WWUTT 787 The Word Dwelt Among Us?

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John 114 says that the Word, Jesus Christ, became flesh and dwelt among us, fulfilling something that was depicted all the way back in Old Testament Israel with the tabernacle when we understand the text.

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You're listening to When We Understand the Text, committed to sound teaching of the Word of God. For questions and comments, email whenweunderstandthetext at gmail .com.

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And don't forget our website, www .tt .com. Here's our host, Pastor Gabe.

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Thank you, Becky. So we continue with our study of the Gospel of John, Chapter 1, and our reading this week has been in verses 14 through 18.

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The Apostle John wrote, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen

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His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

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John bore witness about Him and cried out, This was He of whom I said,

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He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me. For from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

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For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

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No one has ever seen God. The only God who is at the Father's side,

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He has made Him known. So yesterday and starting off this particular section, we got as far as,

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And the Word became flesh. But that's all right, because that event, as I mentioned yesterday, is the most significant event in history, that God Himself, Creator of all things, who brought all things into existence by the

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Word of His power and holds all things together by His Word, stepped into human flesh, stepped into the very people who had blasphemed

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His name and rebelled against God. And the purpose for doing this was to purify for Himself a people for His own possession.

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It wasn't that long ago. We were in the book of Titus and Titus chapter 2, verse 14 says that Jesus Christ gave

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Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.

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And this was the reason why Jesus Christ came so that He might show the full measure of His glory through mercy that He would show to people that He has purified for Himself.

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We read about God's wrath and His mercy, about displaying the full measure of His glory in Romans chapter 9.

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It's Romans 9, beginning in verse 22, where we read, What if God, desiring to show

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His wrath and make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which

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He has prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He has called, not from the

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Jews only, but also from the Gentiles. So God had predestined to show both

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His wrath and His mercy, and this showing the full range of His glory.

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He would have objects of His wrath that would be destroyed in His righteous judgment so that He may also show mercy to those people whom

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He has made the objects of His love and affection, that they might see

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His glory displayed in this way. In all of this, God is glorified, whether it is pouring out

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His wrath on those who deserve judgment or pouring out His mercy on those who deserve judgment.

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And He rescues them from His judgment because He is a glorious God.

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God's glory is shown in both of these things, and we praise God that He has rescued us from the judgment that we deserve and has done this.

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The plan of redemption was through His Son, Jesus Christ, who would come and live the life that we could not live.

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Because we were sinful and fallen from God, we could not live a perfect life. Jesus did and became like His brothers in every way, as is said in the book of Hebrews, so that He might become that perfect sacrifice for us on our behalf, dying for those who deserved the wrath of God and taking the wrath of God upon Himself so that all who believe in Him would receive

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His righteousness as an act of mercy from God so that we would be the objects of His affection.

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We are loved with the same measure of love that God loves His own Son poured out upon us because we wear the righteousness of His Son, of Jesus Christ.

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This was what Jesus came to do and accomplish. He became flesh and dwelt among us so that all who believe in Him would be saved.

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We who believe in Jesus Christ receive that righteousness that is given to us through His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the grave.

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So it's that next part of John 1 .14 that we're considering today. The word became flesh and dwelt among us.

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Literally this translates as He pitched His tent. He tabernacled with us.

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In Exodus chapter 25, starting in verse 1, we read the following. The Lord said to Moses, speak to the people of Israel that they take for me a contribution from every man whose heart moves him, you shall receive the contribution for me.

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And this is the contribution that you will receive from them, gold, silver, and bronze. In church,

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I've been preaching through 2 Corinthians and we just finished up a series through 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and 9 about giving.

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It's in 2 Corinthians 9 beginning in verse 7 or verse 6 rather where Paul says, the point is this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

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Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

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There is not a mandate anywhere in Scripture that says we're supposed to tithe, that we're supposed to give 10 % of our income to the church.

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That is a misapplication of something that God said to the priests in Malachi chapter three.

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That's often the passage that is taken out of context to say, we need to bring our tithe into the storehouse, which is the church and the tithe is the money that we make.

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Well, the tithe in Israel was never the money that they made. It was always crops and livestock.

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It was food. And in Deuteronomy, we're told exactly who benefits from the tithe and who benefits from it.

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The Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless and the widow. The Levite benefited because they did not have land as an inheritance, unlike the rest of the tribes of Israel, which received a portion of land as an inheritance.

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The Levite didn't have that, so they didn't have a place where they could grow crops or raise livestock. So the

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Levite benefited from the tithe. And then, of course, the sojourner did not have land in the promised land, the fatherless and the widow because they were destitute.

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And this was so everybody would be cared for. That's what the tithe was for. It wasn't for the benefit of the temple or the building up of the temple.

