Advent: Behold, Receive, & Meet the Consummate Giver & Revealer! John 1:14-18
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
As we let John introduce the Christ to us, we have met Him as pre-incarnate, eternal word, creator 1. in the Beginning. Remember that second word 2. he was God, but didn’t exhaust everything God is, though very nature of God, fully God, yet distinct person - eternally reflecting Father, … - remember the Word was with God. Towards God. Remember v.18 no one has ever seen God, but the Word, this eternal Son, the unique only Begotten, beloved Son who is he? the only God, who is at the Father's side he has made him known. Before John talks about the birth of Jesus wants you and I to be sure this one conceived 9 montsh before his birth - He is God from God, Light from Light, True God from God! And remember the third thing - 3. yes, the Word is Creator at the beginning with the Father - yes He is uniquely about relationship with Father - just like He was at the Father’s side, literally in Father bosom, and John says, you can be in Jesus bosom know the Father way I know Him, gives the right to be children born, reborn of God, he is coing bringing real light and real new life from above- that’s who this Jesus is!
But now John starts to talk about he Word again in 14, and he says Once you’ve got that straight this Christ is God comoing to us. Now understanding a second thing. You know him as eternal God, but now know him as God in the flesh dwelling with us.
Key Truth: God’s greatest glory is His Son in our flesh, as we behold, receive & meet Jesus!
Key Truth: God’s greatest glory is His Son in our flesh, as we behold, receive & meet Jesus!
Here at the outset we need to see that God’s glory surprisingly in the gospel of John isn’t found in the high places. You’d expect that God’s glory just shine from Jesus and whole world see it, like medieval and Gk orthodox icon art - glowing halo. But John, whose whole gospel is about glory, doesn’t record Jesus glory like the other gospels, after his death - in the resurrection! Though he was present when Jesus pulled veil of his lowly earthly nature aside on Mt of Transfiguration - John doesn't record that as great display of Son’s glory. Know writing this gospel not just chronology of events biography, but history of Jesus with purpose, and the purpose is to show that the consummate glory of God not found in the high places - shock modern Muslim today - God who is invisible can’t have a son who makes him visible - Shock Jews too, God in the Person of the Son, the Word, became like us in every way. Shock Gentile readers, Grk and Romans who said body lesser and evil and corrupted, goal and salvation is to be free from the body . John uses the very word sarx, flesh code word for body, and physical worl, as lower empty shell, despised . Yet John says the Word became flesh and God himself so to speak came down from on high to permanently and forever dwell and live among us in our flesh in the Lord Jesus. This in-flesh, incarnation is what is celebrated at Christmas. It already happened, so we’re not waiting for Christmas, but are waiting for the benefits of it in our lives! And John says you can get those benefits of in flesh incarnation of God for us, as we do three things: Behold, receive, and know/meet! That’s how you get the glory of Christmas in you!
A. We Must See God’s Glory in the In-Flesh, Dwelling in the Life of Jesus!
A. We Must See God’s Glory in the In-Flesh, Dwelling in the Life of Jesus!
First of all John says we, like John and the apostles and their friends, we must see His glory but John gives two powerful pictures of where that glory lies! Treasure map that doesn’t lead to where world says is consummate glory - human strength wisdom, pride beauty in the highest places. Nor where Muslim and ultimately Jews says highest glory is - super transcendent - monad God so far a part. But Glory in the Son i. BECOMING FLESH - so that the Son sets up His tent, dwelling among us! John 1:14a
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.
This is stunning, that God would send his Son and say: My salvation, not going to be spirits gong to heaven, not going to be escaping body and material reality - but my Son becoming flesh. And how? God dwelling among us! It does’t take much imagination to know and believe God is glorious, that the Son reflects all that glory of the Father continually spiritually and eternally in heaven. But now imagine the invisible, still doing all that, but he becomes human in order to do that reflecting in a new way. He not only does that in divine spiritual way, but now He gets a physical mirror our body, going to reflect the glory of God in our flesh. In a lot of ways, easier to have a religion of escape from ache and pains of broken, dying bodies, of the material world of messy relationships and finite and limited work. But God says, My glory is going to be found in the mix of your daily life, in earthly visible physical creation. not an escape its a redemption, a buying back - so humanity living with such tarnished image is going to throb with glory of God’s image. That’s the flesh picture of the Word’s glory!
