61 - A BABY MAKES A DIFFERENCEDecember 23, 1962
Pastor Henry F. Kulp
John 1: 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Here we have marvelous words given to us by God—the Word, meaning Jesus Christ, was made flesh and dwelt among us. A wonderful, glorious fact has happened in history. There has been a supernatural birth, and a supernatural life. A baby was born 2,000 years ago, and never was a child born into the world, like this one. This Baby has made all the difference in mankind. This Baby has divided mankind into two groups—those who believe on this Child Who became a Man, and those who do not.
1/ The world does not understand what happened in that stable 2,000 years ago. It does not understand this Child, this Baby Who was born into this world.
History records how Alexander the Great rushed into the Jewish holy place, and into the Holy of Holies upon the conquest of Palestine. He rushed in there hoping to gratify his curiosity in the sight of rare and beautiful treasurers. He had heard of the treasures that the Jewish nation had, and how God had prospered them, and he thought surely in the Holy of Holies in the temple, there would be great treasures. But when he got there he found only a bare plain room and he did not understand that room, that room was the place where God revealed Himself to the High Priest who entered in wearing the garments of reverence. He just saw that plain, bare room, and the world just looks at the stable. It talks much about the birth of Jesus Christ, but it does not understand what took place in that stable. It misses all the glory, and all the joy of that experience.
2/ Let’s just look at this Baby in His birth. It was a supernatural birth—no child was ever born as this Child was born. This Child was born of a Virgin. This Child had God the Father make His Body, place it in the womb of Mary, and then have Mary, the Virgin, bring this Child forth. The world in its celebrations says, we don’t believe in the Virgin Birth. We do not think it is necessary to believe this story. As a matter of fact, the world, in its newest revised edition of the Bible, drops the word, Virgin, in one of its places in Isaiah.
3/ I have been accused of being dogmatic and intolerant in believing in the Virgin Birth —the supernatural birth of Jesus Christ. There is one thing to recognize and it is important. IT IS NOT A QUESTION OF INTERPRETATION, BUT OF ACCEPTATION. I wonder if you recognize there is far more in the Word of God on this subject of the Virgin Birth than on the subject of baptism, and the Lord’s supper. The Bible is literally saturated with, directly and indirectly stated.
4/ Now as we behold, no only the birth, but the life of Jesus Christ, we have the stamp of supernatural upon all that He did. I want you to see some testimony concerning Jesus Christ after He became a man.
5/ NEVER MAN SPAKE LIKE THIS MAN
John 7: 46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.
Who said that? Who said that never man speak like this Man? Was it the mother of Jesus Christ? You would expect her, perhaps, to speak like that. Or was it John the Baptist, the one who was His fore-runner? Was it the Apostle Paul the one who loved the Lord Jesus Christ after he met Him on the road to Damascus? No, it was not one of His close friends, but these words were spoken by the officers who were sent to arrest Him.
John 7: 40 - 53 Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him. And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him. Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. Nicodemus saith unto them, (he that came to Jesus by night, being one of them,) Doth our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet. And every man went unto his own house.
Everyone should read this portion of Scripture. It is amazing. The Pharisees thought that it was about time for them to stop the mouth of this Street Preacher from Nazareth. So they sent officers to arrest Him and bring Him into the temple. When the officers arrived Jesus Christ was preaching on the street. He was preaching concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit. He invited all the spiritual thirsty to come unto Him and drink, declaring if they would do so, out of their inner lives would flow rivers of living water. Now that the meeting was over the officers could not arrest Him. No, they could not have any thing to do with that. They had done the one thing which prevented them from arresting Him. They had listened to His wonderful Words of Life. If they had arrested Him the moment they walked up to where He was speaking, they, I suppose would have been all right. But they listened to His Words, and His Words arrested their minds. Therefore, they could not touch Him, they could not take Him.
Then when they returned without the Lord Jesus Christ as prisoner, the Pharisees wanted to know why they had not brought Jesus Christ with them. And the answer was, Never man spake like this one. They said, Sir, we could not arrest a man who talked as He did. His words are different, we have never before heard words like He spoke. They were words that were different from any other man that lived upon the earth. His words were supernatural words.
The Fourth chapter of John records the conversation which our Lord had with the woman of Samaria. After dealing with her about her condition, and setting forth the nature of God and what was required in worship, she said, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ. When He is come He will tell us all things. Now notice this, Jesus said unto her—I that speak unto thee, am He.
John 4: 25, 26 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
What a bold pronouncement this is. He deliberately declared Himself to be the long- looked for Messiah. Truly, no man was able to speak as this Man spoke.
6/ Let us look at another statement that He had to say.
John 8: 23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
Ye are from beneath—I am from above. Ye are of this world, I am not of this world. Such a statement as this is ridiculous without the supernatural Birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and the supernatural life that He lived. Truly, no man ever spake as this Man did. What if you would make a statement like that, or I would make a statement like that, or any other religious leader would make a statement like that. People would laugh at us, because they would know that it is not true. But in the case of Jesus Christ, it was true because of His supernatural Birth and Life.
7/ THIS MAN RECEIVETH SINNERS
Luke 15: 2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
This man receiveth sinners. Who said that? Was it the gangsters, the bums of His day? No, it was the religious leaders. Namely, the Scribes and the Pharisees, the group that should have been interested in sinners, but instead murmured against Jesus Christ, because He received sinners and ate with them. Here again, He is not like other men. Man always likes to deal with the higher people in this world. They want others to think that they are cultured, but not so with this Man, Jesus Christ.
