The words “bearer of God” is the Greek word “theotokos.” It is sometimes translated as “Mother of God.” Protestant evangelicals are skeptical of confessing “Mother of God,” or “theotokos.” But if we rightly understand what the phrase means and why it is important, we should have no problem rejoicing in what Mary is doing as the mother of Jesus. Jesus is the eternal Son of God in the flesh.
The Christmas season is when we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the eternal Son of God who came to dwell with us. We sing and celebrate how, through the Holy Spirit, the Divine Son came to reside in the virgin Mary’s womb so that he could be born a baby in the manager. He is truly God with us.
We hear the Bible’s accounts of Jesus birth from Matthew and Luke a lot this time of year. Those accounts are so familiar that sometimes we assume there is nothing new to be gleaned from them. But here are 10 things you may not have known about the Bible’s Christmas stories. Around the year AD …
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Almost universally today, Christians throughout the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25. Why do Christians celebrate on this day and is it a good idea to do so? To begin with, nowhere in the Gospels is there any clear indication of the time of year Jesus was born. Perhaps the most …
It has been common since at least the time of the Puritans to claim Christians began celebrating Christ’s birth on December 25 in an effort to change the emphasis of a day associated with a pagan festival—much like some Christians today hold “fall festivals” in lieu of Halloween. American Puritan Increase Mather, for instance, said …
It wouldn’t be Christmas without the wise men. They show up in nativity scenes, Christmas plays, carols, tree ornaments, and paintings. Because of this abundance of wise men, everyone knows the supposed biblical facts about them: There were three wise men, they rode camels, and they brought their gifts to the baby Jesus as He …