I am God and there is no one like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done…

Isaiah 46:9

The first step of puzzle assembly is finding and putting down the four corner pieces, 90 degree angles out. In our Christmas puzzle, the corner pieces represent God’s nature because the real Christmas story doesn’t begin with the angel’s appearance to Mary, but in the eternal plan of God.

Here are the four corner pieces that everything to come will be built on:

Holy God’s holiness is not only moral perfection. “It means to be in a class of your own, distinct from everything that has ever existed or will ever exist.” (Paul David Tripp) We cannot wrap our brains around who God is and why He does what He does. This is important to keep in mind as we consider what comes next.

Sovereign God’s sovereignty means that He has complete control over all things. As the creator of heaven and earth He has both the authority and the right to do and not do, to allow and not allow, whatever He chooses.

Eternal God’s eternality speaks not only to His lifespan, but His perspective. As an old song says, “He’s got all the time in the world…” For those who have lost hope, there is the encouragement to lean into His timetable and rest in it. The building blocks of His plan not only include time, but also eternity.

Wisdom God’s infinite wisdom is defined by John Piper as “total and perfect knowledge of billions and billions of relevant factors in every situation that enable Him to know the best way to achieve the goal.” Angels, wise men and fearful shepherds and all the rest, so familiar at Christmastime are the elements that God chose out of all factors and combinations to tell His story: the most important story ever told.

Nancy Shirah