Christ is Born; So What?

Series: Christmas

Text: John 1:1-18

Introduction: (What?)

Christmas is over. For some the tree is already down. Others will delay that for a month of more. We’ve had sermons, plays, music and all kinds of reminders of “the reason for the season”. Now that Jesus has been born, so what? What does it mean to you? What difference does Christmas make in your life? Although we don’t usually think that John included Christmas in his gospel, he really did, just in a different way.

Examination: (Why?)

1. Logos, Light & Life (vv 1-9)

The Christmas story did not begin with a young couple and a baby in a livestock barn with a manger as a crib. It actually began before creation. John started his gospel with the REAL Christmas story.

John 1:1-9 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.”

Before anything else was, there was the “logos” (Word) who was co-existent with God. Actually He WAS God, and was about to become “God in flesh”. His first assignment was creation. Everything that was created was created THROUGH the Logos. Remember, in Gen 1:1-3 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, (spoke, word, logos) “Let there be light,” and there was light.”

Paul wrote in Col 1:15-16 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him.”

John made that almost the same statement and then emphasized the role of Jesus by saying “apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created”. But, not only was He the Creator, but He was also LIGHT and life. “In Him was life and that life was the light of men.” During His earthly ministry Jesus said in John 14:6 “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” In John 8:12 “Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”

That baby in the manger was creator, life and light, and was soon to be Redeemer. Also in the plan of God for the redemption of man was the forerunner of Jesus. His name was John, and his assignment was to testify about THE LIGHT that was coming into the world. John made it abundantly clear that he was not the promised Messiah, but he would know Him when he saw Him.

2. The Choice that Changes Everything (vv 10-13)

John 1:10-13 “He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.” I have some money I want to give away this morning. Who wants this money?

The person who came forward and RECEIVED that money is now richer than they were when they came in. Some of you didn’t believe that I was actually going to give away money. Others believed, but were either too lazy or too concerned about what others would think to get out of your seat and come up here. This is an analogy of how people respond to Jesus. The offer of salvation is there. However it is never forced on anyone. John said that salvation is available to “all those who DID receive Him.” In order to receive Him, one must first “believe in His name.” (Messiah, Christ)

Paul said essentially the same thing in Romans 10:9-10 “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.” Confessing Jesus as LORD and believing that God raised Him from the dead is actually RECEIVING Jesus as your Messiah. This is the choice that faces everyone who has heard the gospel, and this choice changes EVERYTHING in this life and the next.

3. Have You Met Him? (vv 14-18)

John 1:14-18 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John testified concerning him and exclaimed, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘The one coming after me ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ ”) Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness, for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.”

Here we find the culmination of John’s version of the birth of the Christ child. Although he doesn’t dwell on that aspect of the coming of the “God-man”, it is captured in the phrase, “The Word became flesh.” Then he gave his person testimony regarding Jesus when he wrote “We (the disciples) observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Paul had the same idea when he wrote to the church at Collossae in Col 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” And in Col 2:9 “For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ,”

Jesus said to Philip in John 14:9-10 “Jesus said to him, “Have I been among you all this time and you do not know me, Philip? The one who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who lives in me does his works.”

My question to you today is this. Have you moved beyond fascination with the baby in the manger to a relationship with the One and Only Son of God? I’m reminded of the sermon by Dr. S. M. Lockridge in which he extolled the person of Christ as his King and repeated asked the question “Do you know Him?” (read) I’m not talking about “knowing about Him”, but rather knowing Him by experience.

Application: (How I will respond to this message)

Have you surrendered your life to the One and Only Son of God? If not, you can do so today by praying, “Jesus, I give you my life”.

If you have surrendered your life to Christ, are you walking with Him daily. 1 John 2:6 “The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.” If not, today is the day to confess your disobedience and renew your walk with Him.

Do you need a church home where you can thrive and grow in your walk with Christ and use your spiritual gift(s) to touch others? Consider becoming a member of the Faith Baptist Church family.