WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:07.339 Good morning, church. It's good to be with you all this morning. Well, we are beginning 00:00:07.339 --> 00:00:14.700 a new teaching series this Sunday in the Gospel of John. So if you have a Bible handy on your 00:00:14.700 --> 00:00:20.699 phone or the old-fashioned version, you can turn there with me. Our reading will also be 00:00:20.699 --> 00:00:26.740 on the screen when we get there. So let me encourage you to turn to the fourth gospel 00:00:26.739 --> 00:00:34.799 with me, the Gospel of John. Now, one of the great things about John's gospel is that John is very 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:42.539 clear why he wrote it. At the end of the book, actually, in chapter 20, verses 30 through 31, 00:00:43.480 --> 00:00:44.679 John writes this. He says, 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:49.500 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book, 00:00:49.599 --> 00:00:55.920 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, 00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:03.960 and that by believing you may have life in his name. So John's gospel is about these three 00:01:03.960 --> 00:01:11.460 interrelated things, displaying who Jesus is. He's the Christ, the Son of God, explaining what it means 00:01:11.460 --> 00:01:18.280 to believe in him, what the nature of faith is, and then showing us the life that Jesus came to bring, 00:01:18.340 --> 00:01:23.620 that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you might have life 00:01:23.620 --> 00:01:31.079 in his name. Dorothy Sayers, the 20th century mystery author and kind of public intellectual in 00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:36.980 the 20th century, once observed that the church in her day was getting a lot of bad press. 00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:42.300 And the problem, according to some, why it was getting all this bad press is because some people 00:01:42.300 --> 00:01:47.000 were saying that churches were spending too much time preaching dull dogma. 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:55.939 But Sayers writes an essay in response to this, and in reply to that bad press, she kind of turns all 00:01:55.939 --> 00:02:06.620 of it on its head. She says, the fact is the precise opposite. It is the neglect of dogma that makes for 00:02:06.620 --> 00:02:15.599 dullness. The Christian faith, she says, is the most exciting drama that has ever staggered the imagination 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:26.799 of man. And the dogma is the drama. In other words, what the church professes to believe about Jesus, 00:02:27.299 --> 00:02:37.819 its dogma, that is its teaching, its doctrine, its beliefs, that is the real excitement. That is the drama. 00:02:37.819 --> 00:02:46.359 Or as John puts it in his gospel, that by believing, you might have life in his name. 00:02:48.079 --> 00:02:53.099 You know, the world around us, for all of our social media and endless entertainment options, 00:02:53.939 --> 00:03:02.459 doesn't it seem at times surprisingly devoid of life? Real life, lasting life, satisfying life, 00:03:02.460 --> 00:03:08.200 or as Jesus will put it in this gospel, eternal life, life to the full. 00:03:11.100 --> 00:03:19.960 And John is saying, if you want life, and who doesn't, then it's found in who Jesus is. 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:28.719 The dogma is the drama. Jesus, the Christ, is life. 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:37.379 And so our preaching series this winter and spring is going to follow the first half of John's gospel, 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:44.580 chapter 1 through chapter 11. And with John, we're going to dive into the deep wells of what's 00:03:44.580 --> 00:03:49.879 called Christology. That is the theology, the doctrine, the dogma, the teaching of who Jesus Christ 00:03:49.879 --> 00:03:56.060 is, Christology. And this won't merely be an intellectual enterprise. John promises that this 00:03:56.060 --> 00:04:00.159 will be the gateway into real, lasting life in its fullness. 00:04:02.280 --> 00:04:07.240 So, with that all being said about John's gospel in general, let's jump in to our text this morning. 