0781. Christ Made Flesh

Christ Made Flesh

"And the Word was made 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.

John bare witness of Him, and cried, saying, This was He of Whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me; for He was before me.

And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

For the Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (Joh_1:14-18).

Let us gather out some of the gracious thoughts from these verses. Since Christ is spoken of as the Word, we use the Word as Christ.

1. Christ became flesh. It seems too wonderful to be true! "God was manifest in the flesh" (1Ti_3:16); "God sent forth His Son, made of a woman" (Gal_4:4). Think of it! In a body which God prepared, the God-man was incarnate.

2. Christ dwelt among us. How marvelous to see God the Son moving around among men! Behold God the Son entering into the home of Martha and Mary; behold Him sitting down at meat with the publicans and sinners, discoursing to them the parables, now famous among us all. Behold God in Christ at Bethesda’s pool, moving ‘mid the sick and impotent; see Him sitting on the mount with His disciples gathered round Him; or, see Him preaching to the multitudes on the plain. He went up and down the hills of Galilee. He passed through Samaria. He entered the boat and went across the sea. He dwelt among us.

3. Christ was full of grace and truth. The Psalmist saw Him and he wrote, "Grace is poured into Thy lips" (Psa_45:2). The people of Nazareth heard Him, and they "wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth" (Luk_4:26). Jesus Christ was full of compassion and of tender pity. He was grace, but He was also truth.

4. Christ was the glory of the Father. "The glory as of the only begotten of the Father." It was this "glory of the Father" that manifested and magnified the Lord. It is this Gospel of Christ, the glory of the Father, that men deny. Men will own Him Son of Man, but they deny Him the glory of God the Son.

It is the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ that God hath shined into our hearts, and this treasure we have "in earthen vessels" (see 2Co_4:6-7).

5 Christ was the only begotten of the Father. Christ was not one Son, among many begotten. He was His only begotten Son. He alone was God on earth. Alexander desired to be worshiped "as God," the Pope desires to be worshiped "ut deus," as God; but Christ alone is worthy, because He alone was God begotten.

6. Christ manifested God. He told Him out. He interpreted Him. Philip said, "Show us the Father." Blind Philip. "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him" (Joh_14:9 and Joh_14:7).

Blessed fact! Jesus Christ told forth God. He was the brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of His person (see Heb_1:3). He manifested, in His every word and deed the word and deed of God. He and the Father were ONE. What the Father did, that also did the Son; what the Father said, that also said the Son. He did always the things that His Father did. He never lived one act apart from perfect oneness with His Father. The Father on high and the Son an earth thought the same, wrought the same–therefore Christ manifested the Father unto men.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR