We'll turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 1. John's Gospel chapter 1. I'll begin reading in verse 1. 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 nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, which gives light to every man coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, 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 beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me. And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. Amen. Well, let us pray.

Our Father, we thank You for this, Your Word, and we pray now for the ministry of Your Spirit. We acknowledge our debt to You, Lord God, that You have saved us by grace alone, through faith alone and Christ alone. Truly our hearts rejoice as we see Christ set forth in this prologue to John's Gospel. I pray that it would encourage us to worship and encourage us to adore and to praise and to glorify the triune God of heaven and earth.

I pray, Father, for those who've come here this morning outside of Christ. We pray that today would be the day of salvation. We pray that by Your Spirit, by Your Word, You would bring forth sinners in the exercise of Your will. Call them out of darkness into marvelous light, that they may proclaim Your excellence.

We also pray that You would forgive us now for all of our sin and transgression. Your holiness reminds us of our unholiness. Your glory and Your majesty reminds us of our waywardness. And we pray and we confess our sins to You.

We plead the merit and the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that You would wash us afresh in His precious blood. We rejoice that we live in those days prophesied by Zechariah, that there is a fountain open for sin and uncleanness. We just pray as well for other churches gathered together today.

We pray that Your Word would run swiftly and be glorified, that a multitude would turn from their idols to the true and living God, and would know the joy of being found in Christ Jesus. And it's in His most blessed name that we pray. Amen.

Introduction

Well, the prologue to the gospel, according to John, does set forth the Lord Jesus in His glory. It truly is an amazing passage of Holy Scripture. And our focus this morning will be on verse 14, the Word became flesh. And we'll look at that verse under two considerations.

First, the incarnation of the Word, and secondly, the glory of the Word. So that is where we hope to go this morning. But just a few preliminary observations. If you notice, in verse 1 in chapter 1, It identifies the Word.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Truly, an amazing statement concerning the identity of this One that John says became flesh. He is identified as the Word here in verse 1, and again in verse 14, and in 1 John 1.1, and then in Revelation 19.13. So John the Apostle, writing of Christ, uses this particular identifier to apply to the Lord of Glory Himself.

And as I said, there is glorious movement in this passage. The attentive reader will notice the similarities between John 1-1 and Genesis 1-1. Genesis begins the same as John 1-1, in the beginning God. Here in John 1-1, in the beginning was the Word.

John's prologue, in the language of B.B. Warfield, traces the whole history of the recreation of a dead world into newness of life. Genesis 1-1 highlights the creation of the world. John 1-1 highlights the recreation of that dead world in and through the work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, blessed thoughts, blessed ideas.

The Incarnation of the Word

Let's look specifically now at the incarnation of the Word.

The Meaning of Incarnation

The word incarnation simply means, in the flesh. It simply means, in flesh meant. And when we come to verse 14, the Apostle tells us, the Word became flesh. Again, this harkens back to John 1, this eternal one.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This same word, according to verses 2 and following, created all things. He's the agent of creation, according to John the Apostle. John tells us that in him, verse 4, was life, and the life was the light of men.

And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Verse 10 tells us, or highlights the reality, that he was in the world. And so again, if you're reading John 1, 1, and you see this one identified as God, and then you come to verse 10, and you hear that He was in the world, certainly the question arises, well, how could such be the case? How does it happen that the Eternal God, how does it happen that this One that was with God, and who is God, is now in the world in His own, do not receive Him?

Well, that's what John 1.14 describes for us. It tells us how the eternal Word of God comes to dwell among men. And the Apostle says, the Word became flesh. Now, it's an interesting use of language that's employed here.

I really want you to get this sermon this morning. There's a lot of stuff going on in verse 14 that is currently under attack in evangelical and in Reformed circles. We need to have a sound Christology. We need to understand the person and the work of Christ.

We need to know these things. Jesus says later in John's Gospel, if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins. Now, we are and can be wrong about a lot when it comes to Christianity. You ask five people about the end times, you're probably going to get five different responses.

You ask five people about church government, and you're probably going to get five answers concerning church government. You ask five people about baptism, you're probably going to get about 25 different responses on baptism. But you see, when Jesus says, if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins, that highlights this reality. That what we think concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, and what we believe concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, is everything.

When Jesus says to His disciples in Matthew's Gospel, who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? They give a few responses about what's going on in the world around them. And then Jesus hones in upon them specifically. And He says, who do you say that I am?

And, of course, Simon Peter jumps to the occasion and he says, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And then, of course, the Lord responds, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. That was the correct response. That's the right answer.

