There are types of Christ in Old Testament – Adam, Moses, Noah, David – These were shadows of things to come.
- Melchizedek a type of Christ, a king and a priest (Genesis 14) – having no recorded beginning or end (Hebrews 7:3).
- Hebrews 7:15-17 (NLT)– This change has been made very clear since a different priest, who is like Melchizedek, has appeared. 16 Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. 17 And the psalmist pointed out when he prophesied, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
- Melchizedek was a shadow of Jesus – They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven.
- Melchizedek may have been a Christophany,” a temporary appearance of Christ in the Old Testament.
- Have the characteristics of God – But all pointed to the real thing
Santa Claus is man’s attempt at creating a type of Christ.
- We have a need something to believe in something. Why not Santa?
- 3rdcentury st. Nicholas, SinterKlaas – dutch version
- Clement Clarke Moore’s poem – A visit from Saint Nicholas Twas the (night before Christmas). Illustrator Thomas Nast of Harper Weekly.
- What’s God be like if he became man AKA Santa Claus. Give them human characteristics of a superhero.
- Same characteristics we place on Santa that God’s got:
- omnipotent – knows everyone and all their dreams
- omnipresent – do Christmas in one night
- judge of right and wrong – naughty nice list
- We also highlight the importance of believing in Santa Claus in the spirit of Christians.
- Man needs something to believe in; believing with childlike faith – Mark 10:15 (NLT)– “I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”
- Giving God those things we have no control over.
- People need Christmas to remind themselves of good.
Spoiler alert – we have the real deal – There is one glaring difference between Santa and Jesus – Jesus is real.
- Isaiah 7:14 (NLT)– All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Emmanuel (it means ‘God is with us’).
- God became man and dwelt amongst His creation. His Name is Jesus – John 1:1 and John 1:14
- 100 % man & 100% God. The king can become the pulper but can the pulper become the king? – No
- See, we have access to the real deal and the true spirit, the Holy Spirit
There is a 2nd part to this equation – The Ekklesia
- We are the Temple where the manifest glory resides on earth, individually – 1 Corinthians 6:16, and collectively – 1 Corinthians 3:16
- In the Old Testament, there was God’s manifest presence on earth – in the New Testament, the Temple still is where Emmanuel is present
- Yes the world is always looking for that Superhero type figure. But why look? We have the real deal with us Jesus Christ!
- Glory shines through this Temple – 2 Corinthians 3:18– to be revealed thru sons and daughters of God – Romans 8:19
- Amazing what happens when you believe – But it’s not what, but who you believe in – Rom 8:14, 19
- The world needs the real Jesus and the real Spirit, the Holy Spirit, unlike ever before – but God uses us to display Himself