Come let us adore Him! (2)

Com let us adore Him!

Come let us adore Him!

, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 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. “

When most people think of Christmas, they think of the Christmas stories found in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke.

In Matthew, we find (1) Jesus’ genealogy on His step- father’s side—; (2) the visitation of the angels to Mary and Joseph; the (3) visitation of the wise men, the Magi; (4) the flight to Egypt; and (5) the slaughter of the innocent first borne sons by King Herod.

In Luke’s Gospel, we find the (1) foretelling of the coming of John the Baptist; (2) the foretelling of the coming of Jesus; (3) Mary’s visit to Elizabeth; (4) Mary’s song of praise; (5) the actual birth of John the Baptist; (6) Zechariah’s prophecy; (7) the actual birth of Jesus; (8)the pronouncement of Jesus’ birth to the shepherds; (9) and Jesus’ presentation before Simeon in the Temple.

Unbeknownst to many, John’s Gospel holds its own Christmas story as well.

While John does not provide many of the historical details that you find in Matthew or Luke, John provides a deeper Christmas story. John’s Christmas story is found in the first chapter of John’s Gospel.

What does John’s Christmas story tell us?

John’s story tells us that Christmas is really a celebration of the incarnation of Christ. Where the Son of God, Jesus Christ assumed human form and became both God and man.

John’s story tells us that Christmas is really a realization that God has come to dwell un among us. John’s story tells us that Jesus must become the object of all our praise, worship, and adoration and that we must all “come and adore Him

What is adoration in the Bible?

Adoration is the deep love and respect paid to someone we revere, especially as it pertains to a divine being. In the Bible, adoration is required of any and all who profess to know God. Adoration is akin to worship or paying homage.

Most versions of the New Testament do not use the word adoration in reference to our worship of God, but translate the Greek word proskuneó as “worship.” Proskuneó means “to bow before or to revere”; the root word means “to kiss,” so the idea of proskuneó is “to kiss the ground in reverence before someone.”

When the wise men arrived in Jerusalem and inquired as to the whereabouts of the newborn King, they said to Herod, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (). The word translated “worship” is the word proskuneó, which communicates an adoration and reverence for the Son of God.

The refrain of the Christmas hymn “O Come, All Ye Faithful” enjoins us to follow the example of the wise men with the threefold repetition:

“O come, let us adore Him;

O come, let us adore Him;

O come, let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord!”

But I think that this hymn is underutilized because we should sing it all the time; we are call to adore Christ the Lord at all times not just during this Christmas season.

The word in the Old Testament that most often refers to adoration is the Hebrew word shachah, which is also translated “worship.” Such adoration is forbidden to offer to idols and only offer to our God, for our God is a jealous God. As a loving husband is jealous of his bride’s affections toward other men. The Lord made us for Himself and desires that all our worshipful adoration be saved for Him alone. Jesus said that the Father is looking for those who will adore Him as we were designed to do. Jesus said that “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (). The word for “worship” in those verses can also be translated “adore.”

Adoration differs from praise, although the two are related. Adoration, or worship, should be reserved for God alone (). Praise can be a part of adoration, but adoration goes beyond praise. Adoration gets to the heart of who we are. To truly worship God, we must let go of our the worship of ourselves. We must be willing to humble ourselves before God, surrender every part of our lives to His control, and adore Him for who He is, not just what He has done.

, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” This statement carries no weight in our modern minds if we do not recognize that our sinful nature and rebellious spirit towards God and the things of God, makes us deserving of His fiery wrath.

God is consuming fire that strips us of pride and self-consciousness. To truly worship God means we must lose ourselves in the adoration of Him. Our only thoughts should focus on the majesty and glory of the One we adore, Christ the Lord.

When we adore the Lord, our daily activities become acts of worship. You see, only when our deepest adoration is reserved for our Savior will all other loves take their proper place in our lives. Only then will we are able to love our families and friends better when our worshipful adoration belongs only to the Lord.

Let us pray...

Come let us adore Him… because He has the divine nature of God.

First, John addresses the true nature of Jesus. John boldly proclaims that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (). John describes the divine nature of Jesus in this passage. This phrase “in the beginning” is important, it echoes back to the creation story in , yet here it introduces another beginning.

Mark begins his Gospel with a similar way, it says it this way, ‘The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ’, I think that John is making an allusion here to Mark’s work, saying in effect, ‘Mark has told you about the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry; and now I want to show you that the starting point of the gospel can be traced farther back than that, even before the beginning of the entire universe.’ Now in we read this, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Think about this for a moment, Matthew, Mark, and Luke all acknowledge the beginning of Jesus’ life at his birth, but John takes Jesus’ beginning back to the vast realm of eternity. He shows us that Jesus is eternal, he wants to show us that Jesus is not just some Savior come lately, and he wants to show us that Jesus not just a baby born in Bethlehem.

John wants to show us that Jesus is the Messiah, the One sent by God, and the one who is God. Now this might not mean much to you if you do not remember that God sent others as well. God sent Moses, but we lost an generation in the wildness, God sent Joshua, but he did not fully conquer the Promise Land. God sent David but David had a problem in his flesh, God sent Jeremiah but Jeremiah lamented and regretted the very day he was born. God sent Isaiah and Isaiah answered the call but was a man of unclean lips, and what can we say about Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, through all of them things went forward but nothing got fully fixed, so when our God had sent everybody else, God say, forget this I will just become a man my self and He sent Jesus with his divine nature.

A person cannot escape the divine nature attributed to Jesus in John chapter 1. Jesus is described as being eternal with God, being in the very nature of God. John also describes Jesus as the Creator by saying that “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made hat was made” (1:2).

Then John doubles down by saying that Jesus is the source of life in , “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” , “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” “I am the Light of the world” is the second of seven “I AM” declarations of Jesus, recorded only in John’s gospel, that point to His unique divine identity and purpose. In declaring Himself to be the Light of the world, Jesus was claiming that He is the exclusive source of spiritual light. No other source of spiritual truth is available to mankind.

There are two types of light in the world. When we are born into this world, we perceive physical light, and by it we learn of our Creator’s handiwork in the things we see. However, although that light is good, there is another Light, a Light so important that the Son of God had to come in order to both declare and impart it to men.

records, “When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life.’” The allegory used by the Lord in this verse speaks of the light of His Truth, the light of His Word, the light of eternal Life. Those who perceive the true Light will never walk in spiritual darkness.

When we take a candle into a dark room it dispels the darkness, that is physical light. Likewise, when the Light of Jesus Christ is taken into the darkness of the sin that engulfs the hearts and lives of those who are not following Him, then and there this light dispels the darkness of one’s soul as well. That’s the condition behind having this Light—that we follow Him. If we do not follow Him, we will not have this light, the true light which,

is eternal life.

Physical light is necessary for physical life and spiritual light is necessary for spiritual life. The earth would certainly change very rapidly if there were no longer any sunlight. A forest full of trees with very thick canopies of foliage high above has very little plant life on the ground except for moss, which needs little sunlight. Plants will never move away from the light—they are said to be positively phototropic, to be phototropic is to be drawn to the light, to be phototropic is to take particular direction under the influence of light. In the same way, spiritual light is necessary for spiritual life, the true believer will always tend toward spiritual things; he will always tend toward fellowship, prayer, the Word of God, and so on and this can be a good test of our standing in Christ.

I told you last week that The unbeliever always does the opposite of what Christ requires , The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

, “And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because every their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”

Because light exposes their evil, and they hate the light. Indeed, no person can come into the true spiritual light of Jesus Christ, unless God enables them .

Following Jesus in this text is shown in adhering the two conditional promises in . First, His followers will never walk in darkness, which is a reference to the assurance of salvation we enjoy. As true followers of the Light, we will never follow the ways of sin, never live in a state of continually sinning . Rather, we repent of our sin in order to stay close to the Light of the world. The second promise is that we will reflect the Light of Life.

Just as He came as the Light of the world, He commands us to be “lights,” as well and more than just Christmas lights.

In ,“ You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” Here we see believers depicted as the light of the world. Just as the moon has no light of its own, it reflects the light of the sun, so are believers are to reflect the Light of Christ so that all can see it in us. The Light is evident to others by the good deeds we do in faith and through the power of the Holy Spirit.The emphasis here is maintaining a credible and obvious witness in the world, a witness that shows us to be faithful, God-honoring, trustworthy, sincere, earnest, and honest in all that we do. A witness that shows that we adore Him, Christ the Lord.

Also, we should always be ready to give an account of the hope that we have for the Light of the gospel and that Jesus who is our Light has not to been covered, but made obvious for all to see and benefit from, that they, too, may leave the darkness and come into the Light.

John’s Christmas story includes the divine nature of Jesus; includes the fact that should come and adore Him because Jesus is the source of life, and also it includes that Jesus is the Word made flesh.

Come let us adore Him… because He is the Word made flesh.

John notes that, “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him” (1:9-10). Perhaps the most important truth that John provides comes later verse 14, “Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Brothers and Sisters, this may be the most important verse in the Bible on the doctrine of the incarnation. John went back to verse 1 to pick up one of his favorite themes, this understanding of “the Word.”

John is saying here that, (1) God became human; (2) God shows us his glory; (3) God offers us grace and truth; (4) God literally “tabernacled” which means He dwelt among us.”

Jesus the Word made flesh!

The term word is used in different ways in the Bible. In the New Testament, there are two Greek words translated "word": rhema and logos. They have slightly different meanings. Rhema usually means “a spoken word.” For example, in , when the angel told Mary that she would be the mother of God's Son, Mary replied, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word [rhema].”

