O Come All Ye Faithful

It is commonly said that, when it comes to Christmas songs, the old ones are the best.

O Come All Ye Faithful

The exact same is true when it comes to Christmas carols. The vast majority of the most loved Christmas hymns have endured for centuries. However, it’s possible that our familiarity, at times, causes us to overlook what we’re actually singing. In this first of three articles, we are going to consider a carol that is so popular that it’s absence from any Carol Service would surely be noticed!

Although its original authorship is disputed, with what we have today being the product of several collaborations, most hymnals credit the writing of O Come all ye Faithful to John Francis Wade (1711-1786), since it was through his efforts that the song first appeared in print, and the earliest known manuscript of the carol bears his signature.

Since Wade’s composition was written in Latin, the lyrics underwent several translations into English, most notably by Frederick Oakeley (1802-1880). His English translation of this great carol first appeared in 1852 and has been revised, added to, and of course sung, by many ever since.

Christmas carols contain some of the richest language in all of Christian hymnology, and O Come all ye Faithful is no exception. The lyrics we will focus our attention on are found in the very last verse:

Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing

The inspiration for this line of the carol undoubtedly comes from the opening chapter of John’s Gospel:

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

The Apostle John identifies “the Word” as the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But what does this mean? In the Greek language that John was writing in, the word for “word” is logos which has a broad, philosophical meaning and relates to the concepts of divine reason, and the mind. However, John takes this impersonal term and infuses it with Christian meaning as he links it to a Person – Jesus. He is the one who personifies, and embodies, the work and message of God.

Wade, again using language from the Bible, says: “now in flesh appearing”. The Bible says that the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, existed before time, space, or the material universe was ever created; yes, Christ existed long before He was born as a Baby at Bethlehem. In fact, Scripture says that the Word, Jesus Christ, was intimately involved in creation itself.

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 nothing was made that was made” (John 1:1-3).

At Christmastime, we celebrate, and remember, the moment when the “Word of the Father” entered into that which He created; took upon Himself flesh and blood so that He could die for the sin of the world.

I wonder if this challenges the image of Jesus that you might have in your head? Many people, if they think of Christ at all, have an image of the Lord that is nothing more than a caricature; somewhere between “a story-book character” and “a good-teacher-that-might-have-lived-2,000-years-ago”. The Baby that at one time lay in a manger, was truly God, and that, perhaps more than all the claims of the Christian faith at this time of year, is so profound that it demands our attention.

One passage in the Bible says this:

“But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9 NIV).

This is what Christmas is all about. The One who was truly God would be made a little lower than the angels in order that He might die, and by His death pay the debt of sin for all who trust in Him alone for salvation.

The most important thing you will do this Christmas has nothing to do with presents, or food, or games. The most important thing this Christmas is what you will do with Christ.

My prayer is that you will trust in Christ today for the forgiveness of your sin and the salvation of your never dying soul. By doing so, you will have the assurance of sins forgiven, the present enjoyment of peace with God, and a living hope of everlasting life in God’s heaven.