God Enfleshed, Part 3

Today we're going to look once again at John's Gospel, the first chapter. If you've been with us for the last 23 weeks, we are still in John chapter 1. In fact, we're still in the prologue. Prologue is John 1:1 through verse number 18.

And then when you come to verse 19, you pick up the public ministry of Christ and that takes you all the way to the end of chapter 12. And then you have the private ministry of Christ in chapters 13 through 17. And then you have the passion ministry of Christ in chapter 18 toward the end.

But we're still in the prologue. We're still introducing the Christ to you to help you understand who He is and what He has done. John has a purpose in mind.

John wants you to behold your God. For if you behold Him you will believe in Him. And that was his purpose for writing John.

John chapter 20 verse number 30. Many of the signs that Jesus do that are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that believing you might have life in His name.

So John's whole purpose was that you might believe 92 different times in the gospel. He talks about belief. But you must behold Him.

It's that verse, and I'll remind you once again, that John's gospel is that long explanation of the prophet's statement in Isaiah 35 verse number 4 which says behold your God. And John wants you to behold your God. Like Matthew's was that statement from Zechariah 9:9, behold your king.

So Matthew spends his whole book talking to you about the royalty of the king. And then you have Mark's gospel taken from Isaiah chapter 42 verse number 1 which says behold my servant. And Mark spends 16 chapters explaining to you the humility of the Messiah.

How He was a servant of all that He might save sinners. Luke's gospel is taken from Zechariah 9 verse number 9 which, sorry, Zechariah 6 verse number 12 which says behold a man. And Luke's whole book is about the humanity of the Messiah.

So every gospel is written with a purpose to explain to you the man, to explain to you the king, to explain to you the servant, to explain to you God. So John wants us to behold our God. But long before John wrote his gospel, and he was the last of the gospel writers to write his gospel.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke wrote theirs way before John wrote his. But way before the gospel writers wrote, there was there was a man who longed to behold his God. And I can't help but think that in John's writing this gospel, knowing what Luke had already written, was wanting the people who read the gospel to be like this man.

He's one of the key characters in the Christmas story. And we don't talk about him much, but he was a unique man. He was a deeply committed man.

He's found in Luke's gospel the second chapter. If you've got your Bible, by way of introduction, let me take you to Luke's gospel, Luke chapter 2. And let me introduce him to you if you don't know him, or maybe if you do already know him it will be a good reminder of a man who beheld his God.

It says in Luke chapter 2 verse number 25 And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was upon him.

John begins by talking about his person. There's this man in Jerusalem. His name is Simeon, whose name means God is heard.

And he was a righteous man. In other words, he was declared righteous like Abraham was. Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him as righteousness, Genesis 15 tells us.

So to Simeon believed God and it was counted unto him as righteousness as well. He believed the Old Testament. He believed about the coming Messiah.

He believed in the truth about the living God. And he was declared righteous by the true and living God. He was a righteous man.

He was a devout man. A devout man. What a great word.

Deeply surrendered. Deeply committed. Deeply humble.

But a man who truly didn't have a commitment of convenience, but a commitment of conviction. There is a difference. There's a huge difference.

He was a deeply committed man. Committed to what? Committed to his Lord. To his King.

It says that the Holy Spirit was upon him. He was looking for the consolation of Israel. That's taken right from Isaiah chapter 40.

He was looking for Israel's comforter. That's the Messiah. That's who he was looking for.

That's who he was anticipating. He was longing to behold his God. And so Luke quickly moves from his person to his promise.

It says in verse 26, "...and it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen, beheld the Lord's Christ." The Lord's Messiah. Simeon was given a promise that no one else in Scripture and no one else who has ever lived has received. A promise to see the Lord's Messiah before he dies.

There's no guarantee we're going to see the second coming of Christ. We would trust that it was today or at least tomorrow or sometime in our lifetime, but we we're not given that promise. That we're not going to die before Jesus comes again.

But Simeon was given this promise by the Spirit of God that he would not see death until he beholds the Lord's Messiah. Please remember that he is not Israel's Messiah primarily nor is he your Messiah primarily. He is God's Messiah.

He is God's anointed. And because he's God's anointed, he becomes your anointed and my anointed. And that's why John writes his gospel, that you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

That you might believe that he is the Christ the Messiah. Because there was a man, a devout man, a righteous man a man who was looking and longing for the comforter of Israel who was given a promise. You shall not die until you behold the Lord's Messiah.

