140-122 Christmas and the Word—Part 3
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John 1:14
John 1:14
1722—town council of Leipzig, Germany was looking for a new cantor in the school of St. Thomas as well as an organist for the church of St. Thomas. The council searched for the new person and selected one but 3 wks later, he turned them down. They contacted their 2nd choice, and he turned them down. A member of the council said, “since the best man could not be obtained, a mediocre one would have to be accepted.”
The council’s 3rd choice, this “mediocre” candidate had the name Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach’s music has been called “the 5th Gospel.” His compositions, especially his cantatas, passions and oratorios proclaim the Xn message of Salvation in JC with profound theological depth, emotional power and spiritual clarity.
Bach said “all music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the soul’s refreshment; where this is not remembered there is no real music but only a devilish hubbub.”
Bach always headed his music with the letters J.J. Jesu Juva“Jesus help me.” He always ended his music with the letters S.D.G. soli deo Gloria “To God alone be the glory.”
We often talk about God’s glory—particularly this time of year. The many songs we sing, hear—make reference to God’s glory and the glory of LJC. In the church, we attach to our duties as Xns this catchphrase—“to the glory of God.”
What is the glory of God? What does it mean? How is God’s glory manifest in LJC?
What God’s Glory Is
2-fold attribute of God’s glory:
1) Intrinsic Glory
1) Intrinsic Glory
a thing that is intrinsic is part of the essential makeup of something—essential nature. When theologians describe God’s intrinsic glory, it is the glory that God has in Himself…the sum of all His eternal attributes. It is the infinite splendor of His majesty and beauty. God’s glory is absolute, so much essential to Him that He cannot be God without it.
There is nothing that can add to or take away from God’s intrinsic glory. No amount of sin, no amount of praise from God’s creation adds to the essential nature and character of God. He will forever be God regardless of how we live.
So much a part of Him that he says:
8 “I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.
11 “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.
He would literally forfeit His deity if He were to give His glory to someone else.
2) Extrinsic Glory
2) Extrinsic Glory
This is outward, or ascribed glory to God. Thomas Watson, “the glory which is ascribed to God, or which His creatures labor to bring Him.”
29 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him; Worship the Lord in holy array.
20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
This extrinsic glory is what we ascribe to God as we magnify, exalt and lift up His name in the world. In John’s Gospel, he has been describing the very nature of LJC— the Word (logos). We spent the last 2 weeks drawing out what this means. And we come to vs 14—which is a critical verse to understand as it relates to Christmas.
Terminology
2 primary words (1 OT, 1 NT) that are translated in Eng. “glory.”
OT kabod “heavy, weighty”
Physical—Eli was a “heavy” man (1 Sam 4:18), Absalom’s hair was “heavy” (2 Sam 14:26)
Figurative—severity of work, slavery, warfare, pestilence (hand of the Lord was heavy)
Used to express something that is impressive or noteworthy...gives definition of honorable & glorious.
Sometimes it speaks of the glory of man (priest, his garments, glory of nations). But all these glories are temporal in nature—short lived. Compared to this is the unchanging beauty of the manifest God.
5 And they will sing of the ways of the Lord, For great is the glory of the Lord.
NT—doxa (doxology)
Takes over the meaning of OT term…bright, shining. Paul refers to the brightness of the light at the time of his conversion (Acts 22:11). When it speaks of God, it means magnificence, loftiness, splendor of His divine nature.
So from the sense of weightiness and impressiveness, to the revelation of Himself in radiance and splendor—we begin to have a fuller comprehension of God’s glory.
The Bible unfolds the overwhelming magnitude of the glory of God:
Importance Of God’s Glory
His Titles
Acts 7:2 “God of glory”
Ps 24:7 “King of glory”
Eph 1:17 “Father of glory”
You can see the importance and prominence of God’s glory. 45x the “glory of God” is describing some visible manifestation of God.
Remember…God is spirit (Jn 1:18). Mankind cannot see God but it is God’s desire to disclose Himself and to dwell among His creation. God wants us to know Him and He desires to live among us.
The majority of references to God’s visible manifestation relate to the tabernacle/temple (Shekinah Glory—dwelling glory)
Ex 16:6-10
Ex 24:16-17
God set a boundary around the Mtn. Moses ascended and received the Law from God as well as instructions for constructing the tabernacle.
When Moses came off the mtn, Israel thought he had been consumed so they built the golden calf. God was ready to annihilate them but used Moses as an instrument.