8/ I FIND NO FAULT IN THIS MAN
Luke 23: 4 Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man.
Who said that? These words sound like those which would fall from the lips of a tender- hearted mother—one who had brought her child up into manhood, or from a very, very
close friend. I am sure you will agree with this. But not so in this case. They fall from the lips of a man who had a very wicked heart, and a hard heart. A man by the name of Pilate. He spoke these words, not just once, not twice, but three times.
John 18: 38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
John 19: 4 Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.
John 19: 6 When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him.
He testified, this is a faultless Man. Would he have been able to say that about any other man? Of course not. Any other man who has lived upon the face of the earth could not have this statement made about Him. Has there ever been another faultless one? No, there has never been another man who would dare to say this to His neighbors.
John 8: 46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?
Could you say that? Could you say it in front of your wife, in front of your neighbors, in front of your fellow workers? Of course not. But, not one of Christ’s enemies could convince Him of sin. Therefore, when His trial was held, they were forced to hire false witnesses, and to get lawyers to testify against Him. Yes, His trial was a mockery. Evidence submitted against Him was supplied by false witnesses. Why? Because here is a faultless Man, a sinless Man, a supernatural Man.
9/ TRULY THIS MAN WAS THE SON OF GOD
Mark 15: 39 And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
These words were spoken by a man who had been gazing upon the Man upon the cross for six long hours. This man is the centurion in charge of the soldiers around the cross. Mark tells us that he was standing over against Jesus. I believe with all my heart that this Roman Centurion had a deep desire to know the truth about the Man on the middle cross, Who claimed to be the Son of God, so he took his place at the foot of the cross of Jesus and stayed there until Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the Ghost. For he gives testimony, Truly this man was the Son of God.
10/ What was it that convinced the Centurions that Jesus Christ was the Son of God? The answer is found in Mark 15: 39 And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
It was when the Centurion heard Jesus cry with a loud voice. Dying men do not cry with loud voices in their last seconds of life.
10/ Luke 23: 46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
He heard Jesus cry with a loud voice and say, Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit. Then he knew that no man save the Son of God could die at will. He knew that no man took the life of Jesus Christ, but that He laid it down of Himself. There never has been a man such as this. This Baby that was born into the world has made a difference, because He grew up into this marvelous Man that was the Son of God in human flesh.
11/ THIS SHOULD BE UNDER A LARGE RED “A”
Jesus Christ also said some astounding words in John 14: 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
These words would be ridiculous from any other person other than Jesus Christ. Truly never Man spake as Jesus Christ did.
12/ THROUGH THIS MAN IS PREACHED THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS
Acts 13: 38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
Here we have the Apostle Paul uttering these words as he delivered a sermon on the subject, Justification by Faith in the city of Antioch. There is absolutely no person on this earth who can forgive sins, or who can atone for your sins. Absolutely no one but God can forgive sins. The scribes and religious leaders of His day reasoned in their hearts and they said it about Jesus Christ.
Mark 2: 7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
Only God can forgive sins, and the only Man Who could was / is the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, and now notice, Through this Man is preached the forgiveness of sins.
13/ The message is through this Man. Not through church membership—not through shaking the preachers hand. Not through being immersed in water, not through living a good life, but through Jesus Christ, do we have forgiveness of sins.
14/ GOD HAS APPOINTED A DAY IN WHICH HE SHALL JUDGE THE WORLD BY THIS MAN
Acts 17: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
Oh, how the world at this Christmastime should stop and consider. Just realize that God has appointed a day in which He shall judge the world in righteousness, by this One Who came into the world as a Baby. The world’s estimation of this Baby can be seen very clearly by its attitude toward Him as they use the day set aside to remember His birthday as an excuse for drunkenness and all sorts of sin. It is always a joke about the office party at Christmastime. But these folks had better stop and think what they are doing. This Man is going to rise up and judge them one of these days. The world may sing about Joy to the World, it may sing about the Little Child, it may sing about Silent Night in their drunkenness, but someday they are going to answer to Jesus Christ.
15/ Psalms 69: 12 They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.
Things are so bad in our country that over the radio for the last few days they have been telling about how many people will probably die on our highways, estimating, I believe, over 700 will die in the Christmas holidays, and one of the things they are warning over and over again—Don’t drink and drive. Why? Because there will be more drinking at this time than at any other time of the year. Truly, Jesus Christ has been made the Song of the drunkards. They forget that they will be judged by this Man, Jesus Christ.
16/ THE ONE NEW MAN
Ephesians 2: 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
God is now making one new man in Christ Jesus. Christ is the Head of this Body, and we are members of this Body. I wonder if you recognize that this one new Body is made up of saved individuals.
Let me just show you something in I Corinthians 12: 12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
In this passage, the word, Christ in the original Greek is proceeded by the article, The Christ—thus the Name, Christ is given to the church—those who are members of this church are the Body of Him Who is called the Christ.
When that Child was born miraculously, and lived a miraculous life, died a miraculous death and rose again in a miraculous way from the dead, and is now living forevermore, He is now forming a new miraculous Body by those who believe in Jesus Christ.
Come see the place where He Lives.
AMEN
Ref: 12/23/1962/ 61 - A BABY MAKES A DIFFERENCE / 12/12/2020
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