00:04:07.340 --> 00:04:12.360 I hope you found your way to John's gospel. Let's begin with these opening verses, the prologue, 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:17.740 verses 1 through 18. And before I read this text for us, let's go ahead and let's pray that God would 00:04:17.740 --> 00:04:20.620 bless the reading and the preaching and the meditation on his word. Let's pray. 00:04:20.620 --> 00:04:27.540 Lord Jesus, you indeed were the word in the beginning, one with God most high. And we pray 00:04:27.540 --> 00:04:32.519 that as we come to your word this morning, that you've inspired by your spirit, that you've preserved 00:04:32.519 --> 00:04:36.899 down through the ages, that you've continued to use to speak to your church, that you would do the 00:04:36.899 --> 00:04:43.100 same thing this morning to us, Lord Jesus, that you would speak to us, that you would open the eyes 00:04:43.100 --> 00:04:48.759 of our hearts that we might behold you in fresh ways and so know this life that you've promised to 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:57.920 give us. Lord, we need life and we need you. So, come, we pray, in mercy, in grace, and in power. 00:04:58.740 --> 00:05:04.519 In your name we pray, Jesus. Amen. All right. John chapter 1, verses 1 through 18. Let me read this 00:05:04.519 --> 00:05:11.099 for us. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the 00:05:11.099 --> 00:05:15.980 beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was 00:05:15.980 --> 00:05:22.600 made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:29.240 darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:33.500 to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he 00:05:33.500 --> 00:05:38.540 came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the 00:05:38.540 --> 00:05:46.120 world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him. Yet, the world did not know him. He 00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:53.260 came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in 00:05:53.260 --> 00:06:00.980 his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor the will of the 00:06:00.980 --> 00:06:11.240 flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us. And we have 00:06:11.240 --> 00:06:18.160 seen his glory, glory as of the only Son, from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:24.920 about him, and cried out, this was he of whom I said, he who comes after me, ranks before me, because he was 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:32.560 before me. For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:39.819 through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only God 00:06:39.819 --> 00:06:50.740 who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. Now, St. Augustine apparently once said 00:06:50.740 --> 00:07:00.259 that John's gospel is deep enough for an elephant to swim in, and shallow enough for a child not to 00:07:00.259 --> 00:07:07.600 drown. So, as we navigate these first 18 verses this morning, we want to try to plumb the depths, 00:07:08.139 --> 00:07:14.879 but we don't want to lose the forest for the trees. And the central thing John wants to say about Jesus 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:24.420 here is that he is what he calls the Word, the Word of God, the Word who was with God, the Word who is 00:07:24.420 --> 00:07:34.300 God, who became flesh and dwelt among us. The Word is Jesus. Now, in John's day, the idea of a word, 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:41.139 or the logos, which is what the word is in Greek, was to the Greek mind, the word, the logos, was sort of 00:07:41.139 --> 00:07:47.139 the rational principle underlying everything. To speak of the logos was to speak about, in some ways, 00:07:47.180 --> 00:07:54.019 the grain of the universe. And if we could just align ourselves with that, then, well, life would 00:07:54.019 --> 00:07:58.659 be good, at least as good as we could get. We'd find harmony, we'd find peace, we'd find wisdom, we'd find 00:07:58.659 --> 00:08:06.219 resilience if we sort of got in tune with the Word. But the Hebrew idea of the word, or the logos, 00:08:06.220 --> 00:08:15.480 the biblical idea throughout the Hebrew Scriptures is much richer than that, even. For the Word of God 00:08:15.480 --> 00:08:24.660 in the Bible was God's own personal, dynamic self-expression in creation and in redemption. 00:08:25.460 --> 00:08:33.060 The Word of God was God in action, creating, revealing, saving. And to be encountered by this 00:08:33.059 --> 00:08:39.059 word, this word was not just to find sort of harmony with the universe, but to encounter one's creator, 00:08:39.719 --> 00:08:44.299 the very glory of all being, and the very end and goal of all human existence. 