Eternity Stepped Into Time
TCF Sermon
December 5, 2004
sermon was preceded by song “The Final Word,” by Michael Card.
I asked Lisa to sing that Michael Card song this morning, because one of the phrases that often comes to my mind, especially in the Christmas season, is that one little phrase near the end of the song, which says, “Eternity Stepped Into Time, so we could understand.”
It’s a phrase rich in meaning, and the truth of this lyric, the implication of this truth, is critical to our understanding of the gospel.
This message is called Eternity Stepped Into Time. It’s one of those great, foundational doctrines of our faith, that we don’t seem to think about very much.
But if there’s a time to think about it, any Christmas season we’re in would be it.
It’s important to think about, because of the profound and startling implications of this truth: Jesus always was. Though we celebrate His birth at Christmastime, what we’re really celebrating, is His birth into human form...that’s another great doctrine called the Incarnation, which we must reflect on this morning too, in relation to Jesus’ pre-existence.
The Bible teaches us that, though Jesus’ had a human beginning, the person of Jesus Christ does not, like we human beings, have a beginning. Think about this. There was never a time when Jesus didn’t exist. He pre-existed His incarnation. He was before He was born into human form. Think about what it was like before you were born.
Did you ever have one of those sheets for your birthday that says what the world was like the year you were born? I was born in 1956, and I have to say, it was a very good year. There are several others who can attest to how good a year it was.
I know of at least two others who are from that vintage year. Who else here was born in ’56?
1956 First Trans- Atlantic Telephone Cable The first transatlantic telephone cable between Newfoundland and Scotland was completed in 1956. The cable ran 2,250 miles.
NBA: Philadelphia Warriors vs. Ft. Wayne Pistons Series: 4-1
now the Philadelphia team is the 76ers, and the Warriors are in California, while the Pistons are in Detroit
College Football: Oklahoma Record: 10-0-0
Heisman Trophy: Paul Hornung, Notre Dame, QB
World Series: New York Yankees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers Series: 4-3
Top Songs of 1956
1."Memories Are Made of This" ... Dean Martin
5."Heartbreak Hotel" ... Elvis Presley
9."Don’t Be Cruel/Hound Dog" ... Elvis Presley
10."Love Me Tender" ... Elvis Presley
Most Popular Television Shows
1. I Love Lucy (CBS)
2. The Ed Sullivan Show (CBS)
3. General Electric Theater (CBS)
4. The $64,000 Question (CBS)
5. December Bride (CBS) – a 50s version of a reality show before they were popular.
6. Alfred Hitchcock Presents (CBS)
7. I’ve Got a Secret (CBS)
8. Gunsmoke (CBS)
9. The Perry Como Show (NBC)
10. The Jack Benny Show (CBS)
Now, it’s interesting to us to consider what the world was like before we were born, or in this case, the year we were born. That’s because we didn’t exist before we were conceived. It helps us consider the time we can’t remember without this kind of help.
Jesus didn’t need a list like we just read. Jesus not only existed before he was conceived by the agency of the Holy Spirit, as a human being inside the womb of the virgin Mary, but he existed before Mary, His earthly mother, even existed herself. In fact, He was her creator.
We celebrate his birth into the world at Christmastime, but it’s only His human birth we celebrate. In a very real sense, Jesus doesn’t have a “birthday” like we do ...and yet, He does have a human birthday.
In His essence as God, He never had a beginning.
Even a traditional scripture we hear at Christmas time speaks of this great truth.
Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
Usually, when we hear this scripture, we marvel at the prophecy of Micah, who predicted where Jesus would be born, hundreds of years before His birth. What’s more, he predicted the genealogy of His birth, the promised King of Kings would be from David’s line.
But let’s notice what else Micah says about this coming King, this ruler anticipated by Israel. Micah says that His origins are from “of old,” from ancient times. The Hebrew here is literally, “days of immeasurable time.” This is a clear indication that Jesus always was, and existed before He was born.
This morning, we’re going to look at a couple of things. We’re going to consider just a few of the many passages of scripture that confirm this great truth of our faith. In fact, there are many passages we won’t examine this morning which also proclaim this wonderful truth. Micah just begins to look at this. And we’re also going to try to see why this is important to our faith.
But before that, and as a way of beginning to understand why this doctrine is important, I want to take a slight detour. Some might think that a sermon examining doctrine is dry and boring. More than that, they might think that doctrine isn’t as important as something you can apply directly to your life situation.
You might think, you want something that will help you with your marriage, with your other relationships, with your children, with your work, with your finances, with direction and purpose in your life. And those things are all important. And I believe scripture has much to say about all those things.
But consider this...the cement slab your house sits on may be boring, too. It’s basically a small parking lot with a house on it. How boring is that?
The cement slab may not be as exciting as the kitchen cabinets, the wood paneling, the decorative moldings, ceiling fixtures, the carpet, the appliances you build on top of it.
But, without that boring cement slab, you cannot build anything that will last. Without that foundation, none of these more interesting, more exciting, seemingly more useful things can even stand at all. It’s like the man who built his house on the rock, versus the man who built his house on the sand.
