The 1st Sunday after Trinity

SERMON

INI

Text: John 1:14,17; 20:30-31

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…. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ…. And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

In Christ Jesus, the Lord of life, dear fellow redeemed:

“What is the date that you will die?” Does that seem like a strange question? Does it make you just a bit uncomfortable? Why? If I were to change the tense of the verb and the person of the pronoun and ask: “What was the date that she died?” you would no doubt feel less uncomfortable. We are more comfortable talking about death in terms of the past and in terms of other people than we are of talking about our own deaths, for to speak of our own deaths addresses a future and very personal event—an event many of us may not like to think about. Yet, we should think about it, because there is nothing more personal than death and, unless Jesus comes first, nothing more inevitable than death. We will all die one day!

Is there a solution for death? Medical science has been working on it, but without success. Oh, yes, we have been able to increase the life span of most people through better nutrition and hygiene, but death continues unabated. That is why the gospel message of Jesus Christ is so important, for apart from Jesus Christ there is no solution for death. Oh, yes, people delude themselves into believing any number of supposed solutions, but in reality there is only one. Listen once again to the words of the apostle John as he reveals it near the end of his Gospel account of Jesus’ life: “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” The purpose of John’s Gospel was to address the uncomfortable thought of the universal problem of death! Life—everlasting life—is found by believing in the name of Jesus Christ! That is why John wrote his Gospel. That is why the Holy Spirit inspired the Bible to be written. Let us, therefore, today consider this thought: GOD HAS GIVEN US HIS WORD SO THAT WE MIGHT HAVE LIFE IN HIS NAME! In so doing, we will return to the first chapter of John’s Gospel and consider two propositions dealing with that word—God’s law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ!

I.

John writes: “For the law was given through Moses!” Why was the law given through Moses? After all, the Bible teaches that all human beings have a natural knowledge of God’s law written in their hearts…why would the law have to be given through Moses? While it is true that all human beings possess a natural knowledge of God’s law written in their hearts, for you can see evidence of that in the laws which have governed every society throughout history—that knowledge is incomplete and blurred because of sin. Adam and Eve, our first parents, had a perfect knowledge of God’s law when they were first created. They knew God and loved Him. They understood His expectations and initially were able to observe them. But then Adam and Eve chose to sin against God, and the consequences were devastating. Spiritually, morally, mentally, and physically—the perfection that had been theirs by virtue of their creation by God was lost! They still knew God existed, but they were afraid of Him. They still knew each other, but they were embarrassed by their own thoughts over against each other. They still knew they were responsible to God, but in view of their guilt they tried to hide from Him. They were still living, but the inevitable slide towards death had begun. Yes, Adam and Eve together with all of their descendants still had a natural knowledge of God, but it was like their vision had gone bad. Instead of having 20/20 vision, they now because of sin had 20/400 vision—everything was blurry, and the result was that fear filled their hearts, even as sin became commonplace in their lives.

Why was the law given through Moses? It was given by God through Moses to serve as a corrective lens for the poor vision of man. The law was given to man to direct him to the one, true God—the LORD, and to explain to him that he was to have no other gods. The law was given to man to direct his relationships with other men, and to explain to him the nature of the love he was to possess towards other men. Man was to obey those in authority, to respect the gifts of life and marriage, to live and to speak with honesty, to desire those things only which were right and proper.

Let us understand, however, that while the law was given through Moses to serve as a corrective lens, it could not and did not give man the power or ability to fulfill its demands. The law cannot give life to man, who because of sin is spiritually dead. Consequently, the law, while revealing what must be done to please God, revealed with even greater clarity the inability of man to perform what must be done and condemned him as a sinner before God—a sinner worthy of eternal judgment. “By the law,” the apostle Paul says, “is the knowledge of sin,” and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 3:20b; 6:23a). Such was our situation by nature. We were dead in trespasses and sins. We have not loved God above all things or our neighbors as ourselves. We deserve God’s wrath and judgment, and such would remain our situation forever, were it not for the fact that…

II.

…grace and truth came through Jesus Christ! The apostle Paul, while explaining the purpose of the law, says: “We were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:23b-24 NIV). The purpose of the law was not to save, but rather to lead us to Christ in whom we find the solution for death—our eternal salvation!

When Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden, they justly deserved the sentence of death, but God instead promised a Savior who would bring life. That is “grace”—undeserved but mercifully bestowed love. God informed Satan: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15). God would intervene—He would reclaim the souls of Adam and Eve by placing saving faith in their hearts. The object of that saving faith was the Promised Savior—the “Seed” of the woman. He—the Lord Jesus—became mankind’s Champion, entering the fray and defeating the enemy Satan. He revealed to lost mankind the ultimate truths of their salvation, which restored spiritual life and instilled within them an ability to love and gifted them with everlasting life. Because of this that Champion is called by the evangelist John “the Word.”

We read in our text: “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.” Jesus Christ is the “Word”—the revelation of God, who came to bring grace and truth. Who is Jesus Christ? The writer to the Hebrews begins his epistle with these words: “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things” (Heb. 1:1-2a). Jesus Christ is the very Son of God. “Grace and truth” were not given to us, therefore, through a human mediator, as was the law through Moses, but rather the Son of God came Himself as the embodiment of God’s grace and truth.

God was no longer in the audience watching the drama unfold, but rather became the principal actor, entering the stage of human history, and undertaking the only possible, effective solution for sin. He—day in and day out—lived the life, made the decisions, resisted the temptations, walked the way of love in our place. He—enduring the shame and pain of death—went to the cross in our place, so that we might live. Catherine Winkworth, the translator of Johann Heermann’s Lenten hymn, O Dearest Jesus, caught the truth so beautifully. She wrote and we sing: “The sinless Son of God must die in sadness; the sinful child of man may live in gladness; man forfeited his life and is acquitted—God is committed!” (TLH 143:5).

Jesus came as the personification of “grace.” He embodied the love of God. When He healed the sick, He demonstrated God’s concern and compassion for each of us. When He lifted up the little children and blessed them, He wanted us to know that when we bring our little ones to Him He is aware of them, cares about them, and will still bless them. When He raised the son of the widow of Nain…when He called Lazarus forth from the grave, He did so in order that our fears of death might be calmed and we might know the truth that He is Lord both of the dead and the living. Yes, Jesus proclaimed the truth of God, which is that our only hope of salvation is found in our relationship with Him. He is the vine, we are the branches (cf. John 15:1ff.). It is through our faith connection with Him that we can and do bear the fruits of love, which are our response of gratitude to Him for gifts given.

My dear friends, Jesus said: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:5-8). GOD HAS GIVEN US HIS WORD SO THAT WE MIGHT HAVE LIFE IN HIS NAME! Let us cling to Jesus, rejoicing in His grace and truth and living our lives in accordance with His law in grateful devotion for the gift of life He has given. Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting