The Promise Revealed

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Big Idea: The Promise of Christmas is revealed in Jesus—the eternal Son of God, the Word made flesh.

[Introduction]

For the past several weeks, Pastor Brian has been helping prepare our hearts to fully engage with the soul gripping and life-changing promise of Christmas. He walked us through the Old Testament history and imagery that help build our anticipation and celebration.

We saw the promise of Christmas whispered in Genesis 3:15 where God’s curse-word to Satan declared judgment on the tempter as it whispered hope for the tempted.

Then Brian showed us how God’s promise was foreshadowed through the story of Abraham and Isaac where God’s promise of Christmas is born out of a father’s loving heart; will involve a son born to a barren woman; will require a sacrifice and will be a blessing to the whole world.

God’s promise of Christmas was proclaimed in Isaiah. In chapter 9 we were reminded that light makes all the difference. The promise of Christmas wants to shine his light in your life to help you see truth, reveal the meaning of life and illuminate the way to eternal life.

In Isaiah 11 we learned that the only hope we have of seeing the injustices in our world sufficiently punished and completely resolved is through the rule and reign of Jesus—the shoot from the stump of Jesse!

God was purposeful throughout the Old Testament to point to the promises of Christmas. Without Christmas, we are without hope!

Friends, our trees, lights, presents, parties, feasts, cards, ribbons, egg nog and tinsel are meaningless if Jesus isn’t the centerpiece of Christmas. Christmas is precious because God entered the world as a baby. Christmas gives us hope because God came, in person, to save us!

That’s what I want to get into today: I want to talk about the Promise of Christmas revealed. And to do that, we’re going to jump into the New Testament. Please open your bibles to John chapter 1. We’re going to start right there at the top. If you don’t have a Bible with you, then we have ½ sheets with John 1:1-18 printed for you. Please raise your hand if you still need one.

[Read John 1:1-18]

I. Key descriptors of the Word

These verses are rich with descriptions of the Word. The first thing I want highlight is that the Word is Eternal. Notice how John repeats the phrase “in the beginning…” The idea is that the Word was around before anything else—before anything was created. When everything got rolling, the Word was making it happen. Think about Genesis 1:1… “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” The first book of the Bible is about the beginning of creation and God’s interaction with humanity. In today’s text, we read “In the beginning was the Word…He was with God in the beginning.” This passage is rooted in God’s interaction with humanity. The Word is eternal. The Word didn’t just show up one day. The Word was not created. The Word has always been and was involved in the creative process that we read about in Genesis.

John uses precise language to help us understand that the Word is distinct from, and not to be confused with, the Father because the Word was with God (v. 1b). The Word is distinct. Check out the second half of verse 14: “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” This gives us an even more complete understanding: the Word, distinct from the Father, is God the Son.

Which leads very naturally into the last piece of verse 1 and it’s pretty blunt—the Word is God. I’m not sure how someone argues against that, but it happens. Verse 1 says it loud and clear: “The Word is God.” Look at verse 18: “No one has ever seen God, but God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” The Word is not God the Father but God the Son. The Word is eternal, distinct and displays the fullness of God. “The deeds and words of the Son are the deeds and words of God” (Burge, Gary M. NIV Application Commentary, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2000. p. 55).

The Word is also the Creator. God created the heavens and the earth. In John 1:3 we read that through the Word all things were made and without him nothing was made that has been made. Just in case you’re wondering: Everything was created by Him…and that goes all the way back to Genesis. The Word spoke creation into existence.

Stay with me on this because John is making a great case for why the Promise of Christmas is such a big deal. Not only is the Word eternal, distinct, and the Creator, the Word is also the source of life and light. True, fulfilling, robust, purposeful life is found only in the Word. Only the Word can give eternal life. Genuine truth and illumination are found in Him. Only through the Word can one escape the darkness of a sinful heart and mind—the darkness of an eternity separated from God.

John is not saying that the Word is the beam of light that comes out of the sky. The metaphor points to the Word being the source of illumination. Remember: God wants to protect you from danger. He wants to shine his light so that you can see how the enemy is tricking you, to expose the enemy’s lies that are disguised as promises. Only the Word is the source of life and light.

T hough the darkness wants nothing to do with the light, the Word continues to shine into the darkness. And, regardless of the attempts of the darkness, it will never be able to extinguish light. For those of you who know how the story progresses, John is thinking about the cross. The darkness will never extinguish the light!

Look at v. 6. John (the Baptist, not the writer), was sent by God to proclaim the coming of the Light hoping that everyone who listened would believe. John was a walking testimonial about the Light that had come into the world and wanted everyone to know the Messiah who had come to save them.

So, here’s God, the Word, the Creator, the Eternal One, the Life & Light who continually radiates His Presence, and despite personal testimony about Him, the world still refused Him.

II. The world resists the Word (vv. 9-13)

Although the world was made by God and was declared “good” by Him, the introduction of sin into the world by Adam and Eve messed it all up. Now the world is hostile toward God.

The Bible is clear that “…since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood by what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). God’s presence and character are revealed through His creation but the presence of sin clouds our vision. Though the world was made by Him, it is hostile and rebellious toward Him.

You don’t have to spend much time watching TV, reading the paper or listening to the news to grasp that we are born broken and live contrary to God’s will without even trying. If you have children, you know what I’m saying. You didn’t teach your child to be selfish, did you? We’re born with a nature rebellious toward God.

Our broken nature prefers to hide from the Light of God. People have been hiding since Genesis 3. Adam and Eve ate the fruit, heard God walking in the garden and what did they do? They hid from God!

[Illustration]

I’m eleven years older than my brother. When my brother was a toddler, he used to like to “hide” from me and my sister by closing his eyes. He’d run from us, then stop and squeeze his eyes shut. We’d play along by saying, “Where’s Ryan? I can’t see him…” Some of you may be trying to hide from God in the same way.

Look at verse 11. Notice that He, God, the Word, came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him…There are a couple of meanings here. First, His own people, Israel, who should know Him well, refused Him. There was no room in the hearts and lives of His chosen people, much like there was no room at the inn for Mary, Joseph and the coming baby, Jesus. His own people, the ones who cried out to him to save them throughout the Old Testament—these people should’ve known who He was and warmly welcomed Him as Messiah. But they didn’t. Second, humanity in general, despite His presence all around, continues to deny Him and refuses to receive Him. Though we owe our very existence to Him, we stiff-arm Him. We refuse Him and hide from Him. We are hostile toward Him.

[Illustration]

I was born and lived in Portland, Oregon until I was 11 years old. I’ve gone back to visit a few times—drove around the neighborhood I used to live in, looked at the houses my folks rented and the one they bought. I can imagine, with all my fond memories and the history I had in those places, what it would be like to walk up to the front door and knock. I just want to introduce myself to the people who now live there. I want to tell them, “I lived here as a kid. I loved this house. Does the heater still have that weird smell when it comes on? Did you ever find my army men buried under the front porch?” I can imagine what it would be like to have the owners peek at me from behind the curtain and shout, “Go away! You don’t belong here! I don’t want to buy anything. I’ll call the police…”

I’m only going to a house that I grew up in. Can you imagine what it is like for God, who made us and the rest of creation, to come to His own and have us peek from behind the curtain shouting “Go away! You don’t belong here!”?

But, there’s hope! There’s a promise here (v. 12-13). We’ll get to that in a minute. Look at verse 14.

III. The Promise Revealed: The Incarnation. (v. 14)

It’s in verse 14 that the promise of Christmas is fully revealed! God comes to earth as a human being. The word used to describe God with skin on—God-in-the-flesh, God in the Bod—is incarnation. The incarnation is the coming of God in human form. Not ceasing to be God, but taking on humanness as well. Why do I bring this up? Partly because when we sing “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” we sing these words:

“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail th’ incarnate Deity.

Pleased as man with men to dwell; Jesus, our Emmanuel!”

It’s important to know what you’re singing. You’re praising God for coming down. God has made Himself known in a completely unique way.

Listen to what one author says about it:

“…I want to speak of his incarnation. I want to take his thundering power, compress it into the body that was his, place your hand against his skin and, if your mind can handle it, let you know what the touch and the warmth you feel is God himself.

When that first cry was heard from the stable of Bethlehem and into the care of Mary and Joseph came a wrinkled, blood-covered baby, the universe reached its turning point. For the first time, the God and Creator who before had been only heard could now be seen and touched. All that he was now occupied human flesh…approachable, available, vulnerable” (Erwin, Gayle. Jesus Style, YASHUA Publishing, 1997. p. 8).