Those beautiful kitchen cabinets sink in the sand, and they wash away, without the boring old cement slab. The beautiful walls, the nice staircase, crack and crumble without that boring old cement slab.
We need to develop an appreciation for the foundational truths, the doctrines of our faith, because without them, none of the seemingly more interesting, more exciting things, the more applicable things, of our Christian lives, can stand at all... none of them will last without this foundation to stand on.
We cannot apply our Christian faith to improved relationships in our lives, without the foundational truths of our faith, to hold up those other things. So, remember that as we move forward this morning. What we’re looking at is an essential part of the whole building. The whole building of our faith life, that God wants to build in us.
In the gospel of John, there’s no account at all of the birth of Jesus. John, rather,
preferred to overlook this part of the gospel story, and go back to, as we’ve noted, the foundational truth that makes the birth of Jesus even more amazing than it seems on the surface.
A baby born to a virgin is pretty amazing. But who this baby was, and is, His pre-existence, as the maker of His own mother, is more amazing still.
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
As far back as man can think...to the beginning of time as we know it...the Word, Jesus, was already there. How do we know the Word referred to in John 1 is Jesus?
John 1:14 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.
It’s very clear John is referring, throughout John chapter 1, to none other than Jesus Christ. The same ruler Micah prophesied would be born in Bethlehem. The same one who is “from of old, from ancient times.” And John just confirms this.
As far back as the beginning of time, and before that, the Word already existed. John tells us that Jesus, the living Word, has always been in a relationship with God the Father.
Jesus did not at some point come into existence, He did not at some point in time begin a relationship with God the Father. In eternity past, before the beginning of time as we know it, the Father and the Son have always had a relationship.
vs 2 says: He, the Word, was with God in the beginning.
That’s our understanding of beginning, not His....because God didn’t have a beginning.
Remember a moment ago how we looked at doctrine, and how it’s such an important foundation to what we might see as the more practical or useful things of our faith?
Jesus taught us to love one another, didn’t He? Immensely practical – loving one another.
That’s something you can apply to your wife...or your life...
Jesus said He’ll never leave us or forsake us... also immensely practical – it brings comfort, strength and courage to know that, doesn’t it?
Jesus said, abide in me and you’ll bear fruit...there are many practical applications to this. If we live in Him, He’ll use us.
Jesus taught us about having faith in Him. Faith is very practical – we can apply it to so many situations in our lives. But here’s what we need to see this morning, as we look at the pre-existent Jesus, who was there, not just at the beginning of time, but before the beginning of time as we know it.
The things He taught us, and we just mentioned a few of the many things He taught, and what He did, the miracles He performed, His suffering and death for our sins, are absolutely inseparable from who He is.
The practical applications of faith mean nothing, without a clear understanding of just who it is we have faith in. John shows us here that Jesus is not only the Word made flesh (vs 14), making Him fully human, but that He’s also fully and completely God, in the flesh.
Life Application comments:
“Although Jesus took upon himself full humanity and lived as a man, he never ceased to be the eternal God who has always existed, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and the source of eternal life. This is the truth about Jesus, and the foundation of all truth. If we cannot or do not believe this basic truth, we will not have enough faith to trust our eternal destiny to him. That is why John wrote this Gospel—to build faith and confidence in Jesus Christ so that we may believe that he truly was and is the Son of God (John 20:30-31).”
When we look at verse 2 of John 1: “2He was with God in the beginning”
we see that Jesus did not become a person for the first time on that Christmas night, when He was born in Bethlehem. He became human, but it wasn’t the beginning of His personhood. Also, He did not somehow become a god, little g, after His resurrection, as some teach today.
He, Jesus, the Word, is God, from all eternity – eternity past - from of old, as Micah said.
Let’s take a moment to look at some other passages from the book of John.
John 8:58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"
Now, the Jewish reader would understand this as a clear declaration that Jesus was declaring Himself to be God.
I remember having a conversation once with a person who grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness. This person told me that Jesus never said He was God. While it’s true Jesus never used those precise words, the passages of scripture this morning not only direct us to look at the truth that Jesus always existed.... but they also inevitably point to the truth that Jesus is God.
When Moses asked God His name, He responded the way Jesus did here.
Exodus 3:14 God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ’I AM has sent me to you.’ "
It’s the ultimate declaration of self-existence. Jesus repetition of this, His declaration of Himself as the great I AM, is one of the most incredible, powerful,
important statements in any of the gospels.
Not only was Jesus saying that He existed before Abraham was born, but he was clearly, undeniably, claiming His divinity. He applied God’s holy name, the name He used in speaking to Moses, to Himself.
If there’s any doubt in your minds how the Jewish leaders Jesus was speaking with understood this, look at the verse following:
John 8:59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
What Jesus was saying that day was,
“I am,” meaning, I have always been – I’ve always existed.
To the Jews, that was blasphemy, worthy of stoning to death, because only God has always existed.
Let’s look next at John 12:41.
Here, we see John quoting the prophet Isaiah...and in the context of our look at scripture this morning regarding the pre-existent Christ, I want you to notice something.
