100:00:00,980 –> 00:00:08,760Now here very obviously we come to the heart of the Christmas story.200:00:08,760 –> 00:00:21,240The word became flesh and dwelt among us. God became a man in Christ Jesus.300:00:21,240 –> 00:00:25,840Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick, I’m glad400:00:25,840 –> 00:00:29,820you could be with us today. And Colin we come to a message which is at the heart500:00:29,820 –> 00:00:34,900of the Christmas story. Jesus humbling himself, becoming human and being born600:00:34,900 –> 00:00:39,220among us. And when we think about that it does blow your mind.700:00:39,220 –> 00:00:45,540Yeah and the Apostle Paul puts it this way, he was manifested in the flesh.800:00:45,540 –> 00:00:50,099It’s an amazing statement. And you know what’s gripped my mind and heart here is900:00:50,099 –> 00:00:55,240to think that the father the son and the Holy Spirit are all involved in the1000:00:55,299 –> 00:01:00,820coming of Jesus into the world. Hebrews tells us for example that it was the1100:01:00,820 –> 00:01:06,639father who prepared a body for him and we know that from the message of the1200:01:06,639 –> 00:01:13,660angel to Mary that the Holy Spirit came upon her so that she conceived Christ1300:01:13,660 –> 00:01:19,779the Lord and as you said the Son of God himself humbled himself and took human1400:01:20,660 –> 00:01:26,980what an amazing thing this is that Father Son and Holy Spirit acted together1500:01:26,980 –> 00:01:33,160so that we should know God and we should be able to come to God and that’s at the1600:01:33,160 –> 00:01:37,540very heart of the Christmas story and I’m so glad that we have the opportunity1700:01:37,540 –> 00:01:43,919today just to ponder the wonder the mystery the glory of it and to see and1800:01:43,919 –> 00:01:48,459to savor again the love of God for us in Jesus Christ well we’re going to hear1900:01:48,459 –> 00:01:52,699about that today as we open up God’s word together if you have a Bible and2000:01:52,699 –> 00:01:57,540can join us there as we begin the message Jesus born and risen2100:01:57,540 –> 00:02:02,419here’s Colin well good morning everyone if you would open your Bible at first2200:02:02,419 –> 00:02:08,979Timothy and chapter 3 and verse 16 this this verse that is the focus of our2300:02:08,979 –> 00:02:14,100reflection in these weeks leading up to Christmas first Timothy chapter 3 and2400:02:14,500 –> 00:02:22,059first 15 where we read these words great indeed we confess is the mystery of2500:02:22,059 –> 00:02:31,940godliness he was manifested in the flesh vindicated by the Spirit seen by angels2600:02:31,940 –> 00:02:41,779proclaimed among the nations believed on in the world taken up in glory the2700:02:42,460 –> 00:02:50,600mystery of godliness. We saw last week that to be godly means very simply that2800:02:50,600 –> 00:02:59,360you’re God’s man or God’s woman. God has set apart the godly for himself a2900:02:59,360 –> 00:03:06,380person who is godly knows that above everything else he or she belongs to God3000:03:06,720 –> 00:03:14,559a godly person loves God walks with God lives for God desires God and so over3100:03:14,559 –> 00:03:21,440time becomes increasingly like God godliness is what you were made for God3200:03:21,440 –> 00:03:29,419made us for himself but the impulse of course of our fallen human nature is not3300:03:29,419 –> 00:03:35,080to be God’s man or God’s woman but to be as it were our own man to be your own3400:03:35,520 –> 00:03:41,580woman so how can you be Godly how can you fulfill the purpose for which God3500:03:41,580 –> 00:03:48,559made you and live the life to which God calls you that is the theme of this3600:03:48,559 –> 00:03:54,860verse and Paul refers to it as the mystery of godliness how you can live3700:03:54,860 –> 00:04:01,880the life for which God made you and to which he calls you and we saw that this3800:04:02,240 –> 00:04:07,160mystery in the Bible has a very distinct meaning it doesn’t mean a puzzle that3900:04:07,160 –> 00:04:14,399you can’t sort out rather in the Bible a mystery is very simply a secret that God4000:04:14,399 –> 00:04:21,519has revealed though it’s full wonder is still to be made known so what then is4100:04:21,519 –> 00:04:26,000this mystery of godliness in other words the secret that God has made known though4200:04:26,000 –> 00:04:31,179it’s full wonder has still not been revealed what is this secret of how you4300:04:31,179 –> 00:04:35,299can live the life to which God calls you the life for which you were made and4400:04:35,299 –> 00:04:42,459the answer to that is that the mystery of godliness is Jesus great indeed we4500:04:42,459 –> 00:04:49,160confess is the mystery of godliness he and then follow six marvelous statements4600:04:49,160 –> 00:04:55,459about our Lord Jesus Christ so get this established in your mind and in your4700:04:55,459 –> 00:05:00,260heart it’s our focus in the lead up to Christmas this year the open secret4800:05:00,260 –> 00:05:06,420that God has revealed though it’s full wonder is still to be made known is that4900:05:06,420 –> 00:05:13,959through Jesus Christ that is particularly when Jesus Christ is in you5000:05:13,959 –> 00:05:18,899you can fulfill the purpose for which God has made you and live the life to5100:05:18,899 –> 00:05:26,480which he calls you now we are going to focus then on how this actually happens5200:05:26,480 –> 00:05:34,799and who this Christ is who comes to dwell in those who draw near to him in5300:05:34,799 –> 00:05:43,660humble faith how can you indeed grow in this godliness to which God calls you5400:05:43,660 –> 00:05:48,920which is made possible for you in and through Jesus Christ5500:05:48,920 –> 00:05:53,679well there’s a great principle in the Bible that has sometimes been described5600:05:53,679 –> 00:06:02,920in these words becoming by beholding and it’s stated most clearly in5700:06:02,920 –> 00:06:12,2002nd Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18 where Paul says this we all with unveiled5800:06:12,320 –> 00:06:23,119face beholding the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image5900:06:23,119 –> 00:06:29,179from one degree of glory to another so notice that he’s telling us very clearly6000:06:29,179 –> 00:06:36,940how we are changed how we are transformed into the image of the Lord6100:06:36,940 –> 00:06:41,239Jesus Christ we’re being transformed into the same image how does it happen6200:06:42,200 –> 00:06:50,640here’s how it happens beholding the glory of the Lord becoming by beholding you6300:06:50,640 –> 00:06:56,160become more like Jesus in as much as you behold the glory of the Jesus you seek6400:06:56,160 –> 00:07:02,500to become like is that not then why Paul moved so quickly from the mystery6500:07:02,500 –> 00:07:06,779of godliness how you can live the life to which God calls you to the greatness6600:07:06,820 –> 00:07:12,440and glory of Jesus because the more you behold this Jesus in all of its glory6700:07:12,440 –> 00:07:16,380it was manifested in the flesh vindicated by the Spirit seen by angels6800:07:16,380 –> 00:07:21,220and so forth the more we behold his glory the more we will be transformed6900:07:21,220 –> 00:07:27,980into his likeness and that is why in the weeks up to Christmas then with our7000:07:27,980 –> 00:07:33,540hearts set on godliness, we want to behold the glory of Jesus right here in7100:07:33,579 –> 00:07:40,420this verse. The glory of Jesus born and risen. The glory of Jesus seen and7200:07:40,420 –> 00:07:47,779proclaimed and the glory of Jesus believed on and glorified. Well the first7300:07:47,779 –> 00:07:53,140two of these today I hope you have this wonderful verse open in front of you.7400:07:53,140 –> 00:08:03,059Great indeed we confess is the mystery of godliness. Here it is.7500:08:03,059 –> 00:08:11,660God manifested in the flesh. Now here very obviously we come to the7600:08:11,660 –> 00:08:20,500heart of the Christmas story as we’ve just heard the word became flesh and7700:08:20,500 –> 00:08:31,700dwelt among us. God became a man in Christ Jesus. And of course what Paul is7800:08:31,859 –> 00:08:36,580saying here is that the incarnation – that’s God becoming a man in Christ Jesus –7900:08:36,580 –> 00:08:43,260the incarnation is a mystery. That is it is a secret that God has revealed but8000:08:43,260 –> 00:08:49,580its full wonder is still to be made known. Let’s gaze into this mystery as we8100:08:49,580 –> 00:08:58,260prepare for Christmas this year God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy8200:08:58,539 –> 00:09:07,239Spirit were all actively engaged in the miracle of the incarnation. The8300:09:07,239 –> 00:09:13,000incarnation, God becoming man in Christ Jesus, happened at the initiative of the8400:09:13,000 –> 00:09:22,539Father. The Father sent His Son into the world. There’s a remarkable statement in8500:09:22,599 –> 00:09:29,960Hebrews and chapter 10 and verse 5. On the work of the Father in regards to the8600:09:29,960 –> 00:09:38,640birth of Jesus Christ. We read this, When Christ came into the world he said8700:09:38,640 –> 00:09:48,760sacrifices and offerings you have not desired but a body you have prepared for8800:09:49,440 –> 00:09:58,260me.’ Isn’t that a remarkable statement that Jesus should say to the Father,8900:09:58,260 –> 00:10:05,599you’re the one that prepared a body for me. The father in other words was the9000:10:05,599 –> 00:10:16,659designer of the incarnation. Marvel at this. The father designed, architected if9100:10:16,700 –> 00:10:26,599you like, a body for the Son. The incarnation in other words is a miracle9200:10:26,599 –> 00:10:33,000designed by God Himself, that therefore only God Himself can know its full9300:10:33,000 –> 00:10:45,059wonder. Why a body? Why did the father design a body so that God could become9400:10:45,219 –> 00:10:51,719man in Jesus Christ? Why this design of the incarnation that came from the9500:10:51,719 –> 00:10:57,000father Himself? And we’ll begin to look at the answer to that question in just a9600:10:57,000 –> 00:11:00,640moment so I hope you’ll stay with us. You’re listening to Open the Bible with9700:11:00,640 –> 00:11:05,760Pastor Colin Smith and the message Jesus born and risen and it’s part of our9800:11:05,760 –> 00:11:10,119series simply called Jesus and if you’ve missed any of the series or if you want9900:11:10,119 –> 00:11:13,619to go back and listen again you can do that by coming online to our website10000:11:14,320 –> 00:11:19,400openthebible.org.uk or find us as a podcast and those are on all the major10100:11:19,400 –> 00:11:24,320podcast sites. Search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe to receive regular10200:11:24,320 –> 00:11:29,739updates. Well we’re coming up to that time of year when we remember the birth10300:11:29,739 –> 00:11:34,919of Jesus at Christmas and many people at that time of year consider making a10400:11:34,919 –> 00:11:39,299generous gift. If you’re one of those people and you’ve benefited from the10500:11:39,299 –> 00:11:44,179work of Open the Bible, whether or not you give regularly to Open the Bible, why10600:11:44,179 –> 00:11:48,780not consider in making a one-off gift? This month if you are able to do that10700:11:48,780 –> 00:11:53,599and make a one-off gift of £50 or more we’d love to thank you by sending10800:11:53,599 –> 00:11:58,179you three copies of the Gospel of John. I’ll be talking more to Colin about that10900:11:58,179 –> 00:12:01,880special offer later on in the program, so I hope you’ll stay with us. Back to the11000:12:02,559 –> 00:12:03,679here’s Colin.11100:12:03,679 –> 00:12:12,960Why did the father design a body so that god could become man in Jesus Christ?11200:12:12,960 –> 00:12:19,599Why this design of the incarnation that came from the father himself?11300:12:19,599 –> 00:12:29,020Three reasons, Jesus took our flesh so that by becoming one with us he could live the11400:12:29,020 –> 00:12:34,440life to which god has called us and live it on our behalf.11500:12:34,440 –> 00:12:39,700That’s why god became a man in Christ Jesus.11600:12:39,700 –> 00:12:48,799Second Jesus took our flesh so that he could offer this perfect life that he lived on our11700:12:48,799 –> 00:12:54,260behalf as a sacrifice for our sins.11800:12:54,260 –> 00:12:59,580Hebrews 10 makes this very, very clear in the statement that we just looked at.11900:12:59,580 –> 00:13:06,780It begins by telling us, Hebrews Chapter 10 and Verse 4, that it was impossible for the12000:13:06,780 –> 00:13:12,500blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.12100:13:12,500 –> 00:13:17,539So all that was happening in the Old Testament with all of these sacrifices being made day12200:13:17,580 –> 00:13:24,039after day, week after week, and year after year, none of it could actually take away12300:13:24,039 –> 00:13:26,080sin.12400:13:26,080 –> 00:13:32,340And the book of Hebrews goes on to say, consequently, therefore, because the Old Testament sacrifices12500:13:32,340 –> 00:13:38,179could not take away sin, consequently, when Jesus came into the world, he said, a body12600:13:38,179 –> 00:13:40,080you have prepared for me.12700:13:40,080 –> 00:13:46,719In other words, I have come to do what the sacrifices in the Old Testament could never12800:13:46,799 –> 00:13:47,799accomplish.12900:13:47,799 –> 00:13:50,020I have come to be these sacrifice.13000:13:50,020 –> 00:13:52,640I have come to take away sin.13100:13:52,640 –> 00:13:58,440And it is for this reason that Jesus Christ became one with us.13200:13:58,440 –> 00:14:00,559I have come to do your will.13300:14:00,559 –> 00:14:05,419Christ says Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 7.13400:14:05,419 –> 00:14:12,200And that will involved not only God becoming a man in Jesus, but Jesus laying down that13500:14:12,400 –> 00:14:17,739perfect life that he lived as a sacrifice for our sins, which is why the New Testament13600:14:17,739 –> 00:14:23,039emphasizes that Jesus suffered in the flesh.13700:14:23,039 –> 00:14:25,400He took our place.13800:14:25,400 –> 00:14:27,599He was our substitute.13900:14:27,599 –> 00:14:29,960He went to the cross for us.14000:14:29,960 –> 00:14:34,400He bore our sins in his body on the tree.14100:14:34,400 –> 00:14:39,960He could not have done that except that the body was designed and that God became man14200:14:40,059 –> 00:14:44,479in Christ Jesus.14300:14:44,479 –> 00:14:48,580He became one with us in the flesh so that he could live the life that God calls us to14400:14:48,580 –> 00:14:50,700live so that he could lay it down as a sacrifice.14500:14:50,700 –> 00:14:59,080And third, and this is marvelous, he took a body like ours so that he could transform14600:15:00,000 –> 00:15:02,140resurrection.14700:15:02,140 –> 00:15:10,320In a resurrection body that would become the pattern and the prototype of ours.14800:15:10,320 –> 00:15:20,820Think of the marvel of this miracle of the Incarnation, designed by God the Father for14900:15:20,820 –> 00:15:23,640eternal good.15000:15:24,119 –> 00:15:29,340Not only was the Father involved, though, as the designer here, a body you have prepared15100:15:29,340 –> 00:15:31,239for me.15200:15:31,239 –> 00:15:40,580But the Holy Spirit was directly the operating agent in the bringing about of the incarnation.15300:15:40,580 –> 00:15:43,460This is repeated three times in the Christmas story.15400:15:43,460 –> 00:15:46,820You remember the words of the angel to Mary?15500:15:46,820 –> 00:15:51,440The angel answered her when she asked, how will this be?15600:15:51,440 –> 00:15:57,840How will the one who is promised come to be born since I am a virgin?15700:15:57,840 –> 00:16:03,979And the angel answered, the Holy Spirit will come upon you.15800:16:03,979 –> 00:16:07,000The power of the Most High will overshadow you.15900:16:07,000 –> 00:16:11,880Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.16000:16:11,880 –> 00:16:19,119Matthew tells us that Mary was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.16100:16:19,280 –> 00:16:25,080And the angel revealed to Joseph, do not fear to take Mary to be your wife for that which16200:16:25,080 –> 00:16:31,000is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.16300:16:31,000 –> 00:16:39,840So gaze into the marvel of this mystery that God the Father designed a body for God the16400:16:40,799 –> 00:16:50,539But it was God the Spirit who formed the human nature of our Lord Jesus Christ in the womb16500:16:50,539 –> 00:16:53,960of the Virgin Mary.16600:16:53,960 –> 00:16:59,619Great indeed is this mystery.16700:17:00,179 –> 00:17:11,680Here is the secret that God has revealed, though its full wonder is yet to be made known.16800:17:11,680 –> 00:17:16,540And not only was it the initiative of the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit, it16900:17:16,540 –> 00:17:23,660was very clearly, the incarnation was very clearly the choice of God the Son.17000:17:23,739 –> 00:17:31,739God the Son, freely and willingly chose to leave the glory of heaven and to be born of17100:17:31,739 –> 00:17:32,900Mary for us.17200:17:32,900 –> 00:17:36,680We have this in Philippians in chapter 2 that most of you know well.17300:17:36,680 –> 00:17:44,420Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.17400:17:44,420 –> 00:17:45,420But what did He