The Eternal Son, John 1:9-18

John 1:9‑18
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He Speaking of John the Baptist, he was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, which light of every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 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, John bear witness of him, and cried, saying This was he of whom I speak. He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me, and of his fullness have all we received.
And grace for grace for the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him, And this is a record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him who art thou?
Only confess and denied not, but confessed I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then art thou, Elias? And he says, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered no. Then said they unto him, Who art thou?
That we may give an answer to them that sent us what saith? He said. I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the Prophet is this, and they which were sent were of the Pharisees.
And they asked him and said unto him, Why baptize us now then, if thou be not that Christ?
Nor Elias, neither that prophet John answered them, saying, I've baptized with water. But there standeth one among you whom you know not here it is who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoes like it I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethlehem beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. The next day John see if Jesus coming under him, and says, Behold the Lamb of God.
Which takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me. For he was before me, and I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel. Therefore I might come baptizing with water, And John bear record saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dog, and it abode upon him.
And I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water the same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him the same as he which baptized us with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God.
Again the next day after John stood and two of his disciples.
And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
Then Jesus turned and saw them following, and sat under them. Watsik ye? They said unto him, a rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted, Master, where dwelleth thou? He saith unto them, Come and see.
They came and saw where he dwelt and abode with him that day, For it was about the 10th hour. One of the two which heard John speak and followed him was Andrew Simon Peters, brother. He first finded his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted the Christ, and he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said.
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Robert Simon, the son of Jonah. Thou shalt be called Cephas, which by interpretation, which is by interpretation a stone.
The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and find us Philip, and saith unto him. Follow me now, Philip, Elizabeth Seder the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip find it Nathaniel, and saith unto him.
We have found him of whom Moses and the law and the prophets did right, Jesus of Nazareth the son of Joseph. And Nathaniel said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Phillip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him, and Seth of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.
Nathanael sat under him. Whence knoweth thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before the Philip called me, when I was under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathaniel answered, and said unto him, Rabbi, thou art the son of God, thou art the king of Israel.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, Believe us, thou shall see greater things than these. And he says unto him, Verily, verily, I send to you.
Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
I.
Verse nine would we say that that that was the true light which lighted every man that cometh into the world, Is that not placed responsibility on each one? Christ has come.
He has made no the Father, and we're responsible then to God for what has been made known.
Yes, a man is responsible according to that he had.
And not according to that he hath not, and God hath come out into the light, and this dispensation and it certainly.
Increases our intelligence when we accept that light and it increases our responsibility, but at the same time.
Privilege, privilege and responsibility always are according to relationship. And here we're getting the fact that we're born of God. Now you and I are responsible not as children of Adam, but as children of God. What responsibility? But what privilege? We're in your family.
I like to read Mr. Darby's footnote on the earth, he says. Is life to every man not enlightened, but chats is it's light upon. In other words, the thought is more than everybody is exposed.
In that light. Not that everybody is enlightened by coming into that light, but everybody is made manifest. That's where we begin, you know. And if we submit to that which the light makes manifest, then we're ready for blessing.
English is amazing in some words, like every other language. And you take SON&SUN how similar they are, and we're all exposed to the light of the SUN. Now in this revelation, we're all exposed to the light of the.
Oh man.
You might look at John chapter 15 and verse 22 in respect to the verse we're discussing as being the true light and it lights all men.
John 1522.
If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had had they had not had sinned, but now they have no cloak, or their sin.
Paul said in the 7th of Romans I was alive without the law once.
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But the law came, and sin revived, and I died.
Unconscious of his.
Sin. But when the law said, Thou shalt not covet, he felt the sting of the law and its condemnation. And so the Lord Jesus Christ here came, and had he not exposed every man they might have had claimed, not knowing of their sin, but having come them, they now have no cloak. The sun has exposed their state.
And now they have no there's no way that man can deny his responsibility to God. At the end of the meeting this morning, a brother was bringing before us about John, but he wasn't that light. But he was to bear witness of that light, reminding us that.
