Ep 50: The Theological Richness of Christmas and the Incarnate Word

"Come warm your spirits with a reflection on Christmas that goes far beyond the manger. Join us as we delve into the biblical tapestry, where Jesus is both the Alpha and Omega... a broader view intertwining the threads of creation and crucifixion."

As the frosty winds of winter whisper through the streets, we invite you to warm your spirits with a reflection on Christmas that goes far beyond the manger. From Plays on Word Theater, Pastor Fred David Kenney Jr., a.k.a Pastor Teddy, peels back the layers of this enduring story, sharing how the strains of performing with a cold during the holidays brought him a profound connection to the message of strength and perseverance at the heart of the Christmas narrative. Together, we delve into the biblical tapestry, where Jesus is both the Alpha and Omega, intertwining the threads of creation and crucifixion and how this broader view deepens our appreciation for the holiday season.

With Pastor Teddy's insights, we navigate the theological richness encapsulated in the Gospel of John and the apostle Paul's writings, which present Jesus Christ as the Word made flesh. The mystery of the incarnation, the wonder of creation, and the profound implications of Jesus' role in the cosmos and redemption are all part of our expansive conversation. We conclude with a contemplation of how the birth of Jesus aligns with the grand narrative of the Bible, culminating in a benediction that extends grace and peace to you, our listeners, and highlights the collective hope found in Jesus, the Creator who became part of His own creation. Join us for an episode that promises to enlighten and inspire a renewed reverence for the season.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Lord, you know you listen to the place of word. The radio is the best. Listen to this man. He says from the beginning okay, the big inning, from the time that it was there. Am I? Who's been around since then? Who could say this? It's obviously, it's not Isaiah. And now the Lord, god and his spirit hath sent me. Who is this? This is a triune passage right there in the Old Testament.

Speaker 2: 0:59

Hello and welcome to plays on word radio, where we discuss, analyze, work and play on the word of God. Thank you for joining us on this excursion. Today let's join Pastor Teddy, also known as Fred David Kenny Jr, the founder of plays on word theater, as he does a deep dive into the word of God.

Speaker 1: 1:20

Amen. Thank you very much. Katie Kenny and Josh Taylor. All right, 20, 24, plays on word radio. We are kicking this off. Thank you guys for listening. Want to say hello to you. May the Lord bless you. Just giving blessings right off the top.

Speaker 1: 1:38

We just finished a pretty grueling 2023. Want to thank all of you that have that made it out to any of the plays that we did last year, and there are a lot of people. We did a lot of plays. We did more plays than we've ever done before last year. Yeah, the Lord's really blessing the ministry. Many people have drawn closer to the good Lord, gotten closer to the Lord through the ministry that he's given us, so that's really cool. We are really blessed to even be part of this and the Lord is doing some new things this year and we will get into that, god willing. Lord willing, this year. As the year unfolds, I pray that every single person here listening has a blessed, incredibly blessed year and a year filled with growth in the spirit of God that he would prosper, each one of you in him this year, in the knowledge of him and his will, and may we all just grow closer to him and understand him more this year Than we did last year, and may we live lives that are pleasing to him. Amen. All right, I don't want to start preaching up in here, but I was thinking about the Christmas season that we just had. We did a lot of Christmas Joe plays. We did one Sunday morning. We did a play in Ocean Fort, new Jersey, and right after the play we packed up and went down to Maryland and did a play and concert. When I say Christmas Joe, usually Christmas Joe is a 30 minute play with a 45 minute concert after Right as part of the play. At the end of the play it goes right into music of Christmas worship music and yeah, that was pretty grueling. We were doing the morning and I think that might have been the only doubleheader we did the Christmas season. We might have done another doubleheader. They're all kind of mixed together. It averaged out to be a play every other day in December, which is pretty grueling, and Most of those were concerts or with the play.

Speaker 1: 3:52

So it's a miracle my voice held out and I actually had a some kind of weird cold, flu-ish type thing happen that Took me out for a few days. It took me down, but I was able to do the plays. It was amazing. It started like with a sore throat and then it kicked up into like a Sniffling and sinuses and everything no fever, not like that. But I didn't feel good at all Head pressure, ears all messed up. You know it's hard enough to sing when I feel good, and it was. I was like Lord, really can you help a brother out? And he Amazingly, it was just he made me right for good to go for the play. And then after the play I went back to feeling bad. I was like, oh man, yeah, it's amazing that my voice did not. I didn't lose my voice, so I'm really grateful about that.

Speaker 1: 4:45

But looking back at the Christmas story, one of the things I wanted to talk about today on this version of plays on word radio is many people have a incomplete view of Christmas. You know it's about the baby Jesus. The baby Jesus, yes, it is about Christ, but it goes way beyond just an infant in the, the trough of the manger. It goes way beyond that and it I don't know if everybody completely understands it goes beyond just this baby being born and Even going to the point where this baby ends up dying on the cross. What is this all about. What was the point of this?

Speaker 1: 5:32

I think when you get a biblical view of what Christmas means, you know we try to bring the biblical view in the Christmas Joe play. But there's certain things we can't touch on in the play that the Bible gives information. I mean the play. It wouldn't make sense for for Christmas Joe to be speaking about what John wrote or what Paul wrote Because he on the timeline, it didn't. It wouldn't make sense. You know what I mean. You guys follow me.

