Became Flesh
Christmas According to John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 34:07
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· 29 viewsChrist "became flesh" is a fundamental teaching of the Bible—something that only heretics deny—but what does it really mean to become flesh and how does Christ's embodiment of humanity really impact my daily life?
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Contrasts
Contrasts are often used for emphasis—to make one part of the contrast more significant than it would have seemed otherwise. For example, President John F Kennedy once said,
Contrasts are often used for emphasis—to make one part of the contrast more significant than it would have seemed otherwise. For example, President John F Kennedy once said,
Illustration of dramatic contrasts
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“Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.”
Who God is from
President Kennedy wanted to focus the people’s attention on contributing rather than just consuming. If they aren’t juxtaposed, the contrast between consuming and contributing isn’t as obvious.
Became Flesh so that…
Family
Bring holiness/life/healing
Conclusion: , not as those who loved darkness rather than light, but beholding and believing, let us be children of God.
Contrasts are often used to make something stand out. For example, President John F Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.” His goal of focusing the people’s attention on contributing to the great crisis at hand was emphasized by the contrast of the people who just ask for handouts. Selfishness is contrasted with sacrificial duty.
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Consider this contrast between wealth and poverty. On one side of the fence is a luxurious, high-rise condo building where every unit has its own hanging gardens and pool. On the other side of the fence the people live very differently with extended families all living in a couple rooms, reduced access to electricity and water, and a high rate of crime.
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The apostle John begins his gospel with a dramatic contrast. It’s a contrast between rich and poor; between powerful and weak; between God and man. The focus of this contrast is so powerful, yet easy to skip past.
John uses a unique name for God before He took on human form; he calls God, the Word. Words are what we use to communicate, and this divinification of “word” illustrates God’s desire to express his heart and mind and will to His creation. John is trying to get us to recognize the bigness of God in this expression of the Word:
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The Word was in the beginning — before time existed
All things were created through the Word
All things were created through the Word
In the Word is life
The Word is God
Everything that we can perceive, everything we are, and even our very life is because of the Word. This is the bigness part of the contrast.
And yet...
John walks us through a significant problem that we have—we can’t comprehend God.
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And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” NKJV
I’ve always thought of this verse as Jesus doing ministry on this world and people rejecting him. He is the Light, and they hung him on a tree. But the more I’ve studied this passage, the more I think John was talking about the Light before Jesus came to the world.
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He says that "The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” ().
TheBibleProject.org has a video about this dynamic. The whole video is about the three-in-oneness of the godhead, but we’re just going to look at the first minute to wrap our heads around the complexity of humanity understanding divinity.
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Show God.mp4 video (1:24)
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Encountering the God of the Bible. It’s what God wanted for us from the beginning of creation. Adam and Even got to hang out with God until they sinned, and then God had to veil his glory from them so they wouldn’t die. Ever since God has been working to bring us back into His presence.
He told the Israelites to build him a sanctuary so that he could dwell among them. He used angels and prophets and visions to try to connect with us, but ultimately, the people made idols of creation, killed the prophets, and made up their own self-seeking interpretations of the visions.
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God’s glory was magnificent, but like people living on a 2D plane trying to comprehend a 3D God, the world misunderstood and ultimately decided they loved darkness rather than light.
So, God became flesh.
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There’s a “so that” connected with this statement from
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.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Notice the “so that” portion of this verse:
The Word became flesh so that he could dwell among us
He became flesh so that we could see his glory
He became flesh so that we could behold his grace and truth
It wasn’t that becoming flesh was God’s last ditch effort to connect with us—no, this was his plan all along—but John is using a dramatic contrast to help us understand the significance of this moment.
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God—immortal, immutable, all-powerful, all-knowing—God, became flesh.
[
Became Flesh
What does it mean that He became flesh?
Without a doubt John means that God became a human. A human with skin and bones and blood. A human with needs and vulnerabilities and limitations. A human with desires and passions and interests. A human, born of a woman, born as a baby.
But there’s more to this idea of flesh that we need to explore.
[next slide]But there’s more to this idea of flesh that we need to explore.
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Both the Old Testament Hebrew word, basar and the New Testament Greek word, sarx, are used by Bible writers in only a few ways.
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John could have said, “And the word became a human being,” but that doesn’t convey all the meaning inherent in these ancient words. Instead, John wrapped up a several nuanced ideas into one phrase, “the Word became flesh.”
