For God so Loved the World: a Sermon for the 4th Sunday in Advent
John 3:16 NKJV
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
We now come to the 4th and last Sunday of Advent, a season in which we prepare ourselves for the return of Christ. On Tuesday night we will switch to the season of Christmas in which we remember the birth of Christ to the Virgin Mary in a manger in Bethlehem. We live between the two comings of Christ. We are comforted by the truth that Jesus was born as well as His promise to return.
The theme for the 4th Sunday in Advent is love. We have already studied the themes of hope, peace and joy. So, what then, is love? that is the million dollar question. As Christians, we are taught to love our children. Children are the gift of God. At Christmas, we remember that the greatest gift of a child is the birth of our Lord Jesus. This is a good start to the definition of love. Another expression of love is the joy of the wedding in which the groom and bride are united in their love for each other. In the case of the Church, we are the betrothed bride of Christ awaiting the wedding day in which we shall be with Him, not to be parted by death, but for ever.
There is also an aspect of God’s love shown in the life and death of our Lord as well. We read from John 1:14 that the Word who had created all things became flesh and tabernacled among us. Considering how sinful and rebellious we all are, why would He do this? We read from the Exodus account that the first tabernacle was set in the middle of the camp of the congregation of Israel. When the Tabernacle was dedicated, the glorious presence of the LORD was so great that even Moses was unable to enter.(Exodus 40:34-35) God is holy. In fact the holiness of God is the only attribute of God which is in the superlative degree. He is “Holy, Holy, Holy.” (Isaiah 6:3) But the glimpse of Gods glory at the Tabernacle and later at the dedication of the Temple (2 Chronicles 5:14), was only transient. We also read from Exodus 32 that because of the sin of the worship of the golden calf, the Holy LORD had to withdraw Himself from the camp. Moses, Joshua, and others who wanted to inquire of the LORD had to leave the camp to come to the Holy LORD. Most of Israel was happy to see this from the distance of the camp.
Moses was indeed a great intercessor who went back and forth between the tent of the LORD outside the camp into the camp, bringing God’s word to Israel. The Gospel of John records that the Law came through Moses, but Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. As good an intercessor as Moses was, there came the need for a greater intercessor who could also bring grace and truth. This is the mystery of the Incarnation. God, the Son, entered into the sinful camp bringing the Word of the Father to His people. The shame is that many of these rejected both Him and the grace and truth He brought. For a short period of time, the Holy God was again present in the camp.
This Jesus was crucified about 33 years later for our sins at Passover time, our sacrificial lamb which we eat at the Lord’s table in the Eucharist (Lord’s Supper, Communion). He who had come into the world and pitched His tent among us was lifted up on a cross as a sin offering. As we have noted, there are many ways we see the love of God expressed. But the love of God is especially demonstrated in the death of His only-begotten Son. On the night before He died, it is said in John 13:1:
John 13:1 NKJV
Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
The word “end” is the Greek word “telos” which has the idea of a perfect and finished work. We see a verb form of this noun in John 19:30 where Jesus says: “It is finished.” The love he had for His people is perfectly expressed in His atoning death. Sacrificial love is the highest form of love there is, and Jesus was the superlative example of this love.
In John 13:1. Jesus said that this love was for His people. There is something especially true about the expression of this sacrificial love to His bride, the church. But John 3:16 goes even further. It says that God so loved the WORLD. This love is offered to everyone. Why would God even love sinners so? How marvelous is this grace. It is true that the purpose of this expression of love was that people would believe on Him and have everlasting life. We should also notice that the tern “world” is much broader than Israel. It includes everyone in this offer. It is a great tragedy that so many, both Jew and Greek have rejected this loving offer and face condemnation.
we see another example of this love in Romans 5:8-10:
Romans 5:8–10 NKJV
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Jesus did not die for His friends. He died for His enemies. We were all at one time at enmity against the LORD. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) We all need a Savior. We have done nothing to deserve salvation, no less to become the holy bride of Christ.
Even though Christ is ascended to the right hand of the Father, and we await His return, we are not without the presence of God in our lives. God, the Holy Spirit dwells is us. As it is written in Romans 5:5:
Romans 5:5 NKJV
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Paul teaches us that the Holy Spirit is God’s pledge to us that He will always be with us. The Greek word, “arrabon” which refers to the giving of the Spirit means “earnest.” We still use the word “earnest” in real estate sales. When someone pledges that they wish to buy a house, they put up a deposit called “earnest money.” This shows the intention to buy as it is generally not refundable if the buyer backs out unless there is some fault found in the transaction. But we need not worry that God will back out on the covenant He has made with us and the Church. He has purchased the bride “as-is.” He will transform us into the Holy and spotless bride. Some theologians question whether a believer can back out of the deal and renounce or lose their salvation. I will not address this here. Be it enough to say that God is forever faithful.
There was a time in which Jesus suffered for us outside the gates of worldly Jerusalem. It was a time of great shame and reproach. As followers of Jesus, we are invited to follow Him outside the gate. (Hebrews 13:12-13) Even during our worldly distress, we must realize that God loves us. Even when we are chastened by the Lord Himself, we must realize that this chastening is done in love to improve us. It also proves that we are His (Hebrews 12:5-7) It is He who has paid the price for our sin. We receive the first love from God and love Him in return.
Throughout history, the Church has tried to express this unfathomable love of God. Many who are far more able than me have tried their best to describe it. The creed says this about the Incarnation: “Who for us, and for our salvation, became man.” The love of God has been expressed in music over the ages. There is the ancient chant “Of the Father’s love begotten.” Charles Wesley says this in his hymn “How Can it Be?” like this: “How can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior’s blood.” The refrain answers: “Amazing love, how can it be, that Thou my God shouldst die for me.” Another song “I Stand Amazed in the Presence” says “How He could love me, a sinner condemned unclean. Another more modern song is titled. "How Deep the Father’s Love for US. It is beyond all measure.
As we come to Christmastide, we are reminded of these words by Charles Wesley in “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” There is a line that says: “Pleased as man with man to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel. This is an act of love. But more could have been said as Jesus is fully God as well as man. The line also could have stated: “Pleased as God with man to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel. The Holy, Holy, Holy God came into our camp as God, the God of whom it is said that He cannot stand the sight of sin. It was more that the greater Moses (Jesus) who came from the Holy Tabernacle to bring God’s word to the world. We think of Jesus’ cry from the cross “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” We have all heard that because Jesus had become sin for us that the Father could not bear to look down His own Son. This is a quote from Psalm 22:1. But what do we do with Psalm 22:24?
Psalm 22:24 NKJV
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.
God never has turned His back upon us. It is we who have turned our back on God because of sin. It was not God who hid from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It was Adam and Eve who hid. They were aware of their sin and could no longer bear to look upon God We must remember that it was God who came seeking them and who promised that the seed of Eve would one day give a death wound to the serpent. I feel that is was when He felt the weight of sin upon Him that the human Jesus may have felt the pain of the separation that sin brings. What we need to understand that not even the stain of our sin and the pain caused to the Father as a result that He did not abandon us. He chastised humankind severely, but He would also send His only-begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. This is the love which came down at Christmas.
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