SERIES: ADVENT
TEXT: John 1:14-18
MESSAGE: “Knowing God. Being Known By God.”
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“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).” — Matthew 1:23
“The world becomes a strange, mad, painful place, and life in it a disappointing and unpleasant business, for those who do not know about God. Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction, and no understanding of what surrounds you.” ―J.I. Packer, Knowing God
Madeleine L’Engle says: “To be a Christian is to believe in the impossible. Jesus was God. Jesus was human.”
IN THIS TEXT God reveals himself in three ways…(1. He became one of us 2. He lived with us 3. He embodied grace & truth)
1. HE Became one of us (v.14a) “And the Word became flesh…”
”At this point the incarnation, the in- fleshing of the Word, is articulated in the boldest way…John is unambiguous, almost shocking in the expressions he uses.” “…the Word became flesh…” — D.A. Carson
“God chose to make himself known, finally and ultimately, in a real, historical man: “when the ‘Word became flesh’, God became man.” F.F. Bruce
2. HE Lived with us (v.14b) “…and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory…”
“The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.” (Exodus 34:5-7)
3. HE Embodied grace & truth (v.17) “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
“Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” Exodus 33:11
“The flow of the passage and the burden of the book as a whole magnify the fresh ‘grace’ that has come in Jesus Christ.” – D.A. Carson
“…the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.” Exodus 34:35
“He became what we are that he might make us what he is.” – Saint Athanasius of Alexander
TAKEAWAYS: How can I know God?
- Know HIM through HIS Word
“But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
— 2 Corinthians 3:16-17
- Know HIM through prayer
- Know HIS presence is near
“Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” Isaiah 53:11