Please come back with me to John chapter one. And as we celebrate this Christmas, I felt to go back to where we began our studies in the gospel of John, beginning to John chapter one, where we started. And as we think of verses one and 14, I want us to consider the word became flesh. the word became flesh. And as A.W. Pink considers this gospel and as he introduces it in his own way, A.W. Pink writes, and I quote, he says, the theme of John's gospel is the deity of the savior. Here, as nowhere else in scripture so fully, the godhood of Christ is presented to our view. That which is outstanding in this fourth gospel is the divine sonship of the Lord Jesus. In this book, we are shown that the one who was heralded by the angels to the Bethlehem shepherds, who walked this earth for 33 years, who was crucified at Calvary, who rose in triumph from the grave, and who 40 days later departed from this sins was none other than the Lord of glory." End of quote. This was none other than the Lord of glory himself, our Lord Jesus Christ. So what we celebrate at Christmas is the incarnation. It is that breath taking assertion that the gospel makes, that the scripture makes very clear. It says that the son of God took upon himself human flesh. The creator of all the universe took upon himself human nature and came into this sinful world of ours, lived, suffered, and died in order to save sinners like ourselves. So as we think of the word became flesh. I want us to consider, first of all, the word from the beginning, the word from the beginning. And then secondly, I want us to look at the word was God, the word was God. And then thirdly, we'll consider the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. So let's begin with the first, the Word from the beginning. The Word from the beginning. In verse one of John chapter one, verse one, the Apostle John writing says, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And what John says in the beginning here, he is not referring, of course, to the beginning of the earthly ministry of our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and certainly he's not referring to the beginning of the writing of his gospel. He is referring here to that time which was before the creation of the universe. He's referring to the time before creation itself in Genesis, And chapter one, verse one. And this is scripture that his readers at the time were very familiar with. It says in Genesis 1.1, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And here the apostle John says, in the beginning was the word. So that for the average Jew who was of course, where I'm very familiar with Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1. When John was writing and he said, in the beginning, what will normally come to their mind is God. In the beginning, God created. But here John says, in the beginning was the Word. In the beginning was the Word. And when John uses The very term that he uses for words here in John chapter one and verse one, that word actually means to have been in existence. In the beginning, the word has been in existence. The word had been in existence, but the word was, or translated words in verse three is not the same, it's different. In verse three, the word that is translated was their means to come into being. And so in verse three, it says, all things were made through him. In other words, all things came into being through him. And without him, nothing came into being, nothing was made, nothing came into being and that was made. This is what John is saying. He uses deliberately two different Greek words here so that we can understand exactly what he's talking about. So before the creation, before time was, if you like, before the beginning of what we know as our creation, the word was there. And as far as the word is concerned, John makes that very clear to us in verse 14. He tells us, he wants us to know what he means when he says the word. And in verse 14, he tells us, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. So that we know exactly who he's talking about. He says there in verse 14, I want you to know I am talking about none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. The word became flesh. and He dwelt amongst us, and we beheld His glory, and it was the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." So before time one, right from the beginning, before the creation of the universe, even as we know it, it says, the Word was there in existence. He is. that word by which God spoke the universe into being. As you know, words communicate, but also bring into being. And so we're told in verse three, all things were made through him and without him, nothing was made. that was made in Genesis chapter one. And there in verse three, it says, then God said, he spoke and said, let there be light. And there was light. He spoke the word and light came into being. The word, John continues here in verse one. He says, the word was with God. And when he says the word was with God, he means that the word was towards God or face-to-face with God. This is what John is saying to us. In the beginning was the Word and this Word was there face-to-face with God in locked intimate and intelligent discourse and fellowship in eternity. This Word has been there face-to-face with God in this intimate, intelligent fellowship and discourse throughout eternity. So that the word is not only the fact that it was uncreated, it's not created if you like, the word was never created, it was there before creation. That's not the only thing that he's telling us here, but he's saying as the word was there with a separate personality in eternal communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. has always been there, and always been there in this eternal communion, eternal fellowship with Father and the Holy Spirit. Remember how in that high priestly prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ in John 17, how the Lord Jesus Christ says in verse five, and now, O Father, glorify me together with yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was. before any creation glorified me with that glory that I had with you in that eternal fellowship that we always have even before creation was. But before creation, he was. And secondly, the Word was God. So John continues here in John chapter one and verse one. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God. He adds, and the Word was God. The Word was God. You see, the eternity and the eternal fellowship that is mentioned already of the Word should make us see and understand that He is God. Because only God is eternal. And only God exists in that eternal fellowship. And if the word is eternal and has always been there in this eternal fellowship with God, then naturally we should know that that means he is God. But in case we have not got it, in case we do not reach that conclusion, John tells us plainly and clearly, he says, and the word was God. If we haven't got it, that's fine. Let me spell it out clearly. Let me make it clear then. I'm playing to each and every one of you so that you understand who I'm talking about and what I'm talking about. The word was God. He always was, and he ever remains God himself. He's always been God. Not only the word through which God spoke audibly, not only the word through which God spoke the universe into being, No, but he himself is God and has always been God. And this is what John spells out to us and he wants us to understand. The word was not an emanation of God, no. The word he says here is God himself made manifest. He's saying here to us, he not only reveals God as it were, which he does. No, but he's saying to us that the word itself is God revealed. He is God. Jesus, the word, he displayed the attributes. He displayed the unique character and activities of God. He is creator of all things and he has life in himself. John tells us here in verse three, all things, We are made through him. And without him, nothing was made that was made. And then in chapter five of John's gospel, and there in verse 26 of John chapter five, our Lord Jesus Christ says, for as the father has life in himself, so he has granted the son to have life in himself. He is the creator of all things and he has life in himself. He is the life giver. There's no other beside him. And when we look at the gospel, when we go throughout the gospels, our Lord Jesus Christ claims very clearly to be one with the father. He makes it very clear that he is equal with the father and the Holy Spirit. In other words, that he is truly God. And he claims and he does things, all the things that the father does. And the gospels make that very clear to us. He speaks with the father's authority. He shares the father's glory. And that is one of those, these are some of the things that set him completely and totally apart from any other religious leader. He doesn't just come and claim certain words and say, if you live by them, you follow them, you'll be okay. No, he comes as God himself, God the Son. But beyond that, he lives that perfect life that we're incapable of living. And then he suffers and he dies in our place to atone for our sins. And he rises up again on the third day and he has ascended. and is there in glory at the right hand of the Father of Majesty, interceding for us. I and the Father are one, says the Lord Jesus Christ. No one will ever make that claim, and no one has ever made that claim apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone is truly God. And then thirdly, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, in verse 14 of John chapter one. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. You see, with respect to eternity, Jesus is the Word of God and He is God. Now, with respect to time and with respect to you and I, John tells us very clearly that the Word became flesh. It took our human form. He became flesh. The word who was God himself became flesh and he came to live in his own creation. He came into our world. He came to live here in his own creation, yet he never ceased to be God. He always remained God. He came into his creation. At Christmas, God took on humanity. The Son of God took on humanity. The infinite came into, as it were, the finite. The eternal one entered into time. The invisible God became visible. And he became visible in the Son of God, our Lord and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. The creator of the universe. The one John tells us that all things were made through him and without him nothing was made that was made. The creator entered into his creation. He who is outside of time found himself in the time and came into our world. And as we saw last Lord's Day, the Lord Jesus, when the angels fell, did not come for their salvation. When the seed of Abraham, the sons of Abraham, the daughters of Abraham fell, the Son of God took upon himself human flesh, came into this world, was born as a baby. He entered into his own creation and was born, and he lived. Now, at this time, when the Apostle John was writing, material body like the flesh, especially in Greek philosophy, material body like the flesh was considered corrupt. It was considered unstable. It was thought of as being impure. The spiritual path was the important thing. The spiritual path, the soul, the human soul, was the most important thing. And that human soul needed to escape from the prison of the body. That was the understanding. The soul is imprisoned in the sinful body, which in itself is unstable, it is unpure, it is not to be taken at face value, but to be gotten rid of. And what the soul needed was to escape this prison of the flesh. And this is why when the Apostle Paul was preaching in Athens, some of the Athenians mocked him. They mocked the Apostle Paul. when he preached the resurrection of the dead. The resurrection of the dead, the body dies, it goes. Good riddance. Why would God want to resurrect the body? He wants to get rid of the body anyway. It is that prison of the soul. If it's dead, then good riddance. Why would anybody want to resurrect it? And that was why they were mocking him, if you remember in Acts. there in chapter 17 and verse 32 of Acts 17. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. They mocked him. What's he talking about? No, the body, good riddance if it dies. It should go, the soul then is free, as it were, to accomplish that which is supposed to accomplish. However, John says the word became flesh. The word took upon himself flesh. Not only is it true that the word who is God does not eat the flesh, no, what John is saying, he became part of it. He took upon himself the flesh. And at the time this was revolutionary. How can you say that? It was bold writing by the Apostle John to say that the Word became flesh. No, we want to get rid of flesh. But he's saying God, who is the Word, the Word who is God, took upon himself this flesh. He became a human being and took human body, this material body, How can that be? But John says, this is what happened at the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he says, yes, he took upon himself human flesh. And then he adds, he dwelt among us. We saw him, we were with him, we fellowshiped with him. We went around with him when he was preaching throughout the nations of Israel and Samaria, we were with him. So that the word, he says, became flesh and dwelt amongst us. And to dwell means to live in a tent. That was the word, that's the word that is translated for us, dwelt here, to live in a tent. So he's saying that the word, who is God, pitched his tent among us. among his people. This is what the word who is God did. Or as it is sometimes translated, he tabernacled amongst us. He tabernacled amongst us. And that's the word that he uses. And that reminds us, of course, of the fact that God the Son came and he took upon himself all the essential attributes of man bodily. and he dwelt here on earth as a perfect man, fully born, yet fully gone. In Philippians, and there in chapter 2, and verse seven of Philippians, the apostle Paul writing to the Philippians, he says to them in chapter two and verse seven, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a gone servant and coming in the likeness of men. And in Hebrews, in Hebrews and chapter two, First, in verse 14 of Hebrews 2. Hebrews 2 and verse 14. The Hebrew writer says, inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same, that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. And then in verse 17, he says, therefore in all things he had to be made like his brethren. that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. He took upon himself human flesh, all the essential attributes of man bodily he had. Answer. He tabernacled amongst us, says the Apostle John. And the tabernacle here refers, remember, to that portable tent that the children of Israel carried there in the wilderness. And that was the center of the camp. It was always the center of their worship, and it was the most important item that they had in their camp, the tabernacle of the Lord. They always had it there in the wilderness, John says here in John chapter one and verse 14, and we beheld his glory as he revealed and displayed the divine attributes of love, wisdom, and power, having pitched his camp amongst us, having taken upon himself our human tent. and living here with us on earth. We beheld his glory. We saw something of his glory. And this he revealed. This he displayed in those divine attributes of love, of wisdom, and of power. In chapter two, And in verse 11, the Apostle John says there, at the wedding Kenner of Galilee, he says in verse 11, after the miracle of turning that water into wine, he says, this beginning of signs, Jesus did in Kenner of Galilee and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him. manifested his glory. And this is the first time that John makes that clear here, but he continues to tell us, as he continues in the gospel at different stages, how the Lord Jesus manifested his glory to them. So that although this glory was still veiled in human flesh, since he has taken upon himself human flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ took Peter, James, and John, remember, to the Mount of Transfiguration, and there they saw a physical manifestation of the glory of God. They saw a physical manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ's heavenly glory. They so have glory which nobody had ever seen before. In Matthew chapter 17, and then in verse 2 of Matthew chapter 17, In Matthew 17, and there in verse two, it says, and he, the Lord Jesus Christ, was transfigured before them, his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. His face shone as the sun. They saw something of his glory, even though it was still veiled in his human flesh. Now that was a preview. It was but a preview of that unveiled glory which is going to be seen when the Lord Jesus Christ comes again. When he returns to take his own, to be with him forever and ever, it was a preview of that unveiled glory that the people of God will see and dwell in throughout eternity, when the Lord comes and takes his own to be with him forever and ever. In Matthew, again, chapter 25, the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, and there in verse 31 of Matthew, chapter 25, the Lord Jesus says in Matthew 25, 31, when the Son of Man comes in his clothe and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. In Revelation, chapter 2, And there in verses three and four of Revelation chapter two. Verses three and four, Revelation chapter two. Our Lord Jesus says, I'm sorry, Revelation 21, verses three and four. Revelation 21, verse three and four. And I heard a loud voice from heaven say, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, no sorrow, no crying, There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then in his unveiled glory, all his own will see him and will dwell with him. Let me just make one or two applications as I conclude this morning. The baby Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem, remember, is fully God. even as he was fully and perfectly man. He is the one who has made the incomprehensible. Now, at least to some extent, comprehensive. He is the one who has made the invisible God, as it were, visible, especially when he dwelt here on earth with his disciples and all those who saw him. And just as the scriptures are referred to as the Word of God, or the Bible, the Word of God, and the scriptures are referred to as the Word of God because they reveal God's mind. They express to us the will of God, and they make known to us the perfections and all the bare attributes of God, including a revelation of something of his bare heart. This is what the scriptures do, the Word of God. they tell us of God himself. And just as the scriptures do that, so does the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God, manifest to us, reveal to us, make known to us, the true and the living God, the one who truly sent his son into this world to save sinners like ourselves. He reveals God's mind to us. The Lord Jesus Christ expresses God's will to us. And he is one that has made known the perfections of God to us, his people. And he made it known to them firsthand, the disciples who walked with him. here on earth, they knew it. And so John says, yes, truly. The word became flesh. It dwelt amongst us. We beheld his glory. So that the Lord Jesus Christ, the word of God, reveals to us the true and the living God, so that we may come to know him truly, whom to know is to have everlasting life. The word is the means of communication, and our Lord Jesus Christ here has the word. Remember, he expresses God to us. He brings God's word. He communicates God's word to us. When, again, you have thoughts deep in your hearts, Nobody knows anything about it. But when you clothe those words and those thoughts in words, then they become tangible. People now recognize what you are thinking of. The word of God is the mind of God revealed to us. The thoughts of God brought to us. This is who the Lord Jesus Christ is. He is the one who manifests the that is in the plan and in the mind of the true and the living God. The word of God, again, our Lord Jesus Christ is the one who reveals the Lord Jesus Christ. Through our words, we get to know the real man. As we communicate, as we talk to that person, he reveals himself for who he is. We get to know something of his nature, his character. We get to know that which is deep and embedded in his being. And the Lord Jesus Christ reveals the true and the living God to us. He reveals his nature. He reveals his attributes, his perfections. He displays the power of God. He manifests to us something of the wisdom of God. He exhibits the holiness. He unveils the heart of God. He brings God to us and makes him known to us. So that through the son of God, the word of God, we know something of the grace of God. And when we embrace that grace of God, we come to know him whom to know truth, is to have again everlasting life. But as the Tabernacle, remember, we mentioned, it was the center of Israel's life. It was the center of Israel's activity there. Just as the Tabernacle was the center of Israel's life, so is the Lord Jesus Christ, the center and the heart of the believer's life. He is the center. He is the heart of our lives. The tabernacle was the place where the Lord of Moses was preserved. And in our Lord Jesus Christ, that role is perfectly fulfilled. So in him, we have the fulfillment of the role. In the tabernacle, that was the dwelling place of God. And it was in that tabernacle that the Lord Jesus, then that God met with his people and revealed himself. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ was tabernacled in our flesh. is our Emmanuel, God with us. Meeting with us, even here in the flesh. It was in the tabernacle that sacrifices were offered. Now today, the Lord Jesus Christ is the sacrifice for our sins. He has offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins. In the tabernacle, God met and spoke with his people. Today, the Lord Jesus Christ speaks to us through his word and by his spirit. Again in Hebrews, and there in chapter one, the Hebrew writer tells us in verse three, who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, that is the brightness of God's glory, the express image of God's person and upholding all things by the word of his power when he had by himself purged us and sat down at the right hand of majesty on high. But from the beginning in verse one of Hebrews chapter one, the Hebrew writer said, God, who at sundry times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets has in this last days spoken to us by his son. He has spoken to us by his son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. He is God's word to us. And through him, he has spoken to us his word. In the tabernacle, we worship God. In and through the Lord Jesus Christ, we worship the true and the living God. He is our Emmanuel. God with us. Now, salvation finally comes not by me being delivered from our bodies, our material bodies, our flesh, as were fought in ancient Greek. That's not how salvation comes. Not by us being, as it were, delivered by, from our bodies, but through the Word becoming flesh, and coming into our world. Remember, sinful Moses went into the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, to meet the glory of God there. And when Moses came out from meeting with God, what happened? His face shone with the glory of God, so much so that the children of Israel asked him to cover his face. to veil his face. Well, now the glory of God, of the God of heaven has come upon us. He has come into our tent. And he has come upon us because he's come into our tent to meet man. And he has come to meet man in the flesh with all its weakness and frailty. so that the Lord Jesus, while here on earth, was tempted like every other man, yet without sin. He hungered, he thirsted, he got weary, because he took the perfect human flesh, with all its weaknesses and frailties, yet without sin. None whatsoever. And so John is saying to us here that the word of God in eternal communion and eternal fellowship with God and has always been, this word of God has now become flesh and we have seen the glory of God in him. We have seen it. We know, says John, he came so that we might see his glory And so that in seeing, we might believe in him and be saved by him. And so he tells us, remember, in chapter two and verse 11, this beginning of signs, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee and manifested his glory and his disciples believed in him. He has come that we may see the glory of God in him. And having seen that glory, that we may believe in him. I mean, believing in him that we may know our sins forgiven, that we might be cleansed and reconciled to the Holy Father with whom we have to deal. He came, sinners to save. He himself made that abundantly clear. I did not come for the righteous, he made clear. No, I came, sinners to save. That's why the Son of God was born into this world. That's why we celebrate Christianity. And it is important that we know why we do that. We are thanking God for sending his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into our sinful world so that he may suffer and die and save us and reconcile us to the Father and give us everlasting life. This is what Jesus Christ came to do. Do we know him? Do we trust in him as the Lord and Savior of our life? Well, if you know him, if you trust in him alone for your salvation, then I can truly say to you, you have a happy Christmas. Because your Christmas will be a joyous one, full of meaning, full of understanding of the truth of the word of God. And I pray that each one of us may truly have a wonderful Christmas. A Christmas that is Christ-centered. a Christmas that knows the Son of God who came, sinners to save. Amen. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We bless you, Lord, for this Christmas day. We ask, Lord, that as we rejoice, that you will grant us real understanding of what Christmas is all about, so that our joy may be real and our joy may be full. not centered on material things, but centered on him, the gift of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came on that first Christmas, in order that he may live and die to save sinners like ourselves. So help us, O Lord, to know him, to love him, and to live to serve him faithfully all the days of our lives. And we pray, Father, that this Christmas will be truly a life-changing experience for each and every one of us. In Jesus' mighty name, amen.