John 1:1-18 (2023)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
[READING John 1:1-18]
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
[PRAYER]
Introduction
Introduction
I’ve got bad news for you this morning, right here on Christmas Eve: tomorrow’s Christmas gifts will likely disappoint you.
Sure, the wrapping will be nice, the bow may be fancy, the excitement will build, and…
…it won’t be what you wanted.
…or it’ll be the wrong size or the wrong color.
…or it’ll break or fade before the New Year.
And, of course, the new will wear off over time.
However, the gift that God gave to us in Jesus on that first Christmas morning is a different sort of gift.
He didn’t come wrapped in beauty.
John 1:14 says that He came in the flesh, which means a human body like yours or mine.
Isaiah 53:2 says that He had no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
But while Jesus wasn’t beautifully wrapped in beauty, He was filled with unfading glory, grace, and truth.
John 1:1-18 tells us who Jesus is, and who He is explains why it’s so significant that He came in the flesh on that first Christmas morning.
In John 1, John introduces us to the eternal Jesus, the all-powerful Jesus, the all-glorious Jesus, the full-of-grace-and-truth Jesus, the one-and-only-Son-of-God Jesus!
This is the One who became flesh and dwelt among us!
And we—if we believe—have received of His fullness grace upon grace.
[TS] As we talk about Jesus in this passage, ask yourself, “Have I believed? Have I received?”
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
#1: Look at Jesus the Word (vv. 1-3)
#1: Look at Jesus the Word (vv. 1-3)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
[EXP] I think John used the term “Word” for Jesus because it was a term used both by Greeks and Jews.
Greek philosophers used the term “word” to describe the impersonal, eternal logic that made the world understandable.
Jewish people used the term “Word” to refer to the Word of God, which brought the world into being. Psalm 33:6 says…
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host.
John says this Word is Jesus.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
But Jesus the Word is not impersonal. It might seem that way if we only read about the Word in John 1:1-2…
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
But drop on down to the first line of v. 14…
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
No, the Divine Power that created all of creation is not impersonal; He became flesh and dwelt among us in Jesus Christ.
The babe in the manger was God the Creator.
John 1:1-3 speaks to Trinity and divinity.
How can Jesus be with God and yet be God? Doesn’t that mean there are at least two gods?
No.
The Bible presents God to us as One God in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
An early church apologist name Tertullian, called this The Trinity; and it is beyond the ability of our finite minds to comprehend, but each Person in the Trinity is totally God and yet there is only one God.
And if we believe what John says, we see the Trinity right at the start of creation...
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
God the Father decides.
God the Holy Spirit moves.
And God the Son, the Word, goes forth to make the light.
I think that’s why John says in John 1:4-5…
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Jesus was there in the beginning; God creating physical light in the midst of physical darkness.
Then Jesus was born in a manger; God bringing spiritual light in the midst of spiritual darkness.
[ILLUS] In the children’s Sunday School class of another church a long time ago, there was a homemade poster that read at the top: Things God Made.
The children had listed things like trees, goats, lions, waterfalls, and human beings.
They were correct on every count except one.
On this poster one child had also written, Jesus.
You guys know me, every time I find a heretical child, I love to confront that heretical child, so I pulled out my pen, marked through the name Jesus, and wrote “wrong.”
[APP] John 1:3 says, “All things came into being through Him,” but how did Jesus come into being if all things came into being through Him?
John 1:3 says, “apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being,” but Jesus exists, so how does Jesus exist if apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being?
The answer must be that Jesus is Creator not created.
That’s what John is telling us in these first three verses.
In Jesus Christ, Creator God came and dwelt among us in human flesh.
Have you believed in this Jesus?
Have your received His grace?
[TS]…
#2: Look at Jesus the Light (vv. 4-13)
#2: Look at Jesus the Light (vv. 4-13)
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
[Exp] Light and life are often connected in the OT. Psalm 27:1 says…
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?
Likewise, Psalm 36:9 says…
9 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.
Jesus Himself connects light and life a little later in John’s gospel, saying in John 8:12…
12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
To walk in darkness is to walk the path of death—it is to foolishly ignore God’s holiness and foolishly ignore one’s own sinfulness which leads to death.
Jesus came as the Light to shine the light of God’s holiness in a sin-darkened world so men would turn from sin, believe on Him, and be saved.
But even with John the Baptist pointing to Jesus as the Light, the world did not know Him (John 1:10).
Even the Jewish people, His own people, failed to receive Him (John 1:11).
Those who loved the darkness did not want to know Him. In John 3:19, Jesus said…
19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
But look again at John 1:12-13…
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Many reject Him because they love the darkness of their sinful deeds, but will you receive Him?
Many reject Him because they know that in coming to Him, their dark deeds will be exposed; they will have to give up those sinful things in order to follow Jesus, but will you believe on His name?
Do you want to be a child of God?
Do you want to escape the deadly clutches of sin?
Do you want true peace, true joy, and true freedom?
Then you must receive Him; You must believe in His name!
Why must we believe in His name?
Because…
21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Because…
12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
To believe in His name is to believe in Him, the only One who can save us from the wrath to come!
It is your responsibility to come to Jesus the Light and be saved, but if you come, know that you only come by God’s grace!
All those who come to Jesus the Light find eternal life not because of human lineage, human effort, or even human decision; they are spiritually reborn—spiritually raised to new life—by God’s grace alone in Jesus Christ!
Second Corinthians 4:6 says…
6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
God is the One who shone the light of Christ in our hearts.
We are saved by His grace alone, only because He shines the Light.
[ILLUS] A few years ago, in the middle of the night, our house alarm started going off. I jumped out of bed looking for my phone so I could silence the alarm; I was at the same time looking for the light switch so I could see what I was doing; and I was looking for Mr. Pew Pew so he could meet our new guests.
But in the dark, those things were not easy to find.
It turned out that a sensor on a bedroom window had fallen off.
Maybe it just fell off or maybe Madelyn was sneaking out to get another tattoo, but either way it was nothing to worry about.
[APP] But as difficult as it is to find something like a phone or light switch in the dark, it’s not impossible.
I did eventually find those things.
But it is impossible to find God while trapped in spiritual darkness.
It’s impossible to find God without the Jesus the Light.
I know that people say there are many ways to God, that every spiritual journey leads to salvation in the end, that there are many paths of enlightenment.
That’s not true.
The only path that leads to salvation, the only enlightened path to God is the path lit by God’s grace in Jesus Christ.
Only Jesus the Light shows us true life (John 1:4).
Only Jesus the Light shows us true enlightenment (John 1:9).
Only Jesus the Light shows us true salvation (John 1:12-13).
12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
Have you believed in this Jesus?
Have your received His grace?
[TS]…
#3: Finally, Look at Jesus the Son (vv. 14-18)
#3: Finally, Look at Jesus the Son (vv. 14-18)
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ ” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
[Exp] The word “begotten” in vv. 14, 18 has caused much debate. Some say we shouldn’t use the word “begotten” in translating the Greek word monogenes (mo-no-yen-Es) because begotten means “fathered by” or “derived from” while monogenes means “one of a kind.”
I like the way the Christian Standard Bible translators put it in John 1:14…
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
In John 1:18 the Christian Standard Bible says…
18 No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.
What John says is clear: Jesus is the one and only Son of God! There is no one like Him!
He is perfect in glory just as God the Father is perfect in glory!
He is full of grace and truth just as God the Father is full of grace and truth!
He is eternal just as God the Father is eternal!
He is divine just as the God the Father is divine!
But only God the Son became flesh and dwelt among us.
Only He is the very heart of His Father.
And only He has made God known to us.
[APP] Is this who we think of when we see Jesus as a baby in a manger?
Do we see very God of very God in that manger?
Is this Who we think of when we see Jesus resisting every temptation in the wilderness?
Do we see very God of very God in that wilderness?
Is this Who we think of when we see Jesus dying on the cross?
Do we see very God of very God dying for us?
That’s the Word dying on that cross!
That’s the Creator dying on that cross!
That’s the Light of the World bleeding to death for me and for you!
That’s Light of life giving His life for us!
That’s the one and only Son from the Father paying the price for our sins so we can become sons and daughters of God!
Is this Who we think of when we see Jesus rising from the dead!?
Of course the Father would accept His sacrifice—He was perfect in holiness!
Of course death could not hold Him—He had no sins of His own!
Of course through faith in Him we are raised to new life with God—He is the Resurrection and the Life!
9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.
Have you believed in this Jesus?
Have your received of His fullness grace upon grace?
[TS] …
Conclusion
Conclusion
Jesus the Word!
Jesus the Light!
Jesus the Son!
Believe in Him.
Receive His grace.
[PRAYER]