If you would like to follow along,
I am in the book of John chapter 1. John chapter 1. I want to read verse 14 through
17. No, let's read 18. John chapter 1 verse 14, 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. John bear witness
of him and cried saying, this was he of whom I spake. He that cometh after me is preferred
before me. For he was before me, and of
his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the
law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time,
the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father.
He hath declared him. Now, before I get carried away, the fullness, the fullness of
Jesus Christ is not up for debate. This is because the fullness
of God is not up for debate, and Jesus Christ is God. I'm gonna state that from the
beginning. Jesus Christ said it himself, I and my Father are
one. And here in John it says, no
man's seen God at any time. The only way to know the Father
is through the Son. If you don't know the Son, you
don't know the Father. I and my Father are one. I can't explain the triune God,
Father, Son, and Spirit, but I can believe him. Verse one
tells us, John chapter one, 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. In him was life. And the life
was the light of men. And the light shineth in the
darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. The word of God, Jesus
Christ, is God. His fullness is not up to debate. All things were made by him.
Everything. Later on, Paul will tell us,
by him, all things consist. Jesus Christ is the fullness
of power. He's the fullness of love. He's
the fullness of joy. He's the fullness of peace. He's
the fullness of atonement. He's the fullness of redemption. He's the fulfillment of forgiveness. He's the fullness of light. He's
the fullness of life. And here in particular, In John
chapter one, he's the fullness of grace and truth. Grace and truth. I shall endeavor to be simple
here today. I don't know if it's gonna work
out or not. Well, I kinda got a couple things in my head that
I wanna come out. But I don't want to make this
complex. The gospel is not complex. The gospel is singular in one
particular way. And the only particular way that
matters, the gospel is about our Lord Jesus Christ. And what
I want to do today, if possible, is to exalt him and to exalt
his fullness in grace and truth by his word. And that's all I
can do. Some people say well, what kind
of sermon is that for sinners? Listen if this is the God you
need listen to what I got to say Understand I don't know about
you. I don't know about you if you're
watching on television or on the internet or whatever I don't
know, but here's the thing if you need a God the God who can
save Jesus Christ is full of grace and of truth There is no
hope in anyone else a Jesus who's trying to say is not going to
get the job done for you But this Christ of the Bible
The Christ here written of in John chapter 1 he is full of
grace and truth The glory of the Lord is the glory of the
Lord Jesus Christ. The glory of the Lord is full
of grace and truth because he is full of grace and truth. You understand Jesus Christ,
the word made flesh, is absolutely full, complete. What's that mean? There's none
left over. All grace and all truth are found
in Jesus Christ. Absolutely all of it. You understand, this is not metaphorical. This is not symbolical. It's not symbolic. This is not
figurative. Jesus Christ literally is full
of grace and truth. There is no grace and there is
no truth outside or without Jesus Christ. So if you wanna know anything
about God's grace, you better learn something about Jesus Christ.
Because that's where grace and truth come from. Grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. The law was given by Moses. Moses
didn't make the law, he just gave it. And it was given to
him to give it. But grace and truth come, came
by the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no grace or truth without
him, and he has all grace and truth. He's full. He's full. Oh my. Now let's be clear. Because this is the part that
kind of caught my eye. Verse 16. And of his fullness have all
we received and grace for grace. Now I'm gonna start this out
a little different, okay? Because I want to tell you what
John didn't write here. Because I know what some people
are saying. And I'm sure some of them are saying it today.
But I know they said it for years in times past, and some of them
are still alive, so I'm sure they're still saying it. John
did not write all of his fullness we received. He wrote of His fullness we receive. You understand very clearly. I'll get to why I want to say
this. But here I want to say this very plainly from the beginning. We as believers are not a replacement
for Jesus Christ on the earth. Now you might wonder why I would
say something stupid like that. Because to be honest, that's
pretty stupid. If anybody thinks they have taken
the place of Jesus Christ, they're a fool. They're an idiot. But unfortunately, this world
is full of them. Unfortunately, we are way outnumbered
by idiocy, by pride, and the arrogance of man is great in
the world. Jesus Christ as is never diminished
You understand he is full of grace and truth even when he's
given grace to every person that believes To every one of his
children he gives grace and You know what? He's still full. He's still full and Understand
he's not diminishing himself in any way and no man better
diminish him in any way He's always full of grace and truth
no matter how much of his grace and his truth he gives Jesus Christ is God, and he's
as full today as he ever was There's no lack in him and there
never has been And I have to say something else stupid, okay? Jesus Christ has never been less
than God Almighty. In the beginning was what? The
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. That's Jesus Christ, as bad as
Earl used to say, in eternity past. He always has been God. I will try by his grace, I will
never say any different, but some do. And I wanna, I got this
on my head and got it in my heart. There are many, I know, and I
can name four of them right now, and I'm going to. Now, some of
these people may be gone, that doesn't matter. Their tapes are
still out there and they're still out on the internet, on YouTube.
Gloria Copeland, Kenneth Copeland, Paul Crouch. Now, not the Paul
Crouch that was here, okay? That's a different, he's the
head of the, was the head of the Trinity Broadcasting Network.
And Benny Hinn. I know. That's what you might
want to call murderer's row, if you want. All right? These all say, and I've heard
it come from their own lips, all say, and their hearers agree
and say amen, They all say that they are little gods. That's what they say, and they
try to use a little scripture to back it up. Well, here's where
it says here, Jesus Christ is God. All I gotta say about them saying
they're little gods is that they are not little gods, they are
big idiots. They are also liars, blasphemers,
and heretics. And this is not, I mean, trust
me, this is not all. It's bad enough, but it doesn't
stop there. It gets worse, because a little
leaven leavens the whole lump. And I'm gonna tell you something,
this is a great big heaping mound of leaven. Their theology, this is it. And as I said, it gets worse.
Gloria Copeland once said that Jesus was just a man. He was a man filled with the
Holy Ghost. That's the only difference. In the beginning was the word
and the word was with God and the word was God. He was just a man filled with
the Holy Ghost and he gave the devil a hard time. But you know
what? That devil had an even harder
time at Pentecost. When over 3,000 souls were saved
and the Holy Ghost filled them up, it was like 3,000 little
Jesuses running around at one time. It gave the devil heartburn. You understand, this is the kind
of idiocy that I hear. And people are shouting amen.
People are saying preach on. That's a lie. That's all it is. Her husband, Kenneth Copeland,
said that Adam, in the garden, was God manifest in the flesh. That's a lie. Now Adam was created upright.
Adam was created in the image of God. That didn't make him
God manifest in the flesh. The word was still there. And the word came, Jesus Christ,
in the flesh, and he is God manifest in the flesh, and nobody else.
But you understand, this is where their theology starts. Exalting
man. And guess where it goes? Back
to the lie in the garden, ye shall be as gods. The serpents
lie. In the beginning. Guess what? Satan hasn't changed. Man hasn't
changed. But I'm gonna tell you this,
right now, right sitting on the right hand of the majesty on
high, Jesus Christ is full of grace and of truth. Kenneth Copeland was repeating
the lies Satan in the garden. What? Ye shall be as gods. Now that is the natural man not
understanding the things of the Spirit of God. And neither can
he know them, for they're spiritually discerned. He can't know them,
the natural man can't know them. Why? Because he doesn't know
anything about grace and truth. Because God has not given him
grace. I was there in the same spot. Now, I wasn't this big
a heretic, but that's all because of my own ignorance. But I was just as dead, Mason.
I was just as dead and just as wrong, Mac. But this is what
I see around us. Men love darkness. instead of the light. Men hate the light. Men hate
the grace and truth of our Lord Jesus Christ. If it doesn't meet
their criteria for grace and for what they think is the truth. Jesus Christ was God. is God
and ever shall be God. Full of grace and truth. We believers
have received of his fullness of grace and truth. Just as I
said last week, or week before, there is no grace without mercy. There is no mercy without his
goodness. Well listen, here's a new one.
