I invite you to turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of John, Chapter 1. In the Gospel of John, Chapter 1, we will read the first 14 verses. We're going to focus our attention on verses 8 through 13. And really what we're looking at is the mystery of the new birth. Where does it come from? How does it work? And I think that we have in these verses a very remarkable explanation for how God's grace actually takes part in us or becomes a part of us. So let's go ahead and read those first 14 verses of John chapter 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John, John the Baptist. He came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 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. Beloved congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ." John 1 is one of those familiar passages. It's almost like a John 3.16, or a Genesis 1, verse 1, right? In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Well, we have similar language. And I think it's the same substantial importance of what is being stated and what is being affirmed in this passage. In fact, it is this passage that is one of the essential proof texts, both for the eternality of the second person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ, but also part of our definition of the Trinity. How do we know and come to those conclusions? We're going to look at that in just a minute. But essentially, all we do is hold the Scriptures together and say, we agree with them all. And this agreement we call the doctrine of the Trinity. And we'll look into that just a little bit in a moment. This chapter includes some amazing statements. Just in passing, we read about John, John the Baptist. A man sent from God, this man came as a witness, for a witness, to bear witness of the lie that all through him might believe. And then we're told he was not that lie. He came to bear witness to that lie. And so it is that he is the one that reveals, prepares God's people, prepares the way You might recall Isaiah chapter 40, that every mountain might be brought down and every valley might be lifted up to facilitate the coming ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is one other aspect of this passage that I think is intentional and important. And that is, it shows the natural response of men to the Christ who came into the world. It makes, I think, undoubtedly clear, incontrovertibly clear, that it is the work of the Father that is key and essential in the work of grace in the hearts and the minds of men. We will see that even though unknown to the world, not recognized by the world, not received by His own, even rejected by His own, The Lord Jesus will save His people from their sins. We will know, first, that He came into the world. We'll see, secondly, that He was rejected by His own. And then, thirdly, we will spend some time looking at that He was received by those born from above. First, the mystery of the Incarnation. He came into the world, the Eternal, outside of time, before and after. This is an earthly type of reference. In the Incarnation, Christ enters time and space through the conception of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. It's astounding to think about. This is the One who made the world, who made and created. We read that in Hebrews chapter 1. Not only did He create the world and everything in it, but He also created the heavens, the sun, the moon, the stars, and all places that telescopes can reach. It's just beyond, beyond the grave. He entered human history, became united, became one of us. In fact, Mary had it exactly right. How can this be? I mean, she was talking about, how can I be pregnant? But bigger than that, how can I give birth to the one who will be called the Son of God? The one who will be the Son of David, who will reign from His Father's throne forever and ever? What's the answer? With man, it's impossible. It's not possible. But with God, all things are possible. So we do well, from time to time, to think about what a wonderful thing that God has done for His people. We're going to partake of the Lord's Supper later, That's in the same vein. Why is there such a thing as the Lord's Supper? Why do we do that? We do that for the assurance of our faith, for the conviction that not only others, but we are partakers of the work, the ministry, the life, the death, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That's amazing. It reminds us, chiefly, that the whole of our salvation the top, the bottom, the middle, and everywhere in between rests on the one sacrifice of Christ in the cross. Like I pointed out earlier, the question and answer one, all of our sins are part of our sins. We've been set free from all of Satan's power or some of Satan's power. And of course, it's the superlative, right? He does it all. All that we need, he grants us, he gives us, he supplies us. And so it is that He comes into the world as the Redeemer. Galatians 4 verse 4, In the fullness of the time God sent forth His Son to be born of a woman, to be born under the law, that He might redeem those who were under the law. But how did the early church deal with that? You can read Genesis to Malachi, and we can see in the Old Testament the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. But these things become all the more clear as we enter into the New Testament. And so when Christ came into the world, the early church had to decide, well, how does the Mediator, how does the Savior relate to God the Father? and God the Holy Spirit. And so the church wrestled. The church held councils, trying to conclude what does it all mean. And the conclusion is that there are three persons in the Godhead, three persons, and together they consist of the One God. And why do we believe that? Why do we teach that? Why do we say that's a necessary teaching for historic and orthodox Christianity? Well, because it's the only