John 1:18 - Preached by Rev D Waldron

Just as human beings like you and me cannot look directly at the brightness of the sun, so we cannot look upon God who is perfectly glorious and holy, dwelling in unapproachable light. Moses saw a representation of God in the burning bush and hid his face. He was granted to see the ‘back of God’; His full glory veiled as He passed by the cleft in the rock where Moses was covered from the fullness of God’s Light. Jesus Christ is greater than Moses, greater than any man who has ever lived, because He has seen God face to face. He has always been and was with God before the time and space of this creation began. Only Christ has seen God and we are able to see Him! He is made visible to us through His Word and by the Holy Spirit who teaches us that all the things which are in the Bible are true. As we look upon the brightness of Christ, we see the Image of the invisible God, the exact representation of the nature of our Maker. Then we see that we are, in the words of Francis Schaeffer, ‘glorious ruins’. An amalgam of dignity and depravity. When we see the majesty, splendour and holiness of God, then we see how much we need a Saviour.

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, who in the person of God the Son is of the same nature as God the Father, being one of the three persons of the Trinity. The relationship between Father and Son is an intimate bond of perfect love. Jesus is ‘in the bosom of the Father’, receiving the utmost affection, care and protection as a beloved Son in whom God is well-pleased. The deep affection between Father and Son is reflected in the love of Christ for people like you and me. In the gospels we see His loving compassion, His close friendship with ordinary people like Lazarus, His interest in social outcasts like lepers, prostitutes, and the Samaritan woman. The depth of His love for His Father shines forth in His desire to do the will of God, even though that will resulted in His agonizing death under the terrible weight of God’s wrath against the sins of people like you and me. At the cross we see the depth of God’s love for His people and the breaking of the bond of intimate fellowship between Father and Son when Jesus cries out “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”.

Gospel writer John ends his prologue (the first 18 verses of chapter 1) with an introduction to what will follow in the words “He has explained Him”. Christ explains who God is in His character. In the Bible we see the holiness, knowledge and power of Christ. We see Jesus doing, knowing and being what only God Himself can do, know and be. We also see that Christ relates to people. He weeps over the death of Lazarus, He touches those in need, He has fellowship with His disciples. He desires that those who put Him to death be forgiven. To see Christ is to see God. To know Christ is to know God. Why is this so vitally important? So that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. You are a glorious ruin. Only in Christ can your ruin be repaired and your true dignity restored. Will you come to Him?

No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” {John 1:18}