Ex 33:11-17 Without God’s presence Israel would not be a people “set apart” from other nations.
Vv18-23
God says “I want people to see my glory. But no one can see it the fullness of it an live, so I’ll veil your view and you will see a glimpse of my glory.”
God confirmed the tabernacle had been completed in the manner He prescribed and the presence of His glory entered in to give proof.
Later on in Israel’s history, there was a dark day when the glory of God departed. Sin always separates us from God.
Ezek 10:18-19 several stages to the departing glory. The result of Israel’s persistent sin, God withdrew His glory from the temple. The name that was given to Eli’s grandson (Ichabod) when the Philistines captured the ark would become the terrible tragedy of the nation who experienced the removal of God’s glory.
Ezekiel would see another vision of God’s glory returning one day during the future reign of Messiah.
It is when we come to John 1:14 that we see God’s plan for redeeming the world begin to unfold in the incarnation of Jesus and in this verse John describes the intrinsic glory of the Lord “we beheld His glory.”
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.
I want to point out 3 ways John describes the Glory of Jesus in this one verse.
A. His Humanity Partaken
A. His Humanity Partaken
“Word became flesh”
Under inspiration of HS—John combats an early heresy that began to develop shortly before this gospel was written. Docetism (appeared to be human but not really)—Some regarded the sufferings and human aspects of Christ as imaginary instead of being part of a real incarnation. The basic belief was that if Christ suffered, he was not divine and if he was God he could not suffer. This became the primary tenet of Gnosticism which believed that spirit was good and matter was evil—so God could not come in human form b/c it would violate his nature.
John denies this system of belief when He says the Word (already established to be God) became flesh—Gk sarx refers to becoming a human being without giving up His previous nature (This is the key). Jesus took on the fullness of human nature. Not only John but all gospels reveal Jesus as a true/genuine human being.
Human birth—the conception of Christ is clearly miraculous (Lk 1:26-35), but physically his birth was normal in every respect, taking place after the expected period of pregnancy (Lk 2:6-7). The shepherds came and saw in a manger a real, newborn baby—not one who merely took on the form of a baby.
Human growth and development attest to His humanity. Jesus grew and developed just like every other child (Lk 2:40,52). He made progress in physical, mental social and spiritual aspects of His being.
Human ancestry also points to fullness of His humanity. The lineage recorded in Mt & Lk establishes His legal right to the throne back to Abraham and David and establish His connection to human race back to Adam. He had half-brothers and sisters and understood the stresses and joys of family (Mk 6:3).
Human appearance—no place in Scripture ever suggests that Jesus ever appeared to the physical sight as anything less than human. The emphasis is upon the man people saw did miracles, arrested, crucified.
Human experiences—he became hungry, thirsty, was weary and slept, sorrow and love. While in Gethsemane he craved human sympathy and support
All these point to the genuineness of his humanity. Jesus had every feature that we have, every thing that makes us human—Jesus took that upon Himself—Exception—Sin. Jesus was human in every way except He was sinless—a truth established in 2 Cor 5:21 Heb 4:15.
Jesus is fully human. Now, John has already established that the Word is fully God. So Jesus is 50% God and 50% man? No! 100%. The fullness of deity and the fullness of humanity are united in one person—Jesus Christ. Theologians call this the “Hypostatic Union.” The creeds of the early church confirm that the 2 natures of Christ constitute one personal life yet remain distinct. The Chalcedon Creed (adopted 451 AD) says “the two natures of Christ were united without mixture, without change, without division, and without separation.”
So Jesus is fully divine and fully human without any change therein. Even though there never was a time when Jesus was not God, the becoming flesh began at the incarnation or birth of Jesus.
This partaking of the human nature points incessantly to the glory of Christ—Phil 2:5-8
The glory of Christ is described by the partaking of fullness of humanity.
B. His Dwelling Previewed
B. His Dwelling Previewed
“Dwelt among us”
It seems like maybe John might be pointing back to the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness. But, a contrast between those days of wandering and something much greater that has happened. The contrast is seen in the word “dwelt.” Gk Lit “to pitch one’s tent, to dwell in a tent.” That term draws the attention to the portable tabernacle during the wanderings. Significance is that the tabernacle was merely a preview of the reality of God’s glory manifest in & thru J.C. The tabernacle was good, but something better had come. For the Jew, the tabernacle was the center of worship and the most important object in their camp.
