THANKFUL FOR JESUS: ‘Born of God’
John 1:1-18
#Christmas2022
INTRODUCTION… God’s Parental Sayings (p)
The point of today’s message revolves around Jesus Christ being the Son of God, the offering of us to also be children of God, and our thankful hearts in response. That is where we will eventually end up. God being the Heavenly Father and Jesus being the Son got me thinking about sayings we have all heard from our parents and things we never thought we would say, but we often end up saying them anyway. I wondered, what might God have said to Jesus… Him being His Father?
We say: “Money doesn't grow on trees you know”
God says: “You can grow money on trees or in fish You know”
We say: “Close the door! - were you raised in a barn?”
God says: “Close the door even though You were born in a barn”
We say: "Here's a dime kid...go call someone who cares."
God says: “Here’s a shekel, call Me, I always care”
We say: “Because I said so."
God says: “Because I am literally God and I said so”
We say: “If so and so jumped off a bridge would you jump off a bridge?"
God says: “If Satan jumped off the highest point of the temple, would You?”
We say: “Stop crying before I give you something to cry about!"
God says: “Stop crying before I move up the timetable and hand You over to Pilate early”
We say: “We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
God says: “We'll cross that cross when we cross it”
We say: “When I was your age - I had to walk 10 miles to school....."
God says: “When I was your age - I had to Create the Universe out of nothing uphill both ways”
We say: “You're not made of sugar, you won't melt."
God says: “You're not made of sugar, You are made of flesh, You’ll die"
We say: "If you do it and get caught and go to jail, you WILL spend the night."
God says: “If You don’t do it and get caught and go to the cross, You WILL spend the afternoon on the cross"
We say: “I brought you into this world and I'll take you out!"
God says: “I brought You into this world and I'll let You take Yourself out”
We say: “You'll understand when you are a parent."
God says: “You'll understand when You are a human"
We say: “One day, God willing, you'll have one JUST like you."
God says: “One day, Me willing, You'll have many just like You"
We say: “And who do you think you are? The Queen of Sheba?"
God says: “And Who do You think You are? The King of Kings?”
We say: “I was not born yesterday, Mister"
God says: “I was never born, Mister”
We say: “There are starving people in Africa who would gladly eat your dinner!"
God says: “There are starving people in Africa Who would gladly have You multiply their dinner"
We say: “You kids will be the death of me yet."
God says: “My kids will be the death of You yet"
We say: "A roast is done, YOU are finished."
God says: “It is finished”
TRANSITION
That is some thoughtfully funny stuff right there. Today, as I mentioned, we are going to focus on Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We are going to look into He Who was born of God and we will look at John 1 to do that. Let’s read from John 1.
READ JOHN 1:1-18 (ESV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. 12 But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about Him, and cried out, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.’”) 16 For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, He has made Him known.
TRANSITION
John 1 is very much a statement in the New Testament all about how God, the Creator of the Universe Who made the Universe out of nothing uphill both ways, sent His Son to pay for humanity’s sin. John 1 is all about the birth of Jesus, just not in terms we normally use. There is not a narrative about angels and shepherds or Joseph and Mary going to Bethlehem or wise men showing up and a king trying to kill baby Jesus. There are not those things, but there are significant statements that lead us to be so very thankful for Jesus.
JESUS WAS BORN OF GOD
God created us and restored us through Jesus Christ and in order to do that, Jesus had to be born of God. In these opening verses of John, note the three “was” statements in verse 1 that focus our attention that Jesus was “born of God.”
The first “was” statement is: “In the beginning was the Word.” The Greek word for “word” here is “logos.” Maybe you have heard that term maybe not. “Logos” is a word that not only stands for “word,” but also for “thought” and also most importantly for “the divine order that rules the universe.” Calling Jesus “the Word” means that He is the One Who plans the seasons and keeps the planets in orbit and keeps everything together. Jesus orders the universe.