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We're actually told here in Exodus chapter 25 that anything that would be for the contribution of the temple is from freewill giving.

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And here is where it is told that they might give, you know, of their of their monetary treasures like gold, silver and bronze.

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The tithe was never gold, silver and bronze. It was always food. It was crops and livestock. But here

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God is saying to Moses that every man needs to give as his heart moves him to give.

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And this is the contribution you shall receive. Gold, silver and bronze and onward. Verse four, blue and purple scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goat's hair, tanned ram skins, goat skins, acacia wood, oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, onyx stones and stones for setting for the ephod and for the breastpiece.

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And let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and all its furniture.

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So shall you make it. It's interesting whenever preachers will stand up and tell their congregation about giving, they'll go to Malachi chapter three and talk about how you need to bring your tithe into the storehouse instead of going to Exodus 25, which actually has more to do with how the temple of God is going to be provided for, which would be totally by freewill giving, not by a set amount that you are expected and required to give.

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So here in Exodus 25, we have this description of the tabernacle that Moses is being instructed to construct.

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And it's in it's in Exodus 25, eight where it says, let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst.

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The word there for dwell in Exodus 25, eight is the same word that we have here in John one 14 for dwelt

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God tabernacled among us. The word became flesh and tabernacled.

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Let them make me a sanctuary that I may tabernacle in their midst. I may pitch my tent with them.

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And so when Jesus took on flesh, he became as a tent to dwell with us in our tents.

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Paul uses the same analogy in second Corinthians five one, for we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens.

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So this flesh that we live in now is a tent and soon we will die and put off this tent.

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And then the soul that we have been given from God will dwell with him forever in the heavens.

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And so the instruction that we see in Exodus or in the Pentateuch to build a tabernacle where God would dwell with his people, the presence of God would come down into the tabernacle and all of Israel would encamp around it.

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God would tabernacle. He would pitch his tent with Israel by dwelling there in that center tent, the tabernacle.

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This was a type and a shadow of what Christ was going to be when he came. He pitched his tent with us.

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His earthly dwelling place would be the flesh that he took on and he became flesh and tabernacled with us, dwelt among us.

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The tabernacle in Old Testament Israel pointed toward Jesus Christ, who was going to be

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God dwelling with us. The word became flesh and dwelt among us.

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And we have seen his glory. Glory as of the only son from the father, full of grace and truth.

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We see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This is what the

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Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians, and this is a passage that I read. I think I read this yesterday, 2

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Corinthians 4, 6, for God who said, let light shine out of darkness has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

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If you want to know what God is like, you look at Jesus Christ. Everything that we can know about God, we see in Christ.

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He showed himself to us through his son who came and put on flesh and dwelt among us.

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The very creator of the universe himself has dwelt with man in Jesus Christ, and we have seen his glory.

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Now when John says that here, when he says in John 14, we have seen his glory, glory as of the only son from the father.

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He's not just talking about having, you know, chummed around with Jesus for a few years on earth.

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It's not merely that we were with Jesus and we saw miracles done while God was here on earth in the flesh.

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They actually saw Christ in his glory transfigured before them.

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This was the transfiguration that we read about in the gospels. Specifically, I'm going to pull out of Matthew chapter 17.

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And after six days, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

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So this was just three of the disciples with Jesus, John being one of them, Peter, James and John.

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And he was transfigured before them. Jesus was transfigured before their faces and his face shown like the sun and his clothes became white as light.

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And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with him. And Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good that we are here.

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If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.

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He was still speaking when behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud said, this is my beloved son with whom

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I am well pleased. Listen to him. When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified.

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But Jesus came and touched them saying, rise and have no fear. And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

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So what was happening here? What's the whole deal with the transfiguration? Well, what's happening is that the veil that has been placed over Jesus glory as the son of God is being lifted.

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So they're not seeing the son of God in human flesh. It's as though that is being removed from before their faces that they might see

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Christ in his glory as the son of God talking with conversing with Moses and Elijah who are in heaven with God at that particular time.

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So Jesus came from a place before he put on human flesh to dwell among mankind.

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He came from a place where Moses and Elijah were conversing with God in fellowship with God away from the tent that they inhabited while they were here on this earth.

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So that veil is being lifted before the disciples faces and they're seeing Christ in his glory.

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Now, anytime God appeared to someone in the Old Testament, it was specifically the son who was appearing to somebody.

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Like, for example, Isaiah chapter six, Isaiah looks into the heavens. He sees God in his temple, the angels around him, the train of his robe filling the temple.

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He's not literally seeing God in a temple with a robe. It's just that what he's seeing is so heavenly and beyond comparison and description.

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That's the best way that he can describe it. But he's seeing God in his glory. Who specifically is he seeing?

