141221 The True Light

John 1:9-14 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. ¹¹ He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴ 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.

The gospel of John does not include a birth narrative for Jesus. I try to imagine what it might have been like for John as he was inspired to write his account. I believe he probably had read Matthew, Mark and very likely Luke also. As he was mulling over those accounts I can imagine him going back in his thoughts. John had been a disciple of John the Baptist. He had met Jesus alongside the Jordan River. However, he knew that Jesus had existed long before his birth on earth. As his thoughts went back in time he came to the very beginning and saw Jesus with the Father before the world was created.

As a disciple of John the Baptist, John the Apostle joined in the witness to the light. He was there on the day after Jesus’ baptism when John the Baptist, for the second time, spoke these amazing words, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) I wonder how many times the Apostle reviewed that day in his memories. He may not have been there when Jesus was born but he was there when Jesus was introduced for He who He really was, “The Lamb of God.” This introduction to Jesus, the sin bearer, gave him and the others who became disciples an inside track on God’s plan. He was there when he heard the testimony that…

John the Baptist had come as a witness to the light. John the Apostle was made into an eyewitness as well. Turn with me to John 3:16-21. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. ²¹ But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

These words seem to conclude Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus. John places this dialogue at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. We can see that Jesus knew, in the beginning, that He would be crucified. He knew that He would be “lifted up” so that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. Jesus went on to proclaim that He was the “light” that came into the world to overcome the darkness. In most of our Christmas traditions we do not recognize Jesus, the baby in a manger, as the light bearer who became the sin bearer for the world. We need to remember Jesus is…

The true light that was coming into the world. In our opening reading we have this testimony found at John 1:4-5, In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

 The darkness could not overwhelm the light, because, as we see in verse 9. He was… The true light, which gives light to everyone, (and it) was coming into the world.

In many ways the world Jesus was coming into was darker than our own world. The only spiritual light in that age, so far as we know, came from small groups of Jewish believers scattered, primarily, throughout the Roman Empire. There may have been other colonies of faith that God has not seen fit to inform us about. All we know of for sure are those who follow the faith of Abraham as recorded in the Bible.

Today there are light bearing groups throughout most of the world. The gospel of the kingdom is preached in all major cultures and is being expanded into the smaller cultures more and more every day. That is why the light, in Jesus, came into the world. He Himself said that He “came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) and that He came “that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) The great hymn writer, Phillip P. Bliss set it to song:

The whole world was lost In the darkness of sin,

The Light of the world is Jesus!

Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in.

The Light of the world is Jesus!

Come to the light, ’tis shining for thee;

Sweetly the light has dawned upon me.

Once I was blind, but now I can see:

The Light of the world is Jesus!

The Babe In the manger that day was, and still is, the light of the world! Yet, we are involved in sharing the light. In another song by Bliss we hear:

Brightly beams our Father’s mercy from His lighthouse evermore,
But to us He gives the keeping of the lights along the shore.
Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave!
Some poor struggling, sinking sailor you may rescue, you may save

Jesus, Himself said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” And “let your light shine before others….”. (Matthew 5:14 & 16)

You may be the light for someone else to see the way clearly to come to the narrow gate that leads to life eternal. Without your knowledge someone else may look at you and come to the Savior by your light.

Having been saved by grace, through faith, we must remember that “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) Jesus, the Baby in the manger, is the “Light of the World” who. having left the world, has transferred the light to His people and, as the old chorus says we are to “Let our little light shine”. Jesus who was…

That light was the creator of all things. Turn with me to Colossians 1:15-17. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Yes, the Baby in the manger was the Creator of all things. “ALL” is an absolutely inclusive word. Of course Jesus Himself, the Father and Holy Spirit are not part of the “all” they are part of the Creator.

Jesus created the heavens and the earth and populated the heavens with an innumerable host of angels. There seem to be different orders of angels just as there are differences in the animal world. Jesus, as the Creator, placed Adam and Eve in the Garden and, I believe, provides humans with a spirit/soul as well as a reproducible body at the time of conception. David said that he was knit together in his mother’s womb. Zechariah talks of God (Jesus to us) as the one who forms the spirit of man. And Isaiah says that God (Jesus to us) gives breath and spirit to the people on earth.

