Dear Christian friends:

Some men have changed the world very much: Moses: Galileo; Copernicus; Martin Luther; Newton. But no one has changed the world so much as Jesus Christ. Almost everyone agrees to that, even those who do not accept Him, for their Lord and Savior.

In our text John tells us about this strange and wonderful Man who changed the world so much.


Jesus' unique birth and person. (verses 1-2) He lived before He was born. (verse 15)

He was alive before any thing else, verse 1. He said to the Jews, "I was living before Abraham was born." (John 8:58)

He made the world and everything in it. (verse 3, Col. 1:16-17) "Christ himself is the Creator who made everything in heaven and earth, the things we can see and the things we can't; the spirit world with its kings and kingdoms, its rulers and authorities; all were made by Christ for his own use and glory. He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together."

He became Man, but remained God. (verse 14)

John does not explain how Christ became Man, but Matthew and Luke do. We heard about that on the Sunday before Christmas and on Christmas Eve. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary.

When He lived here on earth for thirty-three years He hid His Godly power and glory and did not use it before men, just a little bit sometimes to do His miracles. He humbled Himself and obeyed the laws of nature and the Holy Law, The Ten Commandments. In Colossians 2:9 we read: "In Christ there is all of God in a human body." And in Philippians 2:7-8 says, "He humbled Himself, laid aside His mighty power and glory, taking disguise of a slave and becoming like men."

Jesus' birth and person are unique, strange and wonderful. No other like His, no other person like Him! Why His birth? Why did He humble Himself and become a Man?

Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."

Jesus brought grace, truth, life and light to our dark world.

The world was dark and men by nature are enemies of God. This was the condition of the world before he changed it. (verses 4-5) "Once you were under God's curse, doomed forever for your sins. You went along with the crowd and were just like all the others, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air, who is at work right now in the hearts of those who are against the Lord. All of us used to be just as they are, our lives expressing the evil within us, doing every wicked thing that our passions or our evil thoughts might lead us into. We started out bad, being born with evil natures, and were under God's anger just like everyone else. Ephesians (2:1-3 TBL)

"When we were utterly helpless, with no way of escape, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners who had no use for him." (Romans 5:6)

"And since, when we were his enemies, we were brought back to God by the death of his Son, what blessings he must have for us now that we are his friends and he is living within us!" (Romans 5:10)

Even the Law which came by Moses cannot change us or help us. (verse 17)

It demands that: "You must love him with all your heart, soul, and might. (Deuteronomy 6:5 TLB) It threatens and condemns: "Yes, and those who depend on the Jewish laws to save them are under God's curse, for the Scriptures point out very clearly, “Cursed is everyone who at any time breaks a single one of these laws that are written in God's Book of the Law."

The Law does not give us power to obey. It only proves our sin to us, and condemns us. And that makes us either worse enemies of God or hypocrites. (Explain)

So what did He do to change the world? God sent His Son, born of Mary to win forgiveness of sins for us by His perfect life and by His holy death and blood on the cross. (verse 17b) He assures us that God loves and forgives us because of Himself, although we are sinners and unworthy: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:32)

He frees us to be humble, honest, (know the truth about ourselves- that we are sinners and can only sin therefore) to love others who sin against us and He helps us. He helps us to be unafraid of God because we now are his dear children by faith in Christ. (verse 12)

"See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to be called his children—think of it—and we really are!" (1 John 3:1)

All who believe in Him are changed and for them the world is new and better. Many do not accept Him and are not changed or helped. (verses 10,11) "But since most people don't know God, naturally they don't understand that we are his children." (1 John 3:b)

Sadly, few do accept Him. "Even in his own land and among his own people, the Jews, he was not accepted. Only a few would welcome and receive him. But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them. All those who believe this are reborn!—not a physical rebirth resulting from human passion or plan—but from the will of God." (John 1:11-13)

Amen.