Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Sermon Questions on John 1:17

What is the main contrast that John draws between Moses and Jesus Christ in John 1:17?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphasizes the contrast between "given" and "came" in John 1:17: "The law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." This is a profound distinction. The law was simply given through Moses as a channel or transmitter, but Moses himself was not essential to it. In contrast, grace and truth "came" in the person of Jesus Christ. As Lloyd-Jones explains: "A teaching doesn't come. A teaching is given, but a person comes." Christianity is essentially about the person of Christ himself, not merely a teaching.

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain the significance of the word "came" in relation to Jesus Christ?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the word "came" reveals the pre-existence and divine nature of Christ. Unlike Moses who was merely a human transmitter, Christ came from somewhere—from eternity, from being with the Father. Lloyd-Jones elaborates: "Who has come? Where has he come from? Grace and truth came. Came into the world have come to us. Where have they come from?" The answer is found in John's prologue: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This "coming" represents the incarnation—God taking on human flesh.

According to the sermon, how does John's prologue describe the nature of Christ before His incarnation?

According to Lloyd-Jones' exposition of John's prologue, Christ is described as: 1) Eternally existing before creation ("In the beginning was the Word"), 2) Having face-to-face fellowship with God ("the Word was with God"), 3) Being fully divine Himself ("the Word was God"), 4) Being the Creator of all things ("All things were made by him"), 5) Being the source of all life ("In him was life"), and 6) Being "the only begotten Son" in the bosom of the Father. These descriptions establish Christ's eternal deity before He ever became incarnate.

What does the phrase "the Word became flesh" mean according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that "the Word became flesh" means that the eternal Word, who existed face-to-face with God before creation, took on human nature. He states: "It means that he was born as a man, took human nature unto him, came in the likeness of sinful flesh." Lloyd-Jones describes this as "the infinite condescension" where Christ "veiled in flesh the godhead." The incarnation means that "He who had looked face to face with God and was face to face with God looking into that light... comes down and dwells among us and looks into the faces of people like you and myself."

Why did Christ come to earth, according to the sermon?

According to Lloyd-Jones, Christ came for several specific purposes: 1) To declare and reveal God ("He who hath seen me hath seen the Father"), 2) To bring grace and forgiveness by bearing our punishment ("He took it on himself, and God punished it in him"), 3) To give us authority to become children of God ("The son of God became the son of men that the sons of men might be made the sons of God"), 4) To give us a second birth and hope of heaven. Most fundamentally, Lloyd-Jones states that "He came, and he did all this because it is the only way to save us," as there was "no other way whereby a single human being could be forgiven and reconciled to God."

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones contrast the world's perspective on Christmas with the true significance of Christ's incarnation?

Lloyd-Jones contrasts the world's preoccupation with trivial news and events with the truly momentous event of the incarnation. He says, "You're looking at your newspapers, buying the latest edition, listening to the latest news. You want to hear something momentous, something that is of value? Well, here it is. The word was made flesh." He describes the world as "mad and foolish" because it "goes on as if it hadn't happened and smirks and smiles at it and bursts of its wisdom and its understanding and wants something big." Meanwhile, the incarnation—"heaven come down on earth to dwell"—is the most significant event in all of history, yet largely ignored or trivialized.

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, what is Christianity primarily about?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphatically states that Christianity is not primarily about a teaching, a point of view, or a moral code. He says: "It can never be said too frequently in this modern world that Christianity is not primarily a teaching. It is not primarily a point of view." Rather, Christianity is primarily about a person—Jesus Christ. As Lloyd-Jones explains: "The person here is everything. For the grace and the truth that we have is something that has come in him, in the person. It is the person of the Lord Jesus Christ that is of supreme importance." Christianity isn't merely about adopting Jesus' teachings while ignoring who He is, but about receiving Christ Himself.

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones describe the purpose of the Bible?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones describes the Bible as God's revelation to humanity: "The business of this book is to come to us as we are in our world, with all its problems and trials and troubles and miseries, and to bring to us a word from God. That's the meaning of the Bible. That's what the Bible is. It's God revealing himself. It is God speaking." He emphasizes that the Bible is not "just an account of men seeking for God" but rather "an account of God speaking to men and seeking men and saving men." Unlike other books that merely stimulate thought, the Bible comes as "a proclamation" and "an announcement" of what God has done.