Can you imagine living like that? Knowing that you go through a day and that you go through each and every day knowing that you're going to be alive until you see the Messiah. You've been given a promise so he lived in light of that. But read on because it moves from his promise to his praise.

So what's that? And he came in the Spirit into the temple where the parents brought in the child Jesus to carry out for him the custom of the law. They took him into his arms and blessed God. Now we just read that and we don't think anything of it.

But just pause right there. How does Simeon know this is the Christ child? How does he know that? He's never met Mary and Joseph. Doesn't even know who they are.

Mary and Joseph have no idea who Simeon is. Some guy walks up to you in the mall. Some guy walks up to you in the store and wants to take your baby out of your hands.

You're like, hold on a minute. That's not happening. But God's at work in this whole scenario.

And God shows Simeon who the Christ child is. No he doesn't have a halo above his head that lights up to let you know that this is the Messiah. He's a child.

He's 40 days old because that's the completion of purification as said earlier in Luke. So we know he's 40 days old. Simeon walks up to Mary and Joseph and doesn't bless Mary, but blesses God.

He says, verse 29, now Lord you are releasing your bondservant to depart in peace. You're going to let me die. I'm going to do it in peace.

You're letting your slave, your bondservant, you're going to let me leave this earth in peace. You kept your word. You're true to your word.

Simeon was an older gentleman. He wasn't a young man. He was an older man.

How long did he live before he saw the Lord's Christ? It had been 400 silent years between the Old Testament and the New Testament. No prophet had spoken. God had not spoken.

No angel had spoken until Zacharias had the angel Gabriel come to him and tell him that he was going to have a son who was the forerunner of the Messiah. That broke the silence. But Simeon had no record of that.

He did not know that. He was just waiting to behold the living God. So he says, for my eyes have seen your salvation.

When you behold God, you behold his saviorship. You behold his saving grace. When you truly behold the God of the Bible, you behold the King of Israel.

You behold the Savior of the world. Simeon says, I have seen your salvation. I have beheld the God of salvation.

Which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles. What did John say? That he is the light that enlightens every man that comes into the world. You read that in John 1 verse number 9. Simeon knew about Old Testament prophecy.

He knew the word of God. He knew about the consolation of Israel. He knew about the light of revelation to the Gentiles.

He's quoting directly from the Old Testament because he's a student of the scriptures. And it says these words, and the glory of your people is real. So Luke gives us the person, then he gives us his promise, and then he gives us his praise.

And then he gives us his prophecy. His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about him. In that praise was contentment, in that praise was amazement. Contentment on behalf of Simeon, amazement on behalf of Mary and Joseph.

Verse 34. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed.

Your son, the Messiah, the Lord's Christ, the salvation of God is going to be one who's rejected. Because of him there will be the rise and fall of many. What did John say? He came to his own, but his own received him not.

They rejected him. There'll be opposition, he's assigned to be opposed. And a sword will pierce even your own soul.

Not only will he cause division, not only will he cause rejection, not only will he cause opposition, he's going to cause you affliction. Because you will be pierced even in your own soul. To the end, he says that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

Your son will be the revelation of man's heart. And then he's done. When he dies, we do not know.

How he dies, we do not know. But what do we know? We know this, that he beheld his God. And for Simeon, that was enough.

The problem with us is that's just not enough, is it? And that's where John is taking us. He wants it to be enough. He wants it to be your satisfaction in life.

He wants it to be your all-consuming joy in life. He wants it to be your ambition in life, your anticipation in life. He wants it to be your drive in life, that you might behold your God, that you might see him for who he is.

And listen to me carefully, because once you see him for who he is, he is your satisfaction in life. If you're longing for satisfaction outside of him, you probably haven't seen him for who he really is. The Savior of man.

The comforter, the consoler of Israel. And I would say he is the redeemer, the redemption of Jerusalem. He is the living God.

So John, who would write his gospel, in his prologue his whole desire is that you might behold your God. So he spends all this time introducing him to us. And in John 1, verses 14 to 18, that has been our text for the last two weeks, and this week, and yes, even next week, to understand all that John is saying is incredible.

And so I want you to see three things in these verses. First of all, I want you to be able to see his flesh. Then his fullness. Then his Father.

For his flesh, John says, we beheld. For his fullness, he says, we received. And of his Father, he says, we know. John wants you to behold his flesh. That you might receive his fullness and know his Father.

