WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:02.940 John chapter 1, verse 1. 00:00:03.740 --> 00:00:08.960 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 00:00:09.580 --> 00:00:11.179 He was in the beginning with God. 00:00:11.820 --> 00:00:17.019 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 00:00:18.019 --> 00:00:21.460 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 00:00:22.440 --> 00:00:26.760 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 00:00:26.760 --> 00:00:31.060 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 00:00:31.860 --> 00:00:36.800 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:41.200 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 00:00:42.060 --> 00:00:46.540 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 00:00:47.500 --> 00:00:53.620 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 00:00:53.619 --> 00:00:57.959 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 00:00:58.699 --> 00:01:05.500 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 00:01:06.019 --> 00:01:12.599 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 00:01:12.599 --> 00:01:16.919 And the word became flesh, and dwelt among us. 00:01:17.419 --> 00:01:24.659 And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 00:01:25.699 --> 00:01:28.479 John bore witness about him, and cried out, 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:31.759 This is he who was of whom I said, 00:01:32.060 --> 00:01:36.379 He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me. 00:01:36.379 --> 00:01:40.959 For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:46.560 For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 00:01:47.340 --> 00:01:52.079 No one has ever seen God, the only God, who is at the Father's side. 00:01:52.579 --> 00:01:53.780 He has made him known. 00:01:55.159 --> 00:02:00.159 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:00.879 Who are you? 00:02:01.259 --> 00:02:02.239 The word of the Lord. 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:03.699 Thanks be to God. 00:02:06.379 --> 00:02:32.219 I'm still trying to figure this out. 00:02:32.219 --> 00:02:38.560 That's a famous passage you just read from John chapter 1. 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:46.419 And it goes in the face of something that people in Western civilization have been hearing for a while. 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:54.400 For example, Ludwig Feuerbach claimed that God is a human invention, this German atheistic philosopher. 00:02:54.879 --> 00:02:58.139 Karl Marx said that God is an opiate for the masses. 00:02:58.139 --> 00:03:04.239 Sigmund Freud said that God is an illusion, a figment of the human imagination. 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:09.019 And Friedrich Nietzsche declared that God is dead. 00:03:10.059 --> 00:03:16.359 These priests of atheism, so to speak, they boldly proposed what they called the secularization hypothesis, 00:03:16.839 --> 00:03:20.879 which claimed that as the world advanced, as societies progressed, 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:25.979 that through modernization and rationalization that they would become increasingly e-religious, 00:03:26.579 --> 00:03:28.039 that God would be no longer needed. 00:03:29.219 --> 00:03:30.780 However, the reverse has happened. 00:03:31.740 --> 00:03:37.300 In 1900, that's actually the year Nietzsche died, the man who declared that God is dead, 00:03:37.719 --> 00:03:39.460 there were 8 million Christians in Africa. 00:03:39.460 --> 00:03:44.360 Now there are 335 million Christians in Africa. 00:03:45.320 --> 00:03:51.100 The Pew report documented that in 2010, there were 2.2 billion Christians in the world, 00:03:51.420 --> 00:03:54.400 which was at the time 31% of the world population, 00:03:54.740 --> 00:03:57.540 the largest numerical growth that Christianity has ever seen. 00:03:58.760 --> 00:04:01.620 And in case you dismiss these statistics saying that, you know what, 00:04:01.659 --> 00:04:05.900 that's just in the third world countries, in Africa and Asia, that's where the growth is happening. 00:04:05.900 --> 00:04:09.439 In parts of the world where the world is actually, society is progressing and advancing, 00:04:09.780 --> 00:04:11.780 that kind of growth is nowhere to be seen. 00:04:12.020 --> 00:04:14.659 In case you say that here, the Gallup World Poll, 00:04:14.980 --> 00:04:18.579 which surveyed more than a million people in 163 nations, 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:23.340 says 81% of people claim to belong to an organized religious faith. 00:04:24.540 --> 00:04:28.319 74% say that religion is the important part of their daily lives. 00:04:29.519 --> 00:04:34.460 You see, in only a few countries in the world, actually, the number of atheists exceeds 5%. 00:04:34.459 --> 00:04:40.479 Not only that, in every part of the world, and seemingly, the parts where Christianity had been receding, 00:04:40.899 --> 00:04:46.399 people are increasingly looking to and turning to more unconventional kinds of spiritual answers. 00:04:47.019 --> 00:04:51.979 For example, in Russia and France, there are more occult healers than there are actual medical doctors. 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:55.359 38% of the French believe in astrology. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:05:01.339 35% of the Swiss agree that some fortune tellers can really foresee the future. 00:05:01.339 --> 00:05:04.399 As C.S. Lewis once said, 00:05:04.599 --> 00:05:08.619 A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him 00:05:08.619 --> 00:05:13.519 than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word darkness on the walls of his cell. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.339 It seems that the light of God simply cannot be blotted out. 00:05:20.339 --> 00:05:22.679 No matter what these people would tell us, 00:05:22.739 --> 00:05:24.139 that we do not need God, 00:05:24.259 --> 00:05:27.319 the advanced civilizations have no need for God, 00:05:27.319 --> 00:05:32.139 people everywhere seem to be crying out for God, 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:33.839 searching for God. 00:05:34.019 --> 00:05:35.800 Then how should we seek God? 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:37.439 How can we know God? 00:05:37.500 --> 00:05:39.600 How can we know which faith and religion is true? 00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:41.899 And in order to find out, 00:05:42.019 --> 00:05:44.680 we're going to embark on a new sermon series starting today 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:46.420 from the Gospel of John entitled, 00:05:46.579 --> 00:05:48.159 Jesus, the Son of God. 00:05:49.100 --> 00:05:52.500 And Gospel, the word Gospel, simply means good news. 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:57.040 It refers to the good news of the person and work of Jesus Christ. 00:05:57.500 --> 00:05:58.839 And there are four Gospels in the Bible, 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:00.120 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.720 and John is the last one that was written around 80 AD. 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:07.920 And it's explicitly written to answer that question. 00:06:08.360 --> 00:06:09.459 How can we know God? 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:11.959 You see this in chapter 20, verses 30 to 31. 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:12.819 John writes this. 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:16.519 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:18.319 which are not written in this book. 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:23.920 These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:25.480 the Son of God, 00:06:25.659 --> 00:06:29.560 and that by believing you may have life in His name. 00:06:29.819 --> 00:06:32.319 That's the purpose of the Gospel of John, 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:33.680 the explicit purpose. 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:35.139 And if you read that, you might say, 00:06:35.300 --> 00:06:38.100 well, that's not what you would call an objective history, is it? 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:39.879 Well, he's Christian. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:41.100 He has an agenda. 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:42.519 He wants to convert people. 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:43.600 He wants people to believe it. 00:06:43.600 --> 00:06:46.039 So how can we believe that what he's telling us is true? 00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:48.520 So someone might say that in the modern era. 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:53.500 However, there's a biblical scholar named Richard Baucom 00:06:53.500 --> 00:06:57.020 who wrote a groundbreaking book called Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. 00:06:57.720 --> 00:07:00.820 And in it, he documents the fact that in the ancient world, 00:07:01.340 --> 00:07:04.620 the eyewitnesses were considered the best 00:07:04.620 --> 00:07:08.500 and the most reliable form of historical writers. 00:07:09.259 --> 00:07:11.700 And the reason why they thought that is because, you know what, 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:15.240 it's the people that care the most deeply about their subject 00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:18.199 who are going to make the most painstaking effort 00:07:18.199 --> 00:07:20.300 to preserve the details of that subject. 00:07:21.259 --> 00:07:23.400 In the same way, if someone were to come and say, 00:07:23.519 --> 00:07:25.300 I want to write a biography about you, 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:29.100 you wouldn't want a detached and disinterested bystander 00:07:29.100 --> 00:07:31.180 from somewhere that has no relationship with you whatsoever 00:07:31.180 --> 00:07:32.340 to write that biography. 00:07:32.960 --> 00:07:35.480 No, you would want someone that knows you intimately. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:38.620 You would want someone that actually cares about the details of your life 00:07:38.620 --> 00:07:39.600 to write that biography. 00:07:40.019 --> 00:07:41.600 That person would take the pains 00:07:41.600 --> 00:07:43.519 to make sure to preserve those details. 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:47.019 In the same way, for that reason, the ancient writers, 00:07:47.159 --> 00:07:49.639 the writers of the Bible were eyewitnesses 00:07:49.639 --> 00:07:52.959 and we were interested in preserving the details of Jesus' life 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:54.779 precisely because they cared. 