God’s Good Will
Luke 2:9-14; Philippians 2:12-13
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Why would God make such a dramatic entry into this world in the form of a baby? Starts out humbly enough with one angel of the Lord appearing to the shepherds with the announcement:
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 1
While the event is certainly dramatic because of the content and the messenger, the placement of the baby is ever so simple and humble. But then God pulls out all the stops!
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” 2
We go from the divine statement by one angel to a multitude praising God for what He is bringing to mankind. ‘Multitude’ is quite a few, in Greek it is related to our English word ‘plenty.’ But as impressive as the heavenly announcers, don’t miss the emphasis: ‘peace among those with whom God is pleased’. Wow! Now that is an announcement. In the ESV it is peace with God ‘among with whom He is pleased’; in the NIV ‘those on whom His favor rests’; in the KJV it is the traditional ‘good will toward men.’ In each case the translation of Greek work ‘eudokia’ carries the intention of God to do good for those who are agreeable to Him and His way. This angelic announcement is part of the demarcation between us living under the Law and the coming era of salvation by the mercy and grace of God manifest through relationship in Jesus. This is only the beginning of what has the promise of our coming back into peace with God in Jesus.
In just a few dozen years, this will be even more evident after Jesus has completed the work God is only now announcing. In Philippians 2, the Apostle Paul will remind us of God’s fulfillment of this eudokia when he writes of God’s work in us:
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.3
God’s purpose and action working in you is ‘for His eudokia, good pleasure’ that you may live in peace with Him as a changed person, continuing to live in His image as demonstrated in Jesus. His ‘good pleasure’ is us living out the life He was born to make possible. Paul mentions some of the possibilities of peace before and with God:
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.4
Consider today what great things God has begun for you in Him with such a humble yet decisive entrance. Are you living in His ‘good pleasure’ today?
All Scripture references from the Blue Letter Bible, ESV
at https://www.blueletterbible.org
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
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