Immanuel

Instead of Puma it’s Coma

Have you ever had one of these? Xboy video game system

Hike instead of Nike

No Balance - New Balance

One of my favorites

Mike instead of Nike

and the absolute disgrace among fake brands

Foreo!

Some products you might be able to tell the difference in and others you may not.

It can be fun when you score the real deal and not just a fake.

I once owned a real genuine pair of Oakley sunglasses. My sister worked at an eyeglass store and she got a discount so she helped me get a pair of Oakleys. The real Oakleys were very comfortable compared to the Foakleys I always had growing up.

Today, we are one week away from Christmas.

This is a time where we as a church reflect on the birth of Christ and what it means for us.

Last week we looked at the doctrine of the Virgin birth and how this is essential to our faith as Christ followers. Christ was not created by Joseph and Mary having relations but that Jesus has always existed and is eternal God, born of a virgin.

I want us to look at another doctrine centered around the birth of Christ, Incarnation.

Incarnation: comes from the Latin word (in carne) and means in flesh.

Incarnation says that Jesus being fully God came down and was fully man.

History does not argue that Jesus existed. Our Calendar is centered around the life of Jesus.

People who don’t believe Jesus was fully God will tell you that he existed.

The question is not did Jesus exist but rather the question is Jesus really Lord?

Many have tried to teach against the truth that Jesus is Lord

The first group to challenge the traditional doctrine of the incarnation was the Gnostics, who in the 2nd century denied that Jesus was truly human. Their Greek belief that the physical creation was evil led them to deny the incarnation. They believed Christ to be a quasi-spiritual being who merely appeared human.

Arianism held that the incarnation was total, so that Christ the “Logos” was no longer fully God. At the same time he was not fully human, so Christ was someone between two natures

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Historical Development > Incarnation

In the 8th century, Spain and France were centers of the “adoptionist” controversy. Adoptionism taught that at birth Jesus was human, but at his baptism he underwent a “second birth” and was “adopted” as Son of God.

You can see that throughout history and still today many have asked the question is Jesus the real Messiah or is he just a fake.

I would say that we are living in a time more than ever before in my life time where the truth about Jesus is being squelched so that it is assumed that Jesus is a fake and he must be proved.

1 John 4:1–3 HCSB

1 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to determine if they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God. 3 But every spirit who does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist; you have heard that he is coming, and he is already in the world now.

Test the Spirits

This is how you know

Every Spirit who confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God

This evidence that they are not

Every Spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.

Jews believe that Jesus is not the Messiah and they are waiting for the Messiah to come.

JeHovah’s witness believe Jesus was one of God’s son just like you and I and he was not God in the flesh.

Islam recognizes Jesus to be a prophet and that he was not God incarnate or in the flesh.

I have asked Colten to come help me this morning.

I was picking the kids up from school the other day and I was listening to Colten and Lukas. Pokemon cards have been all the rage for our kids. Lukas had just made a trade that day at school. Colten was telling Lukas how to tell if a Pokemon is real or a fake. Colten share with everyone here this morning what are some ways you can tell if a Pokemon card is real or fake.

(Colten has a mic)

I like this because of the detail it takes to expose a fake or to see if it is real.

John says test the Spirits

See if the Spirits are from God or not

You can tell they are from God if they confess that Jesus has come in the flesh.

Scripture is flooded with the Incarnation of Jesus. I would encourage you to dig deeper into this doctrine.

1 John 1:1 HCSB

1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life—

Word of life

Scholars go back and forth on the meaning of this phrase Word of life.

Two options

1.) Word is the same has John 1:1

John 1:1 HCSB

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

This clearly speaks of Jesus as the Word

2.) Word of life means the message of the Gospel(John 3:16)

John 3:16 HCSB

16 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

Scholars believe that this is what is meant here in 1 John 1:1

1 John 1:1 HCSB

1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life—

Concerning The message of the Gospel he writes we have

heard it

seen it with our eyes

we have observed

touched with our hands

1 John 1:2 HCSB

2 that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us —

The message of the Gospel was revealed. How was it revealed?

It is revealed through Jesus coming as fully God and becoming fully man.

Jesus being the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, defeating death and raising again.

