This tape contains the first teaching in the series entitled, Empowered for Ministry. The speaker is the Reverend John W. Howe, Rector of Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia. The first teaching is titled, In the Beginning. The scripture reference is John chapter 1, verses 1 through 5. As we continue to learn together, I want to focus some things that in one sense are very familiar to us, and yet in another sense, at least for me, they're taking on a whole new dynamic, a whole new dimension. And I want to begin at the very beginning tonight. John chapter 1.

Just a few thoughts this evening, and we'll be building upon this as we go along. John chapter 1, the first paragraph, beginning at the very beginning. In the beginning was the Word.

And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.

In Him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. I want to make several statements and you just sort of ask yourself as I'm going along whether you agree with them or not.

First, the person that we know, both historically and by faith, as the Lord Jesus Christ, had a beginning as a human being at a definite, datable point in time. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit at a definite point in time, not quite 2,000 years ago. He began to be a human being at that point.

He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. We're about to celebrate His birthday. Okay?

The Son of God, we've just read, was from the beginning, with the Father. Before you measure anything, He was there. He was there in the beginning.

He was with God. He was God. The Son of God is without beginning as far as we're concerned.

He was there from the beginning. But at a definite point in time, He became a human being. Are you with me so far?

Prior to that moment, He was still the Son of God, but it really wouldn't be proper to speak of Him as Jesus. He became Jesus when He became incarnate, when He became a human being. Before that, He was the eternal Word of God, the eternal self-expression of God, God speaking forth His very nature, His very self.

C.S. Lewis paraphrased a very ancient theologian, a church father by the name of Tertullian, by saying, the Son of God became a man so that men might become the sons of God. He was the Son of God, alright, from the very beginning.

But He became a man so that we human beings might become the sons and daughters of God. Alright? Everybody with me?

Look at verse 14. That's what it says. The Word of God, which was there from the very beginning, that was with God, that was God Himself, the Word became flesh.

It wasn't always flesh. It became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. We have beheld His glory, Glory as of the only Son from the Father.

The Word which is eternal became flesh, became a human being and dwelt among us. And we, John and others, the apostles and the disciples, we beheld His glory. We are eyewitnesses.

We saw Him. He became a man. Now hold your finger here.

We're going to come back to it. And turn over to the book of Philippians. So that tells you about the way in which he became flesh, about what happened when he became flesh.

In becoming a man, the Son of God emptied himself, it says in chapter 2. Philippians 2, starting with verse 5. It's really an exhortation to us to adopt the same attitude that we see in Jesus.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, that's what we've just read, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped or to be hung onto, to be clutched. He didn't count his status with the Father something that he had to hang onto at all costs. He was willing to let go of it.

The Son of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself. Taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself even farther.

It was humbling enough to become a human being. I mean, that might be something on the order of you becoming a snail, or a slug, or a termite. It's probably a little bit more degrading than that when you stop and think about it.

The eternal Son of God became a human being. He emptied Himself of His glory and became one of us. More than that, as if that weren't enough, He humbled Himself even farther to death, and death by the most ignominious of means, death by crucifixion, with a curse upon Him.

He humbled himself, became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. And you know the passage. Therefore, God has highly exalted him.

But I want to look at the humility here. In becoming a human being, the Son of God emptied himself, now mind you, not of his divinity, but of his prerogatives. He was still the Son of God.

That's what we confess. This man is God in human form. He has not emptied himself of divinity, of his nature, but he's emptied himself of his prerogatives, his glory, and some of his powers.

Are you still with me? Think about it. When he became a human being, the first thing he did was he accepted the limitation of a body.

He could, at that point, be in one place at any given time. He couldn't be everywhere at once. That's a limitation.

He accepted that limitation. Theologically, we say he gave up omnipresence. Okay?

He accepted limitations in knowledge. I don't know if that struck you. We see so many times that Jesus knows things in a supernatural way, things that he couldn't know, But he accepted limitations in knowledge.

Let me just illustrate. It says in Luke that he grew in wisdom. Alright?

If he grew in wisdom, that means he started with less than he ended with. He grew in wisdom. He went through a learning process, just like you and I do.

He asked, Who touched me? When the woman with the hemorrhage grasped his garment. I think that was a real question, don't you?

