Holmes Christmas Greetings, 2021

FULLNESS

Many years ago, a godly man named Athanasius went head-to-head with a contemporary, Arius, an influential person in the church. It involved their different views on a Greek term, homoousios or homoiousios —the matter was relative to whether Jesus, as the Son of God, was of the same or only a similar essence to the Father. Arius took the weaker position, that Jesus was similar in essence to the Father, but not that He was the same. The ensuing discussion and debate went on for a long time but, in the end, through the perseverance of Athanasius, truth prevailed. Christianity embraced the biblical position that Jesus is God. So, in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, 1:18, 19, we read that Jesus “is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.” Later in the letter, 2:9, Paul states that “in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”

To be the perfect Savior of sinners, Jesus has to be fully God and fully human. The New Testament assures us that this is so! The hymn well says: “On Him Almighty vengeance fell | That must have sunk a world to hell | He bore it for a chosen race | And thus became their hiding place.”

Are you trusting the God-man who came into this world to save sinners just like you?

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NEWS UPDATE AT A GLANCE

This has been a year of change for us. Matthew completed high school at Bob Jones Academy and graduated in May. This past semester, he has been a freshman at Bob Jones University, studying cinema production.

We were able to have a few enjoyable days of vacation in Georgia in August before Matthew started college.

Jim’s mom, Jean Holmes, passed away in June. She was ninety-four years of age and living in England at the time.

Jim has kept busy with many publishing projects. Sue has had various health issues to navigate and so has worked mostly from home this year, helping Jim with editing projects and doing some work for Dr. Joseph Pipa at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

We send you our love and best wishes for 2022.