"We have all received, Grace upon Grace!"

Just some Review...

— From last week, honestly, I took a big passage, to big, a passage.

— To much really important, foundational information that needs to more fully explored.

— And we will do that this week in looking at John 1.14-18.

— Why would a God, who is all powerful, all knowing, even care about us.

— We sin, we make decisions without taking into account His word, His love for us and His Grace shown to us.

— We of course, justify it by talking about Christian Liberty.

— When in fact it is just sin!

— I may have left you somewhat confused last week. Concerning these two Johns’ in the bible.

— The first is...

John The Baptist

— Was Jesus cousin

— John’s mother Elizabeth and Mary, the mother of Jesus were sisters.

— Mary and Elizabeth where pregnant at the same time.

— Elizabeth’s son was John; Mary’s son was Jesus

Most importantly John the Baptist was:

Forerunner of the Messiah

Prepared the way for Jesus

Proclaimed the need for forgiveness of sin

Baptized Jesus on the Jordan

—Another “John” was...

John the “Beloved”

— This John is believed to have written the Gospel of John.

— He also wrote 1,2,3 John and The Book of Revelation.

— He is called the “Beloved” Apostle.

John 21:20 (TPT)

20 Then Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved [beloved] was following them. (This was the disciple who sat close to Jesus at the Last Supper...”)

— OK with those couple of things from last week let’s move forward.

We are going to look at our scripture for today. Turn with me!!

John Chapter 1, Vs. 14-18. [This is found on page 886 of the pew bibles.]

— These are some of the most important words of the New Testament.

— If you are able I’d like us to stand as we read this passage

John 1:14–16 ESV

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.

— These are some of the most important verses in scripture

— From a foundational perspective… all of the New Testament and the Gospel roots are found these verses.

— Let’s take a look at these verses.

Vs. 14

John 1:14 ESV

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.

“The Miracle” by God to become human and live on earth among us.

— This is incarnation! God saw our desperate need of a Savior

— For at least 4000 years “the Jews” had lived in a system that was ruled by “the law.”

— The law found its way into every single part of life of the observant jew.

— God saw that the law was not getting its intended result… God wanted a heart change from His people.

— You see that God saw the need for a Savior from the beginning of time.

— Among the things for Jesus to do was to come to earth as the “incarnation of God.”

— God become “God with flesh on” in the person of Jesus Christ.

— Of course all of this happened with God, the Father completely in control.

POINT #1 The “miracle” of God was complete in Jesus

— The coming of Jesus, his incarnational appearance, changed the course of human history.

— The “Christ,” “The Messiah,” “The promised one,” was found complete in Jesus.

— He lived on earth among us. He lived, and breathed, he wept, he was sad, angry, he was triumphant, he will come again...

— Don’t miss this… it’s really important

Jesus was, “...full of Grace and Truth.”

— Raise your hand if you can live WITHOUT Grace in your life.

— Grace has been evident in God the Father’s treatment of mankind since the Fall in Genesis 3.

— After Adam and Eve sinned... God came after them… He sought them out.

Genesis 3:9 ESV

9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

— God’s great big plan was and is to call all of humankind.

— This pattern of seeking out those who need, GRACE is evident in my life.

— As a lost 25 year old… I needed God’s Grace.

— When I finally put my “stuff” aside is when I really understood how much I needed him and how much He had for me… it was all about Grace!

— I hope that you are as grateful...

John 1:16 ESV

16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

— You see when God came in the person of Christ he came packing

— What was it that God amoured up with?

— He was full of Grace and Truth

— He willingly gave us the inside tract on the armor. This armor comes from His Word… “we put on the full armor of God.”

— And when we surrender ourselves, the switch flips and we get experience “Grace upon Grace.”

POINT #2 - The mission of Christ is that He saves sinners.

— You some rejected him

— The world and even the people in his own country did not understand him

John 1:10–11 ESV

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.

— Others, some at great peril accepted him

John 1:12–13 ESV

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.

