"And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.'" (Luke 2:13, 14)

The prophet Malachi revealed to Israel that the Sun of Righteousness would arise, with healing in his wings. God had promised his people a Messiah, and they were to keep looking for him in the way of remembering his law; after all, everything in the Old Testament order pointed to him.

The coming of Christ into the world was accompanied by many amazing sights and sounds. The time had come in the plan of God for the prophetic revelation to begin again. It is clear that this new revelation began with Mary and Joseph, and with Mary's sister Elizabeth; and her husband Zacharias the priest. God was bringing something to pass which would have a profound effect in all the world.

As we think about the advent of our Savior Christ, we think about the reason for his coming. We commonly believe that the purpose for Jesus' coming terminates in us. While it is true that the Savior came to redeem sinful men, this is not the ultimate purpose. It is a bit of a strain to keep our thinking in line when so much commotion at this time of year is about us-what we want, what we like, what we've always done before, etc.

But the purpose of God in redeeming us is truly apparent in the announcement of the angels.

Glory to God in the Highest

The designed end of redemption is not the happiness of man, but God's glory.

We see in the Word of God that this glory is defined by the ‘heaviness or weightiness of God.' One of the things which is to be mourned in our present age, says author David Wells, is the "weightlessness of God." People may mention God, even say that they believe in him, but really, they manifest in their lives that God carries very little weight in their daily pursuits.

How shall we who know the reality of redemption from sin and misery deal with this pervasive weightlessness of God? Gratitude demands that we live for his glory, and if you will, demonstrate the holy weightiness of God in our lives as his people, together, and as families and individuals. The angels who spoke these words know well the weight of glory which belongs to the Almighty God. They know this as His willing servants. What a better season than this, to commit ourselves to the same motivation of the angels, "Glory to God in the highest."

It is the first thing which the angels say. The angels do not come from heaven shouting "happiness to man! O happiness to man!." Now it is a fact that God's people do enjoy the greatest happiness that can be known to man - if they know and love the Savior. However, this happiness is not the thing which we need in itself. We need to see God's glory. Sin and corruption has blinded our eyes to it so that we can only see as far as our sin-darkened minds will allow us. Our own sinful self-centeredness is the center of our world. The Bible says that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." We know, then, without a doubt, that this is our problem. We need to see the glory of God, and the apostle Paul says that believers see the light of that glory only "in the face of Jesus Christ."

This glory or weightiness is given to God "in the highest."

What in the world is not meant for God's glory? We know that the teaching of the Bible is very clear on this point. "Whether you eat, drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." There is nothing exempt from this requirement. But here we see the nature of the angels announcement. It is to declare the coming of the Savior into the world. The highest glory of God is that he brings redemption to the world. It is so from the standpoint of the angels, and it is announced as such to shepherds in the fields. Once again we are brought face to face with the greatness of redemption: the angels say that the highest glory belongs to God on this account.

How could it be otherwise? Is it some small insignificant thing that God is doing in sending the Messiah to his people? Sadly, people act as if it were no more important than any other event or activity in life. The glory of it all must get through to us. Jesus told the parable of the sower to describe the responses of men to his glory: with some the Word finds no entrance at all; for some it looks good for a while, but when the going gets tough, they bail out; for many his word looks great but other things ultimately win out for the place of most importance; and then with a very few, the Word is received with joy and bears a hundredfold in the fruit of thankfulness and commitment. You can be sure that this final group sees the glory for what it is: Glory to God in the highest!

First in the Minds of the Angels Is God's Glory, and Then, ‘Peace among Men'

Only the Prince of Peace can bring peace to men through his work of mediation. The Scriptures teach us that there is an enmity that exists between God and man. God's justice is not sidestepped in his redemptive plan. The work of a Mediator is to bring God and man together again on the basis of God's standard of righteousness. This is not a negotiated peace. We may rightly call it a unilateral peace, because from his side man can do nothing to contribute to the peace which he desperately needs. It is all of God's doing. The only things which man brings to the table is his sin and corruption.

