Bethlehem and Beyond - # 2
The Word Became Flesh
John 1:1-18
December 9, 2001
Introduction
The Creator became a Child.
This is the mystery of Christmas. The fact that the tiny baby of Bethlehem was born of a virgin was astounding enough.
But to realize that this baby wasn’t just any baby, but the almighty Creator is beyond human capability.
God says in Isaiah that His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts than our thoughts.
He can comprehend this, but we can’t. We can only look at the Scriptures and go, “Wow.”
Our inability to fully catch this wonderful truth does not negate the fact that it happened, though, and we need to deal with it as completely as we can.
So in an effort to help that just a bit, I want to examine a passage that helps us to grasp a bit of the theological issues of the Christmas event.
My purpose this morning is to point out a number of facts to help stimulate your thinking about what happened to make Christmas happen.
This will not be an exhaustive treatment of this passage, but I hope it will get the juices flowing in your mind as you pray and seek to know Christ better.
Our passage this morning is John 1:1-18. I would appreciate it if you turned there with me. If you are using one of the Bibles in the seats, our passage is found on page 750.
This passage tells us a bit of what went on from a theological perspective, and I hope that after we get done today you will have a greater appreciation of what Christ did for you and me by coming to earth.
Please follow along as I read.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, `He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ " 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.
From this passage I want to point out three major ideas, each scattered with 3 or 4 related ideas.
The first major idea is that…
I. He brought forth the world.
Look again at verses 1-3:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Then skip down to verse 10:
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
These verses point out the WHO of Christmas – that is, Christ. And from these verses I want to point out just three quick facts, that have enormous implications. The first is that…
Christ is the Eternal God.
I was working on my homework for the philosophy class I am taking for ordination the other day, and in one of the articles on virtuous living, Jesus is mentioned, but as just another “important ancient teacher.”
Well, the author doesn’t claim to be a Christian, so I don’t expect Him to understand, but that does not erase the fact that Christ is infinitely more than an “important ancient teacher.”
He is the Eternal God. Verse 1 can’t make it any more plain. To deny this is to deny one of the very cores of the Christian faith.
Jesus claimed divine authority and power over and over in the gospels as He forgave sins and performed miracles.
Colossians 2:9 says that all the fullness of the Deity dwells in Christ. That’s not just part of the Deity, but all.
He is the eternal God, and I want to read another passage to you as I tell you the next fact,…
He created the world.
This Christ was more than a man, He was the Creator of the world. Please listen to Colossians 1:15-17
COL 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
So this little baby, crying and cold in a manger, needing to be changed and fed, was the almighty Creator of the world. And it was because He was disguised as a meek person that…
The world did not recognize the Creator.
The Israel of Jesus’ day was looking for the Deliverer, but they were looking for someone to come in power to wipe out Roman rule.
They were expecting the Conquering King, not the Suffering Servant described in Isaiah, so they did not recognize the Creator, who came to abolish the power not of Roman rule, but of death and the grave.
But rest assured, when He comes again, it will be in full view of everyone, and it will be obvious that He is the Conquering King, and as the Judge of the earth.
Three facts: Christ is the eternal God, He created the world, and the world did not recognize Him.
The next major idea from this passage is that…
II. He came into the world.
Let’s review verses 10-11:
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
Then verse 14:
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
These verses point out the WHAT of Christmas – that is, the “function” of Christmas, if you will.
I want to point out a few things from these verses. First, the presence of God was now back in the company of man.
Presence of God and the temple vs. the Presence of God in Christ.
Remember way back in the book of Exodus, and the rest of the Law, when the Lord commanded the Israelites to build the tabernacle so they would have a place to worship.
When the tabernacle was finished, God visited the tabernacle with His presence, and He filled the tabernacle with His glory.
In this way, the Israelites could look to the tabernacle as a reminder of God’s presence, as if they needed it, since He was already leading them with His presence in the pillar of fire and smoke.
This time, however, things were different. He wasn’t something contained in a tabernacle or cloud or pillar of fire.
His presence this time was in the form of a man. Philippians 2 tells us that though Christ was in very nature God, He took the form of a servant.
God chose to bring His presence in the form we could most easily identify and relate with: a human.
Here’s the next thought related to the fact that He came into the world…
The Creator invaded His creation.
The Creator took a form that allowed Him to co-mingle with His creation.
Understand that He didn’t have to do that. He could have just let things go as they were, and we would have probably not known any better, until the judgment.
