Christmas was first celebrated in the year 98, but it was forty years later before it was officially adopted as a Christian festival it was not until about the fifth century that the day of its celebration became permanently fixed on the 25th of December.
Up to that time it had been irregularly observed at various times of the year, in December, in April, and in May, but most frequently in January.
The Pilgrim Fathers, who condemned all church festivals, spent their first Christmas in America working hard all day long amid cold and stormy weather, and commenced the building of the first house in Plymouth 1620.
Last time we started a study on the unique person of the universe our Lord Jesus Christ whose birth is celebrated on Christmas.
We saw that his birth was the launch of a new spiritual power system that we are calling a "great power experiment" This power experiment occurs in the dispensation of the Hypostatic Union and the dispensation of the Church.
This means that all precedence for the spiritual life of the church is established by the spiritual life of our Lord. Heb 12:2;
The great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union is documented in Rom 1:4. "Who (Jesus Christ) was demonstrated the Son of God by means of power belonging to the Holy Spirit by means of the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord."
We see here that God the Holy Spirit sustained the humanity of Christ inside the divine dynasphere.
The great power experiment of the Church Age is documented in Eph 1:19-20; "And what is the surpassing greatness of His (God the Father's) power to us who have believed for the working of His superior power, which He put into operation by means of Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His own right hand in heavenly places."
Between the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the exit resurrection or rapture of the Church the greatest power that has ever been made available in all of human history is made available for every individual believers because one hundred percent of divine power is now available to every Church Age believer.
This is the dispensation of emphasis on the spiritual life of the individual believer regardless of their success or failure, achievement or lack of it, handicaps or lack of them.
This Divine omnipotence is freely available to all believers today but unfortunately few discover or utilize this power to execute God's will, plan, and purpose for this dispensation.
This power includes the omnipotence of God the Father related to the portfolio of invisible assets.
The omnipotence of God the Son related to the preservation of the universe and the perpetuation of human history.
The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit related to execution of God's plan in this dispensation.
The question that must be asked is will this availability of divine power bring about the desired result in your personal Christian experience?
You will never discover God's plan for your life unless you understand God's great power experiment that is the focal point of human history.
It is the same power that God used to raise our Lord from the dead that he has made available to you. Phil 3:10; "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death."
Eph 3:20; "Now to Him (God the Father) who is able (divine power) to do infinitely more than all we could ever ask or think on the basis of the power which is working for us, to Him be glory by means of the Church and by Christ Jesus with reference to all generations of this unique age of ages. Amen."
In the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union, there is one winner: our Lord Jesus Christ who executed the plan of God that provided for salvation for anyone who would believe in him.
In the great power experiment of the Church Age, the winner is the believer who advances to spiritual maturity by implementing the protocol plan of God.
The grace provision for our Lord and for the church age believer is the divine dynasphere. For the Lord it was the prototype version and for the church age believer it is the operational version.
The unglorified humanity of Christ won the strategic victory of the angelic conflict through His substitutionary spiritual death on the cross that was made possible by his continuous function inside the prototype power system. He never sinned so he never stepped out of the power system.
Believers win the tactical victory through their advance to spiritual maturity that results in the maximum glorification of God by their function in the operational power system.
The prototype divine power system came into history with the first advent of Jesus Christ. In the virgin pregnancy, the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit created twenty-three perfect male chromosomes for the virgin pregnancy of Mary, Matt 1:20;
The omnipotence of God the Father created human soul life, and imputed it to the soul of Jesus Christ at the point of the virgin birth.
In the incarnation that followed, the omnipotence of God the Father designed the prototype divine dynasphere for the humanity of Christ to occupy that provided logistical grace support for the humanity of Christ during the first advent.
The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit provided the sustaining power for the humanity of Christ during His thirty-three years on earth in unglorified humanity.
On the cross, the omnipotence of God the Father imputed the personal sins of all mankind to the humanity of Christ and judged them. Inside the prototype divine dynasphere, the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit sustained the humanity of Christ while He was being judged for our sins.
In resurrection, the omnipotence of God the Father restored the Lord's human spirit to His body in the grave. The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit restored His soul to His body in the grave.
In the ascension and session, the omnipotence of God the Father seated the humanity of Christ at His own right hand and awarded Him His third royal title, "King of kings and Lord of lords."
The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit prepares for His ministry to the church. John 14:16-17,26; John 16:13-14.
In the great power experiment of the Church Age by the execution of the protocol plan of God, the omnipotence of God the Father provided us with our very own portfolio of invisible assets. Eph 1:3;
The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit provides the enabling power for the cognition of Bible doctrine and the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God.
The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit, through the baptism of the Spirit, creates a new spiritual species and the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit provides the mechanics for the function of the church.
At the exit resurrection of the Church, the omnipotence of God the Father raises the dead in Christ and the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit gives a resurrection body to those who are alive in Christ.
The omnipotence of Jesus Christ created the universe and holds it together, John 1:3; Col 1:16-17; Heb 1:3,10;