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The Word Became Flesh

Mary Fairchild

JimMooberry

The following is the phonetic reading of the expository teaching of Pastor Jim Mooberry.
John 1:14-18; “And the Word Became Flesh,” The Gospel of John.

 

 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

“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 bare witness of him and cried, saying, “This was He of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for He was before me. And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” John 1:14

….the mere thought of time travel pales in comparison to another invasion of history by one outside of it. I’m speaking of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As John tells it, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And yet this Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

The eternal God, the Creator of the universe in the person of the Word came forth from the Father with whom He … Now the only death that would satisfy for the justice of God for all human beings was a sacrifice that God himself would provide. Only God could provide sacrifice in our place that would satisfy his infinite demands and it was necessary then that this Son of God take to himself humanity that he might die that death for us; that’s the chief reason for the incarnation. But another reason, and this is what John is focusing on here in the beginning of his gospel is that the incarnation is necessary if God is going to reveal himself to men. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory. Glory as of the only begotten from the Father full of grace and truth. No man has seen God at any time but the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he has explained Him.

The person of our Lord Jesus Christ is God’s answer to the question “what is God like?” The answer, “Jesus Christ.” Jesus said “he who has seen me has seen the Father.” When the Word became flesh, finally we as human beings were able to see God manifested to us. For a moment, let us consider the method of incarnation. When we talk about the incarnation, this is the definition that we are speaking of: “God the Son taking a human body to be His forever.” That’s the incarnation. It comes from the Latin word which means to be “clothed” or “embodied” in the flesh. It is the same Latin word that we get the word reincarnation from, a heresy that says that men and women die and are reincarnated as another person. To be incarnated, to have an incarnation means to be embodied or to be clothed with a human body, human flesh.

How would God enter the human race? He had to be a man in order to die for us and in order to be a perfect true man he must have a body, a soul, and a spirit. Three options 1) He could have come into the world and taken an already existing body; but that’s not incarnation, it’s simply indwelling the person who is inhabiting that body and what about he person, where does he fit in? 2) He could suddenly make an appearance in the world instantly with a created body; but he would really not be a son of Adam like all of the rest of us…we all ultimately trace our humanity, our humanness back to our forefather in Adam—we are all children of Adam. He would not be one. More than that, how could he prove His humanity with no birth. 3) God chose to enter the human realm as every other man enters the human race by birth. Bethlehem is the way that God entered the human race.

John’s gospel begins describing the incarnation event from the perspective of eternity. The fact of the incarnation is found in vs. 14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory. Glory begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Now, when it says that the Word became flesh, it literally means that the Word came to be flesh and in that statement there are at least three things that are taught to us. The Word came to be flesh…the first thing we see in that is that Bethlehem was not the beginning of the person of the Son of God, or the person of Jesus Christ…. In the beginning the Word was already existing, the Word was with God, and He is God and so Bethlehem is not he beginning of the person of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist says “the one that’s coming after me is higher rank than I because he existed before me.” Nor was this the first the first visit to the Son of God to the human realm. There are different appearances of the angel of Jehovah, the angel of the Lord which is the preincarnate visitation of Jesus Christ to Abraham, to Jacob, to Moses, to Joshua as the captain of the hosts. So when it says that the Word came to be flesh it did not begin at that point, but there was a change in His existence. Secondly, “came to be” does not mean the Word changed from being God to something else.

JESUS CHRIST IS AND WAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE BOTH THE WORD (DEITY) AND FLESH (HUMANITY) at the same time. The Word did not cease when He became a man, nor was there an alteration in the Trinity—as though the second person left the Trinity. It is still, today, one God subsisting in three persons; the triune God. Only an additional nature has become the property of second person of that Trinity; He now also has a human nature. So, He is not God and man as though two persons, He is not God in man as though He is not really human, He is not a man God as though He is not really God, but He is the God man—He is absolutely unique. He is one person with two natures, a divine nature and a human nature. No wonder the Apostle Paul wrote “and by common confession, or acknowledgment, GREAT IS THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS.” God who is revealed in the flesh; it is a tremendous mystery—this person.

Now, a proper understanding of this nature of the union between God and His humanity exposes false teaching. The false teaching of Satan and the cults in history….you’ve got to know these things if you’re going to grow spiritually….theology is practical….it is the same as the making of an engineer. There is no class at a university that you go take where you just go in as a normal person, and you come out an engineer. No, you take a whole curriculum of different classes. Some of those things that you are taught in those classes are unrelated or impractical, but when you are finished you have the skills, the knowledge, the ability as a whole to be a good engineer. It’s the same with a Christian, theology is the building blocks of a spiritual Christian. It’s the theology here…the brick here…the brick there that builds the strong wall of a Christian. Theology is important, it’s the study of God. Now, what else is there in life for us except for the pursuit of the knowledge of God? That’s why we do it; coming to know God better; pursuing a knowledge of God.

A proper understanding of this person of Jesus Christ dispels some heretical teachings:

  1. The Dossitists: Christ, the Dossitists taught, had an apparent human body—he wasn’t a true man. He was sort of a phantom. This is the same error that is in a slightly different form that is in Christian Science today. But John says “the Word became flesh.” That word is used throughout the Scriptures of humanness (flesh).
  2. Aryanism is also dispelled….they taught in the second century that Christ was not God he was really just a man with the Christ spirit on him, whatever that was. Now, this is the exact same heresy that is alive today in the Unification Church of Reverend Moon, Jehovah Witnesses in a slightly different form, and also Mormonism, in Islam… that Jesus Christ is really just a man. But John says “no” in verse 14 “the Word becomes flesh” is the same word in verse 1 that was with God and that was God. He is the God man.
  3. It dispels Aplonarianism; ..they taught that the Lord Jesus Christ was God and man but that he was God just in a human body, in other words he had no human soul only a human body. But the Word flesh in the writings of John always means total humanity—body, soul, and spirit. In chapter 12:27 Jesus says “now my soul has become troubled.” Jesus is a perfect human being. He has body, soul, and spirit and yet he is only one person.
  4. Nestorianism; ….taught that the Lord Jesus Christ was actually two persons—one divine and one human. Can you imagine what confusion that would bring? …but John says “No, the Word, one person became flesh.” One person took on an additional nature—a human nature. The correct understanding of the Scriptures teach us that Jesus Christ is the God man. He is one person eternally existing but two natures both divine and now human.

What is the practical application of this? Jesus Christ is total humanity. Perfect humanity—100% human. Can He identify with us in our human weaknesses…? He most certainly can. He’s not just a God that is distant and detached from us—He is one of us.

The writer of Hebrews says this: “Since the children share in flesh and blood He himself likewise also partook of the same. First of all that He might die for us, but there’s a result, for since He himself was tempted in that which he has suffered He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.” Hebrews 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are yet without sin.” When we are weak and we don’t come through with what we plan….Jesus Christ understands that. He understands what it’s like to be human….He is a God that identifies with us. That has many practical applications in your life. He also suffered loss of loved ones—He knows what that’s about. But on the other side, is there anything that is too difficult for our Savior? If He is the Word, the Creator of the universe who has become flesh is there anything that is too difficult for Him?

“Flesh” there does not mean sinful flesh. No where in the Bible does it say that Jesus Christ took sinful flesh or ever sinned, in fact it says the opposite. 1Cor. 5: 21: “He (God the Father) made Him (God the Son) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Jesus Christ personally never knew sin. Judicially and legally, God made Him an object of judgment of sin for us. He was the spotless lamb…He was tempted (Hebrews 4:15) but was without sin. He is the sinless God man. It can only be that way.

The fact of the incarnation “the Word became flesh,” the result of it in the rest of the verse “and he dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father full of grace and truth.” Now, two specific results are mentioned here: 1) God dwelt among men. The word there “dwelt” is literally “tabernacle” the word used for pitching a tent. It is a temporary dwelling and for 33 years Jesus Christ dwelt on the earth with people…I think there is also an illusion here to the Old Testament tabernacle….the temporary dwelling place of God that went with Israel wherever they went in the wanderings, the tent of meeting called the tabernacle…well, this little verse here shows us…. that the tabernacle was a shadow or a type of Jesus Christ. For in the tabernacle God dwelled with his people and in Jesus Christ God also dwells with his people. True worship was offered through the service of the tabernacle—true worship is offered through the Son Jesus Christ.

The glory of God was seen in the midst of the people in the tabernacle—the glory of God is now seen in the Son Jesus Christ. God dwelt among men. The second result is that his glory was manifested to men. The term there “glory” is a term that’s used in the Scriptures as the sum total of God’s attributes. Everything that there is about God is his glory. When you think about that in the life of Jesus Christ, for example, his omniscience—many times in the life of Jesus Christ the omniscience of God is demonstrated through what Jesus Christ knew and said. His glory, the glory of God, is demonstrated. His omnipotence, the miracles of Jesus Christ demonstrated the omnipotent power of God, that is his glory. The love of God was demonstrated in the life of Jesus Christ going to the cross and coming for us at all and identifying with us. That is part of the glory of God. The glory was beheld as from the only begotten from the Father. Now, John is the only on who uses this term only begotten (monogenaise). It means unique; the only example of its type in its class. In the English we have the idea that means there was a beginning like a birth but that’s not in the Greek word, it means unique. The Word became flesh and He is the eternal Son, He is the only Son, He is the unique Son.

If you have difficulty understanding this join the crowd…. It’s a mystery. He is the eternal Son of God and when he became flesh he manifested eternal glory of the Father. And such a one, John says, has opened to the world of sinners the riches of grace and truth. Everything Jesus is, was, or said is truth. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except by me.” Everything he did or said was true….He is the grace of God to us. He is the truth of God….Think about your life and the trials. The decisions you have to make and the pressure you are experiencing….in all of these things is our Saviour adequate? More than adequate. Jesus is the grace and truth of God. He manifests the glory from the Father. This is the doctrine of the incarnation—this is what we celebrate at Christmas…

The confirmation of it in verses 15-17: This incarnation was confirmed by three different witnesses. The first was John the Baptist, the Word of God’s forerunner in verse 15: “John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.” Now, this is an amazing statement for John the Baptist to make…he was actually born six months earlier than his cousin Jesus Christ and yet he says that he is superior to me and in actuality was in existence before I was born. What is he saying? He’s giving testimony to the preexistence of the Lord Jesus Christ. He bears witness to Him. Where did John the Baptist get such an idea? It’s in the Old Testament (Micah 5:2; Isaiah 9:6; Daniel 7:13..). The Old Testament predicted that the coming Messiah had a preexistent or an eternal nature about him.

“But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel: whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2

John the Baptist knew that the coming Messiah was an eternal being, the thing he didn’t know until the baptism of Jesus Christ was that it was his cousin. In chapter one…verse 29-34, the next day, this is after the baptism of Jesus Christ, “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him (remember when that happened at the baptism? The dove came and rested on the shoulder of Jesus Christ.). And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.” John the Baptist said “Now it is Yeshua my cousin, this is the one although he came after me he existed before me—he is superior to me, He is the Son of God.

And John the Baptist gave testimony to the incarnation. It was confirmed by John the Baptist, it was confirmed by Jesus’ disciples in verse 16: “And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.” Here John breaks in with his testimony and by extension this is the testimony of everyone who ever comes to know Christ as Savior…. Believers can say “of his fullness I have received grace upon grace.” Of his what fullness? It’s in verse 14—grace and truth. In fact, the word there “grace and grace” is literally grace in place of grace, or grace in exchange for grace….

What does it mean that when we taste of the salvation that Christ paid for we come to know Him personally we receive grace upon grace? First of all, it means this… the Christian life is at all points based upon grace. When we talk about grace we mean unmerited favor, blessing bestowed without deserving it and the Christian life is at every point in that particular life based on unmerited favor from God. We begin that way by God drawing us to himself when we do not want to know him. Paul says none of us seek after him, none of us know him, we’ve all turned our own way—God draws those to himself whom he saves.

Grace unmerited—it continues through life upon grace. We stumble, we fail and yet God continually takes us through, why? It’s unmerited, it’s grace and the future will culminate in grace when he changes our bodies and in resurrection we become like Christ. You can’t get out of the grace of God once you’re in it. Grace upon grace. That’s why the hymn Amazing Grace is so popular…. “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear (when? When you believed) and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed (you first taste the grace of God). Through many dangerous toils and snares I have already come. Tis grace that has brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home.”

At every point in the Christian life it is grace—unmerited favor. And secondly, this little phrase “grace in place of grace” that grace—you can never exhaust God’s supply of grace. No matter how much of God’s grace you appropriate, or you need there is no less available. Try applying that principle to your checking account. No matter how many checks you write there’s just always money there…right? It doesn’t work that way. But in the grace of God no matter how much you use of it, no matter how much it’s dispensed there’s never any less there.

The incarnation was confirmed by John the Baptist, by Jesus’ disciples, and by the Lord Jesus Christ in His ministry. In verse 17 there is a summary of that life, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” There are two great movements of God in evangelizing the world, the one is law, the other is grace. God always saves on the basis of grace but the law was given as a preparation for grace which is the provision for salvation. By the law there is the knowledge of sin. God gave the law to the world not that he knew that they’d be able to earn their way to heaven, we can not do that, the law was given primarily to reveal the fact that we are sinners so that we would be prepared with empty hands to receive the grace of God which we cannot earn. The law came through Moses that was the old covenant. This fullness of grace came through Jesus Christ that is the new covenant.

Grace and truth were brought to fulfillment were realized through this one Jesus Christ. God has done all he’s going to do through Him with regard to salvation. The incarnation was confirmed by John the Baptist, by Jesus’ disciples, and by Jesus’ own life and ministry. Finally, verse 18 and what the Apostle John says about what this incarnation as being a revelation of the person of God. No man has seen God at any time. But what about Old Testament appearances? What about when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush? What about appearing in dreams? The key here is that these are only partial disclosures of God. Even when Moses was on the mountain and God walked in front of him Moses was only allowed to see the back of God not a full disclosure of His pure essence for the Scriptures say that no man can see God in His full essence and live. Man cannot see God in His essential nature—pure Spirit—we cannot view him that way. 1 Timothy 6:16 corroborates that by Paul: “Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting.” But his nature, his inner essence can be seen in the person of Jesus Christ. It’s very similar to you and I. I can’t see your spirit and soul. I can’t see you in your essential essence alone. I must have your body to communicate your essence to me. We are body, soul, and spirit. We are a unity designed by God, but the way I know your inner essence is through your physical agent or body. The same thing is true with Jesus Christ. That is the way we truly see God is through the vehicle of the Son Jesus Christ.

The Son interprets God. The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. That’s a Greek word “exegasis” which we get the word “interpret” from: to make known, or explain, something hidden or a mystery. Jesus Christ makes known or explains what is hidden knowledge about God. What we could not find out any other way Jesus Christ explains to us and reveals to us about the person of God. Now, this means that the true knowledge of God cannot be found in philosophical investigation. Paul says that men by their own reasoning have never figured God out. In fact, their imaginations of what God is supposed to be like always turn out to be idols—false gods. The only true knowledge of God exists in the person of Jesus Christ manifested. This true knowledge does not exist on the earth before or outside of Him and all other human ideas formed about God are either incomplete or imaginary apart from Jesus Christ—He has interpreted God to us. He has explained God to us in His words and in His actions. This is one of the greatest texts in the New Testament on the person of Jesus Christ. When you properly understand something about the nature of that divine being Jesus Christ it can affect everything else in your life as you relate to the Scriptures and to God in His work in your life.

Many times, and this happened in churches all over the country, all over the world, throughout the history of the church—there are those people who come and they listen and sometimes they appreciate what’s being said ….sometimes they don’t, but they always put off coming to grips with the person of Jesus Christ and their response to Him. And I think that it is perhaps as appropriate as it will ever be this morning in beginning the first verses of the Gospel of John for if you have never stopped and confronted yourself and said “What this man is saying from the Word of God I believe is true and it calls forth from me a response. Am I going to accept and believe what is being said about this person in history or am I not?”

I think it’s important this morning that if you that if you’re in such a dilemma, such a situation, why don’t you take this morning and respond in faith? Life is so uncertain. Who knows if we will see you again next Sunday….if you will be on the earth? and I speak very frankly with you. Everyone is going to have to one day bow before this person Jesus Christ Paul tells us and confess that He is Lord. And yet for those who have come to know Him as Saviour, it is not an ordeal, it is a joy.

Because the difference in meeting God, whether it is meeting Him in love or in fear is whether you have responded to the provision of grace that God has made. If you respond to it and say “I accept by faith, I believe that Jesus Christ paid my penalty. I believe that He died for me—He is my Saviour. If a person believes that with saving faith, I mean you trust it—it is a certainty, then you will greet Him overjoyed, excited to see His face. As the song said, “Just to see a smile in your direction from Him will be glory for you.”

But if you reject that provision, one day you will have to face Him in a horrible condition with no excuse, with no plea and with nothing to be brought forward but your sin and that will be the day you will hear the voice of the Son of God say, “Into all eternity you must go into hell.” I hope that you have considered that in your life. I hope that if you never have that you will consider it this morning. It’s the truth….simply acknowledge in your heart “it’s true.”

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