Sermon Tone Analysis

FULLNESS OF HIS GRACE (ADVENT)

December 17, 1989

John 1:14–18

Our Scripture reading is found in the gospel according to Saint John, the first chapter, and we’re reading from verses 14–18.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John testifies concerning him.

He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’

” 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

This is God’s Word

I read you this little quote from the advertising supplement about the original point of Christmas.

The shepherds went to Bethlehem because they hoped what was happening there would begin to elevate humankind and make us more truly humane and deserving of one another.

Besides the fact that any historian who knew anything about shepherds would be able to immediately laugh about that, we as Christians weep a little bit about it, because we realize the point of Christmas is … Has God come to visit us or not?

The shepherds went to Bethlehem because they thought it might be true.

This time of year is the only time you see the word miracle pop up in the media and public print all the time.

You have that Christmas movie Miracle on 34th Street.

You have people constantly saying things like this … “At Christmas anything is possible.”

Even cynics have to get rid of their cynicism for a week or so, or they go into hibernation.

“We can’t think small; we have to realize all things are possible.”

That’s the kind of language you hear at Christmas.

It’s not wrong.

What it is is a memory trace in the collective unconscious of our society.

Christmas is about not just miracles in general but the miracle on which all other miracles hang, out of which all other miracles flow, the grand miracle, which is the incarnation.

That’s a big word, but it’s easy to realize.

It comes from the word carne, carnal, flesh.

God in the flesh.

That’s the grand miracle.

Here’s the important thing to understand.

If Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh, all of Christianity hangs together and all kinds of miracles are possible.

If Christmas has no point, if Jesus Christ is not God come in the flesh, and that’s what Christmas is all about, then none of Christianity coheres and there are no miracles possible.

If you consider that the average person likes Jesus … The average person thinks Jesus was a great person.

But when you begin to press on them the other articles of the faith, they begin to get nervous.

What are some of those articles?

For example, Jesus Christ did great deeds and miracles.

Not only that, Jesus Christ rose from the dead.

Not only that, Jesus Christ died and his death liberates us today, even though we live 2,000 years later and in a completely different world.

Jesus Christ was the only way to God.

Jesus Christ says, “Worship me.”

When you come to all of those articles of the faith, people’s hands start to get a little bit clammy.

What you have to understand is all of those things make perfect sense.

All of those issues actually hinge on one issue.

That is … Does Christmas have a point?

Is Jesus Christ God come in the flesh?

If he is, then we’re in this situation.

Miracles make perfect sense.

They’re logical.

Why? Miracles make perfect sense because God, of course, is the one who created nature.

The resurrection makes perfect sense because God is the author of life.

Not only that, but even the idea that Jesus’ death can liberate everyone, even now … Because if Jesus was God, then his death is a death that has infinite value, because the infinite God would have infinite value.

If Jesus Christ is God (and no other founder of any other major religion even came close to such a claim), if he actually is who he says he is, then of course he’s the supreme way to God.

You see, if Christmas has a point, then all the rest of the articles of Christianity make perfect sense.

If Christmas has no point, then nothing else has a point in Christianity.

If Christmas is true, then miracles could be flowing into our lives constantly.

If Christmas is not true, then there’s no possibility of miracles.

They all stand or fall together.

They’re all of a piece.

That’s the reason why it’s so critical and important to see what the Bible says about what happened at Christmas.

What is this grand miracle?

Out of this grand miracle comes all kinds of blessings, it says.

You see right here in verses 14–16, verse 16 in particular.

It says, “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.”

Christmas is like an overflowing cup that you can’t stop.

It just keeps coming.

Christmas, the grand miracle of the incarnation, of God become flesh, the Word become flesh, is the source of all other blessings.

Do you have that?

Do you understand that?

It’s the center of your life, and then all sorts of things come into your life.

“From his fullness we have received grace upon grace, blessing after blessing.”

Let’s just look at this passage, these very important, brief verses, verses 14–18, and just consider, first, what this tremendous first basic miracle is.

What is the grand miracle?

Then secondly, what kinds of miracles and things flow into our lives from it?

What is the miracle and what does the miracle?

What the miracle of Christmas is and what the miracle of Christmas does in our lives.

That’s what we want to look at.

Take a look.

First … What is the miracle?

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the [only begotten of the Father] … full of grace and truth.”

First of all, the miracle is that Jesus is really the Word and he was really flesh.

It’s not a miracle to say Jesus was the Word, and it’s not a miracle to say Jesus was a man, was flesh, but it’s a miracle to say the Word became flesh.

First of all, John the apostle, who wrote this, used these words here because he wanted to be absolutely sure we understood what he was talking about.

He used the word word, the Greek word logos, and he used it carefully.

A lot of the Eastern religions, mystery religions, had a view of God that’s very Eastern.

God is a life force; therefore it’s possible for people to come along and say, “I am God,” like Buddha or like Krishna.

What they meant by that and what the religions mean by that is God is a life force and some people have such a high degree of God-consciousness that they are avatars, they’re incarnations, in the sense of manifestations of true God.

That’s not what John is talking about.

Not only that, the Western religions, like the Greek religions and the Roman religions, believed that gods like Zeus and Apollo occasionally got the 7,000-year itch, I suppose, and would fall in love with people on earth.

They would come to earth, they would pair up with somebody, and they would have children who were half men, half gods … Hercules, Achilles, people like that.

Therefore, you could say they were gods, and sometimes they were called gods.

John is saying, “I don’t mean that either.”

Who is the Word?

He defines the Word up further in the chapter, up in the very beginning at verse 1 where he says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Those three little statements, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” completely hem us in as to who Jesus is.

We cannot go to any of the other religions to get an idea.

First of all, “In the beginning was the Word …” This Word has no beginning.

In the beginning the Word already was.

No one created the Word, because in the beginning when things were getting created, there already was the Word.

Not only was the Word beginning-less; the Word is a person.