Let us turn once more to God's
Word. I'm turning to the chapter from
where we read in the opening chapter of the Gospel according
to St. John. I'm drawing your attention
for a while tonight to the words that we find here in verse 14. Familiar words, I'm sure. A great
text. And if you take nothing from
the service, I pray that the Lord might at least lay this
verse upon your hearts. And the Word was made 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. In John chapter 1 and verse 14,
This last week on holiday I was reading again a remarkable little
book by Mr. Philpott on the eternal sonship
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It really is a seminal work and
I think it should be required reading not only of all who are
members in gospel standard churches but required reading for all
those who attend the gospel standard churches. It's a wonderful book,
a very short book, but it is full of the most profound doctrine
concerning the great truth of Christ's eternal Sonship, which
of course is bound up with the truth of His dietary, that He
is God, and He is God manifest in the
flesh. And now here in this particular
Gospel John so evidently sets before us the truth of the Deity
of the Lord Jesus and not only in the Gospel but in those three
epistles that we find at the end of the New Testament There
we see how John is constantly asserting the same truth concerning
who Jesus of Nazareth was and is. He is none other than the
Eternal Son of God. Here in the opening verses of
this well-known chapter, in the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the
beginning with God. All things were made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. How it is plainly declared that
the Word is God, and the Word who is God is the One who is
the Creator of all things, as we read in the 33rd Psalm by
the Word of the Lord. were the heavens made, and all
the host of them by the breath of his mouth. I know that there's
that sense in which we recognize that in the very act of creation
God brings everything into being simply by his words. He spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. says the Psalmist in that same
33rd Psalm. And we have it recorded there
in the opening chapter of Genesis, where God said, let there be
light, and there was light. God said, let the dry land appear,
and the dry land appeared. There's that sense in which God,
in the very act of creation, simply speaks all things into
being. but also those words that we've
already made some reference to in Psalm 33 and verse 6, by the
word of the Lord. And he goes on, by the breath
of his mouth. Surely there we're to understand
that the word is none other than the eternal Son of God, the one
who is spoken of here, and the breath of his mouth is none other
than the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. that God, Father, Son
and Holy Spirit were all there at the beginning, in the creation
of all things. And when it comes to the creation
of man, we know that there is that consultation, as it were,
between the divine persons. God said, let us make man in
our image, after our likeness. All the three persons are there
And amongst those three gods, the Eternal Son, God, the Word,
who is said before us here in this Gospel according to John. How is it that God reveals himself? God reveals himself God speaks
to us in and through His Son, who is the Word. We have it here
at verse 18. No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. Oh, He is the Word of God in
the sense that He is the One who comes to reveal God to us. The Lord Jesus Himself says in
the Gospel, in Matthew chapter 11, no man knoweth the Son but
the Father neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son and
he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. It is through the
Word that God reveals Himself and in that revelation, we see
that he who is the Son is the true image of God, the image
of the invisible God. Remember the language that we
find later here in chapter 14, where we see the Lord addressing
himself to Philip. Verse 9, Jesus said unto him,
Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known
me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. And how sayest thou then, Show
us the Father? Believest thou not that I am
in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak
unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth
in me. He doeth the work. All the words is that one who
is truly the revealer of God. And how, in these last days,
God has given to us this full revelation, this final revelation
of Himself. It all leads up to the coming
of Christ, all the Old Testament Scriptures, all the ministry
that we read in association with the Patriarchs and the Prophets
of the Old Testament. when we come to the opening verses
of the epistles of the Hebrews guided with sundry times and
in diverse manner spanking time passed unto the fathers by the
prophets as in these last days spoken unto us by his son whom
he hath appointed the heir of all things by whom also he made
the worlds who being the brightness of his glory and the express
image of his person There can be no revelation beyond the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is why, of course, we have
to declare so faithfully that those who are Mohammedans are
followers of the false prophet. There is no more revelation to
come after the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this
is what the Apostle John is speaking of in the words of our text.