Notice that the verse opens that “in the beginning was the Word.” You might say, yeah, so what? The verse is telling us that when the beginning of everything happened, the Word… already existed. The past tense is used for the Word existing when creation and the beginning of everything began. It is the same thought present in Genesis 1:1 which says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” God already existed before the creation of the heavens and earth. God preceded the creation of everything. God is the Uncreated Creator. Same thought here with Jesus.
The second “was” statement is: “and the Word was with God.” The image we get is that the Word and God are in perfect sync with One Another so much so that They are One. We get the picture of perfect motion and perfect union and perfect submission and love. We get the idea of utter completeness and oneness and yet also distinct at the same time. I don’t know if human language can explain God and expand our awareness of the Almighty God. I have no explanation really of how God is One and Three at the same time, but it is nevertheless True.
The Word is Jesus and Jesus was with God and He was God all at the same time. Jesus is God. Jesus also has a perfect relationship with God. He is the image of the invisible God in sync with every will and plan of God the Father.
The third “was” statement is: “and the Word was God.” I am glad that the Apostle John chooses to end his statement with the phrase “and the Word was God.” He ties all of these thoughts together. Jesus is the Word. The Word is with God. Jesus, the Word, is God. When you and I see Jesus, we see the fullness of God in Him in all aspects.
* That is why in John 5:18 Jesus made Himself equal with God.
* That is why in John 8:58 Jesus refers to Himself as “I Am.”
* That is why in John 10:30 Jesus says He and the Father are One.
* That is why in John 14:9 Jesus tells Philip that if someone sees Jesus they have also seen God.
* That is why in John 20:28 Thomas confesses that Jesus is Lord and God.
* That is why in 1 John 5:20 John says Jesus is the true God and eternal life.
If you are completely confused, you should be! God is far beyond our ability to actually understand and yet He wants us to know Him and have a relationship with Him. A great way to summarize all that these verses are saying about Jesus is that “Jesus is born of God.” Jesus… was and is… made of the same stuff as God and was sent to be a human being for our benefit.
John 1 also tells us that God sent Jesus so that we would be able to see Him more clearly. What does Jesus show us about God?
* God is the light of life (verse 4, 7, 9)
* God is light that overcomes darkness (verse 5)
* God wants us to believe in Him (verse 7, 12)
* God does not force Himself on people, even people who know Him (verses 10, 11)
* God wants us to choose Him and to be His children (verse 12)
* God is full of grace (verse 14, 16, 17)
* God is full of truth (verse 14, 17)
APPLICATION
All of this comes from Jesus Who is born of God. What do we do with this? I think we should be overwhelmingly thankful to God for Christ. Thankfulness should be on our lips and flavor our minds and color our hearts:
* Thank you, Jesus for being the light of life in this dark world of death.
* Thank you, Jesus for being willing to overcome darkness by Your blood.
* Thank you, Jesus for showing us God so we can believe in Him
* Thank you, Jesus, for giving us the choice and opportunity to know God
* Thank you, Jesus, for allowing us to be God’s children
* Thank you, Jesus, for grace
* Thank you, Jesus, for truth
ILLUSTRATION… Ultimate Thankful Guide (p)
One of the end goals of mine today is to help you be more thankful. What am I thankful for? I sat for a little while this week and put some real brain power and heart energy into thinking about what I am thankful for. I hope this list inspires you to be more thankful and plant seeds of thankfulness in your hearts that blooms into full-blown gratitude. What am I thankful for?
* I am thankful for forks. I feel like eating would be a lot more complicated without them.
* I am thankful for McGriddles at McDonalds which are the best fast food ever created.
* I am thankful for duct tape because it fixes everything except a broken heart.
* I am thankful for spit. It is useful when you spill something on yourself or your mouth is dry.
* I am thankful for dishwashers. Many years I did not have one and now it is so nice to wash the dishes and then put them in the dishwasher so it can wash them.
* I am thankful for every animal except anteaters because they bite.
* I am thankful for bananas because when you get that eye muscle twitch thing that happens every so often, a banana helps it go away.
* I am thankful for jingle bells and that Batman smells and that Robin laid and egg, but I am not thankful that the Batmobile broke a wheel and Joker got away.
