I think this is the biggest Christmas
Day crowd I've ever seen here. There's been many times on Christmas
Day, everybody goes out of town for the most part. I don't know
how many times I've preached to five or six, seven people
it seems like. It's all relative though. I'm
so happy to see everybody here. Would you turn with me to John
chapter one? We're so glad to have Mark and Donna Daniels.
in the congregation with us this morning, it's great to see you
guys here and we'll be looking forward to hearing Mark preach
this Wednesday night for us. I'd like to read verses 14 through
18 of John, chapter one. Beginning in verse 14. And the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt, or tabernacled, 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 fulness 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." Let's pray together. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we come into Your presence in the high and the holy name of
Thy dear Son. And Lord, we ask in His name
that You would be pleased to meet with us and to speak to
our hearts through the preaching of Your Word through Christ Lord,
we ask in his name that we might be forgiven of our sins and that
we might be cleansed of our sins. We ask in his name that you would
create saving faith in each heart here according to your will.
Oh, Lord, how we covet your presence and your blessing in this service.
Truly, we need in vain if we have not your spirit. Now bless
us for Christ's sake. Lord, we ask that Your mercy
might continue to be upon this assembly. And Lord, what we're
asking of ourselves, we truly do ask for all your people wherever
they meet together. And I bless us for Christ's sake.
In his name, we pray. Amen. Now. It's not to be imagined, I'm
sure I can say this to this congregation, everybody will know what I'm
talking about. It's not to be imagined that we attach any scriptural
significance to December 25th as the birth of Christ. But I'm
glad I'm preaching this particular message on December 25th, which
is known as Christmas Day, the day when the birth of Christ
is acknowledged. Some 2000 years ago, Christ was born. The Word was made flesh. Isaiah 9, verse 6 says, Unto
us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. Now,
the son was not born. The son already was, always was. But unto us this child is given. wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in a manger, is God manifest in the flesh. He whose goings
forth have been from everlasting." You know, actually, You can read
verses one and verse 14 together. I think it's very interesting
to take the first phrase of verse one, then the first phrase of
verse 14, second phrase of verse one, second phrase of verse 14.
So let's read it together that way. John, chapter one, verse
one, in the beginning was the word, verse 14, and the word
was made flesh. And then we read and the word
was God. And we read in verse 14, and
dwelt among us. And then we read, no, I mean
the Word was with God, excuse me, and dwelt among us. And the
Word was God, and we beheld His glory. Now, don't those verses
read beautifully together? Now, in this passage of Scripture
I just read, in verse 14, I see the person and work of the Lord
Jesus Christ. In verse 15, I see the witness
of Christ. In verse 16, I see the salvation
of Christ. In verse 17, I see the reason
for our assurance in Christ. And then in verse 18, I see the
reason that God saves. May God give us grace to zero
in on this message and hear what the Lord says. Let's read verse
14 together. And the word was made flesh. Now, the Word that was made flesh,
spoken of in this verse of Scripture, is the same Word described in
verses 1 through 3. Look in verses 1 through 3 once
again. 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. Now, this
is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Word. And
the Word was made flesh. He never ceased to be what He
was. God, the Word, He never ceased to be what He was, but
He became what He was not. The Word was made flesh. And what a stoop! What a condescension! The Word, Emmanuel, God with
us, was made flesh. Infinite greatness takes the
position of lowliness. Infinite greatness takes the
position of lowliness. Omnipotence and sovereignty takes
the place of a lowly servant. That's what happened when the
Word was made flesh. One writer said this, and I say
this with reverence, quoting this man, Deity never appeared
so glorious as it when it hung upon a young virgin's breast. I want to repeat that. That struck
me so much. Deity never appeared so glorious
as it did when it hung upon a young virgin's breast. The Word was
made flesh. Now, we have to ask this question,
why was the Word made flesh? We read the Word. God the Word
became flesh. He took upon Him all the limitations
of the flesh. All the limitations that you
have as a man or a woman, He had. The Word, the eternal Word,
was made flesh. Now, why was the eternal Word
made flesh? God, the Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ, who at one time did not have a body, a physical body,
yet in time, some 2000 years ago, he was made flesh. Why was
the Lord Jesus Christ made flesh? What was his purpose in doing
this? Well, for you and I to be saved, the word had to be
made flesh and dwell among us. You see, flesh must keep God's
holy law. In the flesh, he kept God's holy
law. Flesh sinned. Flesh must die. In the flesh, he died. and satisfied the demands of
God's broken law as the sinner's substitute. Now, as God, He couldn't
die. God can't die. God's spirit.
