06AM December 3 John 1 1_5 14_18

December 3, 2006—Morning Worship

What Christmas Really Means – Part 1

That’s Incredible!

Insights into the Incarnation of Christ

John 1:1-5, 14-18

Intro:  Today our TV sets are flooded w/reality shows that in no way really reflect reality. But what I consider to be the very 1st reality TV show premiered on March 17, 1980. It ran on Monday nights at 8PM on ABC until April 30, 1984. The show’s 3 co-hosts were John Davdison, Cathy Lee Crosby and Fran Tarkenton. Of course I’m talking about the show, “That’s Incredible!”

This show looked at the more unusual sides of nature, medicine & human endeavor. Segments ranged from the uplifting (such as young people overcoming severe handicaps to lead normal lives) to the unexplainable (like the park ranger who had been hit by lightning over 7 times) to the simply stupid (like a stuntman jumping a motorcycle over the spinning rotors of 3 helicopters). This show popularized the phrase "please don't try this at home."

Many of the segments just left you wondering how anybody could do what you just saw them doing. Hence, the name of the show, “That’s Incredible!”

Now we all know that especially in today’s technology, there are ways to make objects appear to disappear. In earlier times, magicians used smoke & mirrors to accomplish the same effect. & these feats are usually done before huge crowds in order to have the most impact.

But when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, even though there was a huge crowd present, there were just a handful of witnesses to His birth. God didn’t send His Son into the world to make a big splash. Jesus came quietly & humbly & simply as a man.

& as incredible as that is, millions of people now observe the celebration of Christmas commemorating the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. But we must see more than just a Babe born in Bethlehem when we think of Christmas. We need to know what Christmas really means.

In the 1st chapter of the Gospel that bears his name, John reveals to us some incredible insights into the Incarnation of Christ.

Let’s read them from our text in John 1:1-5, 14-18

Now, if you are an astute student of the OT you already know that the coming of Christ was prophesied on many occasions. But, did you know that…

1. The Foretelling of the Savior occurs 1st in Genesis 3:15?

1. This is the 1st proclamation of the Incarnation.

2. & so, we know that the Incarnation was not an afterthought w/God; it was foreknown & foreordained in God's plan & purpose.

3. READ Genesis 3:14-15

4. The LORD God, the Jehovah Elohim; the Self-existing, plural intensive-singular Godhead, says to a created being “b/c you tried to ascend to My throne & be like Me, & b/c you’ve tempted these to do the same—I will put hatred between you & the offspring of the woman.”

5. Now, that could be saying that from now on all people will hate serpents—not!

6. The concept here is that, spiritually speaking, the evil offspring of Satan (or those who are his children through non-belief) will hate mankind—especially those who are believers

7. Now, the word “seed” is used 2 x’s in v. 15 w/2 different meanings

8. The 1st occurrence is a plural use of the word meaning all of Satan’s offspring

9. The 2nd occurrence is a singular use of the word meaning the coming Messiah

10. This is born out in the rest of the v. as it speaks of Him bruising Satan’s head

11. That word “bruise” means “to bruise, to crush or to fall upon”

12. It’s written in the imperfect tense which means an action or process or condition which is incomplete. It refers to an action that takes place once & is not repeated & it is used to express the future of an action that has not begun yet

13. All that means that God put Satan on notice that the Seed (singular) of the woman would destroy him & all his principalities & powers, confound all his schemes, ruin all his works, crush his whole empire, strip him of his authority, particularly over death, & his tyranny over the bodies & souls of men

14. But as a consolation, God told Satan, he would get to fall upon or crush or bruise the heel of the Savior

15. You can recover from an injury to your heel much better than one to your head!

So, this begins the journey through the OT that brings us to…

2. The Fulfillment of the Promise found in John 1:1­5.

These vv. provide the basic information about the Incarnation.

Notice 1st of all, that John established…

    A. The fact of Christ's Pre-existence (READ vv. 1-2)

          1. Although Jesus was born in Bethlehem as a baby; that was not His beginning

          2. In fact, as the 2nd Person of the Godhead, He has always been & existed

          3. John’s gospel begins the same way Genesis begins “In the beginning…”

          4. In the beginning of what—time as we know it; creation as we can see it

          5. Both Genesis & John tell us that God—in all His fullness—was already there

          6. & neither one of these books tries to argue the existence of God; they just simply state that He does exist

          7. & did you notice the word “was” is used 4 times in these 2 vv.?

