John 1:1-3, 14, 18
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell just as sweet.”
Those words were spoken by Shakespeare's Juliet as she longed for her love, Romeo.
Romeo is of the family Montague, and Juliet is of the family Capulet.
If Romeo had any other name, Juliet’s love for him would not be forbidden, so she says, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell just as sweet.”
In other words, Juliet says that a name doesn’t matter all that much.
If we were to rename a rose, it would still be rose even if by another name.
A name doesn’t change the intrinsic nature of a thing.
Ah, but sometimes Juliet a name does reveal the intrinsic nature of a thing.
In The Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names, Judson Cornwall and Stelman Smith list over 270 descriptive names or titles for Jesus—names and titles that reveal something of His intrinsic nature.
As we move through this Christmas season, we will focus on a few of the names of Jesus as we find them in John 1.
And this morning we begin with the Word.
[READING - JOHN 1:1-3, 14, 18]
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 came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
[PRAYER]
The Word was there in the beginning. The Word was with God. The Word was God. God the Word was there with God in the beginning.
The Word created everything…
…and then the Word stepped inot creation; the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
As Luke 2:7 says…
7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
In John 1:17, John tells us that the Word, which became flesh, is Jesus who was born in a manger.
[INTER] What gifts of grace are wrapped up in His flesh? What gifts of grace are wrapped up in the Incarnate Word?
[TS] There are three GIFTS we want to think about this morning…
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
Gift #1: In Jesus the Word, we receive the gift of revelation (John 1:1-2).
Gift #1: In Jesus the Word, we receive the gift of revelation (John 1:1-2).
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.
[EXP] John says some outstanding things about Jesus here…
First, he says that Jesus is eternal.
He says that with the phrase, “In the beginning was the Word...”
In other words, when the beginning began, Jesus already was.
Second, John says that Jesus was with God in the beginning.
When John says that Jesus was with God, he is saying that Jesus was working in tandem with God in the beginning.
John is thinking of Genesis 1:1...
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
And John says that Jesus was there working with God to create the heavens and the earth.
But, third, John says that the Word was God, which means that John says that Jesus is God.
Now, this is a little bit confusing because John said the Word was with God, and then John said the Word was God.
This means that Jesus the Word is both distinct from God and the same as God.
How could that be?
When John says, “and the Word was with God” in the second half of v. 1, we should think of God the Father.
Jesus was there with God the Father in the beginning.
When John says, “and the Word was God,” we should remember that Jesus, as God the Son, is of the same divine essence as God the Father and God the Son, but Jesus is His own distinctive person in the Godhead.
Jesus is God, and He is distinct as God the Son.
He was in the beginning with God.
Let me tell you why this matters…
[ILLUS] The other day I was talking with two guys. I am an acquaintance of one guy, and I met the other one for the first time that day.
Someone asked them how long they had been friends, and they said 25 years, which is a long time.
Then the two of them began to talk about how they had been there for each other through the ups and downs of life.
Not only had they been friends for a long time, they had been close friends for a long time.
These two friends knew each other well because of the duration and closeness of their relationship.
Jesus knows the Father well because of the duration and closeness of their relationship.
[APP] Jesus, as the Word, has been with God the Father from the beginning, close to God the Father in all that the Father has done from creation past to creation present.
Therefore, there is no one better suited to reveal the Father to us than Jesus.
John 1:18 says…
18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
God the Father is most fully revealed to us in the only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom the Father holds in His heart.
[TS] One gift of grace wrapped up in the Word made flesh is the revelation of God.
Gift #2: In Jesus the Word, we receive the gift of re-creation (John 1:3).
Gift #2: In Jesus the Word, we receive the gift of re-creation (John 1:3).
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
[EXP] By use of that phrase, “In the beginning,” John tells us that he is thinking of creation.
John tell us that as the Word, Jesus was there and that all things came into being through Him.
He did not come into being for in His eternal being He is, was, and always will be, but everything created came into being through Him.
John 1:10 says, “the world was made through Him”.
Colossians 1:16 says…
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
Hebrews 1:2 says…
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
As one commentator said, “Everything that exists owes its existence to Jesus,” (Andreas J. Köstenberger).
Let me tell you why this matters…
[ILLUS] In 1642, the famed painter, Rembrandt, produced The Night Watch, a painting that depicted a company guard heading out during the Dutch Golden Age.
The painting, which measures about 11.5 x 14 feet, is displayed in the national museum of the Netherlands in Amsterdam and is currently under restoration.
A team of eight restorers, after years of research, have started to meticulously remove the varnish (sometimes with a cotton swab) to get to the underlying paint layers.
This is not the first time the painting has been restored, and no one seems to know when this restoration effort will be completed.
But what if they could go back in time and have Rembrandt do the restoration?
If it were possible, wouldn’t it be better to have the maker restore what he made?
[APP] John says that Jesus is the Creator, the Maker, and because He is, there is no one better to restore creation.
Creation has been marred by the curse of sin and death, but Jesus knows what creation was like when He declared it good after each day of creation; and Jesus came as the Word made flesh to break the curse and restore creation to that perfect goodness.
When He comes again, Jesus will sit on His throne and declare, “Behold, I am making all things new,” (Rev. 21:5).
Will you be a part of that new, a part of that restoration, a part of that re-creation? Are you a part of it now?
2 Corinthians 5:17 says…
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Jesus became a curse for us by hanging on the cross to pay the price for our sins.
Every person who trusts that Jesus died for them and believes that Jesus has been raised from the dead is made new—the old sinful self has passed away, the new creation in Jesus has come.
[TS] That’s another gift of grace wrapped up in the Word made flesh—our re-creation through faith in Jesus.
Gift #3: In Jesus the Word, we receive the gift of regeneration (John 1:4).
Gift #3: In Jesus the Word, we receive the gift of regeneration (John 1:4).
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
[EXP] In Jesus the Word, we receive the gift of generation. By regeneration I mean the act of bringing into being; the act of giving new life.
7 Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Jesus the Word was there with God giving life to Adam, and Jesus the Word made flesh has come to give eternal life to all who will trust in Him.
45 So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
Has He breathed eternal life into your soul?
[ILLUS] Sometimes people go see the doctor because they are experiencing shortness of breath.
Sometimes when my children are running around outside, they will come in, saying, “I’m out of breath.”
Of course, they’re not literally out of breath; they just have to catch their breath.
But spiritually speaking, we have no breath in us if we do not know Jesus as Savior and Lord.
[APP] Our sin against God has lead to our spiritual death, and the only hope of regeneration—the only hope having spiritual life breathed into us once again—is Jesus.
In John 5:21, Jesus says…
21 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
Has He given you life?
[TS] …
Conclusion
Conclusion
In Jesus, the Word made flesh, we receive the gift of…
...revelation—we get to know God in Jesus the Word,
...recreation—we are made new in Jesus the Word,
...and regeneration—we are given eternal life in Jesus the Word.
But these gifts are only ours if we receive them by receiving Jesus.
If you haven’t yet received Jesus as the One who died for you, the One who rose from the dead to make you right with God, then you must receive Him this morning.
Open your heart to Jesus, and you will unwrap the greatest gifts imaginable in Him.
Don’t you want to receive Jesus today?
But, brothers and sisters, if we have already received Jesus, then we have the privilege of offering Jesus to others this Christmas season.
In offering Jesus to others, we offer them the gift of knowing God.
In offering Jesus to others, we offer them the gift of being made new.
In offering Jesus to others, we offer them the gift of eternal life.
Don’t you want to be part of offering those gifts this Christmas season?
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
[PRAYER]