do?17500:17:45,420 –> 00:17:46,619What did the Son of God do?17600:17:46,699 –> 00:17:56,260He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant and being born in the likeness of man.17700:17:56,260 –> 00:17:59,680Look at what God the Son has done.17800:17:59,680 –> 00:18:05,219He exchanged the riches of heaven for a manger in Bethlehem.17900:18:05,219 –> 00:18:11,640He exchanged the praise and the worship of angels for the insults and the mockery of18000:18:11,640 –> 00:18:13,400men.18100:18:13,459 –> 00:18:20,619He exchanged the joyful fellowship with a Father that He had always known from all eternity18200:18:20,619 –> 00:18:24,880for a life in which at one point He would cry out in utter darkness,18300:18:24,880 –> 00:18:30,680My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?18400:18:30,680 –> 00:18:38,839And He made this choice not under any degree of compulsion but freely and willingly, out18500:18:38,839 –> 00:18:42,339of love for you.18600:18:42,359 –> 00:18:44,859Now we are gazing into a mystery here aren’t we?18700:18:44,859 –> 00:18:48,680I mean this staggers the mind.18800:18:48,680 –> 00:18:54,420God has revealed the marvellous truth of the incarnation but the more that you stare at18900:18:54,420 –> 00:19:00,319it the more you say well, the full wonder of it is not yet been made known.19000:19:00,319 –> 00:19:06,819But do you see how clearly and how deeply and how wonderfully God loves you?19100:19:06,819 –> 00:19:17,260The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit operating together as one for what?19200:19:17,260 –> 00:19:22,540For you and for your salvation.19300:19:22,540 –> 00:19:28,219It was for this reason that Jesus Christ came into the world.19400:19:28,459 –> 00:19:31,920Great indeed is the mystery of godliness.19500:19:31,920 –> 00:19:41,160He was manifested in the flesh19600:19:41,160 –> 00:19:49,400Now, this word manifested means simply made known.19700:19:49,400 –> 00:19:59,319And here it’s important to observe that in order to come to know God, two things need19800:19:59,319 –> 00:20:01,380to happen.19900:20:01,380 –> 00:20:06,180The first is that God must make himself known, you know, we’ll never find God unless he makes20000:20:06,180 –> 00:20:07,180himself known.20100:20:07,180 –> 00:20:10,959He’s invisible, no one has ever seen God.20200:20:10,959 –> 00:20:14,319And God has made himself known in Jesus.20300:20:14,319 –> 00:20:16,979That’s the wonderful truth of the incarnation.20400:20:16,979 –> 00:20:25,939John, chapter one, in verse 18, no one has ever seen God, but the only god who is at20500:20:25,939 –> 00:20:31,000the Father’s side, he has made him known.20600:20:31,000 –> 00:20:33,660But here’s the problem.20700:20:33,660 –> 00:20:39,540Even the site of the incarnation, 2000 years on from the incarnation, God has made himself20800:20:39,540 –> 00:20:41,060known in Jesus Christ.20900:20:41,060 –> 00:20:43,140God became man in Jesus Christ.21000:20:43,140 –> 00:20:44,660God has come into our world.21100:20:44,660 –> 00:20:52,780But, the world into which he has come cannot see what God has made known in Jesus.21200:20:52,780 –> 00:20:57,939John says it this way in the words that were read for us earlier, He, that is Jesus, was21300:20:57,939 –> 00:21:00,680in the world.21400:21:00,680 –> 00:21:03,640And the world was made through him.21500:21:03,640 –> 00:21:09,140Yet the world did not know him.21600:21:09,140 –> 00:21:13,119God made himself known in Jesus.21700:21:13,119 –> 00:21:19,300Yet millions and millions of people today are known nearer to God than if Jesus had21800:21:19,300 –> 00:21:23,780never come into the world.21900:21:23,780 –> 00:21:32,819Something else must happen if people are to come to know God in Jesus.22000:21:32,819 –> 00:21:37,839And we’ll discover what that Something Special is, next time on Open the Bible.22100:21:38,040 –> 00:21:39,400Thanks for tuning in today.22200:21:39,400 –> 00:21:42,739Our message is Jesus, Born and Risen.22300:21:42,739 –> 00:21:45,160it’s part of our series Jesus.22400:21:45,160 –> 00:21:48,800And if you’ve missed any of the series, or if you want to go back and listen again, you22500:21:48,800 –> 00:21:55,000can always do that by coming online to our website openthebible.org.uk or by finding22600:21:55,000 –> 00:21:56,920us as a podcast.22700:21:56,920 –> 00:21:59,979Those are available on all the main podcast sites.22800:21:59,979 –> 00:22:04,000Also on our website, and available as a podcast is Open the Bible Daily.22900:22:04,319 –> 00:22:09,280And that’s a daily reflection, just two or three minutes long, based on Pastor Colin’s23000:22:09,280 –> 00:22:11,579teaching and read in the UK by Sue MacLeish.23100:22:11,579 –> 00:22:16,739There is a new one every day on our website or available as a podcast.23200:22:16,739 –> 00:22:21,959Many Christians are really enjoying that, and find it’s a great way to start the day.23300:22:21,959 –> 00:22:27,300Also on our website you can find many of Pastor Colin Smith’s sermons, organised in four ways23400:22:27,300 –> 00:22:33,040– by series – Colin preaches a whole series on a particular subject – by topic23500:22:33,040 –> 00:22:37,060– reference to individual scripture – and by date.23600:22:37,060 –> 00:22:42,780This means that it is really easy to home in on any of the subject’s topics or scriptural23700:22:42,780 –> 00:22:45,000references that you may be looking for.23800:22:45,000 –> 00:22:51,160Go to OpenTheBible.org.uk and click on the menu item sermons.23900:22:51,160 –> 00:22:53,380You will also find an online Bible Study course24000:22:53,400 –> 00:22:54,839entitled The Drive.24100:22:54,839 –> 00:23:00,640This is a 30-session journey through the entire Bible and it will take you deep into24200:23:00,640 –> 00:23:05,959the valleys of the Old Testament, the peaks of the glory of Jesus, and the ups and downs24300:23:05,959 –> 00:23:06,959of the Christian life.24400:23:06,959 –> 00:23:12,640Again, that is the drive and you can find it under the menu item resources on the Open24500:23:12,640 –> 00:23:15,479the Bible Web site that is OpenTheBible.org.uk.24600:23:15,479 –> 00:23:22,640Open The Bible is able to stay on this station and on the internet, as a result of the generous24700:23:23,520 –> 00:23:25,520by our many listeners.24800:23:25,520 –> 00:23:29,680And if that’s something you’ve been thinking about doing, if you’re able to set up a new24900:23:29,680 –> 00:23:34,500direct debit to the work of Open the Bible this month, in the amount of five pounds per25000:23:34,500 –> 00:23:40,839month or more, or a one-off gift of 50 pounds or more, we’d love to say thank you by sending25100:23:40,839 –> 00:23:43,800you three copies of The Gospel of John.25200:23:43,800 –> 00:23:48,880The three copies are all about giving away the Good News of Jesus Christ to your friends25300:23:48,920 –> 00:23:53,719and family. Or maybe even sitting down with them and reading it with them.25400:23:53,719 –> 00:23:58,439Colin, for listeners who may not know, tell us about John’s Gospel?25500:23:58,439 –> 00:24:02,800Well there are four books in the New Testament about the life of Jesus, and they’re regularly25600:24:02,800 –> 00:24:09,400referred to as Gospels. They are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And John was an apostle,25700:24:09,400 –> 00:24:14,199one of Jesus’ disciples, and he tells us why he wrote his Gospel.25800:24:14,420 –> 00:24:20,420These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,25900:24:20,420 –> 00:24:29,619and that by believing you may have life in his name. Eternal life comes to a person through26000:24:29,619 –> 00:24:37,500believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. And faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is formed through26100:24:37,500 –> 00:24:42,819the Word of God. And there’s no better place to begin than in the Gospel of John.26200:24:42,819 –> 00:24:47,160So those three copies of the Gospel of John are our gift to you if you are able to set26300:24:47,160 –> 00:24:52,020up a new direct debit to the work of Open the Bible this month in the amount of £526400:24:52,020 –> 00:24:58,859per month or more, or a one off gift of £50. Full details, terms and conditions are on26500:24:58,859 –> 00:25:06,640our website. Go to openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible, and Pastor Colin Smith,26600:25:06,640 –> 00:25:10,319I’m David Pick, and I hope you’ll be able to join us again next time.26700:25:13,160 –> 00:25:22,599Being intelligent is a great gift in life, but it’s of no advantage in knowing God – find26800:25:22,599 –> 00:25:25,239out why next time on Open the Bible.