God Enfleshed, Part 4

Today we're going to bring to a conclusion the prologue of John's Gospel, John 1 verses 14 to 18. And by way of introduction, I would ask you to turn with me in your Bible, if you would, to Psalm 26. Psalm 26 will introduce to us this great and glorious aspect of God being enfleshed in the glory of the Lord.

Years ago, we did a series on the church. We discussed the meaning and mission and ministry of the church. A lot of people have a misunderstanding as to what the church really is, and the function of the church.

So in that series, we told you that the church was the plan of the Son of God, Matthew chapter 16. The church was the possession of the living God, that's 1 Peter 2 verse number 9. The church was the pillar of the truth of God, 1 Timothy 3, verse number 15. We told you that the church was the picture of the love of God, Ephesians 5:25.

At the same time, we told you the church was the product of the grace of God. We told you it was a priority of the people of God, the place for the worship of God. And we told you it was the protector and proclaimer of the gospel of God.

We also made sure that you understood that the church is the pathway to the knowledge of God. It's the platform for the gifts of God. It's the promise of the return of God.

It's the playground for the enemy of God. It's the praise to the glory of God. But one thing we didn't cover during that time was that the church is the passion of the child of God.

The church is the passion of the child of God. David said these words in Psalm 26, if you're there in your scriptures, verse number 8, Oh Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells. David wanted to make it clear that he loved a certain place, the habitation of your house.

Now, in Psalm 26, the great temple of Solomon had yet to be built. And if you're reading this and Solomon's temple was built, you would say, wow, of course it's filled with gold and jewels and precious stones. It was a beautiful place.

But no, this is a tent, a tent where God's glory dwells. It wasn't about what the place looked like. It was about the person who dwelt there.

That's why he would later say in Psalm 122, verse number 1, I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord. I wonder when you woke up this morning, if you were glad to come to the house of the Lord. I wonder when your parents woke you up and said, hey, we're going to church today, that you were glad that you were going to the house of the Lord.

Solomon was excited about it. There's something about being there. He would say earlier in Psalm 22, these words, God inhabits the praises of His people.

It's no wonder that the psalmist was glad to go to the house of the Lord because there, God would inhabit the praises of His people. There's something about when the people of God get together and praise the name of God, that the presence of God is clearly understood. The psalmist also would say these words in Psalm 84, verse number 10, better is one day in your courts than a thousand places elsewhere.

I wonder if you can say that. Better is one day in the courts of the Lord than a thousand other places in the world. Most people I know cannot say that.

We sing that song, by the way, that chorus, but is it really true of you? Better is just one day in the courts of God than a thousand places elsewhere. Which leads us to this, Psalm 27. So if you're still in Psalm 26, you can just look down at Psalm 27, and it says this in verse number 4, one thing I have asked from the Lord that shall I seek.

If you had to ask the Lord for one thing, what would it be? If you had to plead with the Lord for one thing, what would you plead for? One thing I ask from the Lord, and what I plead for, I will pursue, I will seek. This is what he says, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. All the days of my life. That somehow, I might be in God's house every single day.

We think that coming 52 times a year is almost too much, let alone every single day. And then he says this, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in his temple.

Someone says, this is my passion. I love, I love the habitation of your house. That's where your glory dwells.

That's why I love it. Your presence is there. On top of that, I have one plea and one pursuit in life.

I wonder what your pursuit is in life. That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. So somehow, I am able to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in his temple.

Psalmists would say in Psalm 63, you can turn there if you want to. Verse number one, O God, you are my God. I shall seek you earnestly, my soul thirsts for you, my flesh yearns for you.

This is David speaking. In a dry and weary land where there is no water, thus I have seen you in the sanctuary to see your power and your glory. My heart, my soul thirsts for the true and living God.

I've seen you in the sanctuary. I've seen you in the habitation of your house. I've seen you in the tabernacle of God.