What does it mean to be a “Child of God?”

— We have been adopted “freely” by God. This adoption was made possible by “Grace upon Grace,”

— After this “adoption” we are no longer identified by our old skins… But now we are seen in the “light” of Jesus sacrifice.

— Honestly, this side of Heaven we cannot know completely what it means to be “A Child of the King.”

— I haven’t known anyone who wanted to come back from Heaven.

— So I’ll take the message that it is pretty special to be a “Child of God.”

Verse 14

John 1:14 YLT

14 And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth.

— After Jesus, the Word, the Logos took yet another title of human being

— With all of the failures of man, with all of the sin in our world and in our lives, Jesus still “tabernacled.”

— Jesus went in to the “tent of meeting”

— “We beheld His Glory.” Jesus had this heart stopping, taking your breath away kind of presence.

Verse 15

John 1:15 ESV

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.’ ”)

— So somewhere along the line… the parentheses got added.

— In the original language it would be used as some additional foundational, background information.

— John here is pushing all of the Glory that is being given him and in turn moving it up to Jesus, The Christ.

John 1:16 ESV

16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

— Look back a bit and see in verse 14

— When Jesus came he brought everything to the table. He left nothing behind..

— THANK GOD for that… All because of what “He did” and I get to be called “God’s kid,” the best title I’ve ever had!!

John 1:17 ESV

17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

--John here is describing the evolution of God’s dealing with His people.

— After the “Fall,” God saw it was going to be demanded that “The Law” be given…

— God responded to the national and individual sin that was happening in Israel by giving “The Law.”

— “In the fullness of time...” God knew that the law had become a stumbling block. I

— It was no longer drawing people into a relationship with Him, instead the Law itself was being “worshipped.”

But for Grace...

— Grace can change the vilest sinner to a lover of God and his people.

— Grace is the unmerited favor of God!

— We deserve the worst, but we get the best, by His Grace!

—

Romans 5:15 (ESV)

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

— And this one… pay very close attention to the second phrase.

— The “free gift” should be freely and willingly given to those who seek a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

We are going to look at verse 16-17 as one unit.

John 1:16–17 ESV

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.

— From His fullness… not from our emptiness He, God, decided it best fits His hopes and dreams for the human race to send

Romans 5:18 ESV

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

— “Therefore” a great big summary statement is going to be coming… listen up.

— AND IN SUMMARY

— “One Trespass” lead to condemnation. The actions of Adam and Eve pointed the human race in a much different direction than God had initially intended.

— I believe that God is NOT arbitrary. He fair and just! His ways are NOT our ways. But he is always righteousness.

— God knew that he was going have to do something to change the course of human history. We would never thrive and become the people that he wants to be without a change.

— The “righteousness” that lead to “justification of all men,” is deeply imbedded in the Old Testament.

— Here is an couple OT examples of God’s Grace from the Old Testament.

Psalm 30:5 (ESV)

5 For his anger is but for a moment, and “his favor” [Grace] is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

and this one...

Proverbs 3:34 (ESV)

34 Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor [Grace].

In the New Testament...

— In the New Testament a quick search reveals, Grace or the concept of Grace, 138 times at least. The same search in the Old Testament yields 12 examples.

— if you’d like to share your “Grace” verse and maybe a little story about it reach out to me and we will make that happen.

— Don’t be mistaken, Grace is not cheap, it is very costly.

— This one act of “righteousness” leads to “justification” or a settling of the scales.

— they will always tip in our favor with God on our side.

So What?

— God saw that his plan that all willing souls can be saved was put into action.

— The people were not able to follow 10 rules in dealing with God and with each other

— Man’s ideas was to drop 617 more rules in the form of additional “laws” to try and get people to submit to God.

— It also failed… I’m not sure what God was thinking about these “human’s” that He created to worship Him.

— Jesus, become our righteousness. Our “grace” was given on the back of, the body of Jesus.