Man's Response to the Word Coming into the World

Well if you would please take your Bible and turn back to John chapter 1. We read all of these verses but we'll only cover verses 6 to 13 this morning. So just have your Bible open there. We'll get there here in just a minute. Now last week in our message I said that Thanksgiving is behind us but Christmas is before us. Now I don't know about your house but at our house Christmas is actually right on top of us. On a personal note last week I shared that we have been getting ready for Christmas and I bragged about the fact that I had picked out our Christmas tree all by myself.

Now I did say that I had permission to do that and I know that I did a very good job because my wife likes the tree that I did pick out. I thought about it. If she didn't like the tree I wonder if I would have had to take it back and get another one. I don't know. Now one thing that we planned as a part of our family Christmas is that we went to New Orleans Friday night to see Sovereign Grace music in Prepare Him Room which was a celebration of the birth of Jesus in song and from the Scriptures. And for me and my family it was great. It was very worshipful. I found myself thinking and wishing often that all of you could have been there.

I think you would have been blessed by that. Now in that presentation it was obvious that the songs that were sung, the Scriptures that were read and the different things that were shared verbally were all about Christmas and the fact that Christmas is all about the birth of Jesus. And that is what John chapter 1 is all about. Last Sunday we jumped right into our study of John chapter 1 verses 1 to 18 and into the deep and profound teaching of these verses. And I said that here in John 1 we have some of the clearest, the deepest, the most profound teaching concerning the Incarnation really in all of the Scriptures.

And although the smartest and most studied minds in all humanity cannot even begin to understand these things we do not need to be intimidated here. As God's people we do not need to be intimidated by this teaching because by faith and in faith and through faith we can grapple with these things and even come to the place where we grasp these things of course by faith. But what are these deep things found in John chapter 1? These are truths and teaching pertaining to the Incarnation and the great glory of the Incarnation.

The Incarnation was and is the act of the eternal Son of God whereby He took upon Himself a human nature and He became a man. And when He was a man He was fully man in every way except sin. But at the very same time He was fully God and He never ceased to be God. And that is what John chapter 1 is all about and that is why I am calling our study of these verses in chapter 1 the glory of the Incarnation. And the Incarnation is simply what Christmas is all about. The eternal Son of God became a man and He was born as the baby Jesus just as God promised and just as all those Old Testament prophets foretold.

I know I mentioned this last week but we see these events of the birth of Jesus explained in both Matthew's account, Matthew chapter 2 and Luke's Gospel account and that is Luke chapter 2. And this reminds me of one of the challenges that I gave us all last week and that is to read Luke's account. That is to read Matthew's account of the Nativity, the birth of Christ and all that went on there. And again I challenge you to do that if you have not done so. Now last Sunday we covered verses 1 to 5 and what I call Jesus the divine Word.

And this morning we are continuing our study of the glory of the Incarnation and we will move into verses 6 to 13 and what I am calling man's response to the Word coming into the world. Now out of these verses we will see three things. First the witness or the testimony of John the Baptist concerning the Word coming into the world. Second the response and the testimony of the unbelievers. And then third the response and the testimony of those who believe. And just like last week we will see how these things relate to us in our Christmas holiday in this time of the year.

So let's get started with man's response to the Word coming into the world. So number one I want us to look at the witness of John. Of course this is John the Baptist. We can say it like this, the witness or the testimony of John. Let's look back at those verses, verses 6 to 8. The Apostle John writes, "There came a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light." Now here we see a progression in John's writing. In verses 1 to 5 John presented the divine Word who was and is Jesus.

John now moves into giving us the testimony of John concerning the divine Word coming into the world. So let's look at John's witness. Let's look at John's testimony. First he tells us that John came from God. We see that in verse 6. Now all the translations that we study basically say the same thing. The English standard says, "There was a man sent from God whose name was John." Now I like the Amplified because it adds something. The Amplified says, "There came a man sent from God whose name was John." And it references the Old Testament prophecy of Malachi 3.1. But a question, who was John?

Now physically John was a priestly descent, born the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth and he was actually blood related to Jesus. And we can see who he was physically starting in Luke chapter 1 verse 5, but spiritually. Spiritually John was born for a specific spiritual purpose. Luke 1 13 to 17 tells us that John was to turn many in the land of Israel to God and that he would do this work in the spirit and the power of Elijah. Now that would be the Old Testament prophet Elijah. And we see that his purpose was to prepare Israel and to prepare the way for the promised Messiah who was to come.

