Majesty Hidden in a Manger

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The Incarnate and Preeminent Christ- 1

 

TITLE: Majesty Hidden in a Manger 

TEXT: Luke 2:1–7; Colossians 1:15

THEME: His Poverty, His Person, His Paradox, His Purpose

TRUTH: Christmas often invites us to gaze sentimentally at a soft-lit manger scene. But Scripture calls us to stare spiritually at a staggering revelation: The One lying in the manger is the Lord over the universe—the eternal Son, consubstantial with the Father, through whom and for whom all things were made. The Child wrapped in cloths is the Creator wrapped in flesh, the second Person of the Trinity taking on true humanity. The visible baby is the image of the invisible God, the fullness of deity dwelling bodily (Col. 2:9).

 

Luke gives us His Poverty. Colossians gives us His Preeminence. Together, they reveal His Paradox.

 

This morning, we behold the mystery at the heart of the incarnation: Majesty clothed in meekness. Divinity dressed in humanity. The Infinite became an infant. The Son, eternally begotten, is now born in time. Here, the Creator enters His creation—not with fanfare, but with vulnerability. The One who spoke galaxies into being now cries in a manger. The hands that formed the stars now grasp Mary’s finger. In Christ, God the Son assumed a human nature without ceasing to be what He was; the Word became flesh, remaining fully God while becoming fully man (John 1:14).

 

I. HIS POVERTY — THE HUMILITY OF THE MANGER (Luke 2:1–7)

Luke paints a picture of stunning simplicity and poverty—a stage set not for earthly royalty, but for the arrival of the King of kings in utter humility.

 

A. A Poor Place

  • A stable—not a sanctuary.
  • A feeding trough—not a cradle.
  • A borrowed barn—not a birth suite.

 

This is no royal room; this is raw reality. The Lord of glory begins His earthly life in abject humility, foreshadowing the self-emptying (kenosis) of Philippians 2.

 

B. A Pressured Parenthood

  • Mary is weary from the journey.
  • Joseph is worried about the future.
  • The world gives no welcome, no warmth, no room.

C. A Providential Plan

·      Caesar thinks he’s orchestrating events with his census, but God is sovereignly guiding every step toward Bethlehem in fulfillment of prophecy (Mic. 5:2). The birth of Christ comes in poverty, but not by accident—it is the outworking of divine providence, demonstrating that God’s purposes are never thwarted by human power.

 

Application: God often begins His greatest works in the places the world least expects—in obscurity, simplicity, humility. The incarnation reminds us that God’s redemptive plan unfolds not in the halls of power, but in the places of weakness. His grace meets us in our lowliness, just as it did in Bethlehem.

 

However, Luke only provides us with the outside view—the humble circumstances, the obscurity, the humanity. Colossians opens the curtain to show us who this Child truly is: the eternal, preeminent Son, very God of very God, in whom all the fullness of deity dwells bodily.

 

II. HIS PERSON — THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD (Col. 1:15)

Paul writes: “He is the image of the invisible God.” This is one of the highest Christological declarations in all of Scripture. In Jesus, the eternal Logos, the perfect radiance and exact imprint of God's nature (Heb. 1:3), is made manifest. He is not a created being, but the uncreated Son, eternally existing with and as God. In Christ, the transcendent God becomes immanent, the invisible becomes visible, and the fullness of the Godhead is revealed in human form (Col. 2:9).

 

A. A Perfect Revelation

“Image” means exact representation—not a reflection, not a replica, but the very essence of God manifest in flesh. The Son eternally shares the same nature as the Father, and in His incarnation, He makes the unknowable God knowable.

 

  • To see God’s heart, look to Christ.
  • To understand God’s character, study Christ.
  • If you want to know God personally, come to Christ.

 

B. A Personal Revelation

The invisible God becomes visible—not in blinding glory but veiled in a baby’s flesh. The Shekinah glory is now wrapped in swaddling cloths. In the incarnation, God condescends to our weakness, that we might be lifted to His grace.

