14Since, Then, We Have a Great High Priest Who Has Passed Through the Heavens, Jesus, The

God In Flesh (2.21.16) 1

God in Flesh

Hebrews 4:14-16

14Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested[d]as we are, yet without sin.16Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

John 1:9-14

9The true lightthat gives light to everyonewas coming into the world.10He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.11He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.12Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believedin his name,he gave the right to become children of God—13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

14The Word became fleshand 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 graceand truth.

I have a confession to make! I'm glad you all are sitting because this may have knocked some of you off your feet. I am a 'Trekie!' That's right, I am a Star Trek fan, there I said it!
I make this confession because as I was preparing the sermon, a scene from Star Trek II, the Wrath of Kan, kept popping up in my head. It is nerdy but bear with me. Spock is one of the main characters and he is half human and half Vulcan, an alien race in the series. Toward the end of the movie, Spock makes the decision to sacrifice his life for to save the crew. At his funeral captain Kirk, played by William Shatner, makes a fascinating statement. Remember this is a totally non-Christian, and non-religious, movie yet during Spock's funeral Kirk says "of all the souls I have met in my travels, his was the most, human." The movie seems to be making a profound statement about what it means to be truly human.
Then there is another view of what it means to be human that comes from the non-Christian world. Whenever we say something we regret, do something selfish, or anything else we want to excuse, what, so often, comes out of our mouths. "What do you want from me, I'm only.... human." This leads to thequestion, what does it mean to be fully human?
This morning we are continuing our series on the Gospel of John with the passage I just read. A passage in which John tells us that the eternal, Word, or first cause of the universe took on flesh, or became human, and dwelt among us. In view of this passage the question we will focus on is "What does Jesus Christ taking on flesh tell us about being fully Human?" All of the answers to this question will begin with 'C' to help with our memory.
What does the eternal God of the universe taking on flesh tell us about what it means to be human in the midst of community?
In our study on Wednesday we were looking at John 1:14 which reads, "The Word became fleshand made his dwelling among us." One of my good friends, Pastor Jared Preset, rightly said that this verse is a game changer in terms of human history. Carl Smith made the observation that part of the reason it is a game changer is because God took on human form and dwelled among us, He moved into our neighborhood. Part of what it means to be fully human is interacting with other humans!
In Jesus we find a God who dwells among us, and loves us. What is revolutionary, is why He chooses to dwell among us and love us. Being a member of the Triune Godhead, Jesus did not come because He was lonely. He did not take on human form and dwell among us so we could make Him feel better about Himself. Nor did He take on flesh to experience power over others. In fact, part of the doctrine of the incarnation, the doctrine of God becoming flesh in Jesus Christ, is that God the Son voluntarily surrendered His divine attributes in order to experience being truly human. It's not that He wasn't divine for the 33 years He was on earth, He chose to empty Himself of that power. Charles Wesley puts it this way, "He left His Father’s throne above, So free, so infinite His grace—Emptied Himself of all but love, And bled for Adam’s helpless race."
So if those are the reasons God did not empty Himself out by taking on flesh in Jesus Christ, why did He? By taking on flesh and dwelling among us, Jesus shows us that being truly human means, realizing that humans have intrinsic value, dignity, and worth. All people have value, dignity, and worth, not because of their accomplishments, how much money they make, or even for being a 'nice person.' Instead, we, and everyone we interact with, has intrinsic value dignity and worth because they bear the image of God! To be fully human is to love others, not for what they will, or can do for us. Instead we are fully human when we love, honor, and value others because bear God's image.
In the incarnation, God pays the ultimate compliment to humanity by becoming one, and choosing to dwell among us, choosing to be in community with us! He continues to dwell among us when we allow the Holy Spirit to restore God's image in us by loving other image bearers for their own sake! So in what ways does God want to dwell among us, or move into our neighborhood, through us?
As Jesus moved into our neighborhood, as He took on flesh and dwelt among us, what kind of reception did He get? Not a good one. John tells us that, "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." They did not receive Him because He refused to conform to their image, instead He called them to conform to God's image. What image we conform to is the second way that Jesus shows us what it means to be fully human.
