True God of True God
Let’s get to the most theologically rich verse of this classic Christmas carol, which often confused me when we sang it in my young years:
True God of true God, light of light eternal
Lo! He abhors not the virgin’s womb
Son of the Father, begotten not created
This is some deep stuff, and let me do my best to explain it so that we can worship together today:
Understanding Jesus' Divine Nature
"True God of true God" is a phrase that comes from the Nicene Creed, a famous statement of faith from the 4th century. It means that Jesus is not half a God, or a man who became God, but He is the true God, who came from the true God in God the Father. It's an essential belief in Christianity, the Trinity - that God is One, but in three persons - Father, Son and Spirit. Jesus the Son is truly God, who came from the Father who is the true God.
And this actually leads into the last line which says "Son of the Father, begotten not created". Some teach that God the Father created the Son, but Christians believe that Jesus shares the divine essence of God the Father and always has, and so He is begotten by the Father, not created by the Father. Everybody else is created by the Father, but Jesus existed eternally with Him.
He is also "Light of light eternal" - again emphasising that Jesus is light, and He comes from eternal light in the Father. When Jesus came to earth, we got to see the human representative of that light of God!
God United With Humanity
And lastly, the line "Lo! He abhors not the virgin's womb" was one that puzzled me. Firstly, what does "lo" mean? Well, it means "look!" or "behold!", to draw attention to something. In this case, the author wants to draw attention to the fact that God doesn't "abhor" the womb of a virgin. In other words, it was not beneath God for Jesus to be carried in the womb of a young woman. Some would say that God would never unite with humanity in this way, but the truth is that He didn't disdain humanity - He actually allowed humans to be part of His redemption story in this way.
It's all quite wordy, but in the end this verse is meant to lead us to worship! It teaches us that Jesus is great and worthy because He is one with the Father and not just another human. And it teaches us that God would unite with His people and not disdain them in their human state.
What a verse! Does it cause you to worship? Does it bring fire to your soul? Listen again and sing with gladness of this wonderful Jesus!
True adoration of Christ comes from the heart, not from fancy words or mindless repetition. This Christmas, make Jesus the object of your fervent adoration and spend your life pursuing a greater appreciation of Him.