          8. It is a form of the verb “to be” which means “to be, to exist, to be present”

          9. W/reference to God this verb is usually translated “I am”

          10. But here, it’s meaning is “I was” (READ THE VV. & SUB. “I WAS”)

So, w/Christ’s pre-existence established, John also establishes…

    B. The fact of Christ's Person (READ v. 1)

          1. Under the leadership & wisdom of the Holy Spirit, John describes Jesus as the Word of God; the living Word of God

          2. He establishes Christ as a Person, a living being, an essential part of the Godhead

          3. By being w/God & being God Himself, Jesus is a person w/whom you can talk

          4. He is a person in whom you can trust; He is a person on whom you can rely

          5. This is the friend who sticks closer than a brother

          6. This is the living Word; the pre-existing Christ; the Angel of the Lord in the OT

          7. This is the One who appeared to Abraham; who wrestled w/Jacob; who spoke to Moses; who appeared to Joshua

          8. The One who has taken on human form, to save all who would believe by faith in His Person & completed work

Which leads John to establish…

    C. The fact of Christ's Power (READ v. 3)

          1. This takes us back to Genesis & proves the fact that God the Father, the 1st Person of the Godhead, used the Son, the 2nd Person of the Godhead as the instrument of Creation

          2. So when Genesis says that “In the beginning God created the heavens….” It means that the 1st Person of the Godhead through the 2nd Person of the Godhead created all things

          3. IOW there was no other creative power that existed or could have existed then or at any other time

          4. Jesus’ human name means “Jehovah saves” – His royal name, Christ, means “the Anointed One”

          5. So, as the eternally Anointed of the Father, Christ was the power that spoke all things into being—He was the instrument of God to establish all things

          6. READ 1 Corinthians 15:25, 28

          7. So Jesus has all power to reign until God’s purposes are complete & then He will present a perfect people & kingdom to His Father

But until then, John calls our attention to…

    D. The fact of Christ's Presence (READ vv. 4-5)

          1. Again, v. 4 uses the word “was” 2 times in the same manner as in vv. 1-2

          2. So it’s as if Jesus were speaking, “In Him, in the Word, I was life; & the life, I was the light of men.”

          3. & the word “life” in this v. means just what you think it does; life as you know it

          4. & that life was the light of men—& the word “light” there means “the extremely delicate yet powerfully strong, subtle yet brilliantly pure truth & knowledge & purity of God”

          5. IOW the knowledge of who God is & what God can do came into the world when Jesus came

          6. & v. 5 says that the light of that knowledge continuously shines in the darkness of ignorance & wickedness & that darkness could not overcome the light

          7. The darkness could not lay hold of or catch or overtake the light

          [“Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this place; I can feel His might power & His grace. I can hear the brush of angel’s wings; I see glory on each face. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.”]

          8. & that presence exists in the knowledge of the truth of the gospel, which is where John places the emphasis of the rest of this book

          9. In fact, John gives his purpose in writing this gospel in 20 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, & that believing you may have life in His name.

That same emphasis can be found as…

3. The Focus on our Lord seen in vv. 14-18 of John 1.

Notice that here, the incarnate…

A.   Christ Reveals the Sovereign (READ v. 14a)

 1. The Word “became flesh” & that word “became” means “to begin to exist”

          2. IOW Jesus is not the “I was” human like He is the “I was” God in v. 1

          3. So the Bible says that Jesus became flesh; began to exist in flesh; put on flesh

          4. & He did so in order to reveal God to man; to be able to communicate w/man

          5. & as He lived & walked the earth, Jesus’ glory was to reveal the glory of God

          6. Men could see what God was like b/c they could see the revelation of God in Christ

          7. Matthew 11:27b Jesus said, “Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, & the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”

          8. IOW Jesus was the Light that reveals God to Man; the extremely delicate yet powerfully strong, subtle yet brilliantly pure truth & knowledge & purity of God

