God Came Near

The Word Became Flesh

We know WHO this Word is, for we saw in the beginning of John:

Pre-existent

Distinct from the Father

Himself, God

The God who is Holy (Isaiah 6:1–6 “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.”)

The God who is Other (Isaiah 40:25–29 “To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.”)

The God who is Mighty (Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”)

The God who abounds in steadfast love (Psalm 136 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever; the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever; the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, for his steadfast love endures forever; and brought Israel out from among them, for his steadfast love endures forever; with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who divided the Red Sea in two, for…”)

The God who saves (Psalm 103:4–6 “who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.”)

At this point, we’d say God is not like us. And, we’d be right. God is not like us. As much as we’d like for Him to be, He is not.

BUT…

He became flesh…like us, that He might identify with us, that He might live the life we couldn’t live, that He might die the death we deserve to die, that He might absorb the wrath of God on our behalf, that be able to be tempted in every way that we are, yet without sin, in order to be our great High Priest who is able to deal gently with us and be compassionate toward us and give us rest.

The Word became flesh. Perhaps the greatest miracle of them all, that the One who is completely other would become not just like us but one of us. And, it wasn’t a nothing miracle. It has real bearing on our lives. Now, because of His association with us, He welcomes us in…pleads…come all who are weary and heavy laden…cast your burdens on me for I care for you.

The Word Dwelt Among Us

When we read that God dwelt among us, we typically think of His life on earth. And, we wouldn’t be wrong for doing that. It is what He did. And, consider for a moment what His dwelling among us entailed:

Stern confrontation of the religious leaders. (Give a few examples: flipping the temple tables, white-washed tombs, pronunciation of woes, etc.) In this way, Jesus is the embodiment of truth.

Compassionate service toward the broken. (Give a few examples). In this way, Jesus is the embodiment of grace.

But, the idea of dwelling is much deeper theological idea. The word dwell comes from the verb skenoo, and it means to pitch a tent or dwell. It’s a parallel to the tabernacle in the OT which was much more than just a tent or portable temple.

Sat at the center of the people of God, a visible reminder of how life was to be ordered around God.

The tabernacle was God living near His creation again. Remember how man was driven from the Garden after the fall, and an angel was placed at the entrance to guard the way back to the Tree of Life, but also the place where God walked with man. The tabernacle is the first step, the first shadow of God taking up residence among His people.

The Word Revealed His Glory

One of the effects of the incarnation is that it arrests the affections through a worshipful awareness of God’s glory. In a way previously impossible, we have seen His glory. B.R. Hanby writes, “Who is He in yonder stall, / At whose feet the shepherds fall? / ‘Tis the Lord! Oh, wondrous story! / ‘Tis the Lord, the King of glory! / At His feet we humbly fall — / Crown Him! Crown Him, Lord of all!”

Again, there is an interesting connection here that stems from the OT, particularly Israel’s “tabernacle” generation. During the completion of the tabernacle, God’s glory came down, a symbol that He indeed was dwelling particularly with His people, but in general, with mankind again. Yes, there were stipulations concerning how man could approach the presence of God, but in general, the tabernacle was the center of the people and the people lived near the Presence. The glory revealed by Christ is the assurance that indeed it is God dwelling among His people, but unlike before, where there were certain stipulations in place to be near the presence of God, and even then, only the priests were allowed into the presence, now His glory is visible to the community. John uses the word we, rather than the exclusive “I.” He doesn’t have some privileged status — the presence of God is available to all who call upon the name of the Lord.

The significance goes deeper still when you consider that actually, it is still only the priest that is allowed to see or live near this glory, but Jesus has made the church a kingdom of priests. And, the now-tabernacling presence of God is with each believer.

Further, think about the fact that when the second temple was built, the glory of God did not descend as with the previous tabernacle and temple. Yes, the people once again had a temple for the purpose of conducting temple activities, but the glory of God was still missing, as if saying to the people the fulfillment is yet to come…this isn’t the point. Finally, the glory descends as Christ is baptized and the Father’s word of affirmation comes in symbol and spoken word, and the Spirit remains on Christ.

The glory and its association with God is further underscored by the connection in the next part…as of the only Son from the Father. Multiple times in the gospels the religious leaders attempted to arrest Jesus for His claims to be the Son of God, essentially equating Himself to God…blasphemy if it weren’t true and deserving under OT law of death. John lets us know, however, that this was indeed true. This is the emphasis of thought in the Greek word monogenes. We have probably memorized this idea as the “only begotten,” but the phrase actually means “one of a kind, only, or unique.” The Word-Became-Flesh is telling us that this single, unique Son of God has the ability to fully reveal the Father in a way that nothing else can. “God’s personal revelation of Himself in Christ has no parallel elsewhere nor has it ever been repeated.” There is no other, which is why He is our once-for-all sacrifice (Heb.10:10) and why Scripture says there is salvation in no one else (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).

The Word is Grace and Truth

As Savior, the Word-become-flesh is the epitome of grace, from which we receive “grace upon grace” (or grace instead of grace - v.5). But, as the Word in the flesh, He is the full revelation and self-disclosure of God. Hebrews states He is the word “spoken to us by His Son…the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature.” Colossians includes a similar refrain: “He is the image of the invisible God…in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” Jesus is full of truth because He is the revelation of God to man.

Grace and truth can be seen as mirrors to the OT references of chesed and emet (truth) in Ex.34:6 and are expressions of God’s covenant faithfulness to Israel. The ultimate expression of covenant faithfulness is in the fulfillment of the messianic promises in Jesus. Grace is God’s unmerited kindness, His commitment to our good despite our lack thereof.

Without truth, grace becomes a free-for-all…

Without grace, truth becomes:

Harsh, a taskmaster that enslaves us to pride.

Truth, without grace, also becomes impossible. While we thought we knew truth, a lingering effect of the fall/eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Jesus reveals what is truly true.

At the end of it all, we can certainly say, “God came near.” In this nearness, see the heart of the Savior who is for us (emphasize the nearness of God calling us to come near to Him).