We are in the middle of another busy Christmas season. So today, I would like for us to take a pause and reflect on why we celebrate Christmas. Our culture celebrates with stories of Santa Claus and his elves and reindeer, A Christmas Carol, and How The Grinch Stole Christmas to name a few. In the Christian church we celebrate with Advent season, meaning “coming,” as we focus on Jesus Christ’s coming into the world. We celebrate His birth as recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Although we do not know the exact date on which Jesus was born, we do know that an angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds near Bethlehem about 2 millennia ago, and proclaimed, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luk 2:9,11) So there was a time and place in real history where Jesus was born as a human baby and it is appropriate for us to celebrate this monumental event in history.

In our small group Bible study this fall, we have been studying the gospel of John. In contrast to the more historical narrative approach of the synoptic gospels, John’s gospel takes more of a theological approach to convince his readers that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him we might have eternal life in His name. (Jhn 20:31) So today we are going to look at John’s prologue to his gospel in John chapter 1 verses 1-18 and take a theological look at why we celebrate Christmas. As John puts it, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (v14) As we look at this passage we will see the truth in Christmas - that Christ comes; and that He is the Creator, who communicates with us, and offers us the opportunity to be children of God.

1 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. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 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. 15 (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.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. (ESV)

This section is known as the prologue to John’s gospel, and it is a densely packed summary of his entire gospel revealing Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God who came to bring eternal life for His people (Jhn 20:31). In v1, John starts off talking about the Word and tells us the Word was God. He tells us further in v14 that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We know that the Word is Jesus from the context, and He is revealed explicitly as Jesus Christ in v17.

We call God taking on flesh “the incarnation,” which comes from the Latin carn (caro in v14) meaning “flesh.” This is a mysterious and glorious doctrine that we celebrate this time of year when we remember that the eternal Son of God became a man, born as a baby. Php 2:6-8 says, “…though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (ESV)

This is the pinnacle of history. It is a demonstration of the great love that God has for his people and separates our one true God from all the false gods of every other religious system. He is not some aloof, distant, or arbitrary god. He is the great, holy, transcendent God who is also personal and relational, who came to us as the God-man. What an amazing thing to celebrate! So, with that introduction, let’s take a deeper dive into the text and learn more about this Jesus, whose birth we celebrate this season.

John starts by revealing the deity of Jesus in v1-5. He starts with, “In the beginning.” This speaks to the eternality of the Word. The Word, Jesus, was present before time, space, and matter came to be. John goes on to declare outright that the Word is God. He also proclaims that the Word was with God, showing relationship within the Godhead. To emphasize this, John repeats in v 2, “He was in the beginning with God.” Jesus is the monogenes (mon-og-en-ace), the one and only, unique Son of God; who was at the Father’s side and was sent to us full of glory, grace, and truth; and He was sent to make Himself known to us (v14,18).

Another aspect pointing to Jesus’ deity is that He is the Creator. In v3, John states positively - in the beginning, through Jesus, “all things were made;” and negatively - “without Him was not any thing made that was made.” John makes obvious parallels to Genesis 1 using the phrase “In the beginning” and concepts of life and light. Whereas Moses used these phrases and concepts in Genesis 1 & 2 to speak of the physical creation, John uses them to point to the spiritual new creation that Jesus brings to His people. The themes of light and life loom large in John’s gospel. V4 says, “In him was life and the life was the light of men.” In Gen 2:7 we see God breathing life into the man created from dust. John’s gospel is replete with references to Jesus being the one who brings eternal life (e.g. Jhn 3:16, 36; 5:24; 6:40; 10:28;17:3) and Jesus explicitly proclaims, “I am the resurrection and the life” (Jhn 11:25) and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jhn 14:6). In Gen 1:2-5, God spoke and there was light which He separated from the darkness. In Jhn 1:5, Jesus, the Word, is the one who brings spiritual light into the world that cannot be overcome by the spiritual darkness that exists in the world. This is why Jesus later in John’s gospel declares, “I am the light of the world” (Jhn 8:12, 9:5).

So, we see that Jesus, the eternal Word of God, the one and only unique Son of God, the Creator of all that is, the one who gives light and life to men, He is the one who comes to us and that is why we celebrate His birth this season.

In this passage we see that Jesus comes and communicates with us in three ways.