00:08:47.459 --> 00:08:54.699 So John wants to tell us that this word, that for both the Greek secular mind and for the Hebrew 00:08:54.700 --> 00:09:04.140 biblical worldview, which meant life, John wants to tell us about this word. He wants to say, 00:09:04.580 --> 00:09:11.400 here's the word. But like a good writer, he keeps us in suspense about who this word is until the end 00:09:11.400 --> 00:09:18.320 of verse 17, where he finally says, this word we've all been looking for is Jesus Christ. 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:25.660 Jesus is the word. What you're looking for, it's him. What the Greeks have been searching for, 00:09:25.740 --> 00:09:31.200 what the Hebrews have been waiting for, it's here. It's now. We've seen him. It's Christ. 00:09:35.340 --> 00:09:39.580 Now, what does John want to tell us about this word of God, who is Jesus? What does he want us to see? 00:09:39.640 --> 00:09:44.900 What does he want us to know about the word? Well, this prologue that kind of sets up all of John's 00:09:44.899 --> 00:09:48.819 gospel and lays down a lot of the themes that we're going to unpack over the coming months, 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:54.000 this prologue kind of falls roughly into two halves. There's verses 1 through 13, and there's 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:58.639 verses 14 through 18. And we're going to look at each of those halves this morning and see what John 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:04.220 wants to tell us about this word. And the big idea of the first half, verses 1 through 13, is this. 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:10.659 John is going to say, because the word is fully God, because this word is fully God, 00:10:10.659 --> 00:10:19.279 we can enter into God's family. Because the word is fully God, we can enter into God's family. 00:10:20.740 --> 00:10:27.279 So let's notice how John goes about saying this. Verses 1 through 5 are a clear statement that the 00:10:27.279 --> 00:10:36.019 word is fully God. First, notice that the word shares God's eternity. In the beginning, John says, 00:10:36.019 --> 00:10:41.159 was the word. Now, that reference in the beginning, that's a reference to the very opening line of the 00:10:41.159 --> 00:10:46.620 Bible, right? Genesis 1.1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And in that timeless 00:10:46.620 --> 00:10:53.939 eternity, in the beginning, where God always is, there too, John says, in the beginning was the word. The 00:10:53.939 --> 00:11:02.879 word shares God's eternity. Second, John says, the word is an intimate relationship with God. The word was 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:09.860 with God. Now, that preposition with here means something like toward. And a lot of scholars see 00:11:09.860 --> 00:11:16.820 that as indicating something like a face-to-face intimacy. The word was with God. 00:11:18.899 --> 00:11:26.659 But then third, John will say, the word is one with God. The word was God. 00:11:26.659 --> 00:11:39.079 God. And this is an unambiguous, straightforward, clear-as-day affirmation of the word's full deity. 00:11:41.179 --> 00:11:47.939 Now, some groups who deny that Jesus is fully God, like the Jehovah's Witnesses say, have tried to 00:11:47.939 --> 00:11:52.079 translate this phrase of John's prologue a little differently. They try to translate it as if it says 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:57.580 the word was a God. Because in the Greek, there's not actually a definite article there. There isn't 00:11:57.580 --> 00:12:04.060 a the before God. So they think you can translate it, the word was a God. But in fact, when you do a 00:12:04.060 --> 00:12:09.600 proper study of the Greek grammar, it shows that John isn't merely saying that the word is merely a 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:14.300 God or divine. There were lots of ways John could have gone about saying such a thing. And in fact, 00:12:14.379 --> 00:12:18.500 just the opposite is true when you look at the grammar. The Greek construction here implies 00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:27.740 emphasis, the word was God all the way. It's actually the same kind of Greek construction found 00:12:27.740 --> 00:12:33.620 later in chapter 1 in verse 49, which everyone, including Jehovah's Witnesses, ironically, translate, 00:12:34.139 --> 00:12:42.899 you are the king of Israel, not a king, but king. So we can be abundantly confident what John means to 00:12:42.899 --> 00:12:53.559 say here. The word was God, fully God. Now, of course, as we think about all that John's saying 00:12:53.559 --> 00:12:59.699 about the word here, this is where the waters start to get deep. And this is where the elephants start to 00:12:59.699 --> 00:13:11.079 swim. And our minds start to move from analysis to worship. The word who was with God in the beginning 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:23.520 is God from the beginning. In other words, the one true God eternally exists in distinct persons. 