I have seen your power and I've seen your presence. And boy, I thirst for you. Because your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live. I will lift up my hands in your name. My soul is satisfied as with morrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

Why was David's heart satisfied as he was running and hiding from his son Absalom? What was it that satisfied the soul of David? It was the presence and power of the living God. You see, his soul craved something. And we have to ask the question, what does our soul crave? What do we desire? Where are our passions? My soul thirsts for thee.

I seek you early. I seek you earnestly. As if I'm in a dry and thirsty land, I am parched.

I have seen your glory. I've seen your power. I've seen your presence.

And I lift up my hands unto your name. But my soul craves the Lord. Because his soul craved the Lord, his soul was content with the Lord.

You ever wonder why you don't experience contentment? It's because you're craving something other than the Lord. And so therefore you're never satisfied, and you're always looking to fill the emptiness of your soul. And so you begin to pursue all these other things that cannot satisfy you.

Only the Lord God of Israel can do that. And David says, my soul craves you. And he says, my soul is satisfied.

My soul is content with you. And then he says this, my soul clings to you. Look at verse number 8. My soul clings to you. Your right hand upholds me. Those who crave the Lord are those who are content with the Lord.

And those who are content with the Lord, they cling to the Lord. Why? Because that's all they want. That's all they need.

That's their everything. And so David makes it very clear in Psalm 27, verse number 4, there is one thing that I seek. There is one thing that I ask for, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I might behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in his temple.

That's just a tremendous reminder for all of us. You say, well, how are we going to behold the glory of the Lord? Well, that's what Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 3:18, when he says this, that we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord. When you look into the Scriptures, it's like a mirror that reflects the beauty of the Lord.

So we all with unveiled face beholding as a mirror, the glory of the Lord are being transformed, changed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. We are being changed from one level of glory to another level of glory to another level of glory, even by the Spirit of God. And that's why when you go to church and you don't hear these words, turn with me in your Bible or take out your Bible or look with me in your Bible, if you don't hear those words, you're in the wrong church.

Because they're going to have you turn and look somewhere else outside the Scriptures. Therefore, you'll never behold the glory of the Lord, the beauty of the Lord, the brilliance of the Lord, the presence of the Lord. How do we ever see God? Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

How do you see Him? You don't see Him with the physical eye, but you do see Him with a spiritual eye. You see Him in His Word, because His Word is His glory. The Word is His presence.

The Word is who He is. Having said that, John's prologue is all about beholding your God, the God that was enfleshed, the incarnation of God, seeing Him for who He is. So this is how John says it in John chapter 1, verse number 14, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory.

The glory is of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him. That's John B. John A is John the Apostle. John B is John the Baptist.

So he says, John B, John the Baptist, 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 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 was in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

So John is looking for us to understand who this God is that was enfleshed. So the simple outline is that His flesh we beheld, His fullness we received, His Father we know, and that's how John explained Him to us. And last thing he talked about is His flesh we have seen, and we beheld His glory.

The Word became flesh, dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So we were able to behold the glory of the Lord. And so we talked to you about the glory of the Lord and how it's the manifestation of God's presence in brilliant light.

So was John saying to us, this is what I saw. I saw the brilliant light of the Lord, because in some instances that's true, because on the Mount of Transfiguration when He unzipped His flesh, the glory of the Lord would shine forth, right? And John would see that in Matthew 17, and Peter would write about it in 2 Peter chapter 1, when they saw the majestic glory of the Lord on the holy mountain. So was John talking about the fact that he was able to behold the brilliant light and the beauty of the Lord as He unzipped His flesh? Yes and no, because it goes way beyond that.

It goes to understanding the glory of the as it's explained in Scripture, because that glory was full of grace and truth. So how do we explain that? Go all the way back with me, if you would, to the book of Exodus, Exodus chapter 33. And Moses is having a conversation with the Lord, and God is speaking to Moses, and Moses is speaking to the Lord.

