The One True Light by Tim Chester

THE ONE TRUE LIGHT

by Tim Chester

Chapter 1 – In the beginning – “In the beginning ...” John 1 verse 1

John’s “in the beginning” is not the start of one person’s life.  This is the start and source of all life.  This is the story of creation.  The words echo the opening words of the opening book of the bible.  Genesis 1 verse 1 reads “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”.  John is retelling the story of creation with Jesus the Word at the centre.

It’s not the story of one person, but of every person.  This is my story.  And our story.  This is the story of the universe and specifically of planet earth.

The story of creation in Genesis 1 came to a climax when God formed the first human being, Adam.  John’s “Christmas story” will also come to a climax with a man taking on human flesh.  Genesis shows us the first man – Adam. But Jesus will be “the last Adam”.  In both cases a man enters the world.  Jesus is coming as the true Adam or the true man.

But Jesus is more than a new improved human being.  John could have started with the story of the birth of Jesus.  That’s what Mathew and Luke do.  But John wants us to realise that, unlike the story of any other human being, the story of Jesus does not begin with his human conception.  It’s true that Jesus was born as a human being in our world.  But that’s not when his story begins.  His story goes back to the beginning.  Indeed the story of Jesus doesn’t even start “in the beginning”.  For, as John will go on to say, Jesus already “was” in the beginning.  His story has no beginning for he “was” in eternity.  He has been for ever.

John is clear: Jesus the Word already “was” in the beginning.

But why does John start here, looking back to the beginning of creation? Because the story John is about to unfold is the story of a re-creation.  The world God made is no longer the same world in which we live.  God made a good world, a beautiful world.  And there are still signs of that all around us.  But there is also evil and pain.

Our world is broken.  And we are the ones who broke it.

John starts “in the beginning” to give us a hint of what Jesus will do.  Jesus is going to mend the brokenness of our world.  The story of creation went into reverse when humanity rejected God.  Creation gave way to de-creation.  God’s beautiful world began to unravel.  But Jesus is about to pick up the pen, as it were, and write the next chapter – another chapter of  creation.

Chapter 2 – The Word – “In the beginning was the Word ...” John 1 verse 1

God and humanity are so different.  Before God we’re the equivalent of bacteria on a Petri dish.  How can God communicate to us?  What language can he use? Even if we could hear words from him, how could he say anything that we could comprehend?

The good news is that Jesus is the Word of God, in whom we hear God.  John’s gospel begins “In the beginning was the Word.”  The man Jesus, says John, is the Word. God has accommodated himself to us in the most incredible way.  He has become one of us.

What does that choice mean for us?  We can’t see Jesus in the flesh.  We can’t hear him teaching by Lake Galilee or see him performing a miracle. 

We weren’t there and we can’t hear the calm, commanding voice of Jesus.  We can’t stand open-mouthed in fearful wonder as the waves lie flat at the sound of his voice.  So how can we hear God today?

The answer is that we can encounter Jesus the Word in the promises of the prophets in the Old Testament and the testimony of the apostles in the New Testament.  The Spirit-inspired bible gives us access to Jesus the word.  We encounter him as his story is retold.  We encounter him as his message is preached.  We encounter the Word in the words of scripture.

And whenever we encounter him, we encounter God.  Whenever we hear the message of Jesus, we hear the voice of God.

Chapter 3 – With God – was God – “And the Word was with God, and the word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.” John 1 verses 1 and 2

John isn’t talking about 2 Words.  “The Word” is different from God (and therefore able to be with him) and the Word is the same as God.  Surely the word is either with God or is God.

In Greek thought, the “word” or “reason” was the organising principle behind the world.  It may be that John has an echo of this in mind as he writes.  But it’s more likely that to the fore is the Old Testament use of the term “word”.  John himself was Jewish and his gospel is full of allusions to the Old Testament.  John repeatedly draws attention to the way Jesus fulfils the promises and patterns of the scriptures.

And in the Old Testament God’s word is the means by which God speaks and acts.  Indeed God’s word is synonymous with God.

We have a sense of this as human beings.  We have an organic connection with our words.  Our words are more than sounds, or pixels in an email.  They represent our thoughts and intentions.  They convey our very selves.  Except of course that our words don’t always convey ourselves truly.

But God is perfect and so his word is perfect.  And that means his word is a perfect representation of his being.  God’s word is such a complete revelation of himself that it is himself.  God’s word conveys who he is and it does so perfectly.

The Word is with God because the Word is Jesus, the Son of God.  And God is 3 Persons.  Jesus is not the Father.  They’re different persons.  So Jesus the Word can be with God.  God the Son is with God the Father without being God the Father.  John doesn’t say Jesus is God as if there are no other Persons in the Godhead.

At the same time the Word is God because there aren’t 3 gods.  The Father is God and Jesus is God, Father, Son and Spirit are one divine Being.

Why does this matter?  It means that God can communicate in a way that is sure and true.  When we hear God’s Word, we don’t just hear a second-hand report about God.  We hear God himself because his word is God.

Of course there is still much we don’t know.  The Trinity is so much bigger than anything we can get our heads round.

The Christmas story began in the life of the Trinity, and that is a mystery beyond our comprehension.

We cannot know God fully.  But we can know him truly, for Jesus is the Word, through whom we hear the voice of God. 

Chapter 4 – Let there be – “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1 verse 3

The Word that John is introducing to us is powerful.  Jesus is the word, through whom we hear God’s voice.  But this Word is not just about communication; he is also about creation.  Jesus is also the word through whom God made the world.

John begins with a deliberate echo of the opening of Genesis “In the beginning”.  John is retelling the story of creation with Jesus the Word at the centre.

In Genesis 1, God spoke and the world came into being “And God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light” – Genesis 1 verse 3.  The psalmist says that “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth” – Psalm 33 verse 6.  My words can be powerful. 

God spoke and the universe came into existence.  And the word that God spoke was Jesus.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

We can’t understand the mechanics of this act.  But God the Father spoke, the Word he spoke was Jesus and through that Word the world was created.  Creation took place through the mediation of the Son.  The Father is the architect and Jesus is the plan.  Jesus is the model, the prototype, the pattern of creation.

There’s a lovely description of the process of creation in Proverbs 8.  Wisdom personified speaks.  It is a picture of Jesus.  Jesus describes how he witnessed creation and then adds “Then I was beside him, like a master workman and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.” – verses 30 and 31.

The image is of Father and Son working side by side.  The Father conceives and plans the world in all its beauty and complexity.  And Jesus is the master workman constructing the plan of the Father.

The Son delights in the plan of the Father.  The Father delights in the execution of that plan by the Son.  Why? Because the Son himself is the plan.  “I was daily his delight.”

Jesus rejoices in the world they are making together.  And he especially delights in humanity because we are made in the image of the triune God.  More than anywhere else, this is where Jesus sees his Father’s glory reflected in creation.

Jesus is that Word through whom God creates.  And this is what we’re going to see played out in the rest of John’s Gospel.  John is trailing his story.

We’re not going to see acts of creation – that work has been done.  But we are going to see acts of re-creation.  We’re going to see Jesus commanding the waves, feeding the hungry and restoring the sick.

Jesus is not just a preacher or a healer.  He is the Creator walking in his creation.  And as he touches the sick and breaks bread to feed the hungry, he is giving us a glimpse of the future.  The Word of God is in the world remaking the world.  When you read the stories of Jesus, you are seeing the future of creation.  