00:07:55.399 --> 00:07:57.799 And for that reason, they wrote this with the intention 00:07:57.799 --> 00:07:59.740 that it would be a trustworthy account 00:07:59.740 --> 00:08:02.000 that people can see and believe in. 00:08:02.359 --> 00:08:05.419 So now that's what we're going into in the Gospel of John. 00:08:05.500 --> 00:08:06.519 It's a reliable account. 00:08:06.759 --> 00:08:07.919 It's an eyewitness account. 00:08:08.419 --> 00:08:12.839 We have four different ones all attesting to the same Jesus Christ. 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:17.019 Yes, it's not disinterested, nor is it uninterested, 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:20.779 but it's an invested, trustworthy eyewitness account 00:08:20.779 --> 00:08:22.239 of what happened to Jesus. 00:08:22.919 --> 00:08:25.819 And he doesn't brush over things and hide things. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:29.959 He includes even the embarrassing details about himself and others. 00:08:30.500 --> 00:08:32.839 He includes difficult and controversial saying 00:08:32.839 --> 00:08:35.039 that would have been very expedient to leave out. 00:08:35.439 --> 00:08:38.059 These are signs that show that this is a reliable account. 00:08:38.059 --> 00:08:42.899 And so then I want to ask all of you to ask that question 00:08:42.899 --> 00:08:44.159 as we go through the series together 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:45.239 and as we go through the sermon today. 00:08:45.359 --> 00:08:47.000 Who is Jesus Christ? 00:08:47.699 --> 00:08:50.059 And then consider the weighty implications of that answer 00:08:50.659 --> 00:08:52.159 that the Gospel provides. 00:08:52.899 --> 00:08:57.479 So we begin today in John 1, chapter 1, verses 1 to 18, 00:08:57.619 --> 00:08:59.079 which is the prologue of the Gospel. 00:08:59.239 --> 00:09:02.159 It really contains in seed form everything 00:09:02.159 --> 00:09:04.419 that John talks about throughout the book. 00:09:04.419 --> 00:09:06.639 All the major themes that he covers in the book 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:09.459 are introduced here in this prologue. 00:09:09.779 --> 00:09:11.379 And John's main point is this, 00:09:11.719 --> 00:09:13.579 that in order to know God, 00:09:13.779 --> 00:09:16.240 we must believe in Jesus Christ, 00:09:16.439 --> 00:09:18.099 the incarnate Word of God, 00:09:18.379 --> 00:09:22.419 who is the ultimate disclosure of God Himself. 00:09:23.620 --> 00:09:25.219 In order to know God, 00:09:25.299 --> 00:09:26.740 we must believe in Jesus Christ, 00:09:26.839 --> 00:09:30.319 who is the ultimate disclosure of God Himself. 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:34.060 And I will unpack that first by talking about the Word of God, 00:09:34.500 --> 00:09:36.900 and then secondly about the light of God, 00:09:37.040 --> 00:09:39.220 and then lastly about the glory of God. 00:09:39.300 --> 00:09:40.640 So you can follow along with me, 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:42.360 verses 1 to 3. 00:09:43.140 --> 00:09:44.540 In verse 1 it begins, 00:09:44.920 --> 00:09:46.680 In the beginning was the Word, 00:09:47.040 --> 00:09:49.180 and the Word was with God, 00:09:49.960 --> 00:09:52.360 and the Word was God. 00:09:53.500 --> 00:09:55.220 In the beginning. 00:09:55.220 --> 00:09:58.700 Anybody who has tried to read the Bible, 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:00.500 usually they begin in the beginning. 00:10:01.180 --> 00:10:02.500 So they open the book of Genesis, 00:10:03.100 --> 00:10:04.080 and if you've done that, 00:10:04.160 --> 00:10:05.540 you're probably familiar with that phrase. 00:10:05.779 --> 00:10:06.940 In the beginning. 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:08.379 That's how the whole Bible begins. 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:09.899 It begins with creation. 00:10:10.540 --> 00:10:11.960 In Genesis 1.1 it says, 00:10:12.080 --> 00:10:14.399 In the beginning God created. 00:10:15.040 --> 00:10:16.779 Here in John 1.1 it says, 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:19.279 In the beginning was the Word. 00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:24.980 And you can feel the kind of weight of this passage 00:10:24.980 --> 00:10:26.559 in the way John wrote it. 00:10:26.639 --> 00:10:30.279 Because he intentionally uses repetition and rhythm 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:34.559 to produce this kind of dignity in this passage. 00:10:34.919 --> 00:10:36.839 So read with me as I go through verses 1 to 3. 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:39.459 In the beginning was the Word, 00:10:39.620 --> 00:10:41.720 and the Word was with God, 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:43.720 and the Word was God. 00:10:43.959 --> 00:10:46.860 He was in the beginning with God. 00:10:46.860 --> 00:10:48.960 All things were made through him, 00:10:49.019 --> 00:10:52.180 and without him was not anything made that was made. 00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:53.620 Do you hear that rhythm? 00:10:54.019 --> 00:10:55.960 The cadence of this passage tells you 00:10:55.960 --> 00:10:58.279 that John did not write this haphazardly. 00:10:58.519 --> 00:11:01.460 He understood precisely the weight of what he was writing, 00:11:01.680 --> 00:11:04.019 and he wants to communicate an important truth 00:11:04.019 --> 00:11:07.700 that we do not miss with this deliberate wording and phrasing. 00:11:08.620 --> 00:11:10.100 And this beginning of the Gospel 00:11:10.100 --> 00:11:12.960 is very different from the rest of the Gospel. 00:11:13.580 --> 00:11:14.860 Because Mark, if you look at it, 00:11:14.860 --> 00:11:16.980 it begins with the public ministry of Jesus. 00:11:17.659 --> 00:11:19.720 It begins with him starting his ministry. 00:11:19.980 --> 00:11:22.440 Matthew and Luke begin with the infancy of councils. 00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:24.060 It begins with the birth of Christ. 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:25.759 But John here, 00:11:26.100 --> 00:11:27.940 he goes all the way back, 00:11:28.600 --> 00:11:29.759 before creation, 00:11:30.820 --> 00:11:33.019 to the time of the pre-existent, 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:35.100 eternal Word that exists. 00:11:35.300 --> 00:11:36.519 So for the moment, 00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:40.139 forget the sentimentality of a baby in a manger, 00:11:40.139 --> 00:11:42.879 and the pageantry of the three magi coming, 00:11:43.259 --> 00:11:45.559 John's taking us all the way back to the Word, 00:11:46.199 --> 00:11:48.319 pre-existent Word from the very beginning, 00:11:48.379 --> 00:11:50.039 before nothing else existed. 00:11:50.340 --> 00:11:52.639 In that beginning was the Word. 00:11:53.000 --> 00:11:54.659 And the Word was with God, 00:11:54.699 --> 00:11:56.059 and the Word was God. 00:11:56.379 --> 00:11:58.779 What that means is there was never a time 00:11:58.779 --> 00:12:00.319 when the Word was not. 00:12:01.460 --> 00:12:03.179 Before anything else came to be, 00:12:03.299 --> 00:12:04.600 the Word was. 00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:06.779 And what is the Word? 00:12:09.220 --> 00:12:10.500 John's not speaking, of course, 00:12:10.540 --> 00:12:11.659 of a word that we write, 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:12.860 or a word that we speak. 00:12:13.379 --> 00:12:15.680 So the Greek word, 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:18.120 the word is logos, 00:12:18.480 --> 00:12:20.500 which is the word from which we get the English word logic. 00:12:20.920 --> 00:12:22.399 And in the Greek culture at the time, 00:12:22.500 --> 00:12:23.860 it referred to an inner thought, 00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:25.080 something like reason, 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:27.680 or you could even call it a science, 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:28.560 or you could call it, 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:31.220 and this was a really popular concept 00:12:31.220 --> 00:12:32.860 among the Greek philosophies at the time. 00:12:32.860 --> 00:12:34.659 So Stoics and the Platonists, 00:12:34.919 --> 00:12:36.600 they all talked about the logos. 00:12:37.100 --> 00:12:39.560 They believed that that was the rational principle, 00:12:39.980 --> 00:12:41.159 the animating principle, 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:43.000 that undergird the universe, 00:12:43.340 --> 00:12:44.379 that drove the universe. 00:12:44.680 --> 00:12:48.060 And that's what they thought this logos was. 00:12:48.840 --> 00:12:52.300 But John here is not simply adopting that meaning. 00:12:52.700 --> 00:12:54.080 He knew that that was a buzzword, 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:56.019 so he uses that as a bridge 00:12:56.019 --> 00:12:58.000 to connect to the culture that he's in, 00:12:58.180 --> 00:13:01.000 but that's not the primary background for this word. 00:13:01.000 --> 00:13:02.860 Because the primary background for this word 00:13:02.860 --> 00:13:04.659 is actually the Bible. 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:07.919 Because if you look at the Old Testament, 00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:11.659 the word is God's speech. 00:13:12.200 --> 00:13:14.120 Look at Genesis 1, 1-3, 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:16.279 and you can turn with me if you'd like, 00:13:16.340 --> 00:13:17.240 but I'll read it for you here. 00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:17.740 It said, 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:18.379 In the beginning, 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:22.259 God created the heavens and the earth. 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:25.059 The earth was without form and void, 00:13:25.179 --> 00:13:27.379 and darkness was over the face of the deep. 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:31.580 And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 00:13:32.360 --> 00:13:33.000 And God said, 00:13:33.279 --> 00:13:34.059 Let there be light, 00:13:34.179 --> 00:13:35.379 and there was light. 00:13:36.100 --> 00:13:38.679 God creates by his speech, 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:39.759 by his word. 00:13:39.960 --> 00:13:40.759 He creates. 