Flesh means someone’s physical body
Without a doubt John means that God became a human. A human with skin and bones and blood. A human with needs and vulnerabilities and limitations. A human with desires and passions and interests. A human, born of a woman, born as a baby.
God became flesh to be one of us—a human. He came to be in the same plane of existence as us so that we could see Him. Not in his 3 dimensional, godness, but in our 2 dimensional humanness.
It means meat that is used for food
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It’s an illustration of a family relationship
God also became flesh to be our family. Like Adam talking to Eve, God is saying to us, “I am bone of your bone, flesh of your flesh. I’m related to you.” He became flesh so that we could see him as brother and father.
It’s an illustration of a family relationship
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Flesh is food that you might put on your table
It means meat that is used for food
It is a contrast between the spiritual and the physical realms
When I first considered this meaning of flesh I tossed it out—it’s only talking about the stuff you’d put on your table at dinner time. Then, I took a closer look and realized that Jesus said of himself,
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever...” ()
John is squeezing every last drop out of this “flesh” metaphor, and he’s not even done yet!
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The New King James Version. (1982). (). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Flesh is food that you might put on your table
Flesh was a word used in the context of sin offerings and ritual cleansing
He also became flesh to be our sacrifice and our holiness.
Oh, of course you know about Jesus, the lam of God offered like a lamb on the altar, his blood taken into the heavenly sanctuary to pardon our sin. You already knew that, but did you know about the sin offering that isn’t burned on the altar?
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The priest who offers it for sin shall eat it. In a holy place it shall be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting. Whatever touches its flesh shall be holy, and when any of its blood is splashed on a garment, you shall wash that on which it was splashed in a holy place.
This sin offering was brought to the priest for him to boil the flesh and he had to eat it. There is a ton of symbolism in this ceremony, but what I want to focus on is the phrase “whatever touches its flesh shall be holy.”
Whatever touches its flesh shall be holy, and when any of its blood is splashed on a garment, you shall wash that on which it was splashed in a holy place.
This sin offerings was brought to the priest for him to boil the flesh and he had to eat it. There is a ton of symbolism in this ceremony, and it’s not lost on me that Jesus was both the sacrifice that was eaten, and the priest in this metaphor. What I want to focus on is the phrase “whatever touches its flesh shall be holy.”
I don’t know for sure if John was thinking of this little point when he wrote “The Word became flesh,” but what happened when the Word became flesh is so much like this little verse that it’s hard to dismiss it.
Holiness
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In the Bible there is a significant idea called “holiness.” God is the transcendent, powerful, holy one. Holy actually means, unique, or set apart, and God is the most unique, most set apart being in all of existence.
You could compare God to the sun, just for illustration sake. The sun is our powerful source of light. Without it there wouldn’t be life on earth. Yet, the closer you get to the sun, the closer you get to danger.
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If we were to take a tour of the sun we’d end up burning up in it’s presence because of it’s power.
God is our source of life and at the same time He is dangerously powerful.
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Moses stood near a burning bush and God told him, “don’t come any closer… take off your sandals” because even the dirt around God becomes holy.
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In the sanctuary a priest would be killed if he came into God’s presence with any ceremonial impurity. Anything associated with death and disease and even some bodily fluids could make you unclean. Portions of the book of Leviticus are dedicated to the ceremonies that resolve ritual impurity. All through the first part of the Bible, whenever something that was unclean touched you, you became unclean too.
Until the prophet Isaiah...
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Show holiness.mp4 (2:05)
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Jesus is like the sin offering in —whatever touches His flesh becomes holy. In fact, it’s not just what touches, though the woman with the flow of blood can attest to the effectiveness of touching even Jesus’ garment, but this holiness transfer also comes from beholding Jesus, and right here in John tells us that holiness gets transferred by simply believing:
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But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
No, John doesn’t use the word “holy” in this verse, instead he chose to use the other word that is so significant to the idea of becoming flesh, “children”—family.
Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’
q
To John, holiness is being part of God’s family. In Jesus points out that it’s not all that significant to be Abraham’s child—you need to be a child of God to be saved.
In and again in , Jesus calls his disciples, “children.”
John adopts this family metaphor in the beginning of his letters to the churches with the phrase “my little children.”
Because the Word became flesh, His holiness transforms all who believe on His name.
Because the Word became flesh, Jesus is our brother, and His father is our Father.
