John 1:14

God became a man. How did He do this? Find out on this episode of Daily Delight.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

All right. Turn in your Bibles if you would, please, to John chapter 1. And we're going to read verse 14. The Bible says, And the word was made flesh that dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And uh we've been talking about this theme of meeting Jesus and making him known to others. And you find in John chapter 1 that uh John is introducing us to the Lord Jesus Christ, and we saw that uh we met Jesus as the Word in verses 1 through 3, and we saw the time of the Word that He was in the beginning. In the beginning was the Word, and the same was in the beginning with God, and of course the Word was God. Uh we saw the title of the Word, He's called the Word, and uh the things of the Word. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. And then we met Jesus as the light in verses four through Ten. And uh John introduced Him as that and uh and all those things And then I want you to look at verse 14 with us today in uh John chapter 1 verse 14 again it says And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us We beheld His glory, the glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Father, we thank you for this time in your Word. Ask you'll bless it, Lord. I pray for those that listen. I pray that you'll speak to their hearts, Lord, wherever they may be. Lord, I pray that you would make this truth real to them, and that you would bless this time in your word now in Jesus' name. Amen. I want you to notice as we meet Jesus in the flesh in verse 14 uh again what it says, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. I want you to notice, first of all, as we meet Jesus in the flesh, that he became a man. And that's what I mean by that when I say meeting Jesus in the flesh. But it says, and the word was made flesh. And uh, you know, I I think uh I think if you'd have asked me this 20 years ago when I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I don't know that I could have explained it uh that the way that I can now. I feel like I understand it uh a little better. But God gave a word in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15, and the Bible says, And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. That's really the very first reference that we have that God would prom promised to give a Savior. And uh when that's what that's speaking of when it says that, well, first of all, that he would be born the seed of the woman, uh that, but that he would bruise the serpent's head, and the serpent would bruise his heel. That is the first promise that we have that God was going to send someone to save us from that uh enemy uh of Satan. And that word that God gave, that promise that God gave, and that promise it unfolds as you go through the Bible. Uh, the book of Revelation is the seed promises that we have. And as we read through and study the Bible, those seeds begin to blossom, they begin to unfold, and uh God kind of expounds on those promises that he gives, and we're able to understand those better. And when we get to John chapter 1 and verse 14, we find out the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. In other words, that word that God gave, God made a promise that he was going to send someone to bruise the head of the serpent, and that the serpent would bruise his heel. Uh that was the word became flesh. When Jesus Christ came to this world, uh that word, that promise, the one that would bruise the serpent's head, Christ, came into this world. He was given a body, as I'm going to show you here in just a moment from several passages of scripture, but he became a man. Uh it says again, and the word was made flesh. That word made, it means to cause, to be, uh, to become. Uh I wished I'd have written the psalm down, but there's one of the psalms that says, and it's a messianic psalm. In other words, it's a psalm that's speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ and future things that he would do. And it says in that psalm, and it's him speaking, a body hast thou prepared me. And uh God was, he made himself a body to come into and uh to come into this world. And so that we, so that why, again, remember last time we talked about how he came into his own, and his own received him not. Uh, and that in verse 10 he was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. Why did he come into this world? Because he wanted them to know him. He wants us to know him, and that's why we have this message today. But he became a man. The word was made flesh. This is John's version of what we call the Christmas story of Jesus. Uh, how did Jesus become a man? I want you to notice it was by birth. Uh in Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14, again, this is part of that unfolding promise that of the seed of the woman, that uh Christ would come into the world and bruise the head of the serpent. And uh that's in reference to the virgin birth. And I want you to notice what Isaiah 7.14 says, which of course is about the virgin birth. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. And there are some versions of the Bible, uh, perversions of the Bible, that just say a young woman shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Emmanuel. Uh listen, there's nothing nothing miraculous uh about a young woman uh giving birth. That is uh it is a miracle in the sense of it's amazing to see and that God designed it that way. But for a virgin to conceive, this would narrow it down to a very specific person. And of course, we know that that was Mary, which we'll see here in some verses uh ahead. But the that was miraculous that a virgin would conceive and bring forth a son, and they called his name Emmanuel, and by the way, that name Emmanuel means God with us. And there we're gonna see several passages of scripture here that show us that the Lord Jesus Christ was God in the flesh. He came into this world as a man, and he lived a sinless life, and he died a sacrificial death, and he was buried and raised again the third day so that we could have eternal life. Isaiah 9 6 speaks of Christ as well, uh him becoming a man. Again, it says, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called. Listen to these names, wonderful, counselor, the mighty God. By the way, it says