Good morning. I'm with my mother and she's doing well enough that I think I'll be home next week, but thank you for the opportunity to do this remotely. Can you imagine the Israelites coming out of Egypt as seen from a mountain by the inhabitants of the land? There are one to 2 million of them with a cloud in front of them. They're walking along and after a while you would see the tabernacle being carried in the midst of them, a bunch of people carrying this structure, this tent. And you would see a cloud always preceding them by day and a pillar of fire by night. Suppose you were living in that land and you climbed to a high place to watch the Israelites as they went by. You would see these millions of people, and they would seem like a ragtag group. But there's something different about them. There's something supernatural going on with them. They're in touch with the supernatural. There's stuff that happens in the heavenlies as they walk by. They look like normal human beings, but there's a glory that surrounds them. God is with them. Our text this morning has references that the readers would have associated with this period of history for God's people. His people look normal. There's nothing special about them. They're traversing through life just like everybody else is. But there's something different. There's something spiritual. It's as if God is dwelling with them. God is pitching his tent with them. and they're different because of it. The Jehovah God pitches his tent with these people. Let's look at our text. 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. Okay, let's start at the beginning. And the Word became flesh. Remember what we started the book of John with a few weeks ago. In the beginning was the word. And we talked about how the word pre-existed the creation of all things. So the word was not part of the things that were created. He was. But now the word became. Clearly we're to understand that there's a change here. Now we know that God never changes. And like everything else, we need to be careful how we define our terms. We're not to understand that God never changes how he does things. We're not even to think that God never changes how he displays himself. We're not to think that God never changes how he deals with his people. But we are to understand that the character of who God is never changes. Well, we're confronted with a change this morning of epic proportions. The Word, God the Son, made a dramatic change in how He would display Himself. The Word, God, became. This is new. He was not this thing the day before. He was this thing the day after. The Word changed from being spirit to being embodied in a fleshly body. He was not this thing previously. He is this thing now. The Word became flesh. The Son of God, the second member of the Godhood, entered a body and became flesh. The infinite entered Finiteness. Eternity entered time. The invisible became visible. The Creator entered His creation. This was monumental. It was fantastic. I would guess all the angels were in awe. They had never seen anything like this, nor could they have ever guessed it. Charles Wesley captured it in a hymn that we may have sung this morning. Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see. Hail the incarnate deity. Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel. Now, we must not think that God the Son ceased being God to become human. No, the Son took on flesh. He was still fully God, but at the same time, He was fully flesh. He was as much God as His Father and as much human as we are. Now, He didn't have a sin nature. He was not evil, nor did He have indwelling sin, but He had every desire of the flesh that a human body would have. He would get hungry, he would get tired, he had sexual desire, and he limited himself in what he could accomplish in a day. He had to make himself do things that his body didn't want to do. He became flesh. Consider this, if you were in heaven, and you had every angel at your beck and call, if you had unbroken fellowship with your father, if every creature revered you with worship, if every demon was subject to your slightest command, would you leave that for people who hated you? That is our Christ. That is what is included here in the word became flesh. This is a true story. Now it's likely that John had something else in mind here too. Some of the Greek philosophers of the time held to a worldview that matter is evil and spirit is good, so they could not even begin to accept that Jesus took on flesh. They came up with this idea that Jesus never really, really became flesh. His spirit just popped into Jesus' body after he was baptized by John, and then he popped out before the crucifixion. This was a heresy called docetism that John was countering way back then. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. We see in verse 14, the word became flesh and dwelt among us. This word for dwell is interesting. It means that he pitched his tent. He pitched his tent. The son of God pitched his tent with mankind. He became knowable and approachable. He was with us in a most common kind of way. But this imagery goes deeper. You could say he tabernacled with us. And what does that word remind you of? Hopefully even the Sunday school kids remember this, the tabernacle. Remember when God dwelt with the Israelites in the tabernacle? He did this for 40 years while the Israelites lived in the desert, in the wilderness. Remember this tabernacle? It was a tent. It was about 45 feet long and 15 feet wide. It was about the size of a short mobile home, and it was divided into three areas. The outer courtyard was where priests made sacrifices and washed themselves before entering the next area. An outer room, the holy place, this is where the golden candlestick and the table of showbread and the altar of incense were. And then there was the inner room. This was the most holy place. This is where the Ark of the Covenant was, where God himself dwelled. So here God pitched his tent with mankind. All of this was pointing to Christ. How? First, both the tabernacle and Christ were given to provide God's presence for God's people while they were on a wilderness journey. Both the Israelites and we ourselves need God's presence while we're pilgrims through a land that isn't our own. Second, both the tabernacle and Christ were not impressive in appearance. When you think about all of the structures that archaeology has dug up over the years, the