That's in verses 14 to 18. Let me read them for you. John 1, verse 14.

And the word became flesh. And dwelt among us, and we saw his glory. Glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John testified about him and cried out, saying, this was he of whom I said, he who comes after me has a higher rank than I. For he existed before me. For of his fullness we have all received. And grace upon grace.

For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time.

The only begotten God. Who is in the bosom of the Father. He has explained him.

Such a potent passage. Such an important passage. The word became flesh, is John's way of introducing to us Christmas.

Isaiah said it this way. His name should be called Emmanuel. Which translated means God is with us. So in Isaiah 7:14, you have four words that describe Christmas. God is with us.

And in John 1, verse number 14, you have four words that describe Christmas. The word became flesh. It's just that simple.

But so profound. It's the most enormous statement in all of scripture. That God would be enfleshed.

That God would become a man. And so let's begin by looking at point number one. Which is his flesh. We beheld. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. John is saying what he has said earlier in John's gospel. In the first couple of verses. When he said these words.

In the beginning was the word. Speaking to us about his eternality. And the word was with God. Or the word was face to face with God. Speaking of his equality and his personality.

And then he says he was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him.

And apart from him nothing came into being that has come into being. That is his creativity. And then he says in him was life and the life was the light of men.

That's his vitality. And then he says the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not, could not overcome it. That's his invincibility.

And so the one that's invincible. The one who is God. The one who is face to face with God.

The one who truly is equal with God. The one who is life. Who grants life.

The one who is the creator of all things. This is his humanity. Became flesh.

And dwelt among us. God's enfleshment. This eternal one was enfleshed.

This invincible one was enfleshed. This God was enfleshed. Why did he say the word became flesh?

Because he's speaking to Greeks as well as Jews. And if I'm of the Greek persuasion, I believe that if there is an effect there's a cause. But I don't know who the cause is or what the cause is.

So in the Greek's mind the cause was an impersonal being. It was a force. It was a power that was behind the effect.

And John says the power behind the effect is a person. Who is the word? The logos. To a Jew when God would want to manifest himself, he would speak.

He would communicate through words. And so he uses the word logos to explain to them that the manifestation of the God of the Old Testament who yes, you were able to see his glory by a fire by night and a cloud by day and his glory would rest in the temple. This one who would speak to us and communicate with us became flesh.

Was manifested in the flesh. He wants them to understand both Jew and Greek to understand the essential nature of the logos, the word that dwells among us. The word became ginomai, flesh.

The word mutated. The word became something it had never been while never ceasing to be what it always was and is. Because the Lord the creator of the universe is.

He is a me. He is being. Pure being.

He's essential. He's eternal. But yet he became something he never was but never ceased to be all that he'd always been.

God. He became man. This is the great mystery of godliness.

Isn't that what Paul says? In 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse number 16, by common confession great is the mystery of godliness, he who was revealed in the flesh. To be seen, to be made visible. The great mystery of godliness is that God became man.

God became visible. God was enfleshed. He was revealed so we could see him and understand him.

John would say it later in verse John 4, these words, by this you know the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come into flesh is from God. And every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God this is the spirit of the antichrist of which you have heard that it is coming and now it is already in the world.

You must confess that Jesus Christ has come into flesh, that the Messiah is the God of Israel who was and is enfleshed. He is the God man. And John says the word became flesh and dwelt among us.

That's just a great word. It's a word that means to pitch your tent. He pitched his tent among us.

Had Christ dwelt among them before? Yes, he had dwelt before them in christophanies. We talked about this last week.

Way back in Genesis chapter 16 he appeared to Hagar. In Genesis 18 he appeared to Abraham with two other angels. Again in Genesis 21 He appeared to Hagar .

Again in Genesis 32 he appeared to Jacob and Jacob wrestled with him and said I had seen the face of God. He called that place Peniel.

And all throughout the Old Testament. Genesis chapter 22, the pre-incarnate Christ was the one who stopped Abraham from slaying his son.

It's just over and over and over again. 58 times in the Old Testament he is called the angel of the Lord. 11 times he is called the angel of God.

There were these specific times in which Christ pitched his tent. He appeared before the incarnation in christophanies. But this time he stays for 33 years.

And he's here through his childhood into adulthood until his sacrifice on Calvary's tree. They had understood the fact that our Lord would dwell among them. That's why they had the feast of tabernacles the feast of booths that Israel celebrates every year.