One way, he comes and communicates with us is through the light of creation, v9-10 says “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10  He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.” Psa 19:1-4a says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. 2  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. 3  There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. 4a Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.” (ESV)

But as v10 says, “yet the world did not know him.” Paul explains further in Rom 1:18-25, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22  Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25  because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (ESV)

We on the other hand do not have to suppress the truth in unrighteousness. When we gaze at a brilliant full moon or the multitude of stars in the night sky, or an amazing sunset over the prairie, or a rainbow after a shower; praise God for his eternal power and divine nature (Rom 1:18, 20). And praise Him that he did not only give us this general revelation of His coming and communication. Thank him for His special revelation to us through His word and His Spirit.

A second way, Jesus came and communicates with us is through His Word. John calls Jesus the Word four times in this passage. This would have had deep meaning to the Jews hearing John’s message. They were familiar with the concept of God speaking in creation, “And God said” is used multiple times in Gen 1 (3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26,28,29) and in Psa 33:6  we read, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.” Additionally, through the patriarchs (e.g. Abram) and prophets (e.g. Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel) they would have been familiar with the phrase “And the word of the Lord came to.”

V17 says, “For the law was given through Moses;” which was gracious in revealing sin and the need for atoning sacrifice. Old Testament saints received this grace and looked forward to the Messiah to come. But v17 goes on to say, “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” We now look back to the Messiah who has come. That’s why we celebrate Christmas! Jesus’ glory and the gospel far exceed the glory of Moses and the Law. As 2Co 3:10 says,  “Indeed, ..., what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it.” We also have Jesus’ actual words recorded in the New Testament written down by the apostles under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2Pe1:21). Peter said in Jhn 6:68  …“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69  and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” And the author of Hebrews tells us, “Heb 1:1  Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3  He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (ESV)

What a privilege to have God’s words given to us! God’s word transforms our minds so that we can test and discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom 12:2). I encourage you to develop the discipline of regularly spending time in God’s word. Commit to hide His word in your heart so you might not sin against Him (Psa 119:11).

Here is another thought. 1Co 10:11 says God’s words “were written down for our instruction,” so consider using a Bible with paper and print in your homes and in our worship service. I want to make clear, there is nothing wrong with using a digital Bible on a phone. But young children, when they see us looking at our phones, may not be able to discern what we are doing on them and they may just think we are posting on social media, playing a game, watching YouTube videos, or “doom scrolling.”

Back to v 5, Jesus revealed Himself through the light of creation and light of his Word, and we are told the darkness cannot overcome it. This gives us great hope. When we once again give into the desires of the flesh and we feel down in the darkness of our sin; we can and should look to the light of His word to remember His promises - that we are forgiven and that we have hope of spiritual transformation. We must remind ourselves of this repeatedly, that we are not trapped in darkness. “…he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Php 1:6) We can also remember that even the darkest moments in life can be transformed into bright spots. This is best demonstrated by the darkness of the crucifixion and death of Jesus, that was overcome by the brilliant shining light of His resurrection. Paul wrote in Rom 5:20, “Where sin [increases], grace [abounds] all the more,” and God can use what man intends for evil for His and our good (Gen 50:20). So look to the light of His Word to guide your path (Psa 119:105).

So, we see Jesus comes and communicates to us not only through the light of His creation and light of His word, but thirdly, through His incarnation, the Word became flesh. This is how God, who has never been seen, made Himself known to us (v18). John records God’s great act of love to us in chapter 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” The disciples and John the Baptist (v6-8, 15) bore witness to Jesus as a man. John wrote in his first epistle: 1Jn 1:1-4  “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—2  the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—3  that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.4  And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” (ESV)

These witnesses also testified that Jesus was the Christ and they “[saw] his glory, glory as the only Son from the Father.” The disciples saw his glory manifested through his signs he performed - such as turning wine into water at the wedding in Cana (Jhn 2:11), and Peter, James, and John saw his glory on the mount of transfiguration where God said, “…This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (Mat 17:5 c/w Mrk 9:7, Luk 9:35).

After His resurrection, they saw His glorified body. Jesus said to Thomas “…Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Although we have not seen, heard, or touched Jesus as the disciples did, we are blessed and believe what Paul wrote in 2Co 3:18  “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” And John wrote in 1Jn 3:2  “Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” In John’s vision of Jesus coming as King of kings and Lord of lords in Rev 19 he states, “the name by which he is called is The Word of God.” (Rev 19:13). He will come and conquer by the word of his power and “From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.” (Rev 19:15) Won’t that be exciting to see Jesus when he comes again in His glory?