Chapter 5 – Life – “In him was life ...” John 1 verse 4

John had an aim in mind when he wrote.  He writes his gospel, he tells us, so that, “you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name” (chapter 20 verse 31).So John does not simply tell the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  He also catalogues the promises of Jesus to give life:

Ø  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3 verse 16

Ø  “You study the scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life.  These are the very scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” John 5 verses 39 and 40

Ø  “For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” John 6 verse 33

Ø  “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.  Whoever eats this bread will live for ever.  This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6 verse 51

Ø  “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10 verse 10

Ø  “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10 verse 28

Ø  “I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” John 11 verses 25 and 26

Ø  “I am the way and the truth and the life.” John 14 verse 6

Jesus can give life because there is life in him.  “In him was life”.  Theologians have a name for this: aseity.  It literally means “from yourself.”

My existence depends upon a lot of other things.  It depends on my parents, who gave me birth.  It depends on the farmers, manufacturers and retailers who produce my food.  It depends on my employers, who pay me the money I need to buy that food. It depends on the water company that supplies clean water for me to drink.  It depends on the medical services that keep me healthy.  Above all it depends on God, who sustains all things and gives me each breath.  I am not self-sufficient or self-sustaining.  I do not have life in myself.

But Jesus says, “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” John 5 verse 26

Jesus does have life in himself.  This is one of the things that marks Jesus out as truly divine.  He is not a created being who depends on another for his existence.

At the same time, mysteriously, Jesus has life in himself because the Father has given him life in himself.  The Father is the source or origin of divinity.  If this were not true, then there would be 3 divine Fathers.

But this gift of “life in himself” is an eternal gift.  It’s not that there was once a time when the Son didn’t have life in himself.  There wasn’t a moment when the Father handed it over as a present to his Son – a gift with a before and after.  The Son has always had life in himself.  And that life has always been, and is always being, given to him by the Father.

This is why Jesus can give eternal life to his people.  This is why Jesus can give eternal life to you.  We are united to the eternally begotten Son.  The Father is eternally giving life to the Son.  And so if we’re in the Son by faith, the Father eternally gives life to us in and through the Son.  Just as the Father continually gives life to the Son, so the Son continually gives life to his people in history and will continually to do so beyond history into eternity.

The Son didn’t simply hand over a gift-wrapped present of life to us on the day we became Christians  He gives us life day after day, hour after hour.

Chapter 6 – Light – “And that life was the light of all mankind.” John 1 verse 4

The first act of creation was the creation of light “And God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light.” Genesis 1 verse 3.  The world was in darkness, God spoke and there was light.  God’s word brought light to darkness.

Wherever and whenever God speaks, the result is light.  “The unfolding of your words gives light.” Psalm 119 verse 130  “For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light and correction and instruction are the way to life.” Proverbs 6 verse 23  The opposite is also true, “if anyone does not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn” Isaiah 8 verse 20  Where God’s word is absent, darkness closes back in – Psalm 82 verse 5, Ecclesiastes 2 verses 13 and 14.

We know from our own experience how a word can bring light.  Maybe there’s a topic you find confusing.  And then someone explains it clearly or comes up with a great illustration.  And you say “Ah now I get it.  Now it makes sense.”

In a similar way humanity is confused about life, God, identity, truth and the future.  We’re confused because we’re creatures with a limited understanding and we’re confused because we’re sinners with a warped understanding.

But at the first Christmas, says John, God’s Word was entering history in the person of Jesus.  And what was the result?  What it had always been and always is when God speaks: light.  So John continues “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.”  John describes how John the Baptist came as a witness to the imminent coming of the light (verses 6 to 8).  “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” Verse 9

In the Old Testament God brings light through his word. What John tells us is that Word, through whom God brings light.

And again that’s what we see throughout John’s Gospel.  Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8 verse 12.

In John 9, Jesus heals a blind man.  It’s a demonstration of his ability to bring light.  The disciples assume the man must be blind because of some specific sin.  So, since the man was born blind, they ask whether it was the sin of the man himself or his parents.  But Jesus says the man was born blind “so that the works of God might be displayed in him” verse 3.  And what is it that will be displayed in this man? Jesus says “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” verse 5.  By healing this man, Jesus is demonstrating that he is the light of the world.

When the Pharisees reject this healing and the healed man, Jesus comments, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” verse 39.  This miracle embodies the way in which Jesus confirms the darkness of those who reject him, but brings light  to those who receive him.

The light God shines – the word he speaks – is Jesus.  Now through the power of his Spirit, we’re able to say “Ah, now I get it.  Now it makes sense.  We’re no longer blundering, no longer guessing.  We can see the truth about life, God, identity, truth and the future.  This is sometimes challenging – in the light of the Word, we see that we’ve picked up the wrong ideas or adopted the wrong behaviours.  But that is always thrilling – because it brings clarity where once there was only confusion.

Jesus is the word, through whom we hear God’s voice and through whom God made the world.  Now we see that Jesus is the Word through whom God brings light.

Chapter 7 – Overcoming – “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1 verse 5

The darkness has not overcome the light, says John.  Is that true?  Often it feels as if the darkness is overcoming.  It feels as if the light is flickering and faltering, like a failing flame.  “This is the verdict” says Jesus, “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” John 3 verse 19

The darkness has not overcome the light, says John.  Was that true at the cross? ”Walk while you have the light” says Jesus, “before darkness overtakes you” chapter 12 verse 35.  The word “overtake” is the same word as “overcome” here in chapter 1 verse 5.  There was a moment when the darkness overcame the light.  And that moment was the cross.

As Jesus hung on the cross “darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon” Mark 15 verse 33.  The light of the world was covered over by darkness.  And then the light was extinguished.

The cross is the ultimate expression of human hatred of God.  We constantly and consistently reject the light of God’s revelation.  Why? Because our deeds are evil.  In other words, we don’t want to face the reality of who we are.  And we don’t want to change who we are.  We don’t want to know God because we prefer evil.  Romans 1 verses 18 to 20 says that.  We do this every day by ignoring the light of God.  And when the light of God came in human form, we murdered him.  Maybe now we can be left to our dark and evil ways.

But the light did not stay dead “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.”  Jesus the light rose again at dawn on the third day.  As the light of a new day broke, so the light of a new age dawned “I have come into the world as a light” he said “so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” Chapter 12 verse 46.

Light always wins.  It’s an unequal contest.  We know this from our own experience.  Light and darkness are asymmetrical.  Light dispels darkness simply by its presence whereas darkness doesn’t naturally extinguish light.  You can’t have a torch-dark” that casts a beam of darkness into the light.  But a “torchlight” casts a beam of light into the darkness – no matter how much darkness there is.

Jesus says “Put your trust in the light while there is still time then you will become children of the light” chapter 12 verse 36. 

The world does not stay in darkness.  At Christmas light entered the world.  At Christmas services we often read from Isaiah 9 verse 2 “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.”

With the coming of the Word, light broke into the darkness of this world; and with the resurrection of the Word, God declared that the light would never be extinguished.  And in putting our faith in Jesus, we have been called out of darkness. We need never be overcome by the darkness and can always live in the light.  There is never any need for, nor any excuse for, returning to the darkness.

Chapter 8 – Witness – “There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.” John 1 verses 6 to 8

“There was a man sent by God” sounds at first like it could be introducing the Word-made-flesh.  But, no: this man is someone else.  “It’s not all about you” – or “It’s not all about me” – might well have been one of his catchphrases.

Verse 6 could be translated more literally as “a man came from God whose name was John”. The verb is the same as that used in verse 3, which is literally, “Through (the Word) all things came (into existence), without him nothing came (into existence) that has come into existence).”  

