The Word Became Flesh- John 1:14-18

Introduction

Prayer

Alright, 2nd—5th graders you guys are free to dismiss. And as a reminder, parents you can pick those children up at the Wetlands Building, and if you need any help finding where that is, don’t hesitate to ask someone with a lanyard.

For the rest of you, please turn with me to The Gospel of John.

If you’re new with us my name is Andrew McClure, and this is week 3 of our look at the Gospel of John, and I’m not sure I’ve enjoyed the study of a particular passage more than this one.

So I’ll give you a minute to get there, and as you do let me set up our morning a little.

Let’s start this morning by playing “Name that Tune.” But instead of singing, because that’s not gonna happen, I’m going to give you some information about this song, and see if you can name it.

There is one particular hymn of the Christian faith,

written 252 years ago,

that is sung on average of 10 million times each year across the world.

it was written in the tiny town of Olney, 60 miles north of London.

By a former Slave Trader.

Any guesses to the song I’m referencing!?

Amazing Grace… we all know Amazing Grace, but how many of you know the backstory.

John Newton was born in a Christian home, but sadly at the age of 6 he lost both of his parents. And as is often the case, he was abused, and mistreated as a young orphan. So at a young age, he fled and joined the Royal Navy, and became a drunkard and a brawler, and finally a deserter. As such he fled England, to Africa where he joined himself to a Portuguese Slave Trader. A despicable profession, in which he was wildly successful but his success came at the cost of his soul. He was numb. Constantly drunk. And his life was full of debauchery.

Well, one night his ship got caught in a huge storm off the coast of Scotland, and unsure if he’d survive he was reminded of an old verse his mother used to quote…

John 1:16 “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

That night he cried out to God, and was radically converted.

He left the slave trade, became an ordained minister, and worked diligently alongside William Wilberforce to abolish the slave trade.

A few years after his conversion, in 1772, he was asked by a good friend to write a poem reflecting on his conversion,

His Poem opens with,

Amazing Grace! How sweet the Sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind, but now I see.

Church, no one is beyond the power of God’s Grace.

As Max Lucado once wrote, “God answers the mess of life with one word: GRACE.”

His Grace is Amazing.

But if you want to understand Grace, and experience Grace, then you have to come to Jesus!

For as our textw ill show today… It is He who is Full of Grace and Truth, and it is from Him we receive grace upon grace!

So let’s read our text, and then we’ll unpack it together.

John 1:14–18 ESV

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. (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.’ ”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

There are 3 things that John tells us about Jesus here.

He Dwelt, He Disclosed, and He Delivered

So if you’re an outline person, that’s where we’re headed.

Let’s begin with Dwelt.

Dwelt

John 1:14, “And the Word…”

3 Weeks, ago we saw that John opens his account of Jesus’ life and ministry by introducing us to “The Word.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…

So in the first 5 verses, John tells us that the Word was God.

That Jesus Christ is Divine. THat he is deity.

And after a quick detour, where John introduces us to John the Baptist and tells us Jesus is the True Light, the title of WORD reappears here in verse 14.

“And the Word became flesh…”

So the Word that was with God, and is God became flesh!

Church, don’t let the familiarity of this verse become white noise to you.

Don’t rush this. Sow down and really consider the implications.

GOD BECAME HUMAN.

And in this lies one of the most basic and significant theological affirmations of Christianity.

It’s the Doctrine of the Incarnation.

To incarnate, means to put on flesh, specifically the Incarnation is the belief that God Himself, put on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.

The Divine Word, who IS GOD, BECAME flesh. He wasn’t Made into flesh,

for He was in the beginning with God, He pre-existed all existence.

The world was made, the heavens were made, we as humans were made… but the Word was not made, He Was, Is, and Always Will Be.

Yet. He became flesh.

Flesh, means truly human.

In all its frailty and vulnerability and limitations… The Infinite God, condescended to don finite flesh.

Without ceasing for a single moment to be divine, He united himself with humanity.

And there are several purposes God intended by the incarnation, but the first one was to Dwell with His People.

John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”

Dwelt

Living in India, I would often watch devout Hindus stand in lines for hours, to ascend some hill, to attend a temple, in order to meet with a god.

And as they approached that idol, they’d ring a bell to grab hold of the gods attention, perhaps even to wake him in order to share their desires with him.

But listen Church, The Incarnation teaches that our God isn’t distant, or far off. Nor is he apprehensive or aloof to your situations or needs.

Instead, we worship a God that DESIRES TO DWELL with us.

We saw this this Summer, but in Genesis 1 and 2, God created everything out of nothing, and he did it with such wisdom and care

And after all things were made, we find that God was there. In Eden, In the midst of his creation. He had personal and relational contact with Adam and Eve. He dwelled with them.

But we ran away from home. In our sin, we left the pleasures of dwelling with God, for the sinful pleasures of our own desires.

But God’s Desire never changed. He sought to Dwell with His people.

So After God rescued Israel from the slavery of Egypt, he said, Exodus 25:8 “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.”

That sanctuary was called the Tabernacle, that I’ll come back to in a moment.

Then when they had their own land, and they built a permanent Temple, the presence of God filled the Temple and dwelled with man again.

But with the appearance of Jesus, and the Incarnation… man doesn’t have to go somewhere to dwell with God, man doesn’t have to enter some building or structure.

instead He took initiative, and came to earth to dwell with us. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

And when Jesus departs he promises the Holy Spirit will dwell with us, for He will be in Us. (John 14)

And one day, either by death or his return we will enter a new heaven and a new earth… and Revelation 21:3 says “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

THIS IS THE HEART OF YOUR GOD. Your maker has created you, that he may dwell with you.

Tabernacle

But we need to go back to the Tabernacle… because as I’m about to show, John is very clearly referencing the book of Exodus in these verses.

Just as verses 1-5 of John’s prologue were echoes of Genesis, verses 14-18 are echoes of Exodus.

You see, the literal, word for word translation of John 1:14 is that the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us.

Church, it’s so important for you to know that the Old Testament and New Testament are not 2 different books about two different subjects, but are 2 parts of the same story.

Pastor Mark Dever calls the OT “Promises Made” and the NT “Promises Kept.”

The Apostle Paul calls the Old Testament a shadow, of what was to come, with Jesus and the New Testament being the true substance.

But a lot of people don’t understand this, and so for them it makes the Old Testament really hard to understand.

But John is assuming that his audience has at least a basic understanding of the OT, so to understand the Incarnation, it would be helpful to familiarize ourselves with the Tabernacle.

And to do that we need to turn to Exodus 33.

Exodus 33:7 “Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.”

This tent of meeting was called the Tabernacle. And when Moses went into the Tabernacle a pillar of cloud would descend and Moses would talk with the Lord.

In fact Exodus 33:7 says that anybody that sought the Lord, would go to the Tabernacle, because the Tabernacle was where God chose to dwell with HIs people.

It was where God revealed Himself. Where God talked. Where God sat. Where God dwelt.

If you wanted to meet with God, or see God, or commune with God you had to go to the Tabernacle.

Well John is saying, Jesus is the Tabernacle.

It is in Jesus that God reveals Himself. It is in Jesus where you meet with God, see God, and commune with God.

You don’t have to go anywhere, for He has come to you… He has Tabernacled among us.

In Jesus, God Dwelt among us.

But in Jesus, God is also Disclosed.

Disclosed

John 1:14 “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.”

And again, in verse 18 John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”

Jesus, with flesh and bones, has come not just to dwell among us, but to disclose to us the Father.

He is showing us His Glory.

Now what is the Glory of God!?

Well, in our vernacular we use Glory as a Verb and as a Noun.

The verb sense is when we say things like, “Give God the Glory.”

A recent example of this usage came from Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. You know, the US Olympic Hurdler champion and world record holder.

After she one gold, and once again broke the event record she said, “I credit all that I do to God. I have a platform and I want to use it to glorify Him. It’s always my prayer of, God let me be the vessel in which you are glorified.”

In her running, she seeks to glorify God.

In that sense, it means to give God the Credit that is due Him.

To glory as a verb is to boast, to praise, to exalt. To brag.

But when John says, “We saw His Glory…” He’s using the Noun Form.

God’s Glory in this sense is the physical manifestation of His true nature.

Glory is the visible manifestation of God’s presence.

Glory is the visible likeness of God’s Power and Substance.

It’s what He is Essentially.

At His Core, is His Glory.

So back to Exodus

Moses would pitch the Tabernacle, and people would go there to dwell with God. And one day in Exodus 33, Moses is in there, and he’s dwelling. He is with God.

And it’s like drinking salt water. The more you drink, the thirstier you get, and the more time you spend dwelling with God, the more of Him you want.

And in a moment of raw desire Moses cries out, Exodus 33:18 ““Please show me your glory.””

NOUN—- Please show me who you are essentially. Show me who you are at your core.

And does anybody remember how God responds to this passionate Plea?

Exodus 33:19 “And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’

He says YES, He says you want to know Me at my core… well i’ll let you see it, and at my core I am GOOD.

But he also warns him saying, Exodus 33:20–22 “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.”

But it isn’t until the next chapter that the event occurs.

God tells Moses in Exodus 34:1 to cut two tablets of stone, and then come up to the mount, so that he could show Moses his glory and give him His Law.

So as Moses stands, dwelling with God, we read Exodus 34:6 “The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,”

Moses saw God’s glory… His essence. His Substance. Who he really was… and what he witnessed is that God is merciful, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

And in similar fashion John says, that when Jesus became flesh and tabernacled among us, he too has shown us His Glory.

Just as Moses got to catch a glimpse of God’s Essence, so now for all who look upon Jesus you get to see who God truly is.

And what does John say about Jesus’ glory… John 1:14 “full of grace and truth.”

Grace is the Greek word Charis, and is a frequent term employed by Paul, but what we have to understand is that it is the greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Hesed, which is often translated Steadfast Love!

So when Moses saw God’s Essence, he saw that he was steadfast in love… and when you look to Jesus, what do you see… A God who is steadfast in love.

Truth is the greek word aleetheia and is used a ton throughout John, and it too is rooted in the Hebrew term emet, which carries the ideas of faithfulness, truthfulness, and consistency.

So when Moses saw God’s Essence, he saw that he was abounding in faithfulness, or truth… and when you look to Jesus, what do you see!? A God who is abounding in Truth.

Here’s the point church, John the Apostle recognized and is bearing witness to the fact that the characteristics that describe the essence of God’s glory in the OLD TESTAMENT were active and present in the Incarnate Christ!

They are the same. They are consistent.

Enough with this nonsense that the God of the OT is somehow different than the God of the NT, no their Glory is consistent, and in Jesus we see that Glory.

This is what Jesus came to do. His incarnation, discloses to us the Glory of God.

You see, before Jesus, nobody had ever seen God, that’s what verse 18 says right. Look there:

John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God;…

Even Moses, couldn’t see God. He could only see the back of God.

But Jesus is different. He was uniquely qualified to disclose, God, because he was God and He was at the Father’s Side.”

Literally translated, “He came from the bosom of the Father.”

It’s as if God has reached into his very being, and plucked out in his own heart in the sending of Christ.

And He has come to Disclose to us the Father. To show us His essence, who he is at His core… His Glory

This is why later in John 14:9 Jesus says, “Philip… whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”

So if you want to know God, in all of His glory… look to Jesus, for He is the exact imprint of his nature.

So thus far, The Incarnation is how God came to Dwell with Humanity, and disclose himself to humanity, and there’s one more life altering truth we need to address. It’s How God chose to Deliver Humanity.

Deliver

John 1:16–17 “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

Jesus Christ, he who was with God, and who is God has become flesh… and we get to see Him, hear Him, observe him, and when you get a glimpse you see His glory.

An essence that is FULL of grace and Truth.

Let’s begin with TRUTH.

God defines what is true.

And It is Absolute. It is not relative.

You don’t get to have your truth, and I have another. Truth is not relative.

It is Absolute, and it is defined by God, for He is full of truth.

And before Jesus came, we could all know God’s standard of Truth in the form of the LAW

Specifically the Law given to Moses up there on Mount Sinai while he was dwelling, and being disclosed to.

John 1:17 “For the law was given through Moses;…

God wanted to Dwell with His People, He wanted to disclose Himself to His People… but HE WAS FULL OF TRUTH, while man… just wasn’t.

I mean the first time God gave the Law, Moses descended and found that the people of Israel had totally rejected God and began worshipping golden calves.

GOD IS TRUTH, and MANKIND are FOOLS.

Our propensity is not to walk in truth. We are deviated. Out of order. Out of alignment with truth.

So we need a guide. We need something that could point us away from our foolishness back to truth.

So God, in His grace gave us the Law.

Yet, the story of mankind is that no matter how hard we try, we just seem incapable of walking in God’s Truth.

Everytime we try, we fail.

We’re hopeless. Utterly incapable.

But Church! THAT’S THE POINT OF THE LAW!

The Law was never given so that we can earn this Dwelling and Disclosure.

Instead, it was given to show us that we are incapable of earning it.

The Law was not given to save us, instead it was given to show us that we needed a Savior.

