The Word Became Flesh (John 1:14)

Introduction

Merry Christmas! We gather together tonight to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As we do that, we will reflect on the profound mystery: God took on flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is God with us.

We've spent the last few weeks looking at how God is with us. We’ve seen him in our waiting, in our weakness, in our fear, and in our joy. Tonight, we're going to come to the culmination of all of that as we reflect on John's words in John 1:14, “The Word became flesh.”

I’ve been reading through the Chronicles of Narnia books. In the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, these kids go to live in a big house. The house has one room with nothing but a wardrobe inside. As the kids go into the room and explore the wardrobe, one of the characters, Lucy, opens the wardrobe and walks into it. As she tries to find the back of the wardrobe, she walks through the wardrobe into another world called Narnia. She enters that world and finds herself in the middle of the story of what is happening there.

In many ways, what we celebrate today is God stepping into our story. It’s that and more. It’s profound because God stepped into our story and took on human flesh. That’s what John is describing when he says this in John 1:14:

John 1:14 CSB

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The first thing that John describes here is,

1. The Miracle of the Incarnation

“The Word became flesh.”

If you're reading in John 1, John describes Jesus as the Word. He has already addressed the divinity of Jesus Christ. He says in John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus is eternal. From the beginning of our existence, he has already been there. Jesus was and is and will always be, God.

He is God who stepped into our story. He took on a flesh like we have. He experienced hunger and thirst. He experienced pain. He experienced being born, and he experienced death, from the manger to the cross.

The miracle that the Word became flesh is so unfathomable that John has to remind us in 1 John 1:1,

1 John 1:1 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—

He says we have seen God in the flesh! We have heard him, seen him with our eyes, and touched him with our hands. God has not abandoned us. God took on flesh in Jesus Christ.

The incarnation is important because it shows the depth of God’s love. It took a godly humility to put on the flesh he created and then experience the pain and weakness of the human body.

God didn’t send a messenger. He didn’t send us an email or a text message. He came himself. The Word became flesh because he loves you.

Second, John talks about,

2. The Presence of God Among Us

“And dwelt among us.”

The word “dwelt” in this verse means to dwell in a tent or tabernacle. It could be said about this verse that God tabernacled among us in Jesus. The picture of John 1:14 has very Jewish roots. It reminds us of the Old Testament tabernacle, where God’s presence was among his people.

In the Book of Exodus, God gave instructions to the Israelites about a tent or tabernacle they were to create. He told them how to create it, and regarding the Tabernacle, God tells Moses this in Exodus 25:8,

Exodus 25:8 CSB

“They are to make a sanctuary for me so that I may dwell among them.

God in the Old Testament is already expressing a desire to dwell among his people. The Tabernacle, or the Tent of Meeting, was the place where God would dwell among his people, and Moses would meet with God at the tent. You hear about the Tent of Meeting in Exodus 33:8-9,

Exodus 33:8–9 CSB

Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would stand up, each one at the door of his tent, and they would watch Moses until he entered the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and remain at the entrance to the tent, and the Lord would speak with Moses.

You’re seeing a picture in the Old Testament of what would come ultimately through Jesus, God dwelling among his people. Jesus is the place and person through whom God meets with people. This is the miracle of the incarnation. Christmas is about God coming down to Earth and residing in a baby born in Bethlehem. As the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, God connects with people in Jesus.

Last year, my wife and I found an apartment right in the neighborhood of Paradise Hills. It’s a different thing when you move into a neighborhood. When you live far away and drive in occasionally, you see the neighborhood in snippets. It’s a flash as you’re driving away. When you move into a neighborhood, you know the people who hang out there and get a sense of what is happening.

In Jesus Christ, God moved into the neighborhood. He doesn’t talk about things from a distance. He doesn’t jump on a Zoom call and attempt to tell us what to do from far away. God understands your life because he’s lived in your neighborhood. He is right here with us.

When the Word became flesh and he dwelt among us, John describes how his glory couldn’t be hidden. That’s the third part of this verse,

3. The Glory of God Revealed

“We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father.”

What is the description that John is trying to give when he talks about the glory of God revealed in Jesus Christ? The word translated glory here is the Greek word δόξα, and it refers to the brightness, splendor, or radiance of the majestic being of God. When John says in 1 John 1:5 that “God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him,” the light of God can be seen as a reference to God’s perfect glory.

But when John says in John 1:14 that “We observed his glory,” he gives us context to understand what he is describing. He says it is “the glory as the one and only Son from the Father.” In other words, I say this with all reverence that Jesus looks like Dad.

The Son looks like the Father. When you see the Son, you see the Father.

In John 14, Jesus describes incredible things to his disciples. He's letting them know he will leave soon but will prepare a place for them. Jesus tells them they know the way to where he is going. Thomas is confused and says, “We don't know where you're going.” Jesus tells them, "I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

This is where Philip stops him and says, in John 14:8, “‘Lord,' said Philip, 'show us the Father, and that’s enough for us.'” Listen to Jesus’ response in John 14:9,

John 14:9 CSB

Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

What does he mean by this? He doesn’t mean that they are the same person. The Son and the Father are two different persons. He means to Philip and us that everything you need to know about the Father is shown in the Son. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the exact picture to the world of who the Father is. His character. His truth. The God we read about in the Old Testament is the same God who tabernacled among us in Jesus Christ.

The glory of God is in Jesus. Jesus showed his glory to the world through his life, words, and miracles. Everything about Jesus displayed to the world his glory.

Every time Jesus changes a life today, he once again reveals his glory. Has the glory of God in Jesus Christ touched your life? When you look at what God has done in you, are you in awe of his glory?

When the Word became flesh, and he revealed his glory, in Jesus Christ, God gave us this,

4. The Invitation to Grace and Truth

“Full of grace and truth.”

This last description is an extension of the description of the glory revealed in Jesus. The glory in Jesus is an exact representation of the glory of the Father, and it is a glory revealed to the world in desperate need of grace and truth.

Grace is an undeserved favor. Grace comes from authority and says, “You did nothing to deserve this. In fact, you deserve the opposite. But I will extend and give you grace anyway simply because I want to, out of my will.”

The world needs God’s grace, and the world needs God’s truth. God’s truth is not popular. Can you imagine? God stepped into our story, the story he created, and the people he created are trying to write him out of the story. People are trying to write their own truth.

But what is true yesterday is true today and will be true forever. Only one story matters, and it is the story that God wrote for humanity in Jesus Christ. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you put your faith in the one full of grace and truth. Trust him, and he will change your life.

Conclusion

We celebrate Christmas because the baby born in Bethlehem represents an invitation to humanity. It is an invitation that is full of grace and truth. It’s an invitation that says, God loves you. He sent his Son for you.

The miracle of the incarnation shows the depth of God’s love for you. God loved you and me so much that he stepped into our story and moved into the neighborhood.

The fact that he came near shows that God is with us. God came to us so that we may know him, meet him, and be saved by him.

Do you know Jesus? The greatest gift to anyone is the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ. Jesus is full of grace and truth. When you believe in Jesus, you will know that God is with you.

Prayer

Last Song

(Silent Night)

We light up our candles tonight to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the light who has come to save us from darkness. Jesus said this in John 8:12,

John 8:12 CSB

Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”

Let’s sing Silent Night together to celebrate the pure light of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Turn to someone and say Merry Christmas! Enjoy Christmas with your family. God bless.