19 February 2012
Transfiguration Sunday
John 1:11-13
Children of the King - Princes and Princesses
11He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
A dictionary definition of the words “Prince” and “Princess” gives us this phrase: the son or daughter, or grandson/granddaughter, of a sovereign.
If you look up the word sovereign you will find a reference to “one who has absolute authority, who is above the law.”
The truth is that there is no one who is above the Law, except the one who owns the law; that is, God. Every human sovereign is under the law because the law is what makes him King. But God is the one who ultimately determines what is right and what is wrong, and judges everyone who obeys or disobeys His Law, He is the only true sovereign.
Deuteronomy 3:24 asks the question, “O Lord God... what God is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds?”
And II Samuel 7:22 answers the question: “You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, nor is there any God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.”
So if God is the only true sovereign, then the only true princes and princesses are His children. Are you a prince or princess? Can you call yourself a child of God?
I know in our day it’s popular to not make any difference between Christians and other religions. We are supposed to believe that all religions are equal. Isn’t it un-American to not believe that?
And in fact, all religions are equal - under the law. In our country, all religions have equal protection under the law, and in this country everyone is free to believe and practice whatever religion they want - or no religion at all, if they prefer - just as long as we do no harm to anyone else or destroy someone else’s right to be treated equally under the law. That’s democracy. That’s the American way.
But the law can have nothing to say about whether any particular religion is valid, or to say that any one religion actually gets you in touch with God, or doesn’t.
Christianity claims exclusivity. Jesus Himself claimed exclusivity in this regard. That is to say, that Christianity teaches, and Jesus Himself said, that only He can get you in touch with God. Only in Jesus do lost sinners become children of God.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6) And the Apostle Peter said, “There is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
The Bible tells us that although we were all created by God and all are His children in that sense of creation, our sin has separated us from God and earned us the wages of sin, which is death - temporal, spiritual, and eternal death.
And the Bible says that we have all sinned: “All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) “There is none righteous, no not one.” (Romans 3:10) It says that “all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6) In other words, even our best efforts are tainted with the guilt and impurity of our sin, and so worth nothing as a way to earn favor with God. Even worse, they become an offense to God if we reject what He has done for us and offer the dirty rags of our “good works” instead.
But God has provided the remedy for our sin, and our guilt, and removed the punishment for us. Jesus Christ is called the “Propitiation for our sins” Romans 3:25, I John 2:2, I John 4:10). A Propitiation is the word used in the Old Testament to describe the “Mercy Seat” which was the covering on the Ark of the Covenant, where the blood was sprinkled, to cover the broken law of God that was kept inside the ark.
And the Bible tells us, in the verse we just read in John 1:12, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”
For the next few Sundays I want to talk about the wonderful things that become ours when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior - besides the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation.
And the first thing I want to mention is exactly this: When you trust in Jesus, you become what no one else on earth has a right to claim. You become a true Prince, or Princess. You become a child of the only true Sovereign, the Sovereign Lord of the Universe.
As a child of the King, you have access to the throne room of the universe. You come in there, not as a nameless Joe Citizen, with one more petition for an over-worked and underpaid government functionary. The King doesn’t ask you for your Social Security Number. He calls you by name, and He receives you with the favor that only applies to His children, and pays attention to you, because you are His own dear child.
Being a Prince or Princess brings with it privileges and responsibilities. You are allowed access that others can only dream of having; and you are expected to behave like Royalty. You can ask for whatever you need and expect to be lovingly received by your Father, the King; and you are expected to model the behavior that is appropriate to those in your exalted position of honor and privilege.
When Jesus is your Lord and Savior, when you have received Him by faith, this exalted position is yours.
Today as we come to the Lord’s Supper you are reminded once again that it was for you that He died and rose again; it was for your sins that He paid, and His body and blood were offered so that you could come to Him, be received by Him, and become His own dear child.