Peace is not only the absence of the enmity but also the positive communion which was forfeited by Adam in his covenant-breaking. Peace, then, is more than a lack of conflict; it means that the Redeemer has brought about a new realm in which the redeemed enjoy a restoration of life with God. It means that God is our God, and that we are his people through his Son Jesus Christ.

We must understand that this is not simply a general "good will" to everybody. A misreading of the text has led to all sorts of mistaken notions of salvation. On the other hand it is the Savior for all people, that is, for all kinds of people worldwide, that the angels announce.

Peace, to Those with Whom He Is Pleased

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased," (lit. ‘Of His good pleasure')

When Gabriel spoke to Joseph, he told him "You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." The purpose of God to save a people through the work of his Son was certain. The glorying of the angels was not in man and his merits, but in God and his grace.

The meaning of the words "of his good pleasure" has to do with the Sovereign grace of God. The statement by the angels is such that we may understand that peace is to be bestowed upon those vessels of his mercy which he calls ‘men of his good pleasure.' Knowing the sinful depravity and inability of man, there would be no glad tidings if this Savior had to depend on the activity of impotent men. No, the possession of this peace doesn't depend on the work of man, but on the work of the Savior. It is God's work, and he will bring it to pass. The Apostle Paul speaks of this in Ephesians: "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, ... having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself...." (Eph. 1: 4, 5, 9)

It is a humbling thought: all who know the grace of God in Christ are the objects of his mercy. They are people "of his good pleasure," which is another way of saying, people of His choice. The glory goes to God, because redemption is his work. The angels gloried in His saving activity through his only begotten Son. Why should God bestow His grace on miserable wretches like me and you? No reason. Only mercy. Only grace. Only his Sovereign choice. Nothing else.

Conclusion

We sometimes get the idea that people aren't really interested in the Sovereignty of God in bestowing his grace on sinners; they're only interested in the fact that they have salvation in their possession. You know, just so they have it. But the angels had it right. Glory to God in the highest! And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased. May our hearts be filled with a sense of this glorying in God's Sovereign mercy this season; what a wonderful time to remember his electing love to people like us.

This seemingly innocuous exhortation that has become the coin of American evangelistic tradition for about the last five or six decades is the doorway to a form of legalism that is counterproductive to Christian progress. There is the subtle (or maybe not so subtle?) implication that it is the saving work of Christ in the heart that is the central issue for the would-be believer. The focus is placed on what is done in us via this language of "coming into the heart." That translates into determining whether Christ has been properly ushered in to produce all sorts of Christian graces that will give the evidence of having been properly (perhaps genuinely) "born again." It also must be considered the basis for our acceptance with God, because if the invitation of Christ into the heart is the modus operandi of evangelistic message, then acceptance with God would certainly be along this order if it were to have any meaning at all.

The method also becomes by weight of usage the basis for acceptance into the company of believers. By default it becomes the common confession of all who would bear the name "Christian." It fits neatly into the scheme of having a place, date, and time when these things took place in the course of one's life. There is extra assurance provided in this empirical data by virtue of having it. The provision of this methodology of a form of ‘confession' lends credence to the whole matter of determining who is in or not in the body of believers. The method provides a common experience (going forward or the making of a decision) as the basis for one's assurance that he or she is going to heaven when he or she dies. This would not be so great a problem if it were not so pervasive on the American scene. On the other hand, it is also the fountain of great difficulty for the one who has ‘come to Christ' in this way. Now, I must always question whether or not I "asked him in" correctly, and equally important, I must question whether my ‘colleague' in the faith has done the same. It is the opportunity to be equally skeptical of my own "faith" as well as that of others. What it essentially does is to set the tone for an existence that is built upon determining whether or not people are genuine in their faith by the examination of their fruit. Legalism then becomes the mode of existence in the church, because what is done in us and by us truly are the issues of critical importance.

