BECAUSE OF CHRISTMAS WE CAN EXPERIENCE GRACE [JOHN 1:1-14]

INTRODUCTION

This year has been one of both excitement and celebration for many. However, it has also been a year of heartbreak for some. The pastor wants to be sensitive to that. I have walked with some of you through that valley. This Christmas season has been and will continue to be difficult for you, even going into the new year.

With that being stated, I also do not want to minimize the blessings of this past year. Several of you have received the blessings of a stronger walk with God this year. Many of you have been reading through the Bible this year, with some of you reading through it chronologically. The pastor rejoices with you in this endeavor. There are those who have strengthened relationships, become bold in your witness, and even have experienced stronger finances, despite the frustrating times we are enduring. Even if the things I mentioned have not been your experience, I want to encourage you to remain stedfast. Look back on this year and recognize God’s favor and grace that has been demonstrated in our lives. No, it has not been all smooth sailing. No life experiences all pleasure and no pain. No life experiences all sunshine and no rain. There will be storms, thunder, and lightning mixed in among the sunshine, flowers, and still waters.

I have lived through such dark and uncomfortable days. It is important to recognize the days we are living in are extremely difficult. We live in a broken world that becomes more broken with each passing day. Yet, consider this truth that the world we are living in is not all that different than the world Jesus came into two thousand years ago. Consider the situation found in Matthew 2:16.

Matthew 2:16 CSB

Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.

Yes, we live in a wicked world today. It is a world very similar of the world in Matthew’s day. The good news is that Jesus came into that world. Because of Christmas we can experience the grace of God this Christmas.

Why would Jesus do that? Why would Jesus come to such a hate-filled and sin-filled world? Jesus came because He loves you and He loves me. Jesus left the glory and royalty of heaven to come to this world because of His love for you. There is no other religious system or conception that can say that. In the text at hand, there are three reasons why we are able to experience the grace of God this Christmas.

I. THIS GRACE IS OURS BECAUSE CHRIST BECAME HUMAN (1:14A).

The wonder of Christmas is wrapped up in the doctrine of the Incarnation-”the Word became flesh.” That is, God became man (the God-Man). This is the beauty of the Incarnation. The eternal God of heaven, who has always existed in perfect deity, put on humanity and came to earth. It is a shout to the entire earth, “I have come! Jesus came from His perfect place to come to us in our desperate place.

The eternal Word who created humanity, now walks among humanity. John asserts this to be true because he saw Him with his own eyes, and John was not alone in this experience. John uses a special and specific term that would have been rich in meaning to both the Jewish and the Greek mind. This term is “word” or “logos” in the Greek language. To the Jewish mind “logos” would have conveyed the idea of God’s authoritative creative action and will. This is what we see in Genesis chapter one, where by the Word of God creation occurs.

As a matter of fact, John 1:1 expects us to think of Genesis 1:1. This aids our understanding concerning the Word of God, the Logos, that takes and forms man (Gen. 27) out of the dust of the earth. It is the Word of God that breaths into man the breath of life so that the man becomes a living being. Why? It is because it is the eternal Word of God who shares with the Father all the divine attributes of the Father. It is in the Word that there is the fountain of life because it was in Him that there was and is life. This was true not only for Adam but it is true for every person ever born. Everyone has been given the merciful grace of the Word so that all of us have the gift of physical life because life is in the Word and only in the Word is there life. Giving life to something is the dismissal of darkness.

John 1:12 “But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,”

To the Jewish mind John 1:1 would have been understood as, “In the beginning was the speech of God.” However, to the Greek mind, this term would have meant the sense of reason or meaning which ordered the whole of reality. The Greek mind would interpret this verse as, “In the beginning was meaning.” Whichever perspective was hearing this, it would not alter its truth. In the beginning was the Eternal Word (Christ) and the Eternal Word was with God (fellowship with God), and the Eternal Word was God (Christ is Deity). He was in the beginning with God.” This shows the intimate fellowship that exists not only between the Father and the Word, but also between the members of the entire Trinity.

We can experience grace this Christmas because of the Incarnation- Jesus is the God-Man.

II. THIS GRACE IS OURS BECAUSE CHRIST REVEALED HIS GLORY (1:14B).

1 John 1:1–4 CSB

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—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—what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

I want to read those verses again. However, this time around I want you to count the number of times John states that he and the other apostles saw Christ or looked upon Him. Okay, how many of those statements did you count? [4]

They saw Christ and they observed Christ. This means they were in close proximity to Christ. The idea here is that John and the other apostles were not mere casual observers experiencing Jesus from a safe distance away. Oh no, they were right there with Him. They did not just know facts about Jesus, they knew Jesus.

There is a big difference between knowing about someone and truly knowing someone. Many people know many things about Jesus. However, that is much different than really knowing Him. The difference lies in the reality of one word-relationship. A person in a relationship with Jesus knows Jesus. A person without a relationship with Jesus, although they may know many things about Him, does not know Jesus. Are you in a genuine relationship with Jesus today? I talked with Jesus this morning. He talked back to me. [hold up my Bible]

John says, “and we beheld His glory.” The word glory is an Old Testament word that conveys a mixture of wonder and authority. It is always a reference to the presence of God and the revelation of God’s character. That is to say, God chose to reveal Himself through the Incarnate Word to those who knew Him. Subsequently, they were able to behold His glory, the very revelation of God’s character.

We can experience grace this Christmas because God has revealed the glory of Himself.

III. THIS GRACE IS OURS BECAUSE CHRIST SHOWS US HOW TO LIVE (1:14C)

Jesus wants us to live the best life possible on this earth. That life Jesus desires for us is a life filled with grace and truth. John states that Jesus was “full of grace and truth. More than that, Jesus was grace and truth personified.

John 1:16–17 CSB

Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness, for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 4:15 CSB

But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ.

Jesus is full of grace. Just look at Calvary’s cross. Jesus died on the cross on behalf of sinful humanity. Yet, Jesus is also full of truth. The same Jesus who told the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you,” also said, “Go and sin no more.” Most people AMEN the first statement but forget the second. Similarly, to be full of grace and empty on truth is dangerous. Those tilted in this direction are tempted to turn a blind eye to the sinfulness in another person. This is dangerous. Yet, many in Baptist circles have the opposite problem. It is also dangerous to be full of truth and empty on grace. Those tilted in this direction are tempted to “tell it like it is” with no compassion whatsoever. To operate with this focus is to be a Pharisee. The biblical model personified in Jesus Himself is to be filled with grace and truth.

CONCLUSION

According to legend, Satan and his demons were having a Christmas party. “Pastor, did I hear you right?” Yes, you heard me right. Satan and his demons, according to this legend, were having a Christmas party. As the party was drawing to a close and the final guests were departing, one grinned sadistically at Satan and said, “Merry Christmas, your majesty.” Satan replied with a growl, “Yes, keep it merry. If they ever get serious about it, we’ll all be in trouble.”

Well, we had better get serious about Christmas. Our world is more concerning about “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree than we are “falling on our knees” and “adoring Him, Christ the Lord.” It is about the coming of the Eternal Word, the God-Man, not Frosty the Snowman. It is all about Jesus Christ and the grace He gives for us to have a Merry Christmas.