Embracing Grace and Truth: The Heart of Christmas
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I want you to ascend with me a flight of five stairs toward Christmas reality. The bottom level we'll start is the invisibility of God and the top level to which we're heading is the receiving this morning the actual receiving of Grace upon Grace from Jesus Christ. Step number one the bottom level is this God is invisible. [00:00:45]
What fools we can make of ourselves sometimes about what we say about what we can't see. Chris chome who's one of the representatives gave me a copy of a video sent to him by the fund for the feminist majority in California called abortion for survival. It's a video that makes a passionate plea for abortion as an absolutely indispensable element in birth control especially in third world countries. [00:01:30]
Verse 18 presents us therefore with a challenge and a problem no one has ever seen God so is there a god so how can you know God so what is God like if he's like unborn babies and invisible in space, that's level number one God is invisible. [00:04:12]
Before God revealed himself in the Lord Jesus he revealed himself in the law of Moses before he revealed himself in the Lord Jesus he revealed himself in the law of Moses. Let's look at verses 16 and 17 from his fullness we have received Grace upon Grace for the law was given through Moses Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ. [00:04:36]
I think rather that what he's saying is before the reality the embodiment of Grace and Truth came there was a witness to Grace and Truth a preliminary pointer to Grace and Truth in the law. Let me show you from a few passages in John why I think this is the case why I think in John's mind the law Moses is not contradictory to Jesus and Grace. [00:05:30]
The word became flesh and dwelt Among Us now to hear the full force of the the word became flesh you have to go back to verse one right in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God now bring that down to verse 14 the Word was God the word was made flesh therefore blank was made flesh F fill it in what God. [00:09:05]
God became flesh God became flesh Jesus was a man a human and Jesus was deity he was God that's the third step in Rising now now look at this next phrase the word became flesh and dwelt Among Us now that little little word dwelt there in Greek is to pitch a tent set up a tent. [00:09:47]
I think that tent implies familiarity and closeness and dealings um if you came to a community and you built yourself in the middle of that Community a big palace with high walls you'd be saying something about your desire to have dealings with the people or not but if you came and P your tent in my backyard I would assume you're going to be using my bathroom. [00:10:49]
In Jesus we see God look at verse 14 again and the word became flesh and dwelt Among Us full of grace and truth and we have beheld notice the word beheld seen his glory glor glory of the only as of the only son from the father now Mark this who is the his here we have beheld his glory. [00:13:07]
The invisible God is seen in Jesus he is God and we have seen God he's not invisible anymore if you've seen me you've seen the Father the word became flesh and dwelt among us we beheld his glory god came into the world to be seen be known look at Verse 18 it says the same thing basically no one has ever seen God. [00:13:50]
When you hear Jesus teach you hear God when you see Jesus touch a leper you see God touch when Jesus holds a baby god holds a baby when Jesus hangs on a cross God hangs on a cross nobody has to be in doubt anymore about if he is or what he's like what is he like what is he like. [00:15:53]
From his fullness we have received Grace upon Grace and I want you to underline the word receive so step number five I would call God came not just to show you Grace so you see it but give you Grace so you can receive it experience it he didn't come and I'm not preaching to stock your minds with merely accurate thoughts about truth and Grace. [00:21:14]
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What fools we can make of ourselves sometimes about what we say about what we can't see. Chris chome who's one of the representatives gave me a copy of a video sent to him by the fund for the feminist majority in California called abortion for survival. It's a video that makes a passionate plea for abortion as an absolutely indispensable element in birth control especially in third world countries. [00:01:30]
Verse 18 presents us therefore with a challenge and a problem no one has ever seen God so is there a god so how can you know God so what is God like if he's like unborn babies and invisible in space, that's level number one God is invisible. [00:04:12]
Before God revealed himself in the Lord Jesus he revealed himself in the law of Moses before he revealed himself in the Lord Jesus he revealed himself in the law of Moses. Let's look at verses 16 and 17 from his fullness we have received Grace upon Grace for the law was given through Moses Grace and Truth came through Jesus Christ. [00:04:36]
I think rather that what he's saying is before the reality the embodiment of Grace and Truth came there was a witness to Grace and Truth a preliminary pointer to Grace and Truth in the law. Let me show you from a few passages in John why I think this is the case why I think in John's mind the law Moses is not contradictory to Jesus and Grace. [00:05:30]
The word became flesh and dwelt Among Us now to hear the full force of the the word became flesh you have to go back to verse one right in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God now bring that down to verse 14 the Word was God the word was made flesh therefore blank was made flesh F fill it in what God. [00:09:05]
God became flesh God became flesh Jesus was a man a human and Jesus was deity he was God that's the third step in Rising now now look at this next phrase the word became flesh and dwelt Among Us now that little little word dwelt there in Greek is to pitch a tent set up a tent. [00:09:47]
I think that tent implies familiarity and closeness and dealings um if you came to a community and you built yourself in the middle of that Community a big palace with high walls you'd be saying something about your desire to have dealings with the people or not but if you came and P your tent in my backyard I would assume you're going to be using my bathroom. [00:10:49]
In Jesus we see God look at verse 14 again and the word became flesh and dwelt Among Us full of grace and truth and we have beheld notice the word beheld seen his glory glor glory of the only as of the only son from the father now Mark this who is the his here we have beheld his glory. [00:13:07]
The invisible God is seen in Jesus he is God and we have seen God he's not invisible anymore if you've seen me you've seen the Father the word became flesh and dwelt among us we beheld his glory god came into the world to be seen be known look at Verse 18 it says the same thing basically no one has ever seen God. [00:13:50]
When you hear Jesus teach you hear God when you see Jesus touch a leper you see God touch when Jesus holds a baby god holds a baby when Jesus hangs on a cross God hangs on a cross nobody has to be in doubt anymore about if he is or what he's like what is he like what is he like. [00:15:53]
From his fullness we have received Grace upon Grace and I want you to underline the word receive so step number five I would call God came not just to show you Grace so you see it but give you Grace so you can receive it experience it he didn't come and I'm not preaching to stock your minds with merely accurate thoughts about truth and Grace. [00:21:14]
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