Written by Dawn Rutan
In preparation for Christmas I’ve been reading the first few chapters of Luke, and I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. When the angel appears to Zechariah announcing his coming son, Zechariah asks, “How shall I know this?” (I imagine the angel saying “How many angelic messages does it take to convince you?!”) Then after John is born and Zechariah can speak again, part of his prophetic praise includes, “You will go before the Lord to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins” (vv. 76-77 ESV). It seems that he learned something about knowing and trusting God during that nine months of silence.
There are plenty of things about God that we’ll never understand in this lifetime, and perhaps not even in eternity. As many have said, if we fully understood God He would not be God. Paul wrote, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!” (Romans 11:33). He often mentioned the mysteries of God. And in Ephesians 3:18-19 he prays that we “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” I take that to mean that we can simply grasp the fact that it’s far beyond our human knowledge and experience, and we accept that by faith.
The mysteries of God are not things that we can logically conclude if we just have enough evidence. It’s not a matter of further research that will reveal the key that unlocks it all. God is so far beyond our realm of understanding that we cannot hope to unravel the mysteries. As C.S. Lewis said, it’s like trying to explain the three dimensions to a two dimensional object. Recently I was imagining how one would try to explain darkness to an atom residing in the center of the sun. (Yes, I have a strange imagination.) While that might be possible, assuming you can find an intelligent atom, God is infinitely further from explanation.
Paul summarizes some of the mystery in 1 Timothy 3:16:
“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.”
As we celebrate the historical event of Jesus’ birth, we shouldn’t forget that the incarnation is a great mystery. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
While a baby in a manger is something we can wrap our minds around, God becoming flesh and then dying for our sins is beyond our full comprehension. Perhaps the most incomprehensible part is that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Why God would love a bunch of sinners enough to send His Son to die for them is beyond me.
Let’s hold onto that mystery this Christmas and throughout the year. May the wonder of it all lead us into true worship!