system of doctrine that recognizes all the pages of Scripture. And in the early church councils, they were what we call heretics. They were advocating things that caused problems with other passages in Scripture, And so the Church endeavors to be faithful and true. It was used in the Canons of Dort, too. I say the truth there is on a razor's edge. You go absolutely to what the Scripture says, but then you don't go beyond it. Well, it's the same thing in the early Church councils with the doctrine of the Trinity. Then after that, well, did Jesus become a man, or did it just seem like He became a man? Is He a God? Is He a man who became God? And so there's questions that we need to answer, which the Church has answered. And the conclusion of the Church is that there's one Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has two natures, human and divine. That's why in our Catechism it says, Why must He be a true and righteous man and true God? Well, because only that allows for the satisfaction of divine justice. Only that will enable Him to pay the price and set us free. Well, as we continue in verse 10, He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. It did not recognize Him. Now, I'm not sure this is exactly the right words, despite the fact that He knit together the DNA, the fabric of human life and life in the world, the world doesn't see it, doesn't know it. And there has to be a reason for that. And there is. And that's the power of the fall, the power of sin. 2 Corinthians 4, I think it's verse 5, 5 The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers. Why don't more people believe? Why isn't this church filled to overflowing? Because of the nature of sin. Because people's hearts are hard. Because they'd rather have a God that suits their own purpose. In fact, think about what idolatry is. That's the God of your imagination. So what we need to be sure of is that our view, our conviction of who God is and what God expects of us and wants of us corresponds to what the Bible says. Because without that, we're treading water, and it's not going to survive. And so our convictions need to be based upon the Word and the truth of God. So that's the world. But he goes on in the next verse, verse 11, He came to His own, His own things, His own world, His own people. I know that the footnote here distinguishes between the two here. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him, but as many as received Him." He came to His own, that's His own place, and the second one, His own people did not receive Him. Just think of this. Who led Israel out of Egypt? God did. And the Holy Pillar of Cloud, well, guess what? It's pretty clear that they were delivered by the Messiah, the pre-incarnate Christ. Think about the entrance. They come across the River Jordan. They're on the outskirts of where Jericho is found. And Joshua sees a mighty warrior. And he says, Are you for us or for them? It doesn't answer the question. He says, No, but I am the captain. I'm the leader of the Lord's army. And, of course, that was a Christophany, right? A pre-entrance of Christ into the world. He is the Lord. He is the King. And here it says, He came to His own. And think about your memory of the Gospels here. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. How does that go for Jesus and the scribes and the Pharisees and the high priests? What do they think of Jesus? Crucify Him! Yeah? That is their view. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. Why? Because they are just like the unbelievers. Their hearts are hard. Their eyes are shut. They are blinded to the truth. In John 9, Jesus heals the blind man along the way. The disciples introduce Him. Is this man blind because of his sins or his father's? Jesus says neither. but that the glory of God might be displayed in him. And he opened his eyes, and they could see. He could see. And the man didn't know exactly who it was that healed him. And so he gets in trouble with the scribes and the Pharisees. And probably one of my favorite... My wife would say, Yeah, you always say that. But the blind man, the man that was blind, says, Why, do you want to be his disciples too? Tell us what happened! Well, the close of that passage, that story, Jesus is talking to the scribes and the Pharisees. He says, because you say you see, your blindness remains. Because if you were truly blind and you knew it, if you were truly a sinner and knew what God's will and His purpose was, you would not be guilty as you are now. but because you are hard-hearted, because you refuse to see and know and acknowledge the Lord and His grace, it will not be. So this last verse is where we want to get, actually 12 and 13. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. Now I'm not great at I'm not great at mathematics, and what's the word? Algebra. Worse at calculus. But I do understand the order of operations. Let's say you have a diagram, and there's some things that are parentheses, or some things that have multiplication, division, all of that sort of thing. Well, the order of operation means that you have to do things in the right order to get the right answer. That's also what we have here, in a manner of speaking. Those that were of the world that Christ made did not recognize Him, and even His own people did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God to those who believe in His name. It sounds like one could implicitly interpret this passage to say that those who became the children of God are those who received Him, and are those who believed in Him. But is that the means, or is that the process that God has appointed to that end? And so we have to back up a little bit. Who can believe in Christ? Can a heart that's hard? A mind that's blind? Eyes that can't see? No. They can't. No, it's just like John 3.16. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. An implicit understanding is that, well, whoever believes, they're not going to perish. They're going to be saved. Well, is that the explicit teaching of the passage? No, it's just the implicit meaning of the passage. If you find a passage that says otherwise, then you have to defer to the passage that's clear. And so you have in John 6, verses 44 and 65, I think it is, no man can come unto me, a universal negation, no implicit interpretation necessary. No one can come to me unless the Father draws him. There's no legal rule. That's an explicit statement. So that forces us to interpret John 3.16 in a different manner. that the work of God, the work of grace, hinges upon a dead soul, a dead person spiritually, being made alive. Perhaps the clearest spot for this is Ephesians 2, verses 1-4. You are dead in your trespasses and sins. You are children of wrath, just like the others. And so we might suppose the conclusion is going to be, therefore God condemns you to an eternity in hell. Would that be fair? You should knock your head. Yes, that would be fair. We don't want fair. We want grace. We want mercy. We want favor from God. The next verse, Ephesians 2 verse 4, But God, R.C. Sproul says, thank God for the buts in Scripture. There's one in verse But God, who is rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our sins, what does He do? He made us alive. raised us up together, and made us sit together with Christ in the heavens. How do we go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive? Are we just a little bit smarter than the rest? We can see things and understand things that most people miss? No. Our boast, our thrill, is to realize that the Lord has provided a Redeemer in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's exactly what it says, if you read it with those eyes that are open. As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, to those who believe in His name. Now look at verse 13, just to make clear that I'm not pulling your leg or leading you astray here. Verse 13 leaves no alternative, except for that conclusion. How are we made alive? In fact, where it says that as many as received Him, to them He gave the right. That's the word exousia, the authority, the permission, the ability. He gave them the right to become the children of God, who were born of blood. This is spiritual rebirth, right? Who were born not of blood, not because of who your parents are, or your genealogy. It's a big deal in Chronicles and even Matthew and Luke. Who were born not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, not because you were just able to eke over the line by your own effort, nor by the will of man, of somebody who talks to you like a preacher, who convinces you, even that's not the preacher. That's the wonder of God's grace. Nor the will of man, but of God. So let's read those two verses with just the essential data. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born of God. That's the grace of the gospel. That is the God who hears our prayers and grants our requests. And the proper order of operations is that it starts with God, then it's God in the middle, then it's God at the end. He does it all. Yes, we are responsible And God is soft, no contradiction. And so we believe. And so the Bible has no hesitation both to promise us the wonders of grace and glory, as well as threaten us with the warnings and reminders of what happens to those that turn back. And they're both true. Yet in the outflow of God's grace, the lesson, of course, is to hang on to those promises and not forget those warnings. Let no one think higher of himself than he ought. If a man thinks that he stands, I've got this whip, no problem. Let him take heed. Or what? Let him take heed lest he fall. So we will finish up here below. Becoming the children of God is described with a number of words in the New Testament. And they all essentially mean the same thing. Regeneration. The washing of regeneration. Titus chapter 2. Being born again. Jesus says in John chapter 2, unless you're born again, you cannot enter. You can't even see the kingdom of God unless you're born again. We generate it, born again, being made alive. We saw that in Ephesians chapter 2. We see it again in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. If you are in Christ, you are a new creature. You've been born again. And here we have born of God. So the central point, all that we need, all that we need, comes from God. And it ought to have this result, that all praise and thanks and worship would go to God from now on and forevermore. Our boast is that God's grace is sufficient, that Jesus is our Savior, that He is our righteousness, He is our sanctification, He is our salvation. And we participate and benefit from that work, not by the act of the human will, not by blood of our family, not by the will of another, but by God. And so we know that we are to trust in Him, rely upon Him, delight in Him, serve Him with our whole heart, our whole will, with all that we have. We come to the Lord's table, why? Because God is gracious. Because His mercy is sufficient. And He says, those of you who are sorry for your sins, those of you who are trusting in the grace of Christ and the gospel, those of you that are committed to live a life of holiness, it's almost not a word or a vocabulary, but it's all over the Bible. Be holy because I am holy. Those for whom these things are sought, are encouraged to come. And you're encouraged to come despite residual weakness, regardless. And of course, we come embracing the promises of God, His grace. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we are grateful to you for this time and this day, sharing these things. As we come to the Lord's table, might it be heartening and encouraging to us all to know that your grace is sufficient for us. We thank you for every blessing, every provision, every kindness. We love you and serve you now and forever.