00:13:42.019 --> 00:13:44.360 God also reveals himself by his word. 00:13:45.340 --> 00:13:46.879 So that's why in the prophets, 00:13:47.080 --> 00:13:48.939 if you look at Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, 00:13:49.159 --> 00:13:50.159 they say things like, 00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:52.500 The word of the Lord came to me. 00:13:52.500 --> 00:13:55.080 So God creates by his word, 00:13:55.179 --> 00:13:57.120 and God reveals himself by his word. 00:13:57.580 --> 00:13:58.019 And finally, 00:13:58.340 --> 00:14:00.860 God also saves by his word. 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:03.120 Psalm 107.20 says, 00:14:03.240 --> 00:14:04.820 He sent out his word, 00:14:05.179 --> 00:14:06.100 and healed them, 00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:08.519 and delivered them from their destruction. 00:14:09.299 --> 00:14:10.080 So the word, 00:14:10.200 --> 00:14:10.279 then, 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:11.580 is a really powerful concept. 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:12.000 In short, 00:14:12.100 --> 00:14:15.379 it's God's powerful self-expression 00:14:15.379 --> 00:14:16.700 in creation, 00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:18.200 revelation, 00:14:18.740 --> 00:14:19.419 and salvation. 00:14:19.580 --> 00:14:21.460 That's what the word is. 00:14:21.460 --> 00:14:22.340 Right? 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:22.919 So, 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:23.379 so far, 00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:23.840 so good. 00:14:24.299 --> 00:14:25.240 So you continue, 00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:26.860 but if you continue reading verse 1, 00:14:26.940 --> 00:14:30.220 it tells us something that is absolutely mind-blowing. 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:34.100 Look with me. 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:35.980 In verse 1. 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:41.139 In the beginning was the word, 00:14:41.519 --> 00:14:43.580 and the word was with God, 00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:46.080 and the word was God. 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:49.720 So the word was with God. 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:53.160 What does that mean? 00:14:53.159 --> 00:14:55.219 Because the word is God's speech. 00:14:55.339 --> 00:14:56.759 It has a personality. 00:14:57.620 --> 00:14:58.519 It's with God. 00:14:58.579 --> 00:14:59.860 It's distinct from God, 00:14:59.939 --> 00:15:00.759 yet it's with him. 00:15:00.819 --> 00:15:01.659 It's in his presence. 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:04.319 And the word with conveys a kind of relationship, 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:05.299 a fellowship. 00:15:05.839 --> 00:15:07.219 This word was with him. 00:15:07.319 --> 00:15:08.799 He's in relationship with him. 00:15:10.559 --> 00:15:11.000 Now, 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:11.799 not only that, 00:15:11.879 --> 00:15:13.080 but if you read the next clause, 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:14.960 it says the word was God. 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:17.039 That's even more mind-blowing. 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:17.419 Right? 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:19.440 Because if this word was with God, 00:15:19.500 --> 00:15:20.840 how can this word be God? 00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:21.259 Right? 00:15:21.480 --> 00:15:22.759 But that's exactly what it's saying. 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:23.080 In fact, 00:15:23.159 --> 00:15:24.059 that phrase is, 00:15:24.679 --> 00:15:25.539 the order, 00:15:25.659 --> 00:15:26.779 the syntax has God, 00:15:26.860 --> 00:15:28.539 the word God in the front for emphasis. 00:15:28.939 --> 00:15:30.399 So it actually should be something like, 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:31.939 God was the word. 00:15:32.259 --> 00:15:34.259 The word was that same God, 00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:36.139 that in the beginning was, 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:37.419 the word that was with, 00:15:38.039 --> 00:15:39.679 the God that the word was with, 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:40.000 it's that, 00:15:40.179 --> 00:15:42.220 the word is that same God. 00:15:43.379 --> 00:15:44.399 So a theologian, 00:15:44.460 --> 00:15:45.960 Edmund Clowney puts it really memorably. 00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:46.279 He says, 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:47.439 the word was with God. 00:15:47.539 --> 00:15:48.899 He was God's eternal fellow. 00:15:48.899 --> 00:15:51.199 And the word also was God, 00:15:51.299 --> 00:15:53.259 God's own self. 00:15:54.799 --> 00:15:55.019 Now, 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:57.240 that doesn't mean that this God, 00:15:57.939 --> 00:15:59.899 this word is another God, 00:16:00.419 --> 00:16:02.360 or a part of God, 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:03.819 or a second God. 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:04.159 Rather, 00:16:04.319 --> 00:16:06.480 this word was that same God, 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:08.860 yet he was distinct from that God. 00:16:08.959 --> 00:16:10.139 He had his own person. 00:16:10.539 --> 00:16:12.899 This is the building block 00:16:12.899 --> 00:16:14.279 of the doctrine of the Trinity, 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:15.819 which our church is named after. 00:16:16.319 --> 00:16:18.100 Because we see in the biblical data 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:19.680 that God is one, 00:16:19.779 --> 00:16:21.060 that there's only one God, 00:16:21.100 --> 00:16:22.240 yet there are three persons. 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:23.279 The Father, 00:16:23.399 --> 00:16:23.840 the Son, 00:16:23.920 --> 00:16:24.720 and the Holy Spirit. 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:26.320 And we don't see the Holy Spirit 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:27.360 explicitly mentioned here, 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:28.519 but he's also implied here, 00:16:28.540 --> 00:16:30.080 and later John makes it more explicit. 00:16:30.680 --> 00:16:33.100 Because if you look at Psalm, 00:16:34.379 --> 00:16:37.560 it talks about how God creates 00:16:37.560 --> 00:16:38.379 by his word, 00:16:38.480 --> 00:16:39.820 and by the breath of God, 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:40.639 he makes it, 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:41.759 he beautifies it. 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:43.519 And so if that's the case, 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:45.279 then the word of God 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:46.920 is carried forth by the breath of God. 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:48.120 And the same word breath 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:49.699 can also be translated spirit. 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:51.860 So here we see the Trinity 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:52.899 and actually in creation, 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:53.479 in Genesis, 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:55.819 and that's what John's getting at here. 00:16:57.379 --> 00:16:58.259 So if, 00:16:58.659 --> 00:16:59.240 that's what, 00:17:00.319 --> 00:17:02.439 so why is this important for us right now? 00:17:02.500 --> 00:17:04.420 Because if John's going to tell us later 00:17:04.420 --> 00:17:05.220 about the incarnation, 00:17:05.720 --> 00:17:07.680 about how this word became flesh, 00:17:08.180 --> 00:17:09.659 but we can't grasp 00:17:09.659 --> 00:17:11.819 the momentousness of that event 00:17:11.819 --> 00:17:13.480 unless we understand 00:17:13.480 --> 00:17:14.339 the cosmic, 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:16.759 eternal significance of God's word. 00:17:16.920 --> 00:17:18.940 That this word was God. 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:20.600 He's part of the triune God, 00:17:20.820 --> 00:17:23.220 and we existed from before time began. 00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:26.820 And this eternal word is also light. 00:17:27.019 --> 00:17:28.200 It's the light of God. 00:17:28.380 --> 00:17:29.180 So follow along with me, 00:17:29.200 --> 00:17:30.279 verses four to five. 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:32.519 In him was life, 00:17:32.620 --> 00:17:34.580 and the life was the light of man. 00:17:34.980 --> 00:17:36.519 And the light shines in the darkness, 00:17:36.600 --> 00:17:38.560 and the darkness has not overcome it. 00:17:39.539 --> 00:17:41.440 Later in John chapter 5, 26, 00:17:41.560 --> 00:17:43.820 he says that the Father has life in himself, 00:17:43.819 --> 00:17:45.599 in the same way he has granted it to the Son 00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:47.200 to have life in himself. 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:49.579 So to have life in oneself, 00:17:49.899 --> 00:17:52.259 it's pointing to self-existence. 00:17:52.939 --> 00:17:54.960 That God exists on his own. 00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:56.639 He's not derived from something. 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:59.240 He doesn't originate from something or somewhere. 00:17:59.619 --> 00:18:01.200 He has his own existence, 00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:04.019 which is different from everything else in creation. 00:18:04.019 --> 00:18:06.000 We all have a derivative existence. 00:18:06.379 --> 00:18:07.940 We get our existence from God. 00:18:08.019 --> 00:18:09.019 We have a source. 00:18:09.319 --> 00:18:11.000 We originate from somewhere. 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:12.400 But this word, 00:18:12.639 --> 00:18:13.559 this light of God, 00:18:13.639 --> 00:18:14.599 is like God. 00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:16.279 He has life in himself. 00:18:16.440 --> 00:18:17.099 He has life. 00:18:17.639 --> 00:18:20.079 And this life is the light of man. 00:18:20.960 --> 00:18:23.160 So light and life are contives 00:18:23.160 --> 00:18:26.359 that show up prominently in the Gospel of John. 00:18:26.940 --> 00:18:28.160 And as we will see throughout, 00:18:28.299 --> 00:18:30.639 John has a tendency to use words with double meaning. 