God became flesh. The eternal, distinct, creative, source of life and light has a name—it’s Jesus! It’s important to know that Jesus didn’t become the Son of God when He was born in Bethlehem…He was always the Son of God…He was always God. Remember the Promise Proclaimed when we looked at Isaiah 9 and it said, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.”? That’s precisely what John has in mind. A child is born: the Word became flesh. The Word became human when He was born in Bethlehem. To us a son is given: the eternal, distinct, creator, source of life & light, Son of God is given to us: 100% God and 100% human. Not 50/50. Not a strange mix of God and ghost, but fully God and fully man. Wow! This is the Promise Revealed. This is the essence of Christmas: the Incarnation! Jesus, our Emmanuel. Jesus, God with us. Jesus, come to save us. Jesus, come to rescue us! This is the Promise of Christmas, friends.

[Tabernacle]

He made his dwelling among us. The Greek Old Testament uses the word dwelling to describe the Tabernacle of God—the tent where God came down to be with His people. It was within the Tabernacle that the glory of God would be revealed. No one just wandered into the tent. In fact, people were afraid to be near God’s glory.

Exodus chapter 40 paints the picture. God’s people were in the desert, having been rescued from slavery in Egypt. God led them during the day by pillar of cloud and at night by a pillar of fire. He gave the Israelites instructions for how to build the Tabernacle and when it was complete this is what happened:

“Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (34-35).

Once, the glory of God was limited to the tabernacle. Now, the glory of God is revealed in Jesus. “We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth” (14b).

The greatest gift to humanity came at Christmas: God Himself. The fullness of God in a little baby—in the flesh. The glory of God no longer limited to a tent, but walking with, talking to, and touching those He encountered.

And the gifts continue…Jesus, the Word, is full of grace and truth (v. 14b). We see it again in verse 17 [Read 17]. So, what’s the big deal? “Grace and truth met in Jesus Christ on the cross. It was for grace, as a gift, that he was dying for your sins and for mine—for everyone in the room…It is truth that says someone has to die for your sins. That’s a law of nature…a law of God” (Larson, Knute (2006). God on the Ground: Preaching Today, 280, [Audio Transcript]). That is a gift! God revealing His glory to the world, willing to come and die in our place to rescue us. Do you recognize him?

IV. Back to the Promise (v. 12-13)

This leads me right back to the promise of hope I spoke about a few minutes ago. It’s found in verses 12-13. Let’s look at that promise together. [Read 12-13]

Despite our rebellion a promise was made: “To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…” (12).

Everyone who recognizes Him for who He truly is: God, the Creator, the Eternal One, the Source of Life & Light, God Incarnate, Jesus. Do you recognize Him?

Everyone who believes and receives Him means to put your active trust in/upon Him. Believe on Him to rescue you from the power and penalty of sin in your life; to save you from the power of darkness. To believe is to personally accept and trust as true who Jesus says He is. To receive is to accept as a gift. How many gifts will you be presented in the next couple of days? How many will you refuse? Jesus presents Himself to you as a gift—to rescue you. Will you refuse Him? Have you received Him?

To everyone who has recognized, believed in and received Him, He gave the right to become children of God. New birth, that’s what we’re talking about. Christmas is the story of God entering humanity by being born as human being. And it’s because of that birth, that you can be re-born—as a child of God.

Being a child of God is not about a bloodline. It doesn’t matter if your whole family has gone to church all their lives. It’s not about whether your grandpa was a pastor. It’s not about whether you think you’re a good person—God is clear when He says there is no one who is righteous, no one’s good (Romans 3:10). It’s not about just deciding to be different. It’s not about passion. It’s about God choosing to pull you close and adopt you as His own because you have chosen to believe and receive Him, to turn to Him as the only One who can rescue you. It’s not about everyone else—are you a child of God?

Do you recognize Him? Do you believe He is who He says? Have you received Him? If so, great! Celebrate that as you unwrap your gifts, and feast, and laugh and sing. But, if you have never placed your trust in Jesus, if you’ve never received Him, then let’s get the party started. Today, this morning, start your new life as a child of God. In the Old Testament people were afraid to draw close to the glory of God in the Tabernacle. In Jesus, the glory of God was revealed in human form to draw close to us. But, you don’t get to enjoy the glory of God if you hold Him at arm’s length. “The glory stays distant until you say, ‘Come into my heart, Lord Jesus’” (Larson). Won’t you do that today?

[Close & Dismiss]

Jesus is the revelation of the whispered promise. Jesus is the promised offspring of the woman. Jesus is the promised foreshadowed Lamb (John 1:29). Jesus is the living proclamation of God’s promise to bring LIGHT into the world. Jesus is the glory of God fully revealed. Jesus is the Promise—the Incarnation. Merry Christmas!