John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. English Standard Version (ESV)
In Monday's passage from 2 Peter 3, the apostle stated that "the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of the water and through water and by the Word of God." (2 Peter 3:5). Jesus was present at the beginning of time. All that was created was created by the Word of God. In the incarnation, the creator come down and lived among us. The Christmas story is the account of those who had seen His glory, full of grace and truth.
Sinclair Ferguson writes, "The Son of God came to dwell in human flesh for us in order that He might come to dwell in us by His Spirit".
For the Apostles and those who met Jesus and knew Him personally, saw His grace, His mercy, His power, and all of His attributes it had to be quite a blessing. They saw His glory firsthand and after the resurrection, continued to talk about it, to spread the word, in the power of His Spirit, for the rest of their lives, Maywe be able to do the same, empowered by His Spirit living in us. As we continue on in this Advent Season, may we prepare to celebrate His coming, to share His story with every grace endued.
The Christmas story is not complete without the resurrection story. I'll close with a hymn, it may not be thought of as a Christmas carol, but it brings the message of His birth, resurrection and His empowering of the church with His grace to reflect His glory.
The Church's one foundation
Is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation
By water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her
And for her life He died.
Is Jesus Christ her Lord,
She is His new creation
By water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her
To be His holy bride;
With His own blood He bought her
And for her life He died.
She is from every nation,
Yet one o'er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation,
One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses,
With every grace endued.
Yet one o'er all the earth;
Her charter of salvation,
One Lord, one faith, one birth;
One holy Name she blesses,
Partakes one holy food,
And to one hope she presses,
With every grace endued.
Read the passage from The Message below. Has He "moved into the neighborhood" of your heart?
John 1:13-15
The Message (MSG)
9-13 The Life-Light was the real thing:
Every person entering Life
he brings into Light.
He was in the world,
the world was there through him,
and yet the world didn't even notice.
He came to his own people,
but they didn't want him.
But whoever did want him,
who believed he was who he claimed
and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves,
their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
not blood-begotten,
not flesh-begotten,
not sex-begotten.
Every person entering Life
he brings into Light.
He was in the world,
the world was there through him,
and yet the world didn't even notice.
He came to his own people,
but they didn't want him.
But whoever did want him,
who believed he was who he claimed
and would do what he said,
He made to be their true selves,
their child-of-God selves.
These are the God-begotten,
not blood-begotten,
not flesh-begotten,
not sex-begotten.
14 The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish.
15 John pointed him out and called, "This is the One! The One I told you was coming after me but in fact was ahead of me. He has always been ahead of me, has always had the first word."
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