God in the Flesh / Dios En Carne
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
What is God like?
This has been a question that has often been in the minds of men, women, and children.
It is rare to have an ethnic group without some kind of religious inclination.
Most ancient and modern ethnic groups, have some kind of shrine, a temple, or sacred space dedicated to the worship of their god or gods.
Some groups portray their god or gods as:
Male or female
An animal-like creature
A mythical creature
A sweet / tender facial expression
…or a terrifying / scary expression
However, three of the main world religions claims to worship and invisible God.
These religions are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
These three monotheistic religions (e.g., belief in one God) claim to worship an invisible God - a God that cannot be seen with human eyes.
So in this aspect, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are very similar.
We do not have statues of our God.
We do not have images of our God.
We do not kneel before any statue or image of God because we believe that God is invisible and for this reason, it is an insult to God’s nature for us to make an image of the invisible God.
Another, thing that these three world religions have in common - is that there are no other Gods.
There is only one true God, who is invisible, and worthy to be worshipped.
There are no Gods aside from him.
The prophet Isaiah describes God in this way:
so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
people may know there is none besides me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Para que se sepa que desde el nacimiento del sol hasta donde se pone,
No hay ninguno fuera de Mí.
Yo soy el Señor, y no hay otro.
However, Christianity departs from Judaism and Islam in our belief that we believe that Jesus of Nazareth, who was born if the virgin Mary, is God in the flesh.
Judaism condemns this belief and says that Jesus Christ was a mistaken teacher.
Islam on the other hand, believes that we have committed a terrible sin by ascribing divinity to the prophet Jesus - who was after all, only human and one of Allah’s prophets.
However, we have gathered in this house of worship, as a Christian people, to celebrate the miracle of the incarnation and to praise God for the birth of the divine Messiah and Savior of all those who believe in him - Jesus Christ.
Today, we will consider John 1:14-18, which teaches us three important truths:
God became flesh / Dios vino en carne
God poured out his grace in the birth of Jesus / Dios derramó su gracia en ell nacimiento de Jesús
Jesus has come to make God known / Jesús vino a para dar a conocer a Dios
I. God became flesh / Dios vino en carne
I. God became flesh / Dios vino en carne
The Bible teaches us that God exists.
Many have denied God’s existence. However, they do it out of a foolish and sinful heart.
It is inconceivable that a world with so much complexity in nature and even in our human bodies, that there would not be a designer behind all of creation.
This God that exists is all powerful, all knowing, his presence cannot be contained in a single location (he is omnipresent), he is eternal (without beginning and without end).
For this reason, we should be astonished when we read verse 14.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
El Verbo se hizo carne, y habitó entre nosotros, y vimos Su gloria, gloria como del unigénito del Padre, lleno de gracia y de verdad.
John tells us about someone called “the Word” who became flesh.
The Word is introduced in John 1:1.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
En el principio ya existía el Verbo, y el Verbo estaba con Dios, y el Verbo era Dios.
The Word is God himself.
Therefore, when John tells us that “the Word” became flesh - this means:
God himself, who exists outside of time, outside of creation, outside of creatureliness - there was a time 2,000 years ago when this same God became flesh.
God took on human flesh and entered space and time.
God took on human flesh in the miracle of the incarnation.
When the Holy Spirit’s shadow came upon the virgin Mary, God himself was in the zygote, that later became and embryo, and then developed in to a fetus, until nine months later as Mary was giving birth - God was born of the virgin and gasped for air.
Many people find this impossible to believe. However, if you accept the Bible as truth, and believe that God created the heavens and the earth just as Genesis 1:1 declares, then surely it is no difficult thing for God to enter time and and space and be born of a virgin.
II. God poured out his grace in the birth of Jesus / Dios derramó su gracia en ell nacimiento de Jesús
II. God poured out his grace in the birth of Jesus / Dios derramó su gracia en ell nacimiento de Jesús
What was the result of the incarnation? What impact did God coming to earth in the flesh have upon humanity?
