The Reveal-Ation Of Jesus

“The Reveal-ation of Jesus”

John 1:14-18

John 1:14-18 (ESV)

“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.”

Windows are an important part of a building:

? They allow the occupant to see

? what is going on in the world around them and

? it allows the world to peek in on and see what the occupant is doing.

Businesses understand the importance of windows because:

? it allows them to entice potential shoppers

? to come into their store and shop.

A storeowner will spend a lot of time:

? making sure that their main window

? looks appealing to people passing by.

A window allows the chance to stop and look in and see what is there.

Throughout time man has sought ways:

? to see God or to make a connection with Him.

? Throughout time man tried all sorts of ways to do it.

Throughout history….

God has reached out to man because He loved man:

? God created Adam and Eve, and

? communicated with them and walked with them,

? then they sinned, they hid from God and

? God caste them out of the garden.

God revealed a bit of Himself:

- through Moses and the 10 Commandments.

- He spoke through Moses and the Prophets

- He gave men visions

During Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’s time:

? God communicated with man through these men.

? Now God reveals Himself to us through Jesus

? God has habitually reached His hand of peace towards mankind

Hebrews 1:1-3 (ESV)

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

God has spoken to us through Jesus:

- who is the created and sustains all things

I like how the NIV translations states John 1:3:

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being,”

Mankind has longed to see God and connect with Him

Pascal describes man’s hunger for God:

- as a craving and a helplessness

- that can only be satisfied by God

Rather than fill that God shaped hole with God:

- men fill it with all things that do not satisfy or help

- leaving them desperate for God

Yet God is not far from any of us…

Today we are going to see that Jesus is the window to God:

? Though Jesus we can see the glory of God,

? through the window of Jesus we can see grace and truth in full and

? we can see the very essence of God through Jesus.

Through Jesus you will be able to see God and connect with Him.

1. The Incarnation of the Word

“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.”

- John 1:14

Incarnation is a:

? central doctrine in the Christian faith:

? that states that God became human

? in the form of Jesus Christ.

The word "incarnation" comes from:

? the Latin word caro, which means "flesh".

? God became flesh or incarnate in Christ,

? Christ was both fully human and fully divine at the same time.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 (NLT) could not be clearer:

“5 For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone.”

To this day there are thriving cults:

- who believe that Jesus is one of many gods

- Jesus is god and we can become gods too

- Jesus is the archangel Michael

- that Mary has special access to God for salvation

- Jesus is a prophet, teacher, but not God

The identity of Jesus matters: