Welcome to the Prince of Peace podcast. Over 10 episodes we will explore together what it means to know this Prince of Peace and celebrate his gift of salvation this Christmas time. Make sure you subscribe wherever you are listening to this so that you will automatically get the next episode. A video version is available on the YouTube channel for Annalong Presbyterian Church. New episodes will be available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays up to, and including, Christmas Eve.

According to a Classic FM poll here in the UK, the carol O come, all ye faithful, is ranked number 6 of favourite carols. It is the carol that is sung as either the first or last at carol services, with the last verse making it appropriate for a Christmas morning service. The carol has two forms in our Presbyterian hymnbook with the first form being the most common. It is filled with words and phrases that we recognise from throughout Scripture, thereby assuring us of a full Biblical view of the incarnation - from the foretelling, to Christ’s coming, to who he is as the Son of God. Have a listen, and perhaps even sing along, to this traditional carol as sung by our congregation.

O come all ye faithful,

Joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.

Come and behold Him

Born the King of angels;

O come let us adore Him,

O come let us adore Him,

O come let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

God of God, Light of Light,

Lo; He abhors not The Virgin's womb;

Very God,

Begotten not created;

O come let us adore Him,

O come let us adore Him,

O come let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

Sing choirs of angels,

Sing in exultation,

Sing all ye citizens of heaven above.

'Glory to God,

In the highest.’

O come let us adore Him,

O come let us adore Him,

O come let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee,

Born this happy morning;

Jesus to Thee be glory given;

Word of the Father

Now in flesh appearing;

O come let us adore Him,

O come let us adore Him,

O come let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord.

In episode 3 we thought about how much music contributes to our celebration of Christmas and that our choices of favourite carols say something about what we understand Christmas to mean. Many of the carols tell the Christmas story as they recount the actions and words of all the key characters, be it Mary and her magnificat, or the shepherds hurrying to Bethlehem. We can easily fit each carol into the Biblical text, but O come, all ye faithful doesn’t fit neatly into the story. It doesn’t speak of the shepherds or wise men, or even the journey to Bethlehem.

But we know that there is one Scripture passage, which is read at every carol service, that doesn’t seem fit neatly either. Yet, it gives us the theology of who this baby in a manger is. And that’s what this carol does, it gives words and a tune to the theology of the Word becoming flesh. In John 1: 1-5 we read,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John wants to go straight into what we are to understand about the events in Bethlehem. Just like the prophets before him, he communicates to us an action of God towards us. The Word in this passage is another name for Jesus Christ and John assures us that this baby is God; that’s why he says the Word was God. Jesus was not created, but has always been. In fact he is the creator for without him was not any thing made that was made. But John’s key message is that he is life in all its fulness and he shows us this with the contrast of light and darkness.

Throughout the Bible we know that darkness reflects the sin of the world and humanity and light shows us the contrast of God’s goodness and Salvation. Verse 2 of O come, all ye faithful allows us to sing that he is indeed,

God of God, Light of light

Lo! He abhors not the Virgin’s womb;

Very God,

Begotten, not created

And so, God became man and dwelt among us, but he did so to invite us to be a member of his family and enjoy the benefits of his name. Listen to these words from verses 9-14 of John 1.

He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

We can sum up what God has done for us by using the word adoption. He has adopted us into his family, all because of his son, Jesus Christ. Adoption gives stability, security and a family name. This is what we receive when we know Christ as our Saviour. In him we know the stability of not being ruled by the whim of the Satan; we know security that we cannot be snatched from his hand of care; and we know a name, because we are given the name of God’s family and with that name comes an eternal inheritance. In essence we know God’s peace because of his son, Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace.

Verse 4 of this carol concludes,

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee,

Born this happy morning;

Jesus, to Thee be glory given:

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing

Will you come and adore him, Christ the Lord, as your Lord and know the privilege of adoption into God’s family so that you will be sure you are secure, safe and have a name that no one can take away from you?

Thank you for joining me today in this episode of the Prince of Peace podcast. Join me in episode five as we look at the carol ‘O little town of Bethlehem’. Make sure you subscribe on YouTube or in your podcast app to get the next episode when it drops. Find out more at www.annalongpc.org or check out our Facebook page and Instagram account. You can also listen to our Prince of Peace playlist on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music. All links are in the show notes.