He Has Made Him Known

 The December 10, 2021 Woman's World had an interview with Dolly Parton. She said she once entered a celebrity look-alike contest in LA without revealing her identity. As she said, "They had a bunch of Chers & Dollys that year. So, I just over-exaggerated. I made my beauty mark bigger, the eyes bigger, the hair bigger, everything. All these beautiful [contestants] had worked for weeks & months [preparing]. I just got in the line & walked across." She won, right? "I got the least applause." She lost! The audience thought Dolly looked the least like herself! That can't happen with God. Heb 1:3 says 3The Son is the exact representation of God's being. In Jn 8:19, 14:7, Jesus confirms. If you know Jesus, you know the Father & we've seen Him. Who else can enter that look-alike contest? No one. Ever. No competition. Jn 1:10-18 says Jesus made the Father known when He came. Let's look. 10aHe was in the world. Who? Jn 1:9. 9The true light that gives light to everyone. God. He didn't just pop in for a quick visit & leave. He came to live with us. This isn't just anybody. 10bThe world was made through him. He's our Creator! The Creator! And He came to live with us. But He didn't come as our almighty King of kings. He chose to empty Himself. He came as a human baby. Fully God, but fully human. Born into poverty. Not royalty. And not wealth or power. Ordinary. Almost insignificant. So, it's no surprise: 10cthe world didn't recognize him. They expected the Messiah. But they expected a conquering warrior-king. Not a common carpenter. 11aHe came to that which was his own. The Creator came to live in His Creation. With His Creatures. Just after starting His ministry, Jesus went back to Nazareth, the town where He grew up. Their reaction set the pattern. 11bHis own didn't receive him. Not Nazareth. Not Jerusalem. His people did more than not receive Him. They said He was insane. Even worse, they said Satan powered His miracles. Worst of all, they subjected The Creator to a kangaroo court. Then mocked Him, tortured Him, & executed Him in the most horrible way they knew. His people didn't just fail to receive Him. They rejected Him. Completely. A few received Him. 12 apostles. ~150 women & men who followed Him around. Even a few of Jerusalem's leaders. Nicodemus. Joseph of Arimathea. 12aTo all who receive him... Jesus gives a priceless gift. 12cHe gives the right to become God's children. Right: full authority to be adopted as God's child. How do we gain that right? Receive Him. How do we receive Him? Believe. This kind of belief isn't something we have. It's something we do. More we trust than we believe. Heart belief. Not head belief. It's no casual choice. Those who become children 12bbelieve in His Name. In the Bible, a name reveals character. Same with Jesus' Name. So, heart-believe that Jesus' character is what His Name says. He's Immanuel. God With us. Christ. Messiah. Prince of Peace. Savior! But remember, this is heart-belief. Trust. Trust Him to bring us into eternal life. Trust all He tells us. Trust His promises for us. Trust that His commands are to us. Trust Him so much we bet our lives on Him. Our all. Put Him 1st in everything. Show it by obeying Him. Love God 1st & foremost. Love others as we love ourselves. In practical ways. That's what it means to believe in His Name. How can we become a child of God? God's children have to be born. Again. Why? Eternally, we're dead in our sins. To live, we have to be born again. Not just any birth. 13aBorn not of natural descent. Not by fathers or mothers. No human lineage or ancestors. This isn't natural childbirth. 13cNor of human decision or a husband's (or wife's) will. We can't decide & make it happen. (This is the biggest argument against salvation by making a decision for Christ.) We're powerless to make anyone God's child. We can't decide for ourselves. Nor our children. Not anyone else. It's God's gift. Our Creator's Gift. The only one way to become His child? Be 13cborn of God. Born again, spiritually. God must do it. We can't. His only requirement? Believe in His Son. Trust His Son alone for salvation, & it's God's free gift. This is the most wonderful news since Adam & Eve fell. 14aThe Word became flesh. He wasn't a ghost. He took on our flesh. No difference. To show us His love, He became like us in every way. 14bHe made his dwelling among us. Lit., He tented with us. He camped with us for ~33 years. He lived with us. Grew up with us. Ate & drank with us. He shared our weaknesses & temptations. All of them. This isn't hearsay. John is one of 4 witnesses. 14cWe've seen his glory. When did John see Jesus' glory? When He was transfigured. Then, so did Peter & James. Glory radiated from Jesus. Shekinah glory surrounded Him. 14dThe glory of the One & Only. The unique, one-of-a-kind, Son of God. John understood all His miracles as signs pointing to His glory. Turning water into wine. Feeding 5,000 & 4,000 with just a few loaves & fishes. Stilling a storm with a word. Walking on water. Healing & deliverance, whether by touch or by word of power-nearby or far away. Raising the dead. And, above all, he saw glory as Jesus accepted shame & death on a cross. 14eHe came from the Father, full of grace & truth. His followers saw grace & truth everywhere. Grace for the woman caught in adultery. Grace in healing even unthankful people (8/10 lepers). And unparalleled, deep truth like the sermon on the Mount. "You've heard it was said... but I say"... Full of grace and truth! Kings have forerunners to announce their coming. His was John. 15aJohn the Baptist testifies concerning Him. 15bHe cries out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me. Jesus is God. John the Baptist says, 15bHe was before me.' " Humanly, John was 6 months older than Jesus. But Jesus' existence didn't start at human birth. He's David's greater descendant who was actually 1st in both time & importance. Only Jesus, the One & Only, could say in Jn 8:58, "Before Abraham was, I Am." He came. Once for all. And the results of His coming are still with us. There's no exact translation for v. 16. Close, is: 16From His fullness we've all received grace in exchange for grace. In other words, whenever we use up the grace we have, there's more! No matter how much grace we've needed... No matter how much grace He's given... We can't ever run out! His grace isn't at all like the law. 17aFor the law was given through Moses. It can point us toward righteous behavior. But it can't help us obey. 17bGrace & truth came through Jesus Christ. Truth, God's law, is His standard of righteousness. In Jesus Christ, our understanding of God's law reaches its fullness. He shows us that the Law was always about our heart attitude (e.g., don't covet). "Out of the heart come evil... Nursing anger = murder. Harboring lust = adultery." Yet Jesus did more than give us the truth of how strict law really is. He brings us grace. Grace is God's attitude toward humanity, since we can't keep His law. It's not like there wasn't grace in the law, God's truth. Each of the law's sacrifices showed God's grace. In Jesus Christ, God's grace & truth reach their fullness. In grace, to fix our heart attitudes Jesus gives us His nature. His Spirit. Even more, He trades His righteousness for our sin. We can't run out of the fullness of His grace. Ever. Best of all, in grace, Jesus Christ gives us eternal life as God's children. In Jesus Christ, God's grace & truth reach their fullness. And it's all available to us. Finally, God is Spirit. 18aNo one has ever seen God, but God the One & Only. Our eyes can't see His glory. If we tried, we'd die. He's THAT glorious. Only one human ever saw God. 18bJesus the Son, the One at the Father's side. The closest relationship, for all eternity. The only exception? For 33 years, He set it all aside to go camping with us. In that time, Jesus showed us what His Father is like: love. Our Creator, who has eternal life, gave up His earthly life for us who are eternally dead, so we could have eternal life. 18cJesus has made Him known. He's the exact representation. He said whatever the Father said to say. His words are the Father's words. He did whatever His Father wanted Him to do. Whatever His Father was doing. He's the only one who could ever enter a look-alike contest for His Father. Jesus has made His Father known. He Has Made Him Known - John 1:10-18 Page 1 of 1