Sent from God

Have you ever been sent on an important errand and forgot what you were sent to do? It happens to me all of the time. I will have something from the store that I am supposed to pick up or something that I was supposed to take care of in town. It can be frustrating, especially to the one that sent you when you fail to accomplish your mission.

Jesus had a mission as well. He was sent to this earth for a special job and we are going to take a look at that job tonight. We will be taking a look in John’s gospel. We are only going to look at one verse and that verse is found in verse. 14 of chapter 1.

John 1:14 ESV

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.

1. Jesus is the Message of God

Did you know that God wants to communicate with us? The prevailing thought that people have regarding God is that He either doesn’t exist, or that He is some powerful force in the world, but He is impersonal and not involved in the details of our everyday life. The truth is the complete opposite. God created us, not out of necessity or lack of fellowship, but out of the desire of His will to have a relationship with Him. The normal pattern we were created to observe was walking and talking with God. Our personal devotions are to be a reflection of this purpose.

However, when someone wants to talk with you, the question we naturally ask is, “What’s the message? What do you want to say to me?” The answer to what God wants to say to us is found in Jesus.

A. Jesus is Called the Word

Jesus is called the Word of God throughout the Scriptures and particularly in this first chapter of John. If you have been in church for a while, you have probably heard someone call Jesus the Word. But, what does that really mean? What does it mean to be the Word of God?

Well, words are necessary for communication. Imagine a world where there was no language. People sometimes imagine that is how things were for the early humans. They imagine them to be these ape-like creatures that are scribbling things into cave walls and grunting at each other, but the Bible paints a very different picture. The Bible shows us that from the beginning people were very intelligent and communicated with each other quite well. Even the historical record bears witness to this. You have all of these ancient civilizations doing some pretty advanced things, like building pyramids and such.

So from the beginning God has communicated with us and given us the capacity to communicate with Himself and with others. Communication is foundation for relationship and God created us for relationships.

So, Jesus is the perfection of communication, which is one reason that He is described as the Word. He is the communication of God to us. He is the source or subject that the Bible points to. He is what God is saying to us.

B. Jesus is the Representation of God

This verse not only says that Jesus is the Word who became flesh, but that the Word “dwelt among us.” The word “dwelt” could probably be translated more literally a “tabernacled” among us.

Think about the Old Testament tabernacle. What was it? It was a tent, right? It was even sometimes called the Tent of Meeting. It was the place where God communicated with people. Jesus is the tabernacle of God with man. In the New Testament, we are now called the sanctuary of God. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, where God’s presence is.

When Jesus came to this earth, He dwelt among man. He is the display of the presence of God on earth. If you want to know what God is like, look to Jesus. If you want to know how God would act, look to Jesus. Jesus is our visual representation of God. He is the second Person of the Godhead and has all of the divine attributes of God. That leads us to the second thing we need to learn from this verse.

2. Jesus is the Representation of God

The Bible says the Word became flesh. Jesus took on human features and a likeness like ours in order to better show us who God is. At Christmas, we often talk about the incarnation of Jesus. That simply means that when Jesus was born, the eternal Word of God who has always existed, took on human flesh in addition to His divine nature. This didn’t in any way diminish His divinity, only added to it the human traits to better represent God to us in a way we could understand.

A. The glory of God is the Shekina glory that surrounds the presence of God

When Jesus took on humanity, the Godhead was veiled by that flesh. We sing a carol at Christmas called “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” In that song there is a verse that says, “veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity. Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Immanuel.”

Wow! There is so much theology packed into that song. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see. Some of you may be singing this song wrong! You may be saying “veiled in flesh the Godhead three.” That’s not the words of the song. The song is saying that Jesus is the second Person of the Incarnate Godhead and that he has veiled some of that glory by taking on humanity.

In the Roman Catholic church there is a term that is used called the “see of Rome.” That word “see” means the seat of the Church, or more precisely the seat of power of the Pope. So when this song says “veiled in flesh the Godhead see” it is saying that Jesus is the seat of power of the Godhead.

So Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us, but veiled the glory of God for a time. However, we get to see glimpses of this glory in His life at different times. One primary time was when Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration and the veil was pulled back for a moment. The gospel writers described Jesus clothing as radiating with a brightness that no launderer on earth could match. This brightness is the “shekinah” glory of God, or that light that surrounds the presence of God and is reflected even in His angels. It’s the reason no sun is needed in the new heaven and earth. A few of the disciples got to see this glory and were beside themselves. This is the same glory that the shepherds saw on the angels that made them “sore afraid.”

Jesus glory is on display in His humanity, yet it is also a veiled glory that will be fully on display when He returns.

B. Jesus is not “born” of God, but “begotten” of God

Jesus is “from the Father,” or another way of putting it is begotten of God. This is not the same as what many people think when they hear that Jesus is the firstborn. This doesn’t mean that Jesus once was not, but came into being at the nativity. It really means that He is begotten of God. He proceeds from God. He is the “unique one” or “only one” from the Father.

C. Jesus is Sent from God (mission)

Jesus comes from God for a purpose. He is here to save us. His birth was promised to Adam and Eve in the Garden and came to fulfillment when he came in the form of a baby to this earth. Jesus came to be our rescuer. He is here to save us by keeping the law that we could not keep and taking the punishment that our sins deserved.

3. Jesus is the Rescuer from God

Jesus came to bring two things to us. Grace and truth.

A. Grace – mercy that we don’t deserve

Grace is mercy that we don’t deserve. It is the ability to believe and trust in Jesus. Jesus grants this to us when He saves us.

B. Truth – truth is important to understand our condition

Jesus is also the truth. He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” That truth is the clear message from God in a world of conflicting false messages.

Conclusion:

This Christmas, as we reflect on the birth of Jesus, we need to remember that God has spoken to us in Jesus, God has sent Jesus on a mission, and God has given us the job of carrying on that mission to other people. We need to be faithful to declare all of the glories of God this Christmas season and be the present day incarnation of Christ to those around us.

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