As you know, the Lord Jesus had 12 disciples, and he primarily poured into those 12 men during his earthly ministry. I'll be sure we know he taught thousands, he fed thousands, but he focused much of his ministry on those 12, and they experienced some amazing and remarkable things. Within the 12, there was an inner circle of three men, Peter, James, and John. And they shared a special intimacy with Jesus. And these three were privy to some very special events, one of which was the Lord's transfiguration. You'll recall from Matthew 17, Jesus led those three men up on a high mountain and he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as light. And these three men were permitted to get a glimpse of Jesus in his resplendent glory. And not only did they see a glorified Jesus, they saw Moses and Elijah talking to him. Never one to miss an opportunity to speak when he should be listening. Peter suggested that he build three shelters, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. And at that moment, the glory cloud from heaven appeared and surrounded them. And God the Father spoke from the Shekinah cloud, this is my beloved son. Listen to Him. And the three disciples were afraid. They fell on their face. Jesus came over. He touched them and told them to get up. And when they looked up, Matthew 17, 8 says, they saw no one but Jesus only. It's really impossible to exaggerate the significance of this event. They beheld Jesus. in His glory, and they saw the glory cloud of presence descend from heaven, and they heard the voice of the Father acknowledging that Jesus was His beloved Son." Again, it's hard to fathom the indelible mark this must have left on the hearts of these three men. And here's the thing, eventually it would be their life mission, a part of their life mission, to tell the world about the one they saw in that spectacular event, to try to explain what they were eyewitnesses of, and to hold up the majesty and the supremacy of Christ. What a task, right? I mean, can you imagine what a job it would be to describe what they had seen on the Mount? of transfiguration, the glory of God, face-to-face with the glory of Jesus? How would they tell others about something so sublime, something otherworldly? Fortunately, they'll be inspired by the Holy Spirit and that will aid them. Peter will explain this event in detail in 2 Peter chapter 1. And it's likely, almost a certainty, that the transfiguration was on the apostle John's mind when he wrote the prologue of his gospel account. And that's what we want to do this morning, take a few minutes and look at a small bit of John's prologue, and to see how it shows us the glory of Jesus. Well, let's seek the Lord's blessing and we'll get to work. Pray with me once more. Father in heaven, your word is sweet to us. By your spirit, make it sweeter yet. Make us to have an insatiable appetite for your truth. And fill us up with it this morning. Help us to have attentive ears, help your speaker to speak clearly and not to speak any error. And we pray, oh God, that what's taught, what's heard, and what we take from this place will help us to marvel at your glory. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Well, let me ask you to open up your copy of scripture to John chapter one. And at the end of the sermon, we are gonna look at a few different texts. You want to have your Bible close by. John chapter 1, I'm going to read verses 1 and 2, then skip down and read verse 14, then skip a little bit further and read verse 18. John 1, beginning in verse 1, this is the true Word of the living God. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, verse 14. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, verse 18. No one has ever seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. Well, there ends the reading of God's holy word. May it bless it to our hearts this morning. Dearest congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, I realize that Christmas has passed, but I chose this text this morning for a few reasons. First, it'll help us think through some of the issues we've recently learned in our study of Hebrews, sort of reinforce some of those. You'll recall from Hebrews 1.3 that Jesus is described as being the radiance of God's glory and the express image of his person. We're gonna see that in John 1. Second, in a month or so, we're going to spend some time in Sunday school learning about the Council of Nicaea and its intention to safeguard the full deity of Christ. So this will give us a head start on thinking through some of those things. And then third, it will give us an opportunity to fit John's teaching of the incarnation and the glory of it into the broader contours of redemptive history. That's how we will wrap up this morning. Well, it was Augustine who first said, the teaching in the Gospel of John is a shallow pool, safe enough for a child to wade in, and at the same time, deep enough to drown an elephant. In other words, the Gospel of John can bless a babe in Christ, and it can certainly confound a learning theologian. I mean, the purpose of John's Gospel is basic, it's evangelistic. The Apostle tells us in John 20, verse 31, these are written to you that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His name. So that's really Gospel 101 stuff. But what John's gospel teaches us about the doctrine of Christ, his person, who he is, takes us to the very boundaries of human reason, and then by faith, even further than bare human reason could possibly take us. And this morning we want to meditate on a couple of those deep and breathtaking truths that we discover in the prologue of John's gospel. Now when we come to the opening verses in John, one of the things we notice is that many of the things we find most precious about the Advent season, especially from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, they're conspicuously absent. John doesn't mention angels appearing to Zacharias or Mary, not a peep about the decree that went out from Caesar Augustus or the census that took place while Quirinius was governor. He doesn't tell us the amazing story of the virgin birth. There's no account of angelic hosts singing to shepherds on the hillside of Bethlehem. He doesn't say anything about the wise men from the east who followed a star. John doesn't even give us one of those lengthy genealogies. What kind of Christmas narrative is this? This might lead us to think that the Apostle John needs a nickname. The Apostle Grinch. The Apostle who stole Christmas. But not so fast. Matthew wanted to teach his readers, who were of a Jewish background primarily, that Jesus was the son of David. Luke wanted his readers to know that Jesus was a son of Adam. John's no less concerned about the backstory of Jesus, but he takes us back to a time well before Bethlehem and even a time before Adam was created. Jesus takes us back before time. He wants us to contemplate Jesus' backstory that spans all the way back into eternity past. Listen again to John 1 verses 1 and 2. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Now being wise Bible students, light bulbs probably went off in your brain when you heard in the beginning mentioned twice, right? Because those are the first words of the Bible. So John's very intentionally… trying to force us to purposefully hit the light switch to ensure those particular light bulbs come on. He's making a powerful and dramatic statement about the Word. If you go back before creation, before God called all things into existence out of nothing, if you go back before the beginning of history, the Word was there. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God. Now, I'm sure you all know this, but it's not until we get down to verse 14 that we learn the Word, this Word, became flesh. And it's not until verse 17 that we learn the Word is Jesus Christ. But what John begins with in the opening phrase of his Gospel account really simplifies the entirety of the universe for us. And he does so by basically placing everything in the universe in two categories. God and not God. There's a category of being that exists before creation, before time and space, and that's God and God alone. And then there's a category of being that was created to inhabit time and space, and that's everything in creation. Listen how old A.W. Tozer puts this. To explain this mystery in as simple words as possible, Let me say that the universe is made up of that which is God and that which is not God. And all that which is not God was made by God, but God was made by none. That's when evangelicals could speak like theologians. And what John is emphasizing is that Jesus belongs in that first category, the category that belongs to God and God alone. It's wondrous and a breathtaking way to tell us that Jesus is God. Now, that's a staggering truth, obviously. But John's going to take us even further into the mystery of the Godhead. Right on the surface, he's letting us know he is God. But he takes us into the mystery when he tells us, in the beginning was Jesus. Jesus was with God. And Jesus was God. I think if we're honest, that can cause our heads to spin a little bit. How is that possible? How can Jesus be with God and be God at the same time? And here's the thing, dear ones, we won't be able to make sense of that if we try to force this truth into the categories of human experience. Because this won't fit into those categories. Let me say it this way, using Tozer's categories. If that which is not God uses their experience to define that which is God, then we're going to necessarily make some grave theological errors. And interestingly enough, that's the errors that the Arians fell into and why the Council of Nicaea was convened. They ultimately wanted to put the deity of Christ in the categories of of man's ability to reason it out. It's also the error that Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses make, and even the error that Muslims make. They try to fit the infinite God into finite human categories, and if we do that, we miss what John is teaching us about the nature of God's being and the persons of the Godhood. I mean, we can't fit John 1 and 2 into bare human reason. And what we have to remember when we're reading the Bible in cases when it's describing God, it's not describing us, right? I've said this often, especially over the last couple of years, is I've interacted with a bunch of young men on the doctrine of God and covenant theology. One of the worst things you can do theologically is say, I'm like this, therefore God must be. No, no, we don't get to recast God in our image. He gets to make us in his, his other. And again, it doesn't fit our human categories. If I said to you last night, I was with my wife, Lisa, you'd all understand that. But if I went on to say, and I was Lisa, then you might think I was a postmodernist, or that I was completely off my rocker. Why? Because that's not how we exist. I can't be with someone and at the same time be that person. If I made that kind of statement, you'd be right to think I was cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. But John's not off his rocker because he's not telling us how we exist. He's telling us how God eternally exists. Now to be sure, there is one God and one God only. That's a truth so basic that even the demons understand it and tremble. But God exists in three distinct persons. There's one God who is the perfect harmonious community of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Although at this point, John's not addressing the Holy Spirit. He'll get to that when he gets in John chapter 14. But that's what's pictured here in the Gospel of John, and particularly in this first chapter. And frankly, it's only in the church's orthodox understanding of the Trinity that we can make sense of what John tells us about Jesus, that He was with God and was God. This is not a contradiction. It goes beyond our ability of human reason, but it's not a contradiction. Now the word that John uses for with. is probably best translated as toward or even face-to-face. It's the Greek word pros. So Jesus was toward God or face-to-face with God, and at the same time was God. So these are two distinct persons in the Godhood, Father and Son. They're equally God. And as I alluded to in the introduction, John had seen something of this in the transfiguration, that they were given a glimpse of this. Even as the resplendent glory of Jesus shone forth, the resplendent glory of the Shekinah cloud appears and spoke to Jesus, and the Father called him his beloved son. You see, the apostles were given a visual and audible lesson on the Godhead. Jesus is God, the Father is God, and in that picture of the transfiguration, Jesus was face-to-face with God. And you see, actually, only the right historical and creedal understanding of the Trinity can make sense of John's language. And that's because the historical orthodox creedal understanding is derived from the biblical language. Well, John did write with a Jewish audience in mind. And he was well aware of how much the Greek and Roman culture had infiltrated the Jewish religion. So he's not just writing doctrinally about Christ, but he's also got an eye toward apologetics. I suspect that's one of the reasons he chose the unique way of describing Jesus as Now, of course, this was perfectly consistent with the Old Testament, as we learned in our study of Hebrews. There was the expectation throughout Israel's long history that Messiah, when He came, would be God's final and great prophet who would reveal God. And if your Bibles are still open, glance there at verse 18. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." John's saying that only the Son has seen the Father face to face, and it's this Jesus who declares Him to us. See, this is exactly what we were learning in Hebrews. Here's an interesting tidbit, that word for declared there. in verse 18 is exegesato, exegesato. It's where we get our English word exegesis. And it teaches us that the son is the great prophet who ultimately exegetes God to us. So describing Jesus as the word makes sense. It's the unfolding of redemptive history. It's just what you would expect. What's unique and interesting It's not so much that Jesus describes, excuse me, that John describes Jesus as the word. What's fascinating is that he uses the Greek word logos for word. So what verse one says is, in effect, in the beginning was the logos, and the logos was toward God, and the logos was God. And as I mentioned, that almost certainly has an apologetic angle to it. You see, nowhere else in the New Testament do you find the word logos. to describe the person of Christ. Only here in the first chapter of John. John will regularly call Jesus the Son of God. He'll call him the Christ. John is the one who uses the many instances of Jesus saying, I am, to speak of his deity. But here he uses this unusual word, logos. And so we should ask ourselves, why? Again, back to this, it's probably for apologetic reasons. John knew that Greek culture had corrupted and influenced the Jews significantly at this point. And you see, if you were to step back about 500, about the 500 years prior to the Apostle John's ministry, Greek philosophers used the word logos, and they used it frequently to explain the logic and principle behind the world and how it works, right? When a Greek philosopher wanted to explain why stars stayed in the sky or why they saw the sun every morning, or if they wanted to make sense of a world that they could see was clearly and regularly changing, Greek philosophers would appeal to the logos. The Logos was the logic behind creation. The Logos was the unknown divine principle that gave the world order. And in particular, when the Greek philosophers experienced, could it make sense of the world, they would ascribe whatever they were trying to work through to the Logos. It's the great unknown organizing principle behind everything. That's how philosophers understood Logos. Perhaps the best-known Greek philosopher was Plato, who once said to a group of his students, it may be that someday there'll come forth from God a word, a Logos, who will reveal all mysteries and make everything plain. It's remarkable that Plato would write something like that, just interpreting general revelation. But it's very accurate. And if I can quote Dr. Rick Phillips, in a stroke of divine genius, John seizes on this word and says, listen you Greeks, the very thing that most occupied your philosophical thought and about which you've been writing for centuries, the logos of God, He's come to earth as a man and we've seen Him. That's the thought world that John was writing in, the logos, the great organizing principle that the philosophers were looking from. He's come, it's God who took on flesh. You Greeks and you Jews who have been influenced by Greeks, do you want to understand the world around you? Do you want to understand how and why it exists? Well, let me introduce you to the true logos. And isn't it interesting when the Apostle Paul was dealing with worldly philosophical systems, he would write something very similar in Colossians 2, verses 8 and 9. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ, for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Paul didn't use the same language. He didn't use the word logos, but he says basically the same thing You want a philosophy that will help you? Understand the whole world to make sense of the world around you don't look to the world Look to the one in whom dwells the Godhead bodily, right? Well John explains That the word who was God is the one who created all things and that He's the very source of life and light. He's the one who said, let there be light, and He's the light of the world. To borrow from the Nicene Creed that we are going to be studying in a few weeks and reciting in a few minutes, the Lord Jesus Christ is God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. And it's this God. The second person of the Trinity that John goes on to say something amazing about in verse 14, and the word and the logos became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. For time reasons and perhaps a concern for information overload. I'm only going to focus on the first half of this verse. So we're told, the Word became flesh. Again, the word is, the Logos is God. He became flesh. It's interesting, when John is describing Jesus' divine nature, he would often use the verbs was or is. God is love. God is light, God is truth. As I mentioned a moment ago, one of John's favorite descriptions of Jesus, one he had heard many times, is that He's the great I Am. But now we're told the I Am, the one who exists eternally, the one who is unchangeable, the one who is the radiance of God's glory and the express image of His person, this one became flash. And the idea behind the word became is an appearance in history, to step onto the stage as it were. And that's what took place in Bethlehem. God stepped out of eternity and onto the stage of human history. And in stepping into history, he took upon himself a true human nature. He became flesh. Now, in doing so, he never ceased being God, he never laid aside his deity, he didn't put away his defined attributes. What he did was take to himself a new nature, a real flesh and blood nature like ours, a nature that's forever united to his divine nature. By the way, when we're thinking about the incarnation, one of the questions we don't want to ask is, Let me say it this way. In terms of the incarnation, we don't want to think in terms of subtraction. We want to think in terms of addition, right? When Jesus took a human nature, nothing in his deity was subtracted. It was addition. He added to his person a real human nature. If you keep that in mind, you'll avoid some pretty serious theological errors. Now, when we see the word flesh, In the Bible, it almost always references humanity in its weakness and frailty. And so, that really ought to stun us. I know, we've celebrated Christmas so many times, we've heard so many Advent sermons, we've sung so many Christmas songs, but it really needs to stun us that the great I Am became flesh. And he took on flesh to be like us, to dwell among us, so we could behold his glory. And so he could be near us, draw close to us, be able to sympathize with us. And so in his human nature, he could satisfy God's justice in our place to eternally save us. You've undoubtedly heard that the word that's used here for dwell means tabernacle or tent. It can literally mean he pitched a tent among us. But using the word that was used of the tabernacle coupling with Jesus' glory, it's clear John wants us to make some very specific connections. with the Old Testament. Just as the tabernacle under Moses was the place where God dwelt and manifest His glory, Jesus fulfills that. And He is the way God dwells with us, and He's the way God manifests His glory to us. This is where God pitched His tent some 2,000 years ago, in Bethlehem, in a stable. Remarkable, isn't it? And while John doesn't use this language, this is simply a picture of Emmanuel, God with us. Now what I want to do for just a few minutes is a bit of Bible study together to fit John's teaching of the incarnation into the broader contours of redemptive history. And that's how we're going to wrap up this morning. Because I want us to kind of pick up some of the pieces from the Old Testament that can help us marvel at this event in John 1. When Moses was told to build the tabernacle and establish God-ordained worship in the tabernacle, the purpose was clear. God wanted to dwell with his people. God had delivered his people out of Egyptian bondage so they could dwell with him and worship him. Turn in your Bibles to Exodus 29. Exodus 29. We'll pick up at verse 43. This is explaining the basics of this chapter. of the priests, their task, the sacrifices, the things that'll take place in the tabernacle. Exodus 29, beginning in verse 43, and we'll read down through verse 46. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. So I'll consecrate the tabernacle of meeting and the altar. I will also consecrate both Aaron and his sons to minister to me as priests. I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them. I am the Lord their God." What a remarkable, remarkable thing that is that God wanted to dwell among his people. And if you're familiar with the Exodus narrative, you know that Israel, they were sinners. They were grumblers. They became idolaters. So this very statement is a vivid picture of the immense grace of God, that he wanted to dwell with them, and he made a provision for their sin. The provision, of course, would be building the tabernacle and putting all the sacrificial systems in place. So once that was accomplished and the tabernacle was fully built, I want us to see what happened. Turn forward in your Bible to Exodus 40. Exodus 40. Begin with verse 34. Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting because the cloud rested above it and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. Now it's noteworthy that this happened after the ark of God was brought into this place and put in the most holy of holies. When that happened, the glory cloud descended and the glory was so overwhelming. The presence of God was so palpable, not even Moses, could bear it. Again, when you go to Leviticus chapter 1, Moses gets invited by God. But at this point, it's interesting. And we should sort of marvel at that, that Exodus ends with the tabernacle built, the glory and presence of God is with His people, and everybody's afraid to enter. Here's something else that's worth pointing out. The light and glory of God that rested in the most holy place The tabernacle, what was it that surrounded the holy place? What was the outer wall of the tabernacle? Skin, animal skins to be sure. But that's a very interesting picture, isn't it? The glory of God surrounded by skin. We don't want to go much further than that, but it's a tantalizing picture, don't you think? Just a little glimpse of the incarnation to come. The glory of God's presence is with His people. I want to look at another passage that moves us from the glory at the tabernacle. to the glory at the temple. So turn in your Bibles to 1 Kings 8, 1 Kings 8. We studied this last year, so you'll recall Solomon is building the temple, and Solomon was fastidious about the details because it was the place where God's glory could dwell. And just like in the tabernacle, Look what happens when the ark is put in place in the temple. 1 Kings 8, beginning of verse 10. And it came to pass when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord. So the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. So think about that. Moses couldn't enter because of the glory of the Lord. The priests couldn't enter because of the glory of the Lord. But this was God's purpose. for the glory to dwell with His people. So there's a tension there, isn't there? But this was the hope of Israel, to dwell where the glory of God dwells. I want to look at one more Old Testament passage. Turn forward to Ezekiel 10. Ezekiel 10. Again, all of redemptive history was about the glory of God dwelling with His people. And it was a frightful thing for Old Testament saints, but an enormous blessing. And that's what makes Ezekiel 10, beginning in verse 4, a shocking bit of truth. Ezekiel 10, beginning in verse 4. Then the glory of the Lord went up, this is this picture of the wheel and the wheels and all that spectacular imagery. Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub and paused over the threshold of the temple. And the house was filled with the cloud and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory. But then look at verse 18. Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. This is a picture of Ichabod. The glory is departing Israel. Now, after these events and after the people finish their Babylonian captivity, they'll be brought back graciously and mercifully by God. They'll have some great leaders in Ezra, Nehemiah, great prophets like Zechariah. But you know what will never return to Jerusalem in the Old Testament? The glory of the Lord. It does not return. And so, the language that John uses in verse 14 pulls all that forward and says, we are seeing something spectacular. We're seeing something awesome. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. The glory of God has come back. Only it won't be to a single nation. It'll be to all those who belong to Jesus Christ. He'll come back to dwell with us and manifest his glory to us and in us. One final passage. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 4. 2 Corinthians 4. Verse six, for it's the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Remember what happened when Moses had built the tabernacle? He was afraid to enter because of the glory of God. When Solomon built the temple, the priests were afraid to enter the holy place because of the presence of the glory of God. When Jesus was born into this world, it was so the glory of God could dwell with us. And as believers, brothers and sisters, when we look to Jesus Christ for salvation by faith alone, It's the glory of God that inhabits us. Isn't that remarkable? Well, one of the great truths of Advent is that the glory of heaven has come down, and he's come down to live in us. I kept thinking of that old Southern Baptist song, heaven came down and glory filled our soul. We are the inhabitants of God's dwelling glory. What a privilege, amen. Well, let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word and just pray that you'd help us to apprehend these remarkable truths That it was your purpose to live in the most intimate way with your people. Where your glory wouldn't cause us terror, but would cause us joy. And that glory is ministered to us by the person of the Holy Spirit ministering to us, the person. of Jesus Christ, the One in whom all the glory dwells. Help us to be in awe of so great a plan of salvation—a salvation for us and to us. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. As we prepare to come to the Lord's table, as you know, we fence the table, that is, we extend who we believe biblically ought to be invited to participate in this holy sacrament. And namely, it's for those who are trusting in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation. Those who know they can't earn God's favor, they don't deserve God's favor, but they've been lavished with God's favor through the person and work of Jesus Christ, who's fully accomplished our salvation. If that's what you're trusting in, and you're a baptized member of an evangelical church, please do come and feast upon the Lord. If that doesn't describe you, or you're living in unrepentant sin, then simply let the elements pass by, go home, repent, come back and join us next time. Well, this morning we are gonna recite the Nicene Creed. Find that on page 852, the back of your hymnal. 852. Christian, what do you believe? I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds. out of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made, who for us men and our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the scriptures, and ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Catholic and apostolic church, I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen. Let me ask you to give your attention to the reading of a couple different scriptures from the Apostle John, from John 13 and then John 15 and a couple different passages from 1 John. John 13.1, now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come, that he should depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 15.9, as the Father loved me, I also have loved you. Abide in my love. 1 John 3.16, by this we know love. because he laid down his life for us, and we also ought to lay down our lives for our brethren. Then 1 John 4, 9 and 10, and this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. And this is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. And I have a meditation from a wonderful Scottish divine. You can follow along, it's in your bulletin, or simply listen. Was there ever a love like his? Well, may it be called love which passes knowledge. Angels are lost in wonder while they look into the mystery of redeeming love. How then should we, to whom this love is shown, be astonished while we're called to partake of it? He died not for angels, but for men. And when? Was it when we were faithful, affectionate, and obedient that we gained his heart to such an expensive manifestation of his love? No, when we were enemies by wicked works, when we were without strength or power to love or obey Him, even then in due time did Christ die for the ungodly. In us there was nothing but misery. We were lost in sin, willfully lost by our disobedience without the power or inclination to seek for any favor at God's hand. and he wanted not our services. His glory would have been unsullied if he had given us up to the fruit of our folly and left us to our deserved ruin. But freely moved by the mere goodness of his heart and out of pure compassion to us, Jesus offered to stand in our stead, and since to save us he must be made man, His love stooped to the lowliness of our condition, to the form of a servant, to the death of a slave. Love brought him down from the throne of glory. Love clothed him with a body like our own. Love urged him on through all the painful steps of his afflicted life. The waters of trouble were never able to quench it, nor the floods of persecution drown it. Love put the cup of trembling into his hand. Love bid him drink the last drop of all its dregs, for having loved his own, he loved them unto the end. His love abode till he cried, it is finished. When having sealed with blood the sure and well-ordered covenant, his soul was dismissed, and he went to begin his triumphs over death, hell, and the grave. And when he arose again, love carried him to the right hand of God. And there he is this moment, showing forth the unchangeableness of his affection by ever living to make intercession for us and pleading before the throne the marks of love so deeply engraven in his hands and in his side. And then let us freely and fully come to this table and remember this love, as at an ordinance where the glory of his love is set before us. Let's pray. Again, O God, we thank you for the marvel of the incarnation, that the Lord Jesus took a flesh and blood body. We marvel that he breathed the polluted sinful air that we take in and rarely realize it's poisonous. But he lived for us in the flesh. He bore our sin on his breast and paid the price for our sin in his flesh. And then when he relieved his spirit, spent three days in the grave until he rose again, having conquered death and ultimately securing our pardon. As we come to this table, O God, the bread remains bread, the cup remains wine, And when we partake by faith these elements, spiritually nourish us with the body and blood of Christ. So nourish us now, O God, for Jesus' sake, amen. Receive the Lord's benediction. But now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. And all of God's people said, Amen.