Jesus did not conform to the fallen world's understanding of what it means to be human. Instead He lived out what it means to be fully human, reflecting the image of God that is upon us all! So what is the fallen world's understanding of what it means to be human? Part of what we are told is to be human, and to live, is to be sinful. When someone says come on, live a little, they, often, are encouraging us to sin. In movies, music, and other places, we are enticed to believe that being really human and to express our selves we have to put on the uniform of nonconformity. We are told to be rebels, just like everyone else!
Mark Driscoll is a pastor and he puts it this way, "I know in our day rebel means sinner. But everyone is sinning, so it’s no longer rebellious to sin. Jesus was a rebel, who was counter cultural.You’re just a conformist, if you're drunk, naked and breaking commandments and having sex outside of marriage. Everyone has done that, that’s so tired. If you really want to be a rebel, read your Bible, because no one is doing that! That’s rebellion! That’s the only rebellion left!" To be fully human is to rebel against conforming to what this fallen world tells us it means to have abundant life and to be human.
Jesus was, and still is, a rebel with a cause. His cause is to give us an opportunity to become fully human. Every one of us has the image of God within us, but it is cracked, broken, and stained from sin. Jesus came so that we might have that broken image restored. If we would trust in Him not only will He forgive us of our sins, but He will give us abundant life! A life where we can become fully human!
So how can we become fully human, how can we allow Christ to restore God's image within us? Jesus taking on flesh helps us to know how that image is restored in showing us what to confess as a sin and what not to confess as sin. Our final 'c' is confession.
At first this may seem odd, how can you learn what sin is by looking to someone who is sinless? It is because, Jesus is seen as the second Adam. The first Adam, meaning original humanity, Adam and Eve, had a perfect love relationship with the Lord. Because they decided to rebel against God they started a sinful pattern. From Adam and Eve on, humans would have a sinful nature that breaks, and tarnishes the inborn image of God. Jesus is the second Adam, the second blueprint of what it means to be human. This does not mean that we have to be a first century Jewish carpenter to be fully human. Just as Jesus was a particular person in a particular context God wants us to flourish in our context.
Instead, think of Jesus like a level. We can eyeball something and it looks level but when we put a level on it the little bubble does not lie, although sometimes I feel like it does. We cannot know how our lives have gone wrong unless we see what a perfect life looks like. C.S. Lewis puts it this way, "We do not know what a crooked line looks like until we know what a straight one looks like." Jesus is that standard for what it means to be fully human.
There are at least two implications to this. First, being sinful is not intrinsic to being human. Earlier I mentioned that when we give into the temptation to sin we often give ourselves the excuse, "I'm only human." Here is the problem with that, Jesus, taking on flesh, became truly, and fully, human. He did not use His divinity as a crutch to help Him overcome temptation. Instead, as Hebrews tells us, "we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin." Think about it, if Jesus could snap His fingers and magically push away temptation with His divinity He would not have an authentically human experience. But Jesus, became truly, truly human. It is amazing that the Gospel of John is the one in which Jesus' divinity and humanity is highlighted more than any other Gospel.
This leads to the second implication. Being tempted to sin and being weak are not sins. In John's Gospel Jesus becomes weary and thirsty, that's why in chapter 3 he sits down with the woman at the well. In chapter 2 John tells us that Jesus makes a whip of cords Himself to drive out the money changers in the temple. Did Jesus get angry, yeah, is it sinful to get angry, no. We have to be careful not to sin in our anger, but anger is not a sin. Jesus also wept over the loss of His friend Lazarus. Lazarus dies and Jesus weeps. Does being sinless make us robots that do not feel, of course not! Jesus shows us what it means to be truly human because in His temptation, in His weakness, He does not bow out or give up but turn to His Father in heaven for strength. Because He is our great mediator, we can do the most fully human thing possible. We can boldly approach the throne of God, admit that we do not have it all together, and throw ourselves at His mercy, grace, and forgiveness! To be dependent on God is what it means to be fully Human!
So let us all make a confession. Not confessing that we are a nerd in liking something like Star Teak. Instead let us confess that we have been less than fully human. So we can become fully human!
Fully human by entering into community and treating others with intrinsic value, dignity, and worth. Fully human by allowing ourselves to be conformed to the image of God within us not what this fallen world tells us it means to be human. Fully human because we no longer treat weakness as sin, and sin as inevitable.Instead we confess sin so that we may find freedom to become, as Jesus is, truly human!
Let us pray: Loving Father, in Your Son we discover what it means to be truly human. Allow the Holy Spirit to restore Your image in us so we might be fully human in our love for others!
Receive this blessing and benediction: Let us go forth, fully human in our dependence on God and love for others. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit let's go in peace.