Divine Self-Disclosure

Jun 21, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Incarnation – God in Flesh, Not Paint

John’s gospel shocks readers with the unthinkable: the eternal Word became vulnerable human tissue. This wasn’t a divine costume or a temporary illusion. Jesus didn’t “blend” deity and humanity like mixed paint creating a new color. He remained fully God while becoming fully man—a mystery guarded by ancient creeds. The incarnation answers humanity’s oldest ache: how to approach holiness without being consumed. [27:54]

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been tempted to minimize either Jesus’ full humanity or full deity? How does His dual nature deepen your trust in Him as mediator?

Day 2: The Tent of Flesh – God’s Presence Unfiltered

For centuries, God’s glory dwelled behind temple veils, accessible only to high priests. Now He walks dusty roads in calloused feet. The tabernacle wasn’t replaced by better architecture, but by living flesh. Jesus’ body became the ultimate meeting place—where fishermen touched holiness, ate with holiness, and saw holiness weep. The God who once lit fire on altars now lit hope in hearts. [41:36]

"Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle." (Exodus 40:34-35, ESV)

Reflection: What routines or spaces help you remember that Christ’s presence dwells in you as His temple?

Day 3: Glory in a Stiff-Necked World

Moses hid in rock crevices to glimpse God’s back. Israel carried a mobile glory-cloud. Yet both pale before the incarnate Christ—God’s radiant kindness walking through Samaria’s prejudice, Jerusalem’s politics, and Golgotha’s violence. His glory wasn’t diminished by human spit or nails, but revealed through them. The cross became the ultimate theophany. [54:14]

"Moses said, 'Please show me your glory.' And [God] said, 'I will make all my goodness pass before you... But you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.'" (Exodus 33:18-20, ESV)

Reflection: When has God’s glory surprised you in a place of suffering or mundane obedience?

Day 4: Sufficiency in the Unconfused Christ

Chalcedon’s creed guards against half-Jesuses: not a demigod, not a superhero, but one Person with two united natures. This matters because only a fully human Jesus could represent us before God, and only a fully divine Jesus could bear God’s wrath. His humanity weeps with your grief; His deity holds your tomorrow. [33:18]

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV)

Reflection: What situation feels too humanly messy or divinely complex for Jesus to handle? How does His dual nature speak to that?

Day 5: Beholding the Glory Moses Couldn’t See

The apostle John uses the same Greek word for “dwelt” (skēnoō) as the Old Testament’s “Shekinah” glory. Every time Jesus healed a leper or forgave a sinner, the tent of His flesh pulled back another curtain. To behold Christ is to stand where Moses couldn’t—face to face with unmediated grace. His resurrection body still bears the glory-scars of love. [24:41]

"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." (2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV)

Reflection: When you imagine eternity, does your vision center more on Christ’s presence or heaven’s benefits? How might you behold His glory today?

Sermon Summary

John opens the prologue by insisting that right knowledge of Jesus is not a side matter but the gospel itself. The eternal Logos who was with God and is God now steps into His own creation. Fourteen verses in, the name Jesus has not yet appeared, yet the Logos has been identified as Creator, Life, and Light who births children not by blood or the will of man but by the will of God. With verse 14 the shock lands. The Word became flesh and dwelt among humanity, a divine disclosure that answers Israel’s long ache for the presence of God that once filled tabernacle and temple yet seemed withdrawn.

The incarnation, John states, is not the beginning of the Son. The eternal Logos becomes what He was not, without ceasing to be what He eternally is. Ancient errors like docetism said His humanity only appeared. Biblical Christology, crystallized by the church’s careful confession, guards the truth that the one person, Jesus Christ, possesses two natures, truly God and truly man, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation. These guardrails protect the church from collapsing deity into humanity or slicing the person into modes.

John’s verb is deliberate. The Logos “tabernacled” among humanity. The tent that once held the Shekinah was a sign and shadow. Its fulfillment is a human body in which the fullness of deity dwells bodily. Scripture names the problem with plainness. Holy God and sinful humanity stand at enmity. Paul calls sinners enemies who need rescue from divine wrath. John sets forth the cure. God put on flesh and dwelt among His enemies to reconcile them. Glory that once drove Moses behind a veil now walks Galilean roads. When Jesus heals, walks on water, feeds thousands, raises Lazarus, the point is singular, that the Father’s glory would be seen.

Exodus 33 exposes the heart of the matter. God offers Israel the land and an angel, yet withholds Himself. Moses will not have gifts without God, because presence alone makes a people distinct. That same distinction now rests on the church by the indwelling Spirit. John’s climax in verse 14 names the Son as the unique one from the Father, full of grace and truth. Therefore, God is knowable, not speculation. God is accessible, the veil torn by the Mediator. Jesus is sufficient, the way, the truth, and the life. The summons is simple and searching. Behold His glory, trust Him, worship Him.

Key Takeaways

1. The Word truly became flesh [27:54] The incarnation is not divine theater, it is real union. The eternal Son assumes true humanity so redemption can be accomplished in the same nature that fell. Only flesh that is ours can bear our curse, and only deity can carry it away. The gospel stands or falls with this embodied nearness of God. [27:54]
2. Two natures, one undivided person [34:31] Chalcedon’s guardrails keep the church from confusion, change, division, or separation in Christ. The one person acts through both natures, never mixing them, never swapping them, never splitting the subject. Such precision is pastoral, because only this Christ can truly mediate, sympathize, obey, suffer, and save. [34:31]
3. God’s presence marks His people [52:08] Moses refuses blessings without God, because presence alone makes Israel distinct. The same distinction now appears where the Spirit indwells, dividing all humanity into those in whom God dwells and those in whom He does not. Holiness is not a vibe, it is habitation, the God who goes with His people. [52:08]
4. Christ tabernacles and shows glory [54:58] Tabernacle and temple were signs, not destinations. Their fulfillment is the Son’s flesh, where the Shekinah walks, speaks, touches, and raises the dead so that the Father’s glory is seen. To behold Jesus is to encounter the radiance once veiled, now near and inviting faith. [54:58]
5. Jesus alone is utterly sufficient [58:34] Grace and truth are not rations doled out from multiple sources, they are fullness in the Son. Access to God does not require add-ons, upgrades, or personal merit, only union with Christ. The church’s stability grows where His sufficiency is trusted, rejoiced in, and obeyed. [58:34]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[15:42] - Prologue and purpose, know Jesus rightly
[18:33] - Logos before the name Jesus
[19:27] - Divine disclosure, John 1:14 announced
[21:04] - Glory, veil, and Israel’s longing
[24:41] - “The Word became flesh”
[26:53] - Incarnation, God puts on flesh
[31:57] - One person, two natures guarded
[40:29] - He tabernacled among us
[43:43] - Reconciling holy God and sinners
[50:00] - Moses seeks presence over gifts
[52:40] - The Spirit makes the church distinct
[55:23] - Glory displayed in Jesus’ works
[57:56] - Applications, knowable, accessible, sufficient, behold
[61:30] - Prayer and worship

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
John 1:14 (ESV)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Observation Questions

What does John 1:14 mean when it says the Word "dwelt among us"? How does the sermon connect this to the Old Testament tabernacle? [40:29]
According to the sermon, why was Moses unwilling to accept God’s blessings without His presence (Exodus 33:14-16)? [50:00]
What are the "four guardrails" from the Council of Chalcedon mentioned in the sermon, and what errors do they prevent? [34:31]
How does the sermon describe the relationship between Jesus’ miracles (like healing Lazarus) and the display of God’s glory? [55:23]

Interpretation Questions

Why is it essential that Jesus is both "truly God and truly man"? How does this dual nature make Him uniquely able to save sinners? [27:54]
The sermon states, "Presence alone makes a people distinct." How does God’s presence in the Old Testament (tabernacle) compare to His presence today through the Holy Spirit? [52:08]
In Exodus 33, God offers Israel the Promised Land but withholds His presence. Why does Moses reject this offer, and what does this reveal about the priority of God’s presence? [50:00]
How does Jesus being "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14) address the problem of humanity’s separation from a holy God? [44:15]

Application Questions

The sermon emphasizes that God’s presence marks His people. How does this truth shape your daily priorities or decisions? What might need to change to reflect this? [52:40]
Moses refused blessings without God’s presence. Are there areas in your life where you’re tempted to prioritize God’s gifts (comfort, success, etc.) over His presence? How can you recalibrate? [50:00]
Jesus’ sufficiency means "no add-ons" are needed to access God. Where do you struggle to trust His sufficiency? How might this affect your prayer life or reliance on Him in trials? [58:34]
The sermon urges believers to "behold His glory." What practical steps could you take this week to intentionally fix your eyes on Christ’s glory (e.g., Scripture, worship, service)? [59:25]
How does recognizing Jesus as both fully divine and fully human change the way you approach Him in times of doubt, suffering, or temptation? [34:31]
The Spirit’s indwelling makes Christians distinct. How does this truth influence how you view your identity, purpose, or interactions with non-believers? [52:40]