But logos, however, has a broader, more philosophical meaning. This is the term used in . It usually implies a total message, and is used mostly in reference to God's message to mankind. For example, says that, when Jesus taught the people, "they were amazed at his teaching, because his words [logos] had authority." The people were amazed not merely by the particular words Jesus chose but by His total message.

"The Word" (Logos) in is referring to Jesus. Jesus is the total Message—everything that God wants to communicate to man can be found in Jesus. The first chapter of John gives us a glimpse inside the Father/Son relationship before Jesus came to earth in human form. He preexisted with the Father (verse 1), He was involved in the creation of everything (verse 3), and He is the "light of all mankind" (verse 4). The Word (Jesus) is the full embodiment of all that is God.

But God the Father is Spirit. He is invisible to the human eye, but not Jesus!

, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him an for him. And he is before all things, and him all things hold together. And he is the heads of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything’s he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”

Yes, Jesus is the total package!

The message of love and redemption that God spoke through the prophets had gone unheeded for centuries. People found it easy to disregard the message of an invisible God and continued in their sin and rebellion. So the Message became flesh, took on human form, and came to dwell among us.

The core truth of Christmas is that God came and dwelt among us. The very God who gave us life, the very God who is light, and the very God who is the source of our light came, became one of us, so that He might give us eternal life!

What should this tell us? It should tell us that God is concerned about the human race. God is a loving and caring God who was not willing to leave humanity as it is, but desires to save it.

And because of this we should come and adore Him because He is the divine being the source of light. We should adore Him because He is the Word made flesh. And we should adore Him because He is the transformative gift from God.

Come let us adore Him… because He is the transformative gift from God.

John demonstrates that God came to dwell among us. John uses the illustration of the tabernacle where God’s glory would reside in the holy of holies. In this manifestation, one finds the fulfillment of the law. John states quite succinctly that in Jesus one finds “grace and truth” (1:17). Grace is unmerited favor. Nothing within us says, “I am worthy of God’s love and mercy.” Rather, God gives us something that we do not deserve— our salvation.

While many will be inundated with the commercialism that surrounds Christmas, it is a good practice for us all to remember God’s grace during this time. We must remember that we don’t deserve the love of God.

But since God is loves, he came to save us from ourselves. He came to help us understand the true meaning of love. In Christ, we find the full expression of God’s love. The birth of Jesus provides for us the greatest transformative gift we could ever receive, the gift of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

What is that gospel?

The gospel is that (1) God the Father sent God the Son, (2) who is Jesus Christ incarnate, (3) to live a perfect life, (4) to die sacrificially, atoning for our sins, (5) satisfying God’s wrath against us that we might not face an eternal hell, (6) raising Him from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, (7) and for all who believe in Christ, Christ will return for them.

The world could use a great refresher course when it comes to the true meaning of love. Love is not selfish. Love does not seek to hoard. Love seeks to give.

, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

Conclusion

John’s Christmas story provides a poignant, yet profound statement… “The Word became flesh” (1:14). That’s the point in celebrating Christmas. Often, we become obsessed with spending countless hours discriminating between those things that appear pagan in our celebrations, while failing to ponder on the most important truth behind Christmas. Jesus is the reason for the season and Jesus Christ is the ultimate Christmas gift! Jesus is our sure foundation.

Early in the morning of June 27th, 2009, the Lotus Riverside Condo complex was about to be open to the six hundred families that had bought units, the celebration was quickly interrupted by the fact the building itself just fell over.

According to Shanghai Daily, initial investigations attribute the accident to the excavations from the construction of a garage under the collapsed building. Large quantities of earth were removed and dumped in a landfill next to a nearby creek; the weight of the earth caused the river bank to collapse, which, in turn, allowed water to seep into the ground, creating a muddy foundation for the building that toppled.” The building fell because its foundation was not sure, it was later found that if they had used J bolts this problem could have be avoided.

What’s a J bolt? J bolts are a very common and durable fastener that many contractors use when erecting a new building. Homeowners can also use the threaded fasteners when building a garage, building a new foundation, or simply attaching a new wall to concrete. They have a long end, which can be in different lengths, that is threaded with a hook on the other. Thus the resulting look is like a 'J'. That end is connected to the rebar in the concrete and will hold.

The church that God is coming back for has a sure foundation, one that has be fastened by the ultimate J bolt called Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God.

The Son of God that left the portals of heaven and dwelled in a physical body among us. The Son of God who came to save us. The Son of God He came to love us. The Son of God who came to reconnect us with His Father God through the redemption and the forgiveness of our sins, so that we might never fall over into hell but ascend one day into heaven with Him. Jesus Christ who came to show us the truth. Are you be willing to focus this sure foundation and this one the core essential truth for the reason for Christmas this season? Come let us worship Christ the Lord, come let us give Him all the glory, and Come let us adore Him!