God's immortal. God is incapable of dying. But,
and the flesh, He died. The God-man died. Explain that? I couldn't begin to. Believe
it? I certainly do. The God-man died in the flesh,
suffering the wrath of God as the sinner's substitute and satisfying
all the demands, everything God required, he satisfied. Why was he made flesh? Only as
flesh can he truly be touched by the feeling of our infirmities.
And do you know that he actually is touched by the feeling of
our infirmities? You know those feelings of infirmities
you have, weakness, sinfulness? You know when the Lord Jesus
Christ observes you in those feelings that you have, the scripture
says He's touched. He's moved to sympathy by that,
because He was and is flesh. And there's nothing that you've
experienced that He hasn't experienced already, even much more acutely
than you have, as the God-man. Only as flesh can he be touched
by the feelings of our infirmities. In the flesh, he left us a perfect
example that we should walk in his steps. And in the flesh,
he accomplished our salvation. That is why the Word was made
flesh. Now, let's go on reading. And
the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And that word dwelt
is literally tabernacled among us. And I don't have any question
that this is an allusion to the Old Testament tabernacle. And
you can remember the outstanding characteristic about that tabernacle.
If you would have been standing up on a hill and looking down
at that tabernacle, and you would have seen the camp of Israel
gathered around that tabernacle, you would have thought, what
did they see in that place? It was covered with badger skin.
Now, that's about the plainest, most unimpressive looking skin
you'll ever find, badger skin. Why in the world was it not decked
out with gold on the outside? Well, that picture is the humanity
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Bone of our bones, flesh of our
flesh. If you would have seen Him, there was nothing spectacular
about Him that would have impressed you. Just a man. The Word was
made flesh and tabernacled among us. But what was on the inside
of that tabernacle? The very Shekinah glory of God. What a picture we have of the
Lord Jesus Himself. The Word was made flesh. and
tabernacled among us. And look what John says next.
He says, and we beheld his glory. And John is speaking as the representative
of every believer. If you're a believer, you beheld
his glory. Now, you might not have seen
some light shining, but you beheld his glory. If you're a believer,
he's speaking as a representative of every believer. He says, we
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. Now, this is one of five times
this title is used in the scripture, the only begotten of the Father. And generally, when we read a
word like that, we'll think of something that has to do with
birth. I'm begotten. There was a day, there was a
time, there was an instance when I was begotten. And some people
have used this verse of scripture to say that Christ is not eternal.
There was a time when he was begotten. But you know that it
doesn't mean that. title, the only begotten of the
Father, indicates that as the Son of God, he was the only and
sole representative of the being and the character of the one
who sent him. Now, I want to repeat that. As
the only begotten of the Father, he was the sole and only representative
of the being and character of the One who sent Him." You see,
this beginning that we read of here does not speak of a time
when He came to be. He's the Eternal Son. This beginning
is not an event of time. It's a fact, irrespective of
time. That Christ did not become, but
necessarily and eternally is. the Son of God. At all times,
He is the only begotten of the Father. When God makes Himself
known, when God speaks, do you know what comes out? Christ. He is the only begotten of the
Father. He is the only representative
of the being and character of the One who sent Him. He, a person,
possesses every attribute of pure Godhead. Do I understand this? No. Do I believe it? With all my
heart. John says we beheld his glory.
That means several things. And remember, when John said
we beheld his glory, every believer's beheld his glory. We beheld his
essential glory. That's his glory as God. If you've
seen Jesus Christ spiritually, if you've had a sight of Him,
you know He's God. And He demonstrated this when
He walked upon the earth. All He had to do is will something,
and it came into existence. He could bring something into
existence that was not there before. He had creative power.
