantly would give them. No, he said, "I will go into Your house with burnt offerings; I will pay You my vows, which my lips have uttered and my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble. I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals, With the sweet aroma of rams; I will offer bulls with goats."  (Psalm 66:13-15) Willingly and joyfully he came to worship his God. And in his joy to do so, he invited others to come also, verse 16 of Psalm 66, "Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul. " (Psalm 66:16)

The Psalmist sets forth worship that pleases God-worship that is done in joy and delight, worship that is from the heart and the inner most desires of a person. Worship by men and women, boys and girls, who desire to receive from God-to receive forgiveness, to receive atonement, and to receive restoration. And that is what is being said here, the Lord delights in and is pleased to offer forgiveness of sins. And He desires worshippers who desire it. He desires worshippers to willingly come near Him, through His Son, that they might be forgiven and be restored to a right relationship. Verse 9 tells us that it's a "sweet aroma to the Lord."

In a sense it seems odd, odd that a bloody, mutilated animal would be sweet to the Lord. Here's a ceremony about sin, a ceremony about death, a ceremony about sinful people, yet it is sweet to the Lord. And this is possible only because it's not about us, but about the offering. When Noah left the Ark (Genesis 8:20), he

"built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, "I will never again curse the ground for man's sake, although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done." (Genesis 8:20-21)

The Lord was pleased, not because man had changed-he hadn't-but because of the burnt offering offered by Noah. It pleased the Lord to accept Noah, because of the offering. And the same is true today; the Lord wants us to willingly come to Him with the only burnt offering that will please Him, His Son. The Son is a pleasing aroma to the Father.

One of things about camping is that by the end of the trip, if you've had a campfire, everything smells like smoke. It permeates clothing, sleeping bags, and all your equipment. And in a way that is what the burnt offering did. The smoke of the offering rose from the altar and anything near also took on the aroma. And what we learn from it is that we should desire to be covered in such a fragrance, and in Christ we are.

2 Corinthians 2 verse 15 says, "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life..." (2 Corinthians 2:15-16) The Lord says come, come near to me, come worship me, but come with the fragrance which is pleasing to me, come with the aroma of My Son, who is the aroma of life.

And so worship begins with the burnt offering, the sweet aroma of the cross of Christ, an offering by which men and women are forgiven and restored to a proper relationship with their heavenly Father.

Conditional Worship

Secondly, we see that the burnt offering was conditional, verse 4. "Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him." (Leviticus 1:4) Here it is directly stated that the burnt offering was to atone for sin. It was literally to cover over sin. It was something that would appease the wrath of God against the sinner. Ultimately only the work of Jesus would appease the wrath of the Father, but until He came in the flesh, God was pleased to accept the type or shadow which pointed to Christ.

What atonement actually did was provide a substitute for the sinner. The sinner would come before God deserving death. He was guilty and deserved the most severe punishment. Yet God said, "kill a bull, a sheep, or a bird" and I will turn my wrath away for now. In this way the sinner could ransom his own life, by providing a substitute.

We see this in the Passover, where God said, "when I take you out of Egypt, then I get your firstborn son, he is mine." For the Egyptians it meant that God took their lives and it would have been the same for Israel, except He provided a substitute. He said, you can redeem your firstborn if you kill a sheep in his place and sprinkle its blood on the doorpost. And so the burnt offering was to atone for sin, yet what we see is that it was conditional.

Notice again in verse 4, "Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him." (Leviticus 1:4) The burnt offering would be accepted and would atone for sin on the condition that the one who brought it put his hand on its head.

So we might ask, why does one laying his hands upon the animal determine whether the offering will be acceptable for making atonement? The answer is that it was more than just touching the animal, literally in the Hebrew it meant to lean upon the animal. And in so doing the sins of the man were passed to the animal, which would die in his place. We see this again and again with the other offerings of Leviticus, in chapter 3, verse 2, it was to be done with the peace offering, and in 4:4 it was to be done with the sin offering. The one who brought it was to lean on or press against the animal with his hands.