Speaker 1: 6:02

Or to mention the something from the book of Revelation in in the Christmas Joe play, it's, it's not out of context but it's out of the timeline for the play. And you might be asking yourself Revelation, what does that have to do with Christmas? Well, jesus in the book of Revelation you know, if you don't know this, jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. You know he's, he's, he is the Alpha. He says I am the beginning and the end. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, jesus claims in Revelation. It says In in Revelation 13 it talks about Jesus was the lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world. So before the before. God said let there be light. Jesus in the mind of God was the lamb of God that would take away the sin of the world before any creation even happened. So I'm backing out with. So it's like we back out from our view and we back out and then we have like a little like a Paper airplane view, then we have a helicopter view and we're even farther, and then we get the 747 view and then we get the satellite view of the scripture, the larger picture, and that's one of the things I wanted to talk about. I wanted to just share with you guys. If we look at the scripture and what scripture says about Jesus and Then we view the Christmas story through that, it should give us a greater appreciation.

Speaker 1: 7:27

Now I talked about John, the Apostle John. He was the young man that was with Jesus. He was a fisherman and his brother James was with them and their dad Zebedee worked with Peter and they were partners and he wrote his gospel and in the beginning of his gospel, in chapter 1, it says in the beginning was the word. The word was with God, the word was God. He was with God in the beginning and Through him this is the key right here all things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made. One of the other translation says through him, all things were made. Without him, nothing was made that has been made. Nothing was made. So all things were made through him. Now this is not talking about God the father or isolated, isolating God the father. This is when it says all things were made through him. He's talking about this word that was with God, that was God right. And then a few verses down, he's gonna say verse 14 is gonna say and this word that was with God, that was God in the beginning, that all things were made through him and nothing was made that has been made without him. This word actually became flesh and dwelt among us. This is John writing in the Gospel of John the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Now, that's the Christmas story. The word that was with God, that was God, became flesh and dwelt among us, and this word is the one through whom all things were made. All right, I'm going to expand on this a little bit.

Speaker 1: 9:13

Let's look at something Paul wrote in Colossians. In the letters of the Colossians, listen to this Paul says he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for by him all things were created that's parallel to what John said In heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. You realize what this is encompassing here Visible and invisible, the things you can see and the things you can't see, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. Let's stop right there for a second. This is encompassing the entire spiritual realm, the entire physical realm, every dimension, everything. I'm going to back it up again to verse 16, colossians 1, 60. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things. And when it says all in the Greek, it means all. All things were created through him and for him.

Speaker 1: 10:23

Now somebody might be saying, somebody might say oh well, that's easy. That's talking about God, the Father. Listen as I continue verse 17. And he is before all things and in him all things hold together and he is the head of the body, the church, he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. Listen, the Father is a lot of things, but the Father is not the firstborn from the dead. Right, this is heavy. I mean now filter Christmas through that. He is the image of the invisible God. He's the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. I mean, this is heavy Well, I don't really have time to unpack all of it but it is so loaded.

Speaker 1: 11:13

This is so spring, loaded on so many different teachings, but the one I want to focus on is that this Creator, the one that said let there be light, is the very word that was with God. That was God that became flesh and dwelt among us. Listen to what Hebrews says in chapter one. The opening verses of Hebrews says long ago, at many times and in many ways, god spoke to our fathers by the prophets verse two. But in these last days he has spoken to us by his son, whom he appointed heir of all things. Now here's the key Through whom also he created the world? Through whom he created the world? He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. This is Jesus. He's talking about the son of God, who is God, who is the word of God. In fact, he is that very word that was talked about in Isaiah 55.

Speaker 1: 12:25

Yeah as the, as the water, as the rain goes and waters the earth, so shall the word that proceeds from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty or void, and that is exactly what, christ, it will accomplish all that I've sent it out to do. Talking about this word, and the word of God is Christ, jesus. He is the word that became flesh and he accomplished all that he was sent out to do. He said it is finished on the cross. He accomplished all that he was sent out to do. My word will not return to me void. Hallelujah, the work is done.

Speaker 1: 13:06

Look at John 1. I'll go back to Gospel of John, in verse 10. It says he was in the world and the world was made through him. Yet the world did not know him. Again, john, clamping down on that, everything you see everything, you see all the matter in the universe when you look up in the sky, came through the sun. I'm not excluding the Father or the Spirit of God, because the Spirit of God is right there in creation as well, and so is the Father. Yet it is through the sun that all things were made for, by him and for him. Yet the world did not know him. It says in John 1, 10. And Paul also talks about that in 1 Corinthians. Chapter 80 says through whom all things, through whom are all things and through whom we exist, again talking about Christ Jesus. So this is deep. I mean this baby, the baby Jesus, the baby Jesus, okay, yeah, okay, yes, he came.