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:34.500 So he uses light both in the sense of 00:18:34.500 --> 00:18:36.759 the light that illuminates the physical world 00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:40.560 and the spiritual light that reveals God to people 00:18:40.560 --> 00:18:41.920 and drives out darkness. 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:42.900 In the same way, 00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:44.120 he uses the word life 00:18:44.120 --> 00:18:47.220 to refer to the life that animates the physical world, 00:18:47.380 --> 00:18:49.180 but also to the spiritual life, 00:18:49.259 --> 00:18:50.420 the resurrection life, 00:18:50.560 --> 00:18:52.780 that brings spiritually dead to life. 00:18:54.360 --> 00:18:56.620 And then we have this little excursus 00:18:56.620 --> 00:18:57.620 about John the Baptist. 00:18:57.740 --> 00:19:00.320 And the reason why John talks about John the Baptist 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:02.359 is because he serves as a literary foil 00:19:02.359 --> 00:19:06.919 to highlight this even more special importance of Christ. 00:19:07.819 --> 00:19:10.599 That this powerful and holy prophet, 00:19:10.779 --> 00:19:11.559 this John the Baptist, 00:19:11.819 --> 00:19:13.599 he was not the true light. 00:19:13.799 --> 00:19:16.039 He was just a witness, John says. 00:19:16.399 --> 00:19:18.799 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 00:19:18.859 --> 00:19:20.359 He came as a witness 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:22.259 to bear witness about the light 00:19:22.259 --> 00:19:23.819 that all might believe through him. 00:19:24.359 --> 00:19:25.500 He was not the light, 00:19:25.500 --> 00:19:27.500 but came to bear witness about the light. 00:19:28.539 --> 00:19:29.759 That's John's function. 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:32.059 He serves to highlight as a contrast 00:19:32.059 --> 00:19:33.400 Christ's importance, 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:34.980 surpassing importance and greatness. 00:19:36.299 --> 00:19:39.279 And this true light that John the Baptist bore witness to 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:41.259 came into the world. 00:19:42.099 --> 00:19:43.180 Please follow on with me, 00:19:43.220 --> 00:19:44.400 verses 9 to 11. 00:19:44.779 --> 00:19:45.640 The true light, 00:19:45.779 --> 00:19:47.220 which gives light to everyone, 00:19:47.619 --> 00:19:49.019 was coming into the world. 00:19:49.779 --> 00:19:50.779 He was in the world, 00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:53.059 and the world was made through him. 00:19:53.059 --> 00:19:55.859 Yet the world did not know him. 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:58.019 He came to his own, 00:19:58.519 --> 00:20:01.079 and his own people did not receive him. 00:20:01.879 --> 00:20:05.079 Can you hear the tinge of sadness 00:20:05.079 --> 00:20:07.200 and the irony in that verse? 00:20:07.579 --> 00:20:09.399 That his own people did not receive him. 00:20:09.399 --> 00:20:11.859 The world he created did not know him, 00:20:11.980 --> 00:20:12.619 recognize him. 00:20:13.259 --> 00:20:14.539 Several years ago, actually, 00:20:14.599 --> 00:20:15.779 it's almost a decade ago now, 00:20:15.859 --> 00:20:19.000 but the Washington Post conducted an experiment 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:21.819 where they asked Joshua Bell. 00:20:21.980 --> 00:20:22.940 I don't know if you guys know about him. 00:20:23.180 --> 00:20:25.220 He's a world-renowned violinist, 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:29.700 and he plays a $4 million Stradivarius violin. 00:20:30.660 --> 00:20:34.759 And they hired him to go to a metro stop, 00:20:34.819 --> 00:20:37.019 a subway station in Washington, D.C., 00:20:37.019 --> 00:20:37.960 to play. 00:20:37.960 --> 00:20:40.539 He put a baseball cap on. 00:20:40.620 --> 00:20:41.480 He was incognito. 00:20:41.600 --> 00:20:43.880 He played just like a normal busker, 00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:45.799 and he played for 45 minutes. 00:20:46.440 --> 00:20:48.200 And the experiment was designed 00:20:48.200 --> 00:20:49.759 to test people's public taste, 00:20:49.980 --> 00:20:50.700 their priorities, 00:20:51.059 --> 00:20:51.819 what people will do. 00:20:51.900 --> 00:20:53.059 Will beauty transcend 00:20:53.059 --> 00:20:55.240 the bustling subway station? 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:57.920 The result was very disappointing. 00:20:59.019 --> 00:21:01.539 Of the 1,097 people, 00:21:01.559 --> 00:21:04.059 1,097 people that passed by, 00:21:06.059 --> 00:21:07.819 only a few stopped to listen. 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:09.700 And Bell made a whopping total 00:21:09.700 --> 00:21:11.240 of $32.17. 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:14.860 Despite the fact that just three days earlier, 00:21:15.140 --> 00:21:16.960 he had packed out Boston Symphony Hall, 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:19.420 where he played the exact same repertoire, 00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:22.000 and each seat, the ordinary seat, 00:21:22.079 --> 00:21:22.680 went for $100. 00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:27.740 And only one person actually recognized who he was. 00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:30.940 So this is really sad. 00:21:30.940 --> 00:21:32.420 What was going on? 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:32.779 We don't know. 00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:33.960 We could think about it, 00:21:33.980 --> 00:21:35.779 and maybe the people were just so busy, 00:21:35.779 --> 00:21:38.740 so caught up in the everyday hustle and bustle, 00:21:38.799 --> 00:21:40.519 they just didn't have time to stop to listen. 00:21:41.160 --> 00:21:44.420 Maybe the people had become so desensitized 00:21:44.420 --> 00:21:46.399 in pop culture or through music, 00:21:46.460 --> 00:21:49.019 they don't know how to appreciate transcendent music. 00:21:49.579 --> 00:21:50.799 So they just walked right by. 00:21:51.339 --> 00:21:53.500 Maybe people had become jaded. 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:55.579 They've seen so many mediocre buskers 00:21:55.579 --> 00:21:56.940 in that exact same spot, 00:21:57.180 --> 00:21:57.660 they assumed, 00:21:57.660 --> 00:21:58.700 oh, just another busker, 00:21:58.820 --> 00:21:59.519 and walked by. 00:21:59.600 --> 00:22:00.519 We don't know what happened. 00:22:01.519 --> 00:22:02.259 But you see, 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:04.580 what John's talking about here in this passage 00:22:04.580 --> 00:22:07.040 is even more tragic than that. 00:22:07.440 --> 00:22:08.180 Verses 9-11, 00:22:08.259 --> 00:22:09.120 Because the true light, 00:22:09.160 --> 00:22:10.880 which gives light to everyone, 00:22:11.340 --> 00:22:12.500 the light of mankind, 00:22:12.660 --> 00:22:13.800 it came into the world, 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:15.300 and when he was in the world, 00:22:15.400 --> 00:22:16.500 the world was made through him, 00:22:16.519 --> 00:22:18.460 yet the world did not know him. 00:22:18.740 --> 00:22:20.560 The world that he himself created 00:22:20.560 --> 00:22:22.019 did not recognize him. 00:22:22.320 --> 00:22:23.740 And he came to his own people, 00:22:23.800 --> 00:22:25.460 the people for his own possession, 00:22:25.460 --> 00:22:27.460 people that he chose for himself, 00:22:27.799 --> 00:22:31.380 and his own people did not receive him. 00:22:34.740 --> 00:22:36.860 There are many people who continue to live 00:22:36.860 --> 00:22:38.380 in ignorance of their maker. 00:22:39.799 --> 00:22:41.140 It could be the same reasons. 00:22:41.259 --> 00:22:42.640 Maybe they're just too busy 00:22:42.640 --> 00:22:44.640 to hustle and bustle of life, 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:48.779 to stop and ponder eternal things. 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:52.140 Maybe they have become desensitized 00:22:52.140 --> 00:22:55.319 to the pleasures of this world. 00:22:56.079 --> 00:22:58.500 They don't recognize a true good, 00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:00.860 eternal good and beauty when they see it. 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:05.319 Perhaps it's, 00:23:06.819 --> 00:23:08.059 they've been jaded 00:23:08.059 --> 00:23:09.799 to see so many religions, 00:23:10.840 --> 00:23:13.460 so many people claiming to have the answer, 00:23:14.059 --> 00:23:16.160 so many people claiming to be the savior, 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:19.160 that they have learned to tune these things out. 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:22.500 But I want to urge you this morning, 00:23:22.620 --> 00:23:24.279 if you do not know God, 00:23:24.360 --> 00:23:26.900 if you do not have a relationship with God, 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:29.440 don't leave this place today 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:31.120 until you consider the weight 00:23:31.120 --> 00:23:32.920 of the claim of this passage, 00:23:33.320 --> 00:23:34.180 that the maker, 00:23:34.800 --> 00:23:35.500 the word, 00:23:36.440 --> 00:23:37.500 became flesh, 00:23:37.620 --> 00:23:39.019 became into the world. 00:23:39.019 --> 00:23:42.700 verses 12 to 13 say this, 00:23:42.700 --> 00:23:45.100 but to all who did receive him, 00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:46.880 who believed in his name, 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:48.259 he gave the right 00:23:48.259 --> 00:23:50.519 to become the children of God, 00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:51.900 who were born not of blood, 00:23:51.980 --> 00:23:53.180 nor of the will of the flesh, 00:23:53.259 --> 00:23:54.160 nor of the will of man, 00:23:54.380 --> 00:23:55.160 but of God. 00:23:55.160 --> 00:23:59.580 The true light is offering himself to you. 00:24:00.040 --> 00:24:01.320 Simply receive him 00:24:01.320 --> 00:24:03.300 and believe in his name, right? 00:24:03.700 --> 00:24:04.640 The name of someone 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:05.880 is not just the name 00:24:05.880 --> 00:24:06.840 as we would talk about, 00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:07.779 like Shakespeare would say, 00:24:07.840 --> 00:24:08.560 oh, what's in the name? 00:24:08.620 --> 00:24:09.940 A rose called by another name 00:24:09.940 --> 00:24:11.660 would be smelled just as sweet, right? 