He looked around. It says he looked around to see who it was that touched him. he asked the disciples how many loaves do you have before they fed the thousands he asked the father of the epileptic how long has your son been like this real question he asked the disciples at one point when people began turning away from him he said will you also go away he admitted that he didn't know the day and the hour of his return he said only the father knows that Theologically, he gave up omniscience.

He didn't know everything. He accepted the limitation. Alright?

Perhaps most importantly, he gave up power. And I think the best illustration of that is when he goes home to Nazareth, to his own hometown, it says he could do no mighty works there. Because of their unbelief.

He who was God was limited. he accepted limitation again theologically we say he gave up omnipotence ok you still with me he gave up omnipotence omniscience omnipresence the eternal son of God became a man and accepted human limitations so the question is how did he do the things that he did? Have you ever thought about that?

He accepted human limitations. He was a real man. How did he do the things that he did, the supernatural things?

I think most of the time, we explain most of the miracles by saying, well, he was God. I mean, what else would you expect him to do? Right?

Don't you? He was a human being, but he was God. That's why he did miracles.

Right? Wrong. That's not the right answer.

He was God, but that's not the answer to the question, how did he do the things that he did? Come back to John chapter 1. verse 32 John the baptizer bore witness I saw the spirit descend as a dove from heaven and it remained on him are you with me he was forever the son of God at a particular moment in human history he laid aside not his divinity but his prerogatives he accepted limitations and became a real human being and then he moved out in power not because he is the Son of God but because the Spirit descended upon him.

You got it? That's what he said. After he went down to the Jordan and was baptized by John he began his ministry with the announcement the Spirit of the Lord is upon me and he has anointed me to preach, to heal, and to deliver.

he was always the son of God for how many years of his life was he the son of God and yet for the first 30 years he didn't do a single miracle as a matter of fact for the first 30 years he never preached a single sermon didn't deliver anybody didn't cast out one single evil spirit, didn't change any water into wine, didn't multiply the loaves and the fishes, didn't raise the dead, didn't heal the sick, didn't open the eyes of the blind, didn't unstop the ears of the deaf, not one. Got it? Until he was anointed by the Spirit of God and then he never went back to the carpenter's bench.

I'm submitting to you that Jesus Christ preached not because he was the Son of God but because the Spirit of the Lord was upon him. He healed not because he was the Son of God but because the Spirit of the Lord was upon him. And he delivered people from oppression by evil spirits not because he was the Son of God but because the Spirit of the Lord was upon him.

That's the answer he gave. Why do I do these things? Because the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.

And He has anointed me to do these things. Three verses. First verse, in the beginning was the Word.

Fourteenth verse, the Word became flesh. Thirty-second verse, I saw the Spirit descend upon Him and it stayed on Him. And that's how He did these things.

I'm just beginning. But that's where I'm going to stop. For tonight.

I want you to meditate on that where I'm going to go with this is I want us to take a look at the ministry of Jesus and I want you to consider maybe you've never thought of it this way before I want you to consider it not primarily as the ministry of the Son of God among us, that's the conclusion we come to but the ministry of a man anointed by the Spirit and your assignment should you choose to accept it remember Mission Impossible, Neil? is to read the Gospel of Mark and look for two things look for limitations you'll see them all over the place human limitations evidence that Jesus was indeed a man like you, like me A human being. And look for evidences that his ministry is the ministry of one operating under the anointing of the Spirit.

It will change your view of everything. He was always the Son of God. He is the Son of God.

But for 30 years of his life, he did not operate out of being the Son of God, except insofar as His holiness is concerned. He never sinned. But as far as ministry is concerned, it didn't begin until the supernatural anointing of the Holy Spirit came upon Him.

And that is the model for us. Because if He was a human being subject to the same limitations that you and I are, And He says, the whole reason that I've come is to baptize you with the Holy Spirit and you shall receive power when the Spirit of God has come upon you, then we too will be able to do the things that He did. Amen?

You excited? You see where it's going? Alright, we're going to ask Him to do it right now.

We're going to ask the Holy Spirit to come and anoint us right now. We're just going to receive from Him and allow Him to do in our midst whatever He wishes. Spirit of the living God, You anointed our elder brother, Jesus.

And He did mighty works. And His promise is that we'll do even greater things. So we ask You to anoint us, to come into our midst.

We welcome You, Holy Spirit. Come upon us. Spirit of the living God, manifest Yourself among us tonight.