Jesus Christ. Now, the message
from John chapter 1, verse 14 down to verse 18. And I'm going
to try to cover these five verses. I'm entitling the message from
the words found in verse 16. These three words, grace for
grace. You see those three words? Grace
for grace. In those three words, We see
the whole reason of salvation. The whole reason that any of
us, any of us, love the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole reason
is found right here in these three words. Grace because of
grace. Grace because of grace. The Lord is pleased to reveal
unto us the ground of our salvation, the cause of our salvation, His
grace, and His grace alone. He's called in Scripture, we
read it this morning in 1 Peter 5, verse 10, He is called the
God of all grace. All grace comes from Him, starts
in Him, carried on through Him, and it is eternal in Him. All grace is of God. The only reason for grace, now
this may sound redundant, and it is. The only reason for grace
is grace. Grace. His sovereign favor, that's
what grace is. His sovereign favor. To be gracious
to whom he will be gracious. To have mercy on whom he will
have mercy. We read in Romans chapter 11,
there is a remnant. according to the election of
grace. And if that election be of grace,
and it is, then the apostle says it's no more, it cannot be, salvation
cannot be by works. Now, if it's of grace, and that's
what we read, for by grace are you saved through faith, and
that not of yourself, it's a gift of God. Faith doesn't look back
to self as the cause, Grace doesn't look back to self as the cause.
Grace and faith both are the sovereign purpose of God, the
sovereign favor of God. There is a remnant according
to the election of grace, and if by grace then it's no more,
cannot be works. Salvation as is taught in God's
Word, and that's what we go by. Salvation, as is taught in the
Word and revealed in the Scripture, salvation is all of grace. One hundred percent. All Christ. All grace. One hundred percent. It's not ninety-nine percent
grace and one percent you. It's one hundred percent. One
hundred and ten percent. 1,000% all grace, all Christ
alone. One of my favorite Scriptures.
Well, I said one of my favorite Scriptures. Being justified freely,
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let's go back to verse 14,
and let's try to work our way down to verse 18. And I would
ask for your undivided attention. This is a very vital and important
message that each of us need to get hold of, need to lay hold
of, to hear, to believe, to receive, and to bow unto it. Now, let's
read verse 14, but in reading verse 14, let's start with verse
1. In the beginning was the Word. Do you see that? In the beginning,
when there was nothing but God, God was. And the Word, speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, was with God, and the
Word, now listen to it carefully, the Word was God. Now that tells us something,
who the Lord Jesus Christ is. He is God. Now look at verse
14. And this Word was made something
He was not. The Word was made flesh, and
He dwelt among us. John said, we beheld His glory,
the glory of the only Son of God, of the only begotten of
the Father, and He's full. You know, we're full of iniquity.
We're full of sin. We're full of unbelief. He's
full of grace and truth. He's full of righteousness and
holiness. We know, in verse 14, that this
Word here that was made flesh is none other than God the Son,
the second person in the blessed Trinity. God the Father, God
the Son, God the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ. One of
His many names we find in Scripture. In Revelation 19, He is called
the Word of God. That's one of His many names.
He is the Word of God. Here in this verse we have one
of the clearest statements in all Scripture declaring who the
Lord Jesus Christ is. He is fully and totally God,
eternally God, wholly sovereign, and this same One took to Himself
our humanity. He took on Him what He was not
flesh. Totally and fully God, totally
and fully man, In one person. In one person. Not two people
now. Not two people becoming one. Fully and totally God. Fully
and totally man. Deity, humanity, in one blessed
person. That's why the old timers referred
to the Lord Jesus Christ, and you hear me use this phrase all
the time because it describes His person. He's God-man. God-man. He's a God-man mediator. He took on Him what He was not.
He remained what He was. He never stopped being God. When
He was robed in humanity, veiled in flesh, He never stopped being
who He is, the eternal Word. But He became something that
He was not. Flesh enthralled among us. We
call that, and we use this word, incarnation. Incarnation. It means Taking real human flesh
to His deity. And this was absolutely necessary. God being manifest in the flesh
was absolutely necessary to our salvation. Absolutely necessary
to the accomplishment of our salvation. And I'll tell you
the reason why. God is able to satisfy, but God
cannot suffer. Man cannot satisfy. Can he? Man cannot satisfy. God cannot
suffer. But the God-man mediator both
suffered and satisfied God as our substitute. He accomplished
our salvation. You see, my friend, it is who
He is. Don't ever forget who He is.
It is who He is that gives absolute power and dominion to what He
accomplished. If He's just a mere man, if He's
just a good man, if He's just another prophet who died in Jerusalem
as a martyr, then we have no salvation. That's right. If He's not the God-man mediator,
He's an imposter and we're in big trouble. Big trouble. We better find us an earthly
high priest and we better start raising animals and sacrificing
blood of animals again if we don't have a great high priest
in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, it's who He is that
gives eternal power to what He did. The one who's dying on that
tree. You remember what Pilate wrote? He's the King. of the Jews. He's King of Kings and Lord of
Lords. He dies as a God-man mediator. In Acts chapter 20, these words
are found. God purchased the church with
His own blood. Who's this one who's dying on
the tree? He's God and He is man in one blessed person. Our Lord took into union with
His deity our humanity apart from sin, sinless humanity. That's
why he was virgin born, conceived of God. This union of two natures
in one person is beyond our explaining. How can God, who is infinite,
be confined to a body of a finite baby? And yet, when Simeon the
priest picked up the eight-day-old baby, he said, mine eyes have
seen thy salvation. God who inhabits eternity, inhabits
the body of a man, beyond our explaining, beyond our understanding,
beyond our comprehending, yet He is clearly taught in the Word
of God, and we fully believe it to be so. His deity, though
veiled, was never laid aside. His humanity, though sinless,
was real humanity. Now listen to these scriptures.
In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, made of a
woman. Did you get a hold of that? Made
of a woman. He created woman. Remember? All things by Him were created.
He was made of a woman. Made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. The Apostle Paul, when he writes
to young Timothy, he said, without controversy, great is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. He dwelt among us, and we beheld
His glory. Now, this is just not New Testament
theology. This is just not New Testament
doctrine. This, two natures. Deity and
humanity in one person is taught throughout the Old Testament
Scripture. Did you know that? We read in Genesis 3.15, He's
called the woman's seed, seed of woman, woman's seed. Yet in
Isaiah 9.6, you remember, He's called the mighty God, the everlasting
Father. There's His humanity and there's
His deity. Again, another verse, you remember
in Isaiah 53? This ought to be familiar to you, you who've been
here through our study in Isaiah. He's called the man of sorrows. Right? The man of sorrows. Yet
in Isaiah 7, 14, he's called, it says of him, a virgin shall
conceive and bear her son, and we shall call his name Immanuel. You know what that word means?
Immanuel? It means God with us. God with us. You see, it's just
not New Testament doctrine, is it? It's taught throughout all
the Word of God, His deity and His humanity in one blessed person,
Emmanuel, God with us. Now, one preacher of the past
said this to try to help us kind of grasp this blessed, blessed
truth about the Word being made flesh. And he put it this way. He said, as to the Lord's divine
nature, He had no mother. As to His divine nature, for
He is the eternal God that made woman. Considering His human
nature, He had no earthly father. Mary conceived a child of the
Holy Spirit and brought forth this child. Remember in Isaiah
9 again, a child is born, but a son The child was born, but
the Son was given. Given. So we see again His deity
and His humanity in one blessed person. The Word was made flesh.
Do you see that? So critical. So critical that
you understand who He is. Because it gives total weight
and value to what He did. What He accomplished. And then
furthermore in verse 14 it says, The Lord of Glory, as the God-man
mediator, it says, the Word was made flesh, and He dwelt among
us. Now His humanity was real. It
said in John chapter 14, that He sat down on a well, being
weary in body. Did you ever get that way? You
know He can sympathize with you? He was weary in body. His humanity,
though sinless, was still real humanity. He thirsted. He hungered. He wept tears with a broken heart
when Lazarus stood, when he stood at the grave of Lazarus. He was
a real man, tempted and tested in all points like as we are,
yet without sin. He dwelt among us as a real man
some thirty-three and a half years. He dwelt among us poor
worms of the earth, the Lord of glory. The disciples, it says here,
He dwelt among us and we beheld His glory. We beheld His glory. Turn over here just one page
to John chapter 2. They beheld the glory of all
His miracles. They saw blind men see. They saw cripples actually walk. They saw dead men brought to
life. They beheld His glory. Look what it says here in John
chapter 2 verse 11. This beginning of miracles did
Jesus in Canaan and Galilee at the wedding. When they ran out
of wine, He took those water pots and He made wine from water. and manifested forth His glory,
and His disciples believed on Him." They saw all the miracles,
the glory of all the miracles. They saw the glory of His transfiguration
as He was transfigured before them. Turn back here to Luke
chapter 9. Luke 9. Luke 9.32. When He peeled back, it seems
to me that He peeled back His Humanity and his deity just glistened
brighter than the sun. In Luke chapter 9, Luke verse
28, And it came to pass, about eight days after these things,
he took Peter, John, and James, and went up to a mountain to
pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered,
and his raiment was white and glistening. And behold, there
talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias. who appeared in glory and spake
of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem." They're
talking about his crucifixion. Salvation being accomplished
by his crucifixion. But Peter and they that were
with him were heavy with sleep. And when they were awake, they
saw his glory and the two men that stood with him. They saw
his glory, the glory of his miracle, the glory of his transfiguration.
They saw the glory that was accomplished in his sacrifice for sin. They
saw the glory of his resurrection. He said, I am he that liveth
and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore.
This one who died for the sin of God's people, he said, you
kill this body and I'll raise it up again the third day. They
saw the glory of the resurrected Lord. He said, behold my hands
and my feet, a spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see me
have. He came forth as a real glorified
man. They saw His resurrection glory
and they saw His ascending glory. One day they walked outside the
city, and they watched Him ascend to heaven. They saw His ascending
glory, the glory of His ascension. When He by Himself purged our
sin, He sat down on the right hand of God. Now look back at
John 1.14. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. John said, We beheld His glory.
You know, every believer can say that. Every believer can
say that. We've seen His glory, the glory
of His person. We know who He is. We see the
glory of His salvation being accomplished. We believe Him. We see His glory. We rest in
His beauty, His righteousness. And this is the glory of the
only begotten of God, the only Son of God. The Lord Jesus Christ
as God the Son with the Father being one in essence, perfection,
and glory. He said, when you've seen me,
you've seen the Father. I and my Father are one. Do you ever notice this over
here in John 14? Let's see if we can find it.
John 14. Turn over there. When Philip said, show us the
Father, John 14 verse 8. Do you ever notice these verses
here? Philip said unto him, Show us
the Father, and we will be satisfied. Verse 9, the Lord said, Have
I been so long time with you, and yet thou hast not known me,
Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. How sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest
thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The word
that I speak unto you I speak not of myself, but the Father
that dwelleth in me, he that doeth thee works. He that seen
me hath seen the Father. I am my Father. We are one."
We are one. Now notice something else in
verse 14. The last line of verse 14. The Lord Jesus Christ, as
our Mediator, as our Redeemer and our Savior, the One who dwelt
among us, the One who died for our sin, the One who is the only
one Son of God, the only God-Man Mediator, the only Advocate,
the only Son, He is full. He is full of grace. He is full
of truth. Full of grace and full of truth.
Do you know why He is full? You know why he's full? Because he's full of God. In
him. That's what scriptures teach.
And turn over here to Colossians. We had Colossians chapter 2.
