“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (Read John 1:1-14)

Who is the Child born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem and laid in a manger?

We find God’s answer to that in John 1:1-4,14: “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 created through Him, and without Him nothing was created that was created. In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind … The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

That Babe born in Bethlehem was none other than God Himself, the eternal Word, made flesh that He might dwell among us and redeem us from sin and eternal death and damnation.

The Apostle John also writes of Him: “We saw His glory, the glory as the only Son of the Father …” John and the other disciples witnessed Jesus’ divine glory in His mighty miracles, in His glorious transfiguration, and in His resurrection and ascension. Jesus is the eternal Son of God, come into this world a true man.

Indeed, God did the most amazing thing! With us being totally dead in our sins and unable to please God or come to Him, He sent His only-begotten Son (the eternal Word, true God with the Father and Holy Spirit, the Creator of all things visible and invisible) into His own creation as a man to redeem fallen mankind and give us life! God’s Son became flesh — a true man with flesh and bones and blood, like you and me — when He was conceived and born of the Virgin Mary through the miraculous working of God’s Spirit.

The Bible tells us in Galatians 4:4-5: “But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born from a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

In fulfillment of God’s promises of old, God the Son took on human flesh and blood and became true man so that He might take our place under God’s law and fulfill it for us and then redeem us from the curse and condemnation of God’s law by suffering our just punishment by means of His death on the cross.

The Bible tells us: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by being made a curse for us — as it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Gal. 3:13).

And why did He do it? “That we might receive the adoption as sons” through faith in His name (Gal. 4:5), that we might look to Him and His atoning sacrifice in faith and be received as God’s children.

Again, St. Paul writes in Galatians 3:26-27: “You are all sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”

As our text says, Jesus is “full of grace and truth.” In Jesus, we see the fullness of God’s grace toward us sinners. In Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross, God’s undeserved love reached down and provided a way of salvation for lost mankind; and, in Jesus, God still reaches down to us lost and condemned sinners, offering forgiveness of sins and life everlasting through faith in Christ and His cross.

In this sin-darkened world, God’s truth is revealed to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the truth — only in Him is there forgiveness and life everlasting! He is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Only in Him can we obtain forgiveness of sins and life everlasting (cf. John 14:6; Acts 4:12)!

God grant that we look to Him in faith!

O eternal God, our heavenly Father, we thank you for the gracious gift of Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be our Savior and the only true way to life everlasting. Graciously grant to us true faith in Your Son and our Savior. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.]

“He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. Yet to all who received Him, He gave the power to become sons of God, to those who believed in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:10-13

It is an amazing thing that God the Son, the Creator of the world, was in the world, and yet the world did not recognize Him! Jesus Christ, God Himself in human flesh, came into this world, and the people of this world did not know Him or acknowledge Him to be who He truly is.

Of course, nothing is different today. People still do not know or recognize Jesus for who He is. He made us and redeemed us, and yet we, by nature, do not acknowledge Him as our Creator or our Redeemer.

Jesus, the promised Messiah and Savior, came to His own people — to those who had the promises of God’s Word and looked for His coming — but they did not receive Him. And today as well, He comes through His Word to those who have known and heard the promises, but still, people are unwilling to receive Him.

But to those who do receive Him — to those who trust that in Him and for the sake of His blood shed on the cross for the sins of all mankind, God is gracious toward us and forgives sins — God has given the right and privilege to be His children.

As the Scripture says, “You are all sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26-27).

However, our receiving of Jesus as the Messiah and Savior is not the result of our natural birth or bloodline. It is not because we were born to Christian parents or were raised in a church. It’s not even the result of our own will or decision. Rather, it is the gracious working of God the Holy Spirit in our lives. Through His Word, God reveals Himself to us and reveals to us Jesus as God the Son and our Savior, leading us to trust in Him for forgiveness and life.

It is as God’s Word says: “Yet to all who received Him, He gave the power to become sons of God, to those who believed in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

We give You thanks, O Lord Jesus Christ, for graciously revealing to us that You are both our Creator and our Redeemer. We thank You for going to the cross and paying in full for our sins and the sins of the world so that we might have forgiveness of sins and everlasting life through faith in Your name. Thank You for moving us to trust in Your name and for giving us the right and privilege to be called children of God. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.]

Marriage is to be honored among everyone, and the bed undefiled. But God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. Let your lives be without love of money, and be content with the things you have. For He has said: “I will never leave you, nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:4-6

In Deuteronomy 5:21, Moses reminds Israel of God’s command against coveting (Ex. 20:17), restating the commandment in these words: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor shall you covet your neighbor’s house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

And what God is teaching us in this commandment is to trust Him in all things and to be content in Him and in all His blessings. We are not to covet or desire what God has not given us but to trust in Him and rejoice in His blessings.

Therefore, we are to honor the covenant of marriage and keep it holy and undefiled, which means we should not covet our neighbor’s wife (or spouse), and we are not to commit adultery or engage in any kind of sexual immorality. We are not to be adulterers or sexually immoral (pornos) persons. Rather, we are to abide by God’s institution of marriage in Genesis 2:18-25 — a lifetime union of one man and one woman unto one flesh.