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:12.340 But no, 00:24:12.580 --> 00:24:13.980 in antiquity, 00:24:14.080 --> 00:24:14.860 in the Bible times, 00:24:15.180 --> 00:24:17.019 name stands for the whole personality 00:24:17.019 --> 00:24:18.540 and character of the person. 00:24:18.960 --> 00:24:19.680 So when he tells us 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:20.880 to believe in someone's name, 00:24:20.940 --> 00:24:21.320 it's saying, 00:24:21.440 --> 00:24:23.019 entrust yourself to that person. 00:24:23.420 --> 00:24:24.960 Believe in that person. 00:24:25.580 --> 00:24:27.980 And so Psalm 21, 20, verse 1 says, 00:24:28.100 --> 00:24:29.660 May the name of God of Jacob 00:24:29.660 --> 00:24:31.380 protect you, right? 00:24:31.660 --> 00:24:33.480 Believe in the name of Christ. 00:24:33.960 --> 00:24:36.080 And it is God who gives us 00:24:36.080 --> 00:24:36.779 the right to become 00:24:36.779 --> 00:24:37.900 the children of God, right? 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:40.540 We do not possess that right by default. 00:24:41.220 --> 00:24:42.220 It is not our right 00:24:42.220 --> 00:24:43.360 to claim for ourselves. 00:24:43.460 --> 00:24:44.360 We do not deserve 00:24:44.360 --> 00:24:45.460 to be saved by God. 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:46.620 We do not deserve 00:24:46.620 --> 00:24:47.980 to be in his presence. 00:24:47.980 --> 00:24:48.920 We do not deserve 00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:50.420 to become the children of God. 00:24:50.540 --> 00:24:52.000 But it is God himself, 00:24:52.120 --> 00:24:52.880 he's the subject, 00:24:53.120 --> 00:24:54.640 who gives us the right 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:56.380 to become the children of God 00:24:56.380 --> 00:24:57.680 when we receive him, 00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.740 when we believe him. 00:25:00.920 --> 00:25:01.660 And this is, 00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:03.040 no amount of human effort 00:25:03.040 --> 00:25:03.680 can save us. 00:25:03.820 --> 00:25:04.280 And that's what 00:25:04.280 --> 00:25:05.620 the verse 13 is getting. 00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:06.380 Not of blood, 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:07.620 nor of the will of the flesh, 00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:08.560 nor of the will of man, 00:25:08.840 --> 00:25:10.440 but of God. 00:25:10.900 --> 00:25:12.220 Man and woman can get together, 00:25:12.320 --> 00:25:13.240 they can procreate, 00:25:13.320 --> 00:25:14.540 they can have babies, right? 00:25:15.540 --> 00:25:17.500 But no biological process 00:25:17.500 --> 00:25:19.540 can make us children of God. 00:25:19.539 --> 00:25:20.700 Nothing do, 00:25:20.899 --> 00:25:21.700 nothing that we do. 00:25:21.779 --> 00:25:22.759 We can't become 00:25:22.759 --> 00:25:23.440 children of God 00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:24.079 through marriage, 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:24.759 we can't become 00:25:24.759 --> 00:25:25.359 children of God 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:26.220 through procreation. 00:25:26.399 --> 00:25:27.139 The only way 00:25:27.139 --> 00:25:27.680 we can become 00:25:27.680 --> 00:25:28.399 children of God 00:25:28.399 --> 00:25:29.940 is by faith. 00:25:31.019 --> 00:25:32.379 Receiving and believing 00:25:32.379 --> 00:25:34.000 in this word, 00:25:34.099 --> 00:25:34.799 the Son of God. 00:25:36.599 --> 00:25:37.200 Now then, 00:25:37.259 --> 00:25:38.319 we're asking at this point, 00:25:39.500 --> 00:25:41.079 we have kind of 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:42.019 revealed it to you already, 00:25:42.639 --> 00:25:43.599 but John had been 00:25:43.599 --> 00:25:44.599 building this anticipation 00:25:44.599 --> 00:25:45.279 up to this point. 00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:45.579 He says, 00:25:45.700 --> 00:25:46.799 so what's his name? 00:25:47.899 --> 00:25:49.159 Tell me to believe his name. 00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:50.160 Who is this person? 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:50.640 The word, 00:25:50.800 --> 00:25:51.519 preexistent word 00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:52.440 that came into the world, 00:25:52.660 --> 00:25:53.600 the light of all mankind, 00:25:53.800 --> 00:25:54.900 who is this person? 00:25:56.759 --> 00:25:58.200 Verses 14 to 17 00:25:58.200 --> 00:25:59.080 give us the answers. 00:25:59.540 --> 00:26:00.200 And the word 00:26:00.200 --> 00:26:01.900 became flesh 00:26:01.900 --> 00:26:03.779 and dwelt among us, 00:26:03.900 --> 00:26:04.860 and we have seen 00:26:04.860 --> 00:26:05.700 his glory, 00:26:06.040 --> 00:26:07.320 glory as of the only 00:26:07.320 --> 00:26:08.460 Son from the Father, 00:26:08.600 --> 00:26:09.560 full of grace 00:26:09.560 --> 00:26:10.400 and truth. 00:26:11.580 --> 00:26:12.519 John bore witness 00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:12.940 about him 00:26:12.940 --> 00:26:13.460 and cried out, 00:26:13.540 --> 00:26:14.120 this was he 00:26:14.120 --> 00:26:14.840 of whom I said, 00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:16.180 he who comes after me 00:26:16.180 --> 00:26:17.120 ranks before me 00:26:17.120 --> 00:26:18.279 because he was before me. 00:26:19.160 --> 00:26:20.500 For from his fullness 00:26:20.500 --> 00:26:21.920 we have all received 00:26:21.920 --> 00:26:23.600 grace upon grace. 00:26:23.980 --> 00:26:24.720 For the law 00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:25.920 was given through Moses, 00:26:26.320 --> 00:26:27.160 grace and truth 00:26:27.160 --> 00:26:29.240 came through Jesus Christ. 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:31.140 Jesus Christ 00:26:31.140 --> 00:26:32.040 is his name. 00:26:32.440 --> 00:26:33.940 The man that was born 00:26:33.940 --> 00:26:34.620 as a baby 00:26:34.620 --> 00:26:35.759 2,000 years ago, 00:26:35.840 --> 00:26:36.580 the man that walked 00:26:36.580 --> 00:26:37.060 the earth 00:26:37.060 --> 00:26:38.180 2,000 years ago, 00:26:38.440 --> 00:26:39.380 he is the word, 00:26:39.640 --> 00:26:40.519 that preexistent 00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:41.180 eternal word 00:26:41.180 --> 00:26:42.460 made flesh. 00:26:43.080 --> 00:26:44.340 And we can know God 00:26:44.340 --> 00:26:45.540 and we can encounter God 00:26:45.540 --> 00:26:46.420 precisely because 00:26:46.420 --> 00:26:47.740 this word of God, 00:26:47.740 --> 00:26:49.140 the self-disclosure 00:26:49.140 --> 00:26:49.759 of God 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:51.400 became flesh 00:26:51.400 --> 00:26:52.079 and dwelt 00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:53.140 among us. 00:26:54.200 --> 00:26:55.420 And that's a staggering 00:26:55.420 --> 00:26:56.279 claim that we can 00:26:56.279 --> 00:26:56.960 just, 00:26:57.500 --> 00:26:59.299 because we hear it 00:26:59.299 --> 00:27:00.420 maybe every Christmas season, 00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:01.579 we forget 00:27:01.579 --> 00:27:03.079 the importance of that 00:27:03.079 --> 00:27:05.500 and how amazing 00:27:05.500 --> 00:27:05.980 this is. 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:06.779 But think about 00:27:06.779 --> 00:27:07.440 the word 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:08.859 became flesh. 00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:09.799 The Greek philosophers 00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:10.599 could not imagine 00:27:10.599 --> 00:27:11.220 such a thing. 00:27:11.220 --> 00:27:13.180 The word became 00:27:13.180 --> 00:27:13.640 the flesh 00:27:13.640 --> 00:27:14.400 that we can touch 00:27:14.400 --> 00:27:15.220 and see 00:27:15.220 --> 00:27:16.279 and hear 00:27:16.279 --> 00:27:17.100 and this word 00:27:17.100 --> 00:27:18.259 dwelled among us. 00:27:18.880 --> 00:27:20.079 More literally translated, 00:27:20.220 --> 00:27:20.960 that means he pitched 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:22.579 a tent among us. 00:27:23.279 --> 00:27:23.900 And the tent 00:27:23.900 --> 00:27:25.400 refers to the tabernacle, 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:27.079 the tent of meeting 00:27:27.079 --> 00:27:28.339 in the Old Testament 00:27:28.339 --> 00:27:29.519 during the time of Moses 00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:30.960 where God's presence 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:31.420 dwelt 00:27:31.420 --> 00:27:32.339 and where people 00:27:32.339 --> 00:27:32.799 could come 00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:33.839 to encounter God, 00:27:34.120 --> 00:27:35.059 to meet with God. 00:27:35.059 --> 00:27:37.919 And this tent, 00:27:38.059 --> 00:27:38.579 that tent 00:27:38.579 --> 00:27:39.119 in the Old Testament, 00:27:39.220 --> 00:27:39.899 that tabernacle 00:27:39.899 --> 00:27:41.259 was just a shadow 00:27:41.259 --> 00:27:42.179 of the reality 00:27:42.179 --> 00:27:43.139 and it was pointing 00:27:43.139 --> 00:27:44.659 to Jesus Christ 00:27:44.659 --> 00:27:45.559 who would come 00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:46.759 as the word incarnate, 00:27:46.819 --> 00:27:47.639 who would become 00:27:47.639 --> 00:27:49.759 this word in flesh 00:27:49.759 --> 00:27:50.720 that dwelled among us, 00:27:50.740 --> 00:27:51.679 that pitched a tent 00:27:51.679 --> 00:27:52.759 among us. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:55.079 The implications 00:27:55.079 --> 00:27:55.720 of this 00:27:55.720 --> 00:27:56.740 are so wonderful. 00:27:56.980 --> 00:27:57.659 The God 00:27:57.659 --> 00:27:59.039 that we serve, 00:27:59.119 --> 00:27:59.519 the God 00:27:59.519 --> 00:28:00.179 that we have 00:28:00.179 --> 00:28:00.679 is not 00:28:00.679 --> 00:28:01.960 a distant God 00:28:01.960 --> 00:28:02.740 like the gods 00:28:02.740 --> 00:28:03.659 of Greek mythology 00:28:03.659 --> 00:28:04.419 who dwell 00:28:04.420 --> 00:28:05.380 in a distant mountain 00:28:05.380 --> 00:28:05.840 somewhere 00:28:05.840 --> 00:28:06.720 on Mount Olympus. 00:28:06.980 --> 00:28:07.120 Rather, 00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:08.519 this God we have 00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:09.060 is a God 00:28:09.060 --> 00:28:10.560 that came into the world. 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:12.180 He took on our flesh 00:28:12.180 --> 00:28:13.740 and dwelled among us. 00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:14.519 And because of that, 00:28:14.560 --> 00:28:16.200 he knows all of our weaknesses 00:28:16.200 --> 00:28:17.580 and he's experienced 00:28:17.580 --> 00:28:19.060 all of our infirmities. 