This writer proposes that this scenario is entirely wrong, and is not based on the biblical Gospel. First of all, we must begin with the Gospel as revealed in Scripture, which isn't about what God has done in us, or in our hearts, but about what God has done in Jesus Christ. I recall the words of the evangelistic preachers (with a Southern accent) "invite Christ into your life." But that is to turn the whole matter upside down. You might say, well, isn't that just being picky or persnickety? Why such concern over language if it all turns out the same in the end? But it doesn't turn out the same in the end. It is Christ who invites sinners to Himself; and He tells us to come to him by faith. What we are taught by the Gospel is that it is Christ's work in His life, death, and resurrection that is the basis for one's right standing with God (1 Cor. 15:1-4). This is the undeserved acceptance with God that is based on work that is not done by ourselves, nor is it done in us. It is entirely the work of the Savior. There is nothing that the sinner can do. Going forward, making decisions, raising hands, signing cards-none of these have anything to do with what truly saves us from our sins. The effect is to add another layer of separation from the comfort that is truly known in Christ through faith. It has been evident as well that the misinformation is so pervasive that people have gotten the idea that they can somehow have a hand in what they cannot possibly produce of themselves, namely, the new birth, and the exercise of faith. There is ample Scriptural evidence that man has no ability to produce either of these essential elements with respect to salvation. Simply, the new birth is something done to you, and faith is something God works in you by his Spirit through the preaching of the Gospel (1Peter 1:22-25, HC Q21).

It is a marvelous thing to realize that what precedes these necessary elements is what we call the Gospel: it is the event itself in which Christ is crucified, dead, buried, and risen from death that produces these spiritual necessities in sinners. It is the message of the Gospel that God has ordained as the "power of God unto salvation" so that through its proclamation Christ is gathering a church from every tribe, tongue, and nation of the world.

What the biblical Gospel does is to set us on the course of faith, of looking outside of ourselves to Christ in whom we have complete redemption. It does not turn us inward, where we will only find sinful corruption and imperfections of all sorts. It also delivers us from the legalistic pattern for acceptance of others. There are no hoops through which our brothers and sisters in faith need to jump for acceptance by us. Our acceptance of one another is built upon the biblical model: "Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God" (Rom. 15:7 NASB).

Our acceptance with God is through Jesus Christ alone, and we know Him by faith alone. We accept one another because of this common confession of faith in Him. The Gospel produces true unity because it is God's method of gathering His church out of the world.

(1 Peter 5:1-9)

One of the main purposes for the writing of this epistle was to prepare the members of the churches for the imminent trouble because of persecution for the sake of Christ. Peter has given instructions to show that the Christian faith was to be practiced in every possible circumstance. He made every effort to impress upon the recipients of the letter that because of faith in Jesus Christ, there would be a difference in the way that they lived. Now, as we come to the last chapter, the Apostle takes time to address the congregations in the way they should function together. The relationships in the churches to which they belonged were extremely important, especially in light of the difficulties that could soon overtake them.

When trials come to the churches that are loyal to Christ, the bond that exists between the members is seen for what it is. In some ways, the time in which we live creates barriers that make achieving close relationships difficult. We no longer live in the same town or village. Quick and dependable transportation makes meeting at a central area possible, but it doesn't necessarily foster the kind of fellowship that binds people together. This is something at which we need to work. The recreational activities in which we may participate do not always overlap with those of our brethren. The things that unite us are far more important than location or personalities or these activities. There is unity in Christ and in the truth of God's Holy Word. There is a unity built upon a common confession of faith, a solid commitment to what we believe the Bible teaches. We agree on what is the Gospel, and we agree on what the Scriptures say about how redemption is entirely the work of God in his Sovereign mercy to sinners.

The expression of that fellowship is critical to the witness of the church in the world. But it is in the face of difficulty and danger that the church may be a refuge of encouragement and strength to God's people who can look to one another for help. Peter addresses the matter of how the people should relate to each other, and how attitudes are important. It makes us better understand why attitude is everything when it comes to functioning well as a church.