This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of “The Name of Jesus Christ” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, March 8, 1987.
This morning we are reading from John’s Gospel, the first chapter of that Gospel. We are reading the first fourteen verses. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light that lighted 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 he gave 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. became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory.
The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” And reading from John chapter three, beginning with verse sixteen. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deed should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest that they are wrought in God. Finally, from the eighteenth chapter of John, verse thirty-three, to the first part of verse thirty-eight.
Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again and called Jesus and said unto him, Are thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered him. Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king.
To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Jesus rather. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? Our God, your word goes out in the world. You gather your own And Father, we pray on behalf of those who preach today and speak that word in truth. May full blessing rest upon them and the wonderful ministry of the Spirit. May that be at their disposal. We pray this in Christ’s name. Amen.
Jesus is the Son of God. We have been speaking about Jesus, the Son of God, and we’ve said a great number of things about him as the Son. We have said, for instance, that as Son, he is heir. He is the inheritor of those things that belong to God. And greater still, as son of God, he is heir of God himself. We have also said that as son of God, we are not to trip over that title. that is ascribed to Jesus.
For nothing less will do than that confession that is spoken by Thomas towards the end of John’s gospel. Thomas is doubted. And the risen Christ has appeared to him. The response of Thomas at that point is not Jesus, you are the son of God. But rather, my Lord and my God. Any confession that falls short of acknowledging this son of God as God. Is a confession that falls short of what God expects of us. As we would confess Jesus. Jesus then, son of God, heir of God, that son of God who is God. But we have said something else as well about this Jesus. So magnificent is he that as John portrays him in his gospel, We are face-to-face with one who brings those things which are above down into the world in which we live. The coming of the Son of God then means the appearance in this world of heavenly thanks. It also means But those things which are yet future have now come into our experience.
Do we read about eternal life, the abundant life, the glorious life of bliss in heaven? Do we think of that life as something exclusively future? The appearance of this one, who is the son of God, brings with him the future realities of glory so that if you believe now already you have eternal life and you will never die. Isn’t that magnificent? Isn’t that, at the heart of things, the gospel? We are called upon to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and we are told, if we believe, we will have life through Him. Not just more of the same. Not just more of the trouble and the pain. but eternal life and glory. That to begin already now with our believing. But there is a problem, of course, with such a message and such a figure as Jesus is.
There is a problem with this person, If you have one into him. If you have faced him. If you have appeared as it were into his eyes and understood who he is and the demand that he made. You realize that the cost to you is the world. For as this one comes and makes plain the world that is above, as he comes and makes plain to you that that which stands beyond the grave can become a present reality for you now, as you see these things clearly, you realize that Jesus is robbing you of the present world you love. And that is the price. That is the price.
That is the consequence of him taking that world from him. And also, ill health, uncontrollable anxiety, frustration, bitterness, resentment. He takes away from me my world. This one, the son of God, robs us of the world. He tells us in his statement to Pilate, my kingdom is not of this world, it is not of this world or… It’s strange that we feel the agony of heart, the battle that goes on in our souls.
There is then that response to the promise He robs us of the world, and we can stand back them from him in simple resistance. But here, the warning that is given to us with regard to that simple resistance. We are told by the writer of this gospel, in a letter that he writes later on in his life, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. Now, you might think that John is being particularly harsh, but those words are elched in love.
They are meant for our good. How so? Because John understands that the things of this world will pass. just as the world. He also knows that Christ and his kingdom endures forever, and that is the issue. Our sinful resistance then Recognizing the price, counting the cost, we run up against this one son of God. We see is the man. He loves the world. And we resist. Because we hang on to, we cling to the world. Jesus gives us a parable in another gospel, the Gospel of Matthew.
He’s speaking about his ministry of casting out demons. It’s a very powerful statement that he makes when he reflects upon his activity. He says, You have that one out of whom there has been driven the spirit, and that spirit, that demon, wanders about in the world.
And as he does, he gathers to himself seven demons far worse than himself. And then he decides to return to that a boat that he left. That person out of whom he had been driven and when he arrived, he finds that everything is in place. It’s as if that person is a building in a boat well kept, but utterly empty for nothing has come to fill up that a boat that person. And thus the spirit, the demon, takes the seven words and sets up house.