          9. Therefore, Jesus Christ reveals the Sovereign God in the incarnation

& the incarnate…

B.   Christ Reflects the Standard (READ v. 14b)

 1. Hebrews 1:3 describes Jesus as “the brightness of [God’s] glory & the express image of [God’s] person”

          2. IOW Christ reflects the holiness of God in its totality

          3. We are commanded in the Bible to pursue holiness w/o which no one will see the Lord

          4. Therefore the standard Christ reflects is the holiness of God

          5. God’s holiness is His one characteristic by which all other characteristics may be described

          6. IOW God’s love is a holy love; His mercy a holy mercy; His grace a holy grace; His forgiveness a holy forgiveness & on & on

          7. That’s why it’s so important for believers to live lives of holiness b/c we are to be like Christ & w/o holiness Hebrews 12:14 says “no one will see the Lord”

          8. So our lives as Christians MUST BE DIFFERENT; we MUST BE SEPARATE from the world & Christ reflects that standard

But the incarnate…

C.   Christ Redeems the Sinner (READ v. 17)

 1. For by grace you have been saved through faith & that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast

          2. Christ redeems the sinner; He purchased our pardon by His sacrificial death

          3. Romans 8 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

          4. Why? B/c God demonstrated His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us

          5. It is by grace you have been saved; Grace! Grace! God’s Grace! It’s amazing!

          6. You were not saved through the law—for by the keeping of the law shall not flesh be justified

          7. You were saved by God’s grace after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation

But not only does He redeem the sinner, but the incarnate…

D.   Christ Resides in the Saint (READ v. 17b)

1. It came through Jesus Christ personally

          2. His grace extended to you on a personal basis

          3. Not b/c of who or what you are, but b/c of His purpose & plan

          4. John 14 23 "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; & My Father will love him, & We will come to him & make Our home w/him.

          5. So if you love Jesus, you will keep His word & God Himself will come & make your body a temple of the living Word of God

          6. Every where you go & every thing you do – you take along the living Word

          7. God takes up residence in you & knows your heart & knows your needs

& therefore, the incarnate…

E.   Christ Responds to your Supplications (READ v. 18)

1. This is another way of saying the Jesus the Mediator between God & man

          2. Hebrews 8:1 & 12:2 both teach that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne of God in heaven

          3. & the Bible tells us that He ever lives to intercede for us

          4. He hears our prayers; He knows our needs; He responds in love; He accomplishes His will in us through our prayers & supplications

          5. As we said earlier, God has placed everything under the control & command of Christ until all things are accomplished & then Christ presents a perfect kingdom to the Father

          6. Right now Jesus is working in your life to bring you to the place of absolute commitment; of absolute compliance; of absolute trust & obedience to Him & His word

          7. & He uses your prayers to mold your life & to bring you to completion

          8. You see, John’s focus in the whole book is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!

          9. It’s on His power, His Person, His provision, His pardon for sinners

          10. The focus of the book & the focus of our lives is to be Jesus, Jesus, Jesus

Conclusion:  So, during this special season, let's take the time to pause & to ponder & to proclaim the thrilling, timely truth that the birth of the Babe in Bethlehem was indeed incredible, b/c He was Immanuel, God w/us, the incarnate Christ, the Messiah, the Savior.

          Remember, God told us what He would do—then He did it. & our focus should be on the gift God gave b/c that gift was Himself. IOW God gave Himself to you & for you—Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Invitation:  Prayer:  Father, thank You for Your gift of grace given through Jesus Christ. Your love for us & Your mercy toward us is indeed incredible & we cannot comprehend why You chose to give Your Son in exchange for us. But we thank You & praise You for Your incredible gift!

          Lord, there may be some here today who have never known Your gift of grace. I pray now that You would open their eyes & ears & hearts & minds to the truth of Your word spoken today. Lord, call them to salvation & grant them the gifts of repentance & faith. We trust You to do what only You can do.

          Lord, there may also be some here today who have strayed from the path You began them on as Christians. They know they are not where they should be but they don’t really know what to do now. I pray You would speak to their hearts & grant them the gift of Your grace to return to You even now. Use them for Your glory—that others may know You b/c of these here today.

          Thank You, Lord, for everything – b/c You are everything to us!

          Now if you sense God dealing w/you about the destiny of your eternal soul, would you come to Him? Or maybe you sense God dealing w/you about other matters of faith & obedience, would you come to Him?

          God has given the invitation – I am pleading w/you to respond in faith even now as we stand together to sing…

Hymn 316 Jesus Is Tenderly Calling