If you really wanted to explain to someone that
you loved them and you wanted to tell them how
much you loved them, how would you do that? We're
going to take a little poll and you're going
to have some options and these are your options.
How many of you would buy space on a billboard
to tell them that? How many of you would send
a video to express your love? How many of you
would hire a flower service to deliver? some
flowers with that message. How many would send
somebody else to go and tell them? Number five,
the final choice. How many of you would go and
tell them yourself? All right, number one. Who
would be willing to rent space on a billboard?
Anybody? Kind of creative way. I've seen that
done, haven't you? Will you marry me? It says
there along the highway. Who would be willing
to send a video? Any takers on that one? That's
kind of popular. Most people have video cameras.
Well, what about sending flowers? It's a nice
thing to do. Nice touch. There's a romantic over
here. There's another one and another one. Who
would send an emissary? You would send somebody
else to go and tell them. That's what I feel
about it too. Who would go yourself? You say,
I want to take that message myself. Hey, that's
good. Very good. You know what? That's exactly
what God did. That's exactly what God did. He
chose to come Himself to tell us how much He
loves us, and He chose to do it in a wonderful
way. Not by appearing in some manner that would
frighten us or confuse us or overwhelm us, but
He chose to do it by becoming one of us. The
phenomenon that we call the incarnation. is filled
with awe -inspiring wonder. And it rightly produces
a reverence for God in our lives when we begin
to grasp what it means. Open your Bible with
me to John chapter 1 as we think about the glory
of Christmas and this morning the glory of Christ's
incarnation. John chapter 1 verse 14. The Word
became flesh and made His dwelling among us.
We have seen His glory, the glory of the one
and only who came from the Father full of grace
and truth. Consider with me this morning three
wonders of the Incarnation which disclose to
us the glories of Christ, the wonder of its mystery,
the wonder of its design and the wonder of its
disclosure. First, the wonder of its mystery.
John chapter 1 verse 14 gives us the essence
of it. And what a mystery this is when it says
the word, the logos became flesh, became incarnate.
This is absolutely unique in all of human history.
There is nothing that approaches the substance
of what we read in this verse except here. It
is the claim that God literally, historically,
and genuinely became a human being. When John
writes this, it's not an accident. He's writing
by the inspiration of the Spirit, and as he writes
it, he is addressing one of the false teachings
that was prominent at the end of the first century.
It was called Gnosticism. And among their many
different weird ideas, they had the idea that
all matter, material things, are evil. Spirit
is good. Matter is evil. That was the teaching
of the Gnostics. And so, God, who is spirit and
therefore good, could not become human because
to become human was to become evil. They denied
that Jesus was genuinely human. John addresses
this in beginning his gospel, but I want you
to look back at his first epistle toward the
end of the New Testament because as John writes
this brief book, he addresses it even more forthrightly.
Chapter 1 of 1 John, beginning with verse 1.
Now remember, the Gnostics teach that anything
material is evil. Therefore, Jesus Christ could
not have been a real human being. He appeared
human, but he wasn't truly human. Notice how
John confronts this. That which was from the
beginning. Have we ever seen that before? That's
how he starts the gospel, isn't it? In the beginning
was the Word. Now he says, that which was from
the beginning, which we have heard, which we
have seen with our eyes, which we have looked
at and our hands have touched, was Jesus a phantom?
Did he only appear to be human? John says, with
all of the senses that we have in our human bodies,
we give witness that Jesus Christ, who was from
the beginning deity, that is, the pre -existent
Christ, was literally human. This we proclaim
to you concerning the Word of Life. the life
appeared. We have seen it and testified to it
and we proclaim to you the eternal life which
was with the Father and has appeared to us. We
proclaim to you that we have seen and heard so
that you also may have fellowship with us." John
is emphasizing that with all of the senses of
being a human they perceive that Jesus was just
like them. So again in chapter 4 of this epistle.
He says this, beginning in verse 2, This is how
you can recognize the Spirit of God, says John.
That is, the Spirit of God speaking through someone.
Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ
has come in the flesh, that he's human, is from
God. But every spirit that does not acknowledge
Jesus, is not from God, this is the Spirit of
the Antichrist. So John says to deny that Jesus
Christ is God come in the flesh in true humanity
is to join with the Spirit of Antichrist. The
wonder of this mystery that Christ as the Word
of God became flesh and made His dwelling among
us. I want you to notice in the Gospel of John,
the first chapter, that he puts it in verse 14
that the Word became flesh. Notice the contrast
with verse 1. In the beginning was the Word,
not became the Word, was the Word. The Word already
was when the universe was brought into being.
