What did he give up?

Of what did he empty himself?

He emptied himself of his glory, the divine glory.

His glory in this world was veiled.

On the man of transfiguration, he pulled his flesh back and gave him a little glimpse of

his glory, remember, but he veiled his glory when he came into this world.

He set his glory aside. Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur. I'm your host,

Phil Johnson. This time of year, you're likely to see countless nativity scenes and hear songs

about a baby born in a manger,

but do you know what it's all about? How could a child born in the lowliest of circumstances

make such an astounding mark on history? Find out today, as John MacArthur looks at,

amazing aspects of the birth of Christ, that maybe you haven't quite understood.

John's lesson today is a look at the theology of Christmas. That's also the title of the message.

It comes from a chapter that you may not associate with Christmas, Philippians chapter 2,

but it is critical for understanding the significance of Christ's birth. And we'll get to that in

just a moment. But before the lesson, here it is Christmas Eve, and you may be really busy today,

but as we look ahead to the Christmas celebration tomorrow, I want us to pause for a moment,

and here's some comments John MacArthur recorded a few years back.

It's some helpful advice and it's still so relevant for approaching Christmas with the right

mindset. To put it mildly, Christmas is a little bit confusing to the watching world. I'm pretty sure.

I never really get over that.

Year after year, I'm struck by the paradoxes of Christmas.

...