We.
Our privilege to bring people into the light through the word of God.
As a fact, we know we can't save anybody.
Only saved, but we have privilege and responsibility to bring into the light.
And I think that is very good to.
To apply to salvation. But it's the same course in restoration which all of us need many times. It is in Galatians 6. It says Ye which are spiritual restorers, us in one.
How can I do that knowing that it's only God that can do it? David said. He restores my soul.
Now the Lord used Nathan to bring the word to David, and that's all what you and I can do.
We can't restore souls alone. All we can do is bring them into the light of the presence of the one who is late. Then we see that failure, that sin, and we can judge it in His presence. Now that's applies in first John.
As to restoration to communion, But we use that seventh verse particularly in the gospel and works there too. That is, if if we walk in the light as he is in the light.
We have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. But then down in the next ninth verse, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, so that we can seek through the gospel to bring souls into the light and get their souls safe. And then brethren can seek to put me back in the light to get me restored.
To I think you know, I'm thinking of a verse in Philippians who.
Starting at verse 13.
For it as God would work a venue, both the will and to do his good pleasure, do all things without murmurings and disputing that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom you shine as life in the world.
Holding forth the word of life.
Well, this would bring before us as we go through this scene. Our walk and our wings should witness that we belong to Christ. We shine as lights in the world. Then, if He gives us the opportunity to speak, what we say would carry some weight. But we need to.
Watch our walking ways as we go through this seat. Would you also read and comment on it, Lloyd?
8 on what you're saying.
5/8 of Ephesian.
For ye were sometimes darkness.
Now are ye light in the world? In the Lord Walk? As children of light, we've been brought out of that darkness, the darkness that we've been Speaking of here in John One.
We've been brought out of it into the light. We've been made children of God through sovereign race. Now may we walk according to the position into which we've been brought. We don't walk to get into that position. We walk as children of light because in sovereign grief, God has brought us there as His children.
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You were commenting to Bob this morning about that darkness and.
I wonder if you'd speak a little on this.
10th verse.
That's his incarnation, isn't it?
Yes, but the world didn't know it, did they? Such darkness that they they didn't know that God was standing in their presence and even in the end of this chapter.
He failed his glory, and there comes Nathaniel.
And he was under that fig tree. Doubtless he was there praying to God. He found out God was right there.
The Son of God, thou art the king of Israel. So the light shined into his soul when Jesus walked up there, and he recognized that the glory was so veiled. That says in Isaiah when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him, that is, he look like other men. There's no proof, true picture of Jesus that's ever been made.
Must have been a.
Thing that made angels wonder as they looked down and to see their creator for the first time.
In the.
A Manger at Bethlehem in.
In the place where men are measured in their greatness.
They are a great person, they get the best place. And here was the creator of the universe.
No place for him in the end, though, he was born where the animals were eating.
And the angels appeared not to some important people the world, but to some poor shepherds who are watching out on the countryside.
Dear brother, that really speaks to my heart. How much am I alert? How much am I aware of the glory of the person of the Son of God? Here we are just about down to the very point of His second Advent into this world, His Second Coming. And are we any more alert than they were at the first advent, I really believe.
A vast majority of those who call themselves Christians.
We're asleep, brethren. We're a Slater, and God awaken us as to the glory of this person, of our Lord Jesus. How tragic he was in the world. The world was made by him, and the world didn't know him, didn't know him.
They have gone 6 verse 66.
From that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.
Then said Jesus, under the 12 Will ye also go away? And Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the word to eternal life.
Those that even propose to be as disciples really didn't know him. They went back and walked no more with him but.
Those that were truly his recognized and he had the word to eternal life.
In connection with that remark.
Who to whom shall we go? Peter uses the same 2 words in the first Epistle and the second chapter where it says to whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, That's the one we brought to.
That living stone.