And Jesus says the latter state is worse than the first. Hear the warning then. You come up against Christ. You see the cost. You recognize the demand. Jesus, that one who comes forth from another world, telling you that you can be a part of that other world. And you, resisting, saying, no, I can’t give up this world.
You, having seen Jesus and understood his message, you are like that one from whom a demon has been driven. But if your abode, if your person is not filled up with the fullness of eternal life, if you yourself are not filled up with the Holy Spirit, then the demon returns. And he brings with him seven worse than himself, and the latter state is worse than the first.
Hear the warning, then, and hear the loving call of the Savior. Come to me, all of you who are weak and heavy laden. Learn of me. I will give you rest for your souls. There is then that response That simple resistance to the claim of the Son of God upon you. When you hold on to this world. Instead of letting it go. The Word of Christ is if you hold on you will lose everything. Even your soul. But if you will let go. And trust me, it will be salvation and eternal life. There is another response, though. Some might understand this as a believing response.
I might flatter myself. Having seen the Son of God through the word by the Spirit, understood him congratulating myself, but I have interpreted him a right that my soul is secure. I am still liable to misunderstand his message and how tragic that misunderstanding. For I can whistle my way through life, contending myself that my name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and that I am set for eternity, and withdraw myself from that world that I am not to love, forgetting that God himself loved the world in such a way as to send his Son into it to die for it. So I wrap myself in my cloak of self-righteousness. I’m very pleased with myself, and I’m quite satisfied.
But do you understand? Jesus comes to us from that other world and he preaches his message, and he brings to us the realities and blessings of that other world in order that we might live in this world as a testament to him and to the realities that are above. How are you to live in this world? Are you to withdraw from it in such a way that you have no contact with it? Are you to wrap yourself up in your cloak of self-righteousness, well satisfied with yourself? Or is there something else? Is there another way of life for you?
Well, how was it with the Son of God? How was it with that one who came forth from heaven? How did he behave? He came giving himself, offering himself, a servant for the sake of others. How are you to live? As a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. In this world. What kind of life is it to be. For all those. Who would confess Jesus as son of God. It is to be a life patterned after him.
And though we may do poorly. And though our thought may far exceed our life. And our ability to conform. Still in the end. The bottom line must be that there is in us a heart comparable to his own. We not setting our minds so much upon heaven. That we are rendered useless. In this world. Withdrawing to monasteries and nunneries. Becoming permits and recluses. In the name of the kingdom of God. That isn’t the way in which the kingdom is to be manifest in the world.
The pattern is set in Christ. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. And the glory that is resident in him has become our possession. And through us now, his glory is to be manifest in the world so that the world might understand that we belong to him. That’s what it is, isn’t it? So that in the end, having met Jesus, I have to give up my world and I have to give up myself. And I do that because I love him. And I trust him.
How does it with you? The strain, the agony, the pain and suffering. A long history of bitterness, resentment. I can confess that to you this morning. And rehearsing my own life. I can go back to my teenage years and tell you about times then when it seemed as if I was in mortal conflict with my parents, bearing those resentments still in my heart to this day. My parents were forced to make a decision. They had to move from a place that I loved I felt the decision was mine. It wasn’t. It was theirs. But how hard that bitterness and resentment dies. It hangs on. Tears, rips, gnaws. So many other things.
What if? What if this had happened? Or that? Where would I be today? What would I be doing? Bearing grudges against God? Angry with Him? Resenting Him? He takes from me a world. Then it’s as if He takes from me myself. And what does He give back in return? Everything. Eternal life. In self. Rest. Peace. A life free of anxieties. Resting in him. Nothingness.
Our father, it may well be. That we in facing you have understood very plainly. Your demand. Our quest to save our life and our world. You have told us. And. In our severe disappointment. We would therefore Lord. in the power of the spirit that you supply, realize afresh, grab hold of anew that world which you have come to reveal to us, and for the sake of our God and His kingdom, we will let go of this world. Father, let us as well Let go of ourselves. If we might be patterned after and conformed to. The son of God. We thank you Lord. That you have blessed us. That you have granted us mercy. Willing hearts open ears. And Lord may we have obedient lives.
The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.