00:13:24.920 --> 00:13:32.160 In verse 14, these persons are called Father and Son. The Father is fully God. The Son is fully God. 00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:39.980 But the Father is not the Son. And here you see are the building blocks of what will become known as 00:13:39.980 --> 00:13:46.440 the doctrine of the doctrine of the Trinity. For as the Old Testament unfolds, we find that Father, Son, 00:13:46.560 --> 00:13:57.360 and Holy Spirit are all fully revealed, fully spoken of as fully God, but distinct from one another. 00:13:58.940 --> 00:14:07.379 There is one and only one God who eternally exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:14:07.379 --> 00:14:15.779 Now, does all this make your head hurt a little bit? That the word was with God and wonder of wonders, 00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:20.519 the word was God? Does that sort of make you want to scratch your head and get a little bit of a brain 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:26.360 cramp? Well, if that's true for you, that's okay. You should be getting a brain cramp right now. 00:14:27.139 --> 00:14:33.879 The doctrine of the full deity of the word, friends, is not an intellectual puzzle to figure out. 00:14:33.879 --> 00:14:42.620 The fact that the godness of God is Trinitarian isn't a problem to solve, but it's a reality 00:14:42.620 --> 00:14:47.659 to worship. The one in three, the three in one. 00:14:50.460 --> 00:14:58.179 And after all, when you think of it, it's a bit comforting, isn't it, to think that God is bigger 00:14:58.179 --> 00:15:04.439 and more mysterious and more full of wonder than our finite little minds can wrap themselves around, 00:15:04.519 --> 00:15:12.959 isn't it? We're talking about God, after all. And not just an attribute of God, but God's own identity, 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:22.699 who He is. Surely, if God's identity, His tri-unity is a bit beyond our grasp, that's okay. 00:15:22.700 --> 00:15:31.060 You know, we shouldn't expect to catch a hurricane like we might catch a football, right? 00:15:31.580 --> 00:15:36.280 And so we shouldn't expect to figure out God the way we figure out a math problem. 00:15:39.640 --> 00:15:44.020 But you know, if in the opening of John's prologue here, the elephants are swimming, 00:15:44.759 --> 00:15:48.060 let's not forget that we, the little children, aren't meant to drown. 00:15:48.059 --> 00:15:53.319 Having driven home that the Word is fully God, John goes on to tell us the good news. Because 00:15:53.319 --> 00:16:01.459 the Word is fully God, we can now join the family of God. In verses 6 through 13, we hear of, we hear 00:16:01.459 --> 00:16:06.619 of John the Baptist bearing witness to the coming one who brings life and light. In our reading earlier 00:16:06.619 --> 00:16:12.239 in the service, let us hear some of what John the Baptist's witness was like. And then in verse 9, 00:16:12.239 --> 00:16:17.799 this light comes into the world. The Creator comes into creation. He's in the world. 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:26.679 He's here, but something goes wrong. The world didn't know Him. He comes to His own people, 00:16:26.759 --> 00:16:34.839 the people of Israel, and even His own people don't receive Him. What's going on here? Why do we not 00:16:34.839 --> 00:16:42.579 receive the Word? Life and light have just shown up on our doorstep, and yet we don't receive it. Why? 00:16:42.580 --> 00:16:53.480 But is this not the sad truth, friends? Our natural inclination, this side of the fall, 00:16:53.580 --> 00:17:02.340 is not to welcome God with open arms, but to push Him away. Light shines, and we pull down the shades. 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:10.400 Life comes, and we cling to ashes and dust. This is the tragedy of human sin. 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:15.660 And you're the heart of sin. And you're the heart of sin. Isn't merely just breaking some rules. 00:17:16.320 --> 00:17:24.160 The heart of sin is pushing God away and being a God unto ourselves. The heart of sin is relational. 