And the Lord said, my presence shall go with you, verse 14 of chapter 33, and I will give you rest. My presence, Moses, will go with you. I will give you rest.

Then he said to him, if your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. Lord, I need your presence. For how then can it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not by your going with us, so that we, I and your people may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth? Now stop right there and think about that.

What sets you apart from everybody else on the earth? What makes your life so different and so unique than everyone else on the planet? It's the presence of the living God. He says, it's your presence that's the distinguishing mark of the people of God. It's your presence that sets us apart.

If you go back and you read about the life of Joseph in Genesis chapter 39, or I think it's Genesis 35, it's all about the presence of the Lord and how everyone knew that the Lord was with Joseph. How did they know that? They didn't see the Lord. So how do they know the Lord is with Joseph? How do we know the Lord is with you? How does the world know the Lord is with you? Because that is the distinguishing mark of the believer.

The presence of God in us, the beauty of God shining through us, so that all will know that we are uniquely different than everyone else. So what does that mean? Well, read on. The Lord said to Moses, I will also do this thing of which you have spoken, for you have found favor or grace in my sight, and I've known you by name.

Then Moses said, I pray you show me your glory. Show me your glory. Now, wait a minute.

Hadn't Moses already seen the glory of the Lord? If the glory of the Lord is the presence of God manifested in brilliant light, did he not show his presence by leading them by a fire by night and a cloud by day? Did not Moses behold the glory of the Lord on top of Mount Sinai? So why is Moses asking to see something that he has already seen? Show me your glory. Show me the brilliance of your beauty and splendor and majesty. Why is he asking that if he's already beheld the presence of the Lord? He's talking to the Lord.

What is he asking to see? What is he asking to understand? Well, that's why you're here. Read on. And he said, I myself will make my goodness pass before you.

That's very important. Moses is asking to see the glory of the Lord, and the Lord responds by letting them know that I will make all my goodness pass before you. So whatever his glory is, it's summed up in his goodness.

And we'll proclaim the name of the Lord before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion. But he said, you cannot see my face. God's a spirit.

God doesn't have a face. But it's an anthropomorphic way of describing God. God uses human terms to describe himself so that we can better understand him.

That's the graciousness of God. He says, you cannot see my face, for no man can see me and live, because he dwells in unapproachable light. Then the Lord said, behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand there on the rock, and it shall come about while my glory is passing by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

Then I will take my hand away, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. He says, I'm going to let you see the afterglow, the after effects, because the full effect would consume you in a matter of milliseconds. But I'll let you see the afterglow, the after effects.

Go down to verse number 5 of verse 34. The Lord ascended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the Lord. Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed.

Notice, the Lord doesn't portray anything. He simply proclaims something. You need to understand that.

To understand what John is saying in John 1, you need to understand what is happening with Moses in Exodus chapter 34. It says, the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness and truth, who keeps loving kindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin, yet he will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers and the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.

Verses 6 and 7 are quoted 27 times in the Old Testament. Why? Why are they quoted so many times? Because this is the essence of the glory of God. This is the name of God. This is how the Lord would preach a sermon based on himself.

This is how the Lord would describe his beauty to Moses. Notice, it says in verse 8, Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship, not because of what he saw, but because of what was said. Did you get that? He bowed in haste before the Lord to worship him, not because he saw anything, but because of what was said to him by the Lord.

The Lord proclaimed his name. The Lord said, I'm going to let all my goodness pass before you. The Lord said, you want to see my glory? You want to understand who I am? I'm going to proclaim my name to you, and my name describes who I am.

And so John now says, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. John's not talking about the brilliant, splendor of the majestic light that would shine that's unapproachable. He's talking about what Moses describes in Exodus 34 as the name of the Lord.

And so John says, his flesh we beheld, his fullness we received. He says in verse number 16, these words, for of his fullness, we have all received and grace upon grace. In other words, John says we were able to behold the fullness of his glory because we saw on display grace and truth.