00:28:20.340 --> 00:28:21.900 The king of all 00:28:21.900 --> 00:28:23.180 knows what it's like 00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:24.380 to feel a backache 00:28:24.380 --> 00:28:25.580 after a hard day's work. 00:28:26.860 --> 00:28:27.960 He had dirt 00:28:27.960 --> 00:28:28.840 under his fingers. 00:28:30.980 --> 00:28:32.480 The Lord of life 00:28:32.480 --> 00:28:33.820 experienced grief 00:28:33.819 --> 00:28:35.679 and indignation. 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:38.419 The creator 00:28:38.419 --> 00:28:39.599 of all things 00:28:39.599 --> 00:28:40.399 was rejected 00:28:40.399 --> 00:28:41.399 by his creatures. 00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:43.859 He became 00:28:43.859 --> 00:28:44.839 like us 00:28:44.839 --> 00:28:45.599 and dwelled 00:28:45.599 --> 00:28:46.240 among us 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:46.720 so that 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:47.960 at no one 00:28:47.960 --> 00:28:48.819 at any point 00:28:48.819 --> 00:28:49.319 of their life 00:28:49.319 --> 00:28:50.439 can say to him 00:28:50.439 --> 00:28:51.439 and point his finger 00:28:51.439 --> 00:28:52.000 at him and say, 00:28:52.159 --> 00:28:53.419 you simply don't 00:28:53.419 --> 00:28:54.019 understand. 00:28:54.839 --> 00:28:55.539 No one 00:28:55.539 --> 00:28:56.240 can say that 00:28:56.240 --> 00:28:57.319 because this God 00:28:57.319 --> 00:29:00.279 came to dwell 00:29:00.279 --> 00:29:01.079 among us, 00:29:01.639 --> 00:29:02.619 became flesh, 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:03.740 pitched his tent, 00:29:03.819 --> 00:29:04.980 in our midst. 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:08.319 And because 00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:09.700 the word 00:29:09.700 --> 00:29:11.259 that was with God 00:29:11.259 --> 00:29:12.019 and that word 00:29:12.019 --> 00:29:12.939 that was God 00:29:12.939 --> 00:29:14.039 became flesh 00:29:14.039 --> 00:29:15.339 and dwelled among us, 00:29:15.399 --> 00:29:16.740 verse 14 continues, 00:29:17.200 --> 00:29:18.200 we have seen 00:29:18.200 --> 00:29:19.339 his glory. 00:29:19.799 --> 00:29:21.299 Glory as of the only 00:29:21.299 --> 00:29:22.319 son from the father 00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:23.359 full of grace 00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:24.179 and truth. 00:29:25.139 --> 00:29:25.299 See, 00:29:25.359 --> 00:29:26.460 the glory that John 00:29:26.460 --> 00:29:27.220 and the others saw 00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:28.119 was of the only 00:29:28.119 --> 00:29:29.259 son of the father. 00:29:29.379 --> 00:29:29.599 You see, 00:29:29.799 --> 00:29:30.679 in some way, 00:29:30.779 --> 00:29:31.679 we could say that God 00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:32.180 is the father 00:29:32.180 --> 00:29:32.860 of all people 00:29:32.860 --> 00:29:33.320 because he's 00:29:33.320 --> 00:29:33.799 the creator, 00:29:33.940 --> 00:29:34.120 right? 00:29:34.440 --> 00:29:35.500 But no one 00:29:35.500 --> 00:29:36.279 is a son 00:29:36.279 --> 00:29:37.539 like Jesus Christ, 00:29:37.620 --> 00:29:38.039 the word, 00:29:38.320 --> 00:29:39.380 because he's made, 00:29:39.460 --> 00:29:40.279 he's cut from the same 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:40.580 cloth, 00:29:40.660 --> 00:29:41.519 he's of the same 00:29:41.519 --> 00:29:42.940 nature as God 00:29:42.940 --> 00:29:43.500 the father. 00:29:43.600 --> 00:29:44.920 He's fully God 00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:45.720 and yet he took on 00:29:45.720 --> 00:29:46.680 flesh and he became 00:29:46.680 --> 00:29:47.400 fully man. 00:29:47.860 --> 00:29:48.480 And in so doing, 00:29:48.519 --> 00:29:49.140 he didn't lose 00:29:49.140 --> 00:29:49.560 his deity, 00:29:49.640 --> 00:29:50.100 but became 00:29:50.100 --> 00:29:51.120 simultaneously fully 00:29:51.120 --> 00:29:52.100 God and fully man. 00:29:52.440 --> 00:29:53.440 And for that reason, 00:29:53.519 --> 00:29:54.340 because as a result 00:29:54.340 --> 00:29:54.799 of that, 00:29:54.799 --> 00:29:56.299 in all of history, 00:29:56.700 --> 00:29:57.380 Jesus Christ 00:29:57.380 --> 00:29:58.600 is the only God, 00:29:58.680 --> 00:29:59.480 the only son 00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:00.500 that can reveal 00:30:00.500 --> 00:30:01.059 the fullness 00:30:01.059 --> 00:30:01.960 of God's glory 00:30:01.960 --> 00:30:02.539 to us. 00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:03.680 And at the same time, 00:30:03.740 --> 00:30:04.940 he is the only man 00:30:04.940 --> 00:30:06.460 that can fully relate 00:30:06.460 --> 00:30:07.279 to humanity. 00:30:08.519 --> 00:30:09.880 That's our intermediary. 00:30:10.039 --> 00:30:11.240 That's our God 00:30:11.240 --> 00:30:12.099 and Savior, 00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:13.279 Jesus Christ. 00:30:14.099 --> 00:30:15.019 And verse 14 00:30:15.019 --> 00:30:16.420 describes God's glory 00:30:16.420 --> 00:30:17.039 more in detail. 00:30:17.160 --> 00:30:17.799 He says that it was 00:30:17.799 --> 00:30:19.120 full of grace 00:30:19.120 --> 00:30:20.019 and truth. 00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:21.519 Such a wonderful expression 00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:22.400 that his glory 00:30:22.400 --> 00:30:23.500 is full of grace 00:30:23.500 --> 00:30:24.140 and truth. 00:30:24.640 --> 00:30:25.539 And that's an allusion 00:30:25.539 --> 00:30:27.799 to Exodus 33, 00:30:28.279 --> 00:30:29.160 18 to 23. 00:30:30.299 --> 00:30:31.940 Where Moses says to God, 00:30:32.059 --> 00:30:33.099 please show me 00:30:33.099 --> 00:30:33.720 your glory. 00:30:33.960 --> 00:30:34.099 Right? 00:30:34.460 --> 00:30:35.519 And then God replies, 00:30:35.640 --> 00:30:37.079 I will make all my goodness 00:30:37.079 --> 00:30:38.420 pass before you 00:30:38.420 --> 00:30:40.500 and will proclaim 00:30:40.500 --> 00:30:41.360 before you my name, 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:41.839 the Lord. 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:42.920 And I will be gracious 00:30:42.920 --> 00:30:44.120 to whom I will be gracious 00:30:44.120 --> 00:30:45.079 and will show mercy 00:30:45.079 --> 00:30:46.519 on whom I will show mercy. 00:30:47.299 --> 00:30:48.880 But you cannot see my face, 00:30:49.180 --> 00:30:49.759 for man, 00:30:49.920 --> 00:30:51.299 you shall not see me 00:30:51.299 --> 00:30:51.779 and live. 00:30:52.860 --> 00:30:53.160 Behold, 00:30:53.220 --> 00:30:54.160 there is a place by me 00:30:54.160 --> 00:30:54.900 where you shall stand 00:30:54.900 --> 00:30:55.400 on the rock 00:30:55.400 --> 00:30:56.140 and while my glory 00:30:56.140 --> 00:30:56.900 passes by, 00:30:57.099 --> 00:30:57.759 I will put you 00:30:57.759 --> 00:30:58.900 in a cleft of the rock 00:30:58.900 --> 00:30:59.840 and I will cover you 00:30:59.840 --> 00:31:00.640 with my hand 00:31:00.640 --> 00:31:02.100 until I pass by. 00:31:02.519 --> 00:31:03.440 Then I will take away 00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:03.940 my hand 00:31:03.940 --> 00:31:04.640 and you shall see 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:05.240 my back, 00:31:05.560 --> 00:31:06.320 but my face 00:31:06.320 --> 00:31:07.800 shall not be seen. 00:31:08.320 --> 00:31:08.420 Right? 00:31:09.100 --> 00:31:09.759 And then later, 00:31:10.120 --> 00:31:11.340 Exodus 34 00:31:11.340 --> 00:31:12.380 recounts what actually 00:31:12.380 --> 00:31:14.320 happened when God's glory, 00:31:14.440 --> 00:31:14.900 his goodness, 00:31:15.019 --> 00:31:15.600 passed by 00:31:15.600 --> 00:31:16.680 in front of Moses. 00:31:17.240 --> 00:31:17.360 It says, 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:18.299 the Lord descended 00:31:18.299 --> 00:31:18.879 in the cloud 00:31:18.879 --> 00:31:19.839 and stood with him there 00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:20.399 and proclaimed 00:31:20.399 --> 00:31:21.500 the name of the Lord. 00:31:21.579 --> 00:31:22.199 You see the parallel. 00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:24.279 The Lord passed before him 00:31:24.279 --> 00:31:24.799 and proclaimed, 00:31:25.019 --> 00:31:25.459 the Lord, 00:31:25.679 --> 00:31:26.159 the Lord, 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:28.000 a God merciful and gracious, 00:31:28.500 --> 00:31:29.379 slow to anger 00:31:29.379 --> 00:31:30.099 and abounding 00:31:30.099 --> 00:31:31.899 in steadfast love 00:31:31.899 --> 00:31:33.699 and faithfulness, 00:31:34.699 --> 00:31:36.139 keeping steadfast love 00:31:36.139 --> 00:31:36.759 for thousands, 00:31:36.899 --> 00:31:37.679 forgiving iniquity 00:31:37.679 --> 00:31:38.500 and transgression 00:31:38.500 --> 00:31:39.099 and sin, 00:31:39.359 --> 00:31:40.679 but who will by no means 00:31:40.679 --> 00:31:41.519 clear the guilty, 00:31:41.659 --> 00:31:42.519 visiting the iniquity 00:31:42.519 --> 00:31:43.219 of the fathers 00:31:43.219 --> 00:31:44.099 on the children 00:31:44.099 --> 00:31:45.459 and the children's children 00:31:45.459 --> 00:31:46.339 to the third 00:31:46.339 --> 00:31:47.719 and the fourth generation. 00:31:49.159 --> 00:31:50.039 Moses asks 00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:51.519 to see God's glory 00:31:51.519 --> 00:31:52.779 and God obliges 00:31:52.779 --> 00:31:54.099 by letting his goodness 00:31:54.099 --> 00:31:55.139 pass before him. 00:31:56.039 --> 00:31:56.619 So sometimes, 00:31:56.740 --> 00:31:57.199 a lot of times, 00:31:57.259 --> 00:31:58.099 Christians talk about 00:31:58.099 --> 00:31:58.859 God's glory, 00:31:58.959 --> 00:31:59.879 but we don't really know 00:31:59.879 --> 00:32:00.879 exactly what it is, 00:32:01.179 --> 00:32:02.379 but the glory is referred, 00:32:02.539 --> 00:32:03.379 it's a summary, 00:32:03.559 --> 00:32:04.559 really summary attributes 00:32:04.559 --> 00:32:06.099 of all of God's goodness. 00:32:06.959 --> 00:32:08.939 And so when we glorify God, 00:32:08.939 --> 00:32:09.939 we're displaying 00:32:10.500 --> 00:32:11.500 that goodness 00:32:11.500 --> 00:32:12.299 and we're saying, 00:32:12.439 --> 00:32:13.179 we're appreciating 00:32:13.179 --> 00:32:13.699 that goodness. 00:32:13.700 --> 00:32:14.539 of God. 00:32:16.360 --> 00:32:17.000 And so, 00:32:17.640 --> 00:32:18.840 and how is this 00:32:18.840 --> 00:32:19.740 described in this passage? 00:32:20.059 --> 00:32:21.860 The two primary characteristics 00:32:21.860 --> 00:32:22.700 of God's glory 00:32:22.700 --> 00:32:23.720 from Exodus we learn 00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:25.180 is steadfast love 00:32:25.180 --> 00:32:26.900 and faithfulness. 