00:17:24.740 --> 00:17:28.240 We don't want God in our life. 00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:40.460 But notice verse 12. But our rejection of God is not the end of the story. 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:50.299 God overcomes our resistance and makes us not just subjects, but children. 00:17:50.299 --> 00:17:57.720 What amazing grace. We rejected God flat out, and yet God makes us His family. 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:05.639 And how does that come about? Not of blood, John says. That is, it's not your biological family 00:18:05.639 --> 00:18:10.740 heritage that makes you a child of God. Nor is it the will of the flesh that is your hard work or 00:18:10.740 --> 00:18:15.599 your determination that can earn you the right to become a child of God. It's not that. Nor is it the 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:20.179 will of man. It's not someone, it's not something someone else can decide for you. 00:18:21.459 --> 00:18:28.879 But it's of God. God makes it happen. He gives sight to the blind. He gives life to the dead. 00:18:30.159 --> 00:18:38.699 Resisters become receivers because of God. All who did receive Him, who believed in His name, 00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:45.139 He gave the right to become children of God. Why is this so? 00:18:46.099 --> 00:18:53.199 Why is receiving the Word, believing in the name of the Word, why is that the thing that gives us 00:18:53.199 --> 00:18:55.699 the right to be children of God? 00:18:58.539 --> 00:19:03.480 Well, because of what John has just been telling us. Because the Word isn't some philosophical 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:08.959 principle. The Word isn't some great spiritual idea that we have to put into practice. The Word 00:19:08.959 --> 00:19:14.480 isn't even some wonderful religious teacher whose teachings we have to follow. No. The Word 00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:25.819 Jesus Christ is God. Fully God. And if His name is now your name through faith, then you have the right 00:19:25.819 --> 00:19:32.240 to enter into that intimate relationship with God that existed in the very beginning, where the Word was 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:46.900 God. You enter in. The communion of love in the Trinity is open for us because the Word who has come for us 00:19:46.900 --> 00:19:59.720 is fully God. The church fathers used to say over and over again, because the Son of God has become a Son of Man, 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:03.300 the sons of men can become sons of God. 00:20:03.299 --> 00:20:10.559 Now, we'd probably use more inclusive language to say such a thing today. I get it. But you see the point 00:20:10.559 --> 00:20:19.819 they wanted to make. We humans can be ushered in to fellowship with the inner Trinitarian family of God, 00:20:19.919 --> 00:20:24.639 Father, Son, and Spirit, because Jesus isn't just some mere teacher, but God Himself come for us. 00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:31.259 You know, if I walked around my neighborhood, picked a random house, and around dinnertime, 00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:36.500 knocked on the door and said, hey, I'm here for dinner. Where's my seat at the table? 00:20:37.380 --> 00:20:42.320 You could probably guess how they would respond. Our neighborhood's pretty nice, so they'd probably 00:20:42.320 --> 00:20:46.860 assume I found the wrong house. But then after I persisted, they would probably tell me politely to 00:20:46.860 --> 00:20:54.160 get lost, right? But if one of my friends invites me to family dinner, 00:20:54.640 --> 00:21:02.180 it's totally different. He greets me at the door. He invites me in. The rest of the family welcomes me. 00:21:02.360 --> 00:21:09.200 Why? Because I'm with Him, and He's part of the family. And because He's part of the family now, 00:21:10.100 --> 00:21:19.080 so am I. I get to sit down at the table and join the meal. Friends, because the Word is fully God, 00:21:19.079 --> 00:21:22.559 all who receive the Word are welcomed into the family of God. 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:33.079 But John has more, even more to tell us about this Word. The Word isn't just fully God. 00:21:33.980 --> 00:21:38.579 John wants us to know that the Word is also fully human. 00:21:38.579 --> 00:21:46.240 The second half of the prologue tells us this. Because this Word is fully human now, 00:21:46.919 --> 00:21:53.619 because this Word is fully human, we can now see God's glory. 