But God decided that we were worth it to Him. So He visited this planet. And the last thought in this section is that…
The Creation rejected the Creator.
We’ve already said that the world did not recognize its Creator, but we find out in the pages of Scripture that ultimately, the world rejected Him as well.
“We don’t need You, Jesus! We have the Law! We have the temple!”
And the cries continue today. “We don’t need You, Jesus! We have knowledge! We have enlightenment! We have science! We have freedom! We have tolerance! We don’t need You telling us that You are the only way to God, if there is one.”
Folks, I am convinced that this breaks the heart of God.
His most beautiful creation calling out in hate to the One who loves them the most.
I am also convinced that the reason people reject the God of Scripture is that if they admit the possibility that God is true, they will be admitting they are responsible to know and obey Him.
It isn’t an issue of truth for many people, it is an issue of the will. They choose to not believe in God so they can avoid being responsible to Him.
By the way, if anyone tells you they would believe in God if He would just show Himself, you can tell them that He did – twice: in the tabernacle, and in Christ, and neither time seemed to cause all creation to worship and believe.
Because as I just said, it is not an issue of belief for many people. It’s an issue of the will.
To refresh our thoughts here, God’s presence came this time through the presence of the Creator, Christ. The Creator invaded His creation, and the creation rejected the Creator.
For our last major point today, I want to look at the fact that…
III. He brought salvation to the world.
Here we have the WHY of Christmas. He came to bring hope and eternal life to a broken world that had rejected Him since the beginning of human history.
Our passage shows us a few facts that we need to grasp about this all-important concept of salvation.
First…
In Him was life, according to verse 4.
Jn. 3:17 tells us that rather than coming with the primary purpose of dooming our world to hell, Christ came to save the world.
He gives eternal life to all who call on Him for it.
Second…
In Him was light, according to verses 4-5.
Jn. 3:19 tells us that Christ came to bring light into the world, but men love darkness instead of light, because their deeds are evil.
But Christ came to shine the light of truth and life.
Third…
Christ came to fulfill the law. Up to the point of Christ, men only had the law to look to if they wanted to please God.
But what many people did not realize was that the Law doesn’t make anybody righteous. It only sheds light on our sin.
Lynne Fuhrman, the administrator of ACHS tells of a man who tried to communicate the concept of the law to a bunch of people in a foreign land.
He came to the meeting that day with a big clod of mud on his face and began to teach. The people listening tried hard to ignore the mud, but finally, they felt compelled to point it out to him.
He then pulled out a hand mirror and examined the clod. After exclaiming that he needed to do something about it, he began to try to clean off the mud with the mirror.
This only served to smear the mud, as you can imagine, and the people began to giggle and point out the futility of what he was doing.
The man used this to make his point. The law is like a mirror. It reveals sin, but it cannot clean sin. We need a Savior to cleanse us from sin.
And that is what Jesus accomplished on this earth, and that is why He came. He came to fulfill the righteous demands of the law.
That’s why John says here that the law came through Moses, grace and truth came through Christ.
And fourth…
He came so we could be born of God.
Why do you think Jesus said we needed to be born again? It’s because our first birth, our physical birth, was tainted with sin.
We were born sinful creatures, who grew up to be real good sinners!
And since our first birth was tainted, we need a second birth. Christ came so we could be born from above, regenerated by the Holy Spirit by faith in the finished work of Christ.
Born again to be children of God Himself. That is pretty amazing, wouldn’t you say?
Conclusion
The Creator became a Child.
And in becoming that child, He set into motion our salvation.
The miracle of Christmas points out two ironies:
First, the Eternal Creator took on a temporary form.
Second, the Creator bought back His creation.
You wouldn’t think that a Creator would have to do that, but He did. Scripture says that He paid for you and me with His own blood.
That’s how special you are to Him. He shed His blood for you, and He would have done it if you were the only person on earth. Because you are worth it to Him.
So if you are here this morning and you haven’t experience that wonderful second birth, to be made a child of God by receiving Christ, you will have the opportunity to do that right now.
I will say a prayer that you can pray along with in your heart, but before I do that I want to explain what I am praying.
You will be admitting your need for forgiveness of your sins, and your desire to turn from them with His help, calling to God for eternal life through Christ, believing that Christ died for you and rose from the grave.
If this is the desire of your heart, then you pray along with me in your heart.
After I am done, I want you to keep your heads bowed and your eyes closed for a couple more moments before Lowell leads us in our closing hymn, okay?
Let’s pray.
