JOHN 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

GOD WITH US JOHN 1:14

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

“God entered our world not with the crushing impact of unbearable glory, but in the way of weakness,

vulnerability, and need. On a wintry night in an obscure cave, the infant Jesus was a humble, naked, helpless God

who allowed us to get close to Him.”

BRENNAN MANNING

“THE WORD” (logos)

JOHN 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

JOHN 1:1-5 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 was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

[I believe] in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,

begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God, Begotten, not made;

of the same essence as the Father.

Through him all things were made.

NICENE CREED (325 AD)

“BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US”

EXODUS 25:8-9 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.

JOHN 2:18-21 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

EPHESIANS 2:19-21 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

“AND WE HAVE SEEN HIS GLORY, GLORY AS OF THE ONLY SON FROM THE FATHER, FULL OF

GRACE AND TRUTH.”

GLORY - UNIQUE TO THE SON 1. The bright effulgence of God’s perfect Being

EXODUS 40:34-35 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

GLORY - UNIQUE TO THE SON (OT) 1. The bright effulgence of God’s perfect Being

2. The goodness of God made manifest

EXODUS 33:18-20 “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”

JESUS REDEFINES “GLORY” (NT) 1. His loving service pointed to God’s good Kingdom

JOHN 2:11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

JESUS REDEFINES “GLORY” (NT) 1. His loving service pointed to God’s good Kingdom

2. Referring to his death

JOHN 2:11 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.

“Right at the beginning, John has left us in no doubt about the greatness of his Lord. The Word was in the beginning, he was with

God, he was God. And it was that Word, that supremely great Word, who lived on earth in lowliness. Where people needed help, he helped them. Where there were sick, he healed them. Where

there were ignorant folk, he taught them. Where there were hungry people, he fed them. All the time he was seeking the needy. He did not haunt the palaces of kings and governors. He was not found in

the high places of the earth. . . . ”

“It was not to such that the Word came. All his life he was among God’s little people, those who in one way or another felt their need. And wherever there was need, he was found doing lowly

service. That is what Christ came to do. And that is glory.”

LEON MORRIS

ENCOUNTERING THE WORD MADE FLESH

PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11 (CONT.) Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.