But now he says, at a point in history, that
same word that always had been became. He became
flesh. As Galatians 4 .4 says, the son was born
of a woman. This was in fulfillment of what Isaiah
the prophet had foretold. shall conceive and
bear a son." The ovum of Mary was united with
its 23 chromosomes to 23 chromosomes that were
male, created by God. United within her womb
in the conception. So that Jesus Christ is the
virgin born. Word become flesh, the mystery of
that. Dr. Arthur Pink says he became what he
was not previously, never ceasing to be all that
he was before. In contrast to his prior appearances
in human history, when he temporarily assumed
the form of man, but was not genuinely human.
Now the Son of God becomes human. This is not
a theophany, an appearance of God, as when He
appeared in the Old Testament, such as to Abraham
in Genesis. But now He becomes human Himself.
What is the mystery of this? Well, beyond the
biological aspect of it and how that could be.
We have the theological aspect. How deity could
be joined to humanity? In church history, as
theologians have tried to explain this, some
false ideas have arisen. And again and again,
the church has risen up to answer those. But
the truth about it can be found in a very simple
phrase and expression. And that expression is,
it was accomplished. The mystery of this union
between God and man was accomplished by what
is called the hypostatic union. You say, well,
let the theologians have that one. Well, they
will. But it's a good one for you to write down
on the margin of your Bible beside verse 14.
Hypostatic. That's a combination of two Greek
words that means when they're put together mean
to stand under something. When it's used as an
adjective, such as hypostatic union, it means
that what we're talking about here is the foundational
union between God and man. And here's how it
is described in one theological dictionary. It
says it is a theological expression that refers
to the dual nature of Christ. God the Son took
to himself a human nature, and he remains forever,
true God and true man, two natures in one person,
forever. The two natures remain distinct without
intermingling, but they nevertheless compose
one person, Christ, the God -man. Now, to some
people that is just theology that blows over
the head. Let me tell you that that is theology
that every Christian ought to be able to express
in his own words. Because what we are talking
about is an absolutely essential doctrine of
the Christian faith. Through this foundational
union, the hypostatic union between God and man,
the Word became flesh. John Walvard, former president
of Dallas Seminary said, though Christ sometimes
operated in the sphere of his humanity, and in
other cases in the sphere of his deity, in all
cases what he did and what he was could be attributed
to one person. Even though it is evident that
there were two natures in Christ, he has never
considered a dual personality. You and I have
one nature, human nature. Jesus Christ had two
natures. He was God, undiminished. He was man
without sin, united in one person. And so we
see sometimes him acting out of his humanity
as when on the cross he said, I thirst. But on
the same cross, we see him acting out his deity
when he says, Father, forgive them. They know
not what they do. Or we see him coming to that
well in Samaria and it says that he sat down
there being tired. There's his humanity. But
a few moments later as God he was telling this
woman who came out of the city of Sychar all
about herself. We see Jesus asleep in the boat.
He was weary from the pressure of all of the
people who had been around Him. And there on
the Sea of Galilee, in the midst of the storm,
He is sleeping because He is man. He grew weary.
But being awakened as God, He stills the storm.
Peace! Be still. And so in this one unique person,
There are two natures, deity and humanity. Isn't
that a wonder? The wonder of the mystery of the
incarnation. You say, why is this so important?
In order to be the mediator between God and man,
Jesus Christ had to fully and perfectly represent
both God and man. And so, being God and man united
forever, he is today the one and only mediator
between God and man. Mary does not qualify. The
saints do not qualify. There is no mediator but
Jesus Christ between God and man because he is
God and he is human. The mystery. The wonder
of the mystery. Consider with me, secondly, the
wonder of its design. Again, in John chapter
1, beginning in verse 15, it says, John testifies
concerning him. Now, this is not the apostle
John. This is John the Baptist. He cries out
saying, this was he of whom I said, he who comes
after me has surpassed me. because he was before
me." What is John expressing here? The pre -existence
of Christ that we studied last week. You see,
John was six months older than Jesus. John had
been in Elizabeth's womb six months when Jesus
was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary. He
was born six months before John. But John says
here, He was before me, and therefore He has
surpassed me, though He comes after me. From
the fullness of His grace we have all received
one blessing after another. For the law was given
through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ. No one has ever seen God But God, the
one and only, who is at the Father's side, has
made him known." Here we have the wonder of the
design of the incarnation. What's it all about?
