WWUTT 788 The Word Has Made Him Known?

Through Jesus Christ, we have all received grace upon grace. Through Jesus Christ, we know grace and truth.

We have the unmerited favor of God when we understand the text. This is when we understand the text, studying

God's word to reach all the riches of full assurance in Christ. Thank you for subscribing, and if this has ministered to you, please let others know about our program.

Here once again is Pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you, Becky. We continue with our study of the Gospel of John, and the section that we've been focusing on this week for our study has been verses 14 through 18.

The Apostle John wrote, 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. John bore witness about him and cried out,

This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.

For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

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

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

He has made him known. So verse 15 there is kind of a parenthetical reference.

Let's for the sake of context, ignore that it's there. Okay. I addressed it yesterday.

I mentioned it right at the end of finishing up verse 14, but let's go straight from verse 14 through verse 16 and look at how this reads.

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. For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

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

So you see how all of that flows together is like one continuous thought here.

We talked about grace and truth at the end of verse 14, and then we come back to grace and truth again today in verses 16 and 17.

We talked about how Christ was full of grace and truth. The last few words there at the end of verse 14, and then in verse 16, we read for from his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace.

It's in Colossians 119, where we read that in him, in Christ, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Now it's statements like this in Colossians 119, and what we read here in John 1 16, that we get the idea of Jesus being fully

God and fully man. That's not necessarily an incorrect thing to say, to say that Jesus is fully

God and fully man. However, it can cause confusion because how can

Jesus be fully God and also be fully man if he's also

God? It's the fully man part that gets confusing because he can't be fully man if he's also

God. That's certainly an aspect about being fully man that most full men don't have.

You know what I mean? You get what I'm saying? As I explained this on the Q &A this past Friday, it was either this last

Friday's Q &A or it was the week before, but anyway, somebody called in, called in, listen to me, that was my days in radio.

Somebody emailed and asked, how is Jesus fully

God and fully man? Or at what point did he take on that characteristic of being fully man?

Was there a human aspect of him before his incarnation? And the answer to that is no.

Even though God had appearances, man -like appearances in the

Old Testament. For example, when God came and spoke with Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre in Genesis or when

God wrestled with Jacob or something to that effect.

He had a man -like appearance in these Theophanies or these Christophanies, but that doesn't mean that he was putting on flesh, that he inhabited the flesh of a human being and was born in the likeness of men, unlike what happened with his incarnation, where he actually was born in the likeness of men.

So it's at his incarnation that he becomes very man and very

God. Vera homo vera Deus is the way that R .C. Sproul would describe it. And that's a little less confusing when we describe him as very man.

He is exactly man. And he is also God and all the fullness of God is pleased to dwell in him.

So not to be confused that the fullness of being man does not mean that there's therefore no place for the fullness of God.

He is fully God. For from his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace.

And again, Colossians 119, for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

What does this mean that all the fullness of God dwelled in him? Well, remember, we've been using tabernacle language as we've been going through this, as I talked about yesterday,

John 114, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. He pitched his tent with us.

He tabernacled with us going back to Exodus, when God had instructed

Moses to build the tabernacle. And that was the place where God was going to dwell with his people in the daytime.

It was the cloud that led the Israelites in the wilderness descended upon the tabernacle.

And there in the Holy of Holies, the presence of God filled that place so that no one would come in.

No one no one could go into the Holy of Holies or they would be killed as God's presence was there. Later on, it would be his fullness filling the temple at night.

It was the pillar of fire that came into the tabernacle and the fullness of God filled the

Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. So using that same language, this is God dwelling with us.

It's the same statement just made another way from his fullness. We have all received God dwelling with us.

There is nothing about Jesus that is not God, like God is not removing part of himself from Christ.

Jesus is the fullness of God. There is nothing of God lacking in Jesus Christ, even though in submission to the will of his father, there were limitations that Jesus accepted.

It doesn't mean that he was limited. He just accepted those things in obedience to the will of the father, like, for example, becoming obedient to the point of death, as is described in Philippians chapter two.

God cannot be killed, but Jesus in in being born in the likeness of men for the sake of becoming a sacrifice for mankind, he accepted the limitations that would come with being a man.

That doesn't mean he was any less God. It's just that to accomplish the thing that was willed by the father,

Jesus had to accept certain things as as a man. And all throughout the time that he was alive here on this earth, those things were in restriction, in obedience to the will of the father.

But again, the fullness of God was still with him. He was no less God at any point during his earthly ministry.

There are many who try to say that Jesus became something else at his baptism or there was a more fullness of God that came upon him when the

Holy Spirit descended upon him, unlike who he was, you know, for the 30 years prior to his baptism with John the

Baptist at the Jordan River. But that's simply not the case. All that was happening there at Jesus baptism was the father and the

Holy Spirit testifying to the identity of Christ. Jesus did not transform or change in any way there at the baptism.

He was very God before the baptism and he was still God after that baptism. Same with the transfiguration, which

I talked about yesterday. Jesus was transfigured before his disciples, Peter, James and John, and they saw his glory unveiled, the flesh of Christ unveiled in his glory revealed to them with Elijah and Moses standing there talking with him.

But it wasn't like Jesus changed into something that he wasn't already prior to or after the transfiguration.

It was it was his disciples being privileged to see his glory without flesh in the way.

So the fullness of God is in Christ and we have received his fullness when we believe in Jesus.

Remember that we read back in verse 12, whoever believes in his name, he gives the right to become the children of God, the fullness of God in Jesus Christ.

And in him, we have all received grace upon grace. Another way this might be translated is grace in place of grace.

All this is saying is that we have received grace, just bounds of grace from God.

We have all received grace through Jesus Christ for all who believe.

And remember that being the context back to verse 12, whoever believes in his name, he gives the right to become the children of God.

And so where it says in verse 16, from his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace.

That doesn't mean all of mankind has received the grace of God. That can't be what that means, because, again, it's only those who believe in Jesus who receive his fullness, who have been given the right to become the children of God and then receive grace upon grace.

So we have all received that would be everyone who is a child of God, everyone who has believed on the name of Jesus Christ.

Now, all of mankind does receive some measure of grace. This is what we refer to as God's common grace.

If if it wasn't for God's common grace, all of mankind would be wiped out because that's what we deserve.

But everybody is alive by the grace of God, even though they continually blaspheme his name by their words and by their works.

Yet he doesn't wipe them out because of God's common grace over all of mankind. But that's not the same as grace upon grace.

It's not this immeasurable, boundless outpouring of grace, which only is a blessing for God's children.

Those who know the fullness of God are those who know Jesus Christ. No one else knows God's fullness in Christ except those who know that Jesus is

God. So from his fullness, those who know Jesus and have believed on his name, they have received, we have received, we who are followers of Christ have received grace upon grace.

So John goes on, verse 17, for the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Now, this is something we probably don't consider very often, but the law is not gracious.

It's impossible for us to keep the law. So we get no grace from the law. You continue to try to follow the law.

You will break the law. You will feel miserable because you cannot keep the law. We don't receive any relief from the law.

No forgiveness comes through the law. Furthermore, we don't get to know

God. We don't have fellowship with God because we keep the law. Now, there are certainly things about God and his character that we see in the law.

For example, we see that he is holy and we are not. That's probably the biggest thing that the law reveals to us.

God is perfect in all of his edicts. All of his ways are justice. We, by contrast, are unjust and imperfect and unholy and unable to keep his law.

So we see that about God, but we do not have any fellowship with him. Keeping the law does not bring us closer to God.

So as it says here in verse 17, the law came through Moses. We didn't receive grace or fellowship with God through Moses.

Rather, we receive grace, unmerited favor and truth and understanding or the knowledge of God through Jesus Christ, in whom the fullness of God is pleased to dwell.

And again, emphasizing this thing about grace, since we've mentioned this word over and over again already, this is the favor of God that we do not deserve.

That's what grace means. I was listening to a preacher earlier this week who was, he was trying to preach the gospel.

He really was. I don't think this man is a heretic, but I don't think he's a qualified pastor either.

Nonetheless, he was trying to encourage his audience with an understanding of who Jesus is and what he has done for us and that every single person has an inherent value or worth.

Therefore, you should not feel down about anything. But he doesn't he did not talk about sin and our need for a savior hardly at all in this sermon.

I don't even think he mentioned it at all. So here I grabbed an exact quote from this as he was trying to present the gospel.

Here was what he said. The God of the universe has ascribed a value to you.

And even though you think you've tarnished it and diminished it, here's what you need to understand.

While you were still sinful, he sent his son to die for you. Romans 5 8.

While you were still a sinner, he sent his son in your place because even at your worst, he said, you have so much value,

I will pay the highest price to get you back. Is that what the

Bible says? Is that why Jesus died for us? Because we have so much value,

Jesus was willing to pay the highest price in order to get us back. On the contrary,

Romans 3 12 actually says that because of our sin, we have made ourselves worthless.

So here this pastor was saying, even though you think you've tarnished it and diminished it, no, you have, you have tarnished it and diminished it.

You have made yourself worthless because you have taken the image that God has made you in, making you in his image.

