John 1.1-2
Jesus Christ's Name is used profanely by those who do not believe. I have never heard anyone take Buddha's name or Mohammed's Name in vain. But I have heard a wide array of unbelievers use Jesus' Name in a wrong way. I never heard my name used profanely. Of course neither Buddha or Mohammed or I are God.
I was in the city on Friday and I heard the profanity, along with a street evangelist proclaiming Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven and a group of carolers on the steps of St. Patrick's Cathedral singing about His Birth in Bethlehem. People who do not believe and those who do use His Name.
Jesus was born unlike any child has been born. "We were all were born in the hospital" as the kids in our nursery school told me this week as I spoke to them in chapel.
John,the Apostle of Love wrote this under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He had been with Jesus as an apostle from the beginning. He stood beside the cross and witnessed the ascension. He took care of Mary until she died. He lived to see the Destruction of Jerusalem and was given the Revelation, things that are yet to happen.
The opening of this Gospel are among the most profound words ever penned by a man.
1. He is God. v.1
God's Son
He is the visible expression of the invisible God.
His Name will be called Mighty God.
2. He was with God in the beginning. v.1-2
He created the heavens and the earth. v.3
Hebrews 1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed Heir of all things, through Whom also He made the worlds;
Ephesians 3:9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ;
Revelation 4:11 “You are worthy, O Lord,
To receive glory and honor and power;
For You created all things,
And by Your will they exist and were created.”
Coexistent with God. He is God. He is the Creator. He is God's Son.
3. He was the Lamb Slain from the Foundations of the World. Revelation 13.8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
He came down.
The Light shone in darkness
He is the Light of men. Not just material but spiritual.
John 12:46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
Fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy:
Isaiah 9:2 The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
He came unto His own. Israel-Judah-Galilee-Nazareth
They knew Him as the son of Joseph (which he really wasn't) but not as the Son of God, Who He is. Strife came when He told them Who He was.
Luke 4.16-30
The Word became flesh. v.14
He is the expression of God, so much that He said if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.
And dwelt among us. Unlike the brief visitation of angels, He voluntarily became part of the human family as a baby born in Bethlehem that night.
We have beheld His glory.
That night Bethlehem was filled with a lot of angry people having been forced to make the trip due to the census. To add insult to injury they were in the city of David, their most beloved king and they were descendants of his!
It wasn't a holy or silent night for them. There was a lot of pent up anger and a longing for a Messiah who would free Israel.
So it was then, so it is today...
In the city on Friday, the choir of High School Students singing on the steps of St. Patrick's with horns blasting on Fifth Avenue.
At the Post Office yesterday afternoon, shoppers in the parking lot beeping horns, trying to maneuver. I went in to drop some cards off inside. Wished everyone in line a Merry Christmas and said the folks out there need some Joy To The World!
This is the world into which the Savior was born and the world which He is building His church in today.
He was called the Lamb of God by John v.29
He was slain for our sins. He died to make us holy. The one who made the world can remake human souls.
It was a lamb for a house. Now it is the Lamb for the world.
4. He is Seated now at The Right Hand of God, the Father. Romans 8:34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
He does not condemn us.
He died in our place.
He rose again defeating death.
He ascended to the right hand of God.
He makes intercession for us.
5. He is coming Again. John 14.3
John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
Revelation 22:6-7, 12-13, 20-21 Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
He is the Way, the Truth and the Life
He is the Word, the Life, the Light and the Son.
He is the Reason We celebrate today!
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