And he uses just those two attributes, because those are the two attributes that deal with salvation and believing in God. And he writes his gospel so that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God. And the essential attributes of God and salvation are his grace and his truth.

And John says, we beheld the fullness of his glory. We received that fullness. We were able to behold his loving kindness.

We were able to behold his mercy. We were able to behold his wrath. We were able to behold his grace, his truth.

We were able to behold everything about him because for 33 years, he dwelt among us. And for those three years that we were associated with him, we saw all his glory. We saw his attributes on perfect display.

And we received the fullness of that glory. Grace upon grace. That's a unique way of saying it, isn't it? Grace just kept abounding over and over and over again.

The Bible says, and in Romans 5 verse number 2, we stand in grace. The Bible says in Ephesians 5 that we are saved by grace. In 2 Timothy 2, the Bible says that we are strengthened by grace.

In Titus 2:11, we are sanctified by grace. In 2 Timothy 2, we serve in grace. In 2 Corinthians 12, we're sustained by grace.

Your whole life is lived by the grace of God. You are here today by the grace of God. You're taking another breath by the grace of God.

There's a common grace. There's an efficacious grace, the grace that saves you. And you're here today if you're born again because of the grace of God.

So you stand in grace. You are strengthened by grace. You are sustained by grace.

You serve God by grace. It's all about the grace of the living God. And John says, we beheld this glory full of grace and truth.

And we have received the fullness of that glory. Think about it this way. Paul says this in Colossians chapter 1 verse number 19, "'For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Christ.'" All the fullness of what? Well, it says over in chapter 2 verse number 9, "'For in Him that is Christ, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form.

And in Him you have been made full.'" Think about that. So in God, all the fullness of deity dwells. And because you are now in Christ, you are now made full in Christ.

You are now made complete in Christ. It's no wonder the psalmist said, oh, there is one thing I seek. There is one thing I ask for, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, because I want to behold His presence.

I want to meditate in His temple. Oh, I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord. Why? Because I'm going to behold the beauty and glory of the Lord.

And now here John says, hey, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And we are recipients of the fullness of God.

It's no wonder John spends all this time in his prologue introducing to us God in flesh, because everything that follows from this is just an explanation of the fullness that they had received. His flesh, we beheld. His fullness, we received.

He also gives the testimony of John the Baptist, because in the mouth of two or three witnesses, everything will be confirmed, right? So, he gives that testimony of John when he says in verse number 15 that John testified about him and cried out saying, this is He of whom I said, He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me. Now, John was born before Jesus. Elizabeth conceived before Mary.

But John says in his testimony that this one who was higher than I, He existed before me. Well, how can He exist before you if your mother, Elizabeth, conceived six months before Mary conceived? It's because He's the eternal God. Speaking of His preexistence, speaking of His self-existence, speaking of His coexistence with the true and living God, He existed before me.

And so, John A throws in the testimony of John B just to clarify the eternal nature of the God enfleshed. So, His flesh we beheld, His fullness we received. I wonder if you have received the fullness of grace upon grace because of the truth of the living God.

And he says His Father, His Father we know. His Father we know. Look what it says in verse number 18, no one has seen God at any time, the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He, Christ, the only begotten God, meaning that He is God in flesh.

He is intertwined with the living God. It speaks to the trying nature of the God in flesh that we are one with one another. He says, this God in flesh has explained the Father to us.

He's exegeted the Father. How do I know the Father? Because I know the Son. If you know the Son, you know the Father, because He is the expressed image of the Father.

He's the exact representation of the Father. The Son is God enfleshed, and He has explained the Father to us. John says, His Father we know.

We know. I wonder if you know the Father. You know God, but you know God the Father, because God the Father is also God the judge.

And everybody in the room gets to God. Everybody who's ever lived gets to God. There's nobody who's ever lived who doesn't get to God, but you either get to Him as judge, or you get to Him as Father.

And Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes unto the Father but by Me. He is the way to the Father.