Well, the Word came to disclose God to humanity.
George Eliot, whose pen was a pen name for Mary
Ann Evans, she wrote these words. Sometimes,
words are made flesh. They breathe upon us with
warm breath. They touch us with soft, responsive
hands. They look at us with sad, sincere eyes,
and they speak to us in appealing tones. They
are clothed in a human soul." Will you take those
words written by George Eliot? and apply them
in a unique way to Jesus Christ. He is the Word,
the very thought of God. He is God telling us
how much He loves us. He is the expression of
all that God is in the warmth of human flesh
and human eyes and human words. That's the wonder
of the design. God is invisible. The essence
of God has never been seen by any man, for man
cannot look upon God and live. The essence of
His glory is so extraordinary and so magnificent
that for a man to look upon it would destroy
him. Even the Old Testament appearances of God.
were veiled appearances of His glory. The glories
of the invisible perfections of God, however,
have now been made visible this time in human
flesh in Jesus Christ so that we can see the
glory of God without being destroyed. We see
it in Him. This verse says that He has exegeted
God. He has made Him known. This same word is
used in the book of Acts. For example, when Paul
and Barnabas were at the council in Jerusalem
in Acts chapter 15, it says that they stood before
these other believers and they narrated the events
of the first missionary journey. They laid them
out in order. They narrated them. Same word is
here. Jesus Christ has laid God out for us so
that we can understand God. We can see God and
hear Him in the warmth of human flesh. Jesus
tells us the story of God's true nature through
His words and works and life. Why did He tell
us this? Well, it's more than for information.
Jesus didn't simply give us this information
so that there could someday be theological seminaries
to dissect God. He gave us this information so
that we might be redeemed. So that understanding
God's love, we might believe on the Son and be
saved. Turn over a page or two in your Bible
to John 3. You know well verse 16. Let's go on
to verse 17. For God did not send His Son into
the world to condemn the world, but to save the
world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is
not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands
condemned already, because he has not believed
in the name of God's one and only Son. Here we
have the wonder of the design of the incarnation.
It was so that we might know God's expression
of love toward us. And having come to understand
that, that we might believe on Him for the salvation
of our souls. And so we have the wonder of the
mystery of the incarnation, the Word becoming
flesh, and the wonder of its design. that God
might tell us the message of His heart that He
wants us to be saved. Thirdly, we have the wonder
of its disclosure. Because you see, what was
initially hidden in that baby born in a manger
was eventually disclosed little by little. You
see, when the shepherds came to the manger that
night in Bethlehem, they did not see a baby there
with a halo around its head like is depicted
in so many pictures and artist concepts of the
evening. When they looked at the baby, they saw
a baby. Now they knew who he was because the
angels have said he is Christ the Lord. But there
was nothing physically about him that would have
said he's something other than human. And the
same is true all the way through his growing
up years. But it came to pass that he began his
ministry at a wedding feast in Cana. And only
John tells us about this occasion. He says the
Word became flesh and he lived among us. And
we beheld his glory. Now look in John chapter
2 for a moment. We won't have time to read about
him changing the water into wine on this occasion.
But that's what he did. And in verse 11, John
puts this comment with it. This, the first of
his miraculous signs, Jesus performed in Cana
of Galilee. He thus revealed His glory and His
disciples put their faith in Him. Jesus now begins
to draw back the curtain just a little bit so
that His glory can be seen. in what he's going
to do. And now John begins to unfold through
carefully selected teachings and miracles that
he draws from the life of Jesus. He unfolds the
glory of Jesus and all the witness to who he
was and the glory gets brighter and brighter
and more apparent and more visible until we come
to John chapter 11 and the climax of his miracles.
It is the raising of Lazarus from the dead Look
in verse 38 Jesus once more deeply moved came
to the tomb of Lazarus By the way as man he wept
here Now as God he is going to raise the dead
Take away the stone he said But Lord said Martha
the sister of the dead man by by this time. There's
a bad odor For he's been there four days And
Jesus said did I not tell you that if you believed
you would see the glory of God So they took away
the stone and Jesus looked up and he said father
I thank you that you have heard me and I knew
that you always hear me But I said this for the
benefit of the people standing here, that they
may believe that you sent me. And when he had
said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, Lazarus,
come out! And the dead man came out, his hands
and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth
around his face. And Jesus said, take off the
grave clothes and let him go. Here we come to
the climax of his miracles. as He presents Himself
as the Word come in the flesh. We've seen His
glory, says John, and here is the climax of that
glory being revealed, and what is the result?
Verse 45 says, Many of the Jews who had come
to visit Mary and who had seen what Jesus did
put their faith in Him. But some of them went
to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had
done. And so they called for a meeting. And what
a meeting it was as they began now to plot the
death of Jesus. You see, they rejected His glory.
It was through that rejection, His suffering
on the cross, His death, and then His own resurrection
from the dead that His glory was fully demonstrated.
He is declared to be the Son of God with power
by His resurrection from the dead. John says
we have seen His glory. The wonder of its disclosure.
For years it was kept veiled as Jesus grew to
manhood. And then, little by little, and increasingly
more, that glory was revealed until in the end,
He stands as the resurrected Son of God, the
Word become flesh, here to redeem the world.
The incarnation was intended finally to reveal
Christ's glory through the cross. What are the
unusual means of disclosure that through this
instrument of suffering his glory might be fully
known? The incarnation veiled his glory in sinless
humanity so that eventually he could fully reveal
his glory through his glorified humanness. And
he stands today at the Father's right hand. He
stands there absolutely unique in all of the
universe. There is no one like Him. He is there
as the God -man. He is glorified man, standing
before God. And He is there as the first fruits,
which means He stands there representing all
of those who believe on Him, guaranteeing that
one day all of those who believe on Him will
be with Him. glorified also in heaven. To me,
this ought to create reverence in our hearts
for God. It ought to require of us an attitude
of trust, surrender, and devotion. It seems to
me that once we grasp the incarnation in its
mystery, in its design, in its disclosure, in
the wonder of it all, that we can never be quite
the same again, understanding what God has done.
He came that He might tell you that He loves
you. Back in 1879 at Christmas time, A reporter
for a Boston newspaper was walking along the
street and he saw three little girls standing
in front of a store window that was full of toys.
One of them was sightless. And her two friends,
one standing on each side of her, were trying
to explain to her what the toys looked like.
Well, this man had never thought before. how
difficult it would be to try to understand what
something looks like that you've never been able
to see. And so the incident caused him to write
an article that became rather famous in that
day in the newspaper. Well, this reporter was
an agnostic, but was assigned a few weeks later
to go to a meeting being held by Dwight L. Moody.
His purpose in going was to hear the evangelist
and to find some inconsistency in his message
that he might exploit. What surprise it was to
him when he heard Moody refer to a newspaper
account of three children. To illustrate a spiritual
truth, Moody said, including the illustration,
just as the blind girl couldn't visualize the
toys, so an unsaved person cannot see Christ.
in all his glory. The man who had written that
very newspaper story, who had come to that meeting
a skeptic and an agnostic, suddenly realized
that he was like that. That he was blind to the
glory of God. And God in that simple way opened
his heart and he received Jesus Christ as his
Savior. You cannot see the glory of the incarnation.
until you know Christ. Would God open your heart
today to see it? To believe on Him so that you
can see it and understand the wonder of it all?
Let's pray. With our heads bowed and our hearts
in quiet reverence before God. Have you trusted
the Savior, my friend? Oh, what God has done
to tell you that He loves you. He sent His own
Son into the world, becoming flesh like us, to
go to the cross and die and suffer for our sins,
be raised from the dead so that we might be saved
from death and sin and see and experience the
glory of God. He did that for you. Will you give
Him your heart today? Will you open your heart
and receive Him as your own Lord and Savior?
As an act of faith, believing Him? I hope you
will right now. Take this moment to do that.
Lord Jesus, I receive you. I understand who you
are and what you did for me. Come into my life.
Save me. and show me the glory of God. And all
those of us who've done that, some of us many
years ago, that the incarnation might be fresh
this Christmas, that the wonder of it all may
touch our hearts anew. Lord, work in us that
it may be so, that we having understood something
of the glory of Christ's incarnation may not
go away the same people as we came in. Amen.