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Where Do I Go From Here? (Christmas Presence #3)

December 14, 2025

Where Do I Go From Here? (Christmas Presence #3) | Dr. Larry Baucom | Dec 14, 2025

Dr. Baucom distinguishes the Gospel of John from the Synoptics. While Matthew presents the King, Mark the Suffering Servant, and Luke the Human Savior, John presents the Cosmic Creator. However, John 1:14 reveals a profound shift: the “Objective Presence” of God (the distant principle of order in the universe) becomes the “Subjective Presence” (the Word made flesh).

Theological Foundation

Dr. Baucom challenges the “substitutionary” view of atonement—the idea that Jesus died to change God’s mind about humanity (propitiation). Instead, he proposes that Jesus came to change our minds about God (expiation). Jesus is not saving us from an angry deity but revealing God as Father, Love, and Source.

Three Questions

To move from an intellectual understanding of God to a transformational experience, Dr. Baucom poses three critical questions:

1. What difference does it make to me?

  • The Inquiry: Why does it matter that God revealed Himself in Jesus?

  • The Answer: It moves faith from the Objective to the Subjective.

    • Illustration: The concept of cancer is objective until a loved one is diagnosed; then, it becomes subjective and personal. The concept of marriage is abstract until one says, “I do.”

  • The Application: We often view God as an external object to be studied or feared. The Incarnation means the cosmic principle of the universe has become a personal connection. Faith is not meant to be merely understood; it is meant to be lived. The “Word” is no longer just a principle of order; it is a person to be encountered.

2. How can I acquire information about this new life (How can I obtain it)?

  • The Inquiry: What is the source of this regenerating presence?

  • The Answer: John 1 defines this by what it is not before defining what it is.

    • Not by Bloodline: Spiritual life is not inherited. Sitting in a specific church because your parents did does not regenerate the soul.

    • Not by Human Effort: It is not achieved by willpower or ethical conduct (the path of the Pharisees).

  • The Application: Transformation happens when we realize God is already within. It is not about how “good” we are, but about opening our eyes to the Spirit within. We do not work for this connection; we awaken to it.

3. Where do I go from here?

  • The Inquiry: What is the practical step to living this out?

  • The Answer: We must “Receive” Him (John 1:12).

  • The Application: Dr. Baucom clarifies that “receiving a guest” in biblical culture meant more than a polite greeting; it meant, “My home is your home.” It implies total access.

    • The Challenge: We often live as though we can keep God in the parlor but bar Him from the other rooms of our lives. True reception means surrendering to the truth that every “room”—our calendar, our assets, our family issues, and our hidden corners are already occupied by God. When we surrender our delusion of separateness to embrace His presence, chaos is transformed into order.

Conclusion: The DNA of Grace

The sermon concludes with the story of Dr. Baucom’s brother, Jimmy, who received a stem cell transplant from his sister to combat leukemia. The doctor told him that because of the transplant, his life expectancy shifted from months to years because his very DNA had been transformed.

In the same way, the “Christmas Presence” of Jesus is a spiritual transfusion. He became what we are so that we might become what He is. He changes our spiritual DNA, bringing peace in the midst of chaos and regenerating us from the inside out.