Why? Because they would go out in their backyard and they would build these tents. Why? So that they would remember the exodus and remember their wilderness wanderings and how the Lord had guided them with a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day that the glory of the Lord would lead them and guide them as they pitched their tent in the wilderness but they knew that one day he would dwell among them forever. So they do it in anticipation of the permanent dwelling of God among them.

That God is coming. He will dwell among us. So they live in anticipation of that.

Longing to behold their God. Not realizing that he did that. He came and pitched his tent among them for 33 years and they rejected him and turned their back against him.

And John says the word. This invincible eternal God who is the author of life who existed in the beginning was face to face with God has become flesh and dwelt among us. And we, we beheld his glory.

What is that? We beheld his glory. Well we've told you over the years that the glory of God is the presence of God manifested in brilliant light. And you know that on the Mount of Transfiguration when Peter, James and John were up on the mountain and there was Moses and there was Elijah and Christ unzipped his flesh and the glory of the Lord would shine forth and their voice would come out of heaven.

This is my beloved son. Listen to him. They would behold the glory of the Lord.

Peter would reiterate that in 2 Peter chapter 1 when he said that when we were on the holy mountain, we beheld the glory of God. The majestic glory of God. So Peter would refer to that incident in his epistle in 2 Peter 1, verses 16 to 18.

When the Son of Man returns in Matthew chapter 24 and 25 there will be a sign in the sky. And what is the sign in the sky? It's the glory of the Lord. It's the brilliant manifestation of His shining glory pouring forth so that every eye will see Him.

The question comes is that what John is emphasizing? The brilliant splendor of His unapproachable light? Is that what John is saying when he said we beheld His glory? The glory as of the only begotten of the Father.

The only begotten is the phrase monogenēs. It's used six times in the New Testament. Five times in John's gospel. The other time it's used it defines monogenēs. Hebrews 13 verse number 17.

Hebrews 11 verse number 17. Which speaks of Abraham's only begotten son. It's a translation of Genesis 22 2 which says God says to Abraham take now your son, your only son which is really his only begotten son as defined by the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 11.

By the way if you were with us last week it is the same phrase used in Zechariah 12 verse number 10 which says they will mourn for him as an only son which translated means only begotten son. That Israel will mourn for the only begotten son. The Messiah.

He is the monogenēs. What does that mean? That means He was begotten by the Father? That He was born? No. Monogamous is not a term of origin.

It's a term of uniqueness. It's a term of rank. It's a term of shared life.

This is so important. Why? Because if you go down to verse number 18 it says no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten God.

Who's that? The only begotten God who was in the bosom of the Father. Who was entwined in an intimate relationship with the Father. Christ is called the only begotten God because He's the only begotten Son.

He is the one who is equal in nature to the true God of the universe. He is as Paul would say in Colossians 1 the prototokos, the firstborn of all creation. Or Revelation 1 He is the firstborn of the dead.

What does that mean? The firstborn. He wasn't the first one ever born. No.

The word firstborn, prototokos, is the word that means preeminent one. Of all those ever born He was the preeminent one. Of all those who have ever died He is the preeminent one.

All those who have ever been raised He is the preeminent one. Why? Because He's the God of the universe. He's the King of Israel.

He's the Lord's Christ. He's the Messiah. He's the monogenēs, prototokos.

John says and we beheld His glory. The glory as the only begotten God. Who is the only begotten of the Father? Who is the unique Son of the Father the one who has the right to the inheritance.

There's only one who has that. That's the Messiah. That's the one we beheld.

That's the one we have seen. That's the one we have looked upon. John says His flesh we beheld.

And then he says but of His fullness we received. His fullness we received. What does that mean? And we beheld His glory.

The glory as the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. What does it mean to receive His fullness? Next week we'll explain that to you. Let's pray.

Father God we thank You for today and the opportunity You give us to study Your precious Word. Truly Lord what You have said is unbelievable. Unbelievable, miraculous, incredible, unfathomable that God would become man and dwell among us. But yet You did.

And for that we are grateful Lord. For with that comes the salvation of man. With that comes the opportunity to embrace eternal life.

And John wants us to behold You. I would pray that everyone in the room would have beheld the true and living God in such a way that they only believe in the true and living God. That they might live in accordance with Your Word.

Not just today, but until You come again as You most surely will. In Jesus name. Amen.