From His Fullness - a podcast by Rev. W. Reid Hankins

Sermon preached on John 1:14-18 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 12/19/2021 in Novato, CA.















Sermon Manuscript







I’ve spent a lot of time in this passage over the years when thinking about the birth of Jesus. Yet, the theme that I’d like to focus on in this morning’s sermon is an area that my sermons on this passage haven’t delved into too much. I’d like to spend a little time thinking of the fullness that is mentioned of Jesus, particularly in verses 14-18. The language of full or fullness is used in verses 14 and 16. Verse 14 speaks of his divine fullness that has come to us as he is God come in the flesh. Verse 16 speaks of how from his fullness we have grace and truth. And so, we learn here of some of the wonderful things the Jesus’s birth has brought to us from his fullness. And its these same verses that describe this in comparison to Moses. The great, true religion was brought to much light to the world through Moses. What Moses brought humanity was wonderful and amazing and sufficiently served God’s people for many centuries. But with the birth of Jesus, one greater than Moses has come bringing things even greater than what Moses brought. As we again reflect on Christ’s birth, let us reflect on what he has brought us in his divine fullness.







Let us first consider how Jesus brings us the fullness of God, both of his glory, and of his revelation. This is the basis for what we speak today when we speak of his fullness. Verse 14 describes Jesus as the Word that became flesh. This passage began in verse 1 by telling us that this Word was both with God and was God from the very beginning. This passage ends in verse 18 by telling us that this Word is the Only-begotten God, the eternal Son of the Father, who is at the Father’s side. So, we find the wonderful mystery that the one we call Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh. The name of Jesus isn’t even mentioned in this passage until almost the end, in verse 17, which is really more of a reference to his humanity than anything. But Jesus is the eternal God, one of the three persons of the Holy Trinity, who came to this earth in the divine fullness and became man. He didn’t lose his divinity when he became man, but added a divine nature to his person. So then, in the person of Jesus, the fullness of the deity dwelt in bodily form, as Colossians 2:9 also teaches.







This is beautifully described in a word that is almost always lost in English translations in verse 14. The word for “dwelt” is literally “tabernacled” or “pitched a tent”. The Son of God tabernacled among us, and we have seen his glory, glory of the only begotten from the Father. Here, in our passage, even before Moses’ name is mentioned, we have a contrast with Moses. Moses brought, so to speak, the glory of God to the world when he pitched a tent in the wilderness. God showed Moses a picture in heaven of a tabernacle which Moses then used to build an earthly approximation. In that tabernacle and later the temple that Solomon built, the Shekinah glory of God dwelt among his people. Such was wonderful and glorious. But now with Jesus, that fullness of God’s glory was manifested not in a fixed tent or building, but in the human body of Jesus. Wherever Jesus went, the fullness of God’s glory was present right there. And when Moses had built that tabernacle, Exodus 40:34 speaks of how at first the glory cloud of God filled the tabernacle. But what resulted of that was Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle when that glory cloud was so settled upon the tabernacle, Exodus 40:35. But Jesus, as one better than Moses, had within him the fullness of God’s glory. And we’ve seen that glory; that fullness of divine glory in the person of Jesus!

Further episodes of Reformed Sermons and Sunday Schools at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Petaluma, CA

Further podcasts by Rev. W. Reid Hankins

Website of Rev. W. Reid Hankins