In 1965 the federal government of the United States initiated affirmative action programs to see that businesses right some wrongs, balance some imbalances, correct some faults—ultimately, to bring reconciliation. God also had an affirmative action program designed to bring reconciliation—reconciliation between God and man. On these Sundays leading up to Christmas, we will examine God’s affirmative action program.
This first sermon in the series examines the reason for God’s Affirmative Action Program
Scripture
John 1:1-18 NIV [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. [6] There was a man sent from God whose name was John. [7] He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. [8] He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. [9] The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. [10] He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. [11] He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. [12] Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— [13] children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. [14] The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. [15] (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”) [16] Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. [17] For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [18] No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
Introduction
This is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, which this year is today, December 3rd and ends on Christmas Eve The word Advent comes form the Latin word adventus, translated as “coming”. Iin the Christian church calendar, advent is the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas and also of preparation for the Second Coming of Christ. Advent has four weekly themes: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love.
This is the first sermon in a series I announced last week, “God's Affirmative Action Program “
The first official affirmative action policy, in the U. S. was Executive Order 10925, signed by President John F. Kennedy on March 6, 1961. The order required government contractors to ensure that applicants were employed and treated fairly without regard to their race.
The order was a response to the civil rights movement. It established a Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity and used the term "affirmative action" to refer to measures designed to achieve non-discrimination.
Affirmative action was first instituted in the 1960s and 1970s by employers and educational institutions. The goal was to rectify the effects of past and ongoing discrimination against women and racial minorities.
In the late 1960s, admissions departments began considering race as a factor when admitting new students. These policies aimed to accept more students of color who had historically been excluded from colleges and universities.
There are differences of opinions as to the success or failure of affirmative action programs and policies.
Supporters of affirmative action argue that it promotes equality and representation for groups which are socio-economically disadvantaged or have faced historical discrimination or oppression.
Opponents of affirmative action have argued that it is a form of reverse discrimination, that it tends to benefit the most privileged within minority groups at the expense of the least fortunate within majority groups, or that—when applied to universities—it can hinder minority students by placing them in courses for which they have not been adequately prepared.
I have a personal opinion but this is not the time or place to talk about my opinion. This is time to talk about the good news of the gospel and God's affirmative action program.
While affirmative action programs and policies had or have lofty goals the implementation was left to human beings who tried to implement them without God’s direction and imput.
Like I said last week, for us to plan without taking into account God, His plan and His sovereignty is arrogant and likely to fail. I said that we should recognize that God alone knows what is best and that His plans for our lives are far greater than anything we could every imagine of achieve on our own.
God also had an affirmative action program designed to bring reconciliation—reconciliation between God and man.
John 1:4-5 NIV [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The first matter to consider is the reason for God’s affirmative action program. Why did God need one?
He needed one because humans had sinned against their Creator and broken fellowship with him, so God had to make a way for them to come back into the right relationship with him. He showed his love for mankind by initiating a plan to restore them to a position of right standing with Him.
Just as we say, “I love you,” with words and actions, God communicated his love to us by sending his Son, the living Word, to earth.
With words that remind of of the first words of the Bible at Genesis 1:1 where it says
Genesis 1:1 NIV [1] In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
John 1:1 says
John 1:1 NIV [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
I. God had a word for us.
A. And this Word of God communicates something to us .
When John, the writer of the fourth gospel wanted to tell us of God’s Word to us, he chose a concept that would communicate to all people who would receive this gospel. The concept was “Word.” To Jews, Greeks, Christians, and the world at large, this was a concept that would communicate what God had done in Christ Jesus.
1. Power.
To the Jews the Word of God meant power. God spoke a word and the world came into being (Gen. 1). The Word of God could burn like fire or shatter like a hammer
Jeremiah 23:29 NIV [29] “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
The Word of God could accomplish the divine purpose
Isaiah 55:11 NIV [11] so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
The Hebrews who would read this gospel would immediately understand the power of God when they understood that the Word was in the beginning with God and was God.