Tabernacle (tent) was 45ft long x 15ft wide and divided into 2 distinct parts (inner section—square 15ft x 15ft; outer section—2x long as wide). It was constructed with boards covered with curtains. Inner chamber contained the Ark of the Covenant. Outer contained golden altar of incense, table of showbread the golden candlestick. The structure of the tent stood in a courtyard surrounded by curtains of pure linen over 8ft tall. Courtyard was 175ft x 87ft. Within the courtyard there was a great brazen altar for sacrifices and laver for purification.
Everything about the tabernacle (dimensions, furnishings, colors, functions, arrangement) was designed to communicate spiritual truth. Many of the functions of the tabernacle were only previews of the functions J.C. would fulfill when He would pitch his tent among man. There are several parallels:
Tabernacle was center of Israel’s camp. The tribes were arranged around the tabernacle according to book of Numbers. East (Judah, Issachar, Zebulun), South (Reuben, Simeon, Gad) The Levites surrounded the tabernacle and were responsible for moving it. West (Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin), North (Dan, Asher, Naphtali). Num 2:17 J.C. is the center of the Xian encampment. He is the gathering place for all genuine believers. That is why He says:
32 “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
Tabernacle was place where law was preserved. Moses had broken the 1st two tablets of stone God gave him as a symbol of how Israel had broken the commandments of God. The 2nd set was deposited in the Ark of the Covenant within the Holy of Holies for safekeeping. Jesus lived in perfect obedience on earth and kept the Law perfectly. Of that Jesus said
29 “And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
Tabernacle was dwelling place of God. This was highlight of Judaism. Within the Holy of Holies, between the wings of the cherubim that stretched out over the covering of the Ark there was the Shekinah Glory—the symbol of God’s presence. Gk “dwell” is closely related to Heb “Shakan” Shekinah glory—Dwelling, residing glory of God. The shekinah glory was a visible manifestation of God’s glory—the brightness/light that was sometimes hidden by a cloud that spread out over the tabernacle. Other times it flashed out in judgment those who were evil within the camp. The shekinah glory was the symbol of God’s presence in the tabernacle. The glory of God is fully revealed thru J.C. which is why john says “we saw his glory…”
Tabernacle was place of God’s presence and place of revelation. Place where God met His people and spoke to them. It is called the “Tent of Meeting.” The 2nd tabernacle (J.C.) is the place where God meets with people today and speaks to them. God is revealed perfectly thru Christ and in whom we see the perfect glory of God. Heb 1:1-3. J.C. is now the fullness of God’s revelation to us and He speaks to us thru His Son.
Tabernacle was place where sacrifices were made. In the courtyard near the east side of the only opening stood the brazen altar. Sacrifices burned continually on this altar. As one approached the tabernacle that was the 1st furnishings he would see. This was significant b/c it indicated that there is no approach to God apart from sacrifices. Heb 9:22 Today there is no approach to God expect thru faith in the sacrifice of the ultimate Lamb of God who in the tabernacle of His flesh offered Himself on Calvary.
The tabernacle was the preview of something much greater to come in the person of J.C. It previews the glory of God revealed in Christ.
The final point John makes in vs 14:
C. His Glory Perceived
C. His Glory Perceived
When J.C. Christ came to earth He did so, so that people would see His glory. “We saw it. We saw the glory of JC, the glory was full of grace and truth. It was the glory of an only child from the Father. Undiminished glory—We saw it!” And yet John is speaking of more than just physical sight. They perceived the glory of Christ. Not everyone did. What did John mean when they saw His glory? Glory can mean:
Brightness & Splendor
Fame and renown
John saw both. In the transfiguration when Jesus appeared as a great and shinning light (Matt 17:1-8). John also saw the glory as it pertained to fame and renown. He saw the miracles of Christ and how His reputation was magnified by them.
11 This beginning of His signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.
The splendor of God’s glory is ultimately revealed in Christ. So where does that leave you and me?
Realize that He has experienced all that we will ever experience and serves as our example in life. He has lived where we live. We look to Him as the model for Xian living and the standard for human behavior.
God is not so totally transcendent, so far removed from His people but He cared enough for us to come and live among man in history (Jn 3:16). He continues to act in our time as well. God is gracious and to any who receive Him/His gracious gift b/c you have placed your faith/trusted the person and work of JC…then you are recipients of the blessings that God has prepared for all His people.
Christmas is the chance for us to see the beautiful proclamation of God’s glory b/c it appeared when Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, laid in a manger in a stable—and He becomes the truest object of our worship and adoration. Don’t miss that opportunity to worship Him—Christ the newborn King!
