Dr Paul Allen

One of the realities we face as people living in a fallen world is that tragedy and sadness surround us. This seems especially true each Christmas, as we reflect on the many acts of violence that marked the past year—acts that reveal deep truths about our culture and the spiritual condition of our nation. No sooner does one tragedy fade than another begins. We open our phones to check the news and are bombarded with story after story: shootings, kidnappings, robberies, or arrests for heinous crimes. It’s gut-wrenching to realize that people have lost loved ones during what should be a joyous holiday season—all because of the wicked acts of wicked men. Yet the sad reality is that our world is not so different from the one into which Jesus was born. In Matthew’s Gospel, we read of a wicked ruler, Herod, who ordered the death of all male children two years old and under in and around Bethlehem (Matthew 2). He committed this atrocity out of fear of losing power, driven by his own ego and ...

Jesus is Immanuel, God come to dwell in us, they also underline that He is Christ come to dwell in us.  The wonder of the Christmas message here celebrated is that through faith, Jesus Christ comes to indwell His people. His presence is not merely an event in history but the present experience of every Christian believer. Our understanding of the Christmas message and its life-changing implications will be incomplete unless the wonder of this dawns upon us. While there are perhaps only a dozen passages in the New Testament that emphasize Christ’s indwelling, their teaching raises two questions: (1) In what way does Christ indwell us? (2) What difference does it make to our lives? How does Christ indwell us? The Son of God came to dwell in human flesh for us in order that He might come to dwell in us by His Spirit. This is the meaning of Jesus’ teaching prior to His death: “Remain in Me and I will remain in you.” This is the way to bear much fruit (John 15:4–5). Later in prayer,...