So, those are some of the things I am thankful for. What are you thankful for? What seeds of thankfulness do you need to plant in your heart so that gratitude grows?
TRANSITION
As we look at John 1, we see that not only is Jesus born of God which we are completely thankful for, but we also come to understand in this passage that we also can be born of God. That new birth in God comes by way of Jesus Christ.
WE CAN BE BORN OF GOD
Jesus Christ came into humanity as light and shines Himself as the path to God. He shows us the way. God’s plan was that Jesus offers His life and light to anyone who would accept Him. Verse 12 is very clear: “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God.”
Verse 13 is interesting because it shares with us all the ways we can’t be born of God:
Being a child of God is not something you can be born into. It doesn’t matter what family you come from or if other people in your family are Christians, we cannot get salvation by being born into it. The Christian faith is often passed down, but it is not automatic.
Being a child of God is not something we can earn by good deeds. It doesn’t matter how internally good we are or how many good deeds we do or the fantastic difference we make in the lives of other people or how much good we contribute into society, we cannot earn our way into God’s family. The light and life offered by Christ was paid for and earned by Him, not us.
Being a child of God is not something someone else can will upon you or wish for you or even prayerfully force upon you. Being born of God is not the act of someone else’s will. Being born of God (being born again) is our will accepting that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God and we fully accept Him as our Lord and as our Savior.
John 1 makes it clear that Jesus is the way to God.
John 14:6 makes it clear that Jesus is the only way to God: “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (ESV).
John 20:31 at the end of the Gospel also makes why Jesus was born of God: “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name” (ESV)
I love verse 16 because God knows you and I will not be perfect. We are not perfect before we accept Jesus and we are not perfect after we accept Jesus. We all still deal with sin, but verse 16 shares with us that not only does God through Jesus give us grace, but “grace upon grace.” Being born of God means we are at the bottom of the pile of grace upon grace. I like that mental image.
APPLICATION
All of this comes from Jesus Who is born of God. What do we do with this? I think we should be overwhelmingly thankful to God for Christ. Thankfulness should be on our lips and flavor our minds and color our hearts:
* Thank you, Jesus, for giving us the right to become children of God
* Thank you, Jesus, for making the way to have a relationship with God possible
* Thank you, Jesus, for grace upon grace
THANKFUL FOR JESUS
I would like to challenge you and encourage you on this Christmas Day to up your thankfulness! Be thankful for presents and family and good meals and times of fellowship and lumps of coal in your stocking and all of that stuff… but don’t miss that most of our thankfulness should be directed to God about Jesus Christ.
ILLUSTRATION… research.com/education/scientific-benefits-of-gratitude
Gratitude is a gateway emotion.
Researchers tell us gratitude and thankfulness lead to improved sleep, lower blood pressure, strengthens the immune system, improves pain tolerance, helps keep glucose levels under control, extends our lifespans, and helps with heart issues.
Those same researchers also tell us that gratitude and thankfulness also lead to improved self-confidence, improved patience, makes you more optimistic, helps manage grief, increases romance, makes us less materialistic, battles depression and unforgiveness, and enhances our overall vitality and energy.
Many of the Psalms, Isaiah 12, Isaiah 51, Philippians 4:6, Colossians 3:15-16, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, 1 Timothy 2:1, and many other passages command us as God’s people to be thankful. Gratitude is a gateway emotion.
Let us begin this day at this hour in this minute being thankful for Jesus Who was born of God and is the way for us to be born of God as well. The point of today’s message is that Jesus is the Son of God and He offers us the only path to us also being children of God, and we should be so thankful for Him.
PRAYER
INVITATION
I invite you to be thankful for Jesus.
I invite you to investigate Jesus by reading the Gospel of Mark to see Who He is.
I invite you weekly to this church in order to find Jesus.
I invite you weekly to this church in order to follow Jesus.
I invite you today if you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and been immersed in Him, to push all doubts and guilt and excuses to the side and come forward and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. When we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, we have life in His Name which releases us from the past, makes our today holy, and prepares us for all our tomorrows.
