The six Christmas sermons all picture God as a king. My analysis reveals that ‘God as king’ is a central image communicated to the congregation. The concept of God as king is a metaphorical expression. The preachers employ both metaphor and antithesis to convey picturing God in this way. I will demonstrate how these two rhetorical devices are used to shape a clear picture of God.

With the metaphor of God as king the preachers emphasise the reality of God’s reign. In a world dominated by powerful rulers they proclaim, ‘Zion, your God is king’ (sermon 3; Ruiter 2022:4). Aalderink refers to God as ‘His High Majesty’ (sermon 6; Aalderink 2017:14). In the ancient world where people must contend with rulers who wield near-absolute power, the metaphor of kingship resonates. The preachers immerse their listeners in this reality, anchoring the concept of kingship in a historical context. The sermons mention historical kings and rulers, often in response to the biblical texts read during services. In his sermon on Luke 2, Aalderink states: ‘It is the height of the Roman Empire, with Augustus as the powerful emperor at the helm’ (sermon 6; Aalderink 2017:17). Mijnders takes a broader view than the Roman emperor and speaks of ‘An intense world history in which Israel had to deal with Egypt and Babylon, with Persians and Romans. Great nations with powerful kings, surrounded by wise men’ (sermon 4; Mijnders 2022:382). Kingship stands for power and majesty. However, preachers assure us that God has the greatest power.

Using the metaphor of the king, preachers express that God rules and has power. Ruiter expresses his amazement at this power ‘That’s quite something, rising above all other gods and kings and rulers’ (sermon 3; Ruiter 2022:5). When faced with the power of God as king, other rulers do pale because ‘it is not the emperor who is in charge, but this Child’ (sermon 2; Biesma 2021:3). The significance of this power is not limited to Israel. ‘This king brings a decisive change in the course of the life of the nations’ (sermon 4; Mijnders 2022:377). This movement continues today: ‘He conquers a place for himself in this world and from Bethlehem He gains ground’ (sermon 5; Groen 2018:14). The word ‘conquer’ in this last quote shows that other words related to kingship are also used in the sermons. The word ‘conquer’ can evoke the image that God is equal to those kings who rule and destroy with their armies. I will demonstrate now that this is not the picture conveyed by the sermons about God.

In addition to portraying God as king through metaphor, the sermons also frequently employ rhetorical antithesis to contrast divine kingship with earthly rule. To fully grasp the image of God, we must not look to the rulers of this world. Apart from king David, kings and other rulers are portrayed negatively by the preachers. The kingship of earthly rulers reveals less of the image of God. They only reveal one aspect of God, namely power and majesty. In fine-tuning the image of God, the sermons work out the antithesis between Jesus as king and the rulers of the world. For the real image of God, we must look to Jesus. ‘He is a king completely different from the kings of this world’ (sermon 4; Mijnders 2022:379). And with the words of Ruiter ‘he is the King on earth who brings peace in every way’ (sermon 3; Ruiter 2022:7). The sermons are picturing a God who reigns and wants the best for this world.

In picturing God’s involvement, the sermons are somewhat ambiguous, and the nature of this involvement in the here and now is unclear. It is challenging to find clarity in sermons on how God relates to specific instances of social injustice in the 21st century. They speak about God’s kingship in a somewhat timeless manner. The first round of analysis, which included only the first four sermons, revealed an image of a God who appears almost unconcerned with these issues. Occasionally, social injustice and climate issues are mentioned in brief sentences (sermon 4 for example). In this context, the preachers place the greatest emphasis on human responsibility. In contrast, the fifth sermon, added during the second round of analysis, explicitly addresses God’s involvement in contemporary social issues. Groen (2018) says in sermon 3:

To discover this aspect of God, one must listen to various sermons from the series Uit de Levensbron. After reading six sermons, I conclude that God is pictured in the sermons only to a limited extent as a God who is concerned with concrete social issues surrounding poverty, global conflicts and climate change. That this is not necessarily related to the fact that we are dealing with Christmas sermons is evident from another study. In the Christmas sermons by Thabo Makgoba studied by Ian Nell, a different picture emerges. These sermons picture a God who is intensely involved in the issues of social injustice in the 21st century (Nell 2024:37–43). An analysis of a Christmas sermon from 2022 shows that ‘The sermon reflects on the mystery of God’s presence in the midst of human suffering and conflict, particularly in the context of the war in Ukraine’ (Nell 2024:39).