Yet it's not until chapter 16 that we see the whole story; the laying on of hands was accompanied with prayer and confession. We read in Leviticus 16:21 that on the great Day of Atonement Aaron was to "... lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and then send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man." (Leviticus 16:21) And so a man did not just bring an animal and toss it on the fire; no, he was to prayerfully confess his sins and transfer his sins to it by the laying on of his hands. Then God would accept it.

What did David write in Psalm 51 after he had sinned with Bathsheba? We read in verse 14, "Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart- These, O God, You will not despise. " (Psalm 51:14-17)

What kind of offerings does God accept? Those which are given with a broken and contrite heart. David could have offered a sacrifice, he could have brought the best of his herd or flock to be killed; but he knew that it would mean nothing unless his own heart was broken and humbled. Only when that took place could he bring the offering.

And we read the same thing in other places, God told the people through Jeremiah and Hosea not to bother to bring their offerings and we read this in Amos 5:21, ""I hate and despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings. " (Amos 5:21-22) Why, because at the same time they were bringing burnt offerings they were also worshiping idols.

They were not bringing offerings with true confession and repentance, and so they were not accepted. And it is no different today. Where does true worship begin? It doesn't begin by merely showing up at a building, singing a song, or sitting in a pew for an hour. No, it begins with a confession of sins and the claiming by faith the forgiveness found in Christ. Today we no longer bring the sacrifice because Christ's sacrifice has been given once and for all, but we still come to worship in confession and humility. We still lay hold of Christ by faith for atonement.

Personal Worship

Finally, we learn from this passage that worship is not only volitional, involving our will, conditional, involving our heart, but also personal. We read on in verses 5 and 6, "He shall kill the bull before the Lord; and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of meeting. And he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into its pieces." (Leviticus 1:5-6)

Old Testament worship was personal and it was messy. After laying his hands on the animal, "the worshipper prepared the animal for the sacrifice, by killing it, skinning it, washing the dirty parts, and chopping it up." As the worshipper killed it, the priest would catch some of the blood to throw against the outside of the altar, symbolizing God's demand that blood be shed for sin. As the writer of Hebrews says in 9:22, "And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission." (Hebrews 9:22). After the blood, the worshipper would bring the pieces of the animal. And starting with the head the whole animal would be burned on the altar.

Worship was personal and it was meaningful. Unlike many modern day church services which are dull and boring-sing a few songs and listen to the minister. Although it doesn't have to be so! Yet unlike this, the ancient worshipper had to first go out into the pasture and carefully check each animal for blemishes or defects. Then he would have to bring the animal to the tabernacle and kill it. And then with his own hands he took a knife and skinned the whole animal to give to the priest. Then as he hacked to pieces the animal he also had to clean out all the unclean parts. And then as he stands there he watches as his offering goes up in smoke, which would happen quickly on the altar which was seven and a half feet by four and a half.

And so the worshipper did all this, knowing and confident, that just as smoke ascended to heaven, so his sins were lifted from him and his relationship with God was profoundly affected.

This reminds us that the forgiveness of sins is the prerequisite of true worship. Only those whose sins are forgiven can enjoy God's fellowship and praise Him from their hearts. And so for the Christian, worship and fellowship with God involves personal engagement. Today we no longer bring the sacrifice, but we still lay hold of it by faith and confession.

In 1 John 1:7 and 9 we read, "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7, 9)

Like that worshipper of the O.T. who could stand before the altar of God in assurance that his sins were forgiven and his relationship with God made right, so too can we through Christ.

And so God invites us to come, to come willing with a conscious desire to be forgiven and restored. To come in humility and sincerity, not just saying the name of Christ, but laying hold of Him, leaning hard against Him as it were, as the only sacrifice acceptable to God. And with the confidence that in Christ we have and can receive forgiveness and cleansing from all our unrighteousness.