The Gospel of John
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How long does it take to build a solid trusting relationship with someone? Does it take a little amount of time or a lot of time? What if I told you that you had a half hour to get to know a complete stranger and that after that half hour you would be required to make a decision about whether or not you were going to trust that person with your bank account number, your social security number, your credit card information, in fact you would be required to give complete control of all of your finances to that stranger that you have only met and had opportunity to get to know for a miniscule 30 minutes? Would you be willing to make that kind of commitment? Would you be willing to trust someone in that way in such a short amount of time?
How long does it take you to share the entire gospel with someone? Can you share the gospel in 30 minutes? Is it possible? Sure. And after that 30 minutes what do we ask people to do? We ask them to put their trust in the person of Jesus Christ, for something much more significant that our financial information, we ask them to trust this person with their eternal destiny? If we would never dream of trusting someone with whom we have only known for 30 minutes with our bank accounts, why do we think it appropriate to ask people to trust Jesus with their souls, in that same amount of time?
Is there a better way to give people the gospel?
Recently I have been reading a book called, Evangelism for the Fainthearted by Floyd Schneider. And in that book he makes two significant statements that I would like us to consider.
Statement #1-
12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
In our efforts of sharing the gospel with people, the number one, most important thing is the Word of God. It is the Word of God that is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword- not man’s opinion, not the latest tract, not the latest religious statement on social media. It is the Word of God that is able to pierce deep down and penetrate soul and spirit and joints and marrow. It is the Word of God that is the discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Therefore, our number one priority in giving the gospel should be to get people to read the Bible. If we can get people to read the Bible with us and get people to think about what the Bible has to say- then the Holy Spirit can do a work in their hearts that nothing else can every hope to do.
The last time you gave the gospel to someone- how much of the time was that person interacting with the Word of God? Did they read the Bible for themselves? Did they think through the Bible for themselves? Did the Holy Spirit actually have the time necessary to pierce all the way down to the thoughts and intents of the heart?
Statement #2-
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
Is there a book of the Bible with the sole purpose of writing, to lead people to the point of placing their faith in the person of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, so that through their belief they might have life through His name? The answer is rather obvious. If the this is the express stated purpose of the book of John, and if the Word of God is the quick and powerful tool the Holy Spirit uses to reveal the thoughts and intents of the heart, then what if we asked people to sit down and read the book of John with us in order to lead them to belief in the name of Jesus?
How many chapters are there in the gospel of John? 21 chapters. How long would it take you to sit down and patiently read through the book of John together? What if we changed the way we shared the gospel with people. Instead of cramming the gospel down their throats in 30 minutes, we first sought to build friendships with them, and then asked if they would like to read the Bible with us to see what Scripture has to say. And then over a period of weeks or months we naturally, patiently, and effectively read the gospel of John together and allowed our friend to get to know who Jesus really is, so that they genuinely are in the position to fully put their trust in Him- so that believing you might have life through His name.
Could you do that? If an unsaved friend came up to you tomorrow and asked if they could read the bible with you, could you guide them through the Scriptures in order to lead them to a personal relationship with Jesus? Could you go through a gospel to give your friend the gospel? What a novel thought?
How would we approach reading John’s gospel differently if our goal was to lead our fiend to Jesus Christ?
Important Principle-
The most important thing when reading the Bible with an unsaved friend is not what you believe the Bible says, but what they believe the Bible says. Your opinion doesn’t matter. If all you ever do is give your friend your own opinion then they will come to rely on your authority, instead of the authority of the Word of God. What matters is what the Bible says, and what your friend believes about the Scripture. How are you going to read the Bible with them, and at the same time not just give them your opinion about what you think the Bible says? The answer is to ask lots and lots of questions. And don’t give them the answers to your questions. Make them think through the Bible and come up with their own answers. Is the Bible simple enough for people to read it and understand it for themselves? Yes, the basics of Scripture are simple enough for a child to understand, so let your friend come to their own conclusions about what the Bible says. The way you do that is to always be asking questions.
What kind of questions should you be asking? That is the goal of this series through John. Our goal is to go through the gospel of John together to get you to think about what kind of questions you should be asking as you seek to lead your friend to faith in the person of Jesus Christ.
I. The universal problem of comprehension (John 1:1-5)
I. The universal problem of comprehension (John 1:1-5)
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
v. 1- John answers some big questions in these 5 verses. What major life question does John answer in v. 1? Does God exist? How does John prove the existence of God in v. 1? He doesn’t! He assumes that the reader believes in God’s existence. Can anyone prove that God exists? Can anyone prove that God does not exist? Either view you take requires faith.