00:32:27.380 --> 00:32:28.620 And these two words 00:32:28.620 --> 00:32:29.460 occur repeatedly 00:32:29.460 --> 00:32:30.660 throughout the entire 00:32:30.660 --> 00:32:31.160 Old Testament 00:32:31.160 --> 00:32:32.759 to describe God. 00:32:33.440 --> 00:32:35.200 And these two words, 00:32:35.620 --> 00:32:36.259 the Hebrew word 00:32:36.259 --> 00:32:37.420 translated into Greek 00:32:37.420 --> 00:32:38.539 is what John 00:32:38.539 --> 00:32:39.180 is getting at, 00:32:39.259 --> 00:32:41.160 grace and truth. 00:32:41.779 --> 00:32:42.840 Steadfast love 00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:44.299 and faithfulness. 00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:47.039 And steadfast love 00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:47.980 means something like 00:32:47.980 --> 00:32:49.399 loving kindness. 00:32:49.579 --> 00:32:50.179 It refers to 00:32:50.179 --> 00:32:51.299 a covenantal love. 00:32:51.839 --> 00:32:53.079 And we have a hard time 00:32:53.079 --> 00:32:53.599 understanding 00:32:53.599 --> 00:32:54.299 what that's like 00:32:54.299 --> 00:32:54.679 nowadays 00:32:54.679 --> 00:32:55.559 because we see 00:32:55.559 --> 00:32:56.539 very few examples 00:32:56.539 --> 00:32:57.539 of covenantal love. 00:32:57.879 --> 00:32:58.339 Rather, 00:32:58.459 --> 00:33:00.879 we see contractual love. 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:01.879 We see love 00:33:01.879 --> 00:33:02.559 as contract 00:33:02.559 --> 00:33:03.079 rather than love 00:33:03.079 --> 00:33:03.659 as covenant. 00:33:03.660 --> 00:33:04.900 So, 00:33:05.240 --> 00:33:05.960 a contract 00:33:05.960 --> 00:33:06.640 at the heart of it 00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:07.180 is the idea 00:33:07.180 --> 00:33:08.560 of individual happiness 00:33:08.560 --> 00:33:09.160 and fulfillment. 00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:11.019 I will be 00:33:11.019 --> 00:33:12.200 in this relationship 00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:12.640 with you 00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:13.420 and I will love you 00:33:13.420 --> 00:33:14.279 as long as 00:33:14.279 --> 00:33:15.740 you fulfill my needs 00:33:15.740 --> 00:33:16.680 and as long as 00:33:16.680 --> 00:33:17.480 you make me happy. 00:33:17.600 --> 00:33:18.680 That's a contract 00:33:18.680 --> 00:33:19.340 relationship. 00:33:20.740 --> 00:33:21.400 Covenantal love, 00:33:21.480 --> 00:33:22.200 which is what marriage 00:33:22.200 --> 00:33:23.080 is supposed to be, 00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:24.360 is at the heart of it 00:33:24.360 --> 00:33:25.279 is constancy 00:33:25.279 --> 00:33:26.580 and sacrifice. 00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:27.900 The other person 00:33:27.900 --> 00:33:28.680 is the center, 00:33:28.900 --> 00:33:29.880 not oneself. 00:33:30.500 --> 00:33:31.700 That's a covenantal 00:33:31.700 --> 00:33:32.480 relationship. 00:33:32.980 --> 00:33:33.600 That's why 00:33:33.600 --> 00:33:34.600 in marriage vows, 00:33:34.680 --> 00:33:35.640 traditionally we say, 00:33:35.819 --> 00:33:36.440 I take you 00:33:36.440 --> 00:33:37.420 to be my lawfully 00:33:37.420 --> 00:33:37.980 wedded wife, 00:33:38.319 --> 00:33:39.160 to have and to hold 00:33:39.160 --> 00:33:40.240 from this day forward, 00:33:40.580 --> 00:33:41.140 for better, 00:33:41.340 --> 00:33:41.960 for worse, 00:33:42.100 --> 00:33:42.640 for richer, 00:33:42.819 --> 00:33:43.380 for poorer, 00:33:43.680 --> 00:33:45.019 in sickness and health 00:33:45.019 --> 00:33:45.860 until death 00:33:45.860 --> 00:33:47.160 do us a part. 00:33:47.620 --> 00:33:49.360 That's covenantal love. 00:33:50.460 --> 00:33:51.480 Enduring love. 00:33:51.940 --> 00:33:52.480 And that's why 00:33:52.480 --> 00:33:53.640 often I find people 00:33:53.640 --> 00:33:54.740 crying during the vows. 00:33:55.240 --> 00:33:56.080 Because they, 00:33:57.000 --> 00:33:58.039 it's moving 00:33:58.039 --> 00:33:58.559 to think 00:33:58.559 --> 00:33:59.799 someone would commit 00:33:59.799 --> 00:34:00.259 to that, 00:34:00.700 --> 00:34:01.120 to you. 00:34:01.440 --> 00:34:01.539 Right? 00:34:01.700 --> 00:34:04.420 But nowadays, 00:34:04.759 --> 00:34:06.259 marriage is treated 00:34:06.259 --> 00:34:07.039 more like a contract, 00:34:07.140 --> 00:34:08.099 so people get divorced 00:34:08.099 --> 00:34:08.860 for all kinds 00:34:08.860 --> 00:34:09.619 of flimsy reasons. 00:34:10.220 --> 00:34:10.380 Like, 00:34:10.940 --> 00:34:11.139 oh, 00:34:11.199 --> 00:34:12.099 I just don't love 00:34:12.099 --> 00:34:13.000 that person anymore. 00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:15.440 Oh, 00:34:15.500 --> 00:34:16.480 we're just drifting apart. 00:34:17.420 --> 00:34:19.539 Or that all-encompassing 00:34:19.539 --> 00:34:20.940 but just vague phrase, 00:34:21.059 --> 00:34:22.260 we have irreconcilable 00:34:22.260 --> 00:34:22.760 differences. 00:34:25.119 --> 00:34:26.639 In that kind of culture, 00:34:26.740 --> 00:34:27.280 the marriage vow 00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:27.760 should be, 00:34:28.079 --> 00:34:28.720 I take you 00:34:28.720 --> 00:34:29.539 to be my lawfully 00:34:29.539 --> 00:34:30.119 wedded wife, 00:34:30.220 --> 00:34:31.019 to have and to hold, 00:34:31.019 --> 00:34:32.420 until you get poor, 00:34:32.579 --> 00:34:32.800 sick, 00:34:32.840 --> 00:34:33.440 or simply don't 00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:34.079 make me happy. 00:34:34.079 --> 00:34:34.559 Right? 00:34:36.300 --> 00:34:37.860 Where is the love 00:34:37.860 --> 00:34:38.519 in that? 00:34:39.300 --> 00:34:40.639 Where is the covenant 00:34:40.639 --> 00:34:41.739 in that? 00:34:42.400 --> 00:34:43.280 But God's love 00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:43.739 toward us 00:34:43.739 --> 00:34:44.800 is not like that. 00:34:45.179 --> 00:34:46.639 It's a covenantal love. 00:34:46.860 --> 00:34:47.980 It's an enduring love. 00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:49.400 It's a gracious love. 00:34:50.460 --> 00:34:51.039 And that's the, 00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:52.099 that's the concept 00:34:52.099 --> 00:34:53.199 that the New Testament 00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:53.900 idea of grace 00:34:53.900 --> 00:34:54.960 also covers as well. 00:34:55.259 --> 00:34:55.880 Grace means 00:34:55.880 --> 00:34:57.079 unmerited favor. 00:34:57.079 --> 00:34:59.000 It means that God 00:34:59.000 --> 00:35:00.079 bestows his favor 00:35:00.079 --> 00:35:00.500 on us 00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:01.659 and he loves us 00:35:01.659 --> 00:35:02.279 even though we 00:35:02.279 --> 00:35:03.239 never deserved it. 00:35:03.299 --> 00:35:04.539 We never merited it. 00:35:04.840 --> 00:35:05.579 And for that reason, 00:35:05.679 --> 00:35:06.519 there's nothing to be 00:35:06.519 --> 00:35:07.480 gained by him 00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:08.159 in loving us. 00:35:08.259 --> 00:35:08.579 Rather he, 00:35:08.819 --> 00:35:10.000 even though all we have 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:10.980 done is to besmirch 00:35:10.980 --> 00:35:11.579 his glory 00:35:11.579 --> 00:35:13.299 and spurn his approach, 00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:14.819 yet he shows us 00:35:14.819 --> 00:35:15.480 grace, 00:35:16.019 --> 00:35:16.920 unmerited favor. 00:35:17.420 --> 00:35:18.779 That's covenantal love, 00:35:18.920 --> 00:35:19.920 steadfast love 00:35:19.920 --> 00:35:21.099 God has toward us. 00:35:21.099 --> 00:35:23.980 And faithfulness 00:35:23.980 --> 00:35:25.579 or truth, 00:35:25.759 --> 00:35:26.019 that's, 00:35:26.019 --> 00:35:26.940 that's the other 00:35:26.940 --> 00:35:27.799 twin attribute 00:35:27.799 --> 00:35:28.940 of God's glory. 00:35:30.519 --> 00:35:31.900 It means truth, 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:32.400 meaning that 00:35:32.400 --> 00:35:33.559 not only what is 00:35:33.559 --> 00:35:34.500 true to reality, 00:35:34.779 --> 00:35:35.839 but also that God 00:35:35.839 --> 00:35:37.420 is true to his character. 00:35:38.360 --> 00:35:39.199 That he will never 00:35:39.199 --> 00:35:39.839 do anything 00:35:39.839 --> 00:35:40.579 that is contrary 00:35:40.579 --> 00:35:41.360 to his character. 00:35:41.779 --> 00:35:42.980 He is a holy God, 00:35:43.219 --> 00:35:44.440 he is a just God, 00:35:44.619 --> 00:35:45.500 and he will never 00:35:45.500 --> 00:35:46.559 deviate from 00:35:46.559 --> 00:35:47.319 his holiness 00:35:47.319 --> 00:35:48.759 and his justice. 00:35:49.619 --> 00:35:50.019 It's unchanging. 00:35:50.019 --> 00:35:50.579 Unchanging, 00:35:50.699 --> 00:35:51.440 he is stable, 00:35:51.559 --> 00:35:52.239 he is firm, 00:35:52.340 --> 00:35:53.099 he is faithful 00:35:53.099 --> 00:35:53.940 and true. 00:35:54.019 --> 00:35:54.820 That's what that means. 00:35:57.280 --> 00:35:58.539 Read along in verses 00:35:58.539 --> 00:35:59.659 16 to 17 00:35:59.659 --> 00:36:00.380 what he says 00:36:00.380 --> 00:36:01.119 about this grace. 00:36:01.380 --> 00:36:02.480 For from his fullness, 00:36:02.940 --> 00:36:03.920 this fullness of Christ, 00:36:04.119 --> 00:36:05.259 we have all received 00:36:05.259 --> 00:36:06.400 grace upon grace. 00:36:06.659 --> 00:36:07.559 For the law was given 00:36:07.559 --> 00:36:08.239 through Moses, 00:36:08.579 --> 00:36:09.380 grace and truth 00:36:09.380 --> 00:36:11.320 came through Jesus Christ. 00:36:11.719 --> 00:36:13.079 This is not contrasting 00:36:13.079 --> 00:36:13.500 the law 00:36:13.500 --> 00:36:14.699 and the grace 00:36:14.699 --> 00:36:15.340 and truth 00:36:15.340 --> 00:36:15.699 that came through 00:36:15.699 --> 00:36:16.360 Jesus Christ. 00:36:16.679 --> 00:36:17.400 Whether it's saying 00:36:17.400 --> 00:36:18.059 that the law 00:36:18.059 --> 00:36:19.739 was one expression 00:36:19.739 --> 00:36:20.639 of God's grace 00:36:20.639 --> 00:36:21.459 and now we have 00:36:21.459 --> 00:36:23.039 grace upon grace 00:36:23.039 --> 00:36:24.659 that we perceive 00:36:24.659 --> 00:36:26.219 that fulfills 00:36:26.219 --> 00:36:27.279 that earlier grace 00:36:27.279 --> 00:36:28.259 in Christ, 00:36:28.379 --> 00:36:29.399 the grace and truth 00:36:29.399 --> 00:36:30.279 of Christ. 