And the Word was made 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. Well, as we come to consider
these words this evening, I want to divide what I say into four
parts. First of all, to say something
with regard to the glory of the only begotten Son. And then secondly,
Christ's manifestation in the flesh. And thirdly, the mystery
of the person of Jesus Christ. And then finally, the grace of
Christ's ministry. As I said at the outset, I was
only these last few days reading something of these things in
that work by Mr. Philpott on Christ's eternal
sonship. And I do want very much to commend
that little work to you tonight. But first of all, let us come
to consider something of the glory of the only begotten Son
of God. And I use those words quite deliberately. The glory of the only begotten
Son of God. Observe, in our text we have this parenthesis, this little
bracketed section in the middle of the verse. And we beheld His
glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Son of God and He is not a son merely by office. There are some
who have said that. There were some among strict
Baptists who contended for that position in the past. 150 years ago, when that controversy
arose concerning the eternal sonship, there were those who
said that Christ was only a son by office. He became the Son
of God in terms of the eternal covenant. But in the covenant,
we don't see Him as the Son. Surely there, in the covenant,
we see Him as that one who becomes God's servant. As the son, he
is equal to the father. But in the covenant, he willingly
serves the will of the father. And we're familiar with the language
of Isaiah 42, where God says, Behold my servant whom I uphold. mine elect, in whom my soul delights,
that I have put my Spirit upon him." Here is the Lord Jesus.
He is the servant of God. He is God's first elect. He is
the one who is anointed. The Spirit is upon Him. He is truly the Christ of God
who comes to serve God. But when we think of His Sonship,
John deliberately uses the language there in that very short second
epistle and the third verse. He speaks of the Son of the Father
in truth and love. He is truly the Son. He is eternally the Son. The only begotten of the Father. What is the significance? of
the words that we have in the text, the only begotten. It speaks of his eternal generation. He is eternally begotten, eternally
brought forth. And we have these things indicated
in various parts of Scripture. We've spoken of some of these
things on previous occasions. Think of the language that we
find in the 8th chapter of the book of Proverbs. where we see
the Lord Jesus Christ again, He said before us there is the
wisdom of God. And what does wisdom say? When
there were no depths, I was brought forth. When there were no fountains
abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before
the hills was I brought forth. What is He saying as the wisdom
of God? Before ever there was any creation,
in eternity from eternity I was brought forth I am that one who
is eternally begotten the eternal son of the eternal father again
we have the language of the prophet Micah there in Micah 5 and verse
2 whose going goings forth have been evolved from everlasting
his goings forth the one who is eternally begotten of the
Father. Isaiah says, who shall declare
his generation. We cannot explain these things. Our minds are poor, finite human
minds, and not only finite, our sinful minds, darkened, because
of our sinful ignorance. How can we explain these things? They are all together above and
beyond us. It is here that we come to the
matter of faith. Who shall declare His generation? That One who is eternally begotten
of the Father. Again, in the language of the
Psalms now, that great second Psalm that's messianic, that
speaks of God setting His King upon his holy hill of Zion. Who
is this one who is king in Zion? Why, it's the Lord Jesus Christ.
