God the Father’s Love for You

God’s love was revealed among us in this way:
God sent His One and Only Son into the world
so that we might live through Him.
Love consists in this:
not that we loved God, but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
(1 John 4:9-10 Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Do you believe in God’s love? Not just in love as an attribute of God, an essential part of His character – but, do you believe in God’s love for you?

Back in December, we celebrated the incarnation: God taking on our form in Mary’s womb; the little baby laid in a stable’s feeding trough being God-in-the-flesh.

We sang this truth back then and rejoiced – but do we understand its implications?

In 1 John 4:9-10, the apostle John helps us to understand one key implication: The incarnation and sacrifice of the Son display the love of God like nothing else.

In His great plan of redemption, God determined to create for Himself a people for His own possession, children in His family, a Bride for His Son, those over whom He will rejoice with loud singing (Zephaniah 3:17). The Son left His glorious throne, came to life as an apparently illegitimate son to a poor couple in a Roman backwater, lived a perfect life, yet died penniless, exposed, and naked on a cross – the most shameful death of his day. He did this – for you – if you will only believe in Him, trust Him, and treasure Him. He did this so that you might be His treasure, His joy.

So the seventeenth century scholar John Owen comments on John 16:26b-27a (“I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you”), saying the disciples, while assured of Jesus’ love for them, doubted the Father’s love:

Saith our Savior, “Take no care of that, nay, impose not that upon me, of procuring the Father’s love for you; but know that this is his peculiar respect towards you, and which you are in him: ‘He himself loves you.’ It is true, indeed (and as I told you), that I will pray the Father to send you the Spirit, the Comforter, and with him all the gracious fruits of his love; but yet in the point of love itself, free love, eternal love, there is no need of any intercession for that: for eminently the Father himself loves you. Resolve of that, that you may hold communion with him in it, and be no more troubled about it. Yea, as your great trouble is about the Father’s love, so you can no way more trouble or burden him, than by your unkindness in not believing of it.” So it must needs be where sincere love is questioned.

Or, as R.J.K. Law renders the end of that paragraph:

The greatest sorrow and burden you can lay on the Father, the greatest unkindness you can do to Him, is not to believe that He loves you.

God has demonstrated His love for us unmistakably in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of His Son. So do not grieve God the Father through disbelief in His love! Reflect on the incarnation, contemplate Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection – and believe that God the Father Himself loves you.

(The John Owen quote is from Communion with God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (1657), Part 1, Chapter 3; the entire work is available online for free at this link. R.J.K. Law’s excellent paraphrase and condensation of this work is published as Communion With God (Banner of Truth, 1991). Another paraphrase and condensation by William Gross (2003) is available online for free via this link).

The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us

[This devotion is taken from one section of the sermon on John 1:14-18 preached December 16, 2018.]

The Word was with God. The Word was God. Nothing was created apart from the Word.

That Word became flesh, became baby Jesus laid in a manger. And that Word dwelt among us.

The Greek word translated “dwelt” is interesting; it has the same root as “tent” or “tabernacle.” Thus, one literal translation renders this clause, “the Word became flesh and did tabernacle among us.”

Any person familiar with Hebrew Scriptures reading this text in Greek would see the connection. John is telling us that Jesus is like the ancient Israelite tabernacle that accompanied them through the wilderness and was the center of their religion until Solomon built the temple about 400 years later. The tabernacle and the temple both always pictured God dwelling with His people, God being in the midst of His people, leading them, loving them, interacting with them.

This idea is right at the center of God’s promises, whether under the Old Covenant or the New. Let’s survey some of the key passages that highlight this promise:

In Exodus 29, after describing how the Israelites are to construct the tabernacle, God says:

There I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory…. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God. (From Exodus 29:43-46).

Then multiple times in Deuteronomy, God speaks of “the place that the LORD will choose, to make his name dwell there.”

In Deuteronomy we also see the image flipped for the first time. Instead of God dwelling in the midst of His people, in Deuteronomy 33:27 we read, “The eternal God is your dwelling place.”

So He dwells with us – and we dwell in Him. Jesus will later use both of these images in one verse:

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit. (John 15:5)

Many psalms expand on this image of God’s dwelling. For example, in Psalm 84 we read:

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. … For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

The prophets look forward to a time when God will dwell yet more intimately with His people. And they see that in that day, God’s people will consist of those from many different nations:

Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the LORD. And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst. (Zechariah 2:10-11).

Ezekiel 37 is a well known passage that highlights a number of New Covenant promises, including the removal of our hearts of stone and replacement with hearts of flesh. In the midst of those promises, God states:

I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

We today do not have the picture of the tabernacle or the temple. But if we are in Christ Jesus, God is dwelling in us today.

How? In at least two different and complementary ways. First, your individual body is a temple, a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, as the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:19.

Second, all of God’s people together constitute a temple in which God dwells. As the Apostle says in Ephesians 2 when speaking particularly to non-Jewish believers:

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22, emphasis added)

So now each of our bodies individually is a temple of the Holy Spirit; now, together we are members of the household of God and are being built into a dwelling place for God by the Holy Spirit.

That dwelling place will be completed in the new heavens and earth:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Revelation 21:3)

So do you see the flow of all of Scripture?

The Word Became flesh in part so that He might dwell with you, with His people, for all eternity – so that – flipping the image – He could be your dwelling place for all eternity, so that He could:

  • Shelter you under His tent
  • Invite you into His home
  • Show You His hospitality
  • Welcome you into His family
  • And thus so that you could know Him and love Him and delight in Him
  • So that He could be your God and you could be His people.

So “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” is not only a great theological truth about incarnation, stating that God became man. It is much more. It is both a partial fulfillment of God’s great promise of dwelling with His people, and the means by which that great promise will come to complete fruition.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

He continues to dwell among us.

And He will be our dwelling place forever and ever.

 

Why Does God Save Anyone?

In this Sunday’s sermon, we will consider the link between the baby born in the manger and the call to missions. What is that link? What does Jesus becoming man, becoming Immanuel – God With Us – have to do with our making disciples of all nations? The link is partly explained in Revelation 5:8-14, which we will read during the service.

In the opening verses of the chapter, John, the author of Revelation, sees God sitting on His throne, holding a scroll. An angel asks, “Who is worthy to open the scroll?” But no one is found worthy. This leads John to weep. But an elder tells him not to weep, for there is One who is worthy: The Lion of the tribe of Judah. John looks up to see the lion- but instead sees a Lamb, looking as if it has been slain. The Lamb takes the scroll. Praise then erupts in the throne room of God.

These words of praise are well-known to many of you. To help us see why God saves anyone, I’m going to quote those words incorrectly. Without looking at your Bibles, see if you can identify what is wrong:

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests, and they shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10, modified)

That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? There is no obvious heresy in those modified verses.

However, that modification leaves out the most important part of our redemption. That modification leaves out the main point of the incarnation, the main point of the cross, the main point of the resurrection.

Here is how it really reads, with the previously left out words in bold:

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10)

The point of redemption is not primarily to save us from hell.

The point of missions is not primarily to save people groups from hell.

The point of evangelism is not primarily to save our neighbors from hell.

The point of redemption, the point of missions, the point of evangelism is to purchase a people FOR GOD, a people who will live TO HIS GLORY, a people who will DELIGHT IN HIM ABOVE ALL ELSE, and MAGNIFY HIS name.

The incarnation is not primarily about you.

The cross is not primarily about you.

The resurrection is not primarily about you.

The incarnation, the cross, and the resurrection are primarily about GOD.

Indeed, if we are to leave out any words from Revelation 5:9, we should leave out the word “people.” For that word is not in the original language. The middle of verse 9 reads, literally:

“You ransomed for God by your blood from every tribe and language and people and nation.”

The word “people” is clearly implied – it’s right to include that word in our English versions. But the Greek shows even more clearly than the English versions that GOD is the focal point of our redemption!

And Revelation 5 is not alone in this regard. All the great texts on redemption make this clear – if only we would open our eyes!

  • Consider Ephesians 1:7: “In him we have redemption through his blood.” Is redemption then about us? No, for Paul begins by saying, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and he goes on to say that this redemption is “to the praise of his glory.”
  • Or consider Romans 3:25-26: “This was to show God’s righteousness. . . that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Redemption is to show GOD’s righteousness. Redemption was not accomplished because of how special man was. Rather, redemption displays God’s righteousness.
  • Or consider the closing words of Romans 11, as Paul wraps up the great doctrinal section of his letter: “From him and through him and to him are all things, to him be the glory forever!” He is the center!

So: God’s eternal plan of redemption is not primarily about saving man from sin. It is primarily about bringing glory to God. The Gospel is God-centered, not Man-centered.

So be careful not to talk about it in a man-centered way! Christ did not ransom people just to ransom them from hell. He ransomed people FOR GOD. He sends us out on mission FOR HIM.

Know that if you are ransomed, you are ransomed for HIM.

If you are not yet ransomed: Yes, He offers to save you from hell. But He doesn’t stop there. He saves you FOR GOD – so that your life will be lived for Him. He will love you, hold you, wipe away your every tear. You will find your joy in Him, and in nothing else. He saves you so that you might fulfill the purpose of your creation: To glorify Him.

So remember this Christmas season: Christ became man FOR GOD. Jesus died on the cross FOR GOD. Jesus rose from the dead FOR GOD. We make disciples of all nations FOR GOD. And you too can be saved – FOR GOD.

 

(Much of this devotion is taken from a sermon on Revelation 5:9-13 preached Easter Sunday, March 27, 2005. Text and audio are available.)

The Center of Christmas: Fully God and Fully Man

Luke 2:7  And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths
and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

Amidst gift-buying and Santas and reindeer and “folks dressed up like Eskimos,” what should be the center of Christmas?

Luke 2:7 tells us. “She gave birth.” Mary, a young girl, a virgin, a woman who had never had sexual relations with a man, gave birth. The conception was a miracle – but there is nothing here in the text to indicate that the birth was anything other than the normal process of labor. Mary gave birth just as billions of other women have given birth: her water broke, she began to have contractions, she felt overwhelmed by the process going on inside her body; her back hurt, there was pain and effort and sweat and pushing and stretching and burning – and then, finally, amazingly, this new little creature came forth from her body; a new creature covered with mucous and amniotic fluid and blood and vernix – hair (if any) plastered to his head, that head possibly misshapen from hours of pushing, his skin bluish in color until the first breath, and first cry. Mary gave birth – and the baby, Jesus, came into this world just as you and I did, through His mother’s strong efforts, bloody, slippery – and yet beautiful.

The point of all this? Jesus was a baby – a normal baby, born in the normal way.

Jesus was really human. Jesus was a baby who soiled himself, spit up, cried when He was hungry; He was completely dependent upon his parents for meeting His every need. He could do nothing for himself. With His little hands, he grasped fingers held out to Him. He couldn’t communicate at first except by crying. He took months to learn to crawl, and more months to learn to walk, and to speak. Jesus was a normal, human baby with normal human needs.

Jesus continued to exhibit normal human needs and problems throughout his life. The Bible tells us:

  • He became tired (John 4:6).
  • He became thirsty (John 4:7, 19:28).
  • He was tempted to sin (Matthew 4:1-10, Hebrews 4:15).
  • He wept (Hebrews 5:7, John 11:35).
  • He suffered (Hebrews 2:18).

Indeed, the book of Hebrews tells us he was “like his brothers in every respect” (2:17).

Scripture is clear: Jesus was a real baby. Jesus was a real man.

But Jesus was not only a man. He was “Immanuel, which means God with us” (Matthew 1:34). Jesus is truly God. How do we know this? The Bible shows this in three ways:

1) While on earth, He claimed to be God

a) Jesus said, “I and the Father are One” (John 10:30-31). His audience clearly understood him to claim deity – for they proceeded to try to stone Him for committing blasphemy! Now, there are many pantheists who would say something that sounds similar on the surface: “All things are God – all things are one – I am one with the universe.” But that’s clearly not what Jesus meant. The Bible never confuses God with His creation. Indeed, the very first sentence in the Bible makes a clear distinction between God and the created order: “In the beginning God created.” Jesus is not saying, “I and the Father are One – You and the Father are One – we’re all One!” He is saying, “I am unique. I am God.”

b) Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58-59). Here Jesus clearly claims to have existed prior to Abraham – who lived more than a thousand years earlier. But He is claiming even more than that. Why does Jesus say, “Before Abraham was born, I am” instead of “Before Abraham was born, I was”? Remember God’s revelation of Himself to Moses at the burning bush. There God answers Moses’ request to tell him His name by saying,

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” Exodus 3:14

So when Jesus says, “Before Abraham was born, I am,” He is echoing the name of God. He is hinting at His equality with God. Once again, His listeners understand this and consider such a statement blasphemous.

c) Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 15:24). This is an audacious claim. “Look at Me and you will see what God is like.” Only the God-man can say that.

So Jesus clearly claimed to be God. Now, over the centuries, a number of men have claimed to be God. Today, we put most such people in mental institutions. So making the claim does not establish the point. That leads us to the next point: These other claimants to deity have not done what only God can do.

2) While on earth, Jesus did things only God could do

  • He fed 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish (Mark 6:35-44).
  • He turned water into wine (John 2:1-11).
  • In the midst of a storm, He commanded the wind and the waves to be still – and they obeyed (Mark 4:39).
  • He raised the dead to life (John 11:43-44).
  • He Himself was raised from the dead, and was seen by more than 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:3-6)
  • He forgave sins (Mark 2:5-7).

Consider this last incident. Friends bring a paralyzed man to Jesus. They can’t get in the door, so they climb on top of the house, open a hole in the roof, and let the paralytic down through the hole. Jesus looks at him, and the first thing He says is, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” The scribes who are present think, rightly, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” At that point, Jesus chooses to heal the man – to show that He had authority to forgive sins. He thus proves He is God by forgiving the man’s sins, and then showing that those sins are truly forgiven by the physical healing.

We could point to many more incidents, but these alone show that Jesus did what only God can do.

3) Other New Testament writers tell us that Jesus is God

Once again, we could point to any number of passages. We’ll look at only two:

Hebrews 1:3 [The Son] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

The second phrase is the easiest to understand: Jesus is the “exact imprint of [God’s] nature.” He is exactly like God. Since God is perfectly loving, Jesus is perfectly loving. Since God is perfectly just, Jesus is perfectly just. Since God is perfectly holy, Jesus is perfectly holy.

Use that phrase to help you understand the first: “The radiance of the glory of God.” Jesus is the glory of God shining forth! He displays God’s attributes in ways that no one else does, in ways that nothing else can.

Finally the last phrase: “He upholds the universe by the word of his power.” The entire creation is sustained by His might. He not only created all things, but without Him all things would cease to exist.

Clearly the author of Hebrews claims that Jesus is God.

For our second passage, consider four verses from John 1:

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

John tells us that Jesus existed before creation – but more than that, He was God from the beginning.

John 1:3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Jesus was the active agent of God in creation. Apart from Him, nothing has come into existence.

John 1:14 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.

Jesus is man, but Jesus is God also. His glory is the glory of God. He, like God, is full of grace and truth.

John 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known

Look at this verse carefully. When John says, “the only God, who is at the Father’s side” who is he talking about? Jesus! So he says, “No one has ever seen God the Father, but Jesus, who is God also, who is at the side of God the Father, has shown us what God is like. When we see Jesus, we see God the Father.”

There can be no question. These passages say that Jesus is God.

Put these thoughts together now. Meditate on what it means for Jesus to be both God and man:

Those same infant hands which grasped Mary’s finger were the hands that created the myriads of stars; that same voice that cried out moments after birth was the voice that named each of those stars.

So consider the tremendous truth of the incarnation. We get so used to the words “Immanuel, God with us, God incarnate, God in the flesh,” they role off our lips and we don’t begin to fathom what they mean. Think, now think! The One who made the sun became infinitesimal compared to it. The One who had all glory and power and purity and praise became despised, poor, needy, helpless; the One who was before the world began became – a tiny, seemingly insignificant speck in that world.

Jesus is man, fully man. Jesus is God, fully God.

That’s the mystery in Bethlehem’s manger. That’s the center of Christmas.

[Much of this is taken from a 2004 sermon, “Knowing and Loving God Through the Incarnation.”