And, if you think about it, when we desire our neighbor’s spouse or seek to gratify our fleshly desires outside of God’s institution of marriage, what we are really doing is questioning and rejecting the truthfulness of God’s Word, which forbids both committing adultery and coveting (Deut. 5:18,21). We are yielding to the lies and deceptions of the devil and not being content with the blessings God offers and gives to us through the institution of marriage.

The writer to the Hebrews adds the warning, “God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers” (13:4).

As the commandment against coveting teaches us, we are not to desire money or the goods of this world which God has not given us, but we should live in faith, trusting that our God will meet all our needs and is working for our good.

And so, the writer to the Hebrews exhorts us: “Let your lives be without love of money, and be content with the things you have” (13:5).

This, of course, is completely contrary to the thinking of the world and our own selfish and sinful nature which is never satisfied and always seems to desire more — something better, the latest and the greatest.

Yet, the Bible cautions us against the love of this world when it says: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not of the Father, but is of the world. The world and its desires are passing away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17).

The Bible urges us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding” (Prov. 3:5).

The writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us of God’s promises (13:5,6): “‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” Cf. Deut. 31:6,8; Josh. 1:5; Ps. 118:6-7.

Therefore, as we live by faith in the promise of God’s Word to grant us forgiveness, access to God the Father, and the eternal joys of heaven through faith in Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice for us on the cross, so we are also urged to live our lives here in this world in faith that God’s Word is true and right, that His commandments are for our good, that He will provide us with all our needs and will never leave or forsake us. We are urged to be content with what God provides us and to trust Him in all things, confident that He will lead us safely through this life to Himself in heaven!

Grant to us contentment in Your blessings, O Lord, and take from us our faithless longings for those things you have not given to us and which are not ours to have. Deliver us from the sinful lusts and desires of our own flesh and keep us from breaking Your good and holy commandments by desiring our neighbor’s spouse, loving money, or being discontent with the blessings You have given to us. Grant us faith in Christ Jesus for pardon, forgiveness and life eternal, and move us to walk by faith in Your Word. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.]

“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came as a witness in order to testify concerning the Light, that all men through Him might believe. He was not this Light, but was sent in order to testify concerning the Light. The true Light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” John 1:6-9

John the Baptist was sent by God to bear witness to Jesus Christ, God’s Son and the Light of the world. John was “the voice of him who cries out, ‘Prepare the way of the LORD in the wilderness, make straight in the desert a highway for our God’” (Isaiah 40:3).

He did not seek to gain a following for himself but called upon all people to repent of their sins and trust in the Messiah and Savior who was about to appear. And John testified of Jesus that He is God the Son and the only Hope for fallen sinners. He said of Jesus, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29; cf. 1:34,36).

As believers, we too bear witness to Jesus, the Light of the world, that all might repent of their sinful ways and place their trust in Him for forgiveness and life everlasting (Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:46-47)! We do not proclaim ourselves to be the light but Jesus, for He only is the Light and Life of men.

We of ourselves cannot forgive sins or give life everlasting, but Jesus paid in full for the sins of all when He suffered and died on the cross and rose again, and Jesus offers to all forgiveness of sins and the everlasting joys of heaven through faith in His name.

Jesus is the true Light that shines upon the people of this world. By means of His Word, He reveals the sins and shortcomings of each of us, and He offers to us forgiveness and life through faith in His name.

As believers, we reflect that Light and point others to Jesus so that they, too, might know Him and trust in Him for life and salvation.

Dear Jesus, grant that we would not proclaim ourselves to be the light and seek to gain a following for ourselves. But, rather, grant that we would proclaim You to be the Light and Life of the world, the only Savior for fallen mankind! Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.]

“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 created through Him, and without Him nothing was created that was created. In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. The light shines in darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5

Who was already there in the very beginning when God created the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1:1)? Who was with God the Father in the beginning? and with God the Spirit as He moved upon the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2)?

Who created all things that were made? Who formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, giving man life, both physical and spiritual — making Adam a living creature who loved God, trusted in Him and served Him whole-heartedly (Gen. 2:7)?

It is the Word — God’s Son, Jesus Christ! In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, God the Son was already there! He was with God, and He was and always has been God!

Christ Jesus, before taking on human flesh, created man and all things! Without Him, nothing was created that has been created!

It is as the author of the book of Hebrews wrote: “God, who at various times and in diverse ways spoke long ago to the fathers through the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, and through whom He made the world. He is the brightness of His glory, the express image of Himself, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:1-3).

And St. Paul wrote to the Colossians of the Son: “He is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of every creature. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they are thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Col. 1:15-17).

Man’s life originated in God the Son, and this life was man’s light. But now this Light of life shines in our sin-darkened world, and man does not understand or take hold of Him in faith. How tragic!

How blinded we are by our sin not to recognize our own God and Creator come into this world a true man to redeem us and give us back the life in Him we lost by our sin and disobedience!

God would have us repent of our sinful ways and look in faith to God the Son, who created us and gave us life, and who redeemed us by giving His life in our stead to make atonement for our sins.

Dear Lord Jesus, our God and Lord, open our eyes that we may see You and the life You have won for all by Your holy life and Your innocent sufferings and death for us on the cross; and breathe into us Your Spirit that we may be made alive, enlightened, and take hold of You by faith. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.]