On this episode, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. The Christmas season is a special time of year, and we talk about why. We also share one of Bro. David Miller’s classic sermons entitled “The Glory of Jesus” from John 1:14-18. Enjoy!

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Episode Transcript:

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Merry christmas and a happy new year.

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Line Upon Line Ministries podcast. I’m your host, Mark Williams. Line Upon Line Ministries was founded by Brother David Miller and continues to be committed to the expository ministry of the Word for the life of the local church. It’s the holiday season and with that brings all the holiday fun and excitement. We have Christmas coming up and the new year.

And so just like we talked about in the last podcast, there are a lot of things that happen during this season that are can be difficult for some people, but also exciting and we always look forward to each year.

So on this episode, we’ve got a couple of things. First of all, we’re going to talk about Christmas. We’re going to talk about the season and the reason for it. And then we also have a special classic sermon by Brother David on the glory of Christ.

Just a quick reminder, you can find hundreds of Brother David’s classic sermons, his outlines, other resources at our website lineuponlineministries.com if you haven’t been there in a while, you can go and check out some of the new content that’s been posted. You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook, X, the other social media sites.

Be sure to follow us, like us, comment on posts you like, share them with your friends, all that good stuff, all of that helps to continue to promote expository ministry through Line Upon Line Ministries.

As we’re recording this podcast, we’re preparing at our church to have our Christmas cantata. And so I’ve been preparing a short message at the end of that to, to talk about the, the meaning of Christmas and, and to present the gospel and, and to do so through one particular verse in Matthew, chapter 1, verse 21, where the angel of the Lord says to Joseph, she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.

So when we’re thinking about Christmas, you know, oftentimes we think of gifts and we think of Santa. We think of all the things that go around, family, friends, all the lights and the Christmas trees and all those other things. But of course you and I know if you’re a believer listening to this podcast, that Christmas is really about Jesus. We all have our favorite memories growing up of gifts we received or time spent with family, all those kinds of things. I can recall. You know, a favorite gift when I was growing up was my parents helped finish paying off a guitar that I had put on layaway.

My first, my first guitar. And so that was a really cool memory, a really cool gift from them to help me to get that.

I remember now with, with children, our own, our own kids and coming down the stairs or coming down the hallway out of their rooms and seeing the gifts and being excited to open them. And there’s been some fun ones over the years.

I can remember one in particular when we had some foster kids as well. And. And at one point we had six kids in our home for Christmas and we had piles of gifts for each one of them around the living room. And it was just a crazy paper mess of a Christmas morning. But just a blessed time, a great memory there.

We all have those kinds of memories and those are all good and nice and have give us a sense of love and peace and joy and hope.

But all of those really serve to remind us of the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ, the hope that we have in him, the peace that he gives.

So those are good things, but they’re really just a shadow of the greater thing that has come.

Jesus, our Emmanuel. God with us, the one who will save his people from their sins.

The word Jesus, the name Jesus means the Lord saves. Yahweh, saves.

Christmas isn’t just about the gifts. It’s not even just about a cute baby in a manger. The Nativity, it’s about a Savior who has come to save his people.

It says, for he will save his people.

Jesus is the one who saves. That’s clear.

But he will save.

It’s not a question of whether or not he’s able or that he can or. Or that he would was going to or not, that he was just there. There was no question of whether he would fail at his mission or not. He will save his people from their sins. This Jesus came from to save his people, those whom he has called, those whom the Father has given to Him. He came not just to be a baby in a manger, but to go to the cross to be killed for us to be buried, to be raised from the dead for our justification.

We were lost in our sin. We were separated from God because of it. But Jesus came to save us from our sins and he saves us. He does save us all who call on him in faith. He saves us from the penalty of sin, from the power of sin, and one day, even from the presence of sin in glory with Him.

So on this Christmas season, let’s remember not just the baby in the manger in Bethlehem.

Let’s remember the king who hung on a cross and our Lord who rose from the dead for our justification.

If you’re listening to this podcast and you’ve never trusted in Christ. You’ve never believed in him, on him for your salvation.

Now is the time.

Believe the good news that Jesus came to die, to be raised to save you from your sin, and you will be saved.

For those of us who are saved, who have been following Christ, who love him with our heart, with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, let’s use this season as an opportunity to share that good news with family and friends as we’re gathered around, with others as we have opportunity.

Let’s remind people of what this season is really about and to point them to Jesus, who takes away the sin of his people.

And now let’s move on to another one of brother David Miller’s classic sermons on the glory of Jesus. And this is from John, chapter 1, verses 14 through 18. Perfect for this Christmas season. Enjoy.

[00:07:46] Speaker B: Does it appear to you folks near the front that I’m right in the center of the platform?

Does it?