00:21:56.419 --> 00:21:57.839 Look at verse 14. 00:21:57.839 --> 00:22:11.539 Now, you see, up to this point, we might be tempted to think of Jesus as merely maybe just 00:22:11.539 --> 00:22:17.159 sort of an appearance of God, sort of a theophany, like an angel of the Lord in the Old Testament, 00:22:17.299 --> 00:22:21.839 someone who just sort of zooms in, sort of comes to us in a human form, seems to be human. 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:29.039 But no, John says, the Word doesn't, Jesus didn't just seem to be human. 00:22:29.980 --> 00:22:38.099 The Word became flesh. And this is where we get that wonderful word, incarnation. 00:22:39.399 --> 00:22:43.579 The Word became flesh, incarnate. 00:22:45.379 --> 00:22:51.659 Jesus, who was fully God, was not also just partially human. 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:57.899 He wasn't sort of human. He wasn't half God and half human, like some kind of mermaid. 00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:02.539 He was fully human. He became flesh. 00:23:04.939 --> 00:23:11.839 But how, we ask, how can God become a fully human being without losing His Godness? 00:23:15.079 --> 00:23:20.139 And here again, the pool deepens and the elephants start to swim. 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:27.699 C.S. Lewis once said that the incarnation is the grand miracle. 00:23:28.799 --> 00:23:35.419 In one person, Jesus, are two natures, the fullness of humanity and the fullness of God, 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:41.379 without confusion, without change, without division, without separation. 00:23:41.380 --> 00:23:49.620 Beautiful language, isn't it? 00:23:50.120 --> 00:23:58.460 Fully human, fully divine, without confusion, without change, without division, but without separation. 00:23:58.460 --> 00:24:06.340 And this again, friends, is where our biblical analysis needs to give way to worship. 00:24:06.339 --> 00:24:09.019 Again, Dorothy Sayers writes, 00:24:09.019 --> 00:24:17.500 From the beginning of time until now, the incarnation is the only thing which has ever really happened. 00:24:18.339 --> 00:24:22.839 We may call this doctrine exhilarating, or we may call it devastating. 00:24:23.119 --> 00:24:26.359 We may call it revelation, or we may call it rubbish. 00:24:26.439 --> 00:24:28.939 But then she says, but if we call it dull, 00:24:28.940 --> 00:24:33.880 then what in heaven's name is worthy to be called exciting? 00:24:35.720 --> 00:24:38.440 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. 00:24:40.539 --> 00:24:45.259 Now the implications of the incarnation are limitless. 00:24:46.080 --> 00:24:51.880 The implications that God has become a fully human being are limitless. 00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:54.940 It takes the whole New Testament to begin to define it, 00:24:55.060 --> 00:24:57.180 and for all eternity we will plummet steps. 00:24:57.900 --> 00:25:00.440 When it comes to the atonement, when it comes to human suffering, 00:25:00.560 --> 00:25:02.140 when it comes to everything, 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:06.480 the incarnation is the only thing that has ever really happened. 00:25:08.860 --> 00:25:13.180 But here in John's prologue, he points to one, just one, of these massive implications. 00:25:14.760 --> 00:25:17.020 Because this Word is fully human now, 00:25:17.019 --> 00:25:23.660 we can at long last see God in His glory. 00:25:25.900 --> 00:25:33.220 God, without mediation, without reserve, dwelt among us. 00:25:35.579 --> 00:25:37.879 The word dwell here in verse 14, 00:25:37.980 --> 00:25:42.339 it's the same verb that was used for the tabernacle in the Old Testament. 00:25:42.900 --> 00:25:45.879 That physical place where God's glory dwelled 00:25:45.880 --> 00:25:47.420 among the people of Israel. 00:25:48.340 --> 00:25:49.700 Where is that place now? 00:25:50.820 --> 00:25:53.540 If we want to know what God is like, 00:25:53.760 --> 00:25:54.940 where do we look? 00:25:56.160 --> 00:25:57.940 Do we look to the tabernacle or the temple? 00:25:58.140 --> 00:25:58.920 Do we stop there? 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:03.900 Do we scour the religious sites strewn around the world? 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:06.360 Do we try to find and see what God is like there? 00:26:07.020 --> 00:26:09.580 Do we pore over religious texts and all the writings 00:26:09.580 --> 00:26:11.120 that have been stored up and handed down 00:26:11.120 --> 00:26:12.760 throughout all the great world religions? 00:26:13.080 --> 00:26:14.960 Or perhaps do we forsake all that, 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:16.220 head out into nature, 00:26:16.500 --> 00:26:17.480 look at the stars, 00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:18.640 look at the mountains, 00:26:18.779 --> 00:26:20.100 where do we go now 00:26:20.100 --> 00:26:22.700 to know God and what He's really like? 00:26:22.700 --> 00:26:29.299 The answer that John gives in his prologue 00:26:29.299 --> 00:26:32.920 is as scandalous as it is wonderful. 00:26:33.580 --> 00:26:35.460 And this is what the church has proclaimed 00:26:35.460 --> 00:26:37.180 from the very beginning. 00:26:37.640 --> 00:26:40.299 If you want to know God, 00:26:40.660 --> 00:26:42.559 if you want to really know Him, 00:26:44.019 --> 00:26:46.840 then you must look in the face of the man, 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:47.660 Jesus Christ. 00:26:47.660 --> 00:26:52.300 Here, God has become flesh 00:26:52.300 --> 00:26:54.440 and made Himself fully known. 00:26:55.360 --> 00:26:56.900 Yes, the law was given through Moses, 00:26:57.480 --> 00:27:00.779 but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 00:27:02.980 --> 00:27:05.660 And that means, brothers and sisters, 00:27:06.500 --> 00:27:08.960 we don't have to guess anymore. 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:13.039 We don't have to grope in the dark anymore. 00:27:14.620 --> 00:27:16.160 In the flesh of Jesus, 00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:18.660 we see the glory of God, 00:27:19.340 --> 00:27:20.600 the mercy of God, 00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:22.539 the justice of God, 00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:24.420 the gentleness of God, 00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:26.100 the firmness of God, 00:27:26.420 --> 00:27:27.860 the faithfulness of God, 00:27:28.440 --> 00:27:31.120 and supremely on the cross, 00:27:31.400 --> 00:27:33.059 in the flesh of Jesus Christ, 00:27:33.420 --> 00:27:35.079 the self-giving love of God. 00:27:35.079 --> 00:27:38.539 If you want to know God, 00:27:39.460 --> 00:27:40.960 look no further 00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:43.119 than the person of Jesus. 00:27:46.659 --> 00:27:48.740 And it's no wonder that John says 00:27:48.740 --> 00:27:51.019 that this is grace upon grace. 00:27:51.339 --> 00:27:53.039 It's just a piling up, 00:27:53.480 --> 00:27:55.439 a super abundance of grace. 00:27:56.819 --> 00:27:58.679 You know, when I want to really connect 00:27:58.679 --> 00:27:59.559 with my children, 00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:01.259 what do I do? 00:28:02.359 --> 00:28:03.699 I get down low, 00:28:03.839 --> 00:28:04.960 I get next to them, 00:28:05.079 --> 00:28:06.679 I try to speak in words 00:28:06.679 --> 00:28:07.599 they can understand. 00:28:08.240 --> 00:28:09.319 I stoop down 00:28:09.319 --> 00:28:11.119 to try to meet them. 00:28:14.399 --> 00:28:15.519 And God, 00:28:15.799 --> 00:28:19.019 who once thundered on Sinai, 00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:20.879 God who stretched the heavens 00:28:20.879 --> 00:28:22.279 and galaxies into place, 00:28:22.779 --> 00:28:24.539 this God has gotten down 00:28:24.539 --> 00:28:25.619 to our level. 00:28:26.639 --> 00:28:29.259 God has stooped. 00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:31.559 Not just to take up 00:28:31.559 --> 00:28:32.859 symbolic residence 00:28:32.859 --> 00:28:34.299 in a tent or a temple 00:28:34.299 --> 00:28:35.039 like the Old Testament. 00:28:35.039 --> 00:28:36.980 No, in the very flesh 00:28:36.980 --> 00:28:38.200 that we inhabit, 00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:40.399 in our very human nature, 00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:42.919 God has stooped down 00:28:42.919 --> 00:28:44.099 to our very level. 00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:46.759 He's shown himself to us 00:28:46.759 --> 00:28:49.659 literally face to face. 00:28:49.660 --> 00:28:50.660 God's love. 00:28:50.660 --> 00:28:51.259 God has stooped down 00:28:51.259 --> 00:28:51.660 to our God. 00:28:51.660 --> 00:28:53.640 No one has ever seen God. 00:28:55.040 --> 00:28:55.600 But, 00:28:56.080 --> 00:28:56.660 but, 00:28:56.660 --> 00:28:58.820 the only God 00:28:58.820 --> 00:29:00.340 who's at the Father's side, 00:29:00.440 --> 00:29:00.960 the Son, 00:29:01.480 --> 00:29:02.900 He has made Him known. 