Even this day. Well, I invite you this morning to please turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 1. John chapter 1 as we come to take a break through our consecutive expositions through the book of Acts to focus on the glorious topic of God incarnate in view of our holiday season. John chapter 1. I'll read two verses in your hearing. First, verse 1 and then verse 14, and then we'll pray. Chapter 1, at verse 1, the apostle writes the words which say, John 1 at verse 1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Verse 14, And the Word became flesh. And dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the father. Full of grace. And truth. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for. The inscripturated word. Our Bibles. Which you have so freely given to us. We might have your mind, as it were, before us. The pages of Holy Scripture. That we might have the word of truth. Which sanctifies and saves. We're thankful, Lord, for our Bibles were thankful for your word, which is indeed living and active sharper than any double-edged sword which pierces deep within man. And we pray, O Lord, that You would use that word today to sanctify Your people, to save those who do not know You. Yes, Lord, we thank You for the inscripturated Word. And we thank You also, most importantly, for the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. We bless You, Lord, for who You are. We're thankful for what You have actually done for us, Your people. We rejoice that we could sing these songs out of hearts of praise and love and adoration, true adoration, for You have come to give the second birth. And many of us here in this place have experienced that second birth. And we're grateful, Lord, for the new birth, for new life in Christ Jesus. We're thankful for so great a salvation. For, Lord, if we get anything out of this holiday, we should get that this is what it's all about. Knowing God. Come, then, we pray, Lord, this day by Thy Holy Spirit. And take all that will be said, O God, and use it for the honoring of your name. Lord Jesus, might you be exalted in this place today as we consider your glorious person and work. We pray this in your name alone and all the people of God said, Amen. Of the many things which are staggering to the human mind in Christian thought, and are absolutely opposed by the critics of the Gospel, perhaps at the top of the list has to be the whole matter of Christ's incarnation. That is to say, that of Jesus taking on human flesh and becoming a man. Dear friends, I say that the eternal Son of God becoming human is in many respects mind boggling. It is mind bending, if you will. For as the great Protestant reformer Martin Luther rightly said, quote, the mystery of the humanity of Christ, that he should sink himself into our flesh is beyond all human comprehension. And so, think with me for a moment so that you can feel the weight of all that I just said, so that the gravity of thought can actually get into your mind, trickle down into your heart. Dear friends, listen. In the incarnation of Christ, the infinite one became finite. In the incarnation, the untouchable became touchable. And in the incarnation, the exalted one who is highly lifted up, this one was humble. Now, if you're listening to what I just said, I think you'll agree to some extent that this is mind boggling, to be sure. Friends, these are profound mysteries, deep mysteries. So much so that the Apostle Paul could say in 1 Timothy 3, verse 16, no big deal or inconsequential in this matter, no, rather, Paul could say, great, underscore it, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh. Apostle, great is this mystery. Unfathomable is this glorious mystery. God. became man. God was manifested in the flesh. What is this topic that we come to consider for today? And to be sure, friends, it is a glorious topic indeed. Dear brothers and sisters here this morning, as we think about the incarnation of Christ, we have, as Thomas Goodwin, the most excellent Puritan, rightly said, heaven and earth meeting together and kissing one another. As we think about this most glorious topic, we have, as another writer said, quote, the highest pitch of God's wisdom, goodness, glory and power displayed. And so as we come in for today to turn our minds away from temporal things and the like, As we come for today to focus on him who is the reason for the season in order to discover a God who loves us so much that he came to this earth and took on human form. I ask you, please. To note with me first, the scriptural proof for the incarnation, the scriptural proof for the incarnation. Now, really, dear ones, I need no other text than our passage, which is before us in John chapter one in verse 14. Here, this passage really is the focal point of this entire gospel. And in my estimation, it is absolutely the most specific and important verse in the Bible regarding the infleshment of the Son of God. Now, of course, if we're really going to understand and feel the weight and see the beauty and understand the significance of verse 14 here in chapter one of John's gospel, then we really need to start at verse one of this chapter. And so this is why I read this verse in the outset of the message. Dear friends, in John chapter one, verse one, We have perhaps the clearest statement in all of the Bible concerning the deity of Christ, that is to say that he in fact is God. Here, this verse is so clear about this matter, John 1 and verse 1, both from our English Bibles and the Greek New Testament, that such heretical groups as the Jehovah Witnesses, who deny that Jesus Christ is God, that this group had to rewrite this verse in their so-called translation of the Bible and change its meaning altogether. However, friends, for us who believe our Bibles through and through, for us who would never dare tamper with God's eternal truth, even if at points we can't grasp all that it says, for us, we don't