In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 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 testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-14 NIV)
Have you heard the story of the real St. Nicholas? You know, the real person behind the other person we won’t name today? St. Nicholas lived a long time ago. He died on December 6, 343. Nicholas was a Christian pastor known for his generosity. He once helped a poor father who had three daughters. On three different nights, he secretly tossed bags of gold coins through their window. Not the chimney! That money allowed the daughters to get married. That reputation for generosity followed Nicholas after his death. Over time, people developed the practice of giving secret gifts on the date of his death: December 6th. I think you know the rest of the story.
But St. Nicholas is actually known for something else. Nicholas was one of the Christian bishops who attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. You’ve maybe heard of the “Nicene Creed”? It came from the Council of Nicaea. At that time, there was a huge debate in the Christian Church about this question: Who is Jesus? A bishop named Arius was preaching the Jesus isn’t equal with God the Father. No son is as great as his father, right? A phrase swirled around the city of Nicaea: “There was a time when he was not.” “There was a time when Jesus was not.” All the leaders of the Christian Church gathered to discuss this. Who is Jesus? St. Nicholas was there.
And he made his presence felt. There’s a famous story—maybe a legend, we don’t know for sure if it’s true—about one thing that happened at the Council of Nicaea. The debate about Jesus got so heated, that at one moment St. Nicholas went up to Arius and slapped him in the face. He was that offended by Arius saying that Jesus isn’t equal with God. Now, I’m not encouraging that. Please don’t walk away saying, “Pastor told us to slap people!” No, I did not. Don’t slap people! But that showed something: Jesus is very important! St. Nick—the man known for generosity—is also known for caring so deeply about the truth of Jesus that he slapped heretics in the face.
Was he right? Was St. Nicholas right about Jesus? Where should we look? The Bible! John, in his Christmas account, doesn’t tell us about the manger and the shepherds. Instead, with some of the simplest and yet most profound words in the Bible, he explains who Jesus our Savior is. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” As John describes Jesus, he uses an interesting name for him—the “Word.” That’s the perfect name for Jesus. Jesus is the “Word” who makes God known to us.
But who is Jesus? John is very, very clear. “The Word was God.” Is Jesus true God? Yes! Jesus, the Baby born of Mary, the Man who lived for thirty-three years and died on the cross and rose again… Jesus is true God. “The Word was God.” But notice what else John says, “The Word was with God.” So is Jesus “God”, or is Jesus “with God”? Yes. Both! How does that make sense? This is the Trinity. There is one God and three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus is God, and Jesus is with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Arius was wrong. St. Nick was right. Jesus isn’t less than the Father. He is equal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
Since when? “He was with God in the beginning. Though him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” How long has Jesus been around? Since the beginning. Remember what Arius was teaching: “There was a time when he was not.” Was he right? No. Christmas was not the start of Jesus. Creation was not the start of Jesus. As God, he has no beginning. God the Father is not older than God the Son. “He was with God in the beginning.” Remember how I said that John has some of the simplest and yet most profound words in the Bible? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
But Jesus isn’t just God. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” God took on flesh and became a Man. Jesus has been true God from eternity, but on Christmas he became true Man. The eternal God wrapped himself up and somehow fit into a little seven or eight pound baby. The Word of God through whom the universe was created was suddenly unable to speak anything but an infant’s cry. “The Word became flesh.” This is just what God had promised in the Garden of Eden: The offspring of Eve would crush the devil’s head (Genesis 3:15). This is just what Isaiah had prophesied: “Immanuel—God with us” (Isaiah 7:14). God became a Man.
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” The Greek of John is so simple that this was the first section of the Bible that I got to study in Greek when I was learning Greek in college. It was great to finally get to study the Bible! We got to this phrase, “made his dwelling among us.” There the verb means: “He tented. He set up his tent.” Isn’t that a cool picture? Jesus “set up his tent among us.” It was like he was saying, “Y’all live here? Alright. Me too!”
