Introduction
One of the biggest hit singles of the 1990’s was a song by Joan Osborne called “One of Us.” The song earned 7 Grammy Award nominations. It’s a song of spiritual questioning and about conceiving of God in a modern age. The chorus says, “What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us? Just a stranger on a bus, trying to make his way home.” It was reported that when the song first began playing, radio stations where inundated with calls from listeners who were enamored by the idea that God would become one of us. That God would actually show up on our planet dressed in the frail clothing of our humanity. The full words of that song may seem irreverent and certainly the lyrics lack theological precision but they do capture in a secular hit, the heart of Christmas and the heart of the Gospel.
This morning we are going to examine the Christmas story. Not from the earthly perspective of Matthew or Luke’s Gospel but from the Heavenly perspective of the Gospel of John. In John chapter 1, verses 1-18 we find a poetic description of what Christmas is all about. It is an explanation of God becoming a man. Theologians call it the incarnation.
Proposition: This morning we’ll discuss six observations from this passage and discover how these truths can transform our lives, not just at Christmas, but every day that we live.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, this morning we look back to the miracle of Christ’s coming. That you so loved us that you sent your only begotten Son into the world to redeem us. Let us never lose the wonder of your love for lost, wayward and God-rejecting people. A love that was so great that you came to earth in Christ, to walk among us, to die in our place, so that we could be in an eternal relationship with you. Enable the truth of the incarnation change us today. In Jesus name we ask this. Amen.
Body
Let’s look at John chapter one, beginning with the first verse. John 1:1-2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”
First Compliment: The first observation we can make from this passage is that the Word is God. To the Jewish mind a word was far more than a sound. A word was something which had an active and independent existence and which actually went out from its speaker to do things. It was fearfully alive and as real and deadly as a bullet. This concept is seen in Isaiah 55:11. God says, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” You could see it as His Word being sent out on a mission and then coming back when it is completed to say, “mission accomplished.” A word almost had a life and identity of its own.
The Old Testament Scripture was primarily written in the Hebrew language. Yet, the ordinary people of Jesus’ day spoke a development of Hebrew called Aramaic. When they translated the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic, the copies were called Targums. The translators of the Targums were fascinated by the transcendence of God. God was very above and far apart from man. As such they did not like to speak of God using human terms. In the Targum they would often translate the name of God as “The Word of God.” For instance Deuteronomy 9:3 says that God is a consuming fire, but the Targums translate that the Word of God is a consuming fire. They did this to avoid attributing human thoughts and actions to God. As such, Word of God became a common form of Jewish expression. The Word of God became synonymous with God Himself.
John picks up on this understanding when He writes “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” When the Biblically literate reader hears the phrase “In the beginning,” his mind jumps back to Genesis 1:1 where, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” From the beginning of our universe, the very beginning of time, when the beginning began, the Word already was. There is but one God. He is One in substance but three in person. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In this passage the Son is referred to as the Word. Verse two tells us the Word “was in the beginning with God.” Literally it could be translated, “He was face to face with God.” The Father has always been in Divine loving relationship with the Son and the Son and the Father with the Spirit.
Application: What that means to you is that Jesus is God and deserves your worship. In the twentieth chapter of John, Thomas finally realizes who Jesus is and when he does he declares, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28). Jesus isn’t just a good man or a good teacher or a representative for God. Jesus Christ is the second member of the Triune Godhead, and He deserves our worship. Let’s take a minute and do that right now. (As a congregation, take time to allow people to express their worship to Jesus Christ)
Transition: From John 1 we see that the Word is God. From that we have learned Jesus is God and deserves our worship. Let’s worship Him in everything we do.
Second Compliment: The second observation we can make from this passage is that - the Word made all things. John 1:3 says, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” John is saying that the uncreated Word created all things. In Colossian 1:16 Paul is writing about the pre-eminence of Christ and says, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” In examining the operation of the Trinity it could be deduced that typically the Father is the planner, the Son is the doer and the Holy Spirit is the revealer. An example is in redemption. The Father planned our redemption, the Son accomplished it, and the Holy Spirit has revealed it to us. Here in creation the Father planned creation, the Son actually created all things, and the Spirit revealed it. All of the Trinity was involved in creation but the New Testament attributes the direct act of creation to the Son.
Application: In America we have patent and copyright laws so that whatever we create we have the rights to. Jesus created you and has a right to your life. You really can’t say, “I’ll live life however I want to.” Your life is not your own, you were created and redeemed by Jesus Christ. He has absolute right to your life. As such our response should be to lay down all our own rights. We should say, “Jesus have your way in my life, I am here to do your will.” Right now let’s take time to tell the Lord that. If you agree, I’d like you in your mind to join with me and let’s pray together. “Lord, you are my creator and my owner. I submit my hopes, dreams, plans, time, talents, possessions and my very will to you. I will to do your will. Have your way with my life.”
Transition: From John chapter 1 we see that the Word made all things. Jesus created you and has the right to your life. Live your life for his purpose and His glory.
Third Compliment: The third observation we can make from this passage is that – the word is life. John 1:4a “In Him was life.” That life is eternal life. All spirit beings live forever, so this is not referring to the duration of life but a quality of life. This life is the kind of life God lives. It is found in the Word, Jesus Christ. When you look at the life of Jesus Christ you see how life was to be lived. Jesus lived life to the fullest. In John 10:10 Jesus announced, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Jesus came to give us that life and showed us in His life how to experience it. You could say that Jesus showed us what man was always meant to be. He was submitted to the Father, he fully loved his Father and genuinely loved people. In fact, that’s what heaven is going to be about. Being submitted to God, loving God, and living in a loving community of others who submit to and love God.
Application: In this verse we see that Jesus is life and he makes your life worth living. A self-focused, self-centered life, that is all about making yourself happy is not a life worth living. A life worth living has God at the center. It is a life submitted to God. A life worth living is focused on glorifying God, loving God and loving people. Make a decision today not to live a life that is all about you. Life is not about you. It is about God and others.
Transition: The Word is life. In Jesus we find life. Jesus came to show us what true life was really like. In the life of Jesus we see how to have a life worthy living.
Fourth Compliment: The fourth observation we can make from this passage is that the Word is light. John 1:4b-5 “…and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” We see this light in creation. In Genesis the earth is in chaos and darkness until God says, “Let there be light.” The world apart from Christ is in chaos and darkness. It is difficult to find your way around when you are in the dark. Have you ever tried to walk through a strange room in the darkness? I have vivid memories of this shortly after Kelly and I had moved into a new house. There was stuff all over the floors. I heard her get up in the night and try to make it to the bathroom. As she did, I heard her groping around and bumping into things, making horrible groaning sounds until she could get to a source of light so that she could see to find her way around. That is a pretty good picture of us apart from Christ. We try to navigate through life attempting to find what will make us happy and what will satisfy our deepest needs. We may try drugs, sex, recreation, achievements, or religion. We bump into one thing after another, groaning from the pain of disappointment, until we can find the light. When Jesus came he declared, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). If you will follow Jesus, you will avoid the pitfalls and traps of life. You won’t run into dead ends in your pursuit of fullness. The problem is that as a whole the human race has failed to see that Christ’s way to live is the right way to live. Wherever the Gospel of Christ has gone it has brought light into darkness. When mankind rejects the light, or turn from it, darkness begins to prevail.
Look at John 1:6-9 “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.” John’s whole purpose was to point to Jesus. We are not to make disciples to ourselves because we aren’t their answer. Jesus is going to be the source for what they are looking for. Any time someone’s ministry draws attention to itself and away from Christ, it’s missed its purpose. Like the moon has no light of its own but reflects the sun, we have no light on our own but we are to reflect the Son of God. Jesus said he was the light of the world but later says that we are to be the light of the world. Our light is to be a reflection of him and help point people to him. The only way we can do that is if we follow him with all of our hearts.
Application: Jesus is light and you must follow Him. Apart from God’s way you are always going to be groping in the darkness. Anytime in your life when you abandoned Christ’s way of living you are going to experience the confusion and dangers of darkness. Make a decision today to follow Jesus. Obey His word, follow His divine prompting, and walk in the light. The live a life that reflects enough of his light that it will direct others to him.
Transition: The Word is light. Jesus is the light of the world and the one to follow.
Fifth Compliment: The fifth observation we can make from this passage is that the Word makes an impact when it is received. John 1:10-13 “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” When God came into the world in the person of Christ, mankind didn’t recognize him. He just looked like any other man. He came first to the Jewish people, God’s people of the Old Testament. Because of Old Testament Scripture they should have recognize him better than anyone, but they did not receive him. As a whole the Jewish nation rejected Jesus. In a few weeks people all over the world will be celebrating Christmas without honoring the Christ it is all about. The vast majority of people in the world have rejected Him. In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” There are far more people who have rejected God come in the flesh than have received him. But those who do receive Him (Jews or Gentiles) are given the right to become the children of God. There is a philosophy that teaches the universal Fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. That there is one God but many paths that lead to God. That is not what Jesus told us. In John 14:6 Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Only when you receive Jesus do you have the right to be a child of God. It didn’t come by the flesh. You can’t work for, earn it, or deserve it. It comes by faith in Christ and it is a miracle of God. You can be born again and adopted into the family of God.
Application: The Word must be received. Jesus is eternal life and you must receive Him to obtain it. It’s not enough to simply believe in God or to believe in a man of history named Jesus. You must receive Him as your Lord and Savior. You can’t save yourself. You can make yourself good enough for God. Have you received Jesus Christ as God and as your personal Lord and Savior? If you have, you are now part of God’s very own family. If not, you’ll have a chance to before this service is over.
Transition: Jesus Christ is eternal life and you must receive him to obtain it.
Sixth Compliment: The sixth observation we can make from this passage is that the Word is Jesus. John 1:14-18 “And the Word became 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. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, ’He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’" And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” We won’t have time this morning to go through a thorough explanation of these verses but it is important that we understand basically what they are saying. We are told that when Jesus came, He came to show us what God was like. The Word, the message from God, is Jesus. Moses gave the law. It helped man to see the character of God but there is no way that the full grace and truth of God could be revealed through the law. No one had ever seen God. Man was afraid of God. God was so distant, so awesome, that man could not really comprehend him. As such, God took on humanity to show us what he was like. This is God’s ultimate self-expression. In Jesus the invisible, all-powerful, distant God became touchable. The awesome glory of God became resident in a person. This was not God wearing a disguise. Rather he actually took on our humanity. He suffered hunger, pain, weariness, rejection and everything that is part of being human. God become one of us. Grace and truth now was embodied in a person. If man wants to see what God is like, He only needs to look at Jesus. He found God was not a tight fisted, mean, killjoy. Rather God was loving, and compassionate, and merciful, and generous, angry at sin, and absolutely head over heals in love with mankind. So much so that he healed, and delivered, and taught, and even sacrificed his own life for the human beings he had created.
Illustration: Soren Kierkegaard, the great Danish theologian of the 18th century, tells the story of a prince who was running an errand for his father one day in the local village. As he did so, he passed through a very poor section of the town. Looking through the window of his carriage, he saw a beautiful young peasant girl walking along the street. He could not get her off his mind. He continued to come to the town, day after day, just to see her and to feel as though he was near her. His heart yearned for her, but there was a problem. How could he develop a relationship with her? He could order her to marry him. It was in his power to do so. But he wanted this girl to love him from the heart, willingly. He could put on his royal garments and impress her with his regal entourage, and drive up to her front door with soldiers and a carriage drawn by six horses. But if he did this he would never be certain that the girl loved him or was simply overwhelmed with his power, position and wealth. The prince came up with another solution. As you may have guessed, he gave up his kingly robe and symbols of power and privilege. He moved into the village dressed only as a peasant. He lived among the people, shared their interests and concerns, and talked their language. In time, the young peasant girl grew to know him, and then to love him. This is what Jesus has done for us. The Word became flesh. The King of heaven put aside his heavenly robes and divine prerogatives. He came to us as one of us. He lived among us; ate with us; drank with us; felt with us — all to win our love. He could have forced us. He could have overwhelmed us, but he chose to romance us.
Application: Jesus is God. As such he shows you what God is like. That God is in love with you. Don’t confuse God with mean, ruthless, stingy, and cruel religious people. God isn’t at all like that. He is the one we see in Jesus. He is someone who has time for little children and grieving widows. He is the one not afraid to touch a leper. Today you could say He is the God unafraid to touch a hurting AIDS patient. He loves and wants to help hurting, broken, and lost people. Someone will to lay his life down for yours. That is God. The God you always wanted to believe in. He has been revealed in Jesus. Dare to believe it. Dare to experience Him through Christ.
Conclusion
This morning I’ve made six observations from the prologue to John’s Gospel and we’ve seen how it applies to our lives. First, we’ve learned that Jesus is God and deserves our worship. So let’s worship him. Second, he created us and has a right to our lives. So let’s give our lives to him. Third, he makes our life worth living, so we need to get our focus off of our selves and realize it’s really about God. Fourth, he provides light in our darkness, so we need to follow him. Fifth, Jesus offers us eternal life but we must receive Him to have it. Finally, Jesus reveals to us who God really is. Now that we know, let’s develop a vital relationship with Him. This isn’t just a Christmas message, it is a message that should shape every day of our lives.
Concluding Story
When the church youth program put on their Christmas program everyone had a part accept a sweet big hearted but mentally challenged young man. Finally, he too was cast as the Inn Keeper. He had only one line. When Mary and Joseph asked for a place to stay, he was to hold out his hand in a "no" position and respond, "no room." He practiced his line hard and was prepared to deliver it. When Joseph requested a room, he delivered his line perfectly, "no room." Again Joseph requested the room for the sake of his pregnant wife and the inn keeper again said, "no room." Joseph then waxed dramatic and got on one knee to beg for a room. But again the Inn Keeper replied sternly, "no room.’ As Mary and Joseph got up and walked dejectedly away the Inn Keeper cried out, "Ah, come back, you can have my room." They say it was the best Christmas program they ever had.
When there was no room for us in the presence of God – Jesus said you can have my room – and he made a way by becoming one of us and make a way to God through His cross.
Prayer and Public Invitation
“Heavenly Father, we are profoundly thankful that you came in the flesh through your Son Jesus to redeem us to yourself. Today we acknowledge the deity of Christ and make a decision to glorify Him in our lives. We recognize that He is our creator and we submit our lives to Him. Thank you that He came to bring us abundant life and bring his glorious light into a dark world. We know that the only way we can enter into that life is by receiving Christ as our Lord and savior. But we have seen that you are a good God who we really want to come to know. You demonstrated that through Jesus. This morning I pray for those here who have never received Christ or who are away from you. I pray that the Holy Spirit will show them how much you love them and how you long to have a vital relationship with them."
