Terry Scheuffele

The Word Became Flesh:

The Incarnation of Christ

Last week I introduced my sermon theme for the next three weeks – The Word Became Flesh. We discussed Christ’s pre-incarnate glory in the first lesson. This week we will talk about his incarnation and next week we will discuss the mission and purpose of the church as reflected by the incarnation.

Incarnation is a Latin derivative which means “in-flesh-ment.” John put it this way, “the Word became flesh.”

John 1:1, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

John makes this declaration so matter-of-factly that it would be easy to read over it without considering its awesome implications. The eternal God, creator and sustainer of heaven and earth became a human being and “pitched his tent” among us. This is beyond comprehension! Paul describes this as a self-emptying of his divine nature.

Philippians 2:6-8 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross!

Paul describes seven demotions Jesus willingly accepted to bring about our salvation: he became “nothing,” a servant, he looked like a human, he became a human being, he humbled himself, he died, and he died a criminal’s death on the cross. Moving from a theological description, think about the eternal God being born as a helpless child to poor family living in an occupied and oppressed country. Think about the implications of becoming human: frailty, indignity, pain, and subjection to the consequences of sin – death and corruption. God did that for you. Why?

John 1:14-18 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us….  18No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

Jesus became a human being in order reveal the Father. All previous revelation had been indirect through events in history. In Jesus, God actually entered and became a part of our history. He became one of us to “show us the father.”

John 14:8-11 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

I’ll say more in my lesson, Joey

The Word Became Flesh:

The Pre-Incarnate Glory of Christ

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God– 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

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.

15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'”

16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

John 1:1-18

Thanks be to God: Victory over Life!

My lesson Sunday will complete my series, “Thanks be to God!” which traced Paul’s five uses of that phrase through his epistles. Hopefully these lessons have helped prepare your minds for the Thanksgiving season.

Today we will be looking at 2 Corinthians 2:14, But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. Jesus gives us victory over life!

I do need to take a moment to add a couple of disclaimers about this passage and my lesson. First, Paul is not saying you will not have any trouble in life. In fact, 2 Corinthians is full of sorrow, suffering, and mental anguish, especially for Paul. The victory spoken of by Paul is should be filtered through his conclusion regarding his thorn in the flesh, 2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. In our weaknesses, disabilities, and trials, God’s power is stronger and even more apparent in our lives.

Second, contextually, Paul is addressing the sufferings of apostles and other servants for the cause of the gospel and specifically his suffering as an ambassador of Christ. Paul sees these sufferings as evidence he is doing the will of Christ. Far from being disabilities in the common sense of the word, his sufferings have led to the advancement of the gospel through the power of God. 2 Corinthians 12:10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

This is not to say the passage is not applicable to us, it is. However, we must see our victory in terms of our Christian witness. He is not saying that we will eventually get all of our wants or wishes. Far from it! He is saying that God works best in fragile, broken, or otherwise imperfect vessels.

2 Corinthians 4:7-11 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.

I’ll say more in the lesson. — Joey

Thanks Be To God:
Victory Through Jesus!

1 Corinthians 15:49-58 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. 50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed– 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Five times in his epistles Paul uses the phrase, “Thanks be to God.” Every one of them speaks to what Jesus has done for us. During this season of thanksgiving I will be sharing the blessings we have in Jesus.

Last week we discussed the victory over sin, next week we will examine our victory over life, but today we will celebrate our victory over death.

Apparently, some in Corinth were denying the resurrection from the dead. The reason, I suppose, is a matter of speculation, but Paul affirms the resurrection as central to our faith and hope.

1 Corinthians 15:16-20 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

What does the resurrection mean for the Christian? What kind of bodies will we have? Paul answers these questions and more.

Please join us this Sunday!  — Joey 

Thanks be to God!

Romans 6:17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.

Romans 7:25 Thanks be to God— through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

How fast this year has passed. Fall will soon be over. Soon we will be decorating our Christmas trees and planning our holiday parties. In our rush to get to the giving time of the year, let’s not forget the thanksgiving season. As a culture, it is not unusual for us to give a disproportionate amount of attention to Halloween and Christmas, but somehow minimize Thanksgiving.

It is always appropriate to be thankful. We need not wait for a special day of the year, but since we have a national holiday dedicated to giving thanks, why not use it to remind ourselves of all the things we should be thankful for every day of the year?

This is especially true of all the blessings we have in Christ. For the next three weeks in my messages, I will be focusing on a phrase that Paul uses five times in his epistles, “Thanks be to God.” He  exhorts and commands us to be thankful in many of his letters, but in these five instances, Paul bursts into praise thanking God for our blessings in Jesus Christ.

My messages for the remainder of November will be…

• 11/10 — Thanks be to God for his Indescribable Gift.
• 11/17 — Thanks be to God! He gives us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
• 11/24 — Thanks be to God who Always Leads us in Triumphal procession.

At the heart of our thanksgiving is the work of Jesus Christ through the cross. He gives us victory over sin, death, and life!

Please join us for these lessons. — Joey