He raised the dead. He demonstrated He was God. We see His essential glory as
God, and we see His moral glory as the perfect man. There is
one holy man. The Lord Jesus Christ, the only
holy man to ever live. And you think of you think of
the moral perfections of Christ. And here's what came to my mind
when I thought about about the moral perfections of Christ.
Of course, we know he never lusted or never had a proud thought
and all that kind of stuff. But we know that he never seemed
in his person. But here's something that really
is touching to me to think about. We read of the meekness. And
the gentleness of Christ. Now, he said, I'm meek and lowly
in heart. Now, if I had the power he had,
would I be meek and lowly in heart? No, I know I wouldn't
because I have a sinful nature. And if I had omnipotence, I would
just make sure everybody did exactly what I wanted them to
do. And I just control things the way I want them to control.
But the Lord Jesus, he who actually possesses omnipotence as God,
is called meek and lowly in heart. Isn't his character lovely? the
character of the Lord Jesus Christ, and what a wonderful thing to
think one of these days I'm going to be exactly like Him. What
could be more wonderful than that? To be perfectly conformed
to the image of Christ. We beheld His moral glory as
the perfect man. We beheld the glory of His offices
as prophet. What a prophet He is to bring
God's Word to us. What a priest he is to represent
us before God. Our brother, when he was praying,
he was praying. We pray this in that intercessory
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know that the only way our
prayer can be heard and the only way we can be represented by
God is for him to represent us. What a priest he is. What a king
he is to rule and reign over us. We beheld his glory. the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, then he says next, full of grace and full of truth. Now, here is a wonderful description
of our Lord Jesus Christ. The scripture says he's full
of grace. Now, what's grace? Unmerited favor. Listen to me,
my friend. God does not need to find a reason
in you to give you grace. What if he had to find a reason
in you to give you grace, would you give any? No, not if he had
to find a reason, but he gives grace because he's full of grace. I love that passage of scripture
in 2nd Corinthians chapter 8, verse 9. As a matter of fact,
hold your finger there in John 1 and I'd like you to look at this
with me. 2nd Corinthians chapter 8. I remember this first verse speaks
of the person and work of Christ, the word made flesh, the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, now full
of grace. Look at this description of our
Lord in verse nine. And he says this to every believer,
he says, for, you know. And this is something, you know,
you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he
was rich. Yet for your sakes He became
poor, that you through His poverty might be rich." You know the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, and
you think of the riches of Christ. Rich in possessions. He owns
everything. Rich in power. He has the power
of omnipotence. All He has to do is will something,
and it takes place because of who He is. Rich in praise. He had the angels falling at
His feet. Rich in righteousness, the darling
of the Father. The Father testified to Him,
because thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore,
God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness
above thy fellows. Who can describe the riches of
the Lord Jesus Christ? But though He was rich, the Scripture
says, for your sakes He became poor. He became poor in possessions.
Scripture says he had nowhere to lay his head. You know, the
Lord was a... The Lord didn't own any property. You know, the
Lord never had a home to go home to, as you and I do, when He
was in His earthly ministry. He'd have to go wherever He could
find a place to lay down. He became poor in power. He took
upon Him all the limitations of the flesh. Every limitation
you have. He had. He became poor in praise. He became hated. He became the
butt of jokes. Most especially, He became poor
in righteousness. On the cross, He was literally
made to be sin. That's why He can be touched
by the feelings of our infirmities. He knows what it is to be made
to be sin. Do I understand that? Of course not. Do I believe it?
Absolutely. He was made to be sin. All that
sin is, He was made to be on Calvary's tree. You know the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet
for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty
might be rich, full of grace and full of truth. Let me say
this regarding this statement. I love this statement. He's full
of grace and He's full of truth. Grace is the truth. Grace. is the truth. Now remember how
he said, I came to bear witness to the truth. He said that in
John chapter 18, I think it was verse 37. I came to bear witness
to the truth. You find the truth when you see grace hanging. He is grace. The grace is poured
from his lips. You want to find out the truth.
