What Child Is This? (Part 4)

John 1:14-18

To fully understand John 1:14-18 you need to study Exodus 33-40.

1. God cannot be seen (v. 18a).

“Then Moses said, ‘Now show me your glory.’ And the Lord said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence…. But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live’” (Exodus 33:18, 20). Moses received a glimpse of God’s “back” (33:23). It was a partial revelation of God’s glory.

OT saints were usually terrified of seeing God (Exodus 3:6b; Judges 13:21-22; Job 13:11; Isaiah 6:5; cf. John 12:41).

The reason for humanity’s inability to see God is twofold: (1) God is spirit (John 4:24); (2) mankind fell into sin and was expelled from God’s presence (Genesis 3; Isaiah 59:2).

2. God became human (v. 14a).

The word of God once came to man on stone tablets (Exodus 34:1); now “the Word” (Jesus) has come in the “flesh” (see 1 John 1:1-2).

Before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He lived:
· John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, ‘This was he of whom I said, “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me”’” (v. 15).
· “And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6b).
· “But you, Bethlehem of Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times [or, from days of eternity]” (Micah 5:2).

“Dwelt” = “to set up a tent.” God once dwelt among men in a tent (Exodus 33:9-11); now He has dwelt among us in a human body.

Jesus is fully God and fully man.

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’—which means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:22-23).

3. God made Himself known (v. 14b, 18b).

As our words reveal who we are, so “the Word” (Jesus) reveals who God is.

In the NIV, verse 18 describes Jesus as “God the One and Only.”

Jesus “is at the Father’s side” (v. 18). The KJV says “in the bosom of the Father.” Literally, John says that Jesus is “in the Father’s lap.” This expression is used elsewhere in the NT: (1) the beggar “was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22 KJV); (2) “there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23 KJV). This expression brings out the closeness between the Father and the Son.

Jesus “has made [the Father] known” (v. 18). The KJV says “hath declared him.” This means that Jesus has given us a full account of the Father. God is as Jesus revealed Him.

Verse 18b is similar to verse 1:
· “In the bosom of the Father” is parallel to “with God”;
· “God the One and Only” is parallel to “was God”;
· “Has made him known” is parallel to “the Word” (God’s self-expression).

As “the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:35b), so His glory filled the body of Jesus.

How did people see God’s glory through Jesus? The glory could only be seen with the “eye” of faith:
· Through His miracles - “This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him” (John 2:11; cf. 11:4, 40).
· Through His crucifixion and resurrection - “Jesus replied, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds’” (John 12:23-24; cf. 13:31).

God told Moses that He is a God of “grace and truth” ("love and faithfulness," Exodus 34:5-7), but now God has shown us through Jesus. The love and faithfulness found ultimate expression in God’s sending of Jesus, His one and only Son.

4. God came to bless us (vv. 16-17).

God came not just to show us love, but to give us love.

The blessings of God (eternal life, forgiveness, hope, peace) are available only through faith in Jesus Christ.

The greatest blessing will be to know God and live with Him forever in heaven:
· “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3).
· “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:3).

[A sermon by John Piper, “The Word Became Flesh,” was used in the preparation of this sermon.]