John tells us that at the nativity Jesus, the Word, came to His own, meaning He came to His own property or country, but His own people did not receive Him. The Light of the world came to His own territory but…

The light was rejected by His people. Turn with me to John 5:39-40. Jesus had given various signs by now and the religious leaders had set out to take His life because, He was breaking the Sabbath and making Himself equal with God. In the midst of Jesus’ explanation of His authority we find Him saying:  You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, ⁴⁰ yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

The Christ is not just a deliverer of Israel, He is the deliverer of all who will come to Him by faith. Sadly Jesus was rejected by the vast majority of His own people. But God already had a plan. That plan included the sheep that are not of the house of Israel. When Jesus compared Himself with a shepherd He said, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:16) Paul would later tell us that their rejection was our gain. Through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles. Their rejection means the reconciliation of the world. (Romans 11:11-16)

Rejecting the Light brings condemnation but…

Receiving the light gives the right to become children of God. Turn over in the back of your Bibles to 1 John 3:1-3. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. ³ And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

In his Gospel John tells us that as many as received Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. Now, many years later, John tells us the love of God is reflected in our being called God’s children. I get the sense that, after all those years, John was still amazed at God’s plan. A plan that brings us into God’s family so that we no longer identify with the world. The old gospel song is correct when it says, “This world is not my home I'm just a passing through My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue The angels beckon me from heaven's open door And I can't feel at home in this world anymore.”

Being born of God means, among other things, we are brought into the family of God. In fact, we are born into God’s family! Not born the natural way but, instead, born spiritually.

The bible teaches that, unlike Baby Jesus, we were born, as humans, dead in trespasses and sins. We were born subjects of the prince of the power of the air – Satan. When we are born again we become subjects of the Prince of Peace. As God’s children we are not born of our own decision, or of someone else’s persuasion we are…

Children born of God’s will. Turn with me to John 6:44. Jesus is in that long debate with the religious leaders. He tells them: No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

No one can come without the Father drawing them. When we are born physically we are without the ability to do anything that will cause God to declare us righteous. From a human standpoint we may seem to be doing good it is only on the surface. All our righteousness is like a dirty, polluted, garment at a fancy dress ball. Without God the Father’s call and God the Holy Spirit’s illumination connected to God the Son’s sacrifice on the cross we have no hope in this world or the one to come. We do not come to Christ in our own goodness nor our own decision we only come because He has drawn us, or chosen us. Turn with me to what Peter had to say in 1 Peter 2:9-10. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

The people of God are a chosen race. If God did not choose us we would have no hope. Once we were not a people but now we are because of the Baby in the manger. That Baby became the sin bearer for us. Then He became the man on the cross—the sacrifice for our sin. Having satisfied God’s wrath with His own blood He became the Risen Lord bringing victory over sin and death and delivering all who will come to Him from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light.

Towards the end of his gospel, chapter 20, verses 30 and 31, John gives his reason for writing. He wrote, “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.” Obviously, he was not just writing a biography of Jesus. He was writing so that people through the ages could see Jesus’ work in the world and know that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father! Knowing his Lordship should lead many to confess their sins, wrongdoings, and become children of God by receiving Jesus as Lord of their life. The birth of Jesus should lead to our “new birth”. That, my friends, is what Christmas should be about. Have you confessed Him as your Lord and do you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead?

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

He Came to Redeem121215

Galatians 4:4-7, world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Christmas is a celebration of Jesus' first coming into the world. The early church did not observe a birthday for Jesus. I suspect, but do not know for sure, that generally speaking birthdays were not celebrated in the first century. The early church celebrated Easter as the evidence of who Jesus was — our Lord and Savior! Today we do celebrate birthdays and enjoy celebrating the birthday of Jesus. However, as long as the world focuses on the baby in the manger the real point of why he came is lost amidst the tinsel and the gifts.

This passage begins with "the fullness of time" and it is an interesting phrase. I was recently asked why God didn't interfere in the progress of the human race before the flood when so many lost their lives. I said, "Because the fullness of time had not come". I believe the fullness of time refers to several things that came together. First, the Roman Empire had come into being. This allowed for widespread travel and communications throughout the Mediterranean basin on an excellent system of roads. There was one legal system from Spain to Syria and from North Africa to Germany. There was "peace" throughout the region enforced by the iron fist of Rome so that travel was fairly safe. Second, there was one common language of trade and communications. And, it wasn't Latin, as you might expect, it was Greek! Greek was a very precise language allowing ideas to be spread widely, and accurately, throughout the Roman Empire. And, third, Jewish synagogues were spread over the Roman Empire in every major city. This allowed the Old Testament Scriptures to be widely known. And the Scriptures were available in a Greek translation so that the common man could read it.

So, in the fullness of time, God sent forth his son…

To be born of a woman, born under the law.

The virgin birth. Remember the first prophecy concerning Jesus? Listen while I read the account from the garden of Eden as God spoke to Eve about the future offspring of the woman, Genesis 3:15, I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” And then see it fulfilled in Luke's account,

Luke 1:26-35, In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Today, people seem to think teaching the virgin birth is not really important I disagree with that for several reasons. The one who would crush the head of the serpent was clearly promised as being the offspring of the woman. Adam was the responsible person in the garden of Eden and, as such, when he sinned he was contaminated by an inherited trait that is passed on to his children in all generations. That was not true of the woman. The virgin birth is a necessary part of Jesus being born without sin. The virgin birth also allows God himself to identify with human nature so that he could defeat the enemy of mankind. Jesus needed to share in flesh and blood, according to the book of Hebrews, in order to deliver us from the fear of death. And that flesh and blood had to be free of inherited sin. So Jesus was born of a woman and was…

Under the law. Let's look again at Luke's account. Luke 2:22-24, And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

Jesus' birth was not just “of a woman” but was also “under the law”. There was no reason for Joseph and Mary to assume that their "special baby" would not be subject to the law of Moses. So upon his birth they took him to the Temple to offer the sacrifice of a poor family, "a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." Jesus himself said that he did not come to destroy the law but, instead, he came to fulfill it. Jesus lived in correct relationship to the law as it was given to Moses. His interpretation was much stricter than that of the rabbis and the lawyers. For example, when they said, “you shall not commit adultery” it was applied to the physical act. Jesus said that thinking about adultery made one as guilty as the physical act. They said you shall not murder. Jesus said anger and evil words makes one as guilty as the act of murder.

Yes, in the fullness of time, Jesus was born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law. To redeem something, or someone, means to pay off whatever is holding them in bondage. Ellis J. Crum wrote a little song that we sometimes sing and it goes something like this:

He paid a debt he did not owe; I owed a debt I could not pay; I needed someone to wash my sins away. And, now I sing a brand-new song, "Amazing Grace" all day long. Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.

He paid that debt at Calvary. He cleansed my soul and set me free.

I'm glad that Jesus did all my sins erase. I, can, now sing a brand-new song, "Amazing Grace"all day long. Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.

At least, that's of my version of the first two verses. If you didn't already know it , I love that song. He came…

To redeem. Often, in these days, the simplest way to give a gift is to give a gift certificate, or gift card. This allows the recipient to select their own gift. It's not as exciting as opening a box under the tree, unless of course, you hide the gift certificate in the midst of packing bubbles inside a box. And in some ways, especially for us children, it's not as satisfying on Christmas morning because it can't be immediately redeemed for its value. But, if the gift certificate is valuable enough the recipient will be eager to redeem it at the first opportunity. In other words, "in the fullness of time". Jesus, was eager to redeem what had been lost in the garden of Eden. Luke tells us that…

He came to seek and to save. Matthew illustrates this "seeking". Listen while I read, Matthew 18:10-14, See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

A couple of years ago, I was gifted with a beautifully framed picture of a sheep over the side of a cliff hanging on for dear life. Just above the sheep is the Shepherd. He is holding on with his staff in his hand while reaching down to rescue the sheep that had gone astray. It's one of my favorite pictures because it shows in graphic form how Jesus reached down to deliver me. I don't mind being compared to a sheep because many times in my life I've been dumber than a sheep!

Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost. And "that", my friends, is you and I. We are "that which is lost". When the fullness of time had come, Jesus, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem us, came to seek and to save. He did that…

In agreement with the Father. John 3:16, tells us, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

The Father God loved the world! Now I'm part of that world and you are too! Many years ago, I remember my friend, Dick Hayes, telling me about his salvation experience. I can't go into all the details but it's sufficient to say that he was one of the leading sinners in Enterprise, Alabama. As a result of his 17-year-old daughter. along with a friend of hers, spending the night in prayer for his salvation he was driven to seek spiritual counsel. He left his office in the morning and walked to the pastor's home nearby. He pounded on the screen door, found it was unlocked, and pushed his way inside to the front door. When the pastor opened the door my friend Dick was on his knees crying! The pastor assumed that he was drunk but kindly invited him in. It was quickly determined that Dick was not drunk but was in spiritual trouble and needed help. The pastor hardly knew where to begin so he simply quoted John 3:16 and said to Dick, "You are part of the world so let's put your name in where it says 'world'." Dick said he was overwhelmed when he heard those words and he said to the pastor, "You mean God loves ME!" And he said that he was immediately saved by the grace of God. He went on to make a public profession of faith that night at the church service and set out to make right the wrongs of his life. He ultimately became a pastor and an evangelist.

You see, the Father sent forth his Son and it was done in agreement within the Godhead. Listen while I read from…

John 17:1-6, When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word....”

As Jesus' life on earth was coming to an end he prayed that beautiful prayer in John chapter 17. You might want to read it over and see where he prayed for you and me. But here, at the very beginning, Jesus makes it very clear that he is in agreement with the Father concerning what was about to happen in Jerusalem. Jesus could see that the glory of God was going to be shown on the cross of Calvary and in the empty tomb. Jesus, born of a woman, born under the law, came to redeem by seeking and saving that which is lost! He not only saves us he redeems us from the curse!

Redeemed from the curse. Listen while I read, Galatians 3:13-14, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

The curse is "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God", and, "the wages of sin is death". The curse visited on all mankind in the Fall, in the garden of Eden is a horrible thing. Apart from Jesus Christ taking our sin to the cross mankind has no hope in eternity. In Christ Jesus all the blessings that God has bestowed comes to us. Along with our salvation, achieved by Christ on the cross, we also receive the adoption as sons and daughters in the family of God. God has a plan…

To provide for adoption. This "adoption" is not by our choice it is…

An act of God. Remember what John wrote? John 1:12-13, But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

We must always remember that our salvation is not by works of righteousness that we have done it is always, and only, by the grace of God. God not only willed to save us he willed to adopt us into his family! We are not saved just to be servants we are redeemed by God to become family members. We are saved by grace through faith. And we are…

Received by faith. Listen while I read, Galatians 3:24-26, Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

No wonder the word "gospel" means "good news"! Before Christ came in the world, in the fullness of time, mankind was held in bondage to a law that he could not possibly keep. Jesus died for us and paid the price for our sins so that we can come to him by faith. When we receive our salvation by faith we become children of God…

Bestowing family privileges. One privilege is that we are able to call God our Father as Jesus taught us to pray in the model prayer. Matthew 6:9, Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name....”

We have the privilege of addressing our Father in heaven and of calling him by the most intimate family name. We have received a new relationship. In the past we were in slavery, now we have been set free. See how Paul described it…

Romans 8:15-17, For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,…

"Fellow heirs with Christ" what a wonderful concept! We have been adopted into the family of God and now we have the Lord Jesus as our older brother. We are part of the family of God! More than that, we have security in that family. Being in a loving family is a place of safety. As joint heirs with Jesus we have a guarantee of our inheritance. An inheritance on earth is a very insecure thing. Everything on earth is perishable and can be lost. Peter tells us that our inheritance is protected in a way no earthly treasure can be. Listen while I read what he had to say…

1 Peter 1:3-5, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Our inheritance is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for us. It is By God's power not our strength. It is guarded through faith and will be revealed in the end.

There is another family privilege that we have. It is not always recognized as a "privilege" but it really is. When we are left on our own, generally speaking, we get into trouble, at least I do! The writer of Hebrews talks about this privilege. Listen while I read…

Hebrews 12:5-6, And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

Discipline is a wonderful thing. It is not punishment, even though it feels like it. It is correction and if we did not receive it we would go on through life repeating the same mistakes over and over and over again. We are to take very seriously the discipline of the Lord. Don't you see? He disciplines the one he loves and corrects everyone that he receives.

As a child of God we have family privileges. We can call on God is our Father in fact, we can call him "Abba", or “Daddy”. We are fellow heirs with Christ and we have an inheritance that is secured in heaven. And when we do wrong we have a loving Father who corrects us and disciplines us for our good. This Christmas let's rejoice in our relationship with our Lord and Savior.

We must remember that Jesus came into the world, not to be forever a baby in a manger, but rather to be a Redeemer who enables us to be adopted into the family of God. Most teaching on salvation misses this point. We are not just saved from our sins, we are delivered from the curse and brought into the family of God. He saved us, not by works of righteousness that we have done, but according to his mercy. We, on the other hand, received faith as a gift from God to allow us to receive salvation from our sins and adoption into the family of God. Christmas gives us the greatest gift of all! Christmas gives us a spiritual family that should include our natural relatives as well as our spiritual relatives. Have you recognized that without him you are a sinner and that the wages of sin is death? Have you rejoiced in the fact that God showed his love by sending his Son to die on the cross for your sins? If not, I hope you will today.

All scripture quotes from:The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.