Because Jesus became flesh, His father is our Father. Because Jesus became flesh, His holiness transforms all who believe on His name.
Conclusion
Seeing the God who became flesh provides us an opportunity.
We can be like the people who saw the Light and loved darkness rather than light.
or
We can believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved through him—we can become the children of God through Jesus.
Summary of
The word was in the beginning
with God
was God
All things were created through him
In Him was life
and light
that light shines in the darkness but the darkness didn’t comprehend it
John came as a witness about the light
so that all might believe through him
the light was coming into the world
The Light was in the world (that he created)
the world didn’t recognize him
they didn’t receive him
whoever receives him are children of God (those who believe on his name)
born of God
The Word became flesh
dwelt among us
we beheld his glory
as the one and only son from the father
full of grace and truth
John testified about this saying “he existed before me”
We have all received grace from his fullness
The law was through moses but grace through Jesus Christ
No one has ever seen God
The Son, who is God, has revealed him.
Big Idea:
God became flesh so that we could behold (comprehend) his glory and be given grace (saved).
Brainstorming & Research
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The interesting thing about being a child of God is that you’re in the same position as Jesus—the word of God has become flesh in his children. In , Jesus says that we need to be born again. Just like Jesus was born of a woman, we need to be born of the spirit.
God took on humanity to show us His glory, then purifies all who believe in Him so that His glory can be seen through us. Of course, this doesn’t make us gods—that would a silly conclusion—but it does make us God’s ambassadors.
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Since Jesus is our example of what it means to become flesh, what did Jesus do with God’s glory when He took on Human form? He fed people. H cared for people. He touched people. He healed people. And he taught people about His Father. Ultimately, he gave his life for his friends... and enemies.
How will you, child of God, become flesh to those God has put around you?
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
…which is translated, “God with us.”
Church Culture
I’ve been thinking about the culture of a church. It can so easily devolve into a performance that we do every week.
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I went to a big, 3,000 seat church that had set up their massive parking lot with a drive-through Christmas lights show. After the drive-through you could park and walk inside for some hot chocolate. [next slide] The facility had a few classrooms for kids and a beautiful café, but everything in the facility was made for one main thing—their Sunday worship service. [next slide] They have a massive sanctuary with five huge LED screens, concert lighting, stadium seating… it was a huge production. Everywhere around the church they had pictures of their praise group singing songs with multicolor lights and smoke and beautiful backdrops—the whole enchilada. I don’t know the church so I can’t say what their priorities are, but from the amount of money and effort they put into their weekly services, my guess is that their priority is their worship service.
Especially in a large church like Village Church it’s easy to let ministry be something the professionals do, the sanctuary becomes this big room where we meet together, and worship becomes something that we experience on a weekly basis when we attend a service. There’s nothing wrong with a beautiful sanctuary, or even a big one. If we used a little stage smoke now and again God wouldn’t mind. But, if our priority and focus of doing church is a big show we put on every week, then we’ve lost the point of God’s church.
is written in the context of John’s persuasive writing about the divinity of Jesus—his proof that Jesus is the Messiah. Emphatic statements that begin the book include:
Revelation talks about a majestic scene where God is on his throne surrounded by concentric rings of amazing creatures, His council of 24 elders, seraphim and cherubim, and everyone is singing, “holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God almighty, who was and is and is to come.” It’s a place I would love to be. The entire focus is worshiping God. Bayside has nothing on this amazing service.
The Word was GodHe was in the beginning with God
But if God felt it was worthwhile to leave that scene of majesty and glory to become a human, our brother—our holiness—then shouldn’t we be prioritizing that same mission? Jesus calls us to more than a weekly ritual of doing church. He calls us to be His body—his hands, his feet, his voice, his ears.
All things were made by the word
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In Him is lifeHe is the light of the worldTo all those who receive Him and believe on His name he gives he right to become children of God
It’s in this context, and immediately following these bold statements about the origin and identity of Jesus that John says, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” It’s a statement of contrast.
How can I be someone’s family?
In this Christmas season, I pray that you behold Jesus—God incarnate; the Word become flesh—and you ask yourself, “how can I be someone’s family? How can I bring God’s glory into someone else’s life?”
What reason does John have for introducing John the Baptist in the middle of these statements about Jesus? Maybe he’s setting up John as “Elijah”, the fulfillment of prophecy, and therefore another indicator of Jesus’ identity.