Jesus came to us and was revealed

We have seen it

We testify

We declare

Eternal life that was with the Father(Jesus has always existed) and was revealed to us (God incarnate) (Immanuel: God with us)

John says we have seen it, We testify and we declare to you. We have heard, seen with our eyes, We have observed and touched with our hands this eternal life that is Jesus.

Think about the joy that comes when you get the real deal.

I know some in this room might have been able to purchase a real name brand purse at our thrift store. You didn’t proclaim it from the mountain top but I bet you told some of your friends look at my name brand purse I found at the thrift store and its real and not a knock off.

I see this same excitement in John’s letter here. We testify and we declare to you that we have seen eternal life. Jesus came in the flesh and was revealed to us.

1 John 1:3 HCSB

3 what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may have fellowship along with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

What we have seen and heard we also declare to you

John desires his readers to enjoy ‘the same advantageous position which he himself and his fellow-apostles enjoyed.

The reason he declares the message of Eternal life is for two purposes

Fellowship and Joy

Fellowship koinōnia:

Reconciliation to God in Christ

The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary d. The Communal Fellowship

‘Fellowship’ is a specifically Christian word and denotes that common participation in the grace of God, the salvation of Christ and the indwelling Spirit which is the spiritual birthright of all believers. It is our common possession of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which makes us one.

Fellowship with each other

It is the message of Eternal life that draws us to fellowship with each other. In this room there are so many different likes and dislikes, but what draws us together is Jesus

The Letters of John: An Introduction and Commentary d. The Communal Fellowship

We cannot be content with an evangelism which does not lead to the drawing of converts into the church, nor with a church life whose principle of cohesion is a superficial social camaraderie instead of a spiritual fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:4 HCSB

4 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Jesus came in the flesh, God incarnate. Eternal life is in Him. In his coming, we have the opportunity for fellowship with God and with one another. The result of this is joy. The ultimate fulfillment of Joy happens when Jesus redeems all things in New Jerusalem.

As man he was baptized, but he absolved sins as God: he needed

no purifying rites himself-_his purpose was to hallow water. As

man he was put to the test, but as God he came through

victorious-yes, bids us be of good cheer, because he has

conquered the world. He hungered-yet he fed thousands. He is

indeed living, heavenly bread.' He thirsted-yet he exclaimed:

Whosoever thirsts, let him come to me and drink.' Indeed, he

promised that believers would become fountains.

He was tired-yet he is the 'rest* of the weary and the burdened. He

was overcome by heavy sleep-yet he goes lightly over the sea,

rebukes winds, and relieves the drowning Peter. He pays tax-yet

uses a fish to do it: indeed, he is emperor over those who demand

the tax. He is called a "Samaritan, demonically possessed'-but he

rescues the man who came down from Jerusalem and fell among

thieves. Yes, he is recognized by demons, drives out demons,

drowns deep a legion of spirits, and sees the prince of demons

falling like lightning. He is stoned, yet not hit; he prays, yet he

hears prayer. He weeps, yet he puts an end to weeping. He asks

where Lazarus is laid he was man; yet he raises Lazarus he was

God.

He is sold, and cheap was the price-thirty pieces of silver; yet he

buys back the world at the mighty cost of his own blood. A sheep,

he is led to the slaughter-yet he shepherds Israel and now the

whole world as well. A lamb, he is dumb-yet he is *Word.

proclaimed by "the voice of one crying in the wilderness. He is

weakened, wounded-yet he cures every disease and every

weakness. He is brought up to the tree and nailed to it-yet by the

tree of life he restores us. Yes, he saves even a thief crucified with

him; he wraps all the visible world in darkness. He is given

vinegar to drink, gall to eat-and who is he? Why, one who turned

water into wine, who took away the taste of bitterness, who is all

sweetness and desire. He surrenders his life, yet he has power to

take it again. Yes, the veil is rent, for things of heaven are being

revealed, rocks split, and dead men have an earlier awakening. He

dies, but he brings to life and by death destroys death. He is

buried, yet he rises again. He goes down to Hades, yet he leads

souls up, ascends to heaven, and will come to judge.

Who is he? He is our Christ. our Savior and our Lord.