Proverbs 10 is obviously in contrast with verse 11 or 11. With verse 10, even today we can say verse 10 is true of the world at large. There are duels, the majority in the world, that do not know him.
But verse 11 describes a far sadder and more serious condition. It does not say that his own, that is, the people of Israel, did not know him. It says they did not receive him. Now what brother just said they did not know him in a personal way so as to establish a relationship of living faith in that person. But they know him, knew him.
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And we find that in Chapter 7 the Lord himself in Chapter 7 verse 28 says then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying He both know me and ye know when I am.
He's addressing his own, His own, as far as those who belonged to the earthly people Israel, and how sad that is. And there are many who know the Lord Jesus in that way. They even might subscribe to some Orthodox doctrine concerning His person, but do not know him as a personal savior. And they might also reject him as these people did. He came onto his own.
His own received him now, but as many as we received him to them gave he power to become children of God. It should read even to them that believe on his name. He is rejected in John's Gospel.
From the outset by Israel, we do not find that in Matthew. We really find in Matthew that only in the 13th chapter, after he has his own these natural ties and relationships, in the 12Th chapter, that he goes by the seashore and reaches out to all mankind the gospel, the seed is sown, but here in John's Gospel.
He is rejected from the start and the gospel presents him as the one that comes not just for an earthly people. He comes for all mankind. And I believe that is one of the reasons why that gospel has such a charm to us, who are mostly Gentiles. He came and we presented as the one that was sent and given to the world, you know, when he's presented as the Son of God of necessity.
The scope has to be larger than just an earthly people. He has come for all mankind and isn't a wonderful beloved.
That the grace of God has touched us and we were drawn to that person. And he's taught here in these verses that that is not to our credit. It was not an act of our will that we were born. It's an act of the will of God.
New birth is not man's responsibility. New birth is God's responsibility. We are not born again because we have faith in the Lord Jesus.
We are born again because God by His Spirit in a sovereign grace has moved upon our hearts and consciences with the word of God and brought us into life of His own will begat He asked by the Word of Truth. It's not the act of man thrill that brings us into life, but eternal life which is more than new birth, can only be received through personal faith in the Lord Jesus.
And in Galatians chapter 3, I believe it says that we are all the sons of God through faith in the Lord Jesus.
Very significant.
In John 6, when the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to his own, to which mention has been made already, to whom shall he go?
In Galatians chapter one, he says I am chapter one of Galatians.
Who hath bewitched you?
I'm more of a verse six, chapter one of Galatians.
Ye are so soon removed from him who had called you.
And the grace of Christ. So it's very important, isn't it, that we understand and we see that it is to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ that we come together in His name. And that when there is departure, when I become disgruntled with the Saints of God, gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, it's really a departure and affection from him. And so we have to turn away from him in the midst of his own.
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In our hearts, before we'll ever leave the company of gathered Saints, to whom shall we go?
I really appreciated the last meeting that we had because our brother was speaking about giving up and we were talking a little bit after the meeting about where will that giving up end up. So if God has given us some truth, we need to hang on to it. We need to cling to it. And that's why it says by the truth and sell it not. It's like a it's like a row of dominoes, you know, that begin to fall if you give up a little bit of truth, then you fall back to another level.
And you give up a little bit more and we see kind of in this chapter what happens here is a world that did not recognize their creator and now when when the the Lord Jesus came into the world.
The world should have recognized them. He formed the world. He made the world.
And they should have recognized this is the person that made it. But they had fallen back to a level of blindness in which they could not even see that this was the creator. Now the animal Kingdom, could you say, recognize this creator? The face recognized their creator. The donkey recognized its creator. But the the world, men and women were so blinded by sin that they did not recognize their creator. And that that that is the danger. Isn't it, brethren, of giving up?
Because it can go all the way back as their brother was talking about right into apostasy so. So we need to really be careful and and the truths that have been brought out in these meetings concerning the person of Christ we need to buy them. We need to make them our own we need to to latch on to them and never give them up. And verse 11 as you're bringing out brother Heinz there's another level here here are the people that had the scriptures.
The Law and God put them in a special place of blessing. And what happened was that they had so given up and replaced it with tradition and replaced it with their own laws and so on. They they had become so blinded that when their Messiah came, they didn't recognize them. They had scriptures that pointed them to that person saying this is the Messiah, this is the Christ, but they didn't recognize them so.
God opens the door then to everybody, as many as received him to them, gave he the power or the authority.
To become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. What a, what a wonderful blessing. Man fails, but God responds in in greater grace. He opens the door even wider, so that all may come.
Find the exceeding grace of God, then in the next verse, which were born not of blood, nor the will of the flash, nor of the will of man, but of God. It was all of God. Sovereign grace sees us here this afternoon as redeemed, centered.
James says of his own will the gap us with the word of truth. All God, how thankful we should be. Then the next verse.
Tells us what he became in order to bring us there. We've had what he was and always is, eternally.
Verse 14 verse 14 tells us what he became.
He always was the eternal Son of God.
He was made flesh.
He became a man.
Someone might say I have received the Lord Jesus.
And tries to take credit for that. But what is taught here in John's Gospel chapter one if you and I have received the Lord Jesus and is a result of God giving us life so that we can see and that we can enter or receive or believe? John chapter 3 clearly teaches that that new birth gives me.
Capacity.
Receive and believe. This is what Nicodemus had to learn, that a theological discussion would not enlighten him. Before he could enter and appreciate anything he needed to have life from a bomb. So we must not misunderstand and say, well, I have believed you do not as if this is to our credit. The Lord Jesus here in His word makes clear.
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That this is because new birth came to us first, so that we had a capacity to recognize what God has for us and receive it by faith.
So that the sovereignty of God in giving us new life really begins in verse 12, isn't it? With that? But yes, that's where it starts. I was thinking in verse 11 just to go back a minute to the Jewish people who didn't receive him. There was.
A.
Will fall blindness. Maybe a verse helps out to in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse.
18.
It speaks about it having the understanding Speaking of the Gentiles here, but it's the same principle. It says having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness and the margin says the hardness of their hearts.
There is such a thing as being blind, but the saddest thing is the blindness of those that will not see. The Lord Jesus had to say to the Jewish people in his time you will not come to me that you might have life.
That was the blindness that was there. It was a willing blindness. They saw the light. They saw the miracles. They saw the testimony. They heard the voice from having the voice of the Father giving testimony. They made-up their minds not to believe, but how wonderful the sovereignty of God that comes in in that awful black picture and says, But as many as received him were some of those brethren.
Thank God for it. It's only the sovereignty of God, nothing that we can boast of in ourselves.
So we have been born into God's family by.
Receiving.
Him, that simple, that beautiful, just simple reception of the person of God's Son to them that received him. To them he gave the power, the right to be called the sons of the children of God. How do you receive Christ? Sometimes young people ask that question. Or people who are listening to the gospel. How do you do it?
Is there some act necessary? Do you have to pray? What do you do to receive Christ? The answer is right in the last line of verse 12. To them that believe on his name, that's receiving him simply to trust him to believe on his name. But now that I have believed on his name, I find out that it really wasn't.
My own decision. I wasn't born the first time by my own decision, it was somebody elses decision. I wasn't born the second time into God's family by my own decision. It was God's desire to have children and I'm the result of it.
Thank God for it. I often hear questioning God's own work in my phone. So I was going through life exercise and you want to go to hell? I want to. When I die, I want to go to hell. And I was in the I was in my hometown, a young man came up 75, was having a softball game. He started talking to soccer, talking about 14, and I believe the right hand.