There's no grace without his truth. Jesus Christ is full of grace
and truth and we have what? Received of, why? Because he
gave it to us. That's how we received it. We
didn't go get it, he gave it to us. His grace and his truth. There is no grace without truth.
His truth, His gospel, we will receive. His truth, we believe. And His word, by His grace, we
preach. We speak, we witness, we testify,
and we love. We love. He gives us ears to hear and
hearts to understand and he sends his ministers to his people. And they'll hear. And they'll
believe. Why? We have received of his
grace and his truth. Now we've received of his fullness,
I love that. We receive it because he gave
it and he's still full. That's what it said. Isn't that
great? Jesus Christ is never diminished
in any way, in any type, in any capacity. His redemption is a redemption
for all that he did it for. He came to save his people from
their sins. And he hath obtained eternal
redemption for us, that's what it says. And the reason it says
that is because that's what it means. His gospel we receive,
his truth we believe. He sends his ministers to his
people and they hear, they hear. What's it say? How beautiful
are the feet of those who preach his gospel. Now, my feet have
actually seen better days. But God sent me here. God sent
Walter here, God sent Paul here, God sent Earl here before us. And we're here, why? Because
of the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. Deb and I were talking
in the kitchen yesterday afternoon about it. And Deb told me the
same thing I've told her. You know, a lot of times I just
don't feel it, Walter. I don't feel it. But I told her, she told me the
same thing, and I said, I told her, I said, but here's the thing.
I wanna be here. I have a desire to be here every
Sunday. It doesn't work out. And Deb,
with her health issues, it doesn't work out for her. But she wants
to be here. Still, after 35, 37 years, however
long it's been, I wanna go where the gospel is preached. The grace and truth of which
we receive endures because it is the gift of Jesus Christ. We have received it because he
has given it. He is the source of all grace,
and he is the source of all truth. He is truth. And there is no other, none other. And grace for grace, it says. He gives us grace in opening
our uncircumcised heart and ears. Why? So we can hear his truth. Unto obedience of the truth. He gives his people, and here's
a nice thing. He gives his people grace to
want his grace. You understand, one time I did
not want this. But he gives grace to want his
grace, and he gives us grace to want his truth. And then he
gives us his truth. It's right here in this book.
As a matter of fact, I had one of these things all along and
never paid any bit of attention to it, Mac. Never even looked
at it, Jack. When I did look at it, it didn't
make any sense. But I'm going to tell you something.
When you receive of his fullness, his word will start to open up
to you. Amen. That's right. You may have
been listening to a grace minister for years and didn't know it.
But your ears will open up and you'll hear what? His truth. His truth. He gives and we received his
grace and his truth. And he gives and we want more. Grace for grace. I like that,
I do. But I can't talk about this without
looking at Colossians 2 and verse 9. Well, maybe 2 and verse 8. Verse 8, beware lest any man,
this is Colossians 2, beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after the
rudiments of this world, What and not after Christ? Guess what? The philosophy vain to seek the
tradition of men and the rudiments of the world are not after Christ
Just take it from whatever it says For in him dwelleth all
the fullness of the Godhead Bodily bodily and ye are complete in
him which is the head of all principality and power, in whom
also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without
hands, and putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, wherein
also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of
God, who hath raised him from the dead. And we'll stop there. He, Jesus Christ, is the fullness. And he is all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily. Bodily. All the fullness of the
Godhead. You know that word Godhead, you
know what it means? It means Godhead. It means deity. This is the only place in the
scripture that word's used, that Greek word is used. The fullness
of the Godhead is in him in him Bodily You understand He is seated
at the right hand of the majesty on high right now He ascended
into heaven the father accepted his sacrifice, and he sat him
down at his right hand Declaring him What? In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Right now. Right now. Like I said at the beginning
of this, Jesus Christ is the fullness of power, of love, of
joy, of peace, of atonement, of forgiveness, of light, of
life, and here in particular, grace and truth. And He still
is. He still is. Jesus Christ is
the same yesterday and today and forever Full of grace and
truth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and We are complete
in him now Let me look at this for a second The word fullness, in the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and the word complete in him, they are
taken from the same base word. Which means full. That's the
base word, okay? Full. The difference between
them is Jesus Christ is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. That's
the noun. I know it's time for an English
lesson, it's early, but it's okay. I hope this makes sense.