00:29:02.900 --> 00:29:07.860 To wrap things up then, 00:29:07.860 --> 00:29:08.640 let me put it this way. 00:29:09.580 --> 00:29:11.320 The life we were created for, 00:29:11.640 --> 00:29:13.400 the life that we long for 00:29:13.400 --> 00:29:14.680 behind every desire 00:29:14.680 --> 00:29:15.660 and every longing 00:29:15.660 --> 00:29:16.620 of the human soul, 00:29:16.840 --> 00:29:17.720 that life, 00:29:17.820 --> 00:29:18.019 friends, 00:29:18.120 --> 00:29:19.840 is to know God 00:29:19.840 --> 00:29:21.600 and to be known by God. 00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:25.080 To see God's glory 00:29:25.079 --> 00:29:28.079 and to join His family forever. 00:29:29.359 --> 00:29:30.939 And the good news is this. 00:29:31.899 --> 00:29:32.759 Because Jesus, 00:29:32.899 --> 00:29:33.220 the Word, 00:29:33.259 --> 00:29:34.539 is fully God, 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:36.679 He can bring us up with Him. 00:29:37.539 --> 00:29:38.460 And because Jesus, 00:29:38.599 --> 00:29:38.819 the Word, 00:29:38.859 --> 00:29:39.799 is fully human, 00:29:39.879 --> 00:29:41.419 He can bring God down to us. 00:29:42.699 --> 00:29:44.319 In the Word made flesh, 00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:45.679 we can know God 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:47.680 and we can be known by God 00:29:47.680 --> 00:29:48.840 forever. 00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:53.560 So do you know this Word, 00:29:53.860 --> 00:29:54.340 this Jesus? 00:29:55.500 --> 00:29:57.259 Have you received Him 00:29:57.259 --> 00:29:58.820 and believed in Him? 00:29:59.920 --> 00:30:01.500 And is your spiritual life 00:30:01.500 --> 00:30:04.580 completely centered on Him? 00:30:06.380 --> 00:30:08.000 A soul without Jesus 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:10.120 is like a ship without a sail. 00:30:10.680 --> 00:30:12.620 It just drifts with the tides, 00:30:12.980 --> 00:30:14.340 never reaching the harbor. 00:30:15.680 --> 00:30:17.460 But make this Word, 00:30:17.600 --> 00:30:18.120 this Jesus, 00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:19.500 the heartbeat of your life. 00:30:20.420 --> 00:30:21.519 And then you and I 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:22.580 will know life 00:30:22.580 --> 00:30:23.480 and we will know it 00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:24.100 to the full. 00:30:25.259 --> 00:30:26.240 Let's pray together. 00:30:31.460 --> 00:30:32.380 Our Lord Jesus, 00:30:32.680 --> 00:30:35.100 we give You praise. 00:30:36.320 --> 00:30:39.100 You are fully God 00:30:39.100 --> 00:30:41.299 and You have become 00:30:41.299 --> 00:30:43.019 fully human for us. 00:30:43.019 --> 00:30:45.539 O Lord, 00:30:45.619 --> 00:30:46.619 by Your Holy Spirit, 00:30:46.720 --> 00:30:47.319 this week, 00:30:48.639 --> 00:30:49.779 kindle within us 00:30:49.779 --> 00:30:51.879 the embers of faith. 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:55.119 Fan them into a burning 00:30:55.119 --> 00:30:57.700 flame of love, 00:30:58.279 --> 00:30:58.799 devotion, 00:30:59.619 --> 00:31:00.160 service, 00:31:00.579 --> 00:31:02.119 and sacrifice for You. 00:31:03.259 --> 00:31:04.839 Would we be simply 00:31:04.839 --> 00:31:05.779 enraptured 00:31:05.779 --> 00:31:07.319 by the wonder 00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:08.279 of who You are? 00:31:08.279 --> 00:31:12.180 and would everyone 00:31:12.180 --> 00:31:13.559 we encounter this week 00:31:13.559 --> 00:31:15.599 in this broken world 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:16.819 that needs Your mercy 00:31:16.819 --> 00:31:17.960 and grace so much, 00:31:18.660 --> 00:31:18.859 Lord, 00:31:18.899 --> 00:31:19.839 would they see in us 00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:20.759 a little taste 00:31:20.759 --> 00:31:23.299 of glory 00:31:23.299 --> 00:31:25.019 and a family 00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:26.740 that You have provided 00:31:26.740 --> 00:31:27.500 for us in Him. 00:31:28.079 --> 00:31:29.480 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:31:29.720 --> 00:31:30.019 Amen. 00:31:30.019 --> 00:31:30.180 Amen. 00:31:30.180 --> 00:31:30.200 Amen. 00:31:30.200 --> 00:31:30.220 Amen. 00:31:30.220 --> 00:31:30.240 Amen. 00:31:30.240 --> 00:31:30.259 Amen. 00:31:30.259 --> 00:31:30.279 Amen. 00:31:30.279 --> 00:31:30.339 Amen. 00:31:30.339 --> 00:31:32.220 Amen. 00:31:32.220 --> 00:31:32.240 Amen. 00:31:32.240 --> 00:31:34.240 Amen. 00:31:34.240 --> 00:31:34.299 Amen. 00:31:34.299 --> 00:31:34.319 Amen. 00:31:34.319 --> 00:31:38.259 Amen.