Amen. You may be seated. Kids, you've got to be seated too. You're in with us this morning.
Was that a baby crying? Or was that an adult crying?
Would you open up your Bibles to John chapter 1? It's on page 1053 of your Pew Bible.
I'm going to read John 1, 1 through 18 once more. May God bless the reading and the hearing of His holy Word.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him.
And without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life.
In the light, life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God whose name was John.
He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through Him.
He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.
But to all who did receive Him, who believe in His name, He gave the right to become children of God,
who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.
And we have seen, we have beheld His glory.
Glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John bore witness about Him and cried out,
This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.
For from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God, the only God, who is at the Father's side.
He has made Him known.
May God bless the reading and hearing of God's Word.
The greatest gift I have ever received underneath a Christmas tree, important qualification,
was when I was eight years old.
I was living in Connecticut.
I unwrapped, I'm going to do this in a Howard Cosell voice,
an ABC Wide World of Sports mobile broadcasting semi-tractor trailer.
It was awesome.
Two worlds, my favorite two worlds coming together.
ABC, Wide World of Sports,
The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat,
and semi-tractor trailers.
I loved both of them.
And I put, I logged in a ton of hours with this metal truck.
But now I suspect that that metal truck is,
if not fully rusted and gone, close.
I was underneath tons of refuse in a landfill somewhere in Connecticut,
where I grew up.
Has anybody else noticed that the gifts that we give,
now don't get me wrong, I love giving gifts on Christmas.
It's a wonderful tradition.
It points to the greatest gift ever.
But have you ever noticed that the gifts we give,
they have a limited shelf life?
Sports equipment,
electronics,
clothes,
limited shelf life.
You give cash, but cash don't last.
The greatest gift ever given wasn't found under a Christmas tree.
The greatest gift ever given wasn't found in a stocking hung on the mantle with care.
The greatest gift ever given was given by God.
A baby boy,
Emmanuel,
the Word become flesh,
lying in a feeding trough
in a first century animal shelter
in the little town of Bethlehem.
An angel gave him a name.
Jesus.
Because he would rescue his people from their sins.
He was also called Emmanuel,
which literally means God with us.
He had a bunch of titles.
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
And when he put it all together,
it's quite a collection of names
and titles
for a baby
that was born
2,000 years ago.
In the feeding trough
is the Word become flesh.
In the feeding trough,
in that manger,
in the little town of Bethlehem,
is the light of the world.
The ultimate self-revelation
of God
and His salvation.
He's the greatest gift ever given.
And He was given 2,000 years ago.
But you can receive Him today
as the greatest gift ever.
So for a few minutes here,
I want to point you
in this passage
in verses 14 through 18,
primarily in verse 14,
I want you first
to be amazed by Him,
His person.
Second,
I want you to behold His glory.
And third,
I want to help you believe in Him.
Be amazed,
behold,
believe.
The greatest gift ever given
is the Word who became flesh,
the light,
shining life
into the darkness.
Be amazed by Him,
this person.
And the Word became flesh.
You know,
those four words,
the Word became flesh,
they pack
a theological punch.
because what they're saying
is that
in the one person
of Jesus
are two natures.
Fully God,
fully man.
Totally God,
totally man.
And it is something
to be amazed by.
The Word
we're introduced to
in John 1, 1 and 2,
He,
a person,
we see that in verse 3,
He,
in Him was life,
verse 4,
this person was in the beginning
before there was anything created
and
the Word was with God.
He was a person
distinct from God
and the Word was God.
He was a person
distinct from God
but fully God
at the same time.
And we learn
that He was in the beginning.
He existed before anything
that was created.
In verse 3,
it's the Word
who created everything.
And so,
the Word
is the eternally existent,
uncreated creator
of all things,
the second person
of the Trinity,
the Divine Son.
And in Him
was life.
And that life
shines in the darkness.
So, on the one hand,
the Word
that became flesh
is totally God.
and on the other hand,
He became flesh.
Totally man.
That word flesh
is getting at
how He became
a real human being.
He had a real
physical body.
He had a
real range
of emotions
that He experienced
33 years
of His living.
He had
real thoughts.
He had
real
kind of exercises
of His will
that He would do.
The uncreated creator
learned.
He learned
how to eat
solid food.
He learned
how to speak.
The Word
learned
how to speak.
He learned
how to walk.
He learned
how to play
with others.
He went
through puberty
without sin.
He learned
a trade.
He had
calluses
form on His hands.
He sweat
from His brow.
He gave
a hard day's work.
work.
He enjoyed
good food.
He experienced
the fullness
of our humanity
because He
was fully
human
with one
big exception.
He never
sinned.
For
33 years
He
sinned
not once.
He was
God
holiness
incarnate.
The Word
became
flesh.
Totally God.
Totally man.
How did that
happen?
What's
in that
Word
became?
How did
the eternally
existent
uncreated
creator
become a
living
breathing
human
being?
Because it's
not like the
rest of us.
There are
8 billion
people living
on the
planet
right now
and all
8 billion
of us
came into
existence
in the
same way.
A physical
union between
one man
and one
woman.
not Jesus.
In Luke
chapter 1
we are
told
that there
is this
angel
named
Gabriel
who shows
up and
has a
conversation
with a
young lady
named
Mary
who was
a virgin
which means
she wasn't
married.
She hasn't
had a
physical
relationship
with a
man.
She was
engaged
to
Joseph.
But this
angel tells
Mary that
the Holy
Spirit will
miraculously
powerfully
conceive a
son in
her virgin
womb.
The way
he became
is a
miracle of
God.
His
incarnation
is a
triune
event.
It's
amazing.
So the
second person
of the
Trinity
became a
living
breathing
human
being
by
miracle
of God.
God
begat
God.
Maybe
you're
familiar
with
the
original
version of
O come
all ye
faithful.
The
second
verse
goes like
this.
True
God of
true
God.
Light
from
light
eternal.
Lo
he
shuns
not the
virgin's
womb.
Son of
the
Father
begotten
not
created.
Jesus
has a
birthday
yes but
the
second
person
of
the
Trinity
is
from
everlasting
to
everlasting
because
he's
God.
For
those of
you in
the room
who may
be hearing
this for
the first
time
or maybe
you grew
up in
the church
you've
deconstructed
a little
bit
here's the
basic
question
is it
true?
Did this
really
happen?
If it
didn't
happen
throw it
in the
trash can.
It's
just
use
Christmas
paper.
But if
it did
happen
be
amazed.
The
greatest
gift
ever
given
was
fully
God
and
fully
man
in
one
person.
And you
know what's
even more
amazing?
He remains
incarnate
today.
So be
amazed.
But now
let's
behold.
Behold
his glory.
We read
in verse
14 and
the word
became
flesh.
Be
amazed
and
dwelt
among
us.
And we've
seen his
glory.
Glory is
of the
only
son
from
the
father
full of
grace
and
truth.
That
word
dwelt
and he
dwelt
among
us
literally
means
to
pitch
a
tent.
To
set up
a
tent.
For
those
who
heard
the
gospel
of
John
for
the
first
time
and
had
a
Jewish
background,
do you
know what
they would
have
heard?
They
would
have
heard
a
reference,
a
very
clear
allusion
to
the
tent
God
pitched
among
his
people
when
they
came
out
of
Egypt
and
wandered
into
eventually
into
the
promised
land,
the
tabernacle.
This
elaborate
tent
set up,
designed
by God,
commanded
by God
to be
set up
wherever
Israel
would go.
When they
would come
to a
stay,
the tent
would be
set up
and then
God
would
descend
in a
cloud
and
the
scripture
reads
that
he
would
interact
with
Moses
face
to
face.
You
could
translate
it
and
the
word
became
flesh
and
tabernacled
among
us.
Did
you know
the story
of the
Bible
is
actually
the
story
of
God
dwelling
with
his
people?
Think
about
it.
Adam
and
Eve
in
the
garden,
God
walking
with
them
in
the
cool
of
the
day,
God
with
his
people.
The
tabernacle,
God
dwelling
with
his
people
en route
to
the
promised
land.
Eventually
the
temple
of
Solomon
is
built
and
God
comes
and
occupies
that
temple.
God
with
his
people
in
his
land.
And
then
when
Jesus
shows
up,
God
dwells
with
his
people
in
a
tent
made
of
flesh,
Emmanuel.
Now
Jesus
has
ascended,
seated
at the
right
hand
of
God.
Do you
know who
has become
the
dwelling
place
of
God
now?
We
have
become
the
dwelling
place
of
God.
The
church.
It's the
place
where
God
dwells.
We are
his dwelling
place,
so we
need to
be holy
as he
is holy.
And
eventually
when
Jesus
returns
and he
judges
all and
he
recreates
the
heavens
and
the
earth,
we
will
dwell
with
him,
Emmanuel,
incarnate,
in a
full,
final,
and forever
way.
It's
God
with his
people
lighting up
the
place.