Sermon Clips

50s

#TrulyGodTrulyMan

“Jesus is not a mixture of God and man like like mixing those colors of paint together. Jesus is truly God and truly man at the same time. The second famous negative is that the two natures of Jesus, truly God, truly man, are without change. In other words, neither nature is altered by the union. When the son became man, he did not stop being God and with his humanity, his humanity is not turned into deity. Again, he is truly God and truly man without confusion, without change. The third famous negative concerning the two natures of Jesus is that he is truly God and truly man without division.”

45s

#PresenceOverParadise

“You can have the land that that is flowing with milk and honey. You can have all the blessings. You can have all the provision and the protection of an angel. You just won't have me. And I and I would just stop right here and I would ask every one of you this question. If you're a Christian here this morning, I'd ask you a simple question. Would you be okay? Would you be content? Would you be happy with not going to hell but going to heaven absent of God. fear that many people who claim to be Christians would say, I would be absolutely fine with that.”

64s

#WordBecameFlesh

“How can holy God and sinful man dwell together? Here's what God did. He put on flesh, and he dwelt among us. Jesus, God in flesh, came to save sinners. And this takes us to our third point where we need to consider point number three, the glory of God seen. Again, verse 14 of John chapter one, the apostle writes this, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the father. When I read these words of the apostle here, the first thing that comes to my mind is Exodus chapter 33.”

64s

#DistinctByPresence

“The presence of God with the people of God that make them different from every other people on the face of the earth. You say, well, good for them. They have the Shekinah glory with them. Beloved, do you not understand? Go read Romans chapter eight. What is it that makes you as a Christian distinct from every other person, every other people, every other tongue and nation? What makes you distinct? What does Paul say? The presence of God in you. Romans chapter eight, Paul divides all of creation into two categories. Those who have the holy spirit in them and the rest of humanity who does not.”

46s

#CantTradePresence

“God is essentially saying to his people, I'll let you have the land. I'll let you have the protection. I'll let you have the provision, all the gifts, all the blessings. It just comes with one caveat. You can't have my presence. And the people mourn. And beloved, the heart of Moses is about to be revealed. The question is asked, if you're just reading through this, the question should be asked, can Moses be content with the blessings of God, the provisions of God, the the protections of God absent of the presence of God?”

59s

#GodTabernacled

“Literally, in the Greek, Jesus put on flesh and he tabernacled among us. I I think the apostle John would expect us to hear those words and immediately go back to the Old Testament. In the book of Exodus, God commanded the Jewish people to construct a tabernacle, a tent that was to be a dwelling place for God amongst his people. And here's the point that John is making. Once upon a time, God's presence was among his people in a tent. Once upon a time, the Shekinah glory of God, the presence of God dwelt in a tent made by hands. the apostle John says, you gotta get your minds wrapped around this. In the incarnation, God's presence is amongst his people in a human body.”

61s

#GloryOnDisplay

“People who are longing for the presence of God, people who have read of the Shekinah glory of God falling upon the tabernacle so that Moses would meet with God and he would come out with a face that was glowing. They've read that. And they think, I've never experienced anything like that. I've never seen anything like that. And the apostle John says in verse 14, he declares that the word of God, the logos, he put on flesh, he tabernacled among us and in Jesus, the glory of God is put on display for humanity. John is going to continue to make this a point of emphasis as we continue through this book.”

55s

#MiraclesRevealGlory

“Many people saw many miracles of Jesus. People saw Jesus raise the dead. People saw Jesus make the the blind see, the lame walk. Jesus is walking on water. He takes a couple fish and a couple pieces of bread and he feeds thousands and thousands of people. What's the point of it all? One point, that God was amongst them and that people would see the glory of God display. Even in the death and resurrection, there's really one point other than what Christ is accomplishing to save us, it is in his death and in his resurrection to display the glory of God. Think about Lazarus. Remember Lazarus when he died?”

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Divine Self-Disclosure

Devotional

Day 1: The Incarnation – God in Flesh, Not Paint

Day 2: The Tent of Flesh – God’s Presence Unfiltered

Day 3: Glory in a Stiff-Necked World

Day 4: Sufficiency in the Unconfused Christ

Day 5: Beholding the Glory Moses Couldn’t See

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Divine Self-Disclosure

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