And what does God say? Thou art my Son. This day have I begotten thee. Well, what are we to make of
those words? This day. This day have I begotten
thee. What is this day? It's an eternal
day. It's an eternal day. The Protestant
Reformer, Luther, in his commentary there, says of that expression,
this day, have I begotten thee? It implies neither yesterday,
nor tomorrow, but always a present time. He neither began to be born, nor
will he ever cease to be born, but he is ever being born. That's what Luther says. Luther
understood the doctrines of Christ's eternal sonship. He is the eternal
Son of God. And this is the ministry of John
the Baptist that we're introduced to in this opening chapter of
John's Gospel. We're not to confuse these two
Johns, of course. There's John, the evangelist,
as he's sometimes called. John, who is the beloved disciple
of the Lord Jesus, one of the Twelve Apostles, and there's
John the Baptist. And immediately here in the opening
chapter, John the Evangelist, John the Apostle, introduces
us to his namesake. In verse 15, John, bear witness
of him. That's John the Baptist. And
what is John's testimony? Well, we concluded quite deliberately
our reading at verse 34. These are the words of John the
Baptist who is the the forerunner of Christ, the harbinger who
comes to prepare the way for him. These are the John's words. He says, I saw and bear record
that this is the Son of God. This is the Son of God. The only
begotten Son, the eternal Son and the glories that belong unto
Him in terms of His eternal Sonship. Oh, and how vital the doctrine
is! How vital the doctrine is! And again, it's John in that
second epistle, that short epistle, there in 2 John verse 9 he says,
"...whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of
Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ he hath both the Father and the Son. We just think about
it for a moment you see. If he is not the Eternal Son
if he merely becomes the Son of God in terms of the covenant
there can be no Eternal Father. How can there be an eternal Father,
except there be also an eternal Son? And that's what John is
saying there in that second epistle, "...whosoever transgresseth and
abides not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God." You deny
His eternal Sonship, you're attacking the very doctrine of God. God
in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
Oh, there's a uniter. God is one. And yet, God subsists
in three persons. The Father begetting the Son,
and the Son begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeding
from the Father and the Son. There's a relationship between
the three eternal persons in the Godhead. But to deny Christ's Sonship
means that a person has not God. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God, he that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. But turning in the second place,
having said something with regards to His glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, the only begotten Son. Let us now consider His
manifestation in the flesh. This is what the text is speaking
of. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. That is the great mystery of
the Incarnation. Without controversy, says Paul,
in one of his epistles, 1 Timothy 3 and verse 16, without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
the language is the same as we have here, in this Gospel according
to John. The Word was made flesh. The
Word is God. John says as much. There at the
end of verse 1, the Word was God. The Word was made flesh. God was manifest in the flesh. It's one and the same truth.
And we're reminded of that in the language of the Prophet Isaiah. Remember Isaiah chapter 9 and
verse 6? that speaks of the birth of the
Lord Jesus unto us. A child is born unto us, a son
is given. And the government shall be upon
his shoulder. You know the words, familiar words. And now we have
to observe that whilst the child is born, the son is not born. The son
is given. The son is the eternal son. And
what is the mystery? that we witness in the Incarnation.
It is that holy thing that is conceived in the womb of the
Virgin Mary. That's human nature which is
to be joined to the Eternal Son of God. Or the child is born
of human nature. He's born. But the Son, the Eternal
Son is given. And when we read here of the
word being made flesh we're to recognize that the expression
made flesh has regard to the whole of that human nature that
was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin. So
whilst it says made flesh with the thing not just in terms of
a body but also a soul. We know he has a soul. He shall
see of the travail of his soul. And when he comes to the end
of his earthly ministry, when he comes to die upon the cross
remember those words of triumph that he utters recorded here
In the 19th chapter, as we have the record of his sufferings, how he cries in triumph it is
finished, and he bows the head, it says, and yields up the ghost.
Or as we have it in another of the Gospels, he commends his
spirit into the hands of his father. What is that ghost or
that spirit? It is the soul. It is the soul. when he shall make his soul an
offering for sin, he shall see his seeds, is the language that
we find back in Isaiah 53. He is really and truly man. He is in possession then of a
human body and a reasonable soul. If he had not those two things
he would not be a man. And yet he is spoken of clearly
as a man, and Adam is set before us as a remarkable type of the
Lord Jesus. Isn't that what Paul says in
1 Corinthians 15? He speaks of two Adams. The first
Adam and the last Adam. He speaks of two men. The first
is of the earth, earthly, the second is the Lord's, from heaven. But each of these are men. And
when we read of the first man, the first Adam, who is a type
of the last Adam, we see how that when God creates Adam, he
forms his body out of the dust of the earth and breathes into
his nostrils the breath of life, and he becomes a living soul.
And so too the Lord Jesus is that one who is in possession
of a human body and a human soul. And this, too, is a vital doctrine. And again, it is John. John's
doctrine of Christ is quite remarkable, quite profound, because he contends
so earnestly for the truth concerning the person of Christ as God and
man. Look at the language that we
find in the first epistle general of John. And there at verse 2, In chapter 4, 1 John chapter
4 verse 2, he says, Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit
that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And
this is that Spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that he
should come, and even now already is it in the world. or we don't
only contend for the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, that He
is the eternal Son of God, we must also faithfully contend
for His humanity. And if we do not rightly contend
for His human nature, we are of the spirit of Antichrist.
He is God, yes, but He is man, a man there is, a real man, in
the language of Joseph Hart in the hymn. Oh, how important it
is. You know, we see him as one who
is vindicated in his humanity and vindicated by the Holy Spirit. As in the outworking of the Eternal
Covenant we see God the Son serving God the Father, although as the
Eternal Son He is equal to the Father, so also in the outworking
of that covenant we see how the Holy Spirit, who is equal to
the Father and the Son, yet in the covenant does He not serve
the Lord Jesus Christ. Those words that we've already
made some reference to, 1 Timothy 3.16, without controversy, Grace
is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the Spirit. Justified in the Spirit. How
is He justified in the Spirit? Well, His human nature is vindicated
by the Spirit in His birth, in His life, in His death, in His
resurrection. I think we've said on previous
occasions, it's a Very profitable exercise to consider the ministry
of the Holy Spirit during the days of the Lord's humiliation
as a man here upon the earth. How he, as a man, is so dependent
upon the Spirit. Do we not see it in terms of
his conception? He has no human father and yet
he experiences a real human birth. How so? Well the angel says,
to Mary the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee. There it is.
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, the power of the highest
shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing
that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. That
holy thing, that human nature, that body and soul, that in that
great mystery is being joined, united, to the eternal Son of
God. It's a real human nature. It's
not a person. It's that holy thing. Because
it is joined to the person of the eternal Son of God. But no,
nonetheless it is truly a human nature. It's a real birth. And
in it there's that wonderful ministry of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, says the angel. He is conceived
in the womb of a virgin, and conceived by the Holy Ghost,
the virgin birth. But then, furthermore, when we
read of the ministry of the Lord Jesus at his baptizing, we're
familiar with these things. He comes up out of the waters
of baptism. clearly it was immersion he comes
up out of the waters of baptism and as he comes out of the water
so the heavens open and the father speaks this is my beloved son
in whom I am well pleased and the Holy Spirit descends upon
him in the form of a dove or the father giveth not the spirit
by measure unto him how he is anointed now by the spirit And
then we read how he is led of the Spirit into the wilderness
and tempted. The Spirit is leading and directing
and the Spirit is with him in all his temptations. The Spirit
has come upon him and the Spirit leads and directs him in everything
that he does. There's a wonderful ministry
of the Holy Spirit and that ministry is a vindication of the reality
of his human life he is so dependent as a man upon the Spirit of God
and having been led by the Spirit into the wilderness so we are
told in Luke chapter 4 and verse 14 Jesus returned in the power
of the Spirit out of the wilderness and came into Nazareth the place
where he had been brought up, and when the Sabbath day comes,
as was his world, he goes into the synagogue. And he's there in the synagogue,
and the minister passes to him the book of the prophet Isaiah,
and the Lord turns to Isaiah chapter 61, and he reads that
passage, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me. because he had anointed
me to preach the gospel and so forth. And he reads those words. You know the passage there in
Luke chapter 4 verse 16 following, and it's a quotation. The language
is that of Isaiah the prophet in chapter 61. The Lord reads
that whole passage concerning the Spirit being upon him. And
he says, this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. It's fulfilled in him. All he
knows, he experiences constantly that ministry of the Spirit. The Spirit is there in the miracles.
He tells the Jews plainly. When he speaks, you see, of the
great danger of the sin against the Holy Spirit. If I cast out devils by the Spirit
of God, he says, then is the Kingdom of God come unto you. How does he cast out the demons?
