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John 1:1-5,14,29

INTRODUCTION: Our message series for Advent this year is called The People of Christmas. On Sunday mornings we have been looking at the people who figure so prominently in the Christmas story: Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the wisemen. But tonight is Christmas Eve, and so tonight we want to focus on the most important person of all when it comes to Christmas, our Lord Jesus Christ. You can’t spell Christmas without Christ. Jesus is the reason for the season, and he is the reason we have gathered here for worship tonight.

So, who is Jesus? There are so many things we could say about him; he is master, teacher, prophet, friend. But tonight, we will focus on three things about Jesus in particular that all have to do with Christmas. Jesus is the Son of God and the son of man who was born to be our Savior. Our Scriptures for tonight all come from John 1. (Read John 1:1-5,14,29 and pray.)

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We are looking at the person of Jesus tonight. Theologians often separate the Bible’s teachings about Jesus into the person and the work of Christ. The person of Christ refers to who Jesus is. The work of Christ refers to what Jesus has done.

And yet in many ways these two categories also overlap. Jesus came to do what he did because of who he is. In other words, his works are based on his person. And only the person of Jesus could ever accomplish all that he did for us. In other words, his person is essential for his works.

So, who is Jesus? According to John 1, he is the Son of God and the son of man who was born to be our Savior. Let’s look at all three of these aspects of Jesus’ person together.

1. The Son of God (John 1:1-5)

First of all, Jesus is the Son of God. We need to start here because that where everything else begins. The opening verses of John 1 tell us four things about Jesus as the Son of God.

  – He is eternal (1)

First, he is eternal. It’s interesting, there are four different Gospels in the New Testament, and when you read the Gospels you notice that they begin their stories at different times in Jesus’ life. The Gospel of Mark begins with Jesus’ public ministry as an adult. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke begin with the events surrounding Jesus’ birth.

But the Gospel of John takes us back to the beginning, long before Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, long before the events of the Old Testament, long before the creation of the world. The Gospel of John takes us back into eternity, back before anything was created, back when there was nothing but God.

John 1:1 tells us: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) The Word is a special term John uses for Jesus here, so for our purposes, we could paraphrase this verse as saying: “In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God.”

God is an eternal being. He has no beginning or end. As far back as you go, you will always find God. As far as you go into the future, there will always be God. And John 1:1 tells us – wherever you find God, you also find Jesus. There was never a time when Jesus was not. There will never be a time when Jesus is not. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1) Jesus is eternal.

  – He is personal (2)

And then secondly, as the Son of God, Jesus is also personal. John 1:2 says: “He was with God in the beginning.” (John 1:2) People sometimes ask if God was lonely before he created the world. The answer is no, because although God is one God, he is also three persons. God – in the three persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – enjoyed perfect relationship with himself throughout all of eternity.

God is not an impersonal force or just some power behind the universe. He is the infinite, personal God who has always existed as three persons – co-equal, co-eternal, one in power, majesty and glory. As the Son of God, Jesus was with God in the beginning. Jesus is personal.

  – He is the creator (3)
    – Genesis 1:1

Thirdly, as the Son of God Jesus is the creator. Of course, we already know that God is the creator. Genesis 1:1, the very first verse in the Bible says: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) But now we read about Jesus in John 1:3: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:3)

All things were created through Jesus. By the way, this also means that Jesus is uncreated. If Jesus created all things, that means no one created Jesus, because then Jesus would have had to create himself!

  – He is the giver of life (4-5)
    – John 5:26

As the Son of God Jesus is eternal, Jesus is personal, Jesus is the creator, and then, fourthly, Jesus is the giver of life. Look at John 1:4-5 now. John writes: “In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (John 1:4-5)

All life comes from Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) As the Son of God, he is the source of all life; there is no life outside of him; all life depends on him. Unlike us, Jesus is dependent on no one for life. We read in John 5:26: “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.” (John 5:26)

What do these opening verses from the Gospel of John teach us about Jesus? As the Son of God Jesus is eternal, he is personal, he is the creator, and he is the giver of life.

You might wonder why we have taken so much time to understand Jesus as the Son of God on Christmas Eve. Why don’t we just get to the Christmas story? Because this is the Christmas story! Until you understand who Jesus is, there is no Christmas story.

Who is Jesus? First of all, Jesus is the Son of God.

2. The son of man (John 1:14)
   – Daniel 7:13-14

And then secondly, Jesus is the son of man. After introducing Jesus as the Son of God in John 1:1-3, John introduces him to us as the son of man in verse 14 where he writes: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

Now, biblically speaking, there are two ways we can use this phrase “son of man.” One way is to use it as a divine title. In the Old Testament the phrase “son of man” was used as a title to speak of the coming Messiah. For example, in the book of Daniel we read about one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven to whom is given all authority, glory and power. (Daniel 7:13-14) This one like a son of man is a divine figure who receives worship and whose kingdom will never pass away. So, that’s one way to use the phrase “son of man,” as a divine title.

But the other way to use this phrase is simply to speak of someone as a human being as opposed to a divine or angelic being. This is the way it is used in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, for example.

Jesus applied this title to himself, and he used it both ways. He was the divine Messiah sent from God as prophesied in Daniel 7. And he was a human being born into this world with flesh and blood and bone. This is the miracle that we call the incarnation. John 1:14 tells us three things about Jesus as the son of man

  – The Word became flesh (14a)

First, John tells us that the Word, Jesus, became flesh. Now the Bible tells us that God is a spirit. As a spirit God does not have flesh or a physical form. Jesus as the Son of God always existed as a spiritual being. He did not have a body or a physical form. That is, until Christmas. That’s when the Word became flesh. That’s when Jesus the Son of God also became a son of man.

The Word became flesh. Jesus became a man without ceasing to be God. He was just as much God after the incarnation as he was before the incarnation. And in taking on flesh he became a true human being, as truly a human being as you and I are.

  – He made his dwelling among us (14b)

The Word became flesh, and then John tells us: “He made his dwelling among us.” Jesus has another name in Scripture, “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.” How could God who lives in heaven possibly dwell with us here on earth? The answer is Jesus!

God became flesh, and he made his dwelling among us as a fellow human being with us. He left the riches of heaven. He was born as we are born. He lived as we live. He suffered as we suffer. He was tempted as we are tempted. And yet he did it all without sin. He lived a perfect life so he could offer up his perfect life in our place.

  – We have seen his glory (14c)
    – John 14:8-9

John tells us the Word became flesh, he made his dwelling among us, and we have seen his glory. John 1:14 says: “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

Remember, Jesus is the Son of God become man. Those who saw Jesus in the flesh may not have realized it at the time, but they were seeing God. When Philip, one of Jesus’ disciples, said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us,” Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:8-9)

When Jesus became a man, he did not cease to be God. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

3. Born to be our Savior (John 1:29)

Who is Jesus? 1) He is the Son of God. 2) He is the son of man. 3) And then thirdly, Jesus was born to be our Savior. Once again you cannot separate the person of Christ from the work of Christ. Christ’s work as Savior grows out of his person as the Son of God and son of man. Only as God can he save, and only as man could he die for our sins.

  – Only God can save (Isaiah 43:11)

First of all, only God can save. God says it himself in Isaiah 43:11: “I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.” (Isaiah 43:11) Only God can save. We cannot save ourselves because we are all part of the problem. We can’t save others from their sins because we all have sins of our own to deal with. And we cannot take away our own sins because sin is part of who we are. It is in our very nature.

Only God can save, because only God is holy, righteous and pure. Only God can save because only God has the power to save. Only God can save because only God has the wisdom to design the plan of salvation. Only God can save because we are not holy enough, powerful enough or smart enough to save ourselves.

How does this tie into the person of Christ? If Jesus were not the Son of God, he could not be our Savior. But because Jesus is the perfect, sinless Son of God, he is mighty to save. Jesus can save us first of all because he is God, and only God can save.

  – Only as man could he die for our sins (Matthew 1:21)

Jesus was and is God. However, only as man could he die for our sins. God cannot die. And so, the Son of God became the son of man. The angel told Joseph in Matthew 1:21: “She [Mary] will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) Mary gave birth to the man Jesus because only as man could Jesus die for our sins. His very name means Savior. This is why Jesus was born into our world as a human being. He was born to die for our sins. He was born to be our Savior.

  – He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)

Many years later John the Baptist recognized this when he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) Jesus the Son of God was born into our world as a human being so that he could become the Lamb of God who takes away our sins.

Notice he is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is not one of many saviors. He is the only Savior.

Only God can save. But only as man could he die for our sins. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He was born to be our Savior.

CONCLUSION: So, when you picture the baby in the manger on Christmas Eve, who do you really see there?

Behold! The baby in the manger is the Son of God – the eternal God who has always been and always will be; the personal God who has always lived in perfect relationship with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit; the Creator God through whom all things were made; the Giver of life who is the source of all life and through whom all things exist. Behold the Son of God!

Behold! The baby in the manger is also the son of man. God is Spirit, and yet through the miracle of the incarnation, the eternal Son of God took on flesh and became a true human being. In becoming man, he did not cease being God. He is just as much God as he ever was, and he is just as much a human being as you and I are. Behold the son of man!

Behold! The baby in the manger is the Savior of the world. Only God can save. Only as man could he die. Only the perfect God-man could die on the cross to the pay the penalty for our sins so that we could be forgiven. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Behold the person of Jesus in the manger – the Son of God and son of man who was born to be our Savior!

© Ray Fowler

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