John says that Isaiah saw Jesus’ glory. Now, you may remember when Isaiah saw God’s glory, in chapter 6, that’s what John is referring to here.
Isaiah 6:1-5 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
jumping down to verse 5
5"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
When we read the gospel of John, we see that the King whom Isaiah saw, the Lord Almighty he saw, was Jesus – the pre-incarnate living Word of God. John says that Isaiah saw Jesus, centuries before Jesus was born.
John 12:41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.
Now, we must remember that God is one God in three persons, that’s another related doctrine called the Trinity, which we don’t have time to address adequately this morning.
But, the glory Isaiah saw, that caused him to fall down and say “I am ruined, I’m a man of unclean lips...clearly included the glory of the pre-incarnate Jesus, whether it was Jesus, exclusive of the other members of the Holy Trinity, we can’t say for sure.
Now, with this, there’s scholarly speculation that many of the visions of God in the Old Testament what scholars call “theophanies,” or visible appearances of God, were actually what they call “Christophanies,” or visible appearances of Jesus.
We could cite many additional examples from the Old Testament, but whether you believe some, or all of these theophanies were actually the pre-incarnate Jesus, this passage from John makes it clear:
Isaiah saw Jesus before Jesus was born.
The next passage of scripture I’d like to spend a few minutes looking at is
John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
This is a part of what is often referred to as Jesus’ high priestly prayer, His prayer to His heavenly Father in advance of His suffering, death and resurrection.
Here’s Jesus, anticipating these events. Expecting His return to the glory He had with His heavenly Father, before the incarnation... before His life on earth as a man. It tells us something of what Jesus set aside to come to make His dwelling among us.
It tells us He was in the presence of God the Father. It tells us He was glorified. It tells us this was His state before the world began. Did He begin in Bethlehem? Did He become the son of God, or was He always the son of God? This verse makes it absolutely clear.
Before the world began – in eternity past, Jesus existed. He was in glory we cannot even imagine. And He gave it up for 33 years, to live among us, to suffer,
to die, for the forgiveness of our sins, and then rise again to return to His glory.
Jesus, in His prayer here, is saying: “God, restore us to the glorified relationship we had before I came to earth, before I stepped out of eternity, into time.”
William McDonald wrote of this passage:
“Before Christ came into the world, He dwelt in heaven with the Father. When the angels looked upon the Lord, they saw all the glory of Deity. To every eye, He was obviously God. But when He came among men, the glory of Deity was veiled. Though He was still God, it was not apparent to most onlookers. They saw Him merely as the carpenter’s Son. Here, the Savior is praying that the visible manifestation of His glory in heaven might be restored. The words “glorify Me together with Yourself” mean “glorify Me in Your presence in heaven. Let the original glory which I shared with You before My Incarnation be resumed.” This clearly teaches the pre-existence of Christ”
Before we prepare to sum this up, let’s look at one more verse from John. It’s in the same chapter, 17, as the verse we just reviewed.
John 17:24 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
This is an important passage in relation to the pre-existent Christ, because it reveals in a new way His heart for you and me. Jesus could have stopped at verse 5, which we just read. He could have said, OK Father, I’m ready to be restored to my rightful place, I’m ready to leave this place where my glory is veiled. I’m ready to come home.
He could have left it at that. But He didn’t. This verse shows us quite clearly that He doesn’t want to spend the rest of forever without His people. He wants to have His people with Him in glory.
Think about this. Every time a believer in our Lord Jesus Christ dies, it is an answer to this prayer. Because every time a believer dies, this believer is immediately with Jesus in His glory, just as He prayed here.
Because Jesus chose to love us by becoming flesh, taking on humanity, suffering and dying for our sins, and being raised from the dead, we, too, can be with Him, be with Him in the same glory He had before the foundation of the world. When it was just Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Why is all this important? I believe the understanding that Jesus is eternal, and that He stepped into time, so we could understand God’s love for us, also shows us why He is worthy of our worship....why He should be the center of our lives, why He is worthy of our wholehearted devotion.
Titus 1:2 says we have a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God promised before the beginning of time.
2 Tim 1:9 says His saving grace was given us in Christ Jesus ...when.....before the beginning of time.
After creation, God worked Himself, through Jesus, into time and communicated knowledge to those of us in time. Before time began... the Father loved the Son, there was a plan, there was communication, and promises were made about our redemption before we even needed redeeming.
These are marvelous truths to ponder any time of year, and maybe especially this time of year, when we remember the human birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Praise God for Christmas.
Praise Him for the incarnation,
for the word made flesh.
I will not sing of shepherds
watching flocks on frosty nights,
or angel choristers.
I will not sing of a stable bare in Bethlehem,
or lowing oxen,
wise men trailing star with gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
Tonight I will sing praise to the Father
who stood on heaven’s threshold
and said farewell to his Son
as he stepped across the stars
to Bethlehem and Jerusalem.
And I will sing praise to the infinite, eternal Son,
who became most finite, a baby
who would one day be executed for my crime.
Praise him in the heavens,
Praise him in the stable,
Praise him in my heart. Joseph Bayly.