tabernacle would pale in comparison to some other temples and worship themes. It was temporary and it was mobile. From the outside, it would not look that impressive. Scripture tells us that Jesus was not special to look on either. A.W. Pink remarks, he came unattended by any imposing retinue of angels. To the unbelieving gaze of Israel, he had no form nor comeliness. And when they beheld him, their unanointed eyes saw in him no beauty that they should desire him. So then third, both Christ and the tabernacle were at the center of Israel's camp. Numbers 2.17 tells us that the tent of the meeting shall set out with the camp of the Levites in the midst of their camps. The various tribes of Israel camped all along the tabernacle with the Lord at their center. James Montgomery Boyce points out, this is highly significant in reference to Jesus Christ, for he is the center of the Christian encampment. Christ is our gathering place. Jesus must always be at the center of everything that we do, everything we believe, and everything for which we hope. In Jesus Christ, God has tabernacled with us. So when John says Christ pitched his tent with us, this is what the Jewish believers would have heard. The thing that set the Jewish people apart from all other peoples was their God. There was nothing else remarkable about them. They may have thought there was, but God says there wasn't. The only thing that sets the Christian apart is Christ. There's nothing else remarkable about us. The Jews traveling to the promised land would look to the middle of their camp and they would be reminded of what was so special about them and what they were called to. We look to Christ for the same thing. And our God will pitch his tent with us for eternity. Revelations 21, three and four says this. 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. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away. What is the most significant pain you deal with today? You know what? No matter how real it is, no matter how excruciating it is, no matter how hard it is to process, even if you feel right now that you'll never get to the end of it, even if you find yourself crying out to God, I can't take another minute of this, no matter what it is, It's temporary. It's temporary. It will not last. God, our Savior, will set up his tent with us. He's going to join our camp. He'll be here like you and I are here this morning. Well, like you're here this morning. And this real Jesus will do real things. He will wipe away our real tears from our real eyes. We will never experience the sudden removal of loved ones by death again. There'll never be, again, a reason for mourning. Mourning is temporary, nor crying. Crying is temporary, nor pain. Pain is temporary. Why? When Jesus sets up his tent in our camp, we are already in the home that he has provided for us. I have a word from the Lord for you this morning. I just read it to you. It means hang in there. No matter how hard it is, Jesus will make it worth your while. No matter how much you were wronged, no matter how much people didn't come to your aid, no matter how much you trusted those that you trusted hurt you or betrayed you, hang in there. you're going to camp out with Jesus. And if you don't like camping, pick another imagery. He's going to mansion with you. How's that? He's going to be in your neighborhood. That's what he did 2,000 years ago, and that's what he'll do again. Verse 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. We have seen is rich in meaning. It includes more than just eyesight. It includes personal contact and interaction. It would be like saying a man is seeing a woman. What we usually imply is not as much vision as relationship. The word is commonly used when one person stops into another person's home to see them. Like I would say, Tyler came by to see me. No one thinks that he actually came by because he wanted to look at me. So John is saying that we have been in a relationship with the glory of Christ because we have been in relationship with Christ himself. We have experienced his glory. Do you realize that this is what's different about us and non-believers? How many people saw Jesus? They saw what he did. They heard what he said, but they never saw his glory. They never experienced who he was. They never saw Jesus for who he was. They saw him, but they did not see him. Remember our friend, Peter, Matthew 16, 13 through 17 tells us, now, when Jesus went into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do people say that the son of man is? And they said, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. And he said to them, but who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who is in heaven. Flesh and blood didn't make you see this, but my father who is in heaven." Peter saw Christ. The father revealed to Peter who Christ really was. And that has to happen for a person to come to Christ. They must have the true identity of Christ revealed to them supernaturally. Isn't it interesting to hear how Jesus explains this? What is flesh and blood that he's talking about in our verse? Well, that's natural capacity. That's human potential. That's what we're born with. That's what we can do with human willpower. And Jesus is saying the potential that you have innately from birth to understand this world is not how you were able to see this. Well, if it's not natural, what must it be? Supernatural. And who initiated it? According to Jesus, it was God who initiated it, not Peter. Do you see Jesus? Do you have a relationship with Christ in such a way that you recognize him as the glorious one? If so, be encouraged. God did that to you. Be encouraged that what God starts, God finishes. MacArthur says this to strengthen the point. A vague belief in God apart from the truth about Christ will not result in salvation. As Jesus himself warned, unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. John 8 24. Those who think they are worshiping God but are ignorant or of or reject the fullness of the New Testament teaching about Christ are deceived because he who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him. John 5 23. In his first epistle, John affirmed that whoever denies the Son does not have the Father. The one who confesses the Son has the Father also, 1 John 2.23 and 2 John 9. Those who reject God's full revelation of himself in Jesus will be eternally lost, end of quote. Now, what glory did John and his companions see? Well, first we need to deal with the phrase, the only son from the father. It was the only son from the father. Some people twist this phrase to say that this proves that Jesus was not preexistent. He was born, they say. But the word only really emphasizes uniqueness over every other meaning. Jesus has no equal and he and he alone can fully reveal the father. He is only that way. There will not be another later that will show up to do this or can show up to do this. There's only one qualified and that's Jesus. He is the unique one, the only one. Okay, what does this word glory mean? How is it used? D.A. Carson says this, glory is a word used to denote the visible manifestation of God's self-disclosure. the visible manifestation of God's self-disclosure. So if you look at the visible manifestation and you recognize it as displaying the attributes of God, you are seeing the glory. Definitions of the word for glory say this, glory is to render something excellent, worthy of praise, to make renowned, to make glorious, to hold in honor. Now, many think when John says this about glory, that he's speaking of the transfiguration, when he says that we saw his glory, and that certainly has to be included. In Luke 9, 30 through 32, it says, and behold, two men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him." John had seen a glimpse into the spiritual reality of Christ. They saw Christ's glory. They actually saw it with their eyes. Christ was shining and they saw the light. And this was clearly different than any other ordinary human. So this was an exceptional thing. It's almost as if the curtain was pulled back for a little bit and they saw Christ from the perspective of heaven. But that's not the only way to see Christ's glory. As I was studying this, I came across this verse and it was a little bit surprising. John 12, 23 and 24 says, and Jesus answered them, the hour is coming for the son of man to be glorified. Glorified, that's good. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Well, Jesus was talking about the cross here. How in the world is the cross displaying Christ glorified? It looks like he's being humbled, humiliated, disgraced, afflicted, defeated. How is that glory? Well, the cross is the point where the wisdom and power and love and grace of God displayed itself in the backdrop of all eternity. Christ displayed the perfect representation of the grace of God on that cross. Nothing could have displayed what our heavenly father is like better than Christ's willingness to pay this awesome cost to win back to him a people who are running from him with all their lives. That is really a backwards kind of glory in our way of looking at it. We might look at that and say, what in the world was he thinking? And the truth is, he was thinking of us. That is one of the ways that God shows off who he is. That's one of the ways that Christ shows off his glory. What in the world kind of God do we have? Why? How? He's nothing like us in our flesh. We would never think of this as any kind of glory. We would never want to glorify ourselves, especially this way. We would want to be seen as powerful and in control and strength incarnate and wisdom exemplified. We would want people bowing before our wonderful majesty. I mean, there's a part of that in everybody already. But this is our God. And grace is the word that comes to the surface. Remember that all of this was probably pointing Jewish people back to Exodus. That's how they would have received it. This is from D.A. Carson again. In Exodus 33, Moses begs God, now show me your glory. And the Lord replies, I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. God's glory then is supremely his goodness. So Moses stands on Mount Sinai and we're told, the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. And he passed in front of Moses proclaiming, the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. It's in Exodus 34, five through seven. The glory revealed to Moses when the Lord passed in front of him and surrounded his name displayed that the divine goodness characterized by ineffable grace and truth was the very same glory John and his friends saw in the Word made flesh. And then John ends verse 14 with this, full of grace and truth. You and I can separate grace and truth to study it, but in the Christian experience, grace and truth can never be separated in our lives. Christ is the truth, and when the truth is revealed to us, it's always a product of God's grace. If we hear the gospel, the saving gospel, and it affects us, we are experiencing grace. It requires grace for a blind person to be given sight. It requires grace for a dead person to be given life. Christ was full of both grace and truth. No one comes to Christ without both. If a person wants to focus only on grace, they'll never receive grace. Grace comes in a truth package. If a person wants only truth, he'll never receive grace. Truth by itself is not enough. Truth needs to be more than known. It must be submitted to. Truth is not a commodity that we can own. We have to come to the person of Christ. And when we come to the person of Christ, we must submit to him. By doing so, we will receive the truth. And by believing the truth, we will receive his grace. But the truth of the matter is that we must believe the truth and we do so by His grace. God went out of His way for an undeserving soul to extend His truth so that the individual can decide to receive grace. Grace enabled the decision. Grace is the result of the decision. And the whole decision is based upon the truth of who Christ is. At the end of the day, it is Jesus who is at the source of all truth and grace. It's Jesus who is full of truth and grace. It's Jesus through which all salvation comes, because salvation requires that we believe the truth through faith, and that faith is the gracious gift of God. Again, John has crammed a mountain of theology and a lifetime of relationship in a single sentence. I hope we all find encouragement this morning in the idea that Jesus will set up his tent with us for eternity. Now we have his presence through the Holy Spirit. He indwells us. He sets up his tent in us. And then we will have both his spirit and his person. Whatever you're going through this morning, Christ knows your pain and he will on that day remove your pain. And for the first time in your life, there will be nothing to cry about. And we will be in the camp of the Lord with his presence with us always.