He is the mediator between God and man. He's the one who gets us to the Father, because He's the one who's explained the Father to us. Interesting, on the eve of the crucifixion, Jesus says that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes unto the Father but by Me.

In John 14, He says this in verse number 7, If you had known Me, you would have known My Father. Also from now on you know Him and have seen Him. That's just so good.

Wait a minute, they didn't see the Father? How could they have seen the Father? He dwells in unapproachable light. How can they see the Father? No man can see God and live. No man can look upon His face, but Jesus says, if you've seen Me, you've seen the Father.

Why? Because I've explained Him to you. But He says this, or Philip says this, Lord, show us the Father. You think after three years, Philip would have gotten this, right? But he's just like us.

Just like you and me. Sometimes we don't grasp it. Philip says, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.

Oh, really? If I see the Father, it is enough. What did David say in Psalm 63? My heart, my soul longs for Thee. My soul is thirsty for the true and living God.

And then he said, my soul was satisfied because in your sanctuary I saw your power and presence. Philip, piggybacking on Psalm 63, says, show us the Father, we'll be satisfied. That's enough.

If we just see the Father, we will be so satisfied. And Jesus says, have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? Really? Christ says, you have got to be kidding me, Philip. How could this possibly be? He who has seen Me has seen the Father.

And how can you say, show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.

He says, the words that I speak are the Father's words. The works that I do are the Father's works. So if you've heard My words, and you've seen My works, you have heard the words of the Father, and you've seen the works of the Father.

Philip, if you've seen Me, God enfleshed, you've seen the Father. So when Paul says, we behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, we're not looking at this brilliant, shining light. We are looking at the attributes of God as they are proclaimed in Scripture.

That's the glory of the Lord that John saw. That's how he could know the Father. We're not looking for some kind of a vision of the true and living God.

Why? Because we know the value of the Word of God. That's why John uses a phrase, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Why? Because the Word incarnate is the Word inspired, and the Word inspired is the Word incarnate.

And that's why Peter says these words in 2 Peter chapter 2. He says these words, for when he, that is Christ, received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory, this is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Peter's testimony of the Mount of Transfiguration. He was there.

And we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven, and when we were with him on the holy mountain. But listen to the next verse. So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, till the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.

But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Peter says, I want to give you a more prophetic word made sure. I was on the Mount of Transfiguration. I saw the glory of the Lord. I saw him unzip his flesh. I heard the voice coming from heaven.

But we have something more sure than my experience. We have the inspired word of the living God. You want to see what I saw? You have a prophetic word made more sure.

For holy men of God were moved by the Spirit of God, and they would speak the words of God. You have something that was proclaimed to Moses by God himself, that caused Moses to fall down in haste to worship God. When we hear the word of God preached, hear the word of God spoken, it is visualizing for us the attributes of God, that we might go in haste and bow before him and worship him in all of his splendor and all of his glory.

That's why we want you in the Bible. We want you beholding the glory of the Lord, that you might worship him in the splendor of his majesty. Next week, we will hear the very first words of Christ in John's gospel.

And the very first words of Christ are this, what do you seek? It sets the tone for the rest of the gospel. What are you here for? What are you seeking? What are you longing for? What do you want, Christ says. And what unfolds for us is the beauty and majesty of the living God. Let's pray.

Father, thank you for today. The time is brief, but the scripture is so beautiful.

And we thank you, Lord, that we can see you for who you are. You have not left us in the dark. You have not left us to wonder.

You have not left us to speculate. You have given us your word, and you have explained to us the Father. And you have said in John 14, that if we love you, you'll make your abode with us, and you will manifest yourself to us.

You do that through the power of your word. Our prayer today, Lord, is that we would live in the light of that every single day, and that we would say, I was so glad. I was in the house of the Lord this morning.

I was so glad because I'd rather be in the courts of God than a thousand other places today. So, Lord, until you come again, may we be found faithful in our service of the King. In Jesus' name, we amen.