the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Listen, that's speaking of Jesus Christ. The Bible, the scripture teaches and shows us that He is God. He was God in the flesh, he came into this world. Matthew chapter 1 and verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, when as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. And we find that that that child was, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ, as it mentions there. And so God became a man. In Luke chapter 2, verse 6 and 7 it says, And it was so that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered, and she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. And then in Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 through 8, this is Paul's version of the Christmas story. Let this mine be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and notice what it says, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. So again, another example of the fact that God became a man. He became a man. Again, we're meeting Jesus in the flesh. He became a man, and then I want you to notice he did not stop being God. It says, and the word was made flesh. Remember what John 1 1 says, in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. Notice the rest of verse 14, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. First Timothy 3 16, again, another passage of scripture that tells us that God became a man. It says, and without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. How was God manifest in the flesh? Well, he became a man. But he became a man without never ceasing to be God. That word manifest, it means to render apparent, to appear. And of course, uh what John said again in John chapter 1 and verse 14, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. I want you to look at Isaiah chapter 40, verses 1 through 5, and listen to what the Bible says with that thought in mind that we beheld his glory, John said, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. We go back to the book of Isaiah, and this is prophetic of John the Baptist. This is the message that John the Baptist would be bringing before Christ came into the world. And this is the message uh John the Baptist is called the forerunner of Christ. So he came before Christ, and what was the purpose of him coming before is to announce him, uh to let others know that he was coming. I want you to notice what it says. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, that's John the Baptist, and his message was, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God, every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And I want you to look at verse five, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. And again, John what did John say in John chapter 1 and verse 14? And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And uh praise the Lord. Isn't that a blessing? That word glory. It uh means glory is very apparent. It's kind of a hard word to define. Uh it means dignity, glory, honor, praise, worship. Matthew chapter 1, verse 23, Behold, a virgin shall be with child and shall be bring and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. And we see not only did he become a man, and not only did he not stop being God or cease to be to be God, but I want you to notice also that he was full of grace and truth there in verse 14. It says, He was full of grace and truth. And that word full, it means to replete, uh, to cover over. That word grace is graciousness, the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life. And uh John chapter 8, verse 29, Jesus said this, and he that sent me is with me. The Father uh, excuse me, hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. Listen, the Lord Jesus Christ, he was full of grace and truth, and he is full of grace and truth, and he is still alive today, and praise the Lord for that. But you know, you read and you study through the gospels and the way that he dealt with people and how he talked with people and the way he responded to criticism and different things. He was he is so full of grace and truth, and uh and what a blessing that is. But listen, uh Christ became a man. He died for the sins of the world. He he died a sacrificial death. He died in our place, he lived a sinless life, and he was buried and raised again the third day so that you and I could have eternal life. That word, that promise that was given, and and one of the things that you'll find in the book of Genesis, chapter one, is that God speaks, and what God says he is going to do happens after that. That word that was given from the very beginning, in the beginning, God created. From that very beginning of the Bible, we find an unfolding revelation that God keeps his promises. God keeps his word. And in Genesis chapter 3, God promised that, yes, even though man had sinned and man had uh brought death upon himself because of sin, he promised that he was going to defeat death. And that is what he meant by bruising the serpent's head. He was going to crush the serpent's head, and the serpent would bruise his heel. And uh that that was the defeat that Christ uh defeated death with was coming into this world, becoming a man, uh living a sinless life, dying a sacrificial death, being buried and raised again the third day, so that you and I could have eternal life. And the Bible promises us, and listen again, one of the things that you'll find about the character of God when you study the Bible is that God keeps his promises. And God has promised in his word in Romans chapter 10, verses 9 and 10, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. And God made a promise there that if you'll call upon him, if you don't know him as your Lord and Savior, you can call upon him today, and he'll save you. I appreciate you listening to this podcast. I would encourage you, I I encourage you to share it with others. And uh listen, if you're out there and you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, that word, that promise that God gave, he became a man, and he keeps his promises, and he promised that he would give you everlasting life. John chapter 5, verse 24. Verily, verily I say unto thee, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. If you'll call upon him now, if you'll believe and take him at his word, he'll save you. And uh and I hope that these messages are a blessing to you. But may the Lord bless you and have a good day.