John 1:14-18 (Sermon Outline)
Sermon Outline
John 1:14-18
I. Opening Illustration:
a. This morning we are continuing our study through the Gospel of John, and as we do, we will continue looking at the credentials that John provides for us on behalf of Jesus, in order to continue demonstrating that Jesus is God. One of the key points that we will be looking at today is that because God became flesh and dwelt among us, there are limitless blessings and benefits to each person who by faith “receives” Jesus.
II. Introduction:
a. If you would please stand in honor of reading God’s Word we are going to be reading John 1:14-18.
b. READ: John 1:14-18
III. Message:
a. We know Jesus is God because Jesus is full of GRACE and TRUTH (1:14b-18)
i. READ: John 1:14
i. John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. In our fellowship groups this past week we looked at the importance of this word “dwelt”.
ii. This word dwelt is only used one other time in John’s Gospel (7:2), when he refers to the Festival of Booths (or Tabernacles). This word would instantly remind anyone familiar with the Old Testament of the tabernacle. The tabernacle was instituted by God as the place where He would dwell in the midst of His people Israel. It was the forerunner of the Temple. It was the tent that went before the children of Israel as they made their way to the Promised Land. Within the tabernacle was the most holy place, where God came to meet His people. Just as God came to meet His people in the tabernacle, He came to humanity in the person of Jesus.
iii. It is also important to remember that worship for the Jews centered on the tabernacle, but once Jesus came, He became the center of worship. In fact, to the Jew of Jesus’ day the Tabernacle was the center of the earth and the Holy of Holies was the most important place on the planet. And when Jesus came, He desired to become the center of every persons world, and the most important place in every persons life.
iv. And so the Apostle John is trying to let his readers know that just as God dwelt with Israel in the OT, Jesus came to dwell with us when He became a man and walked among us.
v. In (v.14) we also see the transformational results of God dwelling among us.
vi. READ John 1:14
vii. Here we read that John says when Jesus dwelt among us He was “full of grace and truth.” It is this idea of Jesus being full of Grace and Truth that has inspired the first answer to this mornings big question.
viii. How do we know Jesus is God? We know Jesus is God because Jesus is full of GRACEand TRUTH (1:14b-18)
ix. We must not forget that the whole reason for John writing his Gospel is so that we would believe that Jesus is God’s Son, and that by believing we could receive everlasting life. And here, the moment Jesus touches ground on earth to walk among us, the two character traits that John emphasizes the most that was demonstrated by Jesus is Grace and Truth.
x. It is no wonder, because these two attributes are most closely connected with salvation. Jesus was full of Grace and truth, because when He appeared every truth pointing towards God’s promise to save humanity was fulfilled, and when God fulfilled His promise to humanity by sending Jesus, God demonstrated His greatest expression of Grace. And what John is trying to get across throughout his gospel, is that it is by believing the truth of the Gospel that gives us access to the grace of God.
xi. Let’s move onto the 2nd answer to this mornings’ Big Question, and that is found in (vv.15-17).
xii. READ: John 1:15-17
b. We know Jesus is God because Jesus has given us the FULLNESS of His grace (1:15-17)
i. Here we read that John the Baptist is brought back into the picture in order to reveal to us that John has testified that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the World, and to remind us that everyone who receives Jesus (v.12) has received the “fullness” of His grace. What a powerful picture John is presenting to us here. John the Baptist is a witness for Jesus, telling us that everyone who receives Jesus becomes a witness for Jesus as well! Where do I see that? John says in (v.16) “And of His fullness WE have all received!” That is where we become a witness for Jesus. The moment we receive Him, we experience the FULLNESS of His Grace!
ii. It is this idea that has inspired the second answer to this mornings’ big question. How do we know Jesus is God? We know Jesus is God because Jesus has given us the FULLNESSof His grace (1:15-17)
iii. Guys, God’s grace in our life changes everything for us, and because it changes everything for us, we are called to be a witness to others because of it! God wants us to tell the world that there is an endless resource of Grace for everyone!
iv. In (v.16) we read that those who “receive Jesus”, also receive the fullness of His grace for grace. Or in other words, His grace UPON grace… it just keeps coming and coming. I have likened this idea of Grace upon Grace to the Pacific Ocean, and its tide that never, ever, stops. The grace of God that is found in Jesus is like the Ocean Tide, and all of the water supply, it is not only a never-ending reality for the believer, but it is an inexhaustible, immeasurable grace that God has given to us.
v. It’s no different than Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is the 8th deepest lake in the entire world. On July 4th, 1875, two men discovered the deepest point in the lake to be 1645 feet by lowering a weighted champagne bottle on fishing line from the side of their boat. Following the invention of sonar, soundings by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed that depth. Lake Tahoe is so large that if the lake were tipped over, its contents would cover California in 14.5 inches of water. Tahoe could provide every person in the United States (every person!) with 50 gallons of water per day for 5 years. The evaporation from Tahoe over the course of one year could supply a city the size of Los Angeles for 5 years. And Lake Tahoe is a small lake compared to Lake Superior (120 times bigger) and the world’s largest lake, the Caspian Sea (576 times as large).
vi. That is what the Bible is trying to get across here when it tells us that because of our faith in Jesus we have been given the fullness of God’s grace, and it equates to grace upon grace upon grace upon grace. You cannot sin enough to exhaust God’s grace for your life, if you are a follower of Jesus. Now your sin comes with the consequences of lack of peace in your life, and missed opportunities to be used by God and blessed by God, but God’s grace is never exhausted in your life if you believe in Jesus (Phil. 1:6).
vii. Looking on the next slide: When we talk about receiving the “fullness” of this grace of God. It is helpful to understand that this word is charis in the Greek, and also refers to that which causes “joy, pleasure, gratification, favor, acceptance, a benefit, thankfulness, gratitude.” This is what God has given to us because of our faith in Jesus. This is what the FULLNESS of God’s grace looks like in our life. It’s so much more than God’s undeserved blessing, it is also God’s abundant blessings upon our life in every way!
viii. This is why John is making it clear that when Jesus came He was full of grace and truth. God’s grace comforts and blesses us, and God’s truth guides us and protects us.
ix. Let’s move onto the final verse of this mornings sermon.
x. READ: John 1:18
c. We know Jesus is God because Jesus is the ONLY BEGOTTEN Son of God (1:18)
i. The final answer to this mornings question, “How do we know Jesus is God?” Is Jesus is the only BEGOTTEN Son of God. This is what we are going to be unpacking right now.
ii. But before we do, there are three important terms in this final verse that are important for us to understand, in order to protect ourselves from developing faulty theology.
1. No one has seen God at any time – This is true, no one has seen God at any time, because to see Him would be signing your own death certificate.
a. However, Hebrews 1:3 informs us that Jesus Christ is the express image of God.
b. Colossians 2:9 says, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily”.
c. In John 14:7, Jesus says to His disciples, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” The reason Jesus said if they know Him they know the Father and if they have seen Him they have seen the Father is because He is the express image of God the Father, and in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead!
iii. The second statement I want to look at is this idea of Jesus being the only “begotten” Son.
2. Begotten - Just as we read in (v.14), where John described Jesus as “the only begotten of the Father”, here in (v.18) he says again that Jesus is “the only begotten Son” of God.
a. Despite the claims of false teachers through the centuries, monogenes (only begotten) does not imply that Jesus was created by God and thus not eternal. The term does not refer to a person’s origin, but describes him as unique, the only one of His kind. Just as Isaac was called Abraham’s monogenes (Heb. 11:17), even though Abraham had other sons, because Isaac alone was the son of the covenant. This Greek word distinguishes Jesus as the Unique Son of God from believers, who are all God’s children in a different sense (1 John 3:2). Jesus’ unique relationship to the Father is a major theme throughout John’s gospel (cf. 1:18; 3:35; 5:17-23, 26, 36-37; 6:27, 46, 57, 8:16, 18-19, 28, 38, 42, 54; 10:15, 17, 30, 36-38; 12:49-50; 14:6-13, 20-21, 23, 31; 15:9, 15, 23-24; 16:3, 15, 27-28, 32; 17:5, 21, 24-25; 20:21).
iv. The 3rd statement I want to look at is the “bosom” of the Father.
3. “In the bosom of the Father” – This means that Jesus was in the position of greatest possible intimacy with the Father. It is impossible to be any closer or intimate with someone, than to be in their bosom. In fact, the dictionary defines one’s bosom is used to refer to, “the chest as the seat of emotions.” It is also said to be a place of, “protection, shelter, safety and refuge. It was a place where love was kindled within the heart, soul, and spirit of a person. It is literally located at the very core of one’s being. This is most likely why John would also point out later that he was the disciple who was leaning on Jesus’ bosom (John 13:23). I believe that this idea is made manifest to us so that we would clearly see that God wants to be intimate with you, and with me. I believe that John wants us to know that this intimacy is experienced through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
c. Life Application
a. As I bring the first 18 verses of this Gospel to an end this morning, we have been reminded that the promises of God beginning in the book of Genesis and continuing through the entire OT are finally realized in Jesus Christ. He is the promised Messiah. He is the answer to man’s need for a Savior. What John has tried to prepare us for in his introduction, where is found in the opening 18 verses, is that the gospel story he is presenting to us is a rescue story, and Jesus is the One whom God send to rescue us. The gospel story is also a reminder that God gave humanity a promise, and Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. And the Gospel story that John is sharing with us is all about the grace that God has offered to you and to me through faith in Jesus.
