GOD BECAME FLESH: John 1:1-2 +14 12-20-08
You have heard me say many times, there are many religions in the world today, but not any of them can say with assuridty that their Saviour is alive and well, but we Christians can declare that our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ is.
He said in Rev.1:17 Fear not; I am the first and the last: 18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen;--
Many eyewitnesses saw him after His resurrection, Acts 1: 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion** by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:--
God became flesh and come into this world for one purpose, and that was to save sinners.
Listen as I read our text in John 1:1-2 +14
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning with God. --
14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Listen as I read verse 14 once again; 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, Well we’re told in this passage “ the WORD was present in the beginning,*** and that the WORD was with God, and that the Word WAS God, and that the WORD was made flesh and that He dwelled among His people Israel”.
God surely must have loved mankind with an indescribable love, a love that we really cannot comprehend as human beings.
God, because He is God, knew that the human race would fall into sin and rebel against Him, and yet He still loved us.
Romans 5:6-8 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure * for a good man some would even dare to die.
8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
I want us to notice, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. God always does every thing “in due time”. At exactly the right time. God sent His Only Begotten Son to earth at the precise time,
Galatians 4: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, -- lets be sure and notice that Jesus was made of {a woman}, nothing is said of Him being made of a man, and that’s because as I pointed out last time, man didn’t have any thing to do with Jesus being made, His Father was the Holy Ghost.
Isaiah 9:6-7 6For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:** and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Luke 1:26-35 26And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women**. 29And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.**
32He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Some may wonder why Jesus is called, {the son of David} 32He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Lets notice, His reign over the house of Jacob,** [THAT MEANS all Israel, as Jacob is the Father of the 12 tribes that make up Israel].
David was of the Tribe of Judah, Judah, was the 4th son of Jacob;
Jesus was and is “The Son of God”; also Jesus was of the kingly lineage of David, ”the son of David”.
David and Jesus both are of the Tribe of Judah. Heb. 7: 14 For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; --
I’ve heard some commentators say that they thought David might reign with Jesus as “coregent”, I really don’t know.
Jeremiah 23: 5-6 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
–There is also a Bethlehem of Zebulon, that’s why the distinction is made of which Bethlehem He’ll be born in.
Joshua 19: 10 & 16 And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families: and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid: --15 and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages. 16 This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.
Micah 4: 2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,[ fruitfulness; Ephrath, earlier name for Bethlehem;] though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
David was chosen of God to be the 1st King of the Jews; David was Gods choose, Saul of the tribe of Benjamin, was the people’s chose.
It was Gods doing that the Promised BRANCH would be of David’s linage. This is the linage that the King of Kings would come from. Thus He’s called “the son of David”. Kingly linage.
God could have destroyed the world because of sin, but instead came into the world and allowed sinful people to put Him to death. He loved us that much.
He said the wages of sin is death, and then paid the debt for us. He both pronounced the judgment and took the judgment upon himself.
God’s coming to earth in human form reveals the mystery of God’s plan.
The Bible speaks of the mystery of God’s plan in-
1st Tim.3: 16 And without controversy [“confessedly.” great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest [appeared] in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
God allowed animals to die as substitutes and sacrifices under the Old Covenant for sins. Every sacrifice in the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, that was offered up was only a temporary solution. It was preparing the way for the New Covenant, that was to come in due time.
All the way from Adam was blood sacrifices made, innocent animals had to die; they shed their blood, indicating that the only sacrifice that God would accept in covering mans sins had to be by blood. They were all types & pictures of what would be accepted of God in “due time”.
John the Baptist, the Lords forerunner said in;
John 1:29 Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Hebrews 9:8-15 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: 9Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 10Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
13For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15And for this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament,--
Under the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, these blood sacrifices were only temporary coverings; it had to be carried out year after year by the high priest for the people.
Hebrews 9: 25-26 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; 26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world* [age] hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Jesus, God in flesh, come into the world in order that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
There is one undeniable truth that no one can deny, every body dies, it’s just a matter of when, it matters not how healthy and vibrate a person may be, one day he will die.
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
And yet, most of the people of the world will die in their sins, they don’t have to, but they will, God has done all that can be done to keep people out of hell, He gave us His Son to die in our stead, and still lost sinners act as though some way or another that God will over look their sins and allow them into His heaven any way, every body else may die and go to hell, but not them.
Hebrews 10: 28-31 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Dear heart do you believe that Jesus is Who the Bible declares Him to be?
Jesus ask His disciples this very question.
Matthew 16: 15 –17 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
