The Eternal Son, Who Became the Earthly Child

Text: John 1:1-14

Theme: All those who accept Jesus Christ, who is the living Word, as the Son of God have the right to be called the "children of God."

In 1974 the Ducal Georgianum—a Protestant Seminary in Munich, Germany—asked Oscar Cullmann to teach a class on the Gospel of John for a colleague who had unexpectedly died just days before the Seminary’s new semester was to begin. Professor Cullmann was a well-known Lutheran theologian, and one of the world’s foremost biblical scholars on Christology—the study of the life of Christ. Cullmann agreed to teach the 18-week course on the Gospel of John. The class did not make it through the Gospel of John. Cullmann spent the first thirteen weeks of the semester in John 1:1-14. That’s amazing. I tell you that to illustrate how theologically rich, and deep these fourteen verses are.

You’ll be glad to know that I’ll not be spending the next thirteen weeks in this passage.

On this Sunday after Christmas I want you to understand that this passage in the back-story to everything we’ve celebrated during the Advent season. John 1:14 is the key verse of the passage: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. ... .” This is the heart of the Christmas story ... God has come into the world, born of a virgin, in the person of Jesus Christ. I hope you will see the Christ for who he really is, and be moved to either 1) Accept him as Savior, 2) Embrace his as Lord, perhaps as you’ve never done before, and 3) Worship him as the delight of your heart.

The Apostle John helps us understand the nativity stories in Matthew and Luke by going behind-the-scene of the birth of Jesus into eternity past to help us understand the amazing love of God that was poured out in Bethlehem on the day of our Lord’s birth.

I. THE LIVING WORD IS THE ETERNAL SON OF GOD

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1, NIV84)

1. one sentence ... three incredible clauses ... one astounding conclusion ...

a. when God the Father began His creative work ... when God the Spirit was hovering over the face of the waters ready to carry out the commands of the Father, God the Son was at the right side of the Father ready to become the creator of all things

2. In the beginning—these words are suggestive of the opening words of Genesis

a. Genesis begins with the creation of the world and tells us of God's creative efforts

b. in John 1:1, the apostle goes behind the creation account into eternity itself and tells us the story behind the story

3. that story is of an eternal Christ in glory with the Father, high and lifted up and on his throne long before creation ever took place

a. Jesus is the Word

1) words are the smallest sequence of sounds that can be uttered in isolation that have objective or practical meaning

ILLUS. For example, in Portuguese it’s called a bola. In Croatian it an lopta. In the Czech language it’s a mic, while win German it is a spielzeug. In English we just call it a ball, but in whatever language you use, every child knows that you’re referring to a round object.

2) you string a series of words together and you have language, and language conveys the meaning of our thoughts and intents

ILLUS. When I say, “The red rubber ball bounces high” unless you’re color blind, everyone here this morning immediately has formed a mental image based on the six words I just spoke.

b. when the Apostle John writes that Jesus Christ is the Word, he is telling us that the life of Christ is the living expression of God's thoughts and intents toward sinners

1) everything God wanted to tell us, He has said it in and through the life and words of His only begotten Son

a) the life of Christ tells us that God is greater than we ever imagined

b) the life of Christ tells us that we’re more sinful than we ever imagined

c) the life of Christ tells us that God is more loving than we ever imagined

c. why is it so important that John paints Jesus as the Word made flesh?

ILLUS. Adrian Rogers, one of my favorite preachers, once told the story of a little girl who became afraid during a thunderstorm. The rain was falling and the lightening was crackling, and the thunder was booming. A father laid there in bed listening for what he knew was coming. Soon, his daughter’s small voice penetrated the stillness of the night. It came from the bedroom across the hall. "Daddy, I'm scared!" The father responded with, "Honey, don't be afraid, Daddy's right across the hall." After a very brief pause the little voice is heard again, "I'm still scared." The father got up and went into his daughter’s bedroom to comfort her, “You don't need to be afraid, honey, God is with you. God loves you." Again there was a pause, and the daughter responded, “I know that, Daddy; but I want someone with skin on!"

3. Jesus was God with skin on!

a. after thousands of years of telling His people that he really, really loved them, that they didn’t have to be afraid, that He was present, God demonstrated His love for us by coming in the flesh in the person of His Son

4. in vv. 1-2 the Apostle John makes three sweeping assertions that affirm once and for all the deity of the one whom he had come to know so well

A. SWEEPING ASSERTION #1: JESUS IS ONE WITH THE HEAVENLY FATHER

“ ... the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1, NIV84)

1. Jesus is and forever has been and always will be eternal with the Father

a. three times in the first verse John uses the word was

b. for those of you who may be interested the word was is the imperfect form of the verb to be in the original Greek

c. we have no real translation for the verb in the English

1) in the Greek language—the language the N.T. was written in—it's a word which expresses timelessness

2) thus, we might read the verse like this: In the beginning always was the Word, and the Word always was with God, and the Word always was God.

d. before time was created, Jesus existed—he’s always been one with the Father

“When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, 29 when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always,” (Proverbs 8:27–30, ESV)

e. who was present when God set the heavens in place?

1) it certainly wasn’t the Psalmist

2) here is God the Son declaring his presence in eternity past when God the Father was busy flinging galaxies into space!

2. Jesus has absolute equality with our Heavenly Father " ... the Word was with God ..."

a. the nature of Christ has been at issue since the earliest days of the Church

ILLUS. How do you wrap your head around this astounding revelation ... that the Eternal God ... Creator and Sustainer of all things ... chose to become human?

b. there were many false or inadequate views of His eternal nature and character

1) some have maintained that Jesus was merely human and had great wisdom and spiritual insight

2) some have believed that Jesus was adopted by God at his baptism and was divine only until he was abandoned by God at His crucifixion

3) a few have advanced the idea that Jesus is divine, but not on equal footing with the Father

a) in other words, Jesus is God, but not as god as God is

c. the Apostle John is clear—Jesus is God come in the flesh

1) Jesus was not created

2) Jesus is not co-God

3) He is not 2nd-fiddle

d. when the verse says " ... the Word was with God ..." it literally says the Jesus was face to face or eyeball to eyeball with God

1) the idea is that of complete equality

3. Jesus is God come to us in the flesh ". . . and the Word was God . . ."

a. this is not a statement that the Apostle John would have made lightly

1) he was a 1st-century Palestinian Jew who was fiercely monotheistic

ILLUS. As a pious Jew, John would have begun every morning of his life reciting the Shema Yisrael—the Jewish confession of faith: "Hear, O Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is one," from Deut. 6:4.

2) to declare that a man was God in the flesh was as blasphemous a blasphemy a Jew could utter

a) unless, of course, the man in question is not merely a man

b. he makes this incredulous affirmation because John spent three years by the side of Jesus listening and watching

1) there is absolutely no doubt in his mind as to the true identity of Jesus

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:1–3, ESV)

4. if you want to know what God is like, then you have to look at the Jesus of the New Testament

a. to know Jesus personally is to know God

ILLUS. Shortly before his arrest and crucifixion, Jesus is attempting to prepare his disciples for the events which are about to take place. In John 14:7 he tells them, "If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well . . ." The apostle Philip says, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus responds—almost hurt I think—in 14:9, "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father . . ."

Sweeping Assertion #1: Jesus Is One with the Heavenly Father

B. SWEEPING ASSERTION #2: JESUS IS CREATOR OF THE WHOLE UNIVERSE

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:3, NIV84)

1. the world Jesus came to redeem is a world he created

a. apart from him there came into being not one thing which has come into being

“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 and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16–17, ESV)

b. the phrase all things is a word that means all things individually and is a reference to the infinite detail of creation

ILLUS. In 2006 Biochemistry professor Michael Behe, coined the term irreducible complexity, in his book entitled Darwin’s Black Box. He defines an irreducibly complex system as one "composed of several well-matched, interacting parts that contribute to the basic function, wherein the removal of any one of the parts causes the system to effectively cease functioning.” Whether you are looking at the entirety of the universe with its galaxies and stars and planets in their orbits, or the micro universe of a single cell, irreducible complexity screams that there is a Creator! Remove a single part and the rest of the system will effectively cease to function as it was designed.

ILLUS. According to the Apostle John, Jesus is like a master craftsman. His work is not a copy, but an original. From his fruitful imagination, He painstakingly brings to light his creation. It is perfect in every detail. His effort is a labor of love. When the beauty of that creation is marred by vandals, he does not abandon the work for another, but seeks to restore the creation by repairing the damage that was done.

2. you and I are the results of our Lord's creative work

a. sin has marred us

1) we’ve been vandalized by the world, the flesh and the devil

b. Jesus comes and offers restoration

Sweeping Assertion #2: Jesus Is Creator of the Whole Universe

C. SWEEPING ASSERTION #3: JESUS ILLUMINATES MAN'S DEEPEST NEED

“In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:4–5, NIV84)

1. man's greatest need is not immortality—all men are immortal

a. man's deepest need is for life—eternal life as compared to death—eternal damnation

b. you don't have to do noth'n to have immortality in hell

c. you do have to do something to have eternal life in heaven

1) in the word's of our spiritual forefathers, you've got to “See the light.”

2) the light is Jesus, who brings life to all who will confess him

2. this message is for all men, in all places at all times

a. the Anointed One of Israel is not merely the Jewish Messiah, but the Savior of the World

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” (1 John 4:14, NIV84)

b. Jesus is not just the “Christian way” to eternal life, but the only way to eternal life

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, NIV84)

3. but darkness now enfolds the children of fallen Adam’s race

a. there is the darkness of the religious mind, which leads otherwise intelligent people to harbor superstition or embrace all kinds of high-sounding spiritual nonsense

b. there is the darkness of the philosophical mind, that speculates vainly about the ultimate nature of things, but never comes to a conclusion

c. there is the darkness of the carnal mind, that is preoccupied with passions and lusts, and worldly pleasures

d. there is the darkness of the scientific mind, that says in one breath that life is bewildering in its complexity and in the next breath declares such complexity is the result of millions, if not billions, of years of evolutionary progression

