Advent: The Giver

Intro: Good morning, church and Merry Christmas! Today marks the second week of Advent. Historically, some within the Christian church has recognized the last 4 Sundays before Christmas Day as the time of Advent. Again, this is the 2nd Sunday. But, for us, this is week 1 of our Advent series.

The term Advent means “coming” or “arrival.” The implied meaning is that this coming or arrival is highly anticipated, with great expectations. Because Jesus Christ has already come in the flesh, born of the virgin, placed in the manger, etc, we are not trying to relive this event. We simply choose to celebrate it for its amazing impact and significance on the world. We also allow this time to renew in us an expectation for Christ’s second advent, his second coming, which He promised.

With spiritual renewal in mind, here’s what we hope to accomplish over the next 3 weeks:

Spirit-led...

Reflection

Correction

Direction

On that note, would you pray with me?

Turn in your Bibles to John 3:16. I know what some of you are thinking, “This isn’t the typical Advent Bible passage.” In that, you are correct. John 3:16 is one of the most familiar passages in all of Scripture, probably next to Matthew 7:1, which says, “Do not judge.” Nonetheless, let us look at this passage and i will address the reason why it is so fitting to consider for an Advent teaching.

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

In our first teaching on Advent, we want to focus on the Giver. Spoiler, if you don’t know this already, but for Christians, the Christmas holiday is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. And often times, because of poor doctrine and bad theology, people tend to like Jesus Christ but dislike the God of the Old Testament. They think or insinuate that the OT God is mean, judgmental, and unmerciful, but Jesus is nice and smart and kind and generous. This is the ancient heresy of Marcionism…Marcion was a 2nd century heretic, the son of a Bishop, who believed that Jesus was the Savior, but rejected the Hebrew Bible (OT) and considered the God of the OT as evil & tyrannical.

But right here in the new Testament, we are given an incredible revelation about the God of the Old Testament. John says, He, The God of the Old Testament loves the world so much, that He gave His only begotten Son to make salvation possible to a sinful world.

So, contrary to Marcion and all the Macionites in the world today, God is love, that’s 1 John 4:8, and not only is love an attribute that begins with and comes from God, but this loving God is a great gift giver! God is love and He is a great gift giver. In fact, James 1:17 says,

James 1:17 ESV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Every good and perfect gift comes from God our Father! Wow! What an amazing God we serve! This is why we are kicking off this Advent series by first, considering the Giver. God is a great, gift giver.

Let’s pause for a second and think about how significant it is that we understand that God is a great, gift giver. In your own life, in your relationships, Who do you know excels at giving gifts? And what makes them good at giving gifts?

I’m guessing, when you identify that person, the one good at giving gifts, you probably thought of 3 things:

Thoughts about good gift givers

Thoughtfulness

Timely

They make others joyful

God is more than a good, gift giver, He is the best gift giver. He gave His greatest treasure, His Son. And, as soon as humanity turned it’s back on God, disobeying His commandments in the garden of Eden, God thought about what we needed in order to be restored to Him. God planned for our salvation, as Jesus Christ was born and died and resurrected at the right time in history. And all those who believe in Him, are given a joy that cannot be taken away. God is a great, gift giver. This Advent season is reminder of this fact.

Now, as we analyze the John 3:16 passage, we ought to have several questions about it in general. The first question ought to be: What is meant by “God so loved the world?” Doesn’t the Bible teach that love for the world is sinful? (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15)

So, how can it be that God loving the world is good, but Christians loving the world equals sin?

The love of God expressed in this passage does not ignore the reality that God hates sin nor does it negate the possibility eternal judgment.

In fact, John 3:16 indicates, that though all humanity deserves wrath and judgment, God freely offers salvation to us. The key is found in the line, “...Whoever believes in Him should not perish.”

So what is meant by God so loved the world?

It means that sinful humans, who have no desire to love God, have been offered a great gift by a loving God.

Our next question ought to be, What motivates God to love like this?

Again, look at the passage. In particular, look at the first two words: “For God...”

This means, God did not consider our worthiness. God did not consider our righteousness. God was not attracted to our physical beauty or wealth or strength. But God, independent of human influence or the influence of any other creature, chose to show us what love looks like.

God shows us that love is not shallow, self-serving, unmerciful, inconsiderate, or cheap. God proves that the very accusations of the Marcionites of yesterday and today, are evil and wrong. God is love and God is a great gift giver. And those who believe in Him, are made joyful in Him.

Psalm 34:22 echos this great hope and the reason for our joy.

Psalm 34:22

Psalm 34:22 ESV

The Lord redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

When we say that God is a great giver and that we are made joyful in Him, this is why. We deserve to be condemned, but He lovingly offers salvation to us. And in love, He warns us what a rejection of His salvation means for us.

In conclusion: Advent means the joyful anticipation of an expected arrival, a gift. This gift comes from an amazing Giver. As we reflect on the Giver and His great love for us this Advent, how can you focus more on God individually/family? Where do you sense a lack of God’s joy in your life?

(repeat)

Let us pray.