You need to be crystal clear with reference to the person and the word of the Lord Jesus Christ. Note the language in verse 1. He says, in the beginning was the Word. The verb that is employed there means continuous action in the past.

If you go back to the beginning, there was the Word. He's always been. He is eternal. He, like His Father, does not have a beginning.

Arius was wrong. Arianism is wrong. And by that I don't mean neo-Nazis with swastikas. Arius was a man who denied the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He said there was a time when the Son was not. That's heresy. It is blasphemy. It is wretched.

It is a denial of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Grammar of Becoming

Note the grammar. In the beginning was the Word. Now see or compare alongside of that verse 14. The Word became flesh.

This happens in history. This happens in time. This is a particular event. One brother, a dear brother of mine, says that Jesus became what He was not, flesh, though ever remaining what He always was and ever shall be.

So this Word that was in the beginning, this Word that was God, in time, in space, in history, comes in the flesh. And while flesh can mean that which is dark and sinful and has a tendency to what is evil, flesh here simply means He came as a man. He came as a human being. He came as a person with both body and soul.

All that is true of humanity was true of this One who became flesh. We have a unique person set forth before us here in John's prologue. It truly is sublime, it is wondrous, it is glorious to behold this One that was God has come in time and in space. Truly, when we sing, veiled in flesh, the Godhead seed, hail the incarnate deity, pleased as man, with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel, that rightly reflects John's prologue.

It rightly gets at what the truth is set before us here in this particular passage. Interestingly enough, Pastor Cam read a parallel passage to what we find here in verse 14. If I were to ask you, what did Pastor Cam read in worship this morning? I hope you'd all say 2 Corinthians 8.

I hope we're not that forgetful that quick. But the apostle does a similar thing. The verb is a bit different, but the concept and the idea is the same in 2 Corinthians 8. He says, for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, Though He is God, though He possesses all things by virtue of the fact that He created them and that He sustains them, that though He was rich, the Apostle says, yet for your sakes, He became poor.

You see, He became what He was not, though ever remaining what He always was and ever shall be. And the Apostle says the end result of this is that you, through His poverty, might become rich. It's a similar convention. It's a similar construction.

The reality is this. the eternal God, the Lord Jesus Christ, in time, in space, in history, according to the language of the Apostle in Galatians 4.4, in the fullness of the time, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law. It is an amazing reality that we witness as we come to the prologue of John's Gospel. And the fact that the Apostle here uses the word flesh, Now again, it's not with a sinful connotation, but the flesh itself would rub against the grain of a Greek audience. Flesh was that which isn't good.

It is inferior. Well, flesh in and of itself is right. God made flesh. God made man.

God's war is not against nature or creation. It's against sin and rebellion and chaos and distortion. So John tells us the Word became flesh. The other authors, Matthew and Luke specifically, tell us how this came to pass.

It was through the human efforts, the human vessels rather, of Joseph and Mary. They take pains to link Jesus and his genealogy with both Abraham and David according to Matthew's gospel. And then what does Luke do but trace it all the way back to Adam himself? There is a theology in Matthew.

There is a theology in Luke that this one, born of a woman, is the son of David. He is the son of Abraham. He is the son of promise. He will execute the plan and purpose of his father.

He is true Israel according to Matthew. And then in Luke's gospel, we have, he is the second or the last Adam. The first Adam fails, the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, succeeds. So they flesh out for us this enfleshment of the Son of God via Mary.

Under the power of the Holy Spirit, she conceived and bore this baby forth. The Word became flesh.

Old Testament Prophecy and the Incarnation

The Old Testament prophesied concerning this. Remember Genesis 3.15, that proto-gospel. Who would it be that would crush the serpent? It'd be the seed of a woman.

When the prophets Micah and Isaiah come to announce victory for Israel, they trace it back to a manger in Bethlehem, Ephrathah. Just like King David was born in that place, so would his greater Son be born in that place. The Old Testament Scriptures prophesied and testified of a suffering servant, of a man of sorrows, and of one acquainted with grief, such that when the fullness of the time comes upon us and Christ is born, we ought not to be surprised that He is man. Those same scriptures, those Old Testament scriptures pointed to His deity as well.

Yahweh said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Psalm 45, your throne of God is forever. All these apply to the Lord Jesus Christ. What we have take place over 2,000 years ago, in that manger, in that place, is absolutely positive fulfillment of God's prophetic Word.

It is to fulfill His promises, to save His people from their sins. So that's the statement. That's what incarnation literally means. The Word became flesh.

The Glory of the Word

Now let's look secondly at the glory of the Word. He says

Tabernacling Among Us

He dwelt among us. The presence of God is with us, is what He's saying. The language used here. This dwelt among us is the word tabernacled among us.

And I think for a specific reason. If you're an old covenant Jew and you thought tabernacle, what would you immediately think? Presence of God. If you were an old covenant Jew and you thought temple, what would be the reality?

Presence of God. In fact, you can turn back to Exodus 25 for just a moment. Exodus chapter 25, specifically at verse 8. I want you to see what John is doing here in his presentation of the Word who became flesh.

He tells us that he dwelt among us. Much of what John is saying here assumes or presupposes or has in the background these old covenant themes, these old covenant concepts and ideas. When John will say, for the law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through our Lord Jesus, that doesn't mean there was no grace and truth under Moses. That doesn't mean there's no law under Jesus.

He's speaking covenant. He's speaking the language of epoch. He's speaking of the in-breaking of God's promise and fulfillment in and through the person of our Lord Jesus. The law, the old covenant, came through Moses.

The new covenant comes through our Lord Jesus Christ, and he uses and he employs this language and imagery of old covenant religion, and he fleshes it out, pardon the pun, and shows how it applies in the new covenant church. Exodus 25, 8. Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. That's what Exodus is about.

Do you know that the bulk of Exodus is about God's dwelling? We think of deliverance, and we should, the Exodus. We think of demand, and we should, Sinai. But we oftentimes neglect dwelling.

Why does God deliver? Why does God demand? But so that God can dwell with His people. 25 to 40 specifies the construction of the tabernacle. What's important to the Lord according to Exodus, the book of Exodus?

Yes, deliverance. Yes, demand. But so is dwelling. So is worship.

So is the body of Christ coming together. This gives us an understanding to Psalm 87. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. There is something unique and something special and something glorious when God's people, covenanted together, meet with their Redeemer King.

And here specifically he says, according to all that I show you, that is the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it. And then dropping down to verse 21, you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I will give you, and there I will meet with you. You ever stop and ponder that? It just becomes old hat, doesn't it?

We just read that and we don't stop. I, the living and true God, I, the creator of all things, I, the illuminator of all things, I, the one who sustains all things, will meet with you in that tent that is put up by your hands." John is saying this in his prologue. We beheld his glory. What happens when the tabernacle is constructed?

What happens when the temple is constructed? Perhaps you've heard that Hebrew word before, Shekinah. When the people of God assemble together in the place of God's own choosing, and God comes to meet with them, it is, as the biblical authors testify, His Shekinah glory dwelling among them. John is saying this.

He dwelt among us, just like the tabernacle was the meeting place of God, just like the temple was the meeting place of God. When you see this Word who became flesh, what do you behold but the meeting place of God? He says in verse 21, you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the testimony about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.

It's a beautiful statement in the prophet Ezekiel. You can turn to Ezekiel chapter 11, specifically in verse 16. Do you remember the situation in Ezekiel? The people of God, the covenant community, the people of Judah, are in exile.

Their city's been destroyed, their temple's been destroyed, and as a result there's discouragement in the hearts of the people. The faithful people, the remnant people, the believing people. Certainly there were those who couldn't care one whit. All they were concerned about was their three hots and a cot.

But for the faithful people of God Most High, they were curious. With our temple gone, does that mean our God is gone? Enter the prophet Ezekiel. We see God's chariot.

We see His battle throne on wheels. That is to testify and tell us something. That He's not presently located in Jerusalem. Wherever God's people are, He will roll that battle chariot there and be in their midst.

And that's what he says in Ezekiel 11, 16. Therefore say, thus says the Lord God, although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them. I shall be a little holy place for them in the countries where they have gone. The absence of the temple does not mean the absence of your God.

John's employing this language of He dwelt among us. He tabernacled among us. He was in our midst. The word means to live in a tent, to settle.

The flesh of Christ is the new localized presence of God on the earth. Jesus is the fulfillment for which the temple and the tabernacle stood. This One who was with God, this One who is God, has come and tabernacled among us. He in the flesh, when you behold Him, you behold all the glory of God.

John 1.18, he says that, right? No one has seen God at any time. But the only Son, the one who resides in His bosom, He has exegeted. He has declared Him.

There's that interesting spot in John's Gospel in the upper room discourse, when Philip says, show us the Father. What is Jesus' response? Have I been with you this long and you still don't understand? If you have seen me, you've seen the Father.

The apostle is setting before you the glory of Christ. He is God. Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see. Hail the incarnate deity.

Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel. To use the language of John Calvin, the Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons of men could become the sons of God. Christ became flesh, He dwelt among us, and now notice what He goes on to say, and we beheld His glory. The primary emphasis, I think, in all of this is on revelation.

It is the fact that God has sent His Son, and through His Son, He is revealing Himself forever. In other words, the New Covenant, the Scriptures, Christ and his apostles, Jesus comes as revealer. That's not the only reason, and we'll investigate a few other things along the way. But what he says, we beheld his glory.

Again, the idea there is the Shekinah, the tabernacle, the temple. Remember that instance in Leviticus chapter 10? We often think about Nadab and Abihu dying before the presence of the Lord for offering strange fire to Him. And we should think about that.

We ought to be very careful about the way we approach this living and true God. We don't wander into His presence and just say, hey you, bless me. We don't offer a profane fire to the Lord the way that Nadab and Abihu did. For chapters 1 to 9, they were told in explicit detail what to offer before Yahweh.

Chapter 10, they get a bee in their bonnet, they throw a little strange fire in their censers, they present it unto the Lord, the Lord sends fire down, not to consume their offering, but to consume them. You see, just prior to that, in Leviticus 9, they offer a legitimate sacrifice. And it says that fire comes down from the presence of the Lord and consumes the sacrifice, and the people shout! That's the glory cloud!

That's the Shekinah! That's the presence of God! This is why in the prophet Haggai, the old timers were wiping tears from their face, because the second temple lost something of the beauty and the grandeur and the majesty of Solomon's temple. The old timers were saying, it's not the same, it's different, it lacks the glory.

John is saying, we beheld his glory. And I know that some of the translations use C. The idea of beheld speaks better. I see people on a given day, and this is going to sound terrible, but I behold the majesty of God in the creation.

I know that sounds terrible. I behold my wife. I see lots of people during the day, but I behold her. The word could go both ways, beheld or see.

It's a good call to translate it as behold. We beheld His glory. We witnessed it. We saw it.

We verified it. We confirmed it. We affirmed it. We worshipped as a result of it.

When Christ does His signs and wonders, what is it but to behold His glory? When Christ raises Lazarus from the dead in John chapter 11, what is it but to behold His glory? What is it when we beheld His glory when He went to the cross on our behalf? What is it when we saw that empty tomb, but to behold His glory?

He dwelt among us and we saw with our own eyes the glorious things that He had done. Even though the Word becomes flesh, He never ceases to be what He was. He never ceases to be what He'll always be. Very God of very God.

Now, notice what John says. Verse 14. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. And then he specifies in two ways specifically, we saw His glory.

We beheld His glory, one, as of the only begotten of the Father, and two, full of grace and truth. Now, it could be a bit subordinate, but I'm going to take them as coordinate thoughts. John says, we beheld His glory, first of all, as of the only begotten of the Father. It's a powerful statement.

This is where I suggested or where I said earlier that many today, evangelicals and Reformed, are messing with the truth of God's Holy Word that we ought not to mess with. Your Bibles probably translate, or some of your Bibles translate, unique or only son. And that's legit. That's what the word means.

And as a result, some have suggested that because it's not only begotten, we must reject this concept of what's called the eternal generation of the son. Though this particular verse may not substantiate the doctrine on its own, it's certainly useful in the argument. We are not to jettison the reality of the eternal generation of the Son. And what do I mean by that?

The Confession of Faith deals with it, the Nicene Creed deals with it, which I'll quote in just a moment.

Eternal Generation of the Son

The idea of eternal generation simply exists to highlight the differentiation between the Father and the Son. Sometimes people hear this idea of eternal generation, which it's modified by eternal. I don't know how we can mess that up. But we hear about generation or begotten.

And we think, well, as human beings, when we beget a child, that means that child has a beginning. And then we reason from the creature to the creator. May I suggest that's a very faulty way of argument. We are not to reason from us to God.

This happens with things like God's suffering, and God weeping, and God dying, and all those sorts of things. We reason from ourselves to God when the Scripture doesn't do that. The Scripture presents God as Holy Other, as transcendent, as all-powerful, all-glorious, sovereign in His majesty. But the idea of eternal generation is there to highlight the differences between the Father and the Son.

We see that in John 1.1. In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. There's distinction between the persons.

There is a Father, there is a Son. But in their essential unity, the Word was God. You see, the Bible teaches that there is one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And the idea of eternal generation is there to show us something of the relationship between the Father and the Son.

The generation, or the spiration, or the procession, rather, of the Spirit shows us the differentiation between Father, Son, and Spirit. It seems to me that when we jettison the doctrine of eternal generation, there are dire consequences that we reap. And interestingly enough, The men in charge, or the men who authorized the creedal statement at Nicaea, were protecting against the very things that people say, if you hold that, it will lead to. No.

Nicaea was designed to refute Arianism. So the doctrine of eternal generation cannot be Arian. I've probably confused everybody here. Just pay attention.

Don't tune out. I would be remiss if I didn't deal with this. This is the representative position in a lot of evangelical reform. I don't want to say a lot of reform. a denial of the eternal generation of the Son.

And it's interesting. I don't know if this is a necessary corollary, but those who deny eternal generation end up with a subordination. They end up with a son subordinate to the father. Eternal generation does not lead to that.

In fact, let me quote a man, Giles. He says, Athanasius, who, by the way, whenever I study the incarnation of the person of Christ, Athanasius was a hero. Athanasius was a solid man. He was a true, sure guide.

Fought against Arianism. Fought against those who denied the deity of our Lord Jesus. Fought those who said there was a time when the sun was not. Athanasius was a dear brother in the Lord.

He's going to be one of those men that we're going to rejoice to meet at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Giles says, Athanasius and all the Nicene theologians saw clearly that to speak of the Son of God as eternally begotten not only safeguarded His full divinity, but also indelibly distinguished Him from the Father. The language only begotten or eternally begotten or eternal generation was employed to highlight the self-differentiation of the Father and the Son. That's what the language was designed to protect.

The deity of Christ and the difference between the persons of the Father and the Son. To jettison that is not a good thing. Nicea is an important creed. The Athanasian is an important creed.

The Chalcedonian creed is important. You say, well, you know, those guys just didn't know. That's some of the argument that's going on today. The Greek doesn't do what they say it does.

They were Greek. That was their language. To say that we in the 21st century know Greek better than a Greek speaker in the 3rd century or the 4th century seems a bit of a stretch. Interestingly enough, the fathers, according to Giles, never went to the Johannine epistles with that word monogenes, which is only begotten.

They never, never hung that doctrine on that. Sometimes people say, well, it's not explicitly taught in the scripture. There's not one verse that says what you Christians say it says concerning this thing. That is a faulty method as well.

If you take your Bible concordance out and you look up the word Trinity, you will not find it there. But when you turn from Genesis and you read through Revelation, you can't escape the Trinity. You can't miss the Trinity. You can't avoid the Trinity.

Nicene Creed and Confession

Just be mindful of the fact that the Nicene Creed, in my estimation, is right and our confession of faith is right to protect this doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son in order to provide an argument for the full divinity of our Lord Jesus and to bring differentiation between the persons of the Father and the Son. You see, they weren't only arguing against Arianism, but they're arguing against modalism. God isn't this sort of a being who was the Father, became the Son, and now He's the Spirit. That is heresy as well.

It is represented today by Oneness Pentecostals. Unless he has repented, it is the theology or the Christology of T.D. Jakes. This is not to be embraced.

It is not to be cozied up to. It is rather a denial of the truth of God. If it wasn't a big deal, we wouldn't mention names. But if you do not believe, Jesus says, that I am, you will die in your sins.

I don't know of any other place that Jesus says such a statement concerning a particular truth. He doesn't say, unless you believe that postmillennialism is right, you will die in your sins. Unless you believe that a baptist ecclesiology is right, you will die in your sins. Unless you believe that infant baptism is right, you will die.

He doesn't do that. But I said at the outset, please pay attention. Christology is everything for us. Is that what we're about?

Is that what defines us? Isn't that what everything is to the Christian? Is it Jesus? Is it Savior? 2 John 9 tells us in very clear language, whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God.

He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If you don't have this doctrine of Christ, you're in a bad place. Jesus' glory was beheld in the fact that He is the only begotten of the Father. He is divine.

He is God. He is glorious. The Nicene Creed says, I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God. Light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven.

That's what it's about. It's the purpose for the incarnation. Listen to the Nicene Creed. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven.

Why does He do this? Why does the One who is the eternal Word, who is God Himself in time, space and history become flesh? Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. Isn't that beautiful? and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate.

He suffered, was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father. He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end." Our confession speaks this way concerning the distinction between the Father and the Son. In this divine and infinite being, there are three subsistences. If big words scare you, get over it.

You see, one of the things that faced the early church was finding words and vocabulary to capture biblical truth and concept and present them in creedal form. See, today often we're just too lazy to spend the time to type it into dictionary.com. We played Boggle last night. We haven't done that for a long time.

And my wife or I occasionally try to sneak in a word. I think hers was chew. C-H-O-O. It's the word that represents the sound that a train makes.

You see, I got moo. It is the word that represents the sound that a cow makes. Moo's legit. You know, oftentimes, if you're playing these word games, you're often just too lazy to get up and go get a dictionary.

Have you ever had that? Nah, I don't even want to look it up. I'll give you chew. And then we operate in the assumption that chew's a word.

Well, I got a phone with dictionary.com. I don't even have to get up anymore. I don't have to go four feet and grab the dictionary. Christians, there's so many resources at your disposal.

There's so much embodiment of truth written for your edification. Very often an exegetical help is dictionary.com. What's a subsistence? Type it in.

You'll find out. Pull the confession of faith off the shelf and read it alongside of your scriptures on a daily basis. Commit January 1st, God Most High, help me to take seriously the study of your word. Help me to read scripture and help me to understand truth.

If, as we saw on Wednesday night, part of a worthy walk before the Lord is increasing in the knowledge of God, then there's no excuse for our laziness, there's no excuse for our neglect, there is no excuse for us to reject the many things that God has supplied for our growth in grace and in the knowledge of His dear Son. The early church faced the necessity of using human language to conceptualize, embody, and present the truth of Holy Scripture. When you read discussions concerning the Trinity, you're going to need to look up a word or two. That's okay.

If you wanted to plant vegetables in your backyard, you'd need to look up a word or two. If you want to study mathematics at university, you're going to have to look up a word or two. If you want to be good in your business situation, or you want to be a good housewife, and make good food, you're going to have to look up a word or two. If you want to function in daily society, very often, you're going to have to look up a word or two.

Why is it such a chore for Christians to look up a word or two? Oh, these big words! Oh, these big words! Big words are the vehicles by which God puts truth in our heads and hearts.

They are the vehicles loaded down with good things about our God. Our confession says in this divine and infinite being there are three subsistences, persons, the Father, the Word, or Son, and the Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and eternity, each having the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor preceding. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father.

It is designed to show us and to demonstrate us what differentiates the Father from the Son, what differentiates the Spirit from the Father and the Son. It is simply wrong and heretical to say, Father, thank you for dying for us on the cross. The Father didn't die for us on the cross. Jesus died for us on the cross.

Now, I'm not just saying that if you make a mistake, you're going to cross the threshold of hell, but so often we're so sloppy in the way that we think concerning these truths. And there really isn't a reason for it. We study the Confession on Sunday mornings. You know, every year, probably, you're going to get hit with chapter 2.

You're going to get hit with chapter 7. You're going to hear about the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. These are good things. If, as Jesus says, if you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins.

We ought to say, I want to know what he is. I want to know who he is. I want to know what he does. I'm going to spend my time and energy pursuing those things because it's good.

So that's the way we beheld His glory according to the Apostle.

Full of Grace and Truth

But then notice, we beheld His glory full of grace and truth. I'm going to ask you to turn back again to Exodus. Exodus 33. Remember, John is filling us with Old Testament concepts, isn't he?

He became flesh, he dwelt among us, he tabernacled among us. We've already looked at Exodus 25 to see that concept of tabernacle. We've already looked at Ezekiel 11, concept of tabernacle. We've alluded to the temple under Solomon.

Once he prays, he dedicates, the Shekinah glory comes down. John says, when we looked at this one, this Word became flesh, we beheld His glory. We saw His divinity shining forth through His incarnation. We saw Him as the only begotten Son of God.

But as well, something that uniquely described Him, something that is essential to His character, is grace and truth. Remember back in Exodus 33. Moses says in verse 18, please show me your glory. That's a good request, isn't it?

Show me your glory. Think John,

Only Begotten of the Father

we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Notice, God says, verse 19, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. And then drop down, verse 5 of 34.

Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood within there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, This is a demonstration of His glory. God is passing by Moses' servant. He has hidden him safely in the cleft of the rock.

He's not going to shine His face upon him, but Moses rather is going to get a glimpse as he passes by. The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation. John says essentially the same thing that Moses witnessed when Yahweh passes by. John says that in the person and in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the embodiment of grace and truth.

Just like Moses witnessed Yahweh's pass, so we beheld His glory, as of the only begotten of the Father, and this One who is full, not partial, but He's full of grace and truth. Carson says, the glory revealed to Moses when the Lord passed in front of him and sounded his name, displaying that divine goodness characterized by ineffable grace and truth, was the very same glory John and his friends saw in the Word made flesh. If you understand John 1, there's a sense where it's terrifying. God says you can't behold my glory and live.