Speaker 1: 14:12

There's a point in time when this word, who is eternal, who does not have a start? He's the uncaused, first cause of everything. There is a period of time when the Son took on a human nature, doesn't ever stop being God. He's the only person with actually two natures. He's got a divine nature. He is 100% God, 100, not 50%. He's 100% God, 100% divine, yet he's 100% man. Now he's actually given us a way to kind of comprehend this If you look at the very Bible you have in your hand.

Speaker 1: 14:53

I hope you have a Bible in your hand. If you don't have a Bible in your hand, I want you to imagine one in your hand. You think about it. The Bible is the word of God and we have already established that Christ is the word of God, the very word of God that became flesh, that was with God, that was God that became flesh and dwelt among us. But the Bible itself has two natures, two distinct natures a divine nature and a human nature. Oh, hold on, before you get the pitchforks out and try to lynch me here. Listen to me. The Bible is 100%. God breathed, 100% breathed.

Speaker 1: 15:34

Second Timothy 3, 16 and 17 says all scriptures, god breathed, breathe, breathe, bye God. So the Bible, the divine side, it is 100% the word of God, it is of God, it is God. Don't get the pitchforks out, I want you to hear me out on this. It's 100% God, the word of God, right, but it is also 100% written through the hands and characters and personalities of man. Now Peter talks about this when he says and second Peter 120 and 21,. He says, knowing this, first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by his spirit. So the Bible itself men spoke as they were carried along by his spirit. They wrote these things down. The Bible is God breathed, but man, it's 100% through the hands of man, the pen and the paper. So God's given us a way to at least comprehend, or that's the wrong word to apprehend, some of these concepts.

Speaker 1: 16:58

So let's get back to the baby Jesus here, this creator of all things, jesus, in his high priestly prayer in John 17, he says now, father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the foundation of the world, before the world existed. He talks about sharing glory with the Father and Isaiah I'm trying to think of 40, 45, I got to look it up for you but, isaiah, he talks about you know, I'm God, besides me there is no other. I will not share my glory with anyone. I will not share my glory with another. Yet Jesus claims that he shared the glory with the Father before the world existed, the cosmos existed, and he talks about before, before let there be, light was even uttered before that was said. He talks about that in the same prayer in John 17. He says, father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you love me before the foundation of the world.

Speaker 1: 18:08

One of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah 48, 16, where you have God, and before the time that it was before, in the beginning, the Lord got I'm doing this off top my head, guys, the Lord, you know what. Let's look at it for a second. I'm going to look it up. This is not a live radio program, but it might as well be, because of the way I'm rocking it right now. So 48, 16, let's go right to it. I'm going to pull it up. Let's just go to it this way Isaiah 48, 16. Yeah, buddy Lightweight. Okay, listen to this.

Speaker 1: 18:43

Pull up a couple of different versions here, because my cousin Joe is going to give me a hard time if I don't represent for him in the King James version. So, all right, there we go. Listen to this. We're going to go to King James first. Come ye near unto me, hear ye this. I have not spoken in secret.

Speaker 1: 19:02

From the beginning, from the time that it was there, am I? And now the Lord, god and his spirit hath sent me. I'm not even going to read any other translations, because that one just does it right there. Listen to this man. He says from the beginning okay, the big, the big inning, from the time that it was there, am I? Who's been around since then? Who could say this? It's obviously it's not Isaiah. And now the Lord, god and his spirit hath sent me. Who is this? That is a triune passage right there in the Old Testament. A lot of folks don't know that, but you have somebody called the Lord. God and his spirit, capital S sending somebody that's been around from the beginning and we have other scriptures that back up. Who this is, we know it's Jesus, because Jesus talks about from before the foundation of the world being there sharing the glory with the Father.

Speaker 1: 20:16

Come on now, are you guys feeling this? The way I'm feeling it, I mean the scripture gets me amped up. I can't help but say hallelujah, come on now, I'm getting amped up. I'm going to start preaching up in here. Anyway, back to my main point. Some of you guys like this because I'm going on my rabbit trails, but it's really not rabbit trails. This is fractal geometry. What I'm doing right now. You go study the Mandelbrot set man. Never mind, now that's a, now it's a rabbit trail. It is fractal geometry. Uh, bible teaching, fractal geometric Bible teaching, because every little branch branches off into something else that's related and looks like the other one. And when you get a chance, google it. Uh, listen to this.

Speaker 1: 21:00

And if, oh, ephesians 1 says even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. We should be wholly and blameless before him. Wait a minute now, come on. Did you know that you are mentioned there, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world? So not only is Christ Jesus, not only is he around before the foundation of the world, but that us right there in him before the foundation of the world. Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho, yeah, yeah, buddy Lightweight, I love it. I love it, mmm.

Speaker 1: 21:41

He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in these last times. For the sake of you, that's 1 Peter. I mean, I could go on and on and on, but when we think about this baby, this word that became flesh and dwelt among us, we shouldn't make light of it. This is the Creator of all things, hallelujah. Through his lips came the words let there be light. The entire Bible is about him, from beginning to end, and in the end he wins and we are with him. Us, hallelujah, amen. I'll see y'all next week. Come on, I'm about to go preach up in here. Amen. That's all the time we got you, guys, until next week. The Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give you peace. Amen, come on.

Speaker 2: 23:01

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