By the Spirit. He's dependent as a man upon
the Spirit throughout his ministry. As he preaches there's a blessed
unction of the Spirit constantly upon his words. Never a man spoke
like this man. Or the Father had given the Spirit
without measure unto the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he comes
to die, and what do we read concerning his death? Hebrews 9 and verse
14, "...who through the Eternal Spirit offered himself up to
God." Now I know there's some dispute concerning exactly what
is meant by that expression, the Eternal Spirit. It's a reference
to Christ's own spirit, Christ's own soul as a man. Or is it a
reference to the ministry of the Holy Spirit? Well, maybe
it's both. Maybe it's both. As a man, he
was ever dependent upon the Spirit. But he pours out his soul, he
pours out his spirit unto death. That's what it says in Isaiah
53. But you see, this ministry of the Spirit constantly spoken
of in reference to all that the Lord Jesus Christ is doing as
a man and then it is the Spirit who vindicates him in his resurrection God manifest in the flesh God
justified in the Spirit declared to be the Son of God by the Spirit
of Holiness or through the Spirit of Holiness by the resurrection
from the dead. It's the Holy Spirit who is there
as He is raised again the third day. Yes, the Father raises Him. Yes, He raises Himself in a certain
sense. All the persons are there. God,
Father, God, Son, God, Holy Spirit. The three persons of the Godhead,
but clearly the Spirit is there. He declares and the the word
literally means he's one who's marked out designated as the
son of God according to that spirit of holiness by the resurrection
from the dead. He's a man and as a man he depends upon the ministry of
the Spirit and the Spirit is there and the Spirit is ever
vindicating him and yet and yet in all his humiliation he is
never anything less than true almighty God he made himself
of no reputation took upon him the form of a servant the language
that we find in Philippians chapter 2 now some of you might be aware
that the the words there in that 7th verse of Philippians chapter
2 are words that are much contended about what some call the Econosis
Theory. Because the word that is used,
made himself of no reputation, is what we have in the Authorized
Version, but that is translating one word. That's how it's translated. A number of English words to
translate one Greek word. But the literal meaning of the
Word is emptied, but emptied himself. And some say, oh, he emptied
himself of his dietary. We have the language of the hymn
of Charles Wesley's, emptied himself of all but love. That's wrong, really. He didn't
empty himself of everything except love. He never emptied himself
of his full deity. He ever was, always was, God
manifest in the flesh. Yes, he was a real man. And as
a man he was crucified through weakness. That's the language
of scripture there at the end of 2nd Corinthians. He was crucified
through weakness. But he, in all his weakness,
is God. As we said before, even as a
little babe, so helpless and so dependent as any babe would
be upon its mother, and yet that little babe is never anything
less than God. And when upon the cross he cries
out in all the agony of soul, My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? He's still God. now mystery,
how mysterious these things are we cannot really explain these
things where reason fails with all her powers their fate prevails
and love adores says Isaac Watts, how true but that language that
Wesley uses in the hymn, emptied himself of all but love is dangerous,
it's misleading And I believe that the translation, as we have
it in our authorized version, the translation of Philippians
2 verse 7, made himself of no reputation, is a good translation
of that word. And those words, that expression,
is straight out of Tyndale's version. It's Tyndale's language.
that is retained, as so much of the authorized version of
course is from Tinder, made himself of no reputation. What is the
emphasis on there in that great second chapter of the Epistle,
the Epistle to the Philippians? In that second chapter we have
these tremendous statements concerning the doctrine of Christ in his
person and in his work, but the whole context The whole context
is that of the humiliation of the Lord Jesus Christ. "'Let
nothing be done through strife or vainglory,' says Paul, "'but
in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
"'Look not every man on his own things, "'but every man also
on the things of others. "'Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus.'" Who being in the form of God. thought
it not robbery to be equal with God, and so forth. He introduces
us as the Apostle to this tremendous statement concerning the doctrine
of Christ in his person, in his work, obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. But in the context, it's so practical.
It's so practical. He's giving exhortation to the
great necessity of that humiliation of mine. that believers are not
to be striving, they're not to be vainglorious. He commends
loneliness of mind, esteeming others better than ourselves,
looking not on our own things but on the things of others.