Christ is fullness. All the fullness of God is in
him. He is the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. Now the next word where it talks
about us, we are complete in him, is the same base word full.
But here it is, it's a verb. It's an action. It's not what
we are, it's what he did. Ye are completed in him. Again, it's of his fullness we
receive. He gives it, he gives it. Jesus Christ is the fullness
and we are filled. Him we can't be any more complete
Until we awaken his likeness Because we are complete in his
fullness Not in our own That's grace We
are complete in his fullness. He has filled us with He was
the fullness of grace and truth. He is the fullness of grace and
truth. And he always shall be the fullness
of grace and truth. And he shall always be the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. Bodily. I remember when Earl
first said it. I'd never heard it really before.
There's a man up in heaven seated at the right hand of God. That's
the God-man, Jesus Christ. He's both. What? Of course, the
word was made flesh. He started out on this earth
as the God-man. He came in the likeness of sinful
flesh. He took on him the form of a
servant, and when he arose, he arose bodily. What? with all
the fullness of the Godhead in that body. How's that possible? God. God. He's God. He can do what he wants, when
he wants, whenever he wants. And I can't, and neither can
you. Oh, but I can receive. Yes, when
he gives. And not until he gives. And when
he gives, you got it. He always shall be the fullness
of grace and truth, and the fullness of the Godhead bodily. The law didn't come by Moses,
it was given by Moses. But grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. And I'm here to tell you today,
grace and truth right now comes by Jesus Christ. To every one
of his people, he gives of his grace, of the fullness, his fullness,
his grace and his truth. And he's still full. He's still
full. The word that was with God, the
word that was God, the word that is God is still full of grace
and truth. In him dwells, dwells, lives,
right now, all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. All fullness,
all the time. And still at this time, seated
on the right hand of the majesty on high. How can a man stand before God?
How can a sinner stand before God? In his son, in his only
begotten, well-beloved son, who is full of grace and truth. In Jesus Christ, we are seen
by God as having all righteousness, all sanctification, and all holiness
in him, in Christ. We have received of his fullness
and grace for grace. We have been given his word by
the word of God, full of grace and truth. You wanna know how you can receive
it? Well, John had already told us.
Let me get back there. I lost my marker. John had already told us. He
was in the world and the world was made by him and the world
knew him not. This is John 1 verse 10. Verse
11. He came unto his own and his
own received him not. But As many as received him,
to them gave he the power, gave he power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on his name. Verse 13, which
were born. Which were born. What? Ye must be born again. That's what it says in John three.
Ye must be born from above. Must, Christ said that. John wrote this, which were born
not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will
of man, they were born of God. How do you receive grace and
truth? You have to be born of God. to be born of God. You understand the Old Testament
says, salvation is of the Lord. And that's just as true today
as it was when Jonas said it. Salvation is of the Lord. Life
and light and grace and truth and faith All come from God. He's the fullness of all grace
and truth. And of his fullness, we receive
who? Which were born of God. Which
were born of God. The question, does this make
any sense to you? You know? I can understand somebody
thinks this is nonsense. And I'll take all the blame that
I have to. For maybe not being clear. But I want to be clear
on this one thing. If Jesus Christ doesn't do something
for you, you will never know anything about grace or truth. But, praise God, if he has given
you life, you will know. Just maybe a little bit. Maybe
a touch. Maybe it'll take you 35 years
to get to it. to understand just a little bit
of his grace and his truth, but he has promised it to every one
of his people. Of his fullness have we received. Heavenly Father, we're thankful
for this time, this place. Thank you, Lord, for giving us
the opportunity to try to preach your word. to exalt our Lord
Jesus Christ above all, because he is the one worthy of all exaltation. Help us as we go forth. Be with
Paul and Walter as they come to try to preach your word. In
Jesus Christ's name we ask, amen.