THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, AND DWELT AMONG US

Text: JOHN 1:1-14

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INTRODUCTION:

1. "In the beginning was the Word…" (John 1:1). This first statement in the Gospel of John takes us beyond the first statement in the Bible – "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).
2. Genesis 1:1 tells of the beginning of creation, but John 1:1 speaks of another beginning, a timeless beginning – a beginning without a beginning, which our finite minds cannot fathom nor comprehend.
3. All things had their beginning, but God has no beginning – He has always existed. The little word "was" (John 1:1) means "existed." In the beginning existed the Word.
4. When we speak of our Lord’s pre-existence we mean He existed way before He was born to Mary in Bethlehem nearly 2,000 years ago.
5. When we speak of our Lord’s pre-existence we mean He was in the beginning, and He has no beginning (cf. Micah 5:2; John 8:58).
6. He has existed in eternity way before Genesis 1:1 and way before John 1:1, back to where there was no beginning because He is the self-existing One.
7. John refers to the Lord Jesus Christ as "the Word." No other writer in the NT uses this term to describe our Lord. I could preach an entire series on this title but that is not my intention.
8. Rather I want for us to focus on John 1:14 – "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." I have a lot on my mind this Lord’s Day. But you cannot know my mind unless I open my mouth and express myself in words. Jesus Christ is called the Word because He is the express image of God, just as the invisible thought is made visible by the spoken word.
9. Jesus Christ is the revealer and interpreter of the mind of God and the will of God. This Christmas, this Lord’s Day, and every day of the year we must exalt Him, and preach Him, and point others to Him.

1. THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH (1:14).

1. We often refer to the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. One thing that I have noticed as a pastor is that oftentimes Christians are familiar with doctrinal words but they are not sure what they mean.
2. For example, I am sure that there are some who have difficulty understanding John 1:1.
3. Our English word incarnation comes from two Latin words, meaning literally "in the flesh" – "the Word was made flesh" (John 1:14; cf. I Tim.3:16).
4. We get many of our English words from this Latin word ("carnal," "carnival," "carnivorous," etc.).
5. The means whereby the incarnation came about is the virgin birth of the Son of God by the Holy Spirit (cf. Isa.7:14; Matt.1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35).
6. Being born to a virgin means that the Lord Jesus Christ was born free from the guilt of sin, free from the pollution of sin, and free from the contamination of sin.
7. This is vitally important, if Christ was not born free from the stain of sin, we could not be saved! Only a sinless Saviour could provide a substitutionary atonement.
8. Not only was the Word made flesh, but He lived a sinless life and died a substitutionary death. And He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and is seated now at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for those of us that are saved.
9. Furthermore, the Word of God is coming back to earth to judge the quick and the dead (cf. Rev.19:11-16).

2. THE WORD WAS GOD (JOHN 1:1).

1. Here is where we part company with many people. Many religious people will accept the fact that "the Word was made flesh," but they cannot accept the fact that "the Word was God" (1:1).
2. But if the Word is eternal, and the Word created "all things," then it stands to reason that the Word was God (1:1-3,10).
3. There is no question but that the Bible teaches the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Isa.9:6; I Tim.3:16).
4. The first part of John 1:1 teaches us that the Lord Jesus Christ is eternal. The second part of 1:1 shows that He is a Person distinct from God the Father, and yet one with Him.
5. The third part of 1:1 declares that "the Word was God" and only a wicked heart of unbelief could teach that Jesus Christ was somehow less than God, when God’s word plainly states that He is God.
6. Listen to the testimony of Thomas (John 21:28). If that isn’t enough, then listen to the testimony of God Himself (Heb.1:8).

3. THE WORD GIVES LIFE AND LIGHT(1:4,5).

1. Many people believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin and that He is God manifest in the flesh. They believe in His resurrection from the dead, the Trinity, and other fundamental teachings of the Bible.
2. They will gather around the fireplace or the Christmas tree or maybe even in a church and sing Christmas carols – but they have never been born again.
3. They cannot see how Jesus Christ gives life. To them eternal life must come through the church and its sacraments, maybe at the baptismal font.
4. Some people believe eternal life comes through good works. They imagine that when they die God will weigh their good works and their bad works, etc.
5. But they cannot believe that one can receive eternal life by just believing in Jesus Christ (cf. 1:12; 3:16-18,36).
6. One night during WWII a father and his small son were walking through the streets of London. Back then people who lost a son in the war put a star in the window. The little boy was impressed with all the stars he saw that night – some houses even had two or three in the window. He asked his father about this and his dad said, "The star means they gave a son in the war." The little boy thought about this as they continued walking. Then he looked up and saw one of the most beautiful stars in the sky, glittering and twinkling way up in heaven. "Look Daddy," he said excitedly. "God must have gave His Son!"
7. This time of year everyone is thinking of gifts (by the way, don’t forget your Christmas gift to God). God has already given us the greatest gift. The prophet Isaiah wrote: "Unto us a son is given" (Isa.9:6). The apostle Paul says, "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift" (II Cor.9:15).
8. And John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave…"
9. And not only does Jesus Christ give eternal life but He is eternal life (I John 5:20).
10. "And the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" (1:4,5). This time of year we see a lot of lights but more and more people are walking in darkness – i.e. spiritual darkness (1:5; 3:18-21).
11. Jesus Christ is "the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9).

CONCLUSION:

1. Two thousand years ago, the wise men from the east saw the light and followed God’s star all the way to Bethlehem (Matt.2:1,2). They were walking in the light.
2. But the chief priests and scribes turned away from the light; they rejected the light. And so they stayed in Jerusalem with wicked King Herod. They remained in darkness.
3. Which way are you going?