And then he comes to set Christ before us as that one who is
a great pattern of humiliation. And that's what that's what Tyndale
brings out. Made himself of no reputation. Oh, what humiliation! He is one
who is equal with God and he makes himself of no reputation. He is a pattern of humility and
if we are those who are the followers of the Lord Jesus we must be
humble men and women. If any man will come after me
says Christ let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow
me. Self-denial you say? The hymn
writer says we have to venture to be naught or to be nothing.
That's what Paul was. Though I be nothing. Nothing. We have to be nothing and Christ
has to be everything. This is what we learn, you see,
in the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here we see Him. The
glory that belongs to Him, the only begotten of the Father,
the eternal Son of God, and yet all the humiliation is manifest
in the flesh. Humbles himself, becomes obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. And then, in the third place, to say something
with regards to the mystery of the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The mystery of the person. Now,
the first mystery that we find in Scripture, of course, is the
doctrine of God. The doctrine of the Trinity. And Trinity simply means, really,
triunity, three in one. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God is one Lord. There is only one God. Not three
gods. There's one God. There's a unity
in the Godhead. But here is the mystery. The
one God is three persons. There are three that bear record
in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost. And these
three are one. And this is an eternal mystery.
It's the doctrine of God. This is a mystery that has always
been, always will be. God is one, God is three, from
eternity to eternity. But then there's a second mystery,
and that is the doctrine of the Incarnation. But this is a mystery
that is not eternal. This is a mystery that came to
be in time. There's a difference, you see.
There was a time when there was no mystery of the Incarnation,
but when the fullness of the time was come. God sent forth
his Son, made of a woman, made under the law. The Word was made
flesh. You see what John says in the
text. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And here is the mystery of Christ's
person. Because thinking of the doctrine
of God, God is one and yet God is three persons. And in the
Lord Jesus Christ, if we use the language here of the Athanasian
Creed, and I've written it out, who, although he be God and man,
yet he is not two, but one Christ. Although he is God and he is
man, he is not two. He has a divine nature, and he
has a human nature. But he is one person. One person
in everything that he does, he's God-man. And you can't separate
the two natures, you can't say, well here we see him doing something
as God, and here we witness him doing something as a man. No,
in everything he does, he's God-man. The one person. Oh, there's been much controversy
in the church concerning the whole doctrine of the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the early church, there was
the activity of the Arians, and it was that man Athanasius who
was raised up of God to be the great champion of the doctrine
of Christ. That's why we call it the Athanasian
Creed. But then, we're familiar, there's
still controversy. Think of the sects. Think of
the JWs. They deny the deity of Christ. They don't believe He's the Eternal
Son. They don't believe He's God manifest
in the flesh. And as we've already said, there
was controversy amongst strict Baptists in the In the mid-nineteenth
century there were those who denied the eternal Sonship and
that's why Philpott wrote that seminal work on the subject of
the eternal Sonship of Christ. Or the mystery. Or might we be
those friends who are humbled before you to bow down and acknowledge
this great truth concerning the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Word was made 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." Finally, briefly, the grace, the grace of Christ's
ministry, He was full of grace and truth. He goes on to say
at verse 17, the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ. There's the contrast. There's no hope for the sinner
in the law. It is a ministration of condemnation. It is a ministration
of death. Well, we need friends to make
the distinction. The law was given by Moses. That
doesn't mean that Moses himself was not a saved man. He was.
the saved man. But God gave his law through
the mediation of Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. What does the Psalmist say? Those
lovely Messianic Psalms, Psalm 45. Grace is poured into thy
lips. Oh, never man spake like this
man. The words of the Lord Jesus,
he is the Amen. He is the faithful and true witness. And what words, those great I
Am passages that we have throughout this Gospel of John, how John
is constantly setting Him before us as the great God, the I Am
that I Am. And what does He say amongst
other things? I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No man cometh unto the Father
but by me, O God grant that we might come. That we might be
those who come to the Father by Jesus Christ, who confess
His glorious truths concerning the mystery of the person of
our Lord Jesus Christ. And we see Him here, the glory
that belongs to Him as the only begotten of the Father. And we
see Him as that One who is manifest, in the flesh. The Word was made
flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the
glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth. O the Lord then, bless this truth
to us tonight for His name's sake. Amen.