So, we are grateful to - and we celebrate - Jesus this Christmas for revealing Himself as Creator through what He has made and by His coming and communicating with us in the flesh and by His word. Now the fact that He is God the Creator who came to communicate with us, a response is required. We see in this passage two groups: there are those whose response is to “not receive him” (v11) and those whose response is to “receive him” (v12).

We’ve already seen in v9-10 that through creation Jesus has given light to everyone, but the world did not know Him. V11 says, “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” This is speaking of the Jewish people in general, but especially to the Jewish religious establishment that was relying on works righteousness. We see in Jhn 3:18 that “whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:36 says, “whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” And Eph 2:1-3  tells us that apart from Christ, “… you were dead in the trespasses and sins2  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—3  among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” So, those who do not acknowledge Jesus as the Creator God and who do not believe in His coming and do not receive his communication , they are children of wrath.

V12 tells us “But to all who [do] receive him, who [believe] in his name, he [gives] the right to become children of God.” What a gracious gift! John goes on to explain negatively, children of God are “not born of blood,” that is, not because of physical bloodline relation. The Pharisees called themselves “offspring of Abraham” (Jhn 8:33), but Jesus condemned them as having the “devil [as their] Father” (Jhn 8:44). In the same way we are not saved by the faith of our ancestors, nor are our descendants saved by our faith. Secondly, Children of God are not born of the will of the flesh. We have no capability, no “free will” to choose God, Rom 3:10 says, “as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; 11  no one understands; no one seeks for God.’” And thirdly, Children of God are “not born of the will of man.” No one else can save us except Jesus. Act 4:12 says, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Finally, John positively proclaims children of God are born of God. This is what Jesus was teaching Nicodemus in John chapter 3 when He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again [or ‘from above’] he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (v3) Gal 4:4  says it this way, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5  to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6  And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”7  So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” (ESV)

So, what should be our response this Christmas?

If you are a child of God, give thanks, be encouraged, and I encourage you to memorize Rom 8:15-17 “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ 16  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” (ESV)

Maybe there are some here today who have not received Christ, and you are not a child of God, but a child of wrath. Let me urge you to heed Paul’s words in Rom 10:3 “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” and to consider 2Co 6:2  “… ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Why not cry out to Jesus today and submit to him as the Savior who was born. Why not receive the gift that keeps giving? If you would like to take this step of faith or if you have questions, ask your parents, a believing friend, or one of the elders for more information.

And so, this Christmas season we give praise to God the Creator for coming to us through Jesus, God incarnate; for communicating to us through the eternal Word and His gospel; and for giving us the privilege to be His children.

Here are some application points to consider this Christmas and for the new year:

Take opportunities to get away and go “off the grid.” Get out into nature and use the time to pray and to marvel at and enjoy God’s creation.



Consider the privilege we have of God revealing Himself to us through His word. Jesus, by his blood, ransomed people from every tribe and language and people and nation (Rev 5:9). There are many people groups who do not have God’s word in their language. That is why we pray for unreached people groups in our corporate prayers. Pray for and support Bible translation work or even consider being one sent to these unreached people groups. Consider supporting the HIS ministry at KSU and becoming a friend to an international student.



Consider the privilege of having a God who became like us. Heb 2:17  says, “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18  For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” I encourage you to memorize Heb 4:15-16. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (ESV)



Remember “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” And “…[nothing] in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:1,39)

Ask God to give you a heart for the lost. Ask Him how you can be like the apostle John or John the Baptist and bear witness about the light of Christ. Read a book, attend a seminar, or watch YouTube videos on evangelism. Pair up with those in our congregation who are particularly gifted in evangelism. Memorize 2Co 5:20  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” And pray as Paul did, “… that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, … that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Eph 6:19-20)

Ask God to show you how to apply these great truths that Jesus is the Creator who came and will come again, who communicates with us through His Word and Spirit, and who adopts us as His children and makes us co-heirs with Him (Rom 8:17).

So, in conclusion, this Advent season:

- Celebrate Jesus as Creator, who came and communicates with us

- Respond to His invitation to become children of God

- Praise God for His love and grace displayed in Christmas – The Word became flesh and dwelt among us!