You want to know the truth. You look at that one hanging
on the cross and you'll find the truth. You want to know the
truth about yourself. You know, there are times in
my experience when I feel so very sinful. I feel like I can't
even lift my head up. I feel ashamed to even breathe
God's air. There are times when I feel that
way. There are times when I don't feel much of anything. I mean,
I just don't feel a thing. I don't necessarily feel convicted
of my sin. I know I ought to be, but I don't
feel much. And you know, I don't determine my state by how I feel,
whether I feel real bad or whether I'm feeling nothing or whatever.
That's not how I determine my state. Here's how I know what
I really am. Take a look at the cross. The
one time that this is the description of you, please listen carefully.
This is the description of you and me. The one time God took
the restraints away and let men do what they wanted to do. Left
them to themselves, left them to their own free will, as it
were. The one time God took the restraints away and let men do
what they wanted to do. What did they do? They nailed
God to a cross. That's their thoughts of God.
And that demonstrates the sinfulness of man. You want to know the
truth concerning yourself? Look to the cross. You want to know
the truth concerning God? Who He really is? What He's really
like? All of His glorious attributes are made manifest in the cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything God is, is made known
in the cross. Is God holy? Does God really
hate sin? Go to the cross and you'll find
out. Is God truly merciful? Does He really delight in showing
mercy to poor sinners? You go to the cross and you'll
find out. Every attribute of God, His wisdom, His justice,
His sovereignty, every attribute of God is fully displayed in
the cross. You want to know the truth regarding
God? You look at the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ as He hangs
on that cross, becoming poverty for us that we might be rich
through Him. You want to know the truth of
salvation? You look at the cross and you find out He is salvation.
He Himself in His person is salvation. Grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. He's full of grace and truth.
Now, let's look at verse 15. This speaks of the witness of
the Lord Jesus Christ, John, but this is a summary of every
true gospel witness. Verse 15, John, bear witness.
of him. Now there's a summary of John's
ministry. John bare witness of him and cried saying, this was
he in whom I spake. He that cometh after me is preferred
before me, for he was before me. Now you'll remember that
John was six months older than the Lord Jesus Christ physically.
Yet John says he was preferred before me. He speaks of the excellency
and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. He speaks of his deity when he
says he was. He's always the great I am. He
was before I was ever around. He speaks of his excellency and
his deity. Now, this is a very simple point. Here's the job of the gospel
witness to bear witness of him and listen to me when I'm preaching
to you. I'm bearing witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. This one
I've been describing in verse 14, I'm bearing witness to it
as somebody who has seen him. No, I haven't seen him physically,
but I've seen him in his word. And I believe what I'm preaching. If I can't say anything else
about my preaching, I'd say this, I believe what I'm preaching.
I'm bearing witness to him. That's the purpose of the witness.
It's not to play church. It's not to have a religious
organization. It's to bear witness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now,
let's go on reading verse 16. This verse speaks of his salvation.
And of his fullness. Have all we received. And grace
for grace. Now, there's such fullness in
this verse that I despair of bringing it out, but let me give
it a shot. Of His fullness have all we received. Now, what's he talking about
when he talks about of His fullness, of His fullness have all we received?
Well, he's talking about that fullness that was described in
Colossians chapter 2, verse 9, when it says, In Him, the Lord
Jesus Christ, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead in a
body. Now that's the fullness he's
speaking of. Colossians 1.19 says, It pleased the Father that
in Him should all fullness dwell. Now that's the fullness the Scripture
is speaking of. The fullness of the Lord Jesus
Christ. In Him there's fullness of deity. All that God is in the vast expanse
of His complex person, and I don't even know what I'm talking about
when I say that. Oh, whatever God is, whatever God's made of,
God's substance, it all dwells bodily in the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead in a body. In Him there's a fullness of
perfect manhood. You want to know what a real
man really is? You won't find out by looking
up here or right here anywhere. You'll find out what a real man
is by looking at the Lord Jesus Christ. The man of men. The perfect man. The God-man.