I'm going to hide you in the cleft of the rock. There is a veil placed before Moses. There's a veil placed on Moses' face when he goes and he stands before the children of Israel because the face is shining so brightly they can't bear to look. Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see.

Hail the incarnate deity. describes his essential attributes. He is full. He is full of grace and truth. As I said earlier, there is that covenantal theme that is running through here.

Just as Jesus is the true tabernacle, John 1, 14, Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant. The law came by Moses, but grace and truth, same words that we have in verse 14, came by Jesus Christ. What is John saying? He is saying what Warfield said, that I quoted earlier.

John's prologue traces the whole history of the recreation of a dead world into newness of life. The true tabernacle of God, the mediator of the New Covenant, is the Word, who became flesh, and who dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory. We saw it.

We basked in it. We delighted in it. We reveled in it. We adored Him as a result of it.

And now John, under the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, takes Pam to write concerning it.

Application: Three Lessons

Brethren, from this we learn three things and then we close. First, the person of Christ. He is the unique link between heaven and earth. He is the one alone that can save us from our sins.

His divinity is displayed. His humanity is displayed. His position with the Father is displayed. He is the glorious God of heaven and earth, become flesh for us men and for our salvation.

Watson puts it this way, that man should be made in God's image was a wonder, but that God should be made in man's image is a greater wonder. That the ancient of days should be born, that he who thunders in the heavens should cry in the cradle, that he who rules the stars should suck the breast, that a virgin should conceive, that Christ should be made of a woman, and of that woman which himself made, that the branch should bear the vine, that the mother should be younger than the child she bear, and the child in the womb bigger than the mother, that the human nature should not be God, yet one with God." It is the mystery of the incarnation. Secondly, For a moment, we look at verse 1. We see that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

We look at verse 10, and we see that He was in the world. And we ask the question, how did this come to pass? And verse 14 satisfies that answer, or that question. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

If then, logically, we ask, why does He do this? I've already alluded to it in the Nicene Creed. For us men and for our salvation. Just a couple of thoughts concerning the Incarnation.

There's a lot to be said. Notice Joel Beakey just wrote a book. Man writes a lot of books. Thirty-one meditations on the Incarnation.

Others have written books on why did Jesus come? You know, some have answered that question to be a political liberator. You know, you've got Jesus, like Che Guevara. No.

Jesus is the founder of a new sect and a new religion. No. Jesus is a revolutionary. Armed Jesus.

No. Just a couple of thoughts concerning the Incarnation.

The Purpose of the Incarnation

He took on the nature of man to redeem man. Hebrews 2.17. He does not take on angels, but he takes on Abraham's seed. He was touched by our weakness.

He was tempted in all points like we are, yet without sin. He obeyed the law of God perfectly. Remember at the baptism of our Lord Jesus, John says, no, I should be baptized by you. Jesus says, permit it for now.

It is necessary to fulfill all righteousness. Hebrews 10 cites this also. The upper room discourse, the Lord Christ says, I have finished. the work that you gave me to do." Every step of his earthly life was marked by his obedience to the Father's will. Do you know why he did that?

It was for us men and for our salvation, because every step that we take is not an obedience in accord with God's will, but it is to run from God's will. We need a champion. We need a victor. We need one who in our stead obeys the law perfectly.

And He does that. My meat is to do the will of Him who sent me. I have food that you know nothing about. I always do that which is pleasing to my Father.

Do you think Jesus is doing that in order to have people pat Him on the back? He's expressing one aspect of His divine mission. Somebody must fulfill the law of God. And as Christians, as believers, isn't it a joy to realize that aspect?

The Confession or the Catechism speaks of it as the imputation of Christ's righteousness. Only that which could be imputed was that which was accomplished. He fulfilled everything. I rejoice in that.

Machen rejoiced in that. You know, the dying words of that dear brother on his deathbed was, I'm so thankful for the active obedience of Christ because there's no hope without it. You see, we need forgiveness. Christ answers to that.

But we need a righteousness. Christ answers to that. Peto says that the old covenant, the Mosaic covenant, functioned as a covenant of works for Jesus. What Adam fails in the garden to do in terms of the covenant of works, it's republished at Sinai specifically for the Lord Christ so that he can fulfill all righteousness and obey the Father.

We need that. If you ever look at your own life, try to keep the Sabbath today holy. Try to do that. Try.

Try to have no thought other than holy thoughts. Try to have no conversation other than holy conversation. Try to think about what I'm saying, even now, for a day. I think Calvin was right.

Sabbath-keeping shows us our need for the Sabbath-keeper quintessential, the Lord Christ. He suffered in our place. You see, we not only need the righteousness of Christ, the act of obedience, we need that imputed to us, received by faith alone, we need forgiveness, don't we? You ever prayed through the commandments?