But we need to see and understand that John was sent by God. Listen again to verse 6. "There was a man sent from God whose name was John." Now this can read, "There appeared a man or there came a man." And this speaks of John's birth as an earthly but spiritual messenger or voice for God. And this word sent in the original, this word speaks of one who was appointed and it was used of sending a representative or an ambassador with a special or a unique job. But here I want to offer four short proofs that John came from God and was sent by God and he was actually a representative of God and an ambassador with a special job, a unique job.

Luke 1 11 tells us that he was born in a miraculous manner. Luke 1 19 tells us that he was spoken of by the angel Gabriel. And Gabriel was an angel who came directly from the presence of God. And the Old Testament Malachi prophesied about John and his purpose hundreds of years prior to his birth. And we see that in Malachi 3 1 and Malachi 4 5 6. And Luke chapter 1 verse 80 and chapter 3 verse 2 tells us that he was sent out by God. So John was none other than John the Baptist. We could call him John the Baptizer. He came from God as a special representative of God and an ambassador for God. And notice the contrast between John and Jesus.

Jesus was and is the divine word or the logos as we learned last week who was from the beginning. He was and is and always will be the eternal son of God. But John was not. John was a man simply a man who was sent from God. But then second the apostle tells us that John came as a witness. We see that in verses 7 and 8. Now notice that John uses this word witness and we see it three times in the English standard and the new American standard. In this word witness it speaks of testifying or to testify just like we see an illegal or courtroom circumstance that we are familiar with in our day. The Bible scholar D.A.

Carson helps us see the meaning of this word. He says and I'm quoting the courtroom language of witness and testimony is common in the New Testament but especially in this gospel. And John MacArthur says the legal terms witness and testify are words related to fact not opinion as in a courtroom setting. So what's the point here? John the apostle presented John the Baptist as a witness. But notice John came as a witness and he bore witness which is a way of saying that he was a witness verbally and non-verbally in every way.

Simply John was nothing more than a witness of God and for God and he was not a witness for himself but for Christ and a witness about Christ. One commentator that I read said he could be called John the witness because he is seen as a witness so many times in the gospels. But a question what was John's goal? What was John's purpose in being a witness? Simply John's goal, John's desire was that all who heard his credible witness concerning Jesus might savingly believe in him. But then third the apostle tells us that John came as a witness about the light.

I do want us to go back and read those verses, verses 7 to 8 and notice the language change here. He, that's John, came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light. Now notice we see the shift in verse 8 into a negative tone and this was for a purpose. Simply there were some who thought that John was or might be the promised Messiah spoken of by the Old Testament prophets. So John the apostle was also correcting the possibility of that error.

And if we do some study of the language here we'll see that this is in the emphatic and that means that John was making a strong statement concerning John the Baptist. And this is important for us to see John was trying to stop the John the Baptist cult before it ever got going. And in our study of the book of Acts on Wednesday nights we will see that occasionally there were some who got caught up in some error here. So simply the apostle John was proclaiming that John the Baptist was a credible witness.

His testimony concerning Jesus was as serious as that from a courtroom setting and he was also making a definitive and clear statement that John the Baptist was not the Christ, that he came to bear witness of or testify about the light who was and is the Christ, the divine word. Now let's step back here and let's notice what we see here in these verses, verses 6 to 8. John the Baptist was a man sent by God and he was a witness about Christ Jesus as the promised Messiah of God, the light. I like what the Amplified says here. Let me read these verses in the Amplified and listen close.

It reads, "There came a man commissioned and sent by God," I like that, "whose name was John." And the Amplified references Malachi 3.1 verse 6. "This man came as a witness to testify about the light so that all might believe in Christ the light through him. John was not the light but came to testify about the light." Now at this point I have to ask us a question. How does this apply to us especially at this time of the year? Historically and biblically we can see John the Baptist and understand his purpose and his ministry in two basic ways.

First John prepared the people of Israel and he prepared the way for Christ and for us as Christians, born again Christians this Christmas and specifically as parents and especially fathers we should be preparing the way for Christ Jesus to work in our children and in our homes. Let me repeat that. For us as born again Christians especially parents and especially fathers we should be preparing the way for Christ Jesus to work in our homes and in our children's lives. And some parents struggle to share the gospel with their children because they have not prepared the way for the gospel.