Dwell,
God
dwelling with
his people
is a
big theme
throughout
your whole
Bible.
And here
we're
seeing
God
dwelling
with
his
people
in
the
person
of
Jesus.
Which
means
this,
if
God
dwelt
with
his
people
in
the
man
Jesus,
he
was
beheld,
he
was
seen,
and
the
word
became
flesh
and
dwelt
among
us,
and
we
have
seen,
beheld
his
glory.
The
we
and
us
are
the
original
eyewitnesses
who
walked
with
Jesus,
who
talked
with
him
face
to
face.
It's
the
writer
of
the
gospel
of
John,
it's
John
the
son
of
Zebedee,
and
Matthew,
and
so
many
other
eyewitnesses.
They
beheld
him
face
to
face,
and
they
saw
his
glory,
glory
as
of
the
only
son,
the
only
begotten
of
the
father.
That
word
only
begotten,
it's
a
very
unusual
word
in
your
new
testament.
It
means
it's
unique
one
of a
kind.
And we
see it
not just
here
in
verse
14,
and the
word
became
flesh.
We
see
in
his
glory,
glories
of
the
only
son
from
the
father.
It
shows
up
in
verse
18.
No
one
has
ever
seen
God,
the
only
God,
the
unique
God,
speaking
of
Jesus.
And it
also
shows up,
if you're
wondering,
in John
3.
16,
for God
so loved
the world
that he
gave his
only son,
one unique
son,
God in
the flesh.
And what's
being said
here is
that the
original
eyewitnesses
to Jesus,
they beheld
God in
his glory,
full of
grace and
truth.
That's the
New Testament
version of
steadfast love
and faithfulness.
They
beheld
his
unique
glory,
full of
steadfast love
and faithfulness,
grace and
truth.
Those were
descriptions
used of
God in
the Old
Testament.
And they're
being attributed
to Jesus
and he
being full
of steadfast
love and
faithfulness
because he's
God in
the flesh
and he
was beheld,
seen by
these
eyewitnesses.
He is
the ultimate
self-revelation
of God.
Do you
know where
you can
behold his
glory?
Through the
eyewitnesses
of the New
Testament.
You can
behold
this
incarnate
Emmanuel.
You can
behold him
healing the
sick and
the lame.
You can
behold him
speaking the
truth in
love.
You can
behold him
raising the
dead.
You can
behold him
feeding 5,000
then feeding
4,000 and
walking on
water and
being
transfigured
within feet
of the guy
that wrote
this gospel.
You can
behold him
tenderly
engaging the
humble and
you can
behold him
confronting and
confounding
the arrogant.
We behold
his glory
through the
pages of
the New
Testament.
We get
to see
him,
his steadfast
love and
faithfulness
on clear
display and
we get to
say that
is amazing.
We get to
behold his
glory this
way.
But you
know what?
Jesus says
something interesting
in John
chapter 17.
Let me just
read it to
you.
It's in
verse 1.
He's praying.
He's just
hours away from
his crucifixion
and he says
father the
hour has
come.
Glorify your
son that the
son may
glorify you.
You see
according to
Jesus the
light of the
world the
brightest display
of his glory
took place when
he was dying
on the cross.
The greatest
display of the
steadfast love
love and
faithfulness in
full display
for those to
see was when
he died as a
sacrifice and
substitute for
sinners.
The very ones
he created on
the cross.
The brightest
place of God's
glory shining in
the gospel of
John is Jesus'
death on the
cross.
God's
grace.
He dwelt
among us so
that we can
see and we
could behold his
glorious light
shining into the
darkness.
His life and
death on display.
glory.
So be amazed.
Behold his
glory.
By the way.
His birthday is
just not a glory
day.
His death day is
not just a glory
day.
His resurrection
day is not just a
glory day.
This present day
he's reigning on
high bringing his
glory to the
nations.
There's a day when
he comes back and
it's going to be
glorious for all who
believe in him and
he's going to
exercise a judgment
day in which he
will be glorified
and then he's
going to recreate
the heavens on the
earth and on that
day we're going to
glorify him fully
finally and forever
because we'll be in
his presence.
We'll behold him.
We'll see him face
to face.
I can't wait.
Be amazed.
Behold.
Behold and believe.
Believe in him.
A couple verses up
in verse 12 we read
but to all who did
receive him who
believed in his name
he gave the right to
become children of
God.
The last couple
Sundays I've been
trying to help you
understand what
biblical belief is
and what it's not.
Remember the
illustration?
It's mid-February.
I'm like hey let's
go for a walk around
Lincoln Park Lagoon.
