Peace on Earth, Goodwill Toward Men

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray opened the Sunday before Christmas with a close look at the angels' announcement in Luke 2:14, specifically the word "eudokia," goodwill, and what it tells us about God's intent toward humanity. The sermon sat with a genuine textual question in that verse and let it open into a bigger question: is God's peace offered to everyone, or only to those already in his favor? The answer, he...

Read together

1. Luke 2:14 the angels' song, glory to God in the highest and peace on earth goodwill toward men, examined in detail for textual variants
2. John 3:16-17 read by the McMullins lighting the Advent candle, and later used by Pastor Ray to illustrate the hina clause and subjunctive mood
3. Matthew 11:25 Jesus praising the Father for revealing things to children, used as one of the nine New Testament occurrences of eudokia
4. Romans 10:1 Paul's desire and prayer for the salvation of the Jewish people, cited as an example of eudokia meaning goodwill or benevolent desire
5. Ephesians 1:5 according to the good pleasure of God's will, cited as a use of eudokia
6. Ephesians 1:9 according to the good pleasure of God's will, cited alongside Ephesians 1:5 as a use of eudokia
7. Philippians 1:15-17 some preach Christ from envy and strife, others from eudokia, goodwill and love
8. Philippians 2:12-13 work out your own salvation, for it is God who works in you both to desire and to work for his good pleasure
9. 2 Thessalonians 1:11 prayer that God would fulfill every eudokia desire for goodness and work of faith, applied to sanctification and usefulness to the kingdom
10. Galatians 4:4-5 when the fullness of time had come God sent his son so that we might receive adoption as sons, used to illustrate the hina clause structure
11. 2 Corinthians 8:9 though he was rich yet for your sake he became poor so that you through his poverty might become rich, used to illustrate the hina clause structure
12. John 1:11-12 he came to his own, his own received him not, but to those who believed he gave the right to become children of God
13. 2 Peter 3:9 the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, he is long suffering, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance
14. 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 God has not destined us for wrath but to obtain salvation through Christ who died for us so that we might live with him, used as the closing benedictory passage

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray talked about the Angel Tree ministry and said that around Christmas, 'things click differently for people' when it comes to the idea of giving. What is it about the season of Christ's birth that brings the concept of giving into sharper focus for you personally?
2. The sermon walked through several translations of Luke 2:14, ranging from 'goodwill toward men' to 'peace to those on whom his favor rests.' How does each of those translations land differently for you, and does one feel more true to your experience of God?
3. Pastor Ray quoted Robertson McQuilkin, who said 'it is easier to go to a consistent logical extreme than to remain in the center of biblical tension.' Where do you find yourself most tempted to resolve the tension between God's sovereignty and human responsibility by leaning hard to one side?
4. The hina clause in Galatians 4:4-5 and 2 Corinthians 8:9 shows God acting with a clear purpose, 'so that' we might receive something. Pastor Ray used the image of an uncashed check to describe what it looks like to never receive what God has offered. What makes it hard for people to actually receive what God has put out toward them?
5. Pastor Ray closed by saying, 'Once you accept his goodwill, you want to spread it to everybody you know.' What does that look like practically in the context where you actually live and work right now?