Find Colossians chapter 1. Colossians chapter 1. It says
in verse 17 of Colossians 1, he's the for all things. He is before all things, and
by Him all things consist. He is the head of the body, the
church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things He might have the preeminence. Now look at
verse 19. For it please the Father that
in Him should all, all fullness dwell. We read a moment ago,
in chapter 2 of Colossians, in Him dwelleth all the fullness
of God in a body. All the fullness of God in His
body. All the fullness of God. The
Lord Jesus Christ is the fullness of grace. He's the fullness of
true mercy. He's the fullness of true grace.
He is the fullness of true love. Now let me ask you this. Do you
need grace? Who needs grace? I'll tell you
who needs grace. The guilty. They need grace. Do you need grace? Well, the
fullness of true grace is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's
rich in mercy. He is full of mercy. Do you need forgiveness? Oh,
yes. I'm a sinner. I need forgiveness. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
fullness of true pardon. True pardon is found in Him,
of His fullness. We have grace for grace. You
see, my friend, the point I'm making He is plenteous in redemption. Plenteous in redemption. Now
look at verse 15. John 1 verse 15. John, John the
Baptist he's called. John the forerunner. John the
man sent of God. John had a message. He got that
message from God Almighty. John was sent of God to bear
witness of Him. You see that? To bear witness
of the light. He said this. This is he of whom
I spake, he that cometh after me is preferred, is preferred
before me, for he was before me. Now turn on one page, look
at John chapter 1 verse 30. This is he of whom I spake, I
said after me cometh a man which is preferred before me, for he
was before me. Now again, John declares unto
us in these words, the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
is the eternal God, preferred and superior, and had dominion
over all things. And yet John declares unto us
that the man Christ Jesus came after Him. Now how can this be?
As the eternal God, He has no beginning. According to His humanity
in the flesh, You know, John the Baptist's mother, her name
was Elizabeth, she was a cousin to Mary. You know, John the Baptist
was born six months before the birth of the Christ child, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Look what he says there. According
to the flesh, John came first. According to the flesh, John
was six months older. But the Lord Jesus Christ, He
says, is before me. He is the eternal God. There
again we see His deity declared, and we see His humanity declared. He is God over all things. Now you think of how much preferred
the Lord Jesus Christ is to John. John was a special man. Our Lord
said of John, he that is born of woman, none greater than of
those born of woman, none greater than John. John was a special
man. Son of God. John was a minister
of the New Testament. But compared to the Lord Jesus
Christ, he said, he must increase, I must decrease. John indeed
was a true minister of the Lord, wasn't he? The Lord Jesus Christ,
He was the true minister of the New Testament. The Lord Jesus
Christ is the true mediator of the New Testament. You see, He's
preferred. He's preferred, isn't He? John
was called the Prophet of the Highest. The Lord Jesus Christ
was called the Son of the Highest. John was sent to point men to
behold the Lamb of God in verse 29 of John chapter 1. The Lord
Jesus Christ He is the Lamb of God. You see, He's preferred,
isn't He? He's preferred. We're not following
John. We're following... As a matter of fact, when John
came on the scene, He said, Behold Him. You follow Him. We're pointing
center to the same one John pointed to, the Mediator, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Our message, like John's, is
to bear witness to the light, the true light. Our message,
like John, is to point sinners to the sacrificial Lamb. The Lamb of God. The Lord Jesus. Now look at verse 16. And of
His fullness. Of His fullness now. The fullness
of God. The fullness of righteousness.