The Lord Jesus Christ. There's a fullness of perfect
manhood in Him. There's a fullness of atoning
efficacy in His blood. Listen to this Scripture. The
blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from... What's the next word? A double
L, all sin. There's a fullness of saving
efficacy in his blood. In him, there's a fullness of
justification. Now, remember, justification,
if God justifies you and if you're a saved individual, that means
God's justified you. He's declared you to be just
and justification means not guilty. It's a whole lot more than just
as if I never sinned. If I'm justified, I never sin.
In Christ Jesus, there's fullness of justification. And this is
where our confidence comes from. My confidence that God will accept
me is because there's fullness of justification in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Romans 8, 1 says, there is therefore
now no condemnation. None at all. No condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. There's a fullness of intercession
in Him. Hebrews 7.25 says, Wherefore,
He is able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by Him. And
you know, that's how I'm coming to God right now. I'm pleading
only His name. Lord, have mercy on me for Christ's
sake. Oh, Lord, let me be found in Christ. I plead no other name. I plead nothing about myself.
I don't say, well, I'm a preacher or I've done this. No. One reason. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There's a fullness of intercession in His name. Wherefore, He's
able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by Him, seeing
He ever liveth to make intercession for them. There's a fullness
of victory in His death. Listen to His last words right
before He died. It is Do you know that God's wrath
was completely spent out? He has nothing to be angry about. In Christ, He has nothing to
be angry about. It is finished. All the salvation, everything
that that means, is totally accomplished. There's fullness of victory in
his death. There's fullness of saving power
in his resurrection. We read again that he was raised
for our justification. There's fullness of blessing
in him. Listen to this scripture. Ephesians 1.3 says he hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
That means I've got every one of them right now. It's not something
I'm reaching out for. Not something I don't have yet.
All that God has to give I have in its fullness in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And I believe that by faith.
You know, believe me, when I'm talking to you right now, I feel
all kinds of lack, all kinds of needs and so on. But I do
believe by faith that I have all the fullness of God's blessings
in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a fullness of grace.
There's a fullness of grace to pardon. There's fullness of grace
to give life. There's fullness of grace to
comfort. There's fullness of grace to
cause me to persevere and to be preserved. There's fullness
of grace in him because of his fullness. Turn to Colossians
2. Colossians, chapter two. John says of his fullness, have
we all received Colossians, chapter two, verse nine. In him. dwelleth all the fullness of
the Godhead bodily, verse 10, and you are complete in Him. You. Anybody who pleads only
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that's who that you is. And you
are complete. In here. Now in this verse of
scripture, verse 16, we also have our confession of faith.
Of his fullness. Have all we received. All we have is that which we've
received. And it comes from his fullness.
All we've received here in this thing of salvation. We're receivers. We're not givers. We're receivers.
All we have. And I know I can say this to
every believer, and they'll give their amen to this. Don't you
know that what you have is what you received? It's what He gave
you, the faith you have. Where did it come from? Did it
come from an act of your will, or did it come because He gave
it to you? The repentance you have, where'd that come from?
The life you have, where'd that come from? Who maketh thee to
differ from another? And what hast thou that thou
hast not received. Now, if you received it, why
do you glory, Paul says, as if you didn't receive it? All we
have, we've received of his bounty. And notice the way he says this
in verse 16. Of his fullness have all we received
and grace for grace. This is what all of God's people
do. We're all receivers and we receive of his fullness. And
there's only one way that you can receive of his fullness. You know what way that way is? The only way you can receive
of His fullness is in your emptiness. Now, let me repeat that. The
only way that you and I can receive of His fullness is in our emptiness. If we have anything over emptiness, we can't receive of His fullness.
I'm going to have to be an empty glass before I can receive of
His fullness. And if I've got anything in me
at all that can recommend me to God, I cannot possibly receive
of His fullness. Receiving of His fullness is
the empty hand of the beggar receiving charity. Nothing, the
songwriter said, nothing in my hands I bring simply To thy cross
I cling. Look back at verse 12. Now, remember,
it says of his fullness have all we received in grace for
grace. Well, what does it mean to receive? Look back at verse
12 of John 1. But as many as received him,
everybody in this group that received him, they received his
fullness, they received his person, they received his salvation.
to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." What
is it to receive his fullness? It's to believe on his name.
