Luke 2:13-14 says, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying, Glory in the highest places to God, and on earth peace among men of His good pleasure.” The praise of the heavenly army has two aspects: glory in the highest places to God and peace on earth among men of His good pleasure. The Lord’s salvation has accomplished these two aspects: bringing glory to God in heaven and peace to men on earth. Christ is for God’s glory and man’s peace.
In Luke 2:15-20 we are told that the shepherds went to Bethlehem and “found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. And when they saw this, they made known concerning the word which was spoken to them about this little child.” The good news concerning the Lord’s birth was first announced by an angel to the shepherds. Then the shepherds, after hearing the announcement of the angel and after coming to see the little child, began to speak to others. All those who heard marveled concerning the things spoken to them by the shepherds.
On the eighth day after His birth, the Lord Jesus was circumcised and named; and after another twenty-five days, as it was written in the law, He was presented to God as the male who opened the womb (Luke 2:21-24).
Shortly after He was born, the Lord Jesus fled to Egypt because of the persecution of King Herod. This was a fulfillment of the prophecy concerning Him in Hosea 11:1, which says that He must be called out of Egypt (Matt. 2:13-15). The prophecy of Hosea joins Him to Israel, making them one. After Herod died, He returned to the land of Israel. Because of the fear that the son of King Herod might continue the persecution, He went to live in Nazareth, a small city in the despised region of Galilee (John 7:52), and grew up to be a despised Nazarene (Matt. 2:19-23; John 1:45-46). In Nazareth, He was apparently the son of the carpenter Joseph and grew up in that carpenter’s home (Matt. 13:55), and even became a carpenter despised by men (Mark 6:3). However, He was filled with wisdom from His youth, and the grace of God was upon Him. When He was twelve years old, He went up with His parents to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover, and He manifested His wisdom in the temple and His concern for the things of God. And He kept advancing in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:40-52). When He was thirty years of age, He came out to fulfill His ministry, preaching and working for God (Luke 3:23).
The human living of the Lord Jesus Christ was a living of God mingled with man. While He was living on the earth, the complete Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit— was in Him, living a mingled life with Him as a perfect man. This kind of living, which was lived out through the mingling of God and man, was the transcendent living of the God-man. It was a man who lived, yet He lived out God; it was the Triune God with all His virtues lived out from humanity and manifested in human form.
The earthly living of this God-man as recorded in the four Gospels may be summarized in the following thirteen items: