JOHN 1:14 JESUS CAME AS GOD IN A HUMAN BODY

John 1:14 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.

 If you want to read a book of the Bible that will tell you about who Jesus really is and why He came, read this Book.  John 20:30-31 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (NKJV)  John wrote this book with no birth narrative, no manger scene, no geneology, but he went straight to the point in John 1:1-2 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. He wants to let us know the Jesus is God in human flesh.  He is not a God as some of the cults say, but He is THE ONE AND ONLY GOD.  John uses seven Key miracles, seven key people and the seven I AM statements of Jesus to make the point that Jesus is who He said He was and still is today.

 The Incarnation of Christ….Incarnation means in the flesh

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

 Matthew 1:17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ. 18 ¶ This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19  Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  20  But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  21  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23  "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." 24  When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25  But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

 Verse 14 – The Word became Flesh- This emphasizes that the eternal and uncreated Christ took on human form.  The Infinite became Finite.  The Eternal was conformed to time.  The Invisible became Visible.  The Supernatural One became Natural.  He was still all God and all man.

The benefits of this are:

• He revealed the Father to us
• He is our example
• He is our sympathetic High Priest
• Died to save sinners

Dwelt – means to pitch a tabernacle (some temporary structure or shelter) Or live in a tent

Exodus 33:11 – Tabernacle of witness- where God spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.  In the New Testament- God chose to dwell among his people in a far more personal way by becoming a man.

We Beheld His Glory – Although his deity was veiled, we still see glimpses of his Divine Majesty, Matthew 17:1-8 – Mount of Transfiguration – They also saw Christ’s glory in a spiritual way (grace, goodness, mercy, wisdom, truth) Exodus 33:18 Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory." 19 And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." 21 Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."

 Only begotten- has the idea of “the Only Beloved One” it emphasizes the character of the relationships between God and Jesus- giving Jesus a unique prominence (being first).

 Full of grace and truth- Exodus 33:18 Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory." 19 And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." 21 Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."

 Exodus 34:5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD.  6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation."

LORD-Yahweh-The Self Existent One

Jesus as Yahweh of the OT displayed the same attributes as when he tabernacled among men in the NT