I would be grieved above measure if this crowd were to perceive me to be to the left of center.

I invite you to turn, please, to the Gospel according to John, chapter one, John, chapter one. Beginning at verse 14, I would like to preach to you tonight about the glory of Jesus.

Is that anything you might be interested in?

The glory of Jesus.

Have you found the text?

Let’s begin at verse 14.

And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

And John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, this was he of whom I.

He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me.

And of his fulness have all we received.

And grace for grace for the law came by Moses, but grace and truth came, came by Jesus Christ.

No man hath seen God at any time.

The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Now I confess that my subject is transcendent.

It is bigger and beyond any ability that I possess to adequately describe it.

I fear that you might think of my efforts like the soybean herbicide commercial.

Did you see it?

The leader of the seminar says to his audience, this chart on the screen before you is self explanatory.

So let me explain it.

I am willing and somewhat anxious to run that risk with you. Tonight I shall give my sermon around three headings.

I want to give you a definition.

For the glory of Jesus.

I want to Give a delineation of the glory of Jesus as we find it in this passage.

And I want to talk about the design for the glory Jesus by way of definition. Let me remind you there are two words that are translated glory in our English Bible. One of these is the Hebrew word kavod, and it means heavy or weighty.

And it has to do primarily with with those visible manifestations of God in the Old Testament times.

As, for example, when God placed Moses in the cleft of the rock, covering him with his hand, passing by, allowing Moses to see his hinder part, revealing the goodness of God’s person.

Or as when the Shekinah filled the temple, revealing the greatness of God’s presence.

Or as when Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, revealing the grandeur of God’s perfections.

These were heavy, weighty, visible manifestations of God.

It was the glory of God.

In the New Testament we have the Greek word doxa, and it has to do primarily with verbally ascribing worth or worship to Jesus.

Now, it probably is not going to surprise you when I tell you that Bible scholars are divided in their interpretations of John chapter 1, verse 14.

Some of the scholars tell us that the phrase full of grace and truth is to be taken with the word the divine Logos, meaning that it was the word which was full of grace and truth. And they argue like this.

They remind us that the Greek word play race should be taken with logos because both of these are in the nominative case, whereas doxa is in the accusative case.

But other immanent divines argue just as force, saying that because clay race is often used indeclinably in the Greek papyri, one should not dogmatically insist that play race be taken with logos.

It could, and in their opinion, it should be taken with doxa, meaning that the glory of Jesus is the singular fact that he is full of grace and truth.

See law.

There.

What do you think about that?

Don’t answer that.

I have the gift of discernment.

I know what you think about that.

You think about that just like I do when I’m sitting out there and some doofus is giving a great grammar lesson when he ought to have been preaching.

You are not impressed with that at all.

I have taken the time to give you that little Greek grammar lesson because I hope that you will think of me in terms at least as lofty as a certain seminary student thought of the president of the institution one day in class while giving a testimony ascribing virtue and praise to the president.

The student said this.

Our president’s like an Airedale dog.

He’s not as dumb as he looks.

Well, regardless of how dumb I may or may not look to you, I don’t have the foggiest notion on earth whether play race modifies logos or whether play race modifies doc.

I don’t have a clue on Earth.

In fact, the more I have thought about it, the better. I like it both ways.

However, I do have a homespun definition for the glory of Jesus.

Are you interested?

Here it is.

The glory of Jesus is the sum total of all his attributes and deeds which separates and distinguishes him from all other beings.

That’s Miller on glory.

Let me give you that again.

The glory of Jesus is the sum total of all of his attributes and deeds which separates and distinguishes him from all other beings.

Now, with this definition before us, I want to give you a fourfold delineation of things from this text which distinguishes our Lord Jesus Christ.

I shall begin by telling you that the person of Jesus distinguishes him.

Our text calls him the Word, the Divine Logos.

Jesus is not a cosmic principle.

He is the consummate person.

He is the express image of the Godhead bodily.

He is the visible manifestation of the invisible Deity.

He is the second Person of the Trinity.

In the context of our chapter, we have been reminded that he is co eternal with the Father.

It says, in the beginning was the Word.

Now you tell me when the beginning was, and I will tell you.

Jesus was there.

If you could board an intergalactic spacecraft and travel back into time, if you traveled back to a time when the unnavigated ether of endless space had never been disturbed by the brush of an angel’s wing, you wouldn’t have gone far enough.

Jesus was before that co eternal, and not only so, but coexistent with the Father.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, dwelling in unapproachable light, enjoying fellowship with His Father, and not only co eternal, coexistent, but co equal.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

I say, glory to Jesus.

There’s no other person like Him.

Number two, I want you to see that the prerogative of Jesus distinguishes him.

Verse 14 says, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

What a God could be made flesh and dwell among men?

Let me just take a moment to tell you that man does not possess that kind of prerogative.

Man may not be made God.

That’s the era of Mormonism, polygamy, multiple wives.

In the big scheme of theology, that doesn’t amount to much.

That’s window dressing.

The era of the Mormons is they reject the deity, the eternality, the equality of Jesus with God, and they proclaim that a certain number of them are ascending into deity and are going to be made gods.

Man does not possess that prerogative.

Man may not be made God.

This is the era of Kenneth Copelandism.

This is the era of Benny Hinnism and Paul and Janism.

They say that they are little gods.

Oh no, not even itsy bitsy nor teeny weeny gods.

Man will never be made God.

This is the era of the New Age movement.

But while man may not be made God, God could be made man and Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us.

Would you like to know more about that?

Let me speak of three things here. The meaning of the Incarnation.

It is the joining of the divine nature with a human nature.

The Bible speaks of three great unions.

It speaks of an essential union, a union of essence.

You see, we cannot put the stuff that Deity is composed of under a microscope and study it.

So we refer to his essence.

And in this essence called Deity there are three persons.

Each of these three possesses the same nature and the exact same will.

And they are perfectly un united in the one triune God.

That’s the Trinity.

And then the Bible speaks of a mystical union. And in this union you have two natures and two wills perfectly joined in one spirit and glory. Glory.

This is the union that the Church is in with her Lord.

This is the union that I’m in with my Savior.

He is in Me and I am in Him.

A mystical spiritual union.

And then there is what we call the hypostatic union.

And in this hypostatic union there are two natures and two wheels perfectly joined in one person.

And do you know who that one person is?

It is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you know when that took place?

That took place in the fullness of the times when Jesus Christ was born of a woman born under the law to redeem them that are under the law.

That’s the Incarnation.

Now, would you like to know the means by which this came about?

I’m feeling comfortable now with this crowd and I think I’m just going to come right out and say it was a miracle, it was supernatural, it cannot be explained.

It was the Holy Ghost of God that came upon the Virgin Mary when as yet she had not known a man intimately.

And Christ was conceived the Son of God.

Conceived in the womb of the virgin.

And that fetus was sanctified.

I believe in the sanctity of fetal development, don’t you?

For there in her womb was none other than the eternal coexistent, co = second person person of the Godhead.

That’s heavy.

That’s weighty.

That’s the glory of Jesus.

No one else has that prerogative.

You know the motive for this?

Do you know why? In eternity past God. God assigned his Son a body.

And in the fullness of the times, God the Spirit arranged and assembled the body and God the Son assumed a physical body.

God in human flesh.

Do you know why?

Because the children were partakers of flesh and blood.

He became a partaker of the same.

That he might be touched with the feelings of our infirmities.

That he might fulfill the role of the kinsman Redeemer.

Do you remember him?

He had a fourfold function.

He had a function regarding property that had been sold.

He had a role regarding people who had been sold into slavery.

He had a function regarding the posterity of a deceased brother.

And he had a function regarding punishment. He was the avenger of blood.

Three features must be met in the kinsman. One, he must be worthy.

He must be a near kinsman.

This is the doctrine of the Incarnation.

Two, he must be wealthy.

For if he did not put possess some wherewithal, he would not be able.

And I want to tell you the reason Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us was that he might demonstrate his impeccability.

For while he was here in the flesh for 33 years, he fulfilled all of the demands of God’s holy law on behalf of his children.

And then he not only had to be worthy and wealthy, he had to be willing.

This is the doctrine of interposition.

He didn’t even ask our permission.

He didn’t get a tribunal of high ecclesiastical figures together and get their opinion.

I want to tell you, beloved, Jesus Christ came sovereignly came because he wanted to and interposed himself our dilemma that he might redeem us unto Himself I say Hallelujah and glory to Jesus.

His prerogative.

Number three.

I want you to see the glory of Jesus in this distinguishing factor.

It is his preferment.

Now I’m just going to be honest with you. Is there anyone else here but us?

I’m not exactly sure that preferment is a word, but it sure fits well into my out.

And so I’m going to use it.

I get the idea from verse 14. Or, pardon me, verse 15. Would you look at it and John bare witness of him and cried, saying this was he of whom I spake.

He that cometh after me here it is, is preferred before me, for he was before me.

Here John says, I prefer Jesus.

He has seniority and he has priority over me.

I prefer him.

And come to think about it, I prefer Jesus myself, don’t you?

This world has its rock stars and movie stars and superstars, but I prefer Jesus.

He’s the day star from on high.

This world has its princes and prime ministers and presidents, but I prefer Jesus.

He’s the one and only potentate.

If I’m in the company of infidel scientists discussing the origin of the universe, that’s when I prefer Jesus.

I prefer to quote him when he says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

If I’m in the company of pseudo intellectual theologians articulating their developmental hypotheses, telling us that what we have in the biblical record is not exactly what happened, that’s when I prefer Jesus.

I prefer to quote him when he says, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away.

If I’m in the company of Jeolus studying the carbon deposits, telling us that it’s billions and billions of years old, that’s when I prefer Jesus.

I prefer to quote him when he says, in six days the Lord created the heavens and the earth. And if they argue with me, and I like to quote Jesus when he says, where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Where were you when I established the bounds of the sea and said unto her proud waves thus far but no further, I prefer Jesus.

Can I speak to you further regarding the plenitude of Jesus? The fullness of Jesus distinguishes him from all other persons. Listen to this text.

And of his fullness have all we received and grace for grace.

Now the scholars offer a half a dozen interpretations for this phrase, grace for grace, when all of those have been duly considered and compared and contrasted.

For this country preacher, it boils down to this.

When, when one episode or wave of grace begins to pass by and subside, watch out, another episode is on the way.

It is grace piled up on top of grace.

Grace heaped up and running over.

I like grace, don’t you?

I well remember as a 16 year old boy being under a heavy indictment from holy justice, bankrupt, inept, destitute and depraved.

Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace my fears relieved.

I remember when I was 17 and 18 years old, struggling hard with muscular atrophy incurable and progressive, wondering what would I ever do with my life.

It was the grace of God that came gently and repeatedly and convinced me that God had in reality separated me, called me unto the gospel of Jesus Christ to preach the unsearchable riches of his son.

I rode 65 miles in a log truck and preached to six women, older women, at Snowball, Arkansas.

And they called me to be their pastor.

And the Treasurer’s name was Ms. Icy.

I didn’t start out on the conference circuit.

Now, by God’s providence alone, I have preached in many of the great venues in Baptist life. But I must tell you, I’ve never gone anywhere to preach when there was any more sense of dignity or nobility about who I was or what my business was than when I’d go to Snowball Orchestra, Arkansas, and preached to those women. It was a gift of grace.

I tell you, tonight, if you’ve been called of God to preach out there at a crossroads somewhere, get your chin up, get your shoulders back, get in the book.

Learn the doctrines and rear back and preach the word of God to the glory of Jesus who calls you.

I remember wondering, would I ever have a companion? Would I ever have a wife?

And do you know what Grace did?

Grace sent Glinda Faye beautiful, charming, intelligent, loving Jesus to love me.

I love Grace.

I tell you, I would.

I wouldn’t be much without the grace of God.

I tell you, Jesus is full of grace.

It’s grace for grace.

Are y’ all getting any of this?

All right, here’s the last item.

I want to talk about the design of the glory of Jesus.

Verse 18 says, no man hath seen God at any time.

The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Now, before the incarnation of Jesus, there had been some discoveries.

There had been some declarations.

There had been some revelations about God.

The creation had revealed his power and his goodness.

But while creation is sufficient to condemn, it cannot convert.

You can go down to the creek, wade out among the lily pads and study nature till the tadpoles can read the Social Security number in your hip pocket.

And if that’s all you ever discern about God is what you get from nature, you’ll die in your sins and go to hell.

And then Moses revealed the law of God, that holy spiritual law of God. And the law told us more.

It told us about the holiness.

It told us about the justice.

It told us about the exacting demands of God. It told us of our inability.

It told us that we need a savior outside of ourselves. It condemns us.

But the law cannot convert.

Then. Then Jesus came.

Then God sent forth His Son.

And we learned things about God that we had never known fully before.

What we had seen in shadow, what we had seen in types we now understand clearly.

And at the cross of Jesus, justice and mercy kissed each other.

Grace and truth.

Truth about God’s justice, truth about sin and the grace of God are seen at Calvary.

I’m glad he came I dreamed I went to a city called Heaven so bright and so fair When I entered the gates of the city My friends all welcomed me there they led me from mansion to mansion and oh, the sights that I saw But I said I want to see Jesus he’s the one who died for all Then I bowed on my knees and cried holy, holy, holy.

I clapped my hands and sang Glory, glory to the Son of God.

Thank you.

[00:47:24] Speaker A: Since this is the last podcast of the year, I thought I’d do something a little bit special. We have with me in the podcast studio my son, Clayton Williams. He is usually sitting behind the camera or he’s doing the editing for the podcast or different social media content that we put out on the website. He’s been a big part of making sure all the sermons get up there. He’s a big part of Line Upon Line Ministries and I am very thankful for him and all the work that he does.

So from the both of us, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Thank you for watching this episode. God bless you as you continue to minister and study God’s word. Line Upon Line.