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Printer Friendly VersionI. Introduction
A. The old covenant had foretold:
1. Isaiah 50:10 Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice
of his servant, who walks in darkness and has no light, yet trusts in the
name of the LORD and relies upon his God?
2. Isaiah 9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a
great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light
shined.
B. Now (the Apostle proclaims) the light was dawning in the
world
1. The true light that is the life of humankind
2. The light to which even the most devout of God’s servants
can only bear witness
C. 2 Corinthians 4:6 The God who said, “Let light shine
out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
II. The Fullness of Time
A. Here is the heart of our Christian message
1. The Old Testament was partial and fragmentary
a) It contained only a shadow of things to come in Christ
(1) Colossians 2:17 These are only a shadow of what is to come;
but the substance belongs to Christ.
(2) Hebrews 10:1 These are only a shadow of the good things
to come instead of the true form of these realities; it can never, by the
same sacrifices which are continually offered year after year, make perfect
those who draw near.
b) The people of God had never truly seen God
2. In Christ that true revelation was to come
B. This is the season that we began on January 6th
1. The day of Epiphany celebrates the visitation we receive
in the birth of Jesus
a) God came in Christ
(1) Galatians 4:4 But when the time had fully come, God sent
forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.
(2) For a timely purpose: Galatians 4:5 to redeem those who
were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons
b) As an ordinary boy of ordinary parents
(1) Yet in him was the hope of earth
(2) The piercing of the darkness
C. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full
of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from
the Father.
1. Jesus invaded human history by invading the history of God’s
original people – the Jews
2. Bringing a new covenant of new revelation
a) Titus 2:11-14 God’s grace has appeared for the salvation
of all mankind, teaching us to renounce ungodliness and worldly cravings,
and to live serious, godly lives in this present age, awaiting our blessed
hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
who gave himself for us to free us from all iniquity and to purify for himself
a people of his possession, eager to do what is good.
b) In him was the goal of God for all of us
c) We study him to know the will of our Creator
(1) Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn over all creation.
(2) So that, when we see him, we see God as he is, and humanity
as it was meant to be
3. He claimed what no other ever has or ever could
a) He is the standard of faith
b) He is the Way to God
c) He is the Truth about God
d) He is the Life to be lived for God – in God
D. Darkness Is Pervasive
1. Jesus claims that apart from him there is no light
2. This was his mission
a) John 12:46 I have come as light into the world, that whoever
believes in me may not remain in darkness
(1) There was universal darkness before his coming
(2) Had he not come we would not have had light
(a) This brings a pervasive hopelessness
(b) We are doomed without insight
(c) John 11:10 If any one walks in the night, he stumbles, because
the light is not in him.
E. The Hebrews knew that God is light
1. In Christ this light had come into our midst
a) 1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and
proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
b) The end of our blindness was coming in him
2. He walked about in our presence bringing the revelation of
God’s nature
a) This was our awakening
b) Our Epiphany
III. The Results Are Transforming
A. NJB 1 John 1:7 If we live in light, as he is in light, we
have a share in another’s life, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses
us from all sin.
1. The light of Christ is our transforming grace – but
what is that?
2. How do we differ in Christ from all else?
B. Christ clearly taught that his coming changed our moral responsibility
1. In him we received light
a) Now we are accountable
b) John 3:19 This is the judgment, that the light has come into
the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil. Every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light,
lest his deeds should be exposed.
(1) Earth cannot be the same since he came
(2) You and I cannot be the same
(a) We have light the old covenant prophets did not have
(b) In that light we must walk
2. The light of his revelation changes our insight into God
a) In Jesus, we believe, is fullness of revelation
(1) In the Son we have the Father (2) He brings the insight
into reality
b) John 8:12 “I am the light of the world; he who follow
me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
C. So, what had been partial in the Hebrew prophets is now complete
in Jesus
1. Hebrews 1:1-3 In many and various ways God spoke of old to
our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us by
a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created
the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature,
upholding the universe by his word of power.
a) This is for us a great blessing
b) This is for us a great responsibility
2. To this light we must be more than true
a) We must become the light