The Word Became Flesh

Will you please stand now for the reading of the Gospel?

This is the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,

as written in the first chapter of the Gospel according to St. John,

beginning at verse 1.

Glory to you, Lord Christ.

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 were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.

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

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was 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.

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.

He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.

But to all who did receive Him, 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 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.

John bore witness about Him and cried out,

This was He of whom I said,

He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.

For from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

For the law was given through Moses,

grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

No one has ever seen God,

the only God who is at the Father's side.

He has made Him known.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Please be seated.

Good morning.

Let me say, if you've never been here before, welcome.

Neither have I.

I've never been here before.

But I have met a number of you previously.

I lived next door to Whitney.

I lived in the basement of Charles and Sarah Moxley,

and I've had the privilege of hanging out with Tommy and Dan.

And Deborah seems to me to be the one who makes everything work around here.

So it's been great to meet her as well.

As Tommy mentioned, I am on staff at Church of the Resurrection over on Capitol Hill.

Some of you have a history there, a past there.

And I've enjoyed it.

I've been there about seven months.

And I'm on a three-year term of being there in preparation to do church planting.

So my wife and I are new to D.C.

We're originally from California and moved most recently from Sydney, Australia.

We love it here.

We actually, we're not cool enough to live in Brookland,

but we live in Langdon, so we're like kind of close.

And we live there, the two of us with our giant black Labrador, Dylan.

Anyways, it's great to be with you.

Let's get into this sermon this morning.

I want to start by saying,

without dogma, there is no drama.

Without doctrine, there is no drama.

We are innately seeking this story behind all stories.

The question is not whether we will have a dogma,

a story behind all stories, an overarching story, a creed,

but which one.

In 2011, a philosopher at Duke University named Alex Rosenzweig

published his book, The Atheist's Guide to Reality.

His central claim in that book is that story time is over.

He says that because physics and biology have taught us that once and for all,

everything in the universe can be explained in terms of cause and effect,

we are freed from this notion of a big story,

an overarching drama, a dogma.

This means, he says, that we're free to realize now

that consciousness is nothing else but the outworking of processes in the brain.

That people don't act freely.

That free will is an illusion.

That we're determined by causes and effect.

And that there is ultimately no reason for being moral

other than that it has some evolutionary advantages to it,

some survival advantages.

He says story time is over.

He de-dogmatizes the world.

To his credit, he's pretty candid.

And he realizes in the process of this that even to tell this truth,

if you will, requires a story.

And it's a contradiction that he acknowledges at the heart of his own account,

that he himself has to tell a story of the progress and triumph of modern science

and the story of a naturalistic evolution.

We are always looking for the story behind the story.

It's unavoidable.

And when we come to John chapter 1, verses 1 to 18,

John 1:1–18

we arrive at one of the high points of Scripture.

I don't know if you can see, I have a really nice Bible,

but it's fraying on these pages.

This is, because this is really important stuff.

This is the high point, the telling of the story that is behind every story,

the word behind all true words, the light of all enlightenment.

This text not only introduces Jesus Christ as a human being,

but it makes the audacious claim that in Christ is encapsulated the meaning of the whole universe.

It's dogmatic, it's doctrinal, it's rich.

It introduces the Gospel of John, but even more than this,

it's an invitation into the cosmic drama that is the Gospel.

It claims to be the true story.

And as always, the proof is in the pudding.

So let's listen together to the claims of this important text.

But first, let me pray.

Father, thank you for speaking the world into existence in your word.

Thank you, most of all, that that word has become flesh in Jesus Christ,

that he has dwelt among us.

And we pray now that we would dwell in him and live new lives in your story.

We ask this in Christ's name.

Amen.

Here's the first thing we see in this text, the first truth, the dogma that gives us drama,

and that is that the universe is a drama with an author.

Life is a drama that someone else is writing.

We have no choice but to acknowledge this authorship.

Verses 1 and 2 read,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

There it is in the strongest possible terms,

the assertion of divine authorship over creation.

In the beginning, signals that we are going back,

not just to the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in history,

not just to the beginning of time, but to eternity, all the way back.

And if there's any doubt about how far back we go,

the author says we're going so far back that we're talking about the reality

that was with God and indeed was God.

It was the Word.

In Greek, the term is the Logos.

The Logos, the rational principle of the universe as the Stoics saw it.

Or the Logos, the creative Word that God speaks in Genesis.

The Logos, the Word, the divine plot, the script around which God constructs the world.

It's not just a spoken or written word,

but rather the very self-expression of God.

As Martin Luther said it, the heart of God.

His inner being.

This means two things that we need to see.

First is that God is Himself a speaker.

He is communicative.

He is author.

Word.

And the breath in which that Word is brought out.