It's kind of freezing
cold for days and so
that lagoon has this
eight inches of ice on
it.
And I turn to you and
I say hey do you
believe that can hold
your weight?
To which you say of
course I believe that.
But are you actually
exercising biblical
belief?
You're just agreeing
that it will hold
your weight.
But if I ask you hey
let's go step out on
the ice of the lagoon
together.
It's when you step out
onto the ice that now
we're talking biblical
belief.
It's where you're
actually actively
trusting in Jesus.
this one who
sent by God to
save sinners
in this dark world.
And when you believe
in Jesus
you receive
Jesus.
You welcome
him.
In all that he
is you say
hey
mi casa
es su casa
I am yours.
I will now
base my life
around you.
You are my one
consuming passion
my all governing
reality now
because of who you
are and what
you've done
and what you
will do.
And last week
we saw
that when you
believe when you
receive Jesus
he gives you the
right to become
children of God.
He causes you to
be born again.
You've got a
completely new
status before God.
But you know
what?
That's not the
greatest thing he
gave.
It's wonderful
but it's not the
greatest thing.
In verse 16
we read
for from him
for from his
fullness we have
all received
grace upon grace
for the law was
given through
Moses grace and
truth steadfast love
and faithfulness
came through Jesus
Christ.
I mean
us receiving
God's word
is wonderful
but it's not
the greatest thing.
Do you know
the greatest thing
is?
Better than
your status.
Even better
than the Bible
itself.
It's God
himself.
Because
this baby
given to us
who's grown
he's crucified
he's risen
and reigning
on high
the greatest
gift ever
given is
God
giving himself
to us
and when we
receive him
we receive
the fullness
of who he is
his steadfast
love and
faithfulness
being poured
out upon us.
When you
believe in him
and you receive
him
the word
shine
shines upon
you
the light
of life
shines into
your darkness
and gives
you life
causes you
to be born
again.
Is it
true?
To believe
in Jesus
is to
welcome
him
in all
of his
fullness
into
your life
as the
center
of your
life.
Do you
see that
the greatest
gift ever
given
is God
giving himself
to us?
That's
the glory
of Christmas.
Jesus
said it
this way
and this
is eternal
life that
they know
you have
a relationship
with you
the only
God
and Jesus
Christ
whom you
have sent
to believe
in Jesus
is to
receive
Jesus
and to
enter
into
a
life
giving
relationship
with
the
living
God.
And now
we live
for his
glory
not our
own.
It brings
us
the greatest
joy
to live
for him.
So you
may agree
that Jesus
is God
in the
flesh
that you
may even
agree
that he's
the greatest
gift ever
given
but the
question
really is
have you
stepped
out
onto
him
and put
your
trust
in him
have you
welcomed
him
for all
that he
is
if you
haven't
you can
welcome
him in
today
he gave
himself to
you and
how you
responded
saying
mi
casa
esu
casa
welcome
in
incarnate
king
but if
you
have
already
welcomed
him
in
is
he
your
one
consuming
passion
your
all
governing
reality
to
receive
the
fullness
of
him
is
to
live
in
light
of
all
that
he
is
and
experience
fullness
of
joy
believe
in
him
receive
him
be
amazed
behold
believe
is
it
true
and
if
it's
true
Jesus
is
God's
greatest
gift
ever
given
it's
not
like
he
will
end
up
in
a
landfill
with
a
limited
shelf
life
he
is
life
and
he
gives
eternal
life
he's
the
gift
that
keeps
on
giving
he
became
flesh
and
dwelt
among
us
he's
the
light
shining
in
the
darkness
in
Jesus
God
gives
us
himself
so
this
morning
this
day
before
Christmas
are
you
amazed
by
his
person
totally
God
totally
man
in
one
person
have
you
beheld
his
glory
as of
the
only
begotten
of
the
father
and
have
you
believed
and
when
you
believe
you
get
to
say
things
like
this
and
mean
it
joy
to
the
world
the
Lord
is
come
let
all
of
the
earth
receive
her
king
amen
merry
christmas
let me
pray
lord
jesus
we
acknowledge
you
as
our
crucified
risen
and reigning
incarnate
king
thank you
for humbling
yourself
taking on
flesh
in order
to die
for us
in our
place
so that
we can
live
with you
and for
you
forever
would you
be honored
and glorified
today
on the
24th of
December
tomorrow
on the
25th of
December
and on
Tuesday
the
26th
of
December
and day
in and day
out
from there
on
all to
your glory
in jesus
name
amen