"Why Christ Came!"
John 1:1-5, 9-14
INTRO.In Isaiah 9:6 the Scriptures say, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." In our text, John 1:14 it tells us, "And the Word was made 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."
I want to title the message, "Why Christ Came!" He left the Father and all His glory and was born of a lowly virgin in a stable in Bethlehem. He left the riches of Heaven for the poverty of earth! WHY? Was I worth it? In mine own eyes I am not, but Christ saw something in you and me that was worth coming for! 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich." He saw beyond my faults and saw my need!
There IT is, the last part of that verse, "Yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich!" He saw potential in me! I was a lost, poor, lowly sinner, but Christ emptied Himself of riches, so that I might be rich! What does it mean by "rich"? Will I become wealthy in material things because I am now in Christ Jesus? NO, "rich" means wealthy in spiritual riches. Christ, told the Church of Smyrna in Revelation 2:9, "I know …thy poverty, (but thou art rich)..." We are "rich" in spiritual wealth, If we belong to Him!
Christ came and died on the Cross because of You and You, and You, and Me! That was His primary reason for coming. Now, let's look at 3 other Biblical reasons "Why Christ Came!"
CHRIST CAME:
(1) To Destroy The Works Of The Devil
1 John 3:8
A. THE PRIDE OF THE DEVIL
Isaiah 14:12-17--Notice the 5 "I Wills" of Satan
B. THE PROGRAM OF THE DEVIL. Satan has a program he follows. He
desires to destroy everything good and godly. What are the works Of
the Devil? :
1)Perverting The Scriptures (Galatians 1:6-9).
2)Opposing God's Work (Zechariah 3:1).
3)Hindering The Gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
4)Working Lying Wonders.
5)Appearing As An Angel Of Light (2 Corinthians 11:13-14).
C. THE POWER OF THE DEVIL. When will these works be destroyed?
Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us, “Forasmuch then as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself took part of the same; that
through his death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that
is the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their
lifetime subject to bondage.” Johnson wrote in The People’s New
Testament: “As these children are all mortal he, though divine, took on
himself our mortality. He did this, that through death he might bring to
nought the power of him who first brought death on our race. It was
needful that he be clothed with mortality in order to die, and needful to
die in order to deliver men from the power of sin and give them a
glorious hope.” Barnes writes: “The word “destroy” here is not used in
the sense of “closing life,” or of “killing,” but in the sense of bringing into
subjection, or crushing his power. This is the work which the Lord Jesus
came to perform - to destroy the kingdom of Satan in the world, and to
set up another kingdom in its place.” (Albert Barnes’ Notes On The Bible).
According to 1 John 5:4-5 believers are overcomers! Our faith in the
finished work of Christ on the cross has made us “more than conquerors
through him that loved us” (Romans 8:39). And 1 John 4:4 tells us that
Christ In us is greater than he that is in the world! One day according to
Revelation 20:10 the works of the devil will be fully destroyed and that
old deceiver and destroyer will be “cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone.”
CHRIST CAME TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL and secondly, CHRIST CAME…
(2) To Deliver Us From Our Sins
1 John 3:5
John 1:29; 1 Timothy 1:15
Hebrews 9:25-26, 28
A. THE ABSOLUTE PARDON. He delivered us from sin’s:
1)Penalty--Death--(Romans 6:23).
2)Power--Dominion-- (Romans 6:6-14).
3)Presence--(Hebrews 8: 12b). As far as God is concerned He has forgotten our sins. Matthew Henry wrote: “The pardon of sin will always be found to accompany the true knowledge of God. Notice the freeness of this pardon; its fulness; its fixedness. This pardoning mercy is connected with all other spiritual mercies: unpardoned sin hinders mercy, and pulls down judgments; but the pardon of sin prevents judgment, and opens a wide door to all spiritual blessings.” (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary). I love what Barnes writes: “It cannot mean literally that God forgets that people are sinners, but it means that he treats them as if this were forgotten. Their sins are not charged upon them, and they are no more punished than if they had passed entirely out of the recollection. God treats them with just as much kindness, and regards them with as sincere affection, as if their sins ceased wholly to be remembered, or which is the same thing, as if they had never sinned.” (Albert Barnes’ Notes On The Bible).
B. THE AMAZING PROMISE. What does God think about the believer's
sins? Listen to these amazing promises in God’s Word:
Psalm 103:12—“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he
removed our transgressions from us."
Isaiah 38:17—“..thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.”
Micah 7:19—“…thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the
sea"
Jeremiah 31:34—“I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember
their sin no more"
(3) To Deliver To Us Abundant Life
John 10:10
- THE MAGNITUDE OF THIS LIFE."Abundantly" the word in the Greek means --"Exceedingly abundant, superior". John Gill wrote: “Christ came that his people might have eternal life, with more abundant evidence of it than was under the former dispensation, and have stronger faith in it, and a more lively hope of it: or, as the words may be rendered, "and that they might have an abundance": besides life, might have an abundance of grace from Christ, all spiritual blessings in him now, and all fulness of joy, glory, and happiness hereafter.” (John Gill’s Exposition of The Entire Bible). God expects us to enjoy our new life in Him NOW! He has delivered us from darkness the we might walk in the newness of His LIGHT AND LOVE!
- THE MEANING OF THE LIFE. What does it mean to “have life…and
have it more abundantly” ? It means when we believe we are a “new
creature in Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 5:17) and we enjoy an
EVERLASTING LOVE (Ephesians 2:4-5; Jeremiah 31:3), an
EXTRAORDINARY FELLOWSHIP (Psalms 23; 1 John 1:1-4), and are
looking for our ETERNAL HOME (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-
18).
CLOSING:The apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:15, "This is a faithful
saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." Christ came to save a lost and dying world from themselves!
I'm so Glad He saved me! I believe He would have came and died just for me, If I was the only one to die for! OH, WHAT LOVE! Romans 5:8 says, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Do you Know Him as Your Personal Savior Today?
Christian, are you enjoying this abundant life, He has given to
you?