change the word, no, rather we bow low before it. Now, we don't mess with it and make Jesus a God. No, we leave it alone and let God be God. Amen? This is God's Word. This is what God has said. And so we humbly accept it by faith, trusting God alone in all that He has said to us in Holy Scripture. And so note with me then from this verse three things briefly. Three things briefly, and the first is Christ's eternal existence. Christ's eternal existence. Look at the words again in your Bibles. Here is John begins his prologue in this book, John 1 and verse 1. He says, note it, in the beginning was the word. A Christ's eternal existence. And it's good for us to ask the question here. What does John mean when he says in the beginning was the word? I mean, in the beginning of what? What's he speaking of? Well, certainly here, the opening words to John chapter one. Connect us with what we read in Genesis chapter one and verse one, there, you know, you have the same language in the beginning. What we need to know is that in Genesis chapter one, it's talking about the beginning of creation. However, what you need to understand at this point is that whereas Genesis speaks of the beginning of creation. What John is doing here is carrying our minds much beyond this point into eternity. Friends, here John is bringing us to a time when only God was. That's John's beginning. It's a time when there was no earth or anything else that was created. And so some interpreters have a translated this opening phrase in this gospel by saying, before there was a beginning, the word has been. I like that. Before there was a beginning, the word has been. Now, of course, since the word in view here refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, clearly we see that before Christ took to himself flesh, that is to say, became A real man with a true human soul and body. Before this happened, what John is teaching us here, in the opening words of his prologue, is that Jesus existed. That's what he's teaching us. You see, contrary to what some think, Jesus Christ of Nazareth existed before Bethlehem. Friends, before the creation of the mountains and the seas and the birds of the air, etc., before everything that we now know, before Jesus Christ ever came into this world by way of Mary's womb and laid in a manger, wonder of wonders, according to the Bible, He existed. And this is because Jesus has no beginning. And this is why he could say, for example, in John 17 in verse 5, and now, Father, glorify me with the glory that I had with you when Jesus, before the world was, before the world was, Father, that time, glorify me with that glory that I had with you before the world was. And so what a stunning revelation this is right in the outset of the beginning of John's gospel. Friends, I say that Christ's pre-existence is a glorious reality and should cause our minds to marvel at him and to praise his most excellent name. You'll never worship a Christ who has a beginning. No, but you could worship a Christ who has no beginning. This one who existed from all time. But secondly, note with me here in these words, not only Christ's eternal existence, but now his unique position. His unique position. John writes, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. Now that Christ is called the Word here has been explained by the commentators in a whole variety of different ways. Some think that John used this language here with reference to Christ, calling him the Word, the Logos, or the Logos. Some think that John here was led by the Holy Spirit to do this because Greeks would have been familiar with the understanding of the word as being of the ultimate reason or the ultimate rationale for the universe. And yet most likely others believe, and I agree with this, that Christ is called the word here. Again, it's kind of a unique term for him. He's called the word here since Jews often refer to God as the word and such terminology denoted God as a God of action, especially with reference to a creation and revelation and deliverance, et cetera. And so whatever the case might be, we can't be 100% sure. We see here that John says that the word was in the beginning. And then he says the word was with God or more literally facing God. The word was facing God, the Greek prostheton was facing God. And so it means that before anything else was Christ, Jesus, our Lord, existed in the closest possible fellowship with God, being his own distinct person, yet one with him. Here we see that in glory, Jesus was with God. That is to say, God, the father, in the very highest sense, having an eternal relationship with Him. Thirdly, then, not only do we have here Christ's eternal existence. In the beginning was the Word, His unique position. The Word was with God. But now John goes further and describes His proper deity, His proper deity. Note the words again. Here as the Apostle reveals something to us that again, many hate, many deny. However, the Bible plainly affirms it in many places. He writes, look at the language again. In the beginning was the Word from all eternity. And the Word was with God facing him. Now he says, and the Word was God. The Word was God. Now we have here in our Bibles perhaps the highest Christological statement in all of the Word of God. For here we see that not only did the word dwell with God, but he himself was God, possessing one and the same deity and divine nature as God. Friends, here John doesn't tell us that Christ was a created being or a delegated God, like someone second in command, as the Jehovah Witnesses tell us. No, rather he says that Jesus Christ is essentially and truly God in the highest sense possible. That's what the words tell us. That's what our Bibles teach us. Again, this is not only something which is taught in this particular passage, but it's found all throughout the word of God. And if we were to search our Bibles through and through, we would see at least five things in this regard with reference to Christ. And so the first note with me that deity is explicitly attributed to Jesus and claimed by him. If you're taking notes, not only John one one, but also deity is explicitly. Attributed to Christ and claimed by him. For here, John says that Jesus Christ is the Supreme Being, and of course we know that our Lord Jesus says of himself in John 10 and verse 30. I and my father are one. Deity is attributed to and claimed by Christ. Secondly, Christ deity note with reference to it that the works of the supreme being are possessed and manifested by Jesus for along with opening the eyes of the blind and causing the dead to rise, etc. And we also know that while Jesus was on earth, he forgave sins and who can forgive sins but God alone. It's exactly what Jesus did. As we're told in several passages, but specifically there in Mark 2 and verse 5. And then after Jesus forgave the man's sins, what did his detractors say? Why does this man blasphemy, commit blasphemy like this? For who can forgive sins but God alone? Why was Jesus forgiving sins? Because that's what God does. Third note. that the power of Deity is expressed by Christ, expressed by Christ. For as we're told in Hebrews 1 and verse 1, writers say of him that he upholds all things by the power of his word. God, Christ, upholds all things by the power of his word. And then in Colossians 1 and verse 16, we're told that by Jesus, all things were created. All things that are in heaven and on earth. Fourth, the worship of the supreme being is offered to Jesus and received by him. But this is something that we see happening throughout the various gospel records. And then in Hebrews one in verse six, the father commands the celestial beings of heaven saying, let all the angels of God worship him. The father says of the son that all the angels of God should worship him. Fifthly, and finally, then in this regard, Not only is deity explicitly attributed to Christ, claimed by him, not only are the works of the supreme being possessed and manifested by him, and the power of deity expressed by Christ, and worship is offered to him and received by him, but now also the titles, the names of the supreme being are used to designate Jesus. And so in the Bible, He's called the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, the Savior, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. And Jesus Christ Himself used Jehovah's own self-designation as found in Exodus 3. For as you know, especially in John's Gospel, repeatedly, Jesus called Himself the Great I Am. As a matter of fact, so blasphemous was it for someone to call themselves, I am God's own self designation, that when the Jews were debating with Jesus in John chapter eight regarding his own person, Jesus said to them, you know, the text, he says, your father, Abraham, rejoice to see my day. And he saw it and was glad by faith. Abraham saw Christ. He was typified in all the sacrifices. that Abraham was offering that Jesus said to his contemporaries, Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad to which the Jews responded to him, saying, You are not yet 50 years old. And how could you say that Father Abraham has seen you? To which Jesus replied to them, saying, Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am. I am. The Greek is ego amy. It's more emphatic. Before Abraham was, I myself am he. No big deal. Didn't mean anything to the Jews. Oh no, it meant something. And the reason how you know it meant something was by the reaction. It says, and at this saying, they picked up stones to kill him. Now, if I walked into a room and said, before Abraham was, I am, I don't think anyone here would get upset. But to the Jewish mind in the first century, the Jews understood what he was saying. So the next verse says, having heard this, Jesus, rather, his detractors picked up stones to stone him. Why? Because Jesus was claiming to be God, very God of very God. Before Abraham was, ego eimi, I myself am he. They picked up stones to kill him. Why? Because in the first century, you could kill someone. for blasphemy. And in their minds, that's what Jesus did. And so here, then, friends, we have a brief correlation of all that the Bible says, in summary, with reference to who Christ is. Not only John 1.1, no, but these five other headings help us to get a sense for what the Bible teaches about this glorious person, even Christ Jesus, our Lord. Simply stated, according to the Bible, Jesus Christ is eternal God. According to the Bible, he's not merely godlike or a created angel or a being inferior to God the Father. No, rather, as J.C. Rowe rightly said, Christ is nothing less than perfect God equal to the Father. Therefore, of course, Thomas of old could cry out in his presence saying, my Lord and my God. My Lord and my God. Well, here, friends, is why we can do the same as well, right? To us, Christ is Emmanuel, God with us. To us who have been saved, who have had our eyes opened up, we don't see Him merely as the carpenter's son. We see Him for who He is in truth. The God-Man. The eternally blessed God. As Paul describes Him in Romans 9, verse 5. What do we see now, then, in verse 14 of our chapter? Why is John 1-1 so vital to have this background material before us, before we come to our text and view? Well, Church, it's so important because with that background information, it clearly highlights and magnifies the glory of all that Christ did in this regard. Friends, here John tells us in our verse that the preexistent Christ, who was God, became human. Here he tells us that this Exalted One, the Eternal Logos, became a man. Or as one scholar says, God became Jesus of Nazareth. If you really think about it, as I said in the outset of the message, this is staggering. This is astonishing. I mean, friends, try to get your minds around it, really. Try to get your mind around the fact that the invisible God became visible. Think about that. But try to comprehend that the uncreated creator, in a manner of speaking, was created with reference to his human nature. Try to get your mind around the fact that that which was beyond the reach of humans became that which could be looked upon and touched. Are you feeling what I'm saying? Friends, try to get your minds around the fact that when Jesus first entered into the world by way of Mary's womb, That as he was drinking from Mary's breast, he was providing her with the milk to feed himself. That while she was sustaining his life, he was sustaining hers by causing her heart to beat. Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see hell incarnate deity. You've got to be kidding me. He's dependent on her as a human. And yet he's causing her heart to beat. At one in the same time. Friends, I say it's. It's astounding. In many respects, it's so far beyond our human understanding that we wouldn't believe it unless our Bible plainly taught it. And praise God, they do. Who would make up such a thing? This is Bible teaching. This is what Scripture says from the beginning to the end. It teaches us that Christ, who was truly God and At the same time, he became truly man. So that in speaking about this biblical teaching, our London Baptist confession of faith rightly says that, quote, Jesus, who being the son of God. the second person in the Holy Trinity, being very and eternal God, the brightness of the Father's glory, the expressed image of his person, the one who upholds all things by the power of his word, being of one substance and equal with God, when the fullness of time had come, took to himself man's nature, yet without sin. So the two perfect and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person. And this without composition, confusion or conversion, which person is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man. I say it's absolutely staggering. Two natures in one person. And when you read your Bibles, you come to the very clear conclusion. This Jesus is like no other person. He's walking on water. He's raising the dead. He's opening the eyes of the blind. Unstopping the ears of the deaf. He's forgiving sins. He thinks He's God. Who else would He be? Who else could He be? He is God. The theanthropic God-Man. Christ. Our Emmanuel. I tell you, friends, there's none other. There is no one else like Jesus. He is so unique. He's so worthy of our praise. He is so glorious. In his person. Now we have in our verse 114, a very nice summary of the incarnation of what it's all about, and this has to be the climactic assertion in John's gospel. Again, he says he's God, but now he says, and the Word, the Logos became flesh, became human. Here in what is known as the hypostatic union, or the combination of the divine and human natures in a single person of Christ, shows us that while absolutely remaining God, For the very first time, Jesus had become something that he had never been, namely man, remaining what he was. God, he became what he had never been. Man, a friend to state the matter another way, Jesus, who being in the form of God, Philippians chapter two, took to himself. The form of a servant. Christ, who is called the mighty God in Isaiah 9, verse 6b, is also prophesied at the same time as becoming a man. For there we're told in Isaiah 9, 6a, for unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. What are you saying, Isaiah? Is he the mighty God? Or is he going to be born into this world? Which one is it? Both. That's exactly what it is. And so here we have the scriptural proof for the incarnation. These are some of the major passages that I've been quoting to support this doctrine. And yet, look again real briefly for a moment at our verse in verse 14, because John has a few more things to say. Having told us that the word became flesh, he writes, the word dwelt among us. You see it there in your Bibles of the ideas that Jesus pitched his tent. Among us here, the word dwelt comes from the Greek word for tent that's used in the Greek Old Testament, the subdued for the word tabernacle. And so the point is that in the coming of Christ to this earth, we have God dwelling among us as typified and pictured in the Old Testament tabernacle where God dwells, the glory of God in the tent, in the tabernacle, Christ himself, the tent of God, the glory of God among his people. Friends, when Jesus came into the world, he pitched his tent among us in his own person. As the dwelling place of God, the very meeting place of God, even as it is here this afternoon. Also, John says that just as God's glory was seen in the tabernacle, so also with the eyes of faith. He says that we beheld that glory. We, that is, John and the other apostles, they saw the glory of Christ. That is to say, Christ is the true Shekinah glory of God. And surely this is because Paul can say in Colossians 2 and verse 9 that in Christ dwells all the deity, all the fullness of the deity bodily. And not only this, but John says here, lastly, as he describes the glorious Christ, he says that he is the only begotten of the father, literally the unique one of a kind son, because he is the son of God. Who John rightly says was not only full of grace, but also full of truth. Praise God. Full of both. Not just grace, but truth. And so in view of what our passage teaches us here, specifically 1.14, concerning Jesus, the grand question that needs to be asked and answered now is, so what? What's the point of it all? I mean, why did the Lord of Glory step off his throne in heaven and come to this earth in order to dwell among the creatures that he had created? Let me answer this. Secondly, for today, by considering with you the specific purposes of the incarnation, the purposes of the incarnation, to be sure, friends. What God did in coming to this world was for a very particular was for very particular reasons. To be sure, this greatest of all miracles had many important reasons connected to it, which all are