Lord’s Day, Vol. 1 No. 6

For with God nothing shall be Impossible (Luke 1:37-38)

Introduction

At Christmas, we remember the birth of Jesus Christ – the Son of God. Jesus Christ is the most important person in human history. We divide our calendar by Him – B.C. Before Christ, and A.D. Anno Domini, the year of the Lord. In creation, man was made in God’s image, but in the incarnation, we see God made in man’s image. Jesus is fully man and yet fully God in one Person, the only mediator between God and man. His mission was to reconcile sinful men to the Thrice Holy God.

The birth of Jesus Christ was special. It fulfilled the 700 year prophesy of the prophet Isaiah, “…the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) Immanuel means “God with us” – God made flesh. We dare not venture to question the wisdom of God in the incarnation but acknowledge is born of the womb of the virgin girl Mary, as Mary testified in response to the angel’s announcement in Luke 1:34 “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” We want to say a hearty amen in our hearts to the Gabriel’s response – “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

The truth concerning the birth of Jesus Christ is set forth in Luke 1:35. And the angel announced to Mary what is to happen to her in the coming days, “…The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

How can we comprehend this glorious mystery of the incarnation? God who is so great, coming humbly as a man! For great indeed is the mystery of godliness. Yet, we do so by simple faith, taking God at His Word.

Our story begins in Nazareth, that city in Galilee whose inhabitants were despised by the main stream Jewish elite, whom Nathaniel the true blue Jew remarked to Philip, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” It was there in that most ordinary and humble place that the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, this unknown Jewish girl, a virgin, engaged to Joseph the carpenter (Matt. 13:55).

Let us consider the immeasurable power of God to fulfill His Word (Luke 1:37) and the immeasurable peace of all who trust in His Word (Luke 1:38).

(1) The immeasurable power of God to fulfill His Word (v37)

37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

The conjunction “for” gives to us the basis or source of our confidence – God. Not any other god, but “the God”, there is a definite article attached to “God” in the original text – For with “the God”, the living and true God, is true confidence.

And the preposition “with” has the root meaning “beside”, “alongside”. Is anything too hard for Him when He is beside us to help us? (Gen. 18:14) These same words, the angel Gabriel gave to describe the conception of John the Baptizer, Jesus’ forerunner, in the womb of Elizabeth six months earlier, Luke 1:36 “And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.” They were spoken to assure Mary that God is going to use her, this humble virgin girl from Nazareth, to bring forth His only begotten Son. Gabriel’s words were intended to form conviction in the heart of Mary that God has the power to fulfill His promises. Man’s words can fail us, but not the words of God.

Indeed, Jesus’s conception fulfilled the prophecy of the first gospel in Genesis 3:15, the seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent. Jesus is conceived of the Holy Ghost and not of man (Luke 1:35). We have heard of the seed of man but the seed of a woman is unheard of! The seed of fallen man cannot solve the problem of sin because of the sin nature that he inherited as a result of Adam’s fall. But Jesus is from the seed of a woman without the taint of sin. Mary conceived Jesus of the Holy Ghost. Jesus does not inherit the sin nature of fallen man. Being sinless, Jesus is the perfect Substitute to take the punishment man’s sins as John the Baptizer testified, “…Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) Jesus is the sinless, unblemished Lamb, given to mend the broken relationship between man and God.

The literal translation of verse 37 is this “Because every word shall not be impossible with God” There is that double negative. “It shall not be impossible” or “It shall not be not possible!” This double negative means all things are possible with God. Why phrase it that way? I believe it is designed by the Spirit of God to remove all doubts, fears and unbelief in the heart of Mary. It helped to remove every faithless, negative thought in Mary’s heart as to God’s power and ability to do what He wills. It must also help to remove every faithless thought of unbelief and fear in our hearts to the truth of Christ’s birth.

The verb “to be impossible” is “to be powerless”. It comes from the root word for dynamite power, with an “a” to negate it. So the verb “to be impossible” with a “not” means it is surely possible. It emphasizes the Almighty power of God to fulfill His promises.

The word “nothing” comes from two words in the original. The adjective “every” and the word “word” meaning every Word of God shall not be without power. If we make a study of this word “power” without the “a”, we find this dynamite power manifested through the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8 that enable the Christian to witness, and in the gospels it is translated “miracle” to describe the supernatural manifestation of God’s power. This is the word translated “virtue” when the woman who had an issue of blood touched Jesus and was healed. This is the power that Jesus gave to His disciples over devils and cure diseases. This is the power that when Jesus said to Peter “let down your nets for a draught” and he obeyed and caught a whole net full. This is the power that sustains the breath in our nostrils. This is the power that brought forth the God-man as the angel declared to Mary, Luke 1:31-33 “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS (it means Saviour). He shall be great (He will save us from our sins), and shall be called the Son of the Highest (the Son of God it tells us of His Deity that Jesus is God): and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Words in brackets added)

(2) The Immeasurable Peace of all who trust in His Word (v38)

38 Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

This was Mary’s response in faith. A handmaid is a bond slave, the lowest kind of female servant, she was willing to stake her life as a bond slave to serve her Master to fulfill this mission that God has called her to do. It showed forth how much she trusted God. How she trusted in the power of God to bring to pass His Word and she submitted herself willingly for the Master’s use to bring forth the Saviour. Indeed Mary’s heart was as the psalmist who prayed, “LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou will cause them to hear, thou will cause them to believe thou will cause them to rest in Thy Word and behold Thy glory.”

Mary was fearful at first but she was assured by the words of the angel that God is faithful to His Word. He is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His power, “For with God nothing shall be impossible”. With God all things are possible. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. He has the power to save and transform every life if we would yield ourselves to His Word. Dare you believe Him you will experience His power in your life. This was what Mary did, she believed, and the rest is history. For no word of God shall be void of power. God turned her fear to faith. God’s immeasurable peace fulfilled her heart to quell her fears.

Conclusion

Christmas is not about celebrating Santa Clause’s birthday as the news and media would tell you. It is not even about exchanging gifts. But it is to remember that God entered into human history in the Person of His own Son to save man from sin and to give to all who will believe eternal life. This is God’s free gift at Christmas, no exchange needed.

Dear readers, Jesus says, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28) Do you come with some burden in your heart, Jesus says, “Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee and thou shalt glorify me.” (Ps. 50:15) The Bible is full of promises of God’s complete care for His people if we would only receive Him by believing His Word.

It is reported by the World Health Organization by the year 2020, depression will be the second killer after heart disease. There are many out there living in fear, without hope. Europe is on financial fire! Middle East is also up in flames. The US is in a debt problem it cannot resolve, the baby boom generation stand to lose their pension. What chaos without God.

Christmas is the time our hope in God is renewed as we remember the birth of our Saviour. We thank the Lord for our spiritual rebirth, we also must bring this message of hope to a world dying – For with God nothing shall be impossible – No problem is too big to be resolved for God. No problem He cannot help. God has resolved man’s biggest problem – the curse of sin and death by send His only begotten Son not to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. If you have not received Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, it is our prayer that you will receive Jesus into your heart today. Amen.

Yours lovingly
Pr Lek Aik Wee