Christmas: The Revelation of God in Christ! John 1:14-18 Introduction: “Here is something marvelous: the Son of God descended from heaven in such a way that, without leaving heaven, he willed to be borne in the virgin’s womb, to go about the earth, and to hang upon the cross; yet he continuously filled the world even as he had done from the beginning!” (John Calvin). Let it sink in for a moment, the God who is, the Great I AM, the One who is so immense as to fill the universe, so awesome as to speak all that exists into being, so powerful as to hold it all together, willfully, purposefully, took the form of a human, and lived in this fallen world among men. He then, though innocent, went to the Cross and died as our substitute, to rescue us from the penalty of sin. In an Advent devotional, in an entry written by Kelly Kapic, she reflected on this awesome truth: “So, is Jesus… [h]uman or divine? Yes! Both are true in one person, this one baby boy. We can imagine God bringing ...
The Incarnation: The Word became Flesh John 1:14 Introduction: As we continue our Advent series this year in the Prologue to the Gospel of John, our focus today will be on a single verse, John 1:14. This is the truth of Christmas in a nutshell, if we can only dig in and bask in the truth it expresses. Our beautiful Christmas music, many other complementary texts, the stories we know and love so well, all illuminate and illustrate this most amazing event, but this verse in itself says more than we can fully comprehend. In the song, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Charles Wesley expressed some of the shocking depth of truth we’ll see in our passage, Christ, by highest heav’n adored, Christ, the everlasting Lord: Late in time behold Him come, Offspring of a virgin’s womb. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see, Hail th’ incarnate Deity! Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel. The Eternal Son, who shared the most intimate fellowship in union with the Father and the Spirit from al...