Another aspect of God’s kingship merits consideration. Jan Muis draws attention to the inherent weaknesses of the king’s metaphor (Muis 2008:285–286). The sermon analysis shows that the preachers are aware that the king metaphor for God is a vulnerable one and can lead to the misunderstanding that God is a cruel tyrant who wants to control the world and its people. By also using antithesis, the preachers show that the opposite is true. With the antithesis, the preachers prevent God from being confused with earthly rulers who have so many victims on their conscience. God as king is of a different order. By using both the metaphor of the king and the antithesis between God as king and earthly kings, the sermons present a nuanced picture of God. On the one hand, the king metaphor maintains the classical theological notion that God rules in this world. On the other hand, the antithesis prevents God from being confused with a despot who has no regard for the welfare of people. This is not the case at all. The following section will shed light on the image of God, who is intimately involved in this world, by focusing on verbs that highlight this connection.

In this section, I draw on a selection of key quotations to demonstrate that, alongside and connected with the theme of kingship, God’s turning towards the world is a central element in the picturing of God in the six Christmas sermons. Particular attention is given to the verbs used, as they play a crucial role in articulating this divine movement. God is pictured as an actively engaged deity – a God who acts. With more than 100 different verbs, the sermons express God’s turning towards this world. The sermons present a picture of a God who is moved, and this divine turning towards humanity is made especially explicit in the birth of his Son Jesus Christ. After a general introduction to the use of verbs in sermons, I will pursue this section by discussing three characteristics.

The sermons place a greater emphasis on actions (verbs) than on attributes when picturing God. Only the sixth sermon deviates from this pattern. Aalderink pictures God with his various attributes, such as omnipotence, faithfulness, holiness, majesty, uniqueness and immutability. The other sermons are concise in such attributing characteristics to God. However, this does not imply that these attributes are absent as themes. Instead, it is by verbs that God’s image is revealed, thus providing insight into his nature. There is a rich variety of verbs. God comes, goes, is born, saves, liberates and descends. In addition to the verb ‘to be’, the verb ‘to come’ and the past participle ‘born’ are particularly prominent in the sermons. The central place occupied by the verb ‘born’ can be explained by the biblical passages and the theme of the Christmas sermons. The verb ‘to come’ is also frequently used in the sermons to express God’s motion toward this world: ‘God wants to come to people’ (sermon 5; Groen 2018:13).

The verbs in the sermons reveal God’s profound engagement with humanity and emphasise his condescension. God engages with people, seeking to establish a connection with them. Groen articulates God’s turning towards humanity in his sermon with the following words: ‘Once again, God is seeking contact with His people’ (sermon 6; Aalderink 2017:14). The quote contains several features that typify the picture of God throughout the six sermons. The verb ‘seek’ conveys the idea that the movement originates with God – He is the initiator of the contact. The fact that God seeks once again shows that God is patient with people and repeatedly attempts to restore contact.

An examination of the verbs employed in the sermons reveals three main lines that delineate the picture of God presented. The first thing that stands out from the verbs is God’s positive involvement. In God’s turning towards this world, there is almost always an element of benevolence. God turns to people to bring them salvation, and He has good intentions for them. ‘Jesus was born to save’ (sermon 5; Groen 2018;15). God cares about the fate of people and is faithful. Even when people resist, he perseveres. Groen says: ‘But when people shut God out, He breaks in with His love’ (sermon 5; Groen 2018;14). There is the motif of a rupture between God and humankind in the sermons. Humankind has turned away from God. That is why God must intervene. In this context, Mijnders speaks about liberation from slavery. He says that ‘Jesus will deliver people from all forms of slavery and bring them to true freedom. Jesus will defeat the forces that bind people to slavery’ (sermon 4; Mijnders 2022:383). With words such as salvation, reconciliation and redemption, the idea of sin is always there in the background of the sermons. Not often, but clearly, the sermons emphasise that Christ’s coming has to do with sin and guilt. Dunsbergen says specifically, ‘He comes to deliver the world from sin and guilt’ (sermon 1; Dunsbergen 2020:17). Ruiter places sin in a broad context and says: ‘But also so that we may know ourselves to be free, redeemed from darkness and death, from sin and evil, from tyranny and coercion’ (sermon 3; Ruiter 2022:7). Nevertheless, words such as sin and guilt are used sparingly in sermons.

Aalderink expresses God’s turn towards this world in very personal terms when he says about God: ‘He really cares about you, He is interested in you! Remember that’ (sermon 6; Aalderink 2017:18). The preacher employs emotional language, thereby evoking an empathetic representation of the divine. Individual members of the congregation are addressed in the singular, affirming that God cares personally for each of them. The preacher reinforces God’s involvement by adding that ‘God is interested in you.’ The repeated use of the personal pronoun ‘you’ underscores God’s relational commitment and attentiveness to the individual. We also find this way of speaking about God in Biesma’s sermon. ‘Because: for you, a child has been born …’ (sermon 2; Biesma 2021:7) he proclaims in his sermon. The other four preachers express themselves less strongly, but the sermons all present a God who seeks positive contact with people.

Only occasionally do the verbs of God’s turning to the world appear in the context of judgement. Ruiter mentions about God: ‘He has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations’ (sermon 3; Ruiter 2022:6). The context of the quotation demonstrates that God’s judgement has the potential to be reversed against his people. However, the primary focus is on God’s judgement of the nations, through which Israel will be liberated. At the conclusion of Groen’s sermon, the verb ‘come’ is used to imply that God’s patience has a limit (Groen 2018):

The same language is present at the end of the sixth sermon. Aalderink says there: ‘Eternal death awaits those who do not accept the Child Jesus Christ as their Savior’ (sermon 6; Aalderink 2017:20). I notice that the image of a judgemental God is not dominant in the sermons.

A second facet of God’s image is expressed by his turning towards both Israel and the nations. This twofold emphasises, on the one hand, that there is room for every human being by God. Ruiter emphasises this room as follows ‘The nations will see it. The whole world will see the salvation of our God’ (sermon 3; Ruiter 2022:7). The sermons emphasise that God does not pass over anyone. His attention extends to people today. For ‘all the people must hear it, they may all share in the joy that is proclaimed. Until today’ (sermon 1; Dunsbergen 2020:14). Ruiter points out that there is also a sequel in God’s turning towards this world. ‘He is a salvation for his people Israel, but then also for all nations’ (sermon 3; Ruiter 2022:7). In the sermons, God is presented as the God of both Israel and all the nations of the world. The next quote illustrates the broad perspective that the sermons attribute to God: ‘And not just for a few people: the entire people, all of Israel, may receive and experience this, yes, the whole world may share in it’ (sermon 2; Biesma 2021:5). As God turns towards this world, Israel is at the forefront, followed immediately by the nations.

This final quote reveals a significant aspect of the view of God. This is the portrayal of God as one who acts throughout history. There is a focus on God turning towards Israel. Mijnders sums this up in the following phrase: ‘Jesus, the fulfilment of Israel’ (sermon 4; Mijnders 2022:381). Velema notes that, after World War II, the sermons in Uit de Levensbron pay more attention to ‘the lines that God himself draws in the history of the revelation of salvation’ (Velema 1993:43). Velema’s observation of this development is also clearly reflected in the six Christmas sermons of the 21st century. God’s turning towards this world did not occur solely at the birth of Christ. In these sermons, God is portrayed as the God of Abraham (sermons 4 and 6), David (sermons 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6), the prophets (sermons 2, 3, 4 and 6), and the history of Jerusalem (sermon 3). ‘God intervenes in history time and time again’, Aalderink (sermon 6; Aalderink 2017:18) affirms. Earlier in the same sermon, he states, ‘At many moments in the history of the Old Testament, we can see how God prepares and unfolds his plan of salvation.’ These quotations reflect the view of God presented in the six Christmas sermons, where the coming of his Son, Jesus, is closely aligned with God’s actions as revealed in the Old Testament. Jesus brings the salvation promised in the Old Testament.

The third thing the verbs of God’s turning reveal about God is that he is a God who entrusts people with a great degree of autonomy. In the encounter, God makes himself vulnerable in a certain way to human rejection. The possibility of rejection is conveyed in the second sermon through a series of probing questions (Biesma 2021):