In Himself.

But second, it means that the purpose of all creation

is just to give God a new avenue for the telling of the story,

for the speaking of the script that He is.

It means creation itself is unnecessary

except as the raw material upon which God writes the story,

His Word, His script.

As Calvin puts it,

creation is theatrum gloria Dei,

the theater for the glory of God.

And this is profound in its implications.

It means that everything and every person

has been created for the purpose of playing some part in God's story.

In Him was life, verse 4 says,

and the life was the light of humanity.

This is here the secret to unlocking the meaning of history.

History is not a story of mere biological survival.

It is not a story of upward historical progress or downward historical decay.

It's a story of divine self-expression.

It's a story that, even if it remains hidden from us naturally,

is the story that we are all living in.

It's the thing that gives our lives the meaning that they have.

Isn't it amazing that even in a culture,

in a city, in a world as secular as ours is,

where we have tried formally to shut out the notion of transcendent meaning,

that we still, all of us,

live as if there really is some meaning to everything,

as if there is truth and goodness and beauty.

The reason that is, is because, as verse 5 says,

the light is shining in the darkness.

And the darkness, even if it has not recognized it or overcome it,

it is shining.

It is giving light to every person.

Every person lives under the authorship

and within this story,

without even realizing it,

without any hope of evading this reality.

To talk in this way can sound hopelessly fatalistic to some people,

as if to say that we are all props in God's drama

and cannot be otherwise.

And furthermore, even more disturbingly,

does this mean that if God is the author of everything,

that God is also the author of rebellion?

And the evil characters that reject His authority?

What can be said about this?

I'd say, first of all,

the notion that God is authoring all of reality is a biblical one.

It's embedded in creation,

where God speaks through the Word as we read.

It's embedded in this text.

Jesus is called in Acts 3.15,

the author of life.

A couple of places in Hebrews,

He's referred to as the author of salvation.

And I want to submit to you that authorship is the best way to think about God

and His relationship to our world.

But it's only a metaphor.

It's not that God doesn't write stories quite as we do,

but it's that we only approximate His authorship.

See, we cannot create stories where creatures truly come to life.

Most fiction authors, though, I believe,

will tell you that in their experience of writing novels,

their characters do take on a life of their own,

where they surprise them and create changes in the plot.

But what we see in the world here is that God can create characters

who not only can love Him and partner with Him,

but who can also speak back to Him,

who can rebel against Him,

who can militate against His purposes for them.

This is the mystery of the world that God authors in the Logos.

There's considerable freedom in this script,

and yet it is still enveloped in His sovereign authorial control.

And there are witnesses, the text tells us,

verses 6 to 8,

like John the Baptist, represented in John the Baptist,

that call us to recognize God's authorship over us,

to repent.

But here's the reality.

If we fail to heed those witnesses gladly,

to see that we are characters in the divine drama,

eventually we will realize that we are nothing but

tragicomic props in the drama.

So again, this is the unavoidable fact that this starts off with,

that we are in a universe that is a drama with an author

to be created is to live under authority, authorship.

And we have no choice but to acknowledge this.

It's unavoidable.

But it's not only unavoidable,

it is actually the best news that you could ever hear.

Why?

Because this author,

God, has written Himself into the drama.

This is the second main thing I want you to see here.

The Word has become flesh and dwelt among us.

This means that God's sovereign authorship over our lives

is not only something we must receive,

but that we can receive and announce with joy.

See, the whole world was not only written as a script

with God authoring it from the outside,

but instead, in verse 9,

we are told that from the beginning,

the true light,

which gives light to everyone,

was coming into the world.

Verse 14,

the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

What this is telling us is that God's authorial intention,

the purpose of this all,

was always to write Himself into the story.

And this is the most profound dogma of the incarnation,

that is the most profound drama

that lies at the heart of reality.

The teaching that God, the Son, the Word,

took on flesh and dwelt among us,

that He intended from all time

to participate in the drama of the world.

He didn't author characters that He hated

or a world that He was neutral towards,

but characters that He loved.

A world that He wanted to be part of.

And so from the beginning,

His purpose was to step in to live among us.

What's even more astounding about this drama

is the way in which God is willing

to write Himself into this story.

He thought to Himself,

even if my characters turn on me,

I will go and live with them

and win them back by outloving their hatred.

I will give them the opportunity to be remade.

And so verses 10 and 11 read,

He was in the world,

and the world was made through Him,

yet the world did not know Him.

He came to His own,

and His own people did not receive Him.

God the author knew that He was giving

His human creatures the freedom to reject Him.

He knew that He was giving them the freedom

to hurdle themselves into the abyss.

And so He determined from eternity

that He would go as infinite light

into the darkest possible places

that they could conceive.

Hell and death.

And outrun them,

and outstrip their rebellion,

and banish the darkness with a light.

An infinite light.

And so He allows them,

as the Gospel of John will reveal to us

as we know so well,

to grasp Him and kill Him,

putting Him to death as their substitute.

He goes all the way in to their sin.

And their death.

And by traversing a path

into the depths of our story of death,

He opens a path up to us

to come into His light and life,

to join Him in this victorious,

heroic story.

So we read in verse 12

that even though His own rejected Him,

there is another possibility.

He gave the right to become children of God.

Children of God.

When we hear this news,

this story,

this drama told in this way,

we can't help but wonder,

why is it that everyone does not embrace

this hero

who would love us so much

to write himself into the story

and to outstrip the worst

that we could possibly do?

Why is it that there are some

who continue to insist on being anti-heroes?

Why doesn't everyone believe

and become a child of God?

I mean, there's a number of answers

that might be true of people

that don't believe.

People in this room, perhaps.

People we know, certainly.

Maybe they think this is just

too good to be true.

And that the world is ultimately meaningless

other than the meaning they give to it.

Or maybe they think there's an author

who has just consigned them to misery.

Or maybe they believe in an author

that has created the story

but hasn't actually stepped into it

on their behalf

and has just left them to fend for themselves.

Maybe they're afraid

that coming under this authorship

will mean not freedom,

but bondage.

Maybe we will encounter

all of these inexplicable rejections.

Maybe. Maybe.

But God's authorship doesn't preclude

tragic elements.

But what I know to be true

is that there are a great number of people

all around us

that have not actually even heard the story.

Sure, they know things about Christianity.

They have ideas and preconceptions about Jesus.

But they have not heard the drama

told in this way

as a word becoming flesh

and dwelling among us

and outstripping our rebellion

and offering us life

and light and love.

And so before we consider

all the reasons people might reject,

we must be and speak words

about this word.

We must be little lights

reflecting the light.

We must,

as those who have the word living in us,

make that word flesh

in our daily lives,

in our community.

Our author has written himself

into the script.

The word beyond all words

has been made flesh

and dwelt among us.

He has come into the drama

as the hero.

This is not just something

we have to accept.

We do because it's unavoidable.

But it's actually the best thing

that we could ever hear.

And it's something we can receive

and announce with joy.

And here's what it does.

Here's what it does

and what it changes for us.

The author's participation

in creaturely life,

it opens new possibilities

for the drama of our lives.

The dogma that the word

has become the flesh

means that your mundane,

flesh and blood existence

can have a share

in divine drama.

If you look at the second half

of verse 14,

you see the fact that the word

has become flesh

means that we see his glory.

We can know it and believe it.

But the text doesn't stop here.

It goes on

after the parentheses

in verse 15

to tell us that we not only

see and recognize,

but that we're enabled

to participate

in the being of Christ

and the authorship

that he is engaged in

in our world.

The authorship of

redeeming creation.

Verse 16 says that

from the overflowing abundance

or fullness

of Jesus Christ,

the word become flesh,

we receive grace

in place of grace

or grace upon grace

as the ESV translates it.

What is grace

in place of grace?

What is the grace

that is superseded

and what is the grace

that takes its place?

Look at verse 17.

The first grace

is the law

that was given

through Moses.

The law,

the Old Testament witness

represented by John the Baptist,

the law is grace.

It's a revelation of God.

However,

the law was always

primarily something

directed to creatures.

It was a communication

of grace

directed to them

from without.

Written on stone tablets

in the Ten Commandments.

But then we see

this other grace.

It's not in discontinuity,

but it's the perfection

of grace.

And that is

a grace that is so great

that it can even be called

grace and truth.

The culmination of grace.

And this is what comes

to us in Jesus Christ.

Not just a grace

directed to us

from God,

but the grace of God

Himself coming to dwell

in and with us

and opening up

a new way

of being

in the world.

Let me put it this way.

The communication

of God's Word

to us

in the Incarnation,

it has become

so personalized,

so heightened,

that it opens up

radical new ways

for us to

enact

the drama,

to act as

meaningful participants

in the drama,

both towards God

and towards others.

In Jesus,

the Word of God

has been spoken

so close to home

that we can be

saturated

and filled

by the very

breath of God

in which that Word

is spoken.

We can be

filled

by His breath.

That might sound weird,

but it's a weird thing

that happens in the Gospel

of John

in chapter 20

after Jesus

has completed

His work

and risen from the dead.

He comes to His disciples

and He appears to them

and He shows them

the nail marks

in His hands

and the wound

in His side.

And then He does

this bizarre thing

where He goes up to them

and He breathes on them

and He says,

receive the Holy Spirit.

And they probably said,

don't breathe on me.

No, He says,

be filled with the Spirit.

Be made new.

Receive my life

and my light

and my glory.

Let it overflow to you

and let it overflow

from you

so they can experience it

not only in their lives,

but they can extend it

to other people.

And so Jesus

not only breathes on them

but in breathing on them

He says,

as the Father has sent Me

so I have sent you.

He gives them,

He gives you

the power to extend

His forgiveness

to other people.

It's amazing stuff.

By drawing near the Word

and being filled with His breath

which is another word

for Spirit.

Numa,

Ruach in the Old Testament.

You are freed

not just to be bit actors

in the drama

or tragicomic props

but to be participants

in the work

that He's authoring.

And I know

how this might sound,

this is all so grandiose,

so elevated.

What does it have to do

with my mundane life?

As a housewife

or a bureaucrat

or a non-profit employee

or an economist

or a barista

or a graphic designer,

it has everything

to do with it.

In fact,

it can revolutionize

the way you think

of your daily life.

I mean,

think about this.

Jesus,

even Jesus Himself,

He had a really

ordinary job

as a carpenter.

He wasn't rich.

He had a fairly

small band

of very ordinary followers.

He didn't wield

earthly power

or have a bunch

of money.

He didn't have tenure

at an Ivy League university.

He didn't have

a public platform

in the media.

His life consisted

really of small things.

We think they're grand

because we have them

written down,

but they're small things.

But they were done

in the power

of the Spirit

and for the glory

of God.

As He communed

with the Father,

He was filled afresh

with the joy

and purpose

and a sense of calling

even in the midst

of the mundane.

The mundane tasks,

interactions with

small, insignificant people.

All of these

could be transformed

into expressions

of the eternal drama

that God is speaking.

Now,

I know you and I

aren't the Word

made flesh,

but what Jesus

is offering to us

in the Gospel of John

is an overflowing grace

so that we can be

little words

in our little spheres.

This is what it means

to share in Christ's life.

It isn't primarily

about the size

or quantity

of what we accomplish.

It's an invitation

to a qualitatively

new experience

in the midst

of the mundane,

to experience

our work

and our relationships

as ways

to participate

in His work.

Maybe this isn't

true of you.

Maybe it's just true

of the people

that I hang out with

down on Capitol Hill,

but we all

want to be so grand.

We all think,

if I can just

accomplish this

or get to this point

in my career,

achieve these things.

But what Jesus

is offering us

is the opportunity

to be an expression

of His Word,

to have a dramatic existence

in the mundane,

to participate

with joy,

to be full of life

and light and love

no matter where we are

or what our situation

in life.

I encountered

this morning

on the way here

my Uber driver.

She convicted me

the way she told me

about God's goodness

and the way He had helped her

when she was homeless

and the way she just

wanted to praise Him

and I thought,

she's probably fulfilling

her calling

in better ways

than I am

with more joy

and more meaning

in a lot of ways

than I am right now.

she's participating

in the drama of God

and I'm a pastor.

It made me think

I've got to learn

to be so filled

with the breath of life

and the joy

and life and light

that in the little things

I'm doing

I can experience

this drama.

So that's

our text

for this morning.

In just a few hours

you're going to go out

and you're going to

ring in a new year.

If you're more focused

and organized than me

you might be making

some really serious

New Year's resolutions

attempting in some way

to author your life

in advance

and that's great

in so far as it goes

but let me encourage you

first to seed

the authorship

of your life

of your story

to Jesus Christ

in the attentiveness

of listening to Him

and responding to Him

draw near

and let Him

fill you with His Spirit

and direct you.

He is

He is already

resolved

as your author

to work in you

and through you

in unique ways.

They're probably

different than what

you might author

but they're

far

far better.

in the name

of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Spirit.

Amen.

Let's stand together

and let's make a confession

of this divine drama

in the words

of the Nicene Creed.

Church of God,

what is it that we believe?

We believe in one God,

the Father,

the Almighty,

Maker of heaven

and earth,

all that is

seen and unseen,

and in one Lord,

Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,

eternally begotten

of the Father,

God from God,

light from light,

true God

from true God,

begotten not made,

of one being

with the Father.

Through Him

all things were made.

For us

and for our salvation

He came down

from heaven.

By the power

of the Holy Spirit

He became incarnate

from the Virgin Mary

and was made man.

For our sake

He was crucified

under Pontius Pilate.

He suffered death

and was buried.

On the third day

He rose again

in accordance

with the Scriptures.

He ascended into heaven

and is seated

at the right hand

of the Father.

He will come again

in glory.

For our sake of God,

the Holy Spirit

and approved of the Holy Spirit

in prayer

and both of his

and of His

and Oế Boston

on all things normal.

Thank you.