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But the son of God, no one has ever seen God. Remember, we have that coming up here in John one eighteen.

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We'll talk about this more tomorrow. No one has ever seen God. The only God who is at the father's side has made him known.

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That's Jesus Christ. Jesus shows us the father, but no one's ever seen the father.

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Jesus is even going to say that later on in the gospel of John. He's going to see he's going to say no one has ever seen the father, but the son shows the father to us.

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So whenever someone had a theophany or even a Christophany in the Old Testament, an appearance of God or an appearance of Christ, it was specifically the son of God that they were seeing because no one has ever seen

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God the father. So the disciples were getting to see in the in the transfiguration, they were getting to see something like what

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Isaiah saw. They saw God in or he saw God in unveiled glory.

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And that's what Christ was showing to them. It was not the father. It was only the son. And even then, only enough that they could stand it without killing them.

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They're obviously not seeing the father there also, or it would have destroyed them. The moment that the father is heard from heaven saying, this is my beloved son with whom

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I am well pleased to listen to him. The disciples fell on their faces and were even more terrified than they already were by what they were observing.

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So this is what John is referring to in John 1, 14, when he says we have seen his glory.

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It's not just glory that has been shown to us by the miracles that Jesus did and his death and his resurrection.

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That's not only what John is referring to, but also the fact that they that he's literally seen the glory of Jesus Christ, the glory as of the only son from the father, full of grace and truth, full of grace, unmerited favor.

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We have received the unmerited favor of God when the son has come and has dwelt among us.

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We certainly don't deserve this because remember, we have sinned against God.

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What we deserve is judgment. We deserve to be separated from God as we are because of our sin.

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But it is God in his mercy who draws us to him through his son. So we've been shown the unmerited favor of God by the very fact that Jesus came and put on flesh and dwelt among us.

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In this way, we have seen the grace of God in Jesus Christ and also truth.

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As I mentioned before, Jesus shows us God the father. We have a

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Trinitarian understanding of God, father, son and Holy Spirit, because Jesus is the truth that shows us

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God. Again, everything we could ever know about God, we see in Jesus Christ by his mercy and his grace and his love for us.

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So we have seen the glory of God as glory as of the only son from the father, full of grace and truth.

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And this is another way in which we observe the full range of God's glory.

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God is showing us grace and truth through Jesus Christ.

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Every word that comes from the mouth of Christ is true. And see, that in itself is an incredible contrast when considering the rest of mankind, because as we read about in Romans chapter three, all men are liars.

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Their throats are open graves. Whatever comes out of their mouths is just death.

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But whatever comes out of the mouth of Christ is life. It's truth. It is it is loving and kind and gracious and merciful and demonstrates the glory of God in this way, the grace and truth that was shown to us through Jesus Christ and by the words that he spoke.

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And we have some of the longest discourses recorded of Jesus in the Gospel of John, more so than what we read in Matthew, Mark and Luke, which talks about events more so than what

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Jesus said. So John very much focuses on the word aspect of Christ in this particular gospel.

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The word became flesh and dwelt among us. Verse 15. Very quickly, as we kind of wrap this up for today, it's taken us two days just to get through verse 14.

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John bore witness about him and cried out. This was he of whom I said he comes.

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He who comes after me ranks before me because he was before me.

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So John is talking about he's preparing the way of Jesus and saying he is the one who is coming after me.

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He's actually before me because he was before me. Jesus has existed from the very beginning in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was

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God. He was in the beginning with God, even though John is saying we're related. They're cousins, even though he's saying he's coming after me.

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He's actually before me because the one who's coming after me has existed from before time began the word who became flesh and dwelt among us.

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And tomorrow we're going to talk about how he is the only God who is at the father's side who makes the father known.

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Let's pray. Our great God and savior, we thank you for giving us grace and demonstrating this grace through Jesus Christ, showing us the truth and speaking your truth to us through your son.

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The scriptures bear witness about who he is, and there is no reason for us to doubt that Jesus Christ is indeed the son of God who was sent to die for our sins, that by faith in him, we would be forgiven our sins and have eternal life.

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What a significant event that we read about here. Jesus, the son of God, stepping into human flesh, and how else would we know this except for the scriptures which has which have been given to us?

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So help us to cherish this all the more store this up in our hearts, commit our heart and mind to this as we continue to study this book, that whatever may come our way in this life, we know that all things are under the control of he who brought all things into existence by the speaking of his word.

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And we pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Pastor Gabe keeps a regular blog sharing personal thoughts, alerting readers to false teachers, and offering commentary on the church and social issues.

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You can find a link to the blog through our website, www .utt .com. Thank you for listening and join us again tomorrow as we continue our study in God's word when we understand the text.