2. Principle.
But to the Greek reader “the Word” would mean a rational principle. It had to do more with philosophical thought than personal power. Logos is the Greek word for Word and in ancient Greek philosophy and early Christian theology, logos can also mean the divine reason that orders the cosmos and gives it form and meaning. The universal ruling force governing and revealing through the cosmos to mankind, in other words the Divine or God.
3. Proclamation.
The early Christian church viewed the preaching of the gospel as a “ministry of the word”
Acts 6:1-4 NIV [1] In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. [2] So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. [3] Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them [4] and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
Christ’s life was a divine declaration, a redemptive proclamation. In preaching the Word, the early Christians were proclaiming the redemptive message of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 19:12-13 NIV [12] His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. [13] He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
4. Person.
John, in writing his gospel points out at the very beginning that the Word of God is a person.
John 1:1-4 NIV [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
The Word is not Jesus’ power or principle or proclamation but his person. When truth becomes personal, it becomes meaningful to us.
God had a word for us, a word that communicates to us in a personal way that we can be made right with God.
The Word relates to God.
The Word is not just identified with God; he is identical with God. When you want to see God and know what God is like, you look to Jesus Christ. He gives us an accurate communication of God.
The Word relates to the world.
The Word of God relates to the world in that God created the world. He is revealed and known by his creative activity. John and Paul both wanted to make sure that we understood that creation was as much the work of Christ as was redemption.
John 1:1-3 NIV [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning. [3] Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Colossians 1:15-17 NIV [15] The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. [16] For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. [17] He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
The reason for God’s affirmative action program is that God had a Word for us.
Hebrews 1:1-4 NIV [1] In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. [3] The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. [4] So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
II. God had a witness to us.
The Word God has spoken to us shows us that Christ, the Word, is, and it also shows us what Christ does. Through this Word that had become flesh, Christ came into the world to reveal God and to redeem people, a fact that is expressed in two keywords in John’s gospel: those words are life and light.
John 1:4 NIV [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
A. Life. In Christ there is life. One thing Jesus did was to impart life to people who lived with no hope of eternal life.
For all the hopeless, helpless, wondering, wandering people in the world, Jesus gives the promise that there is life—life with worth and meaning.
In Jesus, in the Word, exist life, physical life and spiritual life. This life was given for all mankind.
John 1:4 NIV [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
B. This life is also described as light.
John 1:4 NIV [4] In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
Christ brings light into the world—light about our darkened ideas about sin, self, and salvation. The light of God’s love shines in Jesus Christ. Twice in John’s gospel, Jesus made the claim for himself,
John 8:12 NIV [12] When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 9:4-5 NIV [4] As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. [5] While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
One thing to notice about this light, the light of Jesus is that the darkness can’t put it out.
John 1:5 NIV [5] The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The light of God’s grace shines with such power that the depths of darkness can’t put it out. In fact, darkness cannot even dim it. God’s light in Jesus Christ is brighter than all the accumulated darkness of the world’s sin.
Light has the ability to attract or repel. We see light’s powerful attraction in the Nativity story. The Magi from the east came to Jerusalem drawn by the light from His star.
Matthew 2:1-2 NIV [1] After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem [2] and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
The star would appear again and lead the Magi directly to Jesus
Matthew 2:9-10 NIV [9] After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. [10] When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
Light doesn’t leave people neutral, you have to make a decision. We see this principle when Jesus told Nicodemus,
John 3:19 NIV [19] This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Jesus is the Light of the world, and He will not leave us unchanged.
God’s witness to us is that the Word has become flesh and lived among us. This gives witness to both what we can know about God and what we can experience with God. We can experience life and light.
Conclusion
When you have something to say, you use a word to express it. God expressed his love for us, his life in us, and his light to us in Jesus Christ, the Word. That Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
John 1:14 NIV [14] The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
In the next few weeks we are going to examine God’s Affirmative Action Plan but we already know how he accomplished the goal of the plan which was reconciliation between God and man through the Word, His Son Jesus Christ.
Prayer
We thank You, Lord, that in You we have found “the light of all mankind,” the light that “shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” Amen
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