00:36:30.719 --> 00:36:31.859 And the Son of God, 00:36:32.019 --> 00:36:32.639 Jesus Christ, 00:36:32.839 --> 00:36:34.199 imperfectly embodies 00:36:34.199 --> 00:36:35.079 the grace and truth, 00:36:35.219 --> 00:36:36.099 the steadfast love 00:36:36.099 --> 00:36:37.079 and faithfulness 00:36:37.079 --> 00:36:37.899 of God. 00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:40.219 Now, 00:36:40.679 --> 00:36:41.619 up to this point, 00:36:41.719 --> 00:36:42.219 we would have been 00:36:42.219 --> 00:36:43.359 warranted in thinking 00:36:43.359 --> 00:36:44.319 that this glory 00:36:44.319 --> 00:36:45.059 that Christ has 00:36:45.059 --> 00:36:47.059 was just blazing out 00:36:47.059 --> 00:36:47.679 wherever he went. 00:36:47.679 --> 00:36:49.299 Everybody could see it, 00:36:49.559 --> 00:36:50.139 but that's actually 00:36:50.139 --> 00:36:50.779 not the case 00:36:50.779 --> 00:36:51.500 if we read through 00:36:51.500 --> 00:36:52.419 the Gospel of John. 00:36:53.239 --> 00:36:53.879 We see that a lot 00:36:53.879 --> 00:36:54.719 of people don't see 00:36:54.719 --> 00:36:55.299 this glory. 00:36:55.500 --> 00:36:55.739 In fact, 00:36:55.859 --> 00:36:56.799 Jesus reveals 00:36:56.799 --> 00:36:57.419 this glory 00:36:57.419 --> 00:36:58.399 a little bit at a time 00:36:58.399 --> 00:36:59.279 through the signs 00:36:59.279 --> 00:37:00.099 that he does. 00:37:01.539 --> 00:37:01.739 So, 00:37:01.819 --> 00:37:03.099 chapter 2, 00:37:03.139 --> 00:37:03.679 verse 11 says 00:37:03.679 --> 00:37:04.419 that Jesus Christ 00:37:04.419 --> 00:37:05.219 performed signs 00:37:05.219 --> 00:37:06.099 to manifest 00:37:06.099 --> 00:37:06.940 his glory. 00:37:07.619 --> 00:37:08.839 It's like an elementary 00:37:08.839 --> 00:37:09.559 school experiment 00:37:09.559 --> 00:37:10.159 that we do 00:37:10.159 --> 00:37:12.219 of trying to look 00:37:12.219 --> 00:37:12.699 at the sun 00:37:12.699 --> 00:37:13.399 and stare at the sun. 00:37:13.460 --> 00:37:14.039 You can't obviously 00:37:14.039 --> 00:37:15.159 look directly at the sun 00:37:15.159 --> 00:37:15.879 where we can permanently 00:37:15.879 --> 00:37:17.059 damage our eyes 00:37:17.059 --> 00:37:18.179 and become even blind 00:37:18.179 --> 00:37:18.659 possibly. 00:37:19.219 --> 00:37:19.359 So, 00:37:19.500 --> 00:37:20.440 you poke a little hole 00:37:20.440 --> 00:37:21.199 with a pencil 00:37:21.199 --> 00:37:22.119 through an index card, 00:37:22.440 --> 00:37:23.699 put it pointed at the sun. 00:37:23.799 --> 00:37:24.259 You don't look 00:37:24.259 --> 00:37:24.759 through the hole, 00:37:25.059 --> 00:37:25.679 but you put another 00:37:25.679 --> 00:37:26.159 index card 00:37:26.159 --> 00:37:26.539 about three, 00:37:26.639 --> 00:37:27.440 four feet down 00:37:27.440 --> 00:37:28.159 and you look 00:37:28.159 --> 00:37:28.920 at the reflection 00:37:28.920 --> 00:37:29.659 and you can see 00:37:29.659 --> 00:37:30.239 the sun. 00:37:30.779 --> 00:37:31.339 That's actually 00:37:31.339 --> 00:37:31.940 a great way 00:37:31.940 --> 00:37:33.599 to absorb an eclipse 00:37:33.599 --> 00:37:34.639 or whatever you want 00:37:34.639 --> 00:37:34.899 to do. 00:37:35.219 --> 00:37:35.279 So, 00:37:35.639 --> 00:37:36.920 in that kind of a way, 00:37:37.039 --> 00:37:37.980 Jesus reveals 00:37:37.980 --> 00:37:38.779 his glory 00:37:38.779 --> 00:37:40.299 in ways that we 00:37:40.299 --> 00:37:41.899 can experience it 00:37:41.899 --> 00:37:42.440 without, 00:37:42.799 --> 00:37:43.599 because if we see 00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:44.299 the face of God 00:37:44.300 --> 00:37:45.100 like we read earlier, 00:37:45.180 --> 00:37:46.100 we would perish. 00:37:46.580 --> 00:37:47.640 His glory is that 00:37:47.640 --> 00:37:49.500 blazing and consuming 00:37:49.500 --> 00:37:50.600 and powerful. 00:37:50.960 --> 00:37:51.160 So, 00:37:51.220 --> 00:37:52.260 Jesus reveals 00:37:52.260 --> 00:37:52.820 God's glory 00:37:52.820 --> 00:37:53.560 through the signs 00:37:53.560 --> 00:37:54.260 that he does. 00:37:55.640 --> 00:37:56.240 But you see, 00:37:56.360 --> 00:37:57.140 in the Gospel of John, 00:37:57.220 --> 00:37:57.980 the signs and miracles 00:37:57.980 --> 00:37:59.300 do show God's glory, 00:37:59.760 --> 00:38:01.220 but the signs 00:38:01.220 --> 00:38:02.400 are not the most 00:38:02.400 --> 00:38:03.120 prominent place 00:38:03.120 --> 00:38:03.920 where God's glory 00:38:03.920 --> 00:38:04.500 is displayed. 00:38:06.400 --> 00:38:08.440 The glory of the incarnation 00:38:08.440 --> 00:38:10.620 is not confined 00:38:10.620 --> 00:38:11.920 to the birth of Christ. 00:38:12.039 --> 00:38:13.480 It is chiefly displayed 00:38:13.480 --> 00:38:14.820 in the death 00:38:14.820 --> 00:38:15.880 of Christ. 00:38:17.059 --> 00:38:17.300 So, 00:38:17.420 --> 00:38:18.079 John 12, 00:38:18.159 --> 00:38:18.920 23 says, 00:38:19.039 --> 00:38:19.639 the cross 00:38:19.639 --> 00:38:20.599 is the place, 00:38:21.079 --> 00:38:22.039 John 12, 00:38:22.099 --> 00:38:22.679 the cross 00:38:22.679 --> 00:38:23.099 is the place 00:38:23.099 --> 00:38:23.740 where Christ 00:38:23.740 --> 00:38:25.019 is glorified, 00:38:25.360 --> 00:38:26.059 paradoxically. 00:38:26.519 --> 00:38:27.059 When Christ 00:38:27.059 --> 00:38:27.780 is lifted up 00:38:27.780 --> 00:38:28.539 onto the cross, 00:38:28.840 --> 00:38:29.800 he is lifted up 00:38:29.800 --> 00:38:30.480 in the eyes 00:38:30.480 --> 00:38:30.960 of the world, 00:38:31.039 --> 00:38:31.619 in the eyes of God, 00:38:31.679 --> 00:38:32.780 he is glorified. 00:38:32.880 --> 00:38:33.599 That's what John 00:38:33.599 --> 00:38:34.679 writes in the Gospel. 00:38:34.820 --> 00:38:36.240 That's the climax 00:38:36.240 --> 00:38:37.240 of Christ 00:38:37.240 --> 00:38:38.380 and the display 00:38:38.380 --> 00:38:39.539 of his glory. 00:38:40.039 --> 00:38:41.119 And why is that? 00:38:41.119 --> 00:38:42.380 Why is the cross 00:38:42.380 --> 00:38:44.279 this death machine, 00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:45.859 this execution, 00:38:46.599 --> 00:38:47.799 why is that the place 00:38:47.799 --> 00:38:48.739 where God's glory 00:38:48.739 --> 00:38:50.359 is most displayed? 00:38:50.480 --> 00:38:52.039 Because that's the place 00:38:52.039 --> 00:38:54.279 where God's steadfast love, 00:38:54.359 --> 00:38:55.659 his unmerited grace, 00:38:55.880 --> 00:38:57.219 and his unyielding truth 00:38:57.219 --> 00:38:58.199 toward fickle sinners 00:38:58.199 --> 00:38:59.380 come together. 00:39:00.539 --> 00:39:01.839 God's covenant love, 00:39:01.960 --> 00:39:02.659 gracious love 00:39:02.659 --> 00:39:03.319 toward sinners, 00:39:03.420 --> 00:39:04.400 and God's faithfulness 00:39:04.400 --> 00:39:05.119 to his character, 00:39:05.420 --> 00:39:05.940 his holiness, 00:39:06.099 --> 00:39:06.539 and justice 00:39:06.539 --> 00:39:07.799 collide together 00:39:07.799 --> 00:39:09.119 at the cross. 00:39:09.119 --> 00:39:10.859 God is holy and just, 00:39:10.940 --> 00:39:12.159 so he must punish 00:39:12.159 --> 00:39:13.400 the rebels that we are, 00:39:13.679 --> 00:39:15.000 the sinners that we are, 00:39:15.079 --> 00:39:15.960 so he must uphold 00:39:15.960 --> 00:39:16.599 his character, 00:39:16.839 --> 00:39:17.639 he must be true 00:39:17.639 --> 00:39:18.440 to his character, 00:39:18.759 --> 00:39:19.719 he must be faithful 00:39:19.719 --> 00:39:20.619 to his character, 00:39:20.739 --> 00:39:22.099 yet God is merciful 00:39:22.099 --> 00:39:22.859 and gracious, 00:39:23.139 --> 00:39:23.880 and he longs 00:39:23.880 --> 00:39:24.799 to forgive us 00:39:24.799 --> 00:39:26.119 and to save us. 00:39:26.539 --> 00:39:27.500 So the proverbial, 00:39:28.199 --> 00:39:28.420 you know, 00:39:28.880 --> 00:39:30.319 unstoppable force 00:39:30.319 --> 00:39:31.400 here meets 00:39:31.400 --> 00:39:33.460 an immovable object. 00:39:34.400 --> 00:39:35.619 And what results 00:39:35.619 --> 00:39:37.779 is this paradoxical beauty 00:39:37.780 --> 00:39:39.940 of the cross of Christ, 00:39:40.360 --> 00:39:41.900 where the fountain 00:39:41.900 --> 00:39:43.900 of life thirsts, 00:39:44.019 --> 00:39:45.260 where the beautiful king 00:39:45.260 --> 00:39:46.040 of the universe 00:39:46.040 --> 00:39:47.500 is treated like a slave, 00:39:48.240 --> 00:39:49.620 where the Holy One 00:39:49.620 --> 00:39:50.660 bears the sins 00:39:50.660 --> 00:39:51.260 of the world, 00:39:51.920 --> 00:39:52.760 where the healer 00:39:52.760 --> 00:39:53.220 of the world 00:39:53.220 --> 00:39:53.860 is wounded 00:39:53.860 --> 00:39:54.800 for our sake, 00:39:55.519 --> 00:39:57.960 where God, 00:39:58.320 --> 00:39:59.620 the Lord of life, 00:40:00.680 --> 00:40:01.200 dies, 00:40:01.199 --> 00:40:05.000 so that we might live. 00:40:06.500 --> 00:40:07.659 That, my friends, 00:40:07.739 --> 00:40:08.480 is the gospel, 00:40:08.939 --> 00:40:09.859 the good news 00:40:09.859 --> 00:40:10.819 of Jesus Christ, 00:40:10.960 --> 00:40:11.719 and that's why 00:40:11.719 --> 00:40:12.899 it is on that cross 00:40:12.899 --> 00:40:14.199 the glory of God, 00:40:14.399 --> 00:40:15.299 the grace and truth 00:40:15.299 --> 00:40:15.739 of God 00:40:15.739 --> 00:40:17.059 are most brilliantly 00:40:17.059 --> 00:40:18.699 displayed for us. 00:40:20.739 --> 00:40:22.259 So let me remind you 00:40:22.259 --> 00:40:22.939 with that truth, 00:40:23.059 --> 00:40:24.739 what verse 12 to 13 said. 00:40:24.739 --> 00:40:40.539 Do you know this God? 00:40:41.899 --> 00:40:43.139 Not just that you've heard of Him. 00:40:43.939 --> 00:40:45.239 Not just that you know about Him. 00:40:45.299 --> 00:40:46.559 Do you know this God? 00:40:46.779 --> 00:40:48.239 Do you know this Jesus Christ? 00:40:48.239 --> 00:40:49.759 Did you receive Him? 00:40:50.979 --> 00:40:52.079 Do you believe in Him? 00:40:52.079 --> 00:40:55.779 That's the most important question 00:40:55.779 --> 00:40:56.719 we have to answer 00:40:56.719 --> 00:40:57.980 in this life. 00:40:59.719 --> 00:41:00.639 So I urge you, 00:41:00.699 --> 00:41:01.819 don't listen to this this morning 00:41:01.819 --> 00:41:02.679 and then hurry off 00:41:02.679 --> 00:41:03.659 as if nothing happened. 00:41:04.440 --> 00:41:06.179 In order to know God, 00:41:06.559 --> 00:41:08.319 we must believe in Jesus Christ 00:41:08.319 --> 00:41:10.059 who is the ultimate disclosure 00:41:10.059 --> 00:41:11.880 of God Himself. 00:41:13.519 --> 00:41:14.500 Let's pray together. 00:41:14.500 --> 00:41:22.659 God, we are amazed 00:41:22.659 --> 00:41:25.579 that you would reveal 00:41:25.579 --> 00:41:26.840 yourself to us. 00:41:33.079 --> 00:41:34.619 We are amazed 00:41:34.619 --> 00:41:37.480 that you would stoop down 00:41:37.480 --> 00:41:40.699 to the squalor of sin, 00:41:40.699 --> 00:41:44.519 the despair of death 00:41:44.519 --> 00:41:47.719 to raise us up. 00:41:54.359 --> 00:41:55.500 Thank you for offering 00:41:55.500 --> 00:41:56.679 your Son to us. 00:41:57.980 --> 00:41:59.099 Let us now believe, 00:41:59.899 --> 00:42:00.539 receive, 00:42:01.359 --> 00:42:02.599 and live in light 00:42:02.599 --> 00:42:03.159 of this one.