Now, I've got a very simple question for you. Please listen very carefully. Do you believe that the name
of Jesus Christ is all that is needed to bring you into glory? Do you really believe that? Do you really believe that salvation
is holy for his namesake and no other reason? Let me show
you scripture in Psalm 106. Verse six, the psalmist makes
this confession. Psalm 106, verse 6. We've sinned
with our fathers. We've committed iniquity. We've
done wickedly. Our fathers understood not thy
wonders in Egypt. They were spiritually stupid
people. And they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies.
They were an ungrateful people. But they provoked Him at the
sea, even at the Red Sea. They were provoking people with
their sin, and we're just like them. Verse eight, nevertheless. In spite of this confession regarding
us, nevertheless, he saved them. Why? For his namesake. That he might make his mighty
power known, be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another. even as
God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. Do you really believe that
it's not your works but His works only? Are you willing to be saved by
Him only with no credit going to you of any kind? Are you willing to be saved that
way? Are you willing to be nothing more than the empty glass receiving
his fullness? Are you willing? I don't care
what size your vessel is or how great your need is. It needs
only to be empty. It's only in my emptiness that
I can receive his fullness. Colossians 2, 7 says, As you
receive Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk ye in him. How do you
receive him? You received Him in your emptiness, didn't you?
Actually, you received the Lord Jesus Christ. When you received
Christ, you had nothing else. You didn't have any experience
to look to. You didn't have any past to look to. You didn't have
any future that you could look forward to. You were an empty-handed
sinner. As you received Christ Jesus,
the Lord, so walk ye in Him. You know, it's easy. You can
only believe on Christ as a sinner. That may sound simple, but it's
true. You can only really look to Christ as a sinner. And the
moment you get an inch above that, you've left Christ. It's
only in my emptiness that I receive His fullness. We're made partakers
of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to
the end. And look at this last phrase of verse 16. Of His fullness
have we all received and grace for grace. You know what that
means? I can be real simple and tell
you exactly what it means. Grace comes because of grace. You receive grace because he's
gracious. And it takes the grace of God to receive the grace of
God. You won't even receive it unless he gives you the grace
to receive it. That's how desperately needful we are of his grace.
You know, there are people, no doubt, listening right now that
this doesn't really mean anything to them. Well, God hasn't given
you the grace to receive it. And you're just following your
own inclinations. But if you receive this grace,
you know why you receive it? He gave you the grace to receive
it. Grace for grace. It takes grace for grace. Now,
look at verse 17. Now we're given the reason for
our assurance of His grace. Verse 17, for the law was given
by Moses. But grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. Now, the law was given by Moses. Now, you know that God inspired
Moses to write the law. And this wasn't just the invention
of Moses's pen. And when he's talking about law,
he's talking about what God gave Moses on Mount Sinai. He's talking
about the Ten Commandments. He's talking about the moral,
the civil law. The law can be summarized by Anything that you
do that makes salvation dependent upon what you do. And that's
a summary of law. Now, we love God's holy law.
I wouldn't in any way speak disrespectfully of God's holy law. I love God's
holy law. It reflects His holy character.
I love the Ten Commandments. I really do. I love every one
of them. I love God's holy law. But notice how John says this.
He says the law was given by Moses. I know that God inspired
Moses to bring the law. But yet it says the law was given
by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Now, the
Holy Spirit says it this way. The law was given by Moses, but
grace and truth come by Jesus Christ. Now, the law is true. Everything in the law is absolutely
true, but the law is not the truth. If I tell you that which
is true and everything I say is true, but I hold back something,
have I told you the truth? Remember, in a court of law,
you're called upon to tell the truth. What next? The whole truth
and nothing but the truth. The law does not tell the whole
truth concerning God. The law doesn't tell us that
God is merciful. The law doesn't tell us that God is gracious.