Do you see how special this is? Martin Luther said, “Christian teaching is that in Christ God became flesh. Compared with that, no particular miracle matters much.” We teach our kids not to look at the sun. It’s way too bright, right? Just like we could never look at God in all his glory. So what did God do? He lets us see his glory in Jesus. Every time a human being stands in God’s presence in the Bible, the person is terrified. We could never stand in God’s presence with all our sins. So what did God do? He took on our flesh and lived among us. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only Son.”
But Jesus didn’t just become a Man so we could see God. “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Jesus came to bring light and life—two things we desperately need! There is so much darkness. The Bible’s word for it is sin. It shows itself in so many ways. Guilt and regret and pain inside. Hatred and bitterness and cruelty outside. Sickness and violence and depression. So much darkness of sin in us and around us. But remember what Jesus said? “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Light and life. It was just announced that life expectancy in the United States dropped again this year. Now you can only expect to live 76.4 years. That’s the lowest since 1996. We’re moving backwards! In Canada, you’d live to be 81 years! But whether you live to 76 or 81, do you know what’s going to happen? Death. But remember what Jesus said? “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25-26). “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”
That all sounds great, doesn’t it? Until the surprise: “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.” “The world did not recognize him.” Still to this day! Through Jesus “all things were made.” But the world says, “No. You come from fish.” Jesus came from the Father “full of grace and truth.” But the world says, “No. What’s true for you isn’t true for me.” Jesus is the “One and Only.” But the world says, “All gods are the same. It doesn’t matter!” “The world did not recognize him.” Isn’t that the truth?
But that’s not the saddest part. It’s not just the world “out there” that opposes God. “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” It’s us! There is darkness inside each of us, and we know it. There is a part of you and me that opposes everything God says—his Word. The light is shining, yet we close our eyes and choose to live in the darkness of sin. Jesus says, “I’m going to become a Man to save you and give you forgiveness and light and life.” And we say, “Nah. No thanks. “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”
This is why Jesus has to be true God and true Man. To save us! Jesus had to be true Man to live in our place. To face every temptation we face. To face every struggle we face. But he had to be true God to do it perfectly. To never sin once. To never doubt once. To never fall once. To do what we don’t do. Jesus saved us by living in our place. We have a Savior who perfectly did everything we’ve failed to do. Can you see why he needed to be true God and true Man?
There’s another reason God needed to become a Man: To die for us. Our sins deserve to be punished. Jesus became true Man so that he could die for our sins. But Jesus needed to be true God so that his death would pay for the sins of the world. You could crucify me today. I hope you don’t, at least not on Christmas! But if you crucified me, how many people would my death save? Zero. I would die for me. But how much is God’s life worth? Everything. “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
So here is God’s promise: “To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” When you believe in Jesus, what happens? You become the children of God! What could possibly be better than that? As the only Son of God, Jesus isn’t jealous. He wants everyone to be God’s children. That’s what he offers to you and to me through faith: The right to become children of God. “To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” How special is that?
Do you think that’s something worth standing up for? We live in a society that says, “It doesn’t matter. It’s all the same. Don’t argue about little Bible things. To each his own.” I’m afraid the Council of Nicaea wouldn’t ever happen today. People say whatever they want about Jesus, and who cares? St. Nicholas cared. He cared enough to say: “Don’t mess with my Jesus. Don’t insult my Jesus. True God. True Man. My Savior.” This is what leads you to be generous, to give things away, to not live for yourself: Jesus gave up everything for me! This is also what leads you to be strong in the faith. To defend the truth. Jesus gave up everything for me!
Just about every Sunday that we have the Lord’s Supper, we say the words of the Nicene Creed here at church. They are not just filler in the service. They are light and life. They are the truths of our salvation. “We believe 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, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and became fully human.” Like St. Nicholas, we believe that Jesus is true God and true Man. Our perfect Savior.
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