The Author Enters The Story – The Incarnation of Christ (John 1:1-18)

It is easy to lose sight of what Christmas is all about. It truly is. My family is now in the midst of many holiday things. We worked at a fundraiser for Developmental Wings then we were on the Developmental Wings Christmas Parade float in Fort Smith. We are planning Christmas Parties and figuring out what days we see different family members and friends before Christmas. We have done Christmas shopping and are almost finished with that. There is just so much going on right now. It is easy for us to lose track of what we celebrate at Christmas time.

Don’t lose it. Keep your eyes on what is important. Head into Christmas incredibly thankful for the glorious gift God has given us in His Son.

Tim Keller discussed how God relates to us as people in His Creation.

“When a Russian cosmonaut returned from space and reported that he had not found God. C.S. Lewis responded that this was like Hamlet going into the attic of his castle looking for Shakespeare. If there is a God, He wouldn’t be another object in the Universe that could be put in a lab and analyzed with empirical methods. He would relate to us the way a playwright relates to the characters in His play. We (characters) might be able to know a quite a lot about the playwright, but only to the degree the author chooses to put information about Himself in the play.” – Tim Keller, The Reason for God p. 122

This is what is so amazing about Christmas. We celebrate God writing Himself into the play.

But you should here be amazed, because at Christmas time we actually celebrate God writing Himself into the play.

Let’s take a look at John discussing the glorious truth of God writing Himself into the play.

“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

God the Son: The Always Existing Creator of All Things (John 1:1-5)

There is a whole lot of information in these verses, but the glorious truths that it reveals are more than worth the effort to understand it. The Word has always existed (V. 1). There has never been a time in which this “Word” has not existed. And not only has the Word always existed, but He has always existed with God (Vv. 1-2). On top of this the Word has always existed as God (V. 1) and is the Creator (V. 3). On top of all of this, John writes that the only life given was given by “the Word (V. 4). All plants, animals, and humans owe their existence to this “Word”.

Not to spoil the surprise, but this “Word” is Jesus. We know that because of where the conversation goes from here. It becomes especially clear by the time we read V. 15 and find that this “Word” was testified about by John the Baptist who we know testified concerning Jesus. We even have details from Jesus’ baptism written into this passage. Suffice it to say that there is no doubt who John is writing about, it is Jesus.

We oftentimes speak of Jesus as King, and this is correct. But, it really isn’t going far enough. God the Son has always existed as God and is the person of the Trinity who created all things. Not only is He King, but He is also Creator. We owe our existence to the work of God the Son.

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter series. Suzanne Collins wrote The Hunger Games. These people were the Creators of these works. Everything that happened within these stories originated from within their own minds. And so it is with God. God the Father planned the entirety of Creation and the Son of God carried out the task of creating Creation

Then John begins to transition the discussion from who He is and what He has done to the fact that within Him is life itself. This makes complete sense. Not only do we owe our creation to Him but we also owe our existing currently to Him. Not only this but we owe our spiritual life to Him as well. He gives spiritual life, as we will see, through what He accomplished by coming to Earth.

God the Son: The Light Who Brings Life was Coming (Vv. 6-13)

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 

To help us understand exactly who he was talking about, John begins discussing John the Baptist. John the Baptist was the Messenger of Light and Life. He was the last of the Old Testament Prophets who was foretold in passages like Isaiah 6:8 and Jeremiah 1:4. He was sent by God to prepare the way for God the Son’s entrance into the world. He was to “bear witness” to the light that would come. But notice the purpose of John the Baptist’s professing or bearing witness. He was telling so that “all might believe through Him”. John was preaching to point people to Christ, where they could find salvation.

It is no different with us today. What is the purpose of our declarations? Is it not to bring people to Christ? Is it not bearing witness to the Light who has already come? Is it not declaring to them where they can find salvation?

Then notice how glorious things are beginning in verse 9. The Creator has become part of Creation (V.9). Going back to our earlier illustration, it would be as if Shakespeare had written himself into the story. All of a sudden the one who created now takes on human flesh and becomes part of Creation. God the Son now enters the world. But the problem is that they world He created did not know Him (V. 10). People did not love Him, for the most part, but rejected Him.

You would expect for things to be different. You would expect for the Creator to come on the scene and for the whole world to rally behind him. That’s not at all what happened. Sure, Jesus had a large number of followers at times but when He revealed Himself as God most strongly…in the last days of His life in Jerusalem, they left. Things get seemingly worse when you realize that He came to His Covenant People and was rejected (V. 11). God’s Chosen People, Israel, rejected Jesus. Again, you would expect for things to be different but it definitely was not.

This brings us into an interesting discussion. First John discusses those who rejected Christ. Then he turns around and discusses those who received Him. Those who did receive the Light were made His covenant family – “gave the right to become children of God. Those people who trusted Christ, who repented and believed, were “born of God”. The were supernaturally born, not naturally born. Those people were made new and given a desire to follow after Christ. These people are different than the many who rejected Him.

God the Son came to Earth, He took on human flesh for a purpose. God had decided to save and His plan was for the Son to come and die on a cross for the sins of God’s people. He would be their substitute. He would die in their place bearing the justice that they deserved upon Himself. This was accomplished on the cross. Then three days later He rose from the dead. God approved of Christ’s sacrifice and it was shown in the Resurrection of Christ from the dead. Now let’s ask an important question.

Throughout the Book of John, and implied here, is the idea that there are two options lying before us. Will you be one of the people who turn from ruling their own life and trusting in their self and trust in Christ? Or will you reject Him? Before He even discusses Christ’s life John lets everyone know that Christ came to the world that He created and was rejected by most, but those who received Christ were made God’s children. What will you do? Where do you stand?

God the Son: The Light Has Come And Lived Among Us (Vv. 14-18)

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

This is what we celebrate at Christmas. God the Son came and “dwelt among us”. The literal translation would be that He “tabernacled among us”. God had, in the past, made His tabernacle among the people of Israel. It was here that God resided, among His people. The bright cloud of God’s presence fell upon the temple in Exodus 24:16 and 40:34-35. God the Son had gone from having His abode in Heaven to now being with people on Earth, living and dwelling among them. The ultimate dwelling of God among people has come in Jesus Christ. God the Son took on flesh and dwelt among us. And in doing so He has brought tremendous grace to us.

John explains that God gave us the law, which in itself was an incredibly gracious act, but it led to condemnation (Vv. 16-17). The Law revealed to us God’s Holiness, but has left us guilty before the Holy One. Christ’s coming, it is different. Christ has come and revealed the Father to us. He made the Father known to us. He “exegeted” or explained the Father to us.  But He did not do so in a way that brought more condemnation upon God’s people. No, Christ is greater than the Law. Christ has revealed to us a salvation from our condemnation.

So, the question remains. Will you trust the one who has come? Or will you like many people in the Book of John reject Him?