Christmas: The Rest of the Story

 The Rest of the Story!
The Mystery of the Covenants and Christmas
November 27, 2022   

1. Introduction:
   1. When I was younger there was a radio commentator named Paul Harvey and he would do a daily radio segment called the rest of the story.  
      1. Paul would tell in a very interesting way a little-known historical fact and at the end of the story connect it with a famous person or event 
      2. His final words would be, “Now you know the rest of the story!”   
   2. Well there are some very interesting and important facts that relate to Jesus’ birth that are often overlooked when it comes to Christmas.
      1. Most often, we hear from Christians this simple little phrase connected with Christmas that “Jesus was born to die!”  
         1. True, Jesus was born to die for our sins, 
      2. But there were other reasons for his birth, reasons that are often overlooked a Christmas and that is the rest of the story we want to talk about this Christmas.
   3. The series this Christmas I am calling the rest of the story, the rest of the story about Christmas, the rest of the story about why Jesus was born and some of the other key reasons Jesus was born other than just to die for our sins.
   4. Today’s message closes up the series regarding people of promise and opens up Christmas, the rest of the story at the same time.  
      1. The knowledge you gained about the covenant promises will help you better understand the rest of the story as to why Jesus was born!
   5. In the Davidic covenant, we learned that God was going to send from the line of David, one who would be king forever, reigning forever over a forever kingdom. 
      1. This expected king was known as the Messiah, which translated into Greek is Christ.
      2. In Isaiah 9 God tells them that there will be a son born to whom God will give the throne of David and over his kingdom, he will reign from then on and forevermore.  
         1. Read Isaiah 9:6-7 
         2. This is where the stories of the Bible and the covenants and Christmas intersect with Jesus as the main character of all three!
      3. Right from the very start of the New Testament, they are showing that Jesus is the Messiah by proving through his genealogy that he is the son of David and the son of Abraham – the seed who was promised in both covenants to those two men, the one who would bless all the nations and reign as king forever. 
         1. Read Matthew 1:1-2
         2. Thus, we see in 1:16 that Jesus birth is connected with him being the Messiah – the one who was promised to Israel to be their savior and king who would set up a forever kingdom!
      4. So the one question that I have heard the most in this series is “What about the church, what about us believers today, how do we fit in to all of these covenant promises?” 
         1. I am encouraged by this question because that means you have followed us well as we have sought to be faithful to what the Bible teaches rather than forcing our times, lives, our applications and our theology on what the Old Testament clearly has taught.
         2. We have learned over the past few months that the covenant promises God made were with Abraham, David and Israel, not with the church, nor with humankind, or with us as individuals!
      5. So what about us – I going to show us today that one of the other reasons for Jesus’ birth was so that you and me, believers today, can participate in God’s covenant program.

• I am going to tell you my answer right up front and then show it to you in the Scripture  …

1. The church is heirs of and participates in the covenant promises through Jesus Christ!   
   1. Let’s start by defining an heir
      1. Many in this room have experienced being an heir.
      2. An heir is someone who inherits something normally from their parents when they die.  
         1. Normally they receive their possessions, 
         2. But in the case of King Charles recently he not only received possessions but also he inherited rights, privileges and a position from Queen Elizabeth when she died
      3. As believers, we are closer to King Charles as we do not just get possessions yet to come in the future but also rights, privileges, positions and promises in our inheritance!
   2. So let’s look at this in the Scripture – turn to Ephesians 2:11
      1. He is speaking to Gentile believers here and recalling their former state to them.  As I read I want you to note the five different things that characterized their condition when they were unbelieving Gentiles = non-Jews. Read 11-12.
      2. In verse 13, we see what has happened to them now that they are in Christ!   Read v13.
         1. They are no longer are strangers to the covenants but now they have been brought near to the covenants by Christ. 
      3. The five things mentioned in v12 that they were far from, four of those they are now near to, but in v14-15 he explained the fifth – being excluded from the commonwealth of Israel.  Watch as I read v14-15
      4. This one new man he is talking about is the church.   A new commonwealth if you will, a new community, one body in Christ – the body of Christ made up of Jews and Gentiles.
         1. It’s a completely new thing that God does, as Gentiles do not become Jews nor do Jews become Gentiles but they are all unified as a completely new community in Christ.
      5. Chapter 3 expands upon this and shows that they are not only together now as one but they are fully equal in status and privileges.
         1. Read 3:1-5 – what he is saying here is that during the time of the Old Testament God did not reveal to them this truth about the Gentiles that we just saw in chapter 2.
         2. Then he gets very specific – 
            1. As I read, recognize that fellow simply means to be of the same group with equal status and rights! 
            2. Read v6
         3. Simply Gentile and Jews through Jesus now share together equally as
            1. Heirs – someone who receives the inheritance – the possessions, rights and privileges and promises that are passed to them
            2. Members – that means Jews and Gentiles have equal status in the body of Christ 
            3. Partaking in the promise of Jesus the Messiah! – they share in the promise that comes from the Messiah himself.
         4. Turn now to Galatians 3 where we will see essentially the same thing. 
            1. Read v13-14 where we will see the death in verse 13 and the inheritance promises in v14
            2. Look down now at v16 and note to whom the Abrahamic promises were made .   Read
            3. In v19, we see again that the promise was given to Jesus as well.  Read
            4. Now go down to v28 where we will see once again the same truth that both Jews and Gentiles are all one new entity in Jesus Christ.   Read v28.
            5. Now here is the big one in v29.   Read
               1. Because we belong to Jesus – the seed, we are Abraham’s seed, heirs, recipients of the promise made to Abraham.
               2. Since I am in Christ, then I am in the seed to whom the promises were made thus as Romans 8:17 says I, as a Gentile, am not only a fellow heir with the Jews but with Christ!  Read Romans 8:16-17 
               3. “I will be their God” PowerPoint!
            6. Conclusion
               5. So like Paul Harvey, God was revealing a detail about his covenant promises that was little known and understood in the Old Testament times. But now with the coming of Jesus and his birth he came also to include the Gentiles in God’s program as full members along with the Jews.
               6. What a time to bring Thanksgiving, Christmas and the covenants all together by giving thanks to Jesus for bringing us near and making both Jews and Gentiles a brand new community who are co-heirs of the covenant promises and co-equal members of the body of Christ!   
               7. We have a reason to celebrate Jesus!