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
El Verbo se hizo carne, y habitó entre nosotros, y vimos Su gloria, gloria como del unigénito del Padre, lleno de gracia y de verdad.
John declares that God’s coming in the flesh resulted in sinful humanity seeing God’s glory.
Men, women, and children, as they were observing Jesus of Nazareth were seeing God’s glory.
This is an astonishing fact to consider.
These people were seeing God himself.
There were not seeing an ordinary jew walking in their midst.
They were seeing God in the flesh.
John declares people experienced God’s grace and truth.
Jesus showed God’s underserving grace to sinful humanity in many ways:
Healing the sick
Raising the dead
Casting out demons
Cleansing the lepers
Giving sight to the blind
Restoring hearing to the deaf
Letting the children come to him so that he could bless them, despite the apostle’s
Letting the poor, needy, to be taught as his feet
Letting the outcasts of society to come to him to experience his love and forgiveness
Jesus showed God’s truth as he taught with authority.
Jesus came to teach us about the kingdom of heaven and how we may enter it.
Jesus came to show us the way to salvation.
Jesus came to teach us that if we believe in him, then we will have eternal life.
Jesus came to reveal to us God’s forgiveness by confessing our sins and trusting only in him.
Now, it’s important to understand that the incarnation was God’s way of pouring more of his blessings upon humanity:
Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Pues de Su plenitud todos hemos recibido, y gracia sobre gracia.
Porque la ley fue dada por medio de Moisés; la gracia y la verdad fueron hechas realidad por medio de Jesucristo.
When God gave his law through Moses to the children of Israel, it was God’s way of blessing humanity through the knowledge and understanding of his law.
However, when Jesus came, God’s coming in the flesh, when Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, it was God’s way of pouring out even more blessing upon humanity.
Therefore, we should see the birth of Jesus Christ as God blessing sinful humanity with the greatest gift that could ever be given.
For it is through Jesus Christ that we see God’s grace and truth revealed.
It is through Jesus’ life that we see the greatest manifestation of God’s grace and truth.
And ultimately, Jesus’ birth had a singular purpose - that he would live a perfect life, a sinless life, a life of absolute obedience to God the Father, so that he may die on behalf of sinful humanity and that we may be forgiven of our sins.
Ultimately, every Christmas is God’s reminder that he offers you the gift of salvation through the birth and death of his son Jesus Christ.
III. Jesus has come to make God known / Jesús vino a para dar a conocer a Dios
III. Jesus has come to make God known / Jesús vino a para dar a conocer a Dios
Now, why is Jesus so unique? Why is he so special? Why is the name of Jesus Christ to be considered above all other names?
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
Nadie ha visto jamás a Dios; el unigénito Dios, que está en el seno del Padre, Él lo ha dado a conocer.
John reminds us of the one and only invisible God.
God cannot be seen by mere sinful mortals. In fact, the Bible says that no one can see God and live.
However, there is someone who has seen God.
The eternal son, Jesus Christ, who is God himself, has seen the Father.
Jesus Christ, who has been in relationship with the Father, the holy trinity, has seen the father.
For this reason, Jesus came to make the Father known.
He came to explain what God is like.
He came to show us God’s character.
He came to show us God’s mercy.
He came to show us God’s compassion.
Therefore, we cry out to Jesus, show me the Father.
Let me come to know the Father.
Let me come to experience his presence.
Let me experience his mercy, his comfort, his love, his power...
Come to Jesus and you will come to know the Father. Jesus said:
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
Jesús le dijo*: «¿Tanto tiempo he estado con ustedes, y todavía no me conoces, Felipe? El que me ha visto a Mí, ha visto al Padre. ¿Cómo dices tú: “Muéstranos al Padre”?
Therefore, come to Jesus and you will know the one and only true God.
Come to Jesus, and you will experience his grace and truth!