Christ Over Us
Advent 2023
December 3, 2023
Rev. Dr. Gabe Sylvia
This Advent calls the church to live as people conquered by Christ—bearing his cross, emitting the fragrant victory of the gospel amid affliction—and to remember both his first coming and the urgency of the second.
Summary
The sermon ties Advent to Paul's teaching in 2 Corinthians (and echoes in 1 Corinthians), urging believers to live in light of Christ's triumph over sin. Salvation is the start of a 'Passion life' in which Christians are presented as God’s wartime spoils, marching in a procession that carries the death of Jesus in our bodies: afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, struck down, yet advancing from one degree of glory to another. The cross-bearing life is a pleasing aroma to God and the visible fragrance of the power of the cross; forgetting the reality of the second coming and this posture of faithful suffering harms the church. We cannot faithfully walk the procession in our strength—this leads to prayer and dependence on God.
Key Points
- Advent focus: celebrate Christ’s first coming while living in light of his second coming
- Paul’s pattern (2 Corinthians/1 Corinthians): live as people conquered by Christ
- Salvation begins a 'Passion life'—we are God’s wartime spoils in his procession
- Christians bear the death of Jesus in the body: afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, struck down
- The victorious Christian life is cross-bearing, not escapist comfort
- The church is both spectacle and smell: our lives are the fragrant testimony of the cross
- Walking the procession moves us from one degree of glory to another
- Warning: the church suffers when it forgets to live for Christ’s return
- Conclusion: we cannot sustain this life in our strength—call to prayer and dependence on God
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