John came.  But Jesus didn’t come, at least, not in the same way.  Instead, everything else came through Jesus – including John.

It’s true that John came first in history.  He was 6 months older than Jesus and he started his ministry before Jesus went public.  But Jesus is the source of John just as Jesus is the source of everything that exists.  This is how John himself puts it, saying “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” Chapter 1 verses 15 and 30.

We meet this idea of the superiority of Jesus in verses 7 and 8.  John is a witness to the light.  That’s a tremendous privilege.  John plays a key role in the history of the salvation.  But Jesus is the light to whom John witnesses.

It may be that John the Evangelist (that is, the writer of the Gospel) had followers of John the Baptist in mind when he wrote these words (Acts 18 verse 25, 19 verse 3).  Perhaps he wanted to persuade them that truly following John actually means following the one of whom John was a witness.

But it’s also a reminder that, like John, we’re secondary and Jesus is primary.  “It’s not all about you.”

John himself said, “I baptise with water ... but among you stands one you do not know.  He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” Verses 26 and 27

Later in this chapter we read the story of 2 people who are John’s “disciples” (verses 35 to 39).  What does John do with these disciples?  He points them to Jesus so that they leave John and follow Jesus instead.

We so easily become preoccupied with our own status.  In situations of conflict, in social situations, in our careers, in our church meetings, we can make it all about us.  We can manoeuvre to promote ourselves or contribute to further our interests.  In these moments we need to tell ourselves, “Jesus must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3 verse 30)

“Only a witness”.  That’s how John is described in chapter 1 verse 8.  And that’s a good description of you and me.  What makes us special is that we are witnesses to the light.  John came “so that through him (John) all might believe (in Jesus).”

“Only” a witness – but gloriously, never less than a witness. 

Chapter 9 – Heaven opened – “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” John 1 verse 9

Think of some of the fictional ways we’ve invented for moving between one realm and another: the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland, the Tardis in Doctor Who, the wardrobe in the Narnia Chronicles, a portkey in the Harry Potter books, the portal in the Stargate series.  It seems we’re obsessed with the idea of moving between dimensions.  Perhaps that’s because we were made to live at the intersection of heaven and earth, and so there are echoes of this all over our culture.

In verse 9, John speaks of light “coming into the world” from outside the world. 

Jesus uses a different image to describe this same intersection later in the chapter: “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on’ the Son of Man” (chapter 1 verse 51) pointing to a dream of Jacob, the father of the nation of Israel (Genesis 28 verses 1 – 17).  Jacob saw “the gate of heaven” with a stairway between heaven and earth.  And now Jesus says, I can lead you to the gate of heaven.  I can shew you the stairway to heaven.

Except that Jesus says much more than this.  This is what Jacob sees in his dream: “A stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.”  The angels are ascending and descending on a stairway between heaven and earth.

Now look at what Jesus says in John 1 verse 51 “You shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”  There’s no mention of a stairway.  The angels are ascending and descending on the Son of Man – on Jesus.  Jesus is the stairway.  He’s the link between heaven and earth.  He himself is the gate of heaven.  He’s the point at which heaven and earth intersect.

It’s not that there’s some secret ravine in the deserts of the Middle East with ancient inscriptions across the walls, and if you press the right spot or say the right words, then a gateway will open and the stairway to heaven will be revealed.

There is a link between heaven and earth.  There is a portal.  There is a gateway.  And that gateway is Jesus.  What Jacob saw in his dream was a picture – a picture of Jesus.

Later in John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “No one has ever gone into heaven” (chapter 3 verse 13).  But then he goes on ... “except the one who came from heaven – the Son of Man”.  Jesus has stepped across the divide between heaven and earth.  He’s entered our world to be the bridge between heaven and earth.

This is what God said to Jacob in Jacob’s dream: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go ... I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Genesis 28 verse 15).  God shows Jacob the stairway between heaven and earth to reassure Jacob that he is with him and watches over him.  Jesus is that stairway.  And through Jesus, God is with us and God watches over us.

The portal between heaven and earth is open right now and you can pass through it – because that portal is Jesus.

It’s all too easy for us just to see the horizons of this world and this life.  And so we forget that we’re linked with Christ in the heavenly realms.  Live your life today as a citizen of heaven.  Live as someone who is connected to the coming world.  Live as someone to whom God says, “I am with you and I will watch over you wherever you go ... I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

Chapter 10 – Preferring darkness – “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” John 1 verses 10 to 11

In John 3 a man comes to Jesus at night and wonders why he can’t see!  That man’s name is Nicodemus.  Nicodemus comes to Jesus because he is concerned with spiritual insight, rather than physical sight.  But John plays on the fact that the meeting is taking place during the darkness of night to highlight Nicodemus’ real problem.

Nicodemus begins by suggesting Jesus must be from God (chapter 3 verse 2).  But behind this statement is a question: Is Jesus God’s promised King? Is he the Messiah?

If this were a world of light, it would be easy to see the truth about Jesus.  But this is a world in darkness, into which Jesus steps as the true light (chapter 1 verse 9).  Verses 10 and 11 remind us of why we need light – because we live in darkness.

This means that to “see” God’s kingdom – to understand its nature and welcome its coming – you need to be able to see in the dark.  For that, you need help – you need the Spirit of God to make you a new person with new insight.  Jesus says you need to be born again (chapter 3 verses 3 – 8).

Then Jesus starts talking about snakes in the wilderness, which at first sight seems rather random (chapter 3 verse 14).  He’s asking Nicodemus to think of the episode told in Numbers 20.  The people of Israel on their way to the promised land, had rebelled against God and so God had sent a plague of poisonous snakes as an act of judgment.  The people repented, so God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and lifted it high among the people.  Anyone who looked to the serpent would be saved.  Jesus says this was not only a means of rescue for those Israelites in that time – it was also a picture of what he would do at the cross: “Just as Moses must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” (John 3 verses 14 and 15)

Nicodemus asks whether Jesus is God’s King.  Jesus says you need God’s Spirit to see God’s King.  Why?  Because Jesus is not the King we expect.  We expect a king to be high and mighty.  Jesus would certainly be lifted up.  But he would be lifted upon a cross.

And why is Jesus lifted up on a cross? Jesus continues, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (chapter 3 verse 16).  God’s King would die in the place of his people.  He had come not to defeat rebels, but to take their place to be defeated by God so we can be forgiven.

Finally in his night-time conversation, Jesus comes back to the issue of darkness: “Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (chapter 3 verse 19).  People love darkness.  They don’t want to let go of their sin – they don’t want to recognise the word, and they don’t want to receive their King (chapter 1 verses 10 and 11).  Why?  Because people fear exposure.  They don’t want to admit their sin or give up their self-rule.  Jesus is diagnosing what Nicodemus has done by coming furtively at night.  Nicodemus is his own parable.  He has come at night, asking, “why can’t I see?”

Jesus offers eternal life to rebellious subjects.  But we prefer darkness and death to life in the light.  We don’t want to admit we need the King on the cross, dying for our sins.  As a result, the cross looks like the epitome of shame to us rather than the epitome of glory.  We call darkness light and light darkness.  We don’t recognise the light that has come to us.

Only the Spirit of God can open our eyes to the true light.  Only the Spirit of God can enable us to recognise and receive the truth of these words with joy: “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.”

Chapter 11 – Children of God – “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1 verse 12

What does God think of you?  God accepts you in Christ.  You probably know that.  But perhaps you think of God as tolerating you.  At best, he puts up with your weaknesses, your sin and your ugliness for the sake of Christ.  But his acceptance is reluctant – perhaps even begrudging.

John’s view of God’s view of us was nothing like this.  “To those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”  In his first letter, John says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!” 1 John 3 verse 1.  There’s no sense here that Christ has twisted the arm of a reluctant God.  Salvation begins with the Father’s love.  And his love is lavish.  He has given us the right to become his children.  1 John 3 verse 1 is literally, “See what kind of love the Father has given to us” or “See from what country the love of the Father has come”.  In other words, John is saying Where did this love come from?  It’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before.  It’s literally out of this world.

John’s first letter is in some ways an extended meditation on the idea he introduces here in verse 12 of the first chapter of his Gospel.  God has given us the right to be his children.  The letter begins with language that echoes John 1.  The Word of life, which as in the beginning, has come in the flesh. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” (1 John 1 verse 1)

But why has the Word come in the flesh?  Why has John given his life to proclaiming the Word-made-flesh? “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.  And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.  We write this to make our joy complete.” (1 John 1 verses 3 and 4)

We are in Christ and so we are in the Trinity.  We are linked to the Son and so we are linked to the Trinity.  We have become part of the triune community.  We are part of the family.

So we share in the fellowship between the Father and the Son.  God loves us with the same love that he has towards his own Son.  God feels towards you the same that he feels toward Jesus.  He can no more stop loving you than he can stop loving Jesus.  John writes so his readers can experience joy (chapter 1 verse 4) - the joy that comes from community with God!

John continues: “Everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5 verses 4 and 5).  Our job, as it were, is to believe that we are the children of God through the Son of God.

This is why Jesus came.  This is what his advent, his arrival, is all about: giving us the right to become children of God.  So our job is to live like his children so we become his children, just as my children have to live as I want them to in order to earn my love.  Is that right?  Of course not. Just as humans are born as children with a father, so we Christians are born anew as children of our heavenly Father.  Our new birth is what makes us God’s children – not our efforts. Relating to God is not complicated or hard.  It is as simple as a child relating to her father  So our job is to trust God as our Father: to see his smile, to welcome his embrace, to enjoy his love.

Chapter 12 – Born of God – “Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” John 1 verse 13

The apostle Paul uses the idea of adoption to show we are children of God.  John uses the idea of rebirth.  We are born again as children of God.  And this is all of God.  It’s not based on human ability (“natural descent”).  It’s not based on human will (“human decision”).  We believe in Christ’s name (verse 12) because we have first been born of God (verse 13).  “The wind blows wherever it pleases.  You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.  So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (chapter 3 verse 8)

Our role is to believe in Jesus and believe we have become children of God through him.  And with this, everything else falls into place.  As John reflects in his first letter on what it means to be born of God, he shows how it transforms our lives:

·         Being children of God transforms our behaviour.  “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them, they cannot go on sinning because they have been born of God” (1 John 3 verse 9).  God’s DNA is in us.  So we’re being changed into the family likeness and eventually we become like him (chapter 3 verses 2 and 3).

·         Being children of God transforms our relationships.  “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4 verse 7)  Other Christians are also God’s children and so they’re our brothers and sisters.  We love our church family with the love we’ve received.

·         Being children of God transforms our fears.  “There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment” (1 John 4 verse 18).  We don’t fear judgment because, in his love, God has dealt with our judgment on the cross (verse 10).

·         Being children of God transforms our prayers.  “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” (1 John 5 verse 14).  Just as a human father delights to hear the faltering words of his child, so our heavenly Father delights to hear our faltering prayers.

·         Being children of God transforms our future. “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them” (1 John 5 verse 18).  God may allow bad things to happen, but never more than we can bear and always to make us more like his Son.  Nothing and no one can remove us from the family.

      But always remember: we don’t start with changed behaviour, relationships, fears or prayers.  We start by believing we’re the children of God through the Son of God.  This is what changes everything else.

      “The people who belong to this world don’t recognise that we are God’s children because they don’t know him” (1 John 3 verse 10)  This world doesn’t know God and so it doesn’t understand that we’re his children.  But we really are!  We’re sons and daughters of God, made and remade to reign with God.

     The advent of Jesus changes our lives because it changes our status.  Jesus makes us children of God.  It was his choice, for we would never have made that choice.  And it was a wonderful choice – one that we will increasingly appreciate and thank him for, eternally.

Chapter 13 – God in a manger – “The Word became flesh ...” John 1 verse 14

In Jesus, the Word of God comes to us.  We hear the voice of God expressing his love and commitment to us.

But this Word is a word made flesh, God the Father doesn’t just phone us.  His Word is made flesh.  His Word is physically present.  It is a Word that John has heard and seen and touched (1 John 1 verses 1 to 3).

God takes on flesh.  God lies in a manger.  God plays with other children.  God eats around the table.  God sweats on the roadside.  God sleeps in the boat.  God shares our human weakness.  God experiences our temptations.

This is the wonder of the incarnation.  God is clothed in human flesh: “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” (Colossians 2 verse 9)  It’s as if the splendour of God has been squeezed into a human body.  Imagine trying to pack all your possessions into a suitcase – squashing it, pushing it, sitting on it, trying to cram them all in.  That is what God did at the incarnation.  He took the fullness of the Deity and squeezed it into bodily form.  And nothing was left out.  Jesus is truly divine and truly human.  Christmas marks the coming of God.

It’s this truth that is beautifully captured in one of the older and most widely acknowledged creeds in the Christian church : the Nicene Creed.  It began life at the Council of Nicea in AD 325 and is thought to have been revised at the Council of Constantinople in AD 381. 

Making this affirmation matters because it means we can know with confidence what God is like.  “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in the closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1 verse 18).  God is unseen and unseeable – except in Jesus, who makes him known.  And he makes him known truly because he himself is God.

What is God really like?  Look at Jesus.  He is the perfect image of God.  And in Jesus we see a God who has entered into the pain and confusion of human history to reconcile us to himself.

Christianity is not a call to embrace a system of thought or a religion or a moral code.  It’s the invitation to embrace a person – or rather to be embraced by a person.  It’s the invitation to look to Jesus and see in him the kindness, glory, beauty, power and holiness of God.

The Word became flesh.  Wisdom became flesh.  Love became flesh.  Holiness became flesh.  Justice became flesh.  Truth became flesh.  And his name is Jesus.

Chapter 14 – God’s New Address – “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” John 1 verse 14

When the Word became flesh, Jesus moved into our neighbourhood, He “made his dwelling among us”.  The word “dwelling” is literally “tabernacled”.  Jesus the Word tabernacled among us.  In Jesus, God pitched his tent among us.

John is pointing us to the story of Israel in the desert after God had liberated them from slavery in Egypt.  God told Moses to build a tent or tabernacle in which God would live among his people.

Constructing a tent for God might seem to us an odd thing to do.  Perhaps we start thinking of wedding marquee or a camping trip.  But to the Israelites at that time, a tent meant only one thing: home.  They lived in tents.  And now God was moving into the neighbourhood.  He was going to dwell among his people.  He would live in a tent among the tents of his people – “There let them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them” (Exodus 25 verse 8).

The tabernacle was a sign of God’s presence.  Now, John announces, that sign has given way to the reality.  God himself a dwelling among us in the person of Jesus.  Jesus is God making his home among us.  Jesus is, as it were, God’s address on earth.

Whenever the Israelites pitched camp, the tabernacle was at the centre of the camp.  It was a physical sign that God was among his people.

When Israel looked up and saw the tabernacle in the middle of the camp, they knew they were safe.  God was with them and he would protect them.  And we, too, can look up and “see” Jesus, who walked on this earth and who works on this earth by his Spirit. God is present among us to deliver us and protect us.

In our moments of despair when all hope looks lost, we can look to the east.  We can look to Jesus.  And we can know that God is for us.  God is among us.  God will deliver us.

Chapter 15 – The glory of God – “We have seen his glory ... John 1 verse 14

In verse 14, John mentions a word we often say in Christian circles, but about which we rarely stop to think what we mean: glory.  Literally, glory means “weight” – the heaviness of something, the nature of it.  God’s glory is God’s God-ness.  And looking at the glory of God can damage more than your eyes.  God’s glory comes with a health warning.

We’ve seen how God-made-flesh “tabernacled” among us in the person of his Son.  We’ve seen that this was an echo and fulfilment of the tabernacle in the wilderness.

This is what happened when the first tabernacle was first erected.  “The cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.  Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40 verse 34 and 35).  The presence of God means the glory of God.  The glory of God descended on the tabernacle and Moses was forced to evacuate.  Twice the text says that “the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.”

This has happened again and fully in Jesus.  “We have seen his glory.”  God has pitched his tabernacle among us in the person of Jesus.  And God has filed his tabernacle with his glory.  We see the glory of God in the person of his Son.

In Exodus 33 verse 18, Moses says to God, “Now show me your glory”.  It’s a bold request.  And God responds graciously and generously.  But there’s a problem.  God will reveal his glory in his name. “But, he said you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” (verse 20)  So Moses can only be near God’s glory but he cannot see it: “When my glory passes by, I will put you in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.  Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen (verses 22 and 23).  On Mount Sinai, God will pass by and Moses will see the afterglow of his glory.

Hundreds of years later, another prophet is at Mount Sinai (or Mount Horeb as it was also known)  Elijah is weary and disillusioned.  So God says to him, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by” (1 Kings 19 verse 11).  Again god passes by.  He passes by to reveal his glory.

Hundreds of years later, the disciples are straining at the oars of their boat.  The wind is against them, and they’re getting nowhere.  Jesus is praying on a mountain.  But when he sees them straining, he goes out to them, waking on the water across the lake.

Mark tells us that “he was about to pass by them” (Mark 6 verse 48).  At first sight that seems a really odd thing to do.  Jesus sees his friends in trouble, goes out to them and then seems to ignore them.  Has he lost interest?

We need to read this story alongside the stories of Moses and Elijah.  In those stories God passed by to reveal his glory.  And now God in Jesus again passes by to reveal his glory.

But here’s the difference.  Jesus isn’t on the mountain.  He’s left the mountain to go out to his disciples.  And then he climbs into the boat (chapter 6 verse 51)

The God of glory is in the about with his friends – with us.  In the place where we are straining God is with us to reveal his glory.

“We’re all in the same boat”, we sometimes say to one another.  In other words, we face the same problem.  Jesus says to us.  We’re in the same boat.  The problem you face, you don’t face alone.  Jesus is with you.

“We have seen his glory” says John.  I think you can detect the wonder he still feels at this, decades later.  God had told Moses, “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” John has looked into the face of Jesus and has seen the glory of God.  And he’s lived to tell the tale.

Chapter 16 – The duty of enjoying glory – “We have seen his glory ...” John 1 verse 14

Let us regard it as our duty to meditate frequently on his glory.  It is the neglect of meditation that keeps so many Christians in a feeble state.

On Christ’s glory I would fix all my thoughts and desires and the more I see of the glory of Christ, the more the painted beauties of this world will wither in my eyes and I will be more and more crucified to this world.

Some talk much of imitating Christ and following his example.  But no man will ever become “like him” by trying to imitate his behaviour and life if they knew nothing of the transforming power of beholding his glory.

Make up your mind that to behold the glory of God by beholding the glory of Christ is the greatest privilege which is given to believers in this life.  This is the dawning of heaven.  It is the first taste of that heavenly glory which God has prepared for us, for “this is eternal life, to know the Father and Jesus Christ whom he has sent” (John 17 verse 3)

It is by beholding the glory of Christ by faith that we are spiritually edified and built up in this world, for as we behold his glory, the life and power of faith grow stronger and stronger.  It is by faith that we grow to love Christ.  So if we desire strong faith and powerful love, which give us rest, peace and satisfaction, we must seek them by diligently beholding the glory of Christ by faith.  In this duty I desire to live and to die.

A constant view of the glory of Christ will revive our souls and cause our spiritual lives to flourish and thrive.  Our souls will be revived by the transforming power with which beholding Christ is always accompanied.  This is what transforms us daily into the likeness of Christ.  So let us live in constant contemplation of the glory of Christ, and power will then flow from him to us, healing all our declensions (failing), renewing a right spirit in us and enabling us to abound in all the duties that God requires of us.

John Owen

Follow Owen’s advice as you read the stories of Jesus in the Gospels, as you read the promises and pictures of Jesus in the Old Testament, and as you read the explanation of Jesus in the New Testament.  Think in terms of beholding the glory of Christ.  Make it your habit to read the bible in this way.  Think how what you’re reading reveals the character of Jesus or how it reveals the work of Jesus.

Imagine that the passage is placing Jesus on a stand for you to admire.  What do` you see?  What is it that’ admirable?  How does Jesus reveal the glory of God? That is how you can see God’s glory, even though, unlike the first-century John, you can’t touch him – yet.

Chapter 17 - The Perfections of God - "The glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1 verse 14

John is inviting us to be soaked by God's glory.  And the fountain is Jesus.

In Exodus 33 Moses asks to see God's glory.  But God cannot reveal his face for no one may see him and live.  Instead God will reveal his name (verse 19).

This is what happens: "Then 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 (Exodus 34 verses 5 and 6).  The word "love" is the word for "covenant mercy".  It's an expression of God's grace.  And the word "faithfulness" is the word "truth".  God is true to his promises.

It seems that this is what John has in mind when he speaks of God's glory being "full of grace and truth".  The glory of God, full of grace - undeserved, lavish kindness - and truth - complete, life-guiding clarity - is seen in Jesus.  Jesus is "the one and only".  There is no one like him.

God's glory is often associated in the Old Testament with light (psalm 29 verse 2, 96 verses 8 and 9).  God's glory is God's perfections radiating out of him like light radiating out of the sun.  That glory streams into the person of his Son and radiates out from him so that God's glory is seen in the world  Imagine that Father pouring his glory into his Son like water into a pot.  Then that glory overflows like a fountain out into the world.  The closer you are to Jesus, the wetter you get.

Jesus reflects the Father's glory to perfection for he is the perfect image of God.  The light of God's glory is perfectly reflected in the image or mirror of his Son.  The Father sees in his Son a perfect reflection of his perfections.  And so in this way the Son shares the Father's glory.  From all eternity God's perfections pour out from the Father to the Son and back to the Father through the Spirit.

Think for a moment of some of the ways in which Jesus reflects the perfections of God.  We see in Jesus the perfection of God's mercy.  Without ever ignoring or downplaying the seriousness of sin, Jesus offers free forgiveness.  As the nails are being driven into his hands, he prays, "Father forgive them." (Luke 23 verse 34)

We see in Jesus the perfection of God's holiness.  Think of the provocations he faced: the slowness of the disciples, the hated of the religious leaders, the betrayal of his friends, the fickleness of the crowd, the injustice of Pilate, the cruelty of the soldiers. He was "tempted in every way ... yet he did not sin." (Hebrews 4 verse 15)

We see in Jesus the perfection of God's power.  Waves obeyed him.  Sickness obeyed him.  Demons obeyed him.  Even death obeyed him.

We see in Jesus the perfection of God's wisdom.  When the religious leaders tried to trick him, he turned their intrigue back on them so they condemned themselves.  Yet his words also bring wholeness and health to our lives.

Above all we see in Jesus the perfection of God's love.  John often speaks of Jesus being "lifted up" (chapter 3 verse 14, 8 verse 28, 12 verse 32 and 34).  Jesus said "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."  And then John adds, "He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die."  At the climax of his life, Jesus is lifted up - like a king.  But he is lifted up on a cross, as a criminal.  His throne is the cross and his dais is the hill of Calvary.  And this is his glory.  It is the glory of love.

Chapter 18 - God's native language - "John testified concerning him.  He cried out, saying, "This is the one I spoke about when I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'"

There's no answer to the question "What is God like?" that we could comprehend.  There's no shared point of reference. 

Except for Jesus.  Jesus is the shared point of reference. Jesus is God making himself known.

John the Baptist was the last and greatest prophet - bringer of a divine message - of the Old Covenant.  But John the Baptist says Jesus surpasses him.  John the Baptist is a great prophet.  But Jesus is the greater prophet: the ultimate prophet.

Jesus is the ultimate prophet not simply because he brings better word.  Jesus is the greatest prophet because he himself is the message.  He doesn't simply pass on a message from God like every other prophet.  He himself is the message.

The letter of Hebrews begins: "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son." (Hebrews 1 verses 1 and 2).  There's no definite article or pronoun with the word "Son" in the original.  It's not "in the Son" or "by his Son".  It's literally "in Son".  God speaks in Son just as I speak in English.

God translated himself into Hebrew and Greek when he spoke through the prophets and apostles, but his native tongue is his Son.

Jesus is the Word through whom God reveals himself in himself.  Jesus is the Word who is God.  Jesus is not just a very good prophet.  Jesus is God and therefore he perfectly reveals God.

But it's not, I think, just that Jesus is God.  The Father revealed himself in the Bible, but the Father is not the Word of God.  The Spirit inspired the Bible, but the Spirit is not the Word of God.  Only Jesus is the Word of God.  Jesus is the Person of the Trinity through whom the Trinity reveals itself.  It could be that, apart from Jesus, God is silent.  If you took away my words, then I couldn't speak.  If you took away Jesus-the-Word, then God couldn't communicate.  God's revelation in creation, in history and in Scripture are all mediated through the Son.  Creation is made through the Son, God acts in history through his Son and Scripture is the record of God's revelation in his Son.

So it's not just that Jesus is a better prophet with better access to God and a better word from God - though all of that is true.  The point is there are no other prophets apart from Jesus.  The word the prophets heard from God and passed on to their hearers was Jesus.  The person they saw in their visions was Jesus.  The angel of the LORD they encountered was Jesus.  The word you read in the Bible is Jesus.

When you grasp this, you love him all the more, and you read him in his word all the more, and you appreciate th privilege of knowing God through him all the more.

Chapter 19 - The Way Home - "Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given." John 1 verse 16

"Grace already given".  That's a reference to the law of Moses.  The giving of the law was an act of grace.  It revealed God's will, highlighted our need, and pictured God's ultimate provision in Jesus Christ.  It was a wonderful sign.

But the law itself couldn't save us.  It could only reveal our need of salvation, and point to our Saviour.  That's why John says, "Out of his fullness we have all received grace in the place of grace already given."  Jesus has added grace to grace.  The law was an act of grace, but only because it pointed to the true grace to come in Jesus.  The sign was good.  The reality is far better.

There are many ways in which Jesus brings grace in place of grace by fulfiling the promises embodied in the law.  But what John has just been taking about is Jesus dwelling, or "tabernacling" among us (verse 14).  Jesus fulfils what was pictured in the tabernacle.

God placed the first man and woman in the garden-home of Eden.  We were at home with God.  But when we rejected God, we were exiled from Eden.  Ever since, whether or not we've ever realised it or thought of it this way, we've all had a deep longing for home.

It was to address this sense of dislocation that God provided the plan for the tabernacle in Exodus 25 - 27.  The tabernacle was a map showing us the way back home.  So it was full of echoes of Eden. The clues were all embedded in the architecture and furnishings.  The lampstand, for example, was covered in buds and blossoms (Exodus 25 verses 31 -36).  The tabernacle looked like a garden with a tree that give light.  It was an echo of the tree of life at the centre of Eden.  Seven times in the account of creation in Genesis 1 we read, "God said" (Genesis 1 verse 3,6, 9, 14, 20, 25 and 26).  And seven times in the tabernacle instructions we read, "The LORD said to Moses" Exodus 25 verse 1, 30 verse 11, 17, 22, 34, 31 verse 1 and 12).  Moreover, both accounts culminate to a description of the Sabbath (Genesis 2 verses 1 - 3, Exodus 31 verse 12 - 18).  The building of the tabernacle was a symbolic rebuilding of our garden-home in Eden.

So the tabernacle was an echo back to Eden and a pointer forward to our true home.  And what is our true home like?  Again the clues are embedded in the future of the tabernacle.

The ark was designed as the footstool of a king (exodus 25 verses 10 - 2).  This was where God would meet with his people to give them his commands.  Home is the place where we live under the reign of God.

The table had the bread of the Presence on it at all times (verses 23 - 30).  It wasn't there because God was hungry - rather, it was a permanent sign that God invites us to enjoy community with him.  Home is the place where we eat in the presence of God.

The lamp looked like a life-giving tree, but it was also a light-giving lamp (verses 31 - 40).  So God's prototype of home was a place of both life and light.  Home is the place where we walk in the light of God.

If these were signposts showing us the way home, where did they point? The answer is given in verse 14. "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us."  Jesus "tabernacled" among us.  God made his home among us in the person of Jesus.  Jesus is the point where heaven touches earth:

Jesus is the true ark  He is the place (or the person) where we live under the reign of God.  He is the King through whom God reigns.

Jesus is the true bread.  He is the bread through whom we eat in the presence of God.  He said "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry." (John 6 verse 35)

Jesus is the true lamp.  He is the light of God, in whom we walk  He said "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8 verse 12)

"We have all received grace in place of grace already given" - grace upon grace ... grace and then more grace.  Today, enjoy this grace upon grace.  Not the grace of a footstool behind a curtain but the grace upon grace of the living King, who reigns on behalf of his people.  Not the grace of bread on a table, but the grace upon grace of the living Bread, who brings tue satisfaction and joy.  Not the grace of a lamp on a stand, but the living Light, who reveals the living God.  What grace we have received!

Chapter 20 - Radiating glory - "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ"  John 1 verse 17

Moses had a look that put the fear of God in people.

When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, "his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord" (Exodus 34 verse 29) - so much so that people were afraid to come near him.  Moses encountered the glory of God and as result he radiated with the reflected glory of God.  So Moses had to wear a veil over his face when he was among the people, only taking it off when he went into God's presence.

The fear of the people at the radiant face of Moses was a picture of the impact of the law of God.  The law is good, for it reflects the will and character of God.  But still it brings fear.  After God spoke the Ten Commandments, the Israelites "trembled with fear" and "remained at a distance" (Exodus 20 verse 18 - 21).  The law brings fear because it reveals God's holiness and exposes our sin.  We feel the great gap between us and God, and instinctively shrink from him.

But "grace and truth came through Jesus Christ".  Jesus bridges the gap.  The law set the standard.  It was a good standard, but a standard we could never meet.  Jesus meets the standard on our behalf.  He perfectly or righteously fulfils the law.  He is the truth.  And in his grace, his "righteousness" (his rightness before God), becomes our righteousness, if we are in him by faith.  We no longer need to tremble at a distance.  Jesus removes our fear and brings us near.

In 2 Corinthians 3 - 4, Paul reflects on this story of Moses radiating the glory of God.  He says that Christians radiate God's glory like Moses.  With "unveiled faces" we "contemplate the Lord's glory".  As a result we "are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from th Lord, who is the Spirit" (3 verse 18).  As we see God's glory, so we reflect God's glory.  We are restored as God's image-bearers, reflecting his glory in his world.  We give God glory by receiving glory from him and then radiating it back to him.

How do we see the glory of God? The face of Moses, we are told, was radiant not so much because he had seen the LORD but "because he had spoken with the LORD" (Exodus 34 verse 29).  So it is for us - we see God's glory and receive glory from him through his word.

So Paul goes on in 2 Corinthians 4 to exhort us to press on with the ministry of proclaiming God's word plainly.  People don't always respond because, like the Israelites (3 verses 14 and 15), their hearts are veiled (4 verse 3).  The god of this age has blinded their minds verse 4).  But we don't lose heart because the Spirit can remove that blindness  "But" says Paul, "whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away" (3 verse 16).  The Spirit opens our eyes to see the Lord's glory.

But what is this word that reveals to us the glory of God? What is this word that we are to proclaim so that others might see God's glory? It is "the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" ( 4 verse 4).

Notice how Paul brings together ideas of light, glory and image.  Christ is the image of God.  He is the One who makes the invisible God visible.  And Christ is the glory of God.  Christ's glory is a perfect reflection of God's glory because Christ is God.  And so it is in Christ that we see God, and it is in Christ that we see the glory of God.

And how do we see Christ?  In "the light of the gospel".  The story of salvation with Christ at its centre - the story of Christ's life, death, resurrection and ascension, and the proclamation of Christ by the early church - is where we see the glory of God.

So we preach Christ rather than ourselves, Paul says, "for God, who said, "let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ" (4 verse 6).  Moses went up the mountain, spoke with God, encountered his glory and came down radiating glory.  We come to Christ.  We hear the gospel of christ.  And in that gospel we see Christ.  And in Christ we see the glory of God so that the glory of God shines in our hearts.

Christians radiate God's glory just like Moses did, but there is an important difference.  The Israelites saw the glory of God reflecting from the face of Moses.  But it was only "the end of what was passing away" (3 verse 13).  We see the glory of God reflecting from "the face of Christ" (4 verse 6) - and it doesn't pass away.  Not only does it not fade, but in fact we are transformed by "ever-increasing glory" (3 verse 18).  As we grow as Christians, we increasingly see, and show, the glory of God in the glory of Christ in the story of Christ.

Chapter 21 - Loved - "No one has seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in the closest relationship with the Father, has made him known." John 1 verse 18

We all want to be loved.  We want admiration.  We want people to be pleased with us.  How many times this week have you hoped someone would notice what you've done and commend you for it?

The problem is we're not always loveable or admirable or pleasing.  And so people's love for us is patchy.  Sometimes they're gushing.  But sometimes they're distant, frustrated or bitter.

When Jesus was baptised, the voice of his Father from heaven said, "You are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased" (Luke 3 verse 22).  Jesus is the Beloved.  The Father loves him completely, wholly, with no condition or caveat.  Why?

Jesus is loved because he is God's Son. The Father and the Son have always existed in love.  In his prayer to the Father in John 17 verse 24 Jesus says, "You loved me before the creation of the world" (3 verse 35, 55 verse 20; 15 verse 9; 17 verse 23)

This trinitarian love is of profound significance.  

First, trinitarian love defines the Persons of the Trinity.  The Father is the Father because he has a son.  The Son is the Son because he has a Father.  And they are united in love through the Spirit.  If the Father were to stop loving his Son, then he would stop being the Father.

The first Christians struggled to define the distinctions between the persons of the Trinity (unsurprisingly!)  At first, they tried to do it through causation - who caused whom.  The Son and the spirit were described as deriving their divinity from the Father.  But this might imply that the Son and the Spirit were inferior, because while the Father was God in himself, they were only divine through the Father.

In the 5th century Augustine of Hippo defined the Persons of the Trinity in terms of their relationships.  The Father is the Father because he has a Son.  The Son is the Son because he has a Father.  And the Spirit is the love which unites them.  The Spirit is, as it were, the emissary who brings them together.  The Persons of the Trinity are defined by their relationships, by their love for one another.

Second, trinitarian love is the fountain of all God's purposes.  The Father creates and then recreates the world (through raising his son, saving his people and sending his Son to judge and renew) because he wants people to share his delight in his Son.  He loves his Son and therefore he wants to bring glory to his Son.  The Son participates in creation and recreation because he wants to bring glory to his Father.  Likewise the Spirit animates creation and recreation to bring glory to the Father and the Son.  The triune Persons mutually delight in one another and create the world to share that delight.  They mutually love one another and create a new family to share that love.

It is this trinitarian love at work in recreation that Paul celebrates in his great hymn of praise in Ephesians 1 verses 3 - 14.  In turn, he focuses on the work of the Father (verse 3  6), the Son (verse 7 - 12) and the Holy Spirit (verses 13 and 14).  Each section ends, "to the praise of his glorious grace" or "for the praise of his glory" (verses 6, 12, 14).  The goal of all God's purposes is the praise of his glory.

This is not self-centred or egotistical.  The Father is pursuing the glory of the Son, the Son is pursuing the glory of the Father, and the Spirit is pursuing the glory of the Father and the Son - all because of their mutual love for one another.  It i as though they each point to the others and say to creation, and those who live in it, Look - aren't they glorious? Won't you join with me in praising them?

The driving force in the universe is love - the love of the triune Persons for one another.  Jesus is the beloved because he is God's Son.  And Jesus is the Beloved in whom we are truly loved, having been called into this relationship by each member of the Trinity.

So what do I do when I want admiration or praise?  What do I do when I'm not admirable or praise-worthy?  I remember that I'm part of the family - the divine family.  I'm loved by the Father in the Son.  I'm loved whether people notice me or not.  I'm loved whether I'm loveable or not.  That enables me to cope with criticism.  It enables me to cope with failure.  After all, I'm loved in the Beloved.  I'm in the closest relationship with the Father for I share the closeness of the Son.

Chapter 22 - The altogether lovely - "The one and only Son, who is himself God and is in the closest relationship with the Father, has made him known." John 1 verse 18

Jesus is the "altogether lovely" One.  Song of Songs 5 verse 16.  There it describes the beloved Lover.  But throughout the bible, the relationship between a husband and wife is a pointer to Christ's relationship to his bride, the church.  Jesus is the husband who is altogether lovely.

Jesus is the Beloved because he is God's Son.  But he is also loved by God the Father because he's lovely.  Think about how we see this in the life of Jesus.

Jesus is lovely in his compassion.  "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd" (Mark 6 verse 34).  We are, as it were, part of that crowd.  When Jesus looks on you, he looks on you with compassion.

Jesus is lovely in his patience.  Think of how slow the disciples are to grasp who he is.  When they recognise him as the Messiah they're then slow to realise this means he must suffer and die.  Three times in Mark's Gospel, Jesus predicts his sufferings and death.  After the first time, Peter rebukes him.  After the other two occasions, the disciples immediately get into an argument about which of them is the greatest.  In the end, they all betray him.  Yet in John 20, Jesus greets these flawed, failing, friends of his with a simple word: "Peace" (verse 9).  In John 21, Jesus gently restores Peter.  What patience!  We experience the patience of Jesus ourselves.  We're often like sheep wandering from the path.  But Jesus patiently restores us.

Jesus is lovely in his gentleness.  We see this in his attitude to those battered by society.  He has time for children.  He touches lepers.  He cares for the poor.  He welcomes the outcast.  He treats women with dignity. Quoting from Isaiah 42 verses 1 to 4, Matthew's summary of the ministry of Jesus includes these words: "He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets.  A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out." (Matthew 12 verses 19 and 20)

Jesus is lovely in his anger.  He is always angry for the right reasons in the right way.  His anger is never petulant, selfish or uncontrolled. In Mark 3 verses 1 to 6 the religious leaders bring a man with a shrivelled hand to Jesus.  They care nothing for the man.  They simply want to trap Jesus.  Jesus is angry at their indifference.  His anger is lovely because it's the response of his love to evil.

Jesus is lovely in his justice.  He always does what is right.  He can't be manipulated.  He's not susceptible to pressure or privilege.  As he stands trial before the Sanhedrin and then before Pilate, it becomes clear that in fact they are the ones being judged.

Above all, Jesus is lovely in his love.  We see his love throughout his life, but the great demonstration of his love is the cross.  And the Father loves him because of this love: "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life - only to take it up again." (John 10 verse 17)

The Father loves the Son because eternally the Son has submitted to the Father's will in love.  Jesus didn't earn the Father's love at the cross.  The Father and Son have always lived in love, with the Son living with the obedience of a child towards his Father.  The cross is the supreme expression of that obedience.

The reason the Father loves Jesus is that Jesus is the kind of Son who so loves his Father and so loves his people that he is prepared to lay down his life.  Jesus is the Beloved because he is God's Son and because he is lovely.

And remember - you and I are children of God through Christ.  The Father loves us with the same love that he has for his Son.  Jesus is the Beloved in whom we are truly loved.

Chapter 23 - Where I am - "In closest relationship with the Father ..." John 1 verse 18

God loves us in Christ.  And Christ is always and altogether lovely.  And so is God's love for us in his Beloved is guaranteed.  Jesus is the Beloved in whom we are truly loved.  God can no more stop loving us than he can stop loving his Son.

The word "advent" means "coming".  During the season of Advent we remember the coming of Jesus - and that, of course, means we need to remember two comings - his first coming and his second coming.  For in John 14 verse 3, Jesus promises, "I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

At his first advent, Jesus came to be where we are.  At his second advent, he will come so that we can be where he is.  This was his prayer on the night before he died: "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world (chapter 17 verse 24).

Jesus wants his people to be where he is.  So where is that?  God "the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in the closest relationship with the Father, has made him known" (chapter 1 verse 18).  The Son is in the "closest relationship" with the Father - literally, "on his chest" or "in his bosom".  Jesus wants his people to lie on God's chest.  It's the image of a child snuggled up on her father's lap.  Jesus has come so that we can be children of God; so that we can feel the arms of God wrap around us; so that we can share the closest of relationships with God.

As he prayed the night before he died, Jesus continued "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.  I have made you known to them, and will continue to mae you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them." (chapter 17 verse 25)

Jesus knows the Father, and now Jesus has made the Father known to his disciples.  Jesus is loved by the Father; and now Jesus has made the father known to us as our Father, so that the Father's love may be in us.

When Jesus promises to come back so we can be where he is, he adds, "You know the way to the place where I am going" (chapter 14 verse 4).  Thomas replies, "Lord we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" (verse 5).  Famously, Jesus replied, "I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me." (verse 6).  Jesus is the way and his place with the Father - his relationship with his Father in the home of his Father - in the destination.

Look to Jesus the Beloved - that is the love the Father has for you.  Look at his relationship with the Father - that is the relationship the Father has with you.  Look to where Jesus is - that is where you are heading.

That's a recipe for a truly happy Christmas.

Chapter 24 - The one and only Son - "The one and only Son ... has made him known." John 1 verse 18

Have you ever wished you could see God? That's what Philip wanted.  In John 14 verse 8 this disciple of Jesus says "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."  Perhaps you share Philip's feelings.  Seeing God would make all the difference.  You would have so much more confidence in the truth, so much more commitment to obedience.  Or perhaps you've met people like Philip, who say to you, "Show us God.  Give us some evidence.  You talk about God.  Well show me your God.

This is how Jesus replies "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.  How can you say, "Show us the Father?" (verse 9)

To see Jesus is to see God the Father.  When we introduce people to Jesus, we are introducing them to God.  "The one and only Son ... has made him known."

In Colossians 1 verse 15, Paul says, "The Son is the image of the invisible God." Jesus is the image of God.  Jesus makes visible the God who is invisible.  Jesus images God.  He is a living photograph of God.

The writer of Hebrews says he is "the exact representation of his being" (1 verse 3).  Jesus exactly represents God.  Think of Jesus as God's self-portrait.  If a great artist paints a self-portrait, then you might say, "It reflects his likeness and captures his personality."  God is the greatest artist.  His self-portrait in Jesus perfectly reflects his likeness and exactly captures his personality.  Indeed so exactly does Jesus image God that Jesus is God.  There is no difference between them except that Jesus is the image and the Father is the imaged.

What have we seen of Jesus in these opening verses of John's Gospel?  We have seen, as it were, various pieces of the portrait.  Now, as we finish, we need to pause, step back, and appreciate what the whole picture looks like.

Jesus is the true Adam, who has come to recreate our humanity

Jesus is the true God, the uncreated Creator God

Jesus is the Word, through whom we hear the voice of God

Jesus is the Word, through whom God created the world and through whom God is recreating the world

Jesus is the One who has been given life in himself so he can give life to his people.

Jesus is the true light, who enlightens our minds and lights up our lives

Jesus is the point at which heaven and earth intersect.

Jesus is God-in-the-flesh: deity squeezed into human form.

Jesus is God among us, God's address on earth

Jesus is the glory of God, the embodiment of all his perfections

Jesus is God's native language, the Word we encounter in the Bible

Jesus is the way home to God

Jesus is the King who cares for us, the Bread, who satisfies us and the Light who guides us

Jesus is the radiance of God, whose glory transforms us as we gaze upon him

Jesus is the Son of God, in whom we experience the love of the Father

Jesus is the altogether lovely One who brings us into the loving arms of his Father

What is the picture of God that emerges from the image or "photograph" we see of him in Jesus?  What have we discovered about God in "the one and only Son", who "has made him known"?

We have seen that Jesus is the eternal Son of God - he was with God and was God.  And, because Jesus is God, he perfectly reveals God the Father.  And at the instigation of the Father, Jesus has come as the world's Creator to be the beginning of the recreation of the world.  Just as God gave life to the physical creation, so God now through Jesus brings life to those who are spiritually dead.  God is rewriting the story of this world through Jesus.  And he can rewrite our life stories, too.

We have seen, too, that Jesus connects earth and heaven.  He is the bridge between God and humanity.  Through Jesus we are introduced to the Father.  We look at God and see not simply a terrifying Judge, but a loving Father.  Indeed, we are loved with the same love that the Father has for his Son.  We are born anew a God's children.

We have seen that in Jesus God has come to live among us.  And God's presence among us in Jesus means we experience glory - radiant, transforming glory.  We see divine perfections.  We receive divine love.