But the tent-dwelling picture, I believe speaks even more clearly to us who know the OT better than we do Greek philosophy and gnostic body-denying region. Those Hellenistic Jews to whom John is writing, they hear in the language of the Translated OT, LXX that God’s glory is seen, and that it dwells among us. And those two words making deja-vous of the story of God’s people. Making little fireworks go off in the synapses of their brain. Wait a minute - glory of God seen. Who in the OT did that happen too - Moses on the mountain. Ask to see the glory of God, God says you can’t bear it , even as v.18 said no living creature can bear to see the Creator - none capable, not even angels, only the Son and the Spirit. But God says to Moses, you can see the back of my glory - you can see my reflected glory - and how did He see it? It was that glory cloud - on the Mountain, that dwelt there. Even more God said, I want you to build a sanctuary - holy place where my shekinah-glory will dwell - Why Exodus 25:8
And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.
And Moses would regularly meet with God, and Israel would have God’s earthly headquarters so-near, in the middle of their camp. And it all about Moses saying: Moses saying show me your glory - and on that tent continually with them. But that initial encounter do you remember how God answered Moses - show me your glory? God said here it is, sure visible manifestation a theophany - but even more God revealed the Name - YAWEH - fullest OT revelation of who God is and what He is About - name proclaimed on people would change them and their character: Name of protection, guidance and holiness and light. Do you remember what is at the center of the NAME? At the heart of Gods’ glory! Exodus 34:6
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
ABOUNDING IN HESED AND EMET MERCY/JUSTICE. Gracious Kindness, steadfast love = grace; FAITHFULNESS =TRUTH//LOYALTY!
And look at what John is introducing as the point of his gospel right from the beginning. With Moses that was just a small picture, with OT Israel, it was grace - but not full perfect grace, It was the sketch of how God sets up a tent with a nation, but not the full picture of how he would in the Messiah. This is what John 1:17 means:
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
That’s not a contrast, which says lets throw the law out, the OT and Moses old fashioned way of salvation. No, the covenant with Israel through Moses was gracious, and with it was the gift of the law. The whole covenant was an- important, but small picture of how greater grace and revelation and grace and faithfulness of God would come. There was grace and truth in the OT, Moses a covenant mediator. But what does John declare about the fulfilled covenant mediator Jesus coming into the world: John 1:14b
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.
He is saying, like Moses beheld God’s glory in the tent, He went in their and met with God, there asked and found direction there, got mercy forgiveness there - everything God is, is revealed there in the Tent. Who is the Tent of Meeting, the sanctuary the tabernacle - its this one in the flesh, its there His body the church in which the Son now powerfully dwells. And what happens to one who follows the treasure map, finds the Tent and enters it?
Amazing thing happened to Moses when this happened can happen to me - reflected glory . Moses face shone with glory of God! But point of Jesus coming is the opposite. God of glory comes to the tent and Jesus is changed to our lowliness! Oh yes, you can see His signs, the signs of his kingdom, glory shines through in miraculous ways, but the point isn’t the miracles so much as what God is up to in his healing, his revealing his comforting, his making whole. And the greatest sign that they all lead to is his glory revealed on the Cross and him becoming sin for us, and the rising for our justification.
Glory in the lowest places. DO you believe it for you - That’s where Jesus is … your life and mine, not just tidy holy heaven. how much he loves us! Behold glory in this movement of God in incarnation! It not Jesus in the highest places where God’s glory is most manifest. Not born in a palace, but a spare room in a feed-box for livestock. Not Jesus at the White House or 24 Sussex, or in big corporate board meeting, but Jesus with tax collectors and prostitutes, Jesus with the poor and down, out, but also with the rich and powerful but ith all their pretense stripped away, and he is there is even there lowliest place! And says I am here to show you the glory of God you all need!
Application: you are looking for glory, often we are glory thieves, still lesser glories of earth from God, live for them. But we aren’t to live on the glory of created things, but only the Creator, and look where His greatest glory is manifest: 2 Cor 4:6
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Cor 3:18
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
but do you behold glory in Christ? mercy tenderness, pure holiness, justice, embodied in life minstry, the kgnodm and reign of this Jesus! What would happen if you did? That’s what described after seeing glory!
B. Receive New Full Grace from Jesus INSTEAD of old Grace
B. Receive New Full Grace from Jesus INSTEAD of old Grace
Now here too came something the Greeks had a concept of fulness - they said goal of life is to get into the fullness/pleroma - but that fulness was so out of this world - kind of like Nirvana - Kind of like how even some Christians speak of heaven as the place where all is made well. But John says the fulness, and all of its grace and blessings - isn’t located in another realm, but another person. John 1:14b
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.
And think of that that Person who has the fulness - who made the whole universe, has just become a speck in the cosmos, limited himself to being a fetus in the womb of the virgin Mary - live life with all of our tiredness, our pain, become sin for us - and John says: You want the fulness of God? - Going to find it in the one who empties Himself in our human nature! That’s the crazy thing about John’s gospel - the hour of glory is when the Son of God dies. Its the Cross. John wants to tell all of us, upside-down kingdom, get ready for this the fulness, the glory is the Son of God coming so lowly -not just a Bethlehem, but the consummation of his lowliness is Him becoming your substitute, your sacrifice. Now is the hour of my glory
And what is it we are to receive from this Christ-child - what is the fulness - grace instead of grace! John 1:16
For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
OT there was grace, pictured and mediated through the covenant with Moses - good and wonderful - but now for those who by faith - see the Word of God and read the Sign of Glory - remember 7 of them, and ultimate one is the Cross - See the fulness of God’s wrath we deserved poured out on Christ taking it for us - accomplishing all that was pictured in the OT, - and Christ says - I have a fulness abundant life - John 10:10, instead of temporary, incomplete grace pointed the reality of Christ come. Now you - Gk Gentiles, you Hellenistic Jews, you who try to be really religious here, you who known yourself to hypocrite, or honest without religion, you who would behold the glory of Christ - and then reach out in faith to receive fullness - I give you the right to become sons of God! Male and female - position of the first born , inheriting child! God will be toward you and you to Him, if you by faith receive me and all my fulness!
You will probably reach out to others with a gift in hand, or mailed this Christmas - but think about how you receive at this time of year! Imagine you are in a nursing home outbreak, COVID all around you. And there comes Someone says fullness of life - not a vaccine that gives you small doses so fight - but I am going to give a shot of life that restore body, life, relationships, abilities - eternal life - that’s why God sent His Son into the world - and that shot isn’t in a needle, by faith - its His life given for and then to you! And like my favorite line of Christmas carols: Where meek souls will receive Him still the dear Christ enters in! So when it comes to the incrante Christ - you need to behold glory, but also need this posture of receive grace upon grace. Reach out to Jesus, give me that new life! Full grace instead of temporary not full. New grace every day!
You now what grace is right. Is there anyone here who just wants only justice from God, what you have earned or deserved. Do you have any relationships in your life - with no grace , just totally business like transaction - school,work is often like that work - But family, friendship in broken world can’t work that way. What about you with God, - You know you need it? But do you know the Son has brought a superabundance, and the needle that touches you, is His human body, his human nature - every way like us, prefectly adapted to win this grace and acceptance, favour, we never could. But perfectly adapted to interface with you in your need, your struggle your temptations, your opportunities - True also wave upon wave, new grace for new grace for every day, every new trail, every new station of life,
C. But lastly when it comes to receiving Christ not only as the pre-incarnate Word, but he now en-fleshed forever Word of God entering our lives, what else must we do as He dwells among us? Like the Shekinah glory cloud of God through the wilderness. What happens in our wilderness, if you’ve beheld his glory - like shepherds in the fields glory to God in the highest, but then in lowly manger they see it. What happens if see it, like wisemen… What happens if you have gazed upon this Christ not only beholed lgory, beheld the glory of lowly suffering that wins you grace.
C. Meet Jesus Revealing God’s Way for the Wilderness
C. Meet Jesus Revealing God’s Way for the Wilderness
That’s the last verse of our text: John 1:18
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
Just like Moses, in the old covenant - mediator, who speaks with God as it were face to face, and then revealed God’s ways to God’s people who were t olive in His grace. Exodus 33:11a
Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
So too this is the picture - Christ who alone gazes into the fulness of God’s glory, who shares it, like he always has eternity, but now differently, with a mirror of our human-nature. God’s grace perfectly for your need in way you can totally get! This Christ now makes God known, in the middle of your wilderness journey in a way, neither OT Judaism, nor any religion or philosophy, nor podcast, or movie can.
Christ who is the Word, John records that he speaks with the witness of two legal witnesses. Here he speaks with John. At the end of the gospel, says will speak by Word and Spirit. Do you know the speaking Christ? Christ who says, here is Christ’ inscripturated Word - eternal Word caused His Word to be remembered, brought through the Spirit the truths to fullest expression in the Inscripturated New Testament, for living in this grace - the writings of Christ’s appointed delegates the Apostolic teaching.
Well, Christ's job according to John is to make God known in the nitty gritty of your life, just like Moses did for the camp in Israel, so that that ragtag group of unorganized recently set-free slaves - be organized into a people who bless and transform this world, become a kingdom of priests, royal representatives of the living God. John 1:18
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
And so John says: Jesus job is to exegete God. Have you heard that word before. It’s what if I am a faithful preacher I do twice every week publicallly and then personally in visiting and teaching. I am supposed to dig deep into the heart of that portion of God’s Word that His Spirit is saying to the church each week - and like the OT prophets describe it - the Spirt comes with the Word - and Like with Jonah and Ezekiel the Word happens to me, Like with Jeremiah - I eat the scroll of God’s Word, till it burns in my bones, - and having gotten tot he heart and inernallized, letting it penetrate like Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
I explain the meaning of this Word, and then apply to our lives. But do you know what the opposite of exegesis is - eis-egesis. Instead of diving into the heart of God’s word, and then like Jesus says the Proclaimers of the kingdom will do: Matthew 13:52
And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
If you only have EISegesis - instead if taking out from there the treasure old and new of Gd’s storehouse; I just go seraching around the world and my own little head - what do I think what would I lie to hear, what current idea should I take - and I bring that into the word, of God and just tack God’s word on -
Q. How are you living in the wilderness journey of this world right now? Have you beheld the glory in Christ, are you receiving HIs full abounding His grace, then understand that God has sent Jesus into your life, so that He would exegete the heart and the wisdom and guidance of God to you! Understand that’s why Jesus commanded that we abide in His word, continue to speak and direct and reveal God to us through His word, Understand that’s why Christ appoints preachers, and teachers for us - And we are to live our lives, like that unique kingdom of Israel in the OT. When God Tabernacled with them, what was placed in the heart of the ark of the covenant? Not just glory, not just grace, but copy of God’s Word. Ark of Testimony!!!
Why Leviticus as our advent reading - God walks with us in Jesus, saved, reconciled, but also transformed: . I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.” (Leviticus 26:3–13, ESV)
Do you get that? When God’s glory and his grace come to you, He continues to lead and guide you with a supernatural knowledge - knowledge of the spiritual man that the world can’t get or receive, its the light of the living God shone into your soul. And is through the reflecting mirror of the Son of God, in human flesh. 2 Cor4:6
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
And when John says Jesus the Word of God, comes and he tabernacles with us, Is this exegeting of the heart of God in to the middle of you life happening - Jesus active daily through His word , each week is He leading you in each decision, each trial. Jesus says Isa would have the Word that sustains the weary. Jesus says Joh n in Revelation has the Word the testimony by which we can overcome! Remember how the disciples felt it - tough stuff in serving in the kingdom - dying to self to live the new life - are you going to leave me too? Maybe Jesus asking that eveery hour of our days. But may we reply - Jesus, God Incarnate, God tabernacling with me by Your Spiri. John 6:68
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
Those aren’t just words that give you a password open-sesame when you die into heaven. The Eternal Word in Human Flesh speaks words - like Moese received but more complete, full, - words that give us Gods’s perfect direction. John will say in the the book of revelation too Who are the ones who overcome - those with blood of Jesus words of their testimony - why? Rev 12:17
Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.
You want to celebrate birth of jesus - first get straight who he was before he was born, and stand in awe, Then understand what it means that he comes in the flesh in our nature to tabernacle among us. He does this so we can behold glory, we can receive grace, and we can really now and meet in our daily life! If you are receiving the eternal Word,now become incarnate in your life - you will have the Consummate giver, consummate revealer! And amid all your Christmas worries, plans, preparations,make sure you make time each day for these three responses to God sending Jesus Christ to you - stop and behold His glory - I sure hope you are doing that every time we tune our hearts to sing His praise, especially this Lord day when as whole congregation can proclaim the glories of Christ! But also take stock of your life and ask - where do I need to be receiving from Jesus, Which Graces do I need to abound. And make sure He who is the wisdom of God now come in fully related ble human nature like your own - make time to meet with this Jesus prayerful hearing of His Word, Let Him exegete God’s heart and wisdom for your daily life!