You see sin comes into the life and sin comes into the home and that hinders the way for the gospel. If you're not walking with the Lord as you should be that hinders the way for the gospel. Parents if you're not praying as you should, if you're not serving in the life of the church that hinders the way for the gospel. So we should see that we should be all about preparing the way in our homes and in our children for the gospel. And the same goes for others in our lives this Christmas. We should be used of God to prepare the way for Christ to work in others lives that we come into contact with.

And then second John the Baptist testified as a valid witness of Christ Jesus and that he was in fact the promised Messiah of God. And for us this Christmas especially his parents, especially his fathers we should be a valid and a true witness of Christ in our home and with our children. Yes we should share that he is in fact the Savior that our children need but we should also be sharing how God has saved us and how he is our Savior personally. The same goes for others in our lives this Christmas as well. We should share the good news of the gospel with others.

We should share the good news that Christmas and the Christmas holiday is all about Christ and as a matter of fact the Christmas holiday is a perfect segue and an avenue to share those things with others. So this Christmas let's make sure that we prepare others for Christ to work in their lives in salvation and sanctification and let's make sure that we are a true and a valid witness for Christ. But then number two, John gives us the response of the unbelievers. We could say it like this, the light was rejected. We see that in verses 9 to 11. The response of unbelievers. Now I want us to read verses 9 to 11.

John says the true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him yet the world did not know him. Verse 11, he came to his own and his own people did not receive him. Now here we continue to see a progression in what John is giving us. Verses 1 to 5 he presented Jesus as the divine word and in verses 6 to 8 he presented to us John as his witness and testimony concerning the divine word, Jesus coming into the world as the light. Now John moves into showing us how man responds and responded to the divine word. And here John tells us five basic things.

First the apostle shows us that the light that came is true. We see this in the beginning of verse 9. Now one thing we need to understand about the Jews in their day, that is the Jewish people were anxiously looking for the promised Messiah. They had the Old Testament prophets, they had the Old Testament promises in the Old Testament scriptures and they had priests and Levites who were teaching them the Old Testament scriptures concerning the promised Messiah. So they were anxiously looking for the promised Messiah and that is why some thought that John the Baptist could be him.

And added to that there were many false messiahs who came and went which caused all kinds of confusion for the people. So John was explaining that Jesus was the true light that came. In this word true here is key. This word here is actually used 28 times in the New Testament and all but five times are used in John's gospel. And this word refers to that which is genuine and that which is real, that which is true. So John is stating and emphasizing that Jesus was and is not just the light but the true light and the true Messiah.

He was stating and emphasizing that he was and is genuine and real in every way in contrast to John the Baptist and all those other false messiahs. But then second John shows us the true light came to every man. Now this may seem like redundancy but I want us to read verse 9 again. John says the true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world. Now some of you may not know this, some of you may have picked up on it but there is a very big debate here with what we see in this verse. Now I want to address it with a question. Did Christ come to all men or just some men? Let me repeat that.

Did Christ Jesus come to all men or just some men? Now at this point we must understand that not all people hear the message of Jesus. Let me repeat that. We must understand that not all people hear the message of Jesus. Another way of saying it is like this. There are people who have lived and died who have never heard of Jesus. Some of you know this but this gets into the doctrine of election. Now our church statement of faith deals accurately and thoroughly with the doctrine of election. You can pick up a copy, you can find it on our church website and it is under the heading there God's purpose of grace.

Now if these things are the case and it is then how can this passage say that the light has come to every man? Well let me explain that. Romans 2 verses 14 to 16 tell us that the law of God is written on the heart of every man so in that way all men and men have received light. And Romans 1 18 to 21 tells us that the testimony of the one true God is seen in the glory of his creation. So in that way all men and men have received light. So the light of God is found within a man and the light of God is found all around men and mankind.

John MacArthur says here and I am quoting, "Even those who have never become children of God are accountable for the knowledge of God and his light revealed in Christ. Though all men are spiritually dead," and he is referencing Ephesians 2, "and blind they are accountable for the knowledge of God revealed in creation and the conscience." And he is referring to Romans 2 14 to 15. But here we can see that John is clearly pointing to what is commonly called special revelation, the special revelation of God seen in Jesus. He is pointing to the fact that some hear the message of salvation found in Jesus who is the light.

Now before I continue I want to give us a few practical lessons here. And some of you need this and these things more than you know. First all men, no matter who, all men have received the light of God, the light of God in what is called general revelation found in nature, found in the creation. And that is seen in Romans 1 18 to 21. And then we see that the light of God is revealed by special revelation to some and that is found right here in John chapter 1 verse 9.

But on top of that all men, no matter who, all men have the law of God written on their hearts and a conscience which testifies to this fact and that is seen in Romans 2 14 to 16. And on top of all of that no matter who they are, all men instinctively know that they are eternal beings and that they are indeed accountable to God. Why? Because Ecclesiastes 3 11 tells us that all men instinctively know that they are eternal beings. So what am I trying to show you here? All men in mankind have received light. It's just a matter if they have received special revelation of Christ Jesus.

But then third, John shows us that the world was made through him. We see that in verse 10. Now here John speaks of one of the greatest mysteries and glories of the incarnation. Here he says that this divine word Jesus was in the world that he created. And this word world here, cosmos in the original, it is key and this word is used three times in the scriptures or three ways in the scriptures. First of the physical world, second of the humanity in the world and then third of this evil world system that is governed by Satan.

But here John is speaking of both the physical world and the world of humanity, both of which have been corrupted by sin. Now at this point we must remember the context here. In the day in which John was writing these things, there were those who were attacking the person and the doctrine of Christ. So John was and is saying that Jesus is the true, the genuine and the real light and he has come into this world that he created and he was and is the light to men and mankind. And forth the apostle shows us that the world did not know him. Now notice the King James, the English Standard, the new American, they all say know him.

In this word know here in the original it means to learn, to know or to come to know, to get and to gain a knowledge of. And again we see this word world again. So notice here John is speaking of the created world of sinful humanity and the world and the world system, all of which have been corrupted by sin and he was and is saying that the world of sinful people did not know him nor did the world system to which he came, they did not know him either. Then fifth, specifically the apostle shows us that the Jews did not know him. Here in verse 11 the English Standard says he came to his own and his own people did not receive him.

And notice that this can be translated as his own property, even his own home, which is a reference to his Jewish people. Now notice what we have here in verse 10 in contrast to what we see in verse 11. In verse 10 his own is the world that he created and the humanity that he created. But here in verse 11 his own refers to the covenant people of Israel who were his very own people. So here John is clearly saying that when Jesus, the divine Word came into the world and a world that he created he was rejected by many, both Jew and Gentile rejected him and especially his own people rejected him and they still do today.

And he clearly says that they all knew about the light and whatever light they received whether it was general revelation or special revelation, he's speaking of those who rejected that light. Listen to these verses, verses 9 to 11 in the Amplified. It's rather wordy but it opens it up for me. Maybe it does for you. The Amplified says there it was the true light, the genuine perfect steadfast light which coming into the world enlightens everyone, he Christ was in the world and though the world was made through him the world did not recognize him.

He came to that which was his own, that which belonged to him, his world, his creation, his possession and those who were his chosen people, people the Jewish nation, they did not receive and welcome him. Now there is one thing that I believe we must see here and make application to us in our day and in our time. Those who are lost and without saving knowledge of Christ they are sinning against a lot of light. Let me repeat that. Those who are lost, meaning those who are outside of a saving knowledge and relationship with Christ, they are sinning against a lot of light. They have the light of creation.

All men and mankind have that according to Romans 1. They have the light of the law of God written on their hearts. The word of God clearly says that all men have the law of God written on their hearts. They have the light of the eternity that is before them written on their hearts. Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that. So you see that light? All lost, men and men, all those who are outside of a saving relationship with Christ are sinning against that light. Now question. Are you lost here this morning without Christ?

Therefore you are sinning against the light that I have mentioned, the light of creation, the light of the law of God written on your heart and the law of eternity which is in your heart. But there is more. There are many who are lost and they are sinning against the light of special revelation. They know the gospel. They have heard the gospel thousands of times, countless times. They have Bibles. They know their Bibles. They know true believers and they have true believers all around them in their lives and they even know of the work of the church. And my question for you is this.

Are you lost and without Christ Jesus here this morning and sinning against the light of direct revelation of Jesus Christ all around you? If that's you, sir, if that's you, ma'am, you are sinning against a lot of light. And look, my friend, every Christmas carol you sang this morning will rise up against you at the judgment as a part of your eternal damnation if you do not come to Christ in repentance and faith. Look my friend, your own Christian parents, your own Christian spouse, they will rise up against you at the judgment as a part of your eternal damnation if you do not come to Christ Jesus in repentance and faith.

Do you see how much light you are sinning against? If you have not come to Christ repenting of sin, trusting in Him for salvation, would you come today and be saved? Would you please come to Christ today? You might say, "Pastor, it's Christmas. You're being pretty hard on us this morning." No, I'm being truthful. Would you please come to faith in Christ? Please do not be like those Jews who saw Jesus and heard of Jesus but yet they rejected Jesus. What a Christmas this would be if you would come to Christ. What a glorious and wonderful Christmas this would be if you would quit rejecting the light and come to Christ.

And then number three, the Apostle gives us the response of the believers. He gives us the response of the believers. We can say it was and is the light received. We see this in verses 12 to 13. Now here we continue to see a progression in what John is presenting us. Verses 1 to 5 he presented Jesus as the divine word. And in verses 6 to 8 he presented to us John as his witness and testimony concerning the divine word, Jesus coming into the world as the light. And now John continues to show us how man responded to the divine word. And notice if verses 10 to 11 are negative and they are, well verses 12 to 13 are positive.

Now out of these verses John shows us several vital things. First he shows us those who received him. Let's look at verse 12. Notice he transitions from the negative, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." Now just like in verses 2 and 10 to 11, here in verse 12 we see man exercising their will, responding to Jesus, the divine word and the light. And right here there are two key words that we need to see and understand and examine. This word receive and this word believe. Now all the translations we study use these words.

Now this word receive in the original, this word can be translated to take a hold of or to grasp. And there is one fact that is vital for us to see here. This is not simply intellectual assent or what we would call head knowledge belief in receiving. And then next this word believe. This means to accept information or a person, to trust them and to offer oneself unto them. But this is much more than intellectual acceptance and intellectual acceptance of information. Vincent in his word studies helps us understand what it actually means to receive and to believe.

He says and I'm quoting, "To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of his historic life or of his saving energy as facts, but to accept him as Savior, teacher, sympathizer, judge, to rest the soul upon him for present and future salvation and to accept and adopt his precepts and example as binding upon the life." I like that last phrase as binding upon the life. To me this demands that we answer two questions. First what does it mean to receive him? To receive him is to receive Jesus in his totality.

To receive him, yes, as the virgin born sinless sacrifice of God for sin and then also to receive all that the Bible says about him, even the most difficult things for us to understand. But this certainly means to receive him in his person for who he is before receiving him for what he does or what he can do for us. And this speaks of the grave error many can make in our day. Many want to receive Jesus for what he can do, not for what he is and who he is. And then second, what does it mean to believe in his name? To believe in his name is to believe by faith in the totality of Christ Jesus and who he is.

And the construction of the language here indicates a continuous activity and belief, a continuous trust, a continuous faith. See this is not a one time event but this is continuous activity. And the best example of what this looks like is seen later on in John's Gospel, John chapter 6. "As many of the great crowds were leaving Jesus, Jesus turned and he asked his disciples if they were going to leave him too." John 6, 68-69 says, "Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? We have the words of eternal life.

We have believed and we have come to know that you are the Holy One of God.'" In this phrase here in verse 69, we have believed. It is continual. Peter was saying we believed yesterday, we believed today and we will continue to believe. And notice what we have here folks. This is none other than man's response to Christ in salvation in a positive way. Verse 9-10 tells us of the negative. Some rejected Christ, some rejected salvation in Christ. They rejected the light both Jew and Gentile. But verses 12-13 tells us of the positive. Some received Christ in his totality. They received saving faith. Now question, have you savingly received Jesus?

Have you savingly believed in Jesus? Or is your belief simply intellectual, cultural, and just something you do in your family? Many today simply have intellectual belief. Many today just simply have cultural Christianity. Many today simply receive and believe because it's just something that you do in your family. And it's not salvific, it hasn't changed the life. And look, Christmas is all about God the Son becoming a man, the God-man, so as to provide salvation for men and men. And you would truly be embracing the true purpose of Christmas if you would savingly receive Jesus and savingly believe in Jesus right here today.

Oh, what a Christmas it would be if you would come to saving faith. But then second, the Apostle shows us God's working and God's work in this receiving and believing. Let's look back at the verses, but I want to read both. "But to all who did receive him," this is human volition, "our responsibility, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." And here at verse 13, we move from man and man's responsibility to God's work in these things. Now, let me give you a warning here before we move on.

We cannot take one at the expense of the other. We cannot take human volition and human responsibility against what God does, and we can't take what God does sovereignly up against human responsibility. So we take these things at face value and with ballots. But notice God's working in this receiving and believing. Notice He, this is God, gives the power to receive and believe. The English Standard and the New Americans say, "The right to become children of God." The King James uses the word power. Notice the amplified.

Paul says, "He," that's God, "gave the right, the authority, the privilege to become children of God." In Ephesians chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 say the very same thing, but in a different way. Paul says, "For by grace you been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." So here John is saying that it is God and the power of God that enables the person to receive and believe Jesus savingly. He gives them the right, the authority, and the power to do these things. And then notice He, this is God, gives the power to become children of God.

Simply God gives the right, God gives the authority, God gives the power for the one to receive Jesus and believe in Jesus savingly, therefore becoming a child of God. So look at what we have right here. The ability to savingly receive and believe in Jesus comes not from within a person, but from the power of God and the authority of God. Ephesians 2, 8, 9 tells us this is a gift from God. The ability for one to savingly believe in Jesus and become a child of God comes not from merely being alive or from something a person can do, but from the power and the authority of God. Again, Ephesians 2, 8, 9, it is a gift from God.

But there's more that the Apostle gives us. Notice he tells us that they are born in verse 13. And notice he says they are born not from heredity. You see this is a problem that the Jews had. They would confront Jesus and they would say, "Oh, but we are children of Abraham." Somehow, someway believing that they were right with God because of their heredity. But here John says that we are not born of God by heredity. This is not from man's desires. This is also not from man's systems. This tells us that we cannot become a child of God by something we do or that something others do for us.

Vincent says the new birth is not brought about by descent, by desire, or by human power. The New American commentary says, and I'm quoting, "These expressions represent three patterns by which human beings try to gain the acceptance of God." You notice he says that they are born of God's will. They are born of God's will. Look back at verse 13. Who were born not of blood, that's the heredity, nor of the will, that's what some can do, nor of the will of man, that's what others can do, but of God. I love what John MacArthur says here and I totally agree with what he says.

He says salvation that is receiving and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is impossible for any sinner. God must grant the power supernaturally and with it the divine life and light to the lifeless, darkened sinner. So notice what we have here. John is clearly saying that when Jesus the divine word came into the world, a world that he created, he was received by many. But Jew and Gentile received him and they believed in him savingly. And they were able to receive him and believe in his name because God gave them the right, the authority, and the power to do so. Therefore they became children of God.

Now I want to read these verses in the Amplified. It's rather wordy but listen to how it just unfolds here. The Amplified reads, "But to as many as did receive and welcome him, he gave the right, the authority, the privilege to become children of God. That is to those who believe in him and hereto trust in and rely on his name, who were born not of blood, natural conception, nor of the will of the flesh, physical impulse, nor of the will of man, that of a natural father, but of God." That is a divine and supernatural birth. They are born of God, spiritually transformed, renewed, and sanctified.

Now in the application here I want to ask one question and then make a couple of statements. By the power of the Spirit of God, have you received Christ and believed in his name, therefore becoming a true child of God? Let me repeat that. Have you received Christ and believed in his name, therefore becoming a true child of God all because of the Spirit and the power of God enabling you to do such? In Luke Church, Christmas is all about God the Son becoming a man, the God-man. And he began that journey on earth by being born as the baby Jesus.

And the reason God was born as the baby Jesus was to provide a way for us to become the true children of God. Do you see that? And for me, Christmas is all about the fact that by his mercy and grace I have become a true child of God. That happened 30 plus years ago. My spiritual birthday is coming up. On February the 9th of 1989, I was graciously, miraculously, by his power and grace, born into the kingdom. I savingly believed and trusted in Christ. Therefore, for me, Christmas is all about worship and great humility in worship. Why? Because I see that he was born in a manger for me.

So this morning, we are still all about what I call the glory of the incarnation. And as we can see, we are neck deep, even drowning in the deep end of the pool of seeking to see and understand the great glory of the incarnation. Now I close by giving us the same instruction that I gave us last week at the end of the message. Let's meditate over these verses. Let's meditate over this message. Let's internalize these verses. Let's internalize this teaching so as to continue to meditate on these things. Ask God to help you.

Ask God to help you so that when you see a nativity scene, so that when you see a Christmas tree, Christmas decorations, that you will think of man's response to the word coming into the world, the light. Pray and ask God to so make an impression on your heart and mind and thinking that you cannot help but recall these verses and what is taught here when you even hear of Christmas. And get this church in doing these things and in coming to a place where these verses and this teaching, these things are deeply embedded into our heart, mind and thinking.

Our view of Christmas will be affected, molded and even changed by what God's word says Christmas is all about. Ask sin in John 1 and these verses that we are studying. So man's response to the word coming into the world. Let's pray and then we'll sing a song of praise closing out her service.