Feb. 04, 2024

Believe Again

The Word Made Flesh

Primary Text: John 1:14               

1)  Born of a Virgin

Luke 1:30-35:  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”   “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”  The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” 

Matthew 1:18, 22-23:  This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit….  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” 

Isaiah 7:14:  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 

DQ 1) Why was the virgin birth essential to the incarnation of Christ? 

DQ 2) What about the virgin birth distinguished Jesus from all the rest of humanity?

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

2)  Incarnate

John 8:58:  “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 

John 1:14:  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 10:30:  “I and the Father are one.” 

DQ 3) What does “incarnate” mean?

DQ 4) Why was it vital for Christ to take the form of a man? 

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

3)  Our Salvation

Galatians 4:4-7:  But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.  Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”  So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. 

Matthew 5:17:  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” 

DQ 5) Why was it necessary for Jesus to be born “under the Law”? 

DQ 6) How did Jesus “abolish the Law”?

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

4)  Light of life

John 1:4-5:  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 

John 8:12:  When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." 

1 John 1:5-7:  This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 

2 Corinthians 4:4-6:  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.  For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 

DQ 7) What does it mean that Jesus is “the light of the world”?

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________