THE WORD MADE FLESH


A. "AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, AND DWELT AMONG US (AND WE BEHELD HIS GLORY, THE GLORY AS OF THE ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER) FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH." - John 1:14
  1. The Word of our text occurs four times elsewhere: John 1:1; 1 John 1:1-5; Rev. 19:13
  2. It refers to the Son of God, who is also the Son of man, as stated in our text:
B. THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH
  1. This experience of the Son of God presupposes the pre- existence of the Son of God:
    1. The prophet Micah says, "Whose goings forth have been of old, from everlasting" - Mi. 5:2
    2. The Saviour says, "Before Abraham was, I am" - John 8:58
    3. He is the One who said unto Moses, "I AM THAT I AM" - Ex. 3:14
  2. It is the Word by whom all things were created in heaven and in earth:
    1. John 1:1-3
    2. Col. 1:14-17
    3. Eph. 3:9
    4. Heb. 1:1-3
  3. The humanity of the Son of God:
    1. It is as real as that of every child that is born into this world - Luke 2:7; Gal. 4:4; Isa. 9:6
    2. He was subject to the same laws in nature as all of us are -
      1. The law of growth and development - Luke 2:52
      2. Nourishment and rest - Matt. 21:18; 25:35; Matt. 27:48; John 4:6
  4. The Bible gives three specific reasons for the incarnation of the Son of God:
    1. The office of the priesthood. To qualify for the priesthood, the Son of God had to partake of the nature of the seed of Abraham - Heb. 2:14-16
    2. The sacrifice for sin necessitated the incarnation - Isa. 53:1-12. The sacrifice included the shedding of His blood - 1 Pet. 1:18, 19
    3. In his humanity, Christ met and defeated Satan at every turn -
      1. Through his perfect obedience, the Son of God proved that God's holy law is an expression of God's character and love for all his subjects - Ex. 20:3-17; Ps. 40:6-8; Isa. 42:19, 20; John 12:49
      2. In his steadfastness against all temptations to do evil, Christ defeated Satan once and for all times. Satan is a defeated enemy - 1 Cor. 15:57
      3. Thus Christ, the second Adam, regained all that was lost through the transgression of our first parents - Mi. 4:8; Rom. 5:12-19
C. THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US
  1. When God directed Moses to build the earthly sanctuary, he made known one of the main reasons for the sanctuary:
    1. "That I may dwell among them" - Ex. 25:8; 29:46
    2. When the earth will have been made new, God will, again, dwell among men - Rev. 21:3
    3. Christ, the Son of man, tabernacled among men for the space of about thirty-three years. That was necessary for the Son of God to learn, firsthand, the experience of humanity.
  2. Divinity, clothed with humanity, was discovered in the flesh:
    1. On many occasions divinity flashed through humanity - John 2:11; Matt. 14:25-32
    2. God was truly manifested in the flesh, seen of the angels, and accepted by men - 1 Tim. 3:16
    3. Man could see God in the life of the Son of God - EXAMPLES -
      1. Nathanael did - John 1:47, 48
      2. Peter did - Mark 5:1-19; Matt. 14:28-33
      3. Thomas did - John 20:28
      4. The wedding guests did - John 2:1-11
    4. Truly, the Son of God came in the flesh to open the way for humanity to re-enter the family of sinless beings - Eph. 3:15


Design © John Bryant 2011