O Come, Let Us Adore Him - Part Four

Introduction

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant! O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem! Come and behold him, born the King of angels.

Refrain: O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!

PRAY

John 1:1–18 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 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.

Contextual Notes

The Gospel of John, which is the most theologically developed Gospel because it was written later than the others. Let’s see how John introduces this coming of the Christ.

John has a very simple aim for his Gospel

John 20:30–31 ESV

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John reminds his readers of the veracity and limitations of his Gospel

John 21:24–25 ESV

24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. 25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

We adore Him because of his eternality (1-2)

In the beginning was the Word - What does the phrase, “In the beginning” make you think of in the Scriptures? Yes, it makes you recall the very first book in the Bible, Genesis 1:1, which says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

This is not an accident. John is being deliberate to tell his readers and us that when the beginning was began the Word was. As far back as you can go, the Word was existing.

The term “Word” is the common Greek word logos, which meant “speaking, a message, or words.” “Logos” was widely used in Greek philosophical teaching as well as in Jewish wisdom literature and philosophy. John chose this term because it was familiar to his readers, but he invested it with his own meaning, which becomes evident in the prologue.

And the Word was with God - this phrase suggest that the Word was in company with God. Possibly, the idea of facing toward God. This is a clear reference to the Trinity.

And the Word was God - this phrase explicitly reveals that the Word was deity. He was with God and was God. He has always been God. He is the eternal Word.

He was in the beginning with God - Before, during and after the beginning Jesus, the Son was with God and was God in shared glory and majesty.

John 17:4–5 ESV

4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

We adore him because of his work (3-5)

All things were made through him - He is the Creator of all things.

And without him was not any thing made that was made - If the Word did not exist, nothing else would exist.

Colossians 1:15–17 ESV

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

In him was life - He is life, the source and possessor of life.

And the life was the light of men - The Word is not only life, but he is light. He is the one who was to bring light to men as we see in the next phrase, The light shines in the darkness

Isaiah 9:2 ESV

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

And the darkness has not overcome it - The light that comes into the world would not be defeated or dimmed by the darkness of the world.

We adore him because of his witness (6-8, 15)

There was a man sent from God whose name was John - John the Baptist is the forerunner of the Messiah. He is the one who came in the spirit of Elijah. In one sense, John the Baptist is the culmination of all the Old Testament witness concerning the coming of the Messiah or Christ.

Malachi 3:1 ESV

1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.

He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him - John came as one testify about Jesus as the light or the splendor of God. Why? He came to tell so that people would trust in Jesus as Messiah.

He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light - John the apostle reminds his readers John the Baptist was not the light but only one to communicate about the light.

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,’” -

John 1:29–34 ESV

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

We adore him because of his mission (9-13)

The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world - Jesus came as the light itself, not only one who witnessed the light. We have seen that he is light. He as the light came into the world of darkness. His mission was to give light to all whoever would believe.

He was in the world and the world was made through him - Here’s an amazing set of truths laying side by side. The light who made the world was in the world. The creator became part of creation.

Yet the world did not know him - Those who were created by him did not recognize him for who he was. They were blinded from seeing him as the light of the world.

He came to his own and his own people did not receive him - He came generally into the world, but he He came first to the Jewish people. They were those who had all the Scriptures which spoke of his coming. However, those who should have recognized him did not. For the most part, Jesus of Nazareth was rejected by the world he created and the people who shared his DNA.

Thankfully, his mission was not based entirely on human ability.

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name - Some did accept Jesus for who he was. How does one accept Jesus? They believed in his name. The trusted and relied on him as he was and as he revealed himself to them. He mission was to save them from the grips of sin and Satan.

He gave the right to become children of God - Those who believe were granted or gifted with the right (power, authority, liberty) to be the children of God.

Galatians 3:25–26 ESV

25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

How does one receive this right? Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God - There is a birth. The birth is not related to blood lineage, it is not related to natural procreation processes, it is not in any way related to the volition, ability and the power of mankind. It is a birth that is from God. It is a supernatural spiritual rebirth in to a spiritual kingdom.

John 3:6–8 ESV

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

We adore him because of his message (14,16-18)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us - Jesus mission in the world required that he come into the world as a man. Here is an astounding reality. The eternally Word of God, the Son clothed himself in human flesh. Jesus in all that he is took on humanity and he dwelt among men. The word translated dwelt could be translated tabernacled. The Word tabernacled among men. This should remind us of the Old Testament tabernacle that was in the midst of Israel’s camp, where the glory of God was manifest.

Exodus 40:34–35 ESV

34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

And we have seen his glory, glory of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth - John is saying that the apostolic band and the believing witness saw the splendor of Jesus. They beheld his majesty. The essence greatness Jesus possesses was shared with him as the Son by the Father for all eternity. Jesus the incarnated Son of God was filled with mercy and verity.

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace - Jesus was so filled with grace that he was overflowing with grace. John adds that Jesus’ grace was received as a gift and it was a magnanimous amount of grace. This grace communicated to believers from Jesus Christ comes in waves. It comes as grace on top of grace, mercy on top of mercy, grace behind grace and mercy behind mercy, overflowing it recipients and covering the, completely.

For the law was given through Moses; Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ - The Old Covenant mediated by Moses primarily revealed the law of God. The Law was the revelation of God’s character. It showed men their darkness. It was to reveal to them their need for a Savior. The Law itself was not able to rescue. Moses was not able to rescue. However, Jesus Christ was the answer to the questions created by the law. How can man be right with God? How can man know God? The answer is always and only Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side he has made him known - No one has ever beheld or looked upon God in all his glorious splendor. the only God or the only one, who is God, the one who is in the bosom of the Father. The one who is nearest and closest to the Father has explained him, literally exegeted him. Jesus Christ is the one who interprets and communicate to us who the Father is.

R. Kent Hughes writes, “The greatness of Christ explains the greatness of the Father. The greatness of Christ’s love explains the greatness of the Father’s love. And the greatness of Christ’s grace explains the greatness of the Father’s grace.”

Practical Application

Have you become a child of God?

Right view of Jesus Christ.

Obedience as an expression of love.

Love for the people of God.

Children of God, are you adoring Jesus during this season?

Joy

Peace

Generosity

Thankfulness

Humility

O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!