Sometimes people say, Martin Luther was an antinomian, he didn't want anything to do with the law of God. Well, he'd pray through those ten commandments. And he'd stop along the way and confess his sins to the Lord God Almighty. You ever do that?

You ever think about the first commandment, you shall have no other gods before me? You ever thought, well, I'm not out worshipping sticks and stones, I'm not constructed idols, vis-a-vis the second commandment. Do you ever stop to think how often you worship yourself? How often self comes before everything, everybody, before God?

You ever considered the reality that in each and every step of the way in the Decalogue, we are guilty, vile, and helpless. We are sinful through and through. What does Paul say? He was delivered up because of our offenses.

He was put on that cross not because He was a sinner. He was put on that cross not because He was a criminal. He was put on that cross because we're sinners and we're criminals and we've offended a holy God. And unless there is blood atonement, there is no remission from sin.

The blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin, so God sends His Son, and John the Baptist says, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. What was the purpose of the Lamb in the Old Covenant situation? It was to get its throat cut and to be burned before the living and true God. That's what happens with Christ.

That's what it's about. That's why Jesus came. It wasn't just to make you feel warm a couple of times of the year. He was delivered up because of our sins.

God heaped upon Him our sin. 2 Corinthians 5.21 puts it in ways that an uninspired man wouldn't put it. Nobody outside of inspiration would say, God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us. I'd be afraid to write such things if Paul hadn't first. God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us.

So that when the wrath and fury and judgment of God came upon him, he was punishing us in his stead. He was taking the punishment due to us in our stead. That's glorious. That's what it's about.

For us men, and for our salvation, He came down from heaven. And He was raised, according to Paul, in that same passage, for our justification. Why did Christ come? To save us from our sins.

Why did Christ come? To fulfill the law. to die as a substitute and a sacrifice, and to rise on the third day to ascend into glory where He ever lives for His people. Watson comments on that 2 Corinthians 8, 9 passage in unison with the incarnation. He says, he was poor that he might make us rich.

He was born of a virgin that we might be born of God. He took our flesh that he might give us his spirit. He lay in the manger that we might lie in paradise. He came down from heaven that he might bring us to heaven.

And what was all this but love? If our hearts be not rocks, this love of Christ should affect us. Behold, love that passes knowledge."

Call to Believe

Well, if you are here this morning and you've not come to this Lord Jesus Christ, it is a great privilege to be able to say, Believe. Believe in Him. This is the purpose that John wrote this letter, or this gospel. The prologue, the life, the ministry, the crucifixion, the resurrection, all of that John's endgame is told us in John 20, 30, and 31.

Truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples which are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ. Don't leave today without believing that. Believe on the Lord Jesus, believe that He is the Christ, believe that He is the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

That's what the Gospel is. Christ's life, death, and resurrection. All those who believe will have everlasting life. Payson says, reflecting on Isaiah 9.6, "...admire Him as wonderful, consult Him as Counselor, adore Him as God, be born of Him as your everlasting Father, and submit to Him as the Prince of Peace.

Believe according to the Gospel of John, and you will have everlasting life. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father, we thank You for Your Word and for Your grace and Your mercy. We thank You for the Lord Jesus, the incarnate Word, and how we bless you and praise you that this One who is God became flesh, that He dwelt among us, that His glory was beheld, that He is the only begotten of the Father. He is full of grace and truth. We pray that grace and truth would be poured out today in the churches.

We pray that by the power of your Spirit you would bring forth sinners and that you would save a great multitude that no man can number. We pray that You would bless and encourage and strengthen Your sheep, cause us to be faithful to Him who loved us, to Him who gave Himself for us. And we ask this in His most blessed name. Amen.

Scripture References

• Genesis 1:1; 3:15
• Exodus 25:1; 25:8; 25:21; 33:18; 33:19; 34:5; 34:6-7
• Leviticus 9:24; 10:1-3
• Psalms 45:6; 87:2; 110:1
• Isaiah 9:6; 53:3
• Ezekiel 11:16
• Haggai 2:3
• Micah 5:2
• Matthew 16:13; 16:16; 16:17
• John 1:1; 1:4; 1:10; 1:14; 1:18; 1:29; 4:34; 8:24; 8:29; 14:8; 14:9; 17:4; 20:30-31
• Romans 4:25
• 2 Corinthians 5:21; 8:9
• Galatians 4:4
• Hebrews 2:17; 4:15; 10:5-7
• 2 John 9
• Revelation 19:13