Message (04/27/08)

John 1:16
Package of Grace!

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Introduction: “Grace” is something that we freely received. We can take this two simple words to define it, “without merit” and “undeserved”. This is kind of “giving what one gravely needs out of love.” No price or no cost but is costly in itself. It’s a love-gift and blessing! Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God (v. 1), has brought the abstract truth of God’s love, grace, and power into our real life. In Jesus Christ, God’s grace and love became visible and also tangible. Then, by His perfection in obedience and love, God’s grace has been stressed out and extended to its double size for us (v. 16b). Package of Grace!

Doubling Grace: Wiping-away of Sin (vv. 29, 35): Sin simply means “missing the mark.” We missed the marks that our parents had set for us, that our bosses had targeted to us, and that our teachers had expected from us. We all missed their goals and they also missed all our expectations too. So, is our life filled only with blame, charge, guilt, and accusation. The most of all, we’d missed God’s original mark that He intended for us to reach. So, we’re all condemned not only by our parents, our friends, our bosses, but also by God himself. To this dismay, but, John the Baptist had proclaimed the cleansing of all the blames and condemnations by pointing out Jesus Christ as the Lamb sent from God, who took away all our shortcomings. So, no more condemnation! The truth of God’s grace and love in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has prevailed!

Doubling Grace: Installing of New Life (vv. 40-42): Everyone received names at birth. By that name, we’re indentified and known as we grew up. Even a simple spelling mistake can cause a big problem to indentify us especially in the very important legal cases. Name given at birth is so meaningful that much. In fact, to give a new name of “Cephas/Peter” means to comment a whole new life, another one totally different from the previous. Yes, the promise of new life (cf., 2 Cor. 5:17) is not just a mere abstract expression of doctrine. It is a total-change of one’s life—value-system, perspective, life-style, etc. This is another grace that Jesus Christ had brought by his death and resurrection. That is a total new life, living with new dream, new vision, new purpose and even with a new feeling.

Doubling Grace: Opened Heaven (vv. 48-51): What does opened heaven mean? We can refer to the homecoming of the lost son (Luke 15:20). It is like when this disobedient son came back to his safe home with repentance that his loving father opened his big arm to receive this wandering son back home. He was reconciled and the relationship was restored so is like when heaven and earth would be reconciled and intercommunication be restored (v. 51). Further, this opened heaven is also like when the neighbor had no other options except to open his door to give bread to friends (Luke 11:5-9). Opened heaven’s gate so wide to receive us back to God and to give our needs is another grace that Jesus Christ had brought toward us. In His death and resurrection, our broken relationship with Heaven had been restored and God’s loving arm is opened ready to embrace us. Therefore, package of God’s doubling grace he really is!