1) the darkened mind of the unregenerate sinner simply does not understand light—which the Apostle John here uses as a synonym for absolute, perfect, God-revealed truth found in the person of Jesus

2) at Calvary the power of darkness had its moment of temporary victory when the light went out

3) but three days later that light came bursting forth from its tomb to be triumphant forever

4. in Christ there is life and light

a. if you are in Christ the darkness of our sin and doubt are swallowed up by the light of Christ

b. all men everywhere have some light of revelation

1) there is the light of creation and conscience according to the Apostle Paul

2) God gave the Jewish people the added light of covenant, commandment and prophecy

3) ultimately, God gave the world the light of Christ

c. no one can ignore the sources of light God has made available

1) the Holy Spirit sees to that

Sweeping Assertion #3: Jesus Illuminates Man's Real Need

II. THE LIVING WORD BECAME FLESH TO REVEAL GOD TO MEN

“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.” (John 1:14, ESV)

1. the Creator of the world, in the person of Jesus, walked the fields and hills of Israel, and strolled Jerusalem’s streets

2. his own cousin, John the Baptist, proclaimed him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world

3. the people of Israel rubbed shoulders with God

a. how amazing is that?

A. HE DWELT AMONG US

1. verse 14 is a unique and interesting statement

2. first, the Apostle John digests the incarnation of Jesus into four word—The Word became flesh

a. with amazing brevity, the Apostle John uses four words to describe what Luke’s Gospel takes 2,500 words to describe

3. second, it literally says that Jesus tabernacled among us

a. John's Jewish readers knew immediately that the apostle was referring to the Tent of the Tabernacle which served as the Israelite's portable temple during their wilderness wanderings

b. to paraphrase what the apostle John is saying, we could translate the verse as:

"The physical presence of God—manifested in the person of Jesus Christ— pitched His tent among us."

1) it's as if God moved in next door!

2) I like that

3) it tells me that I have a Heavenly Father who took the initiative to come and experience life as I do in order that He might judge me more fairly and provide me with what I need most—the opportunity to get to know Him personally

c. like the Tabernacle in the wilderness, the glory of God was hidden in Christ

ILLUS. The tabernacle was “all glorious within,” but its glory was a hidden glory. There was no great beauty about the tabernacles outward appearance. To the eye of the casual beholder it was just another tent, spaced off from the tents of the common people. But inside the tabernacle it was gloriously ornate and beautiful. The inner hangings were of blue, purple, and scarlet. All the inner furniture was of gold or overlaid with gold. The Shekinah cloud came to rest on the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies and bathed the inner sanctuary with the light and glory of another world.

d. this is an Old Testament illustration of our Lord’s glory

1) it was a hidden glory

2) when God came to this world in the flesh he did not lay aside his deity, but he veiled his glory

3) in his humanity, the Prophet Isaiah describes Jesus as an ordinary looking man

“ ... ; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53:2, ESV)

4) when John writes, We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, it’s a reference to the glorified Jesus he first saw at the transfiguration and then after the resurrection

4. it’s a glory that will be witnessed by the entire world at our Lord’s Second Coming

B. GOD COMMISSIONS MEN WHO KNOW HIM TO BE LIGHT BEARERS

“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.” ... “15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”)” (John 1:6-7, 15, ESV)

1. God has chosen to work through saved men to evangelize lost men

ILLUS. Like the moon that orbits our Earth, we have no light of our own, but when the light of the sun hits it, it gives off a reflected light for all to see. We worship each Sunday so that the light that shines on us this morning will be reflected to others all week long!

2. there are some Christians here this morning who have ceased to reflect the light of Christ Jesus

a. maybe you need a dose of his glory in your life!

III. THE LIVING WORD IS GOD'S HOPE FOR A CONDEMNED HUMANITY

1. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is the only hope for the lost sinner

2. he provides spiritual light, which illuminates the hearts and minds of men as to their spiritual poverty without him

a. once a man has received that spiritual illumination he has a choice as to how he will respond

A. MANY WILL BE CONDEMNED BECAUSE THEY SIMPLY IGNORE HIM

v. 10 "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not."

1. to them the light is an inconvenience which only momentarily distracts them from their own efforts and pursuits

a. to them the light of Christ is like a flash bulb

1) it's momentarily bright and attracts our attention, but only for a moment

B. MANY WILL BE CONDEMNED BECAUSE THEY HAVE OPENLY REJECTED HIM

v. 11 "He came unto his own, and his own received him not."

1. some men hate the light because it reveals their evil deeds and sinful nature

2. when the light illuminates their life they hate it and scurry like rats away from it

C. A FEW WILL BE COMMENDED BECAUSE THEY ENTHUSIASTICALLY RECEIVE HIM

John 1:12 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name"

1. some will openly embrace the light, they will come to it and joyfully receive the one who shines his light upon them

Some of you here this morning need to experience the New Birth. It is not a physical birth. According to John, being born again is not something you can accomplish of your own will and desire. The new birth is entirely of God. This new birth is made possible because "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." Jesus Christ is the living Word. He came into the world to experience life as you do, to know the hurts and pains and temptations we all go through. He came to bring you light and life.