And you've taken that image and blasphemed God with it. So now you know what you deserve? The judgment of God, you deserve to be destroyed.

And God does not destroy things that he has ascribed an immeasurable value to equal to the value of his son.

See, that's what you've received now as a believer in Jesus Christ. Now that you have repented of your sin and you have faith in Jesus, in his work, death on the cross, resurrection from the grave, his the father working through him to reconcile all things to himself.

Now that you've placed your faith in Christ, now you have a value upon you that God will never destroy.

As as Paul said to the Thessalonians, we are not children of wrath.

We who have Jesus Christ are not going to experience the wrath of God. But prior to faith in Christ, that's not your value.

You're worthless and in need of a savior. Here's the problem with preaching the way that that pastor was preaching.

He's saying unintentionally, I don't think he this is actually his doctrine, but he just hasn't thought through the way that he was presenting the gospel.

He's unintentionally, undeliberately saying that mercy and grace had nothing to do with your salvation.

The reason why you're saved is because you had an inherent value to you. And so Jesus, I mean, he had to die for you.

Why would he not die for someone whose worth is equal to the son of God?

So therefore, God basically owes it to you for Jesus to die for your sins because you're valuable, because you're worth it.

But then you take mercy and grace out of the picture. Mercy, what is mercy?

Well, it's when what you deserve is judgment and God doesn't judge you. That would be mercy.

You deserve to have the book thrown at you. But instead, God pardons you. He shows you mercy.

Grace would be that it's that favor of God that you don't deserve and you can't do anything to earn it.

You would never be able to work to achieve the favor of God. Yet he gives you his favor anyway.

That would be grace. But if you have an inherent worth about you that God just can't help but love, then there's no need for mercy and there's no need for grace.

God would not judge you if he can't help but love you. But as it turns out, because of your sin, desecrating that image which you were made in, you have made yourself worthless.

And what you're worthy of is the judgment of God. And there is absolutely nothing that you can do to work yourself out of that status as someone who is fit for destruction.

It is God, by his mercy, who has not judged and destroyed you, but instead forgiven you of your sins.

And it is God, by his grace, who has shown such favor to you that he sent his son to die on the cross for your sins as an atoning sacrifice so that by faith you would be clothed in the righteousness of Christ and now wearing his righteousness.

God sees you as worthy. Now God sees you as an adopted son or daughter, the right to become the children of God as one that God would not destroy because of what

Jesus has done, not because of what you inherently deserved. So that's the thing about that kind of preaching.

When a pastor is trying to say, God, God loves you, loves your beautiful face.

He can't help but love you because you're made in his image. Yeah, of course you were made in his image.

But you sinned. It's almost as if the pastor has completely missed the sin aspect of all of this.

You sinned against God and what you deserve is destruction. But you get grace through Jesus Christ and not just grace, but grace upon grace, grace and truth.

And then verse 18, as we finish up this section we've been studying this week, no one has ever seen

God. How do we have fellowship with God? Through Jesus Christ, the only God who is at the father's side.

Another way that can be translated is at the father's bosom. Jesus, the son who has such fellowship with the father, he has made him known to us.

This passage in John 1 18 very explicitly saying once again that Jesus is

God. So we close out an entire section here with that verse. John 1 18. We started with the declaration that Jesus is

God. John 1 1 in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was

God. And we finished the section reclaiming that again that Jesus is

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

He has made him known. The son has made the father known.

We have fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. And that brings to an end our study of John chapter one verses one through 18.

Still more of chapter one to go. And we get into the testimony of John the Baptist next week in verse 19.

Let's conclude with prayer. Our great God and savior. We thank you for the grace that you have shown to us.

Thank you for showing us mercy. We deserve destruction, but you have given us the righteousness of your son so that we would not be destroyed, but we would be adopted as sons and daughters of God and become fellow heirs, fellow recipients of your kingdom.

Continue to teach us and train us as your children that we may become more and more like Christ.

Until that day when Christ returns and receives us to himself and we dwell with him forever, teach us to walk in holiness and whatever happens to us today is yet another situation that we have to praise

God for your fullness that was given to us in Jesus who has conquered the world in his flesh.

He has overcome the world so that we who are in Christ Jesus, we have nothing to fear of the world.

And a day is going to come when we'll be out of this world and in your kingdom with you forever.

Keep our eyes, our eyes heavenward longing for that day. Our hearts with you in heaven.

We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. You've been listening to when we understand the text of Pastor Gabe Hughes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Gabe will be going through a

New Testament study. Then on Thursday, we look at an Old Testament book. On Friday, we take questions from the listeners and viewers.