The law doesn't tell us how God can be just and yet justify the
ungodly, does it? Now, we love God's law and we
would never speak disparagingly of God's law. Yet this passage
of Scripture says the law was given by Moses. But. Grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. Law manifests what man is. Sin. Grace manifests what God
is. Love. The law doesn't manifest
that, does it? Law demands righteousness for
men. Grace makes men righteous. Law sentences a man to death. Grace gives a man life. Law speaks of what man must do
for God. Grace tells us what God has done
for men. Law gives the knowledge of sin. If you can look at God's law
and see anything in yourself but sin, you haven't seen it,
because what the law does is bring the knowledge of sin. Grace
puts away sin. Law condemns. Grace saves. Grace is the truth. The law was given by Moses, but
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And it comes only by
Jesus Christ. We receive of his fullness because
of the grace that's in Jesus Christ. Now, here's why I do
receive of his fullness. Because the law. Not going to
save anybody. It was given by Moses. But grace
and truth comes by Jesus Christ. And grace is the assurance and
the cause of us receiving all the fullness of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And finally, in verse 18, we
find why God does what he does, why he saves in this manner.
Verse 18. No man has seen God at any time. God's Spirit You can't see spirit. It's impossible. Somebody that
says they've seen God is lying. No man has seen God at any time,
under any circumstance. No man has seen God at any time.
That's the testimony of Scripture. The only begotten Son, which
is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him or uncovered
him or made him known or made him manifest. Here's why God
does what he does to make himself known. Now, what could we know
of the true character of God without the grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ? What could we know? Now, here's
an amazing thing. Sin is such an evil thing. What
good can you say about sin? Think of the sin that's in your
heart. Think of the grief and the trouble sin brings into this
world. What a terrible thing sin is. But what could we know
of the character of God if there were no such thing as sin? What
could we know of His mercy? What could we know of His grace?
What could we know of His loving kindness if there was no such
thing as sin? I'll tell you why sin was in
the world. God allowed it. Is God the cause of sin? No!
No, He's not. Does God allow sin? Absolutely.
Does God sin? Of course not. Did God allow
sin to come into the world? That's the only reason He came.
And it's all part of His glorious purpose to make Himself known,
to uncover Himself. The law was given by Moses. Grace
and truth came by Jesus Christ. And no man has seen God at any
time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the
Father, always in the bosom of the Father, He hath uncovered
Him. You know, I'm looking at some
people right now to whom God Himself has made Himself known
and uncovered Himself through the preaching of the gospel.
Isn't that amazing? Our Lord. Turn to John 14. I identify with Philip's Stupid
question here in verse 8. Philip saith unto him, and how
dull his words seem, Lord. Show us the Father. And we'll
be satisfied, it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him. Have I been so long time with
you? And yet has thou not known me,
Philip? Couldn't he say that to us pretty
clearly? Have I been so long with you,
and yet hast thou not known me? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." Now, can words be any stronger?
He doesn't say, he that has seen me, it's just as if he's seen
the Father. He says, he that's seen me hath seen the Father. How sayest thou then, show us
the Father?" You know what our Lord is saying? And I say this
with reverence. You're looking at Him. All we'll
ever know of the Father is Jesus Christ the Lord. All we'll ever
know of God is Jesus Christ. All we'll ever see of God is
Jesus Christ. who is in the bosom of the Father,
he hath made himself known." Aren't you grateful the Word
was made flesh? No, we don't attach any importance
to December 25th. You know that. I don't need to
go on a crusade about that. But you know, I am thankful that
men are made once again to face the fact that Jesus Christ was
born into this world. and that the Word was made flesh
and dwelt among us. Let's pray together. Lord, in the high and holy name
of Thy Son, we give thanks that the Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. How we thank You for the salvation
that's in Him. And Lord, we ask in His blessed
name that you would take this word and bless it for your glory
and for our good. In Christ's blessed name we pray.
Amen. Let's sing hymn number 93. We'll
stand and sing. Paul, if you'll leave us in that. I love this hymn. It's called
The Christmas Carol, but it's something that needs to be sung
all the time.