But not just in Savior would suffice!

It would have to be somebody that could fulfill all the Law’s Demands. It had to be somebody TRUE, like the TRUTH.

Because if the Savior couldn’t uphold God’s Standard of Truth, than the logical conclusion would mean that he too would be in need of Saving.

No, the only ONE able to save, is one who is full of truth.

And guess what… JESUS is a qualified Savior, for He is Full of Truth.

But He is also Full of Grace!

Jesus is FULL of Grace—- as Martin Luther wrote, “This spring is inexhaustible.”

He literally overflows with grace.

Have you ever stood at the shore of an ocean, and just let the little waves wash over your feet. And a second later, another. And another. And another. It seems endless.

That is the grace of Jesus Christ.

It’s inexhaustible. Endless. FULL.

But what is Grace?

J.C. Ryle wrote the following, “Grace is everything for nothing, to those who don’t deserve anything. Grace is what ever man needs, what none can earn and what God alone freely gives.

A helpful Acronym may assist your understanding. GRACE IS

G-ods

R-iches

A-t

C-hrist’s

E-xpense

Grace is the fact that HE who knew no sin (because he was full of truth), became sin on our behalf, that we might dwell with and receive the disclosure of God (because he was full of grace).

Grace is that although we have all sinned, and fallen short of God’s standard, and deserve the consequence of eternal death. God so demonstrates his love toward thus, that even while we are sinners, Christ chose to die for us.”

This is why He came. To DELIVER you from your sin.

As one commentator said, “We should never look at Bethlehem without seeing Calvary. We should always contemplate the incarnation while drifting to the crucifixion!

He BECAME flesh, so THAT HE MAY DIE!

The purpose of the Incarnation, was to DELIVER.

He is full of Truth & He is Full of Grace.

And church, from His fullness—- we get to draw grace upon grace. That’s what verse 16 says.

And verse 16 says, “From that fullness we have received grace upon grace.”

The Socket, the source of Grace is available… all you have to do is plug in.

Right now, a steady stream of energy is available in that socket! But your phone will never charge, until you plug it into the source of that energy.

He is full of grace. It’s available right now! And all you have to do is come to the source.

You don’t have to clean yourself up. You can’t. You’re not full of truth. So come to terms quickly with the state of your sin. Stop trying to clean it up. Come to the Source, to the Incarnate Christ who is Full of Truth and Grace.

And for those of you who are Christians… you don’t have to live in condemnation and shame.

So many of you have somehow bought the lie that God is getting real tired of forgiving you.

Right, some of you are believing that God’s patience is wearing then, and he may just kick you out because you’re making the same old mess over and over again.

IT”S A LIE!

HE is FULL, ABOUNDING, OVERFLOWING in Grace.

It’s WHO HE IS AT HIS CORE

And from Him, you can receive grace upon grace, upon grace.

A fount that never runs dry!

He was incarnate, that He may Deliver.

Conclusion

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound… that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I’m found. Was blind but now I see.

No one is beyond the power of God’s Grace.

He meets all the mess of your life, like an overflowing well of Grace.

And he has done this himself. He took the initiative.

He wants to Dwell, He wants to be Disclosed, and He wants to Deliver you from sin.

And how did he do it…. Through the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.

To drive home this Truth, we’re going to close this morning by taking Communion.

If you’re serving communion this morning, you guys can go ahead move to your stations.

And church as they prepare, let me help you prepare.

Communion is a sacrament of the church, for the believer in Christ, given to us by Christ that we may remember His Incarnation and all he came to accomplish.

He donned flesh, to offer up his body and shed his blood, to deliver you from your sin, so that God may disclose Himself to you, and Dwell with you forever!

If you haven’t received that incredible demonstration of Grace, would you do it today?

Make today the day you come to the Well that never runs dry.

make today the day you receive Him, and Believe in His name.

So right where you are, just follow the ABC’s.

Between you and God

(Accept that you are a sinner, seperated from God)

(Believe that He came, to restore you back to God)

(And confess Him as your Lord and Savior, and commit your life to Him from here on out).

And may today be the day you find grace upon grace, from here on out.

If you’re already a Christian this morning, I want you to take a moment to reflect. To ponder the incarnation, and drift your thoughts toward the crucifixion.

And may gratitude well up in your heart, for his abundant grace.

So either you’re getting right with God, or your reflecting on His grace… and in a moment, I’ll come back up and lead us through the taking of this meal together.