O Come, All Ye Faithful {Adeste Fideles} (Stanzas 1-2)

 

 

Movies released during the holidays seem to have Christmas carols morphed into a sound track, even if the plot of the movie is barely related to Christmas, let alone Jesus Himself. (I won't debate Die Hard fans here!)

Certain carols seem to show up more frequently: Silent Night, Joy to the World, O Come All Ye Faithful, etc. Carols utilize not only Biblical texts, but also the historical teachings of Christianity.

Consider the second stanza of "O Come, All Ye Faithful."

God of God, Light of Light,
Lo! He abhors not the Virgin’s womb:
Very God, Begotten, not created.

The English translation may not have the poetic cadence of the original Latin [1], but it's taken from the Nicene Creed of the 4th century. At the time, there were notions that Jesus was not God. Instead, some said He was created as a servant of God. [2]

"God of gods, Lord of lords" is a title for the Lord in Deuteronomy 10:17. Applied to Jesus, it puts Him on par with God, just as He is later called the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 17:14)

The phrase "only begotten Son" is used in verses like John 3:16. It doesn't mean that Jesus was made by God the Father as a kind of demigod. All believers are called sons and daughters of God but the phrase "only begotten" refers to the unique role Jesus has: both God and Man.[3] Jesus cannot be separated from the divine nature any more than light can be separated from itself. [2]

"Very God, of Very God" is how the creed describes Jesus. But He humbled Himself to become a Servant and Savior. [4] The first step in this humbling process was that He didn't "abhor" confinement for nine months in the womb of a virgin maiden.

Why do we usually skip this stanza? Without it, there's nothing to sing about. Who can save us from the predicament of sin and the sorrow it creates? A mere human wouldn't be perfect enough or strong enough to do so.

"God saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him." (Isaiah 59:16, New American Standard, 1995)

And so we're invited, "Adeste Fideles" ..."O Come, All Ye Faithful"

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him, born the King of angels.
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.


[1]
Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine,
Gestant puellæ viscera:
Deum verum, genitum, non factum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Come,_All_Ye_Faithful  - Also the source of the photo of the first published copy of Adeste Fideles, second stanza. From Cantus Diversi (1751) by John Francis Wade.

[2] Nicene Creed explained: https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/the-nicene-creed-where-it-came-from-and-why-it-still-matters

[3] https://www.gotquestions.org/only-begotten-son.html

[4] Philippians 2:5-8