Please, in the Lord Jesus of our faith, right this, he told me. You got to go home, We got to pray and have Christ in your heart, he said. Well, I don't want to do it now. I'll do it when I go home. But when I went home, when I got to bed and I realized I had that Christ in my heart, I jumped out of bed. They got on my hands and weed and I credit the dog with Kobe. I believe in the love Jesus in my station and accessible to my fingers. And I asked twice in my heart. But I realized two years now, God's work on my face, that's what he's done. I believe that's most when he told me the gospel.
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Jesus was the statement in the paper from my pen that faith in him and I know that if the Lord Jesus had become, I would like to be with him glory because of his work. I believe that means.
Going on the 14th, 1St is a parenthesis there and I'd just like to leave that out for a moment. And the word was made slash, or the word became flash and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
Think of the mighty Creator God.
Coming into this scene as a man.
Full of grief and truth, showing us that wondrous grief, that favor of God to us, I'm making manifest the truth.
No to go down just a little in the chapter verse 17. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Well, the law was God's measure. It told us what we should be toward God.
But truth told us exactly what we were lost guilty sinners, far off from God. But all the grace comes in and meets it just where we are in all our needs. There's the wondrous grace of God coming in and meeting a poor lost figure in all his needs and bringing him to know Him. Know Christ of Savior God is our Father.
This is the wondrous grace of God towards us.
Breathe full of grace and truth that blessed one king, that he might meet us in all our needs.
I'd like to ask **** a question about that parenthesis. Who's the weed there in that parenthesis in that verse?
Is it not those that in sovereign grace have been brought to know him?
Let's see what **** has to say for us.
I thought it was the.
Fossil because in the Epistle of John.
We developed that thought a little more in the first chapter and then goes on to bring the Saints into fellowship with that.
And talks about the.
In the first epistle of John.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon in our hands of handles of the word of life.
Goes on to stay in verse three. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that you also may have fellowship with us. So it primarily refers, doesn't it, to the apostles. And then gone through his writing brings us into fellowship with that, and with them in that collective privilege of beholding his glory.
The glory as of an only begotten with the Father.
So you see it, Yes. So that we can say we receive indirectly what the apostles received directly, and that's the way we get it. And the apostles and prophets laid the foundation that brings us back to the importance of reading and hearing this book, that we know Jesus whom they saw and heard.
And handle of the word of life.
There are two other scriptures that go to John 17 is 1. The importance of getting ahold of Jesus in the way he's presented and the glories that are given to us to enjoy and it's our enjoyment of the person that will keep us.
The 20th verse. And then it's one of those.
Like as many as or like whosoever that we've been hearing.
Verse 20 of John 17 Neither pray I for these alone, but.
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Who for them also, which I'll believe on me through their word That is. We've got it through them. Now we can go back to Isaiah, Chapter 8. I think it is. You have a wonderful property about this. We can stir up a little desire amongst us to search the prophetic word. There is nothing that will confirm your faith.
Like.
The understanding a little bit.
The prophetic scripture.
Where is that seal up the low?
Among my castles, they have their own chapters. No, it is it's it's it's the 8th chapter and the 16th verse. This is a remarkable carrying forward to the disciples the Lord had when He was here.
Mind up the testimony. See of the law among my disciples.
Now there where we get.
Our revelation, they are the means of bringing it to us and this wonderful.
Parenthesis in the verse we're looking at fourteen of our chapter. We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, telling us of Christ eternal relationship.
God as his Father, he was eternally the only begotten Son of God. When it's the only begotten Son, it's his relationship to God eternally. If it's first begotten, I believe it's relationship to created things helps us to keep those things right. The only begotten Son, how are you going to know him? Through the witness that's come through the apostles.
Connection was received again from the apostles.
In second Peter one and verse 15.
Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able, after my deceit, to have these things always in remembrance.
Well, it brings before us that thought that the apostle would pass on, leave it in the written word, so that those coming after would know these things.
Like to hear some comments on.
We beheld his glory. What was it that the disciples beheld?
And Peter answered the Lord.
In the 16th of Matthew.
The question the Lord asked Who do men say that I am?