There is a lot of need in our own congregation. You are all very generous, I wouldn’t want to understate what you already give to the Lord in money and service. Yet, as long as we live in a broken world, there will be brokenness and need around us.
Earlier in the passage John says, “the true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” (Verse 9) This is a statement about the future, “he’s about to come into he world…” Yet, in the next verse he says “He was [already] in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know him.” (Verse 10) This is setting up the significant contrast here—Jesus is God, He created everything, He not only created but is “in” the world. Yet, people didn’t know Him. God, the immortal, invisible, spiritual being of immeasurable power is beyond the understanding of humanity. Our perceptions of God are limited. In fact, John goes on to say that even when the Word became flesh, the people didn’t receive him, and we find out that they didn’t receive Him because they didn’t know God or what God was like or what the Messiah would be doing and so their perception of the Word-as-flesh was distorted. They misunderstood His revelation about His incarnation and as a result they wanted a conquering king who would be to them what they wanted Him to be. Instead, he came into the world as “flesh.” Though it was through is incarnation that He displayed his “glory” — grace and truth — they thought he was a man and a rebel from their religious norms.
It may be that a family has just lost their loved one—let’s go the extra mile and make sure they have the emotional, physical, and financial support they need to make it through this period of loss and mourning.
Flesh… dwelt… glory…
It may be that a family is in a financial or housing crisis and we need to band together to help them get to a place where they begin to thrive.
There is a progression of ideas built into “became flesh”
It may be that a marriage needs our investment. Maybe we need to offer to take their kids for the weekend and send them to Family Life’s Weekend To Remember marriage conference. Or maybe we need to organize a marriage coaching system at our church so that every marriage becomes stronger.
Maybe we there are young people among us who need to be launched into a successful career, or given education opportunities that they can’t otherwise access, or experience the benefits of intergenerational friendships.
First, God took our form so that he could dwell, and it was in our flesh, dwelling with us, that he revealed his glory
Yes, there are many ways that we can be God’s flesh in our own church community, but there are also needs outside of our church community—there is a whole world out there that has huge misconceptions about who God is—they have loved darkness rather than light, and they need us to “put on flesh” so they can see God’s glorious nature through us.
What is important for me to know about this passage?
I’m sure if we looked closely, we’d find a lot of ways that we can “put on flesh” to respond to the needs around us.
What really matters for my practical life right now?
Has Jesus touched your life yet? Are you a child of God?
Then, rise up, O church of God.
Is there something God trying to tell me about himself?
Behold God’s grace and truth, believe on Jesus’ name, and as Children of the Heavenly Father, put on flesh for the people around you.
He is humble
Is there something he is inviting me into?
Thinking about “became flesh”
It was the “word” that became flesh. The word is most definitely a name for Jesus, one of the parts of the godhead, but it is also the way that God had been communicating to the world. That the communication of God became flesh in order to communicate and show God’s glory.
The word is most definitely a name for Jesus, one of the parts of the godhead, but it is also the way that God had been communicating to the world. That the communication of God became flesh in order to communicate and show God’s glory.What other “words” become flesh? Wedding covenant becomes flesh in marriageThis is not an exchange of divinity for humanity (RH Oct 29, 1895), but clothed his divinity in humanityBecame flesh = became humanBeing human was required for our salvation…This was always the plan from the beginningAt just the right time he became human (prophecy)Not just “became flesh” and magically appeared as a grown man, but “born of a woman”
What other “words” become flesh? Wedding covenant becomes flesh in marriageThis is not an exchange of divinity for humanity (RH Oct 29, 1895), but clothed his divinity in humanity
Became flesh = became human
Being human was required for our salvation…This was always the plan from the beginning
At just the right time he became human (prophecy)
Not just “became flesh” and magically appeared as a grown man, but “born of a woman”
Flesh
An unambiguous statement of Jesus' incarnation as a human being; something that is required of every believer in Christ to acknowledge ()
A reference to the fact that Jesus was going to be a sacrificial lamb (; )"I am your Flesh and bone" () suggests a familial relationship
A contrast between spiritual/divine and human ()Literally, "became a body" (, Paul talks about how their bodies (sarx) didn't get any rest)
There is a spiritual contrast between living "according" to the flesh and living according to the spirit (, )
Came in the “likeness of man”
Humbled himself to death on the cross