The encounter God seeks with people is not authoritarian. God’s turning towards humanity can be rejected. Groen (2018:15), sermon 5, suggests that one possible response to the coming of Jesus is exclusion, as expressed by the phrase, ‘But Jesus is excluded …’. People are made responsible by God himself to respond to his turning towards them. That is why Aalderink says: ‘Are you ready for that? Are you open to that?’ (sermon 6; Aalderink 2017:20). In the relationship that God enters into with people, he expects reciprocity. In doing so, God generally treats people with caution. When he is a king, he is certainly not an arbitrary tyrant. The sermons show us God as a God who respects human autonomy and does not simply trample over it. He does everything he can to maintain contact with people. But the frequently used verb ‘come’ does also have powerful connotations. When God comes, He also acts. Occasionally, the sermons suggest that God’s benevolent intervention is so powerful that it is impossible to resist. Groen says about this: ‘But when people exclude God, He himself breaks in with his love. He himself conquers a place in this world and from Bethlehem He gains ground’ (sermon 5; Groen 2018:14). However, God rarely shows this side of himself in the sermons.

I conclude that the sermons picture a God who continues to turn patiently towards this world. The picture of God in the sermons is largely shaped by how he acts and is strongly coloured by God’s relationship with people. The verbs can be associated with theological concepts that denote attributes of God such as faithfulness, patience and forbearance. However, the sermons are cautious in attributing such characteristics to God. From the analysis of the verbs, it becomes clear that God: (1) is primarily benevolent towards people, (2) concerns himself with all people in this world starting with his people Israel and (3) takes people’s autonomy seriously. The verbs are associated with both God and Jesus. The relationship between God and Jesus is the subject of the following section.

The previous section emphasised the verbs used to describe God turning towards us. The third category concerns the alternating proclamations about God and his Divine Son. In the sermons, both are referred to as Lord. This highlights Jesus’ exalted status. Jesus stands alongside God the Father and is more than just a human being.

The preachers seem hesitant to make statements about Jesus’ divinity that aren’t explicitly supported by the passage being read. Explicit references to the pre-existent nature of Christ are rare. Nevertheless, such statements about the nature and origin of Jesus are not entirely absent. He is called the Son of God in almost all sermons. Occasionally, sermons mention that Jesus is eternal. He existed before he came into this world. For example, Dunsbergen (2020:14) says, ‘God, the Eternal One, comes into time’ (sermon 1). In this quote, Jesus is portrayed as fully equal to God – he is the eternal one who enters time. The sermons affirm that Jesus is God himself. However, they do not provide any additional theological reflection beyond this audacious assertion. Instead, they simply state that Jesus is God. The sermons are characterised by an astonished and wonder-filled tone. Biesma (2021:5) says: ‘What a miracle: God, in human shape’ (sermon 2). In doing so, he underscores the notion that, in Jesus, we are engaging with God directly. The sermons also explore and question the union of God and man in the Child in the manger. In his sermon, Ruiter (2022:8) addressed the following issue: ‘But what does that mean with regard to this God and King? How does He appear? Well, in the vulnerable form of a newborn child’ (sermon 3). The sermon implies that the vulnerable child in the manger represents more than just a human being. This idea is reinforced in the six sermons through the use of titles such as ‘King,’ ‘Messiah,’ ‘Lord,’ and ‘Son of the Most High.’ Among these, the title ‘Lord’ holds particular significance. That Jesus is ‘Lord,’ a title that affirms his role as king and leader, echoing the divine name used for God in the Old Testament. Concurrently, the sermons underscore Jesus’s vulnerability. In the incarnation, God is revealed in humility and weakness. However, the sermons make clear that this poverty is not the full picture: the child in the manger is none other than God himself.

In his analysis of the sermons given from 1927 to 1993, Velema highlights the pneumatological character of the sermons in the series Uit de Levensbron (Velema 1993:44). In the six Christmas sermons from the early 21st century, there is minimal explicit emphasis on the person of the Holy Spirit. The experiential dimension of believers’ lives is virtually not explicitly linked to the Holy Spirit. His presence is mentioned occasionally. Only a single preacher points out that the Spirit appropriates what we have in Christ. This provides insight into the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. In connection with the Apostles Creed the sermons inform us that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Another preacher points out that Spirit guides us today. However, when it comes to picturing God, the emphasis is almost entirely on the Father and the Son. The lens of the six Christmas sermons hardly lead to a Trinitarian understanding of God.

The way the sermons address the Father and Son confirms that they offer little metaphysical reflection on the image of God. Although the sermons sometimes explicitly state that Jesus is God, his divinity is more clearly seen in the titles he is given, especially the title ‘Lord.’ This title expresses the sovereignty of the vulnerable child in the manger. The image of a God who has everything under control is also seen here.