We Long For: God our Savior

The cattle are lowing
The Baby awakes
But little Lord Jesus
No crying He makes

These popular lyrics are from the Christmas hymn, “Away in a Manger.” In my first semester of Bible college, one of my professors used these lines as an example of deficient theology in some of our most beloved songs. If we truly believe Jesus didn’t cry, then we are calling his humanity into question, and essentially identifying as Docetics (the Christological heresy that claims that Jesus only appeared to be human).²

However, I’d like to take my professor’s point one step farther (though admittedly this next song is usually never sung in a church setting). If “Away in a Manger” downplays Jesus’ humanity, then “The Little Drummer Boy” inadvertently ascribes deity to Mary.

Look, my wife and I have two kids. I was there for both of their births. It’s bloody. It’s painful. It’s noisy. In the aftermath of all that, finally enjoying our first moments with our newborn, the last thing we would ever stand for is a little twerp playing a drum in our hospital room.

Now true, very little time passed in the Christmas story before a whole band of shepherds showed up (Luke 2:8–20), and that would be frustrating enough. But a kid playing a drum takes it to the next level. For Mary to just calmly put up with this drummer is to call her a saint. Nay—more than a saint. But there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4).

Christians typically reflect on Advent on the Sundays before Christmas. However, since this blog does not intend to compete with your weekly Christian fellowship at your own local church—but rather seeks to supplement it—I’ve decided to post these reflections on Tuesdays, with a final one on Wednesday, December 25.

Week 1: Hope – Genesis 1
Week 2: Peace – Exodus 3
Week 3: Joy – Psalm 130
Week 4: Love – Matthew 1
Christmas Day: Christ – Titus 2

Paul wrote the following in Titus 2:11–14.

For the grace of God appeared—salvation for all people—training us in order that, while denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we might live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, while waiting for the blessed hope, namely the appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us in order to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a special people—a zealot for good works.

My translation

The first thing to focus on today is who this text is about. Look at the subject of the verbs. There are only five verbs (excluding participles) in this passage, and all but one of them refer to Jesus. The exception (“might live”) refers to the effect Jesus should have on those who have experienced his grace.

But who is Jesus? I introduced this post by making it clear that he was truly a man, but is that all he was? Did the Church make him out to be God when Constantine converted the empire? Or has the Church always believed him to be God?

This text in Titus makes it crystal clear that he is God. Not only does 2:13 refer to him as “our great God and Savior,”³ but 2:14 follows this and explains that Jesus redeems us and cleanses us. Redemption and cleansing refer back to Psalm 130:8 and Ezekiel 37:23, respectively. In both of these texts, God is the subject of the verbs. So if Jesus is now the subject of the verbs, then Paul is stating that Jesus is God. Not another god, but God himself (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:6).⁴ Not only that, but even in the wider context of Matthew 1:21, which also echoes Psalm 130:8, Matthew comments on the angel’s announcement to Joseph by citing Isaiah 7:14 and then translating the name Immanuel: “God with us” (Matthew 1:22–23). Jesus is God.

Another important aspect of our Titus passage today is that the beneficiaries of God’s redemption have expanded from descendants of one nation to all humanity. We focused yesterday on the fact that Jesus came to save “his people” (referring specifically to the Jews), but I also hinted throughout that the beneficiaries were wider than that. Today’s text makes it plain.

In fact, I’ve hinted at this reality since the first entry in this series. God didn’t merely create Israel; he created the heavens and the earth, and all the peoples within that boundary. The story of God in Scripture is the story of God’s work in the world; while it focused closely upon Israel for a good portion (the majority of the Old Testament), and while Jesus was descended from Israel (according to the flesh; Romans 9:5), God wants to restore the whole world to himself (2 Peter 3:9).

Titus 2:11 explains that the appearance of God’s grace is equivalent to salvation for all, meaning–at the very least–more than just physical descendants of Abraham. This all is then qualified in 2:14, when Paul says that Jesus “redeemed us from all lawlessness.” How do we know if we belong to the us/all?

Jesus appeared, making salvation available to all people (2:11). But Jesus also teaches people how to live and what to avoid (2:12).

If we ignore this teaching, do we really desire salvation? I would bet not.

Jesus also inspires us to long for him (Advent anyone?; 2:13).

If we don’t desire him, do we really desire salvation? I would bet not.

He gave himself up for us (he went to the cross) with the result that we would be redeemed from sin and cleansed into his people (2:14).

If we aren’t being shaped ethically like the rest of God’s people, do we really desire salvation? I would bet not.

The word for “people” is the same one from Matthew 1:21 that originally referred to Israel, but now has been reconstituted to refer to God’s new covenant people: Christians—the ones who exhibit the training of Jesus in their lives. Any and all can join, but people who don’t care about Kingdom ethics (family values) should be concerned that they might not truly belong to Jesus.

As Advent season comes to a close, we must take Titus 2:11–14 into next year and zealously pursue sensibility, righteousness, and godliness, while refusing to partake any longer in ungodliness and worldly lusts.

Consider the following throughout the rest of this Christmas season and throughout the New Year:

• Has the grace of God appeared in your life? How do you know?
• Who of the “all” that salvation has appeared for is most surprising to you?
• Is it easier for you to believe in Jesus’ humanity or his divinity?

In this with you.

Thanks for reading.

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Notes and References

1. Anonymous, “Away in a Manger,” The Christian Cynosure (1882). ↩︎
2. The Greek word dokeō means “I think, consider, seem.” ↩︎
3. Commentators debate the grammar of this phrase, and there is some question as to whether it is really referring to one person or two. I take the singular referent position. ↩︎
4. For a defense of 1 Corinthians 8:6 as an exposition of Deuteronomy 6:4, see Richard Bauckham, “God Crucified,” in Jesus and the God of Israel (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2008), 27–30. ↩︎

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