connected to us. And so know with me first that God became incarnate in the person of Christ, because in doing this, he revealed the Father to us. Now, this is very, very comforting. We'll look at six things. This first. Jesus revealed the Father to us. Some people ask, what is God like? They want to know, how can I know Him? Is He moved by my condition? Does He have compassion on the needy? Maybe you're here today and you're wondering the same thing. Does God feel for my condition? Well, friends, the answer is that as you see Jesus in the pages of Scripture, you know that He does. As you see Him, the second person of the Holy Trinity, moving about the creation He made, through Him, you see the Father's heart towards humanity. Jesus exegetes the Father, if you will. Jesus executes the Father's heart towards you here today, my dear friend. And so Jesus could say to Philip in John 14 and verse 9, have I been with you so long and yet you have not known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, show us the Father? Why did Jesus come? Just show us what God is like. And so here, friends, again, we see God's heart towards humanity. In the living word, here is how you can know today God's disposition towards men. But secondly, God became incarnate in the person of Christ, because in doing this, he fulfilled Old Testament scriptures. And I think someone mentioned this in their prayer, a friend. There's no doubt that the incarnation is not only part of Jewish Christian theology, rather, it's also part of Jewish theology as well. Right there in the opening pages of Scripture in our Bibles, in Genesis 3 and verse 15, in what is known as the Proto-Ewangelion, or the first good news message, we're told about a promised seed who would come into the world through a woman on behalf of sinners. And I say that that seed of the woman is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the promised one spoken of all throughout the Word of God. And so, for example, in Isaiah 7 and verse 14, we're told of a virgin who would conceive and bear a son. She would have a human son, but his name would be called Emmanuel, God with us, to be a son who's God. And then we're told similarly in Micah 5 and verse 2, that Messiah would come forth, again, incarnation language. He would come forth as a true man out of Bethlehem, who would be the ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from everlasting. There's one who's going to be the ruler in Israel, and his goings forth are going to be from eternity. Why? Because he's God. And so get the point. Christ came into the world as the God man in order to fulfill what the Bible had spoken about him. All that he did in his incarnation was written about thousands of years prior to his coming. Third, God became incarnate in the person of Christ. Because in doing this, he would destroy the works of the devil over us. Now, friends, I say that that foul old fiend would have us In our unsaved days to continue to be blinded to the gospel all of our days, he would continue to have us as the rest of mankind under his sway, deceived by his lies, walking according to the wicked course of this world into hell. However, praise be to God that in the fullness of time, Christ came into this world as the stronger than the strong man. And he has freed us from such a horrible condition. Thanks be to God that although the devil sought to keep us blind to the glories of God's beautiful Son, that the Apostle John says in 1 John 3 and verse 8, that for this purpose the Son of God was manifested. Why, John? That He might destroy the works of the devil. That's why He came forth. To redeem God's elect. To free them from their enslavement. And if you're a Christian here today, that's exactly what Jesus has done. for you, for you who are saved. The devil is a defeated foe. Oh, I know he still troubles you. I know he still likes to breathe heavy down your neck, and he seeks to trip you up, et cetera. But he's a defeated foe. No longer can he have you back in his camp forevermore. No, you have been translated out of the kingdom of darkness and put into the kingdom of God's dear Son right now in the present. And he can never get you back. Christ has rescued you, dear Christian, from satanic oppression once for all time. And this, by coming into the world, for as we're told in Hebrews 2, verses 14 and 15, inasmuch then as the children, that is to say you here today, the children of God, inasmuch then as we have partaken of flesh and blood, we've become human. He himself, Jesus likewise, shared in the same. He became a human also. And this he did, that he might destroy the works of him who had the power of death. That is the devil. Spiritual death. and released those who through the fear of death were subject all their lifetimes to bondage. So here then is a great ground for rejoicing. And for you who were unsaved for many years before God saved you, you know what it's like to have that evil one deceiving you, you know now as you look back. You know what it's like to be like the rest in the world, following the broad road that leads to destruction, walking according to the flesh, you can look back and say, that devil duped me for a long time. But thanks be to God no longer. Thanks be to God that Christ has emancipated you, has emancipated me from the grip and the tyranny of that evil foe. Fourth, God became incarnate in the person of Christ. Because in doing this, Jesus has given us an example to follow for holy living. Christ came into the world so that we can have an example to follow for holy living. And I don't know about you, friends, but I certainly need an example as a Christian in my life to follow. I need to know what my life should look like as a believer, how I should live, how I should respond to others, etc. And so here's another reason why Jesus came into the world. Again, as I said, all of these points are connected to us, and that's why they're so significant. You see, friends, when God wants to teach us how to live, He not only gave us commandments, He gave us Christ. Christ is the great commandment of God. He gave us a person to look at. And so we're told in 1 Peter 2, verse 21, that Christ has left us an example to follow and that we ought to follow in His footsteps. And so practically speaking, then, let me speak to some of you here today. Husbands and wives, if you want to know how you can be kinder towards one another in your speech towards one another, well, look to Jesus as the model. For it said of Christ in Luke 4 and verse 22, that the people marveled at the gracious words which proceeded from His mouth. Children, young people here today, if you want to know how you could become more obedient to your parents, Look to Christ. For we're told in Luke 2 and verse 51 that He went down with His parents and came to Nazareth and was subject or obedient to them. Look to Jesus. Follow His example. Pray, God the Holy Ghost, help me to be like Christ. And brethren, for us in this place, if you want to know how to be more loving towards one another, more humble, more obedient to the will of God, as I trust you want to be, look to Jesus. I follow other good examples, as men are set forth as examples to follow. But I say, look to Christ, because regarding love, He's love personified. For as we're told in 1 John 4 and verse 6, God is love. By way of being humble of heart, look to Jesus. He said in Matthew 11 and verse 29, I am gentle and lowly of heart. And again, with reference to doing the will of God, look to Christ, because he said in John four and verse thirty four, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. You see how Jesus becomes the great model for Christians. And friends, when you think about the fact that Paul says in Romans eight and verse twenty nine, that we were predestined to be conformed to Jesus image. You want to be like that image? Look to that image. I'm not a literal image, not a blasphemous painting of Jesus, which, by the way, we don't have in this place because we're to have no images of God. However, the great scope and goal and aim of our salvation is that we would be conformed to his likeness, Romans 8, verse 29. So how do you get like that? Study Christ in Scripture. Look to him, look to how he loved. Look to his heart. I'm gentle of heart. Look to his desire to obey God in all things. My food and drink is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish that work. Brethren, Jesus is the great model of his people. Fifth, God became incarnate in the person of Christ, because in doing this. We have a high priest in heaven. Who could be very gracious and merciful to us. Because He knows what it's like to be in the world. He knows what it's like to be tempted and tried with all kinds of things. Friends, I say that without Christ becoming a man, without God becoming human, this aspect of our lives would have been foreign to Him. However, praise be to God that we're told in Hebrews 2 and verse 17 concerning Jesus, therefore in all things He had to be made like His brethren. He had to be made like us. and this so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, for in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted." Oh, dear friends, I say that in view of such things, may we never as God's people say, well, Jesus just doesn't get it. May we never say as the redeemed of the Lord, well, He hasn't walked a mile in my shoes. How could He know what I'm going through? No, Jesus knows very well what you're going through. He has walked a mile in your shoes as it were. In the truest sense, Jesus gets our pain. Why? Because deity was joined with humanity. And as a true man, Jesus knows what it's like to feel pain. He knows what it's like to be lonely. He knows what it's like to be abandoned by his close friends. He knows what it's like to be hungry. He knows what it's like to be tried by the devil. Friends, he knows it all too well. So therefore, because of this, I say, dear Christian here today, you have one in Christ who is perfectly suited for your situation. One is perfectly suited for all your trials, all your needs. The first person you go to is Jesus. Lord, I know you know what it's like. You might not know this particular sin in my way, but you know sin in many ways as far as temptation. For you were tempted in all things, yet without sin. You know what it's like to be tried. You know what it's like to have the devil on your back. You know what it's like to see hardship, to feel the pain of others. Friends, I say that in Jesus you always have a very present help in time of need. Always. So what a glorious person He is. He's high and lifted up, but He's near. We could draw to Him and from Him all the strength that we need. Believe me here today, I say that whatever your burden might be this day, and people do bear burdens, especially at Christmas time, whatever your heartache might be right now, know that according to Hebrews 4 and verse 15, you do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with your weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as you are yet without sin. That's what the writer says. You don't have a high priest who can't be able to sympathize with you and your weaknesses. No, you do have one like that. And so what's the exhortation that comes in the following verse? Well, the writer says, therefore, let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy and find help and grace in time of need. That's the exhortation. We don't have a high priest who can't be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. No, we do have a high priest who knows our burdens. That's the whole point. And because that's so, the writer says, Let us draw near to Him. Let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy and grace for the time of need. What burden do you carry today, friend? What trial? What heartache? Go to Christ. Go to Christ. Cast all your care upon Him because He cares for you. That's the Jesus of the Bible. That was a huge part, a huge purpose in Him becoming a man. I don't know what the high priest was like in Israel. I know it was an exalted title. It was an exalted position. He was the key man, religiously speaking, among the people. But could you meet with him? Could you set up an appointment with him? Was he readily accessible? What was he like? Could you go to him honestly, with tears in your eyes, and say, oh, high priest, I struggle with this. Or would you be afraid to do that? But not with Jesus. He was in all points tempted as we are. All points, He says. All points. With that burden, that hurt, that hardship. In all points, He knows what it's like. Therefore, let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we might obtain mercy and grace for the time of need. Well, sixthly, then, and finally, in this regard, and no doubt this is the one you've been waiting for. Listen closely. God became incarnate. in the person of Christ. Because in doing this, He not only revealed the Father to us, fulfilled Old Testament Scripture, destroyed the work of the devil over us, has given us an example for holy living, and is now a faithful high priest to us. But lastly, He did it in order to deliver our souls from hell. Do you want to know why the Incarnation is so glorious? Do you want to know why You should be absolutely captivated by it. The simple answer is because if there was no incarnation, there would be no salvation. Let me repeat it. No incarnation, no salvation. And this is because the incarnation is the essential link to God's plan of redemption for His people. No incarnation, no salvation. Now is it an important doctrine to you? You say, yeah. You say, why don't you start with that first? Because that's one you probably knew. But there are other reasons for the incarnation. Get them all. The incarnation. According to God's will and plan. The essential link to our salvation. Friends, long story short, our sin debt had to be paid in full if we would be acquitted by Almighty God. Our penalty had to be exacted. And so if that would happen legally in the eyes of God, based on His own justice, a sinless human being as Christ was, had to die in the place of guilty human beings as we are. An innocent substitute had to bear our sin penalty and be punished on our behalf if we would be freed and forgiven from the wrath of Almighty God, which is to come. And so what's the glory of the incarnation? What's the beauty of the gospel? Why should this really be our focus today and nothing else? Well, it's all summed up in the words of Hebrews 9 and verse 26, for there the writer says that Christ has appeared Incarnation language. Christ came into this world to put away sin. How did he do it? By the sacrifice of himself. He appeared. Eternal God becomes truly man. He enters into this world by way of Mary's womb. The creator goes through a womb that he created. And he becomes truly man, while being truly God. He didn't leave off his deity when he became man. No. His glory was just covered in flesh. And he came into this world to live the life that we did not live under the law of his Father. And to die the death we deserve to die, but dare not. Friends, listen to me when I say that the heart of the Incarnation is that Christ's perfect obedience to God's law becomes our righteousness before God's law. Listen to me when I say that the heart of the Incarnation is that the satisfaction that Christ made on the cross to the justice of God is our satisfaction before Him. And so here then is what Christ coming into the world is all about. Here's God's greatest gift to mankind. And not some fat man in a red suit. But Jesus. Christ. Who came into this world on a mission to redeem His people from their sins. Because someone has to bear the penalty. Either going to be us. or an innocent substitute. Well, in the counsels of God and the plan of redemption, Christ willingly volunteered and said, Father, though they need to be punished, this is in glory, though they need to suffer Your wrath for they are rebellious, Jesus says, I will go. I will go. And I will become one of them. I will live as their representatives. And I will die as their substitute. And every one of them in the world who believes on Me alone for salvation will be forgiven by You. Because You will accept My work in their place. On their account. That's the glory of the Incarnation. Paul summarizes it very well when he said in Galatians 4, verses 4 and 5, that when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law. Why, Paul? To redeem those who were under the law that we might have the adoption as sons. That's what it's all about. The fullness of time. Christ came into the world. Born of a woman. Born under the law. To redeem those who were under the law and deserved its curse? Christ was cursed for us. Why? That we might receive the adoption as sons. If you're here today, dear Christian, you have received the adoption as sons. And that's the basis of your joy. That's the best Christmas gift ever. Amen? Forget the temporal gifts. Forget the holiday. But remember that Christ came into this world in the fullness of time in order to redeem you. In order to save sinners from the wrath of Almighty God. This Jesus needs to be praised. This Jesus needs to be glorified by us, His people. And so when the time remains, two brief applications from what I've been speaking about this morning and today. Two applications. The first goes to you. You who are a believer today. Dear friend, listen to me when I say that if you really want to have great joy in your life, not only today, At this time of the year, but at all times of the year, if you really want to have joy in your life, think long and hard about the incarnation of Christ. Think about all that He went through to save you from your sins. Think about the fact that the eternal God came to earth, that He took rags for riches. Christ, all the glory, all the worth of heaven, He took rags, became a bondservant, for riches. He was being worshipped in heaven by the angels. And yet he came to this earth, was born in a stinking manger, and the seed was fouled. There is God in the cradle. Why? So that I could be saved. so that he would grow up and live the life I didn't live and die the death I deserve to die. Friends, I say that think about the fact that as Paul says in Corinthians, Jesus became poor for your sakes so that through his poverty you might be made rich. Spiritually rich. He did all that. He went that far so that I could be made rich even as it is this day. Spiritually rich. Spiritually blessed. Spiritually encouraged. Friend, I say that as you think upon these things, your heart will expand for its love of Jesus. And you will be able to regularly proclaim with the heavenly host of old saying, Glory be to God in the highest. You'll praise Him for what He has done. You'll praise Him for what He did. You'll say, with Wesley of old, Christ by highest heaven adored, Christ the everlasting Lord, laid in time, behold and come, offspring of a virgin's womb, veiled in flesh the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity, pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel. He is a great Savior. He deserves to be worshipped by us his people. Finally, then, for any non-Christian here today, it's Christmas. And as was prayed earlier, what a great day it would be for someone to be saved this day, to know the Christ of Christmas, to stop walking through this holiday year after year, hearing these songs over and over again, born to give the second birth, Born to reconcile God to man. What does all that mean? Man, the people who wrote those songs were true born again Christians. They've experienced all that they wrote. Today is the day you can experience what they wrote. You can experience the greatest gift of God to humanity. How impoverished you are at this day. If you don't really know Christ. If you haven't been given the second birth. If you don't know God. It's a sad life. Because you were made to know God. And so what I want you to take away from the message for today, my dear non-Christian, is that in the incarnation of Christ, get this, you have God Almighty reaching out to you. That's what I want you to get. The other religions say work your way to God, do this, do that, do the other. God says, forget it all. You can't do it. I'm coming to you. I'm coming to you. That's what he did in Jesus. I'm coming to you. Friends, listen to me when I say that in the Incarnation, as one writer said, the Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons of men could become the sons of God. That's what it's all about. The Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons of men could become the sons of God. Become a son of God today, my dear friend. Repent of your sins and trust in this Christ who hung and died as a sacrifice for our sins. Fly to Him by faith. Oh, Christ save me. I get it now. I see what this holiday should really be about. It should be about you. Your glory, your person, and all that you've done for people like me. Come to Christ. Ask Him to forgive you. Ask Him to wash you. Ask Him to make you His own this day. Christ is able to do it. And He receives everyone who calls upon Him. And asks Him to do this for them. Lord, save me. Make me a real Christian. Help me to know what so many people around the world really know. Give me that That heart connection with you. Help me to know peace with God, my Maker. Friend, I say trust in Christ alone for your salvation. And you will be saved. This is why He came. To save sinners. First page of our Bibles in the New Testament. You shall call His name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins. Is this really why Jesus came into the world? Is this what it's all about? Is this why a pastor is so excited about it? You better believe it. In the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son. Sinners to save. Don't miss out on God's purpose for your life. If that's what Jesus came into the world to do, my friend, go to Christ and get saved. What a horrible thing it would be for you to stand before Christ in that last day, who is the judge of all judges. For even as the Father judges all things, so also He's committed judgment into the Son's hand. To stand before Him in that day and to see Christ as judge Judge of your life. Judge for all your sins before Him. All your rebellion. All your lies. All your theft. And your fornication and idolatry. All of that. To have Him say, depart from Me ye cursed into the everlasting fire. What a horrible thing it is when that very Jesus today offers you peace, mercy and forgiveness. Come to Christ and be saved. Be able to pillow your head tonight and say, I know this Jesus. To be able to say with Solomon, in the song of Solomon, my beloved is mine and I am my beloved's. And when you die and go to be with glory, to be able to look upon that Jesus and say, thank you for dying for me. To have the judge as your friend. The judge who acquitted you by his own blood. The judge who, maybe the law of God will be next to him. And it'll say, this one should be damned, but Jesus lifts up His hands and says, paid in full. Paid in full. This one's acquitted. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Let's pray. Lord, we pray that we will give serious thought to your enfleshment, that we will marvel at it, we'll thank you for it, we'll praise you for it. Oh, God, you've gone to such great lengths for people like us. And we're thankful because behind it all is your love for humanity, your love for your people. Lord, we couldn't make up the story, but we're thankful that it's your story. We're thankful that it's your testimony to hell-deserving sinners. Captivate our hearts with this truth. Fill us with great joy. We pray and ask these things in Jesus' name alone. Amen.