 

  • He is not merely God-like—He is God, of one substance with the Father (Nicene Creed).
  • He is not partly divine—He is fully divine, and yet truly human, able to represent us perfectly before the Father.

 

Application: Christ is not just another teacher, prophet, or miracle worker—He is God made visible, touchable, and knowable. In Him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Col. 1:19), and through Him we receive the revelation of the Triune God’s heart for redemption. In Him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell (Col. 1:19), and through Him we see the heart of the Triune God for redemption.

 

III. HIS PARADOX — THE MAJESTY HID IN MORTALITY

When you combine Luke and Colossians, you cannot escape the powerful paradox of Christmas:

  • The God who made Mary is carried by Mary—a breathtaking mystery that unites the Creator and His creation in the womb of a humble girl.
  • The God who feeds the world must be fed by the world.
  • The God who holds all things together is held in human arms.

 

A. The Paradox of Smallness

  • He who fills the heavens fits inside a womb.
  • He who rules the galaxies rests in straw.

 

B. The Paradox of Sympathy

  • He became like us so He could save us, entering into our frailty to be the perfect High Priest who sympathizes with our weakness (Heb. 4:15).
  • He became human so He could heal humanity, taking on our flesh to redeem us from within, not from afar.

 

C. The Paradox of Sovereignty

  • His weakness is His work, for in His weakness He conquers sin and death by perfect obedience and sacrificial love.
  • His poverty is His pathway.
  • His humility is His glory.

 

Application: Christmas is not just about a Child being born—it is about God bending low. It is about Majesty meeting misery. It is about Divinity stepping into dust. The incarnation is the eternal Son taking to Himself a true human nature, joining Himself to us so that He could be our perfect Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5), fully able to sympathize with our weakness and yet without sin.

 

IV. HIS PURPOSE — GOD WITH US, GOD FOR US, GOD AS US

Why would the eternal Son step into such humility?

 

A. To Reveal God to Humanity

  • He is the image of the invisible God—God made knowable. In Christ, the incomprehensible is made comprehensible, and the transcendent draws near as Immanuel, "God with us."

 

B. To Reconcile Humanity to God 

  • The manger leads to the cross. The incarnation is not an end in itself—it is the necessary prelude to atonement, where the sinless Savior will bear the sins of many (Heb. 9:28).
  • The cradle points to the crucifixion.

 

C. To Reign Over a Redeemed Creation

  • The One born in poverty will return in power.
  • The One wrapped in cloths will return clothed in glory.

 

Application: If Christ took on flesh to come near, you can draw near to God through Him today. Because He is both God and man, He is the only Mediator who can reconcile us to the Father (Heb. 7:25). If He humbled Himself for us, we must humble ourselves before Him and receive the gift of His grace.

 

TAKE-AWAY:

  • Luke gives us His Poverty—a child in a manger, born in humility yet heralded by heaven.
  • Colossians gives us His Person—the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
  • Together they reveal His Paradox—infinite majesty in intimate humility, the fullness of God dwelling in a vulnerable infant.
  • And they show His Purpose—to save and restore all who come to Him, reconciling sinners to God through His incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection.

 

This Christmas, do not merely gaze at the manger sentimentally. Gaze at it spiritually. Because the manger is not just a cradle—it is a revelation. A revelation of the God who comes close, stoops low, and saves by entering our world. Here, the mystery of the ages is unveiled: in Christ, God is with us, for us, and as one of us—so that we might be with Him forever.

 

The Invisible God became visible in the vulnerability of a manger so that we could see Him, know Him, worship Him, and walk with Him. In the humility of Bethlehem, Heaven’s glory touched earth, inviting every heart to draw near. This is the wonder of Christmas: the God who comes close, calls us to come close as well. The One born in the likeness of men (Phil. 2:7) is the same Lord exalted above every name, worthy of all glory and praise. In the humility of Bethlehem, Heaven’s glory touched earth, inviting every heart to draw near. This is the wonder of Christmas: the God who comes close, calls us to come close as well.

 

  © 2012 - 2025 Blake Gideon. All rights Reserved   

 

Location: Edmond, OK, USA

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