And then the Lord asked Peter, And Peter said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
The Lord said, Flesh and blood had not revealed this unto Peter.
And so I believe we see that they saw in that person.
That which only faith could see.
Man saw in him the carpenter's son, the son of Joseph.
But faith saw in him.
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
So faith could see.
But not necessarily could apprehend and fully enter into it, but could believe it that this wonderful person was God the Son. And he saw certainly proofs of that when he raised the dead, when he calmed the storm, and so on. All of these things confirmed what the Father himself had revealed to Peter, who that wonderful person was.
When the Lord uses Christ, palm was formed that resulted in fight. The full was truly Thou art the thumb of God. They precede in this man who could do this.
The Son of God.
Don't you think his moral perfection shined out to them every day in perfection, in obedience and dependence? As a man down here, moral glory, certainly every moment of his life could be seen in him. Power of doing things was there too. But that moral glory, the Kingdom of God is not righteous, is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. I think those traits always.
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Shinedown in Jesus righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
There was a time on the mount of Transfiguration, where his official glory as King and the coming Kingdom.
Was previewed, but I I'd like to suggest something further that I've enjoyed in this.
Part of verse 14 said We beheld his glory, the glory as of.
And only begotten of the Father.
I don't know exactly how to explain it that if we could suppose a father and a son relationship where there is complete.
Understanding between the two and the sun moving every act, every word.
In a sense that his father's full favor was towards him.
Maybe that is something of the thought here. And as the Lord Jesus went through this world, here was a man who was not moved by his own desires. He said, I do always those things that please the Father. I do always Here was a man that was different in that way. Oh, we have our own desires that we give place to so often. But here's a man who moved completely in the sense of the Father's full favor shining on him at all times during his life.
And as He walked through this world, the disciples saw that the glory as of an only begotten with the Father, full of grace and truth, he He was the eternal Son which is in the bosom of the Father. It says in verse 18 That was his dwelling place. Even when He was walking here in this world, meeting the needs of people in their common everyday circumstances, He was the eternal Son.
Dwelling in the bosom of the Father, he moved always with a sense the full favor of his Father's countenance towards him. And that was, I suggest, a glory that the disciples beheld as he walked through this world.
This does not mean that the Father in some time in the eternity beget him, just like children are begot by men today. I believe the important point is that this conveys the thought that he is the only Son, there is none other like him, and although we are the sons of God through faith in the Lord Jesus.
And I think, brother, you will mention in his prayer that he is bringing many sons to glory. That is you and me. We are not in that same position that is described here in this verse. He will always be the only Son. Now in Hebrews 2, then we have Thou art my son. This day I have begotten thee. That is when he comes in time.
When he comes here, the Son Incarnate and there the word begotten is not used in exactly the same way.
They had a blessed Lord and had a beginning as a man. He took humanity into union with his person, fully man, spirit, soul and body. But here when we read the only begotten of the Father, it simply means I believe He alone is in that position of Son which no one else can share. But it is this wonderful person, beloved, that came and became flesh.
He didn't stop to be the eternal Son. He is a man, and as a man he has a beginning. But as God the Son he ever was and didn't seize in that relationship when he comes. And that's why he can reveal a Father, the one that is the only begotten who is in the bosom of the Father. He has declared him full of grace and truth. That does not mean that God did not deal in grace in the Old Testament.
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Think of.
And think of others.
Who were brought in rehab. But it was not characteristic of God dealing under the law. It was not grace that was the basis for relationship, it was the law. But in Christianity this is what is characteristic of God's dealings with us. Grace, and we need to be established in grace. In Hebrews chapter 13 we have to come to realize that this is God's dealing. That is what is characteristic of God's dealings in the connection with the sending of his Son.
And truth. That doesn't mean that there is no truth in the Old Testament, but it is not the full truth. We have all the truth of God now come out in connection with the sun being here. As a man, we know all the truth of God that man can know.
Our time is up.
We can sing #10.
#10