Sermon Nuggets Thur Feb 21
Theme- 7 Wonders of Salvation
Verse- John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.(NIV)
4) THE WONDER OF GOD’S GIFT: HIS SON
We looked yesterday at the wonders of salvation in the giving act of God. Today I want to think about the gift. His gift was Jesus. He gave his only begotten son. The RSV says his only Son. The NIV says his one and only son. Some think that all of us are sons of God and Jesus was just another one. We read John 1:12 “To all who received him, to them he gave the right to be called the sons of God, even to those who believe on his name.” Here the language differentiates Jesus from all others. The relationship to the Father is unlike any other. Jesus is unique, no one else like him. He is the Son of God unequally. We understand how Jesus was born of Virgin Mary, not conceived of man, but of the Holy Spirit, being both the son of man and the Son of God. Divine, yet human. God invaded our world. He sent his Son, to be our savior.
If love is measured by gifts and presents and sacrifices we see the wonder of salvation by God giving us His son. Just to have visited out planet in the flesh would have been enough for God, but the extent of His love was shown in the death of Jesus for us!
If Christ was merely created by God it would not have cost him anything to give a man, or an angel, or a seraphim, or bull, or sheep or any other creature. But God gave the one thing that no one else could, His one and only son.
The pathos of the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his only son brings to light the enormity of this gift. God stopped him from killing Isaac and offered a ram in his place.
As I often reflect over that story at communion times I think what God asked of Abraham He did Himself. The difference is He carried out the sacrifice. The death of Jesus bought for you and me eternal life. That costly sacrifice revealed the heart of God. That is why we can say, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." The wonder of his gift is the Son.
A gift requires no pay, or work, no begging of it- we take it and receive it as our own. There is no salvation without Jesus. It is not enough to believe this is true. Believing takes it to the next step which is to accept the gift. That gift is a person. That gift is his one and only Son.
Pastor Dale