The fullness of salvation. The fullness of mercy. The fullness
of pardon. The fullness that we need. And
of His fullness. This is every believer's testimony
of His fullness. Have all we received grace. Now, we don't earn grace, do
we? We don't merit grace, do we? What do we merit? What do
we merit? What do we deserve? The wages
of sin is death. We don't merit grace. We don't
merit mercy. But we have received Mercy, because
of His grace. Grace for grace. This is our
testimony. Because of His fullness. You
see, the Lord Jesus Christ is a storehouse that you can't ever
exhaust. All believers have received,
and they receive all spiritual blessings as the free gift of
God. What do you have, the Apostle
asks this question, what do you have that you did not receive? Now, he says, if you have received
it as a free gift of God, why would you boast? It's the free
gift of God. We boast not in ourselves, but
we do boast. We boast about Him. God forbid
we should boast or glory save in the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ. A man can receive nothing except
it be given of God. All the grace we have, all the
salvation we enjoy is grace. I like to look at it this way,
where it says, Of His fullness have we all received. We've received
grace. Grace stacked upon grace. Heaped upon grace. Grace for
grace. There is an abundance of everything
in Christ Jesus. He has blessed us with all spiritual
blessing in the heavenlies. All spiritual blessing. The fullness
of everything God has for us. Wisdom, redemption, sanctification,
all these things are found in Christ. He's our justification.
In Him, remember we read a moment ago, in Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily and we are, what's that next word? We
are complete. Complete by His grace. We can
receive, we can only receive the fullness of His grace. You
know what has to happen first? We have to be emptied. You know,
if you're full of self, full of self-righteousness, full of
self-pride, full of self-love, there's no room for His fullness.
You have to be emptied. God has to turn you upside down
and empty out who you are before He will fill Himself in your
heart. You ever been emptied? You see,
before God clothes you with His righteousness, you know what's
got to happen? He's got to strip you. I mean,
strip down buck naked. He has to strip you of your self-love,
your self-glory, your self-righteousness. We can only receive His fullness
as we are emptied by His grace. You ever been emptied? I mean,
just emptied. Emptied out of self. I tell you,
He's nigh them of a broken heart. Save us such as be of a contrite
spirit. And here we learn the only reason
for grace is grace. Grace is given, not deserved.
Grace is what's given to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe
through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved.
Remember the Apostle Paul said, I am what I am, I am what I am
by the grace of God. You see, salvation is all of
grace, sovereign grace, sovereign mercy. Now, let's move on. Look at verse 17. Of His fullness
have all we received grace because of grace. Verse 17, for the law,
the law, the holy law of God, Those commandments, those commandments
that God gave on Mount Sinai, when the mountain moved and quaked
and the people said, don't let God speak to us. That law that
thundered, that law was given through Moses. The law was given
with grace and truth. Now the law was truth, wasn't
it? but not the whole truth. Law
was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Grace and truth by the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now stay with me here. God Almighty
giving to us a contrast between law and grace. Between works
and faith. Now the holy law of God that
Moses received It was not the invention of Moses, was it? That
was the law of God. It was given of God, and it was
given to Moses. We read in the Word of God that
the law of God is holy, just, and good. You know what the law
of God says? It demands absolute perfection. It says this, Cursed is everyone
that continueth not in all things which are written in the book
of the law to do them. Now, a lot of people say, well, I'm going
to live by the ten. What does it demand? Absolute
obedience at all times. Word, deed, thought, and motive.
You're going to go that way, you know what you're going to
find? A curse. A curse. Because everyone that continues
not in all things what is written in the book of the law has to
do with it. The law demands perfect obedience. The law of God exposes
the sin problem. But it does not put away sin.
I thought the law of God was given to show the exceeding sinfulness
of sin. You see, the blood of bulls and
goats under the law cannot take away sin. The law was never given
then to justify sinners, was it? You know what the law was
given for? Given to condemn us. It was given
to drive us to despair. It was given to empty us that
we might be filled with Christ. The law by the deeds of the law
shall no flesh be justified. The law of God was truth and
is truth. But you know, it's not the full
truth. It's not the full truth. By the law we read is the knowledge
of sin, but we never read by the law is the knowledge of God
or by the law is the knowledge of salvation. The law reveals
sin, exposes sin, but it does not cover it up. It exposes it. It exposes us for what we are.
Grace and truth. Look at verse 17 again. The law
was given by Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. These two blessed truths are
inseparably joined together forever in Christ. For we cannot have
grace without truth. Nor can we have truth without
grace. Those who reject grace as the
only way of salvation, reject the truth of how God saves sinners. We must have justice satisfied. We must have mercy magnified. Mercy and truth are met together.
Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Where does
all that happen? In Christ crucified. You see
what it says? Verse 17, the law was given by
Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Those who reject
truth, salvation by grace, also reject the grace of God by which
sinners are saved. You see, grace is truth. Grace
does reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ
our Lord. Grace doesn't reign at the expense
of righteousness, does it? Grace reigns through righteousness. I can show you that in Scripture.
I want you to turn and see it with me. Turn to Romans 5. Grace
reigns through truth, through righteousness, through justice
being satisfied. Romans 5, verse 19. Romans 5, 19. For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners, who is the one man? who represented
all men, Adam. And Adam all died, and Adam all
sinned. One man's disobedience, thee
many, were made sinners. Verse 19 of Romans 5. So by the
obedience of one another here, shall many, thee many, be made
righteous. Now who's this one here talking
about? Talking about the Lord Jesus
Christ, the representative, the surety of God's people. Moreover,
the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded,
grace does much more abound. Look at verse 21 now, that as
sin has reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ. Now aren't you
glad that grace does reign through Christ Jesus? I quote that scripture
again to you. justified freely by His grace,
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now here's another scripture,
Romans chapter 8, He that spared not His own Son, but delivered
Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give
us, freely give us all things in Christ Jesus? The true grace
of God in Christ does not ignore the broken law, does it? does
not set aside the broken law, the true grace of God honors
and magnifies the broken law in Christ's crucifixion. Remember
when our Lord said, Matthew 5, I didn't come to destroy the
law, I came to honor the law of God. Paul asked this question
in Romans chapter 3, do we then make void the law of God through
faith? He said, God forbid. He said, we establish it. We
establish it in the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ satisfied
the demands of the law. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law. Galatians 3.13, being made a
curse for us. Now if righteousness comes by
the law, then what? Then it says that Christ is dead
in vain. But my friend, that cannot be.
The Lord Jesus Christ never did anything in vain. He indeed,
in fact, in his death, satisfied God's law in that just penalty. And in his life, every precept
of that law was honored. And in his death, satisfied the
penalty of the law. The guilty must die. Now listen
carefully to this. I'm almost through. Stay with
me. This will be a blessing to you. A contrast between law and
grace. The law of God reveals what is
in men. What does it reveal that's in
us? Sin. The grace of God in the gospel
of God reveals what is in the heart of God. God so loved that
He gave. The law demands righteousness
from men. The grace of God makes men righteous
in Christ Jesus. God made Him to be sin for us
who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. The law sentences men to death. The grace of God brings dead
men to life. The law tells us what men must
do. Thou shalt, thou shalt, thou
shalt, thou shalt not, thou shalt not. The grace of God tells us
what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us to bring in an everlasting
righteousness. The law of God demands payment
for sin. Pay me! You owe me! The guilty
must pay. The gospel of the grace of God
declares, Christ has put away our sin, and he justifies the
ungodly. He justifies the guilty. The
blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. You see, the law only condemns.
The grace of God justifies us. The law is but a shadow. No life
in a shadow, is there? The Lord Jesus Christ is not
a shadow. He's substance. He is salvation. But God, who is rich in mercy
for His great love wherewith He has loved us even when we
were dead in trespasses and in sin. Look at verse 18. No man
has seen God at any time. God is Spirit. The only begotten
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, which is in the bosom
of the Father. You see, I and my Father are
one. Now think about this. When He became flesh, He never
left the bosom of the Father. Which is in, not was, in the
bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. You want to know
anything of God's salvation? Look to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He said in John 14, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the
life. No man comes to God but by me. I tell you what, the revelation
of God's mercy, grace and truth shines where? Where does it shine? In the face of Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ. He hath declared Him. Oh, my friend, we ought to honor,
believe, and worship the Lord Jesus Christ as God our Savior,
full of grace, full of truth. And in Him, in Him, in Christ,
we stand complete.