Christmas Truths That Transform

From our Christmas episode, host Jim Lewis shares a message from John 1, looking at the incarnation of Christ and its impact on our lives. Jesus is God over us, for us, with us, in and through us.  (From #365 - A Christmas Podcast)

John 1:1-14

In the beginning was the Word

and the Word was with God

And the Word was God;

He was with God in the beginning.

Through Him all things were made;

Without Him nothing was made that has been made.

In Him was life, and that life was the light of men

The light shines in the darkness

And the darkness has not understood it.

He 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,

But His own did not receive Him.

Yet to all who received Him

To those who believed in His name

He gave the right to become children of God

The Word became Flesh

And dwelt among us

We have seen His glory

The Glory of the One and Only

who came from the Father

Full of Grace and Truth.

This marvelous and beautifully poetic passage of Holy Scripture, in its own unique way, tells the Christmas Story. True there is no manger in John’s telling. There is no star, no shepherds, no wise men. He does not mention Joseph or Mary. He doesn’t even call Jesus by name. But we all know Who the passage is about. He is the central character in God’s salvation story. He is the focal point, the star, if you will. And so He should be. Jesus is the “Glorious One and Only.” And we need to keep Him first and foremost, not only in our Christmas celebrations, but in every day of our lives.

The Word of God puts forth several truths in this passage today, truths about Jesus: who He is, why He came. These are Truths that, if we receive them, accept and apply them to our lives, will transform us. The Truth will change you. I want to use the prepositions, “over,” “with,” “for,” “in” and “through” to see the person and work of Jesus Christ. These are Christmas Truths that Transform.  

Christ Jesus is God Over Us

The first three verses teach us about Christ’s Supremacy. He is God Over Us.  

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him; and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” (John 1:1-3)

John clearly teaches here the preexistence of Christ; that is, that before there was a Virgin mother and child, long before there was a manger in Bethlehem, indeed, long before there was a universe and a planet earth and a human race, Christ, the Word, was with God and was God. The construction of the Greek gives this verse even more force. It says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was face to face with God, and God was the Word.”  

<pull-quote>Before there was a Virgin mother and child, long before there was a manger in Bethlehem, indeed, long before there was a universe and a planet earth and a human race, Christ, the Word, was with God and was God.<pull-quote><tweet-link>Tweet This<tweet-link>

Christ Jesus and God the Father are one. The baby Jesus we worship at Christmas is not a mere mortal baby. The picture of the baby Jesus in the manger is a picture of God becoming man. We call it the Incarnation: God, Who is Spirit, putting on human flesh. Before Christ came to the manger, He existed in eternity as God.  

In fact, John tells us that it was through the preexistent eternal Christ that this universe and everything in it came into existence. He is the Creator God. “All things came into being by Him.” The Christ of Christmas is the God of eternity.  

Colossians 1:16-18 gives us another graphic picture of the supremacy and preeminence of Christ. He is Lord of Creation, and more especially, He is Lord Over His Church. “For by Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers, or authorities — all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.”  

There is no doubt what the Bible teaches about Christ, that He existed as God, that by Him all things were created, and that He is the head of the Church. He is over all things. It is Christ who is supreme. He is God over us.  

The bottom line for you and me is simple. He is Lord. It is to Christ we owe our allegiance. He is the God before Whom every knee should bow. He is the God to Whom our worship is due. Is Jesus Lord in your Life?

<pull-quote>He is Lord. It is to Christ we owe our allegiance. He is the God before Whom every knee should bow. He is the God to Whom our worship is due. Is Jesus Lord in your Life?<pull-quote><tweet-link>Tweet This<tweet-link>

Christ Jesus is God For Us

Second, the Word of God teaches us on this Christmas Sunday that Jesus Christ is our Advocate. He is God for us.

“In Him was life, and that life was the light of men; The light shines in the darkness, And the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:4-5)

For some people, the thought that Jesus is the reigning Lord of the universe, that He is God Over Us, might be a frightening thing. And indeed, the Bible does teach that Jesus will also be given the task of judging us at the end of time. The Judgment has been assigned to Jesus; it is before the Judgment Seat of Christ that we will all one day appear.  

But Jesus is a King who loves His subjects. He is the Lord who came to save us. He is not only God Over Us; He is God for us.

We see in Christmas just how much God is for us. In the birth of Jesus, we see God becoming a man. And the whole reason He was made a man was so He could die for us, that we might have eternal life. Doesn’t it say in John 3:16 and 17, “For God so loved that world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through Him”? The birth of Christ should testify to us of the love of God. He loved us enough to come to this earth and be made a man; and then to die for us on a cruel cross, that we might be set free.  

The Cross of Calvary is the greatest testimony of God’s love. “But God has demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus revealed His love for us through the greatest act of self-sacrifice a man could perform:  He gave His very life for us. What more could God do to prove He was for us?  

Jesus left a heavenly throne to endure the death on the Cross. He gave up His eternal glory to be born in a stable. And then He gave His life to set us free. He is God for us.

<pull-quote>Jesus left a heavenly throne to endure the death on the Cross. He gave up His eternal glory to be born in a stable. And then He gave His life to set us free. He is God for us.<pull-quote><tweet-link>Tweet This<tweet-link>

Christ Jesus is God With Us.

The third word is about the incredible humility of Jesus. Christ Jesus is God With Us.

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)  

Verse 14 tells us that Christmas is all about the Eternal Word, equal in every way with God and God Himself, putting on human flesh. Jesus became one of us to live as one of us. He did it, as foreshadowed in Isaiah, by being born supernaturally through the borrowed womb of a virgin girl.

Matthew, chapter one, verses 21-23: “‘And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.’ Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us.’”  

Jesus is Immanuel; He is God with us. God has come to be one of us. Christ has identified with us. That is what the babe in the manger is all about.  

One of my favorite Christmas illustrations is an explanation of why Jesus came. I’m sure many of you have heard it, but I share for those who haven’t because it explains the incarnation of Jesus so well.

The story is told of a man who wanted to believe in Christmas but couldn’t. It made no sense to him. His heart was untouched by the story of the babe born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger. He was home one bitter cold December day when he heard a strange noise at his picture window. The sudden chill had threatened some small birds, who saw the warmth and light of his fire, and they were hopping about his window sill, and some were flying right into the glass, trying to get where it was warm. His heart was touched by their plight. The snow covering the ground was frozen solid. No food. The bitter chill would surely kill them. He went into the yard, and tried to shoo them into his barn. His waving only frightened and scattered them. He tried to lure them into the warm barn with crumbs. They ate some, but did not follow. He soon ran out of ideas. How could he help these pitiful creatures from sure and agonizing death? He thought, “If I could only speak their language. If I could only, for a brief time, become a bird, and show them that I mean them no harm, that I only want to help them and to care for them - if I could become like them, then I could save them...” At that moment, the bells from a neighboring church began to ring out a Christmas carol. And then He knew. Suddenly Christmas made sense. That is why Jesus came. To be one of us. To speak our language. To show us God’s love. And to save us.  

He is Immanuel. He is God with us. That’s the message of Christmas.  

<pull-quote>When a man surrenders in faith to the Lord Jesus, accepts His death by faith, receives Him as Lord, then the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us. The Holy Spirit of God returns to restore us to our true, fully human nature.<pull-quote><tweet-link>Tweet This<tweet-link>

Christ Jesus is God In and Through Us.

Finally, there is the truth of Christ’s Indwelling. He is God in us and He is God living and working through us.  

“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came unto His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:10-13)  

This God who is over us, for us, and with us, came to live in us and through us. Here we see Christ’s potentiality, that He is God in and through us.  

Major Ian Thomas, founder of the Torchbearers of Capernwray, England, used to say, in his British accent and characteristic zeal: “The purpose of the atoning death of Jesus Christ, the goal of the Gospel, is not to get any man, any woman, any boy or any girl out of hell and into heaven. The goal of the Gospel is to get God out of heaven and into you.”

The indwelling Christ. Jesus on the inside, living in your heart and restoring your inner nature from the inside out. And he used to use three illustrations.

An oil lamp is created functionally to give light. It has a reservoir wherein one puts oil. It takes oil in the lamp to make the lamp behave like a lamp. Oil makes the lamp do what it was designed and created to do. Without oil in the lamp, it’s still a lamp, but good for nothing, except to be used as a doorstop or a paperweight. Oil in the lamp makes the lamp behave like a lamp.

Gas in the car - same thing. Without gas in the tank it’s still a car, but not much of one. If you forget to gas up and you run out, which many of you have done, the car stops behaving like a car - and you’re stuck. It was designed and created to function fully like a car only when there is gas in the tank.

God created you uniquely among all creation to be the physical, visible image of the invisible God. He said, “Let us make mankind in our image, after our likeness” so that when the rest of creation looks at mankind, they will know what God is like. That’s your function; That’s why you were created.  

But man sinned. Lost his way. Forfeited the inner Holy Spirit that completes him and makes him different from the animal kingdom and makes him fully human.

So Jesus came. His death purchased our forgiveness. His atoning sacrifice cleared the way for us to receive Him. When a man surrenders in faith to the Lord Jesus, accepts His death by faith, receives Him as Lord, then the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within us. The Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit of God returns to restore us to our true, fully human nature.

Now it takes oil in the lamp to make the lamp behave like a lamp - like it was created to function. It takes gas in the car - and it takes God in you to restore you to relationship - give you abundant life, and make you fit for heaven. Oil in the lamp, gas in the car - God in the man. That’s the Gospel, and that’s why Christ came - to get God out of heaven and into you. Listen:

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.” We have the privilege of having the Son of God live His life in us and through us.

Martin Luther’s favorite analogy was of an iron poker placed in the fire. You put the iron in the fire, and as it abides in the fire, soon the fire abides in the iron. The metal begins to glow hot and red, and the fire exists within the metal, fire and metal together become one.

As we place our faith in Christ, as we receive Him, we become children of God. His Spirit indwells us. He becomes the fire within us. He gives us our lives. He restores us to God. He saves us from evil and He saves us into glory. He is God in us.

All of this is Jesus Christ. He is God over us. He is God for us. He is God with us. And He is God in and through us.