Have you ever heard anyone say something like this, “I don’t believe in God, because I haven’t had the experience of meeting him”? You might ask him in return if he has had the experiences of every person who has ever lived. The obvious answer is no. Is it possible that God lay outside of his experience? An honest person would have to answer yes, it is possible. Well, I have experienced God, He does lay inside of my experiences. People need to be aware of assuming that something does not exist just because they don’t know anything about it.
v. 1- Why does John call God the Word? What is the purpose of words? We use words to do what? Communicate something to someone else. If God is called the Word what does He want to communicate? Notice the text does not say, “God had the Word,” but “God was the Word.” What is the difference between those two statements?
If I came to up to Pastor Jason and I said, “I have a word for you,” what would you think I meant? Probably, that I had a message for to give him right? But what if I cam to him and I said, “I am the word for you.” You might put me in a straight jacket. What is the difference in those two statements? If I say, “I am the word for you,” I mean that I want you to know what? I want you to know me personally. Does God want us to know him personally? Does God want to communicate Himself to you and to me? How does God do that? Can we understand Him?
There are more questions we could ask from v.1- like how can the Word be with God and also at the same time be God Himself? These are to get you thinking about what kinds of questions you should be asking.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
What beginning is John talking about? Maybe, the beginning of time. Well, what existed before time? What existed before anything else existed? Did God exist then? Does God have a beginning? If God was there in the beginning, what does John seem to assume about God?
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Where did everything come from? Another big question that John answers here. Many people don’t believe that God created the world and everything in it. Most scientists believe that evolution is responsible for everything that exists. It is important to note that the Bible may not agree with everything that scientists want us to believe. Have scientists every made mistakes? Have they ever had to revamp and rethink their scientific theories because of new information? No one human has ever observed all there is to observe. There are big holes in our understanding of the universe. And the more we learn about our universe, the more we realize how little we know. If God did write the Bible through men, the He knows about the universe that we do because He created it. I am not trying to have a debate between creation and evolution. I am saying that we should be careful not to assume automatically that these statements in the Bible are false because they contradict our limited knowledge of this universe.
If we assume the Bible is true we have two impossible questions answered for us in the first 4 verses of John. What questions?
1- Where did matter come from in the first place? What does v. 3 say?
2- How did dead matter turn itself into living matter? v. 4
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
What kind of life was in the Word? Are there different kinds of life? For instance, is there a difference between plant life and animal life? Are there levels of life below a plant? Most people consider cells to be a form of life. If there are different levels of life, could there be levels of life above human life? Do we have the same level of life in us and God has in Himself? If there are different kinds of life, could there be different kinds of death? Did you know that the Bible teaches there are at least two kinds of life and at least two kinds of death? What are these different kinds? Well John’s gospel answers this very soon- before we finish chapter 6 so let’s keep reading together.
How is the life the light of men? Why do people need light? Just like there are different kinds of life, could there also be difference kinds of light? Obviously there is physical light, but could God be talking about spiritual light as well?
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
What is John talking about when he mentions darkness? If we compare v. 5 with v. 4 does it seem like there is a comparison between men and darkness? What is the major problem in v. 5? The darkness does not comprehend the light.
If God is the Word and that means he wants to communicate Himself to us so we can know Him personally- what is our main problem according to v. 5? We do not comprehend the life or light that God wants us to comprehend. How is God going to fix this problem? Let’s keep reading
II. The witness of the Light (John 1:6-8)
II. The witness of the Light (John 1:6-8)
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
God sent a man named John- which John is being spoken of here? We will find out in vv. 19-28. Why did God sent John? He was sent to be a witness of the Light. What does a witness do? A witness tells about something he has personally experienced. What personal experience did John have with the Light? We will find out as we keep reading.
Why did John bear witness of the Light? (v. 7) That all might believe through him. What does the word believe mean? Are there different kinds of belief? Does John want us to have blind faith? or a convinced faith? What is the difference between the two kinds of belief? Blind faith requires no facts or witness. Is that what John is asking of us? No, he is offering up his witness, his testimony as evidence for our belief in the Light. Blind faith simply requires blind obedience, no thinking or reasoning is required. Biblical faith is not blind faith. People with blind faith have sent their brains out to lunch when it comes to their religion. They have and need no facts. They simply believe what they are told. John told us our problem in v. 5- the darkness did not comprehend the light. Is God now requiring blind obedience? It doesn’t appear to be the case. The first solution to this problem is that God sends someone to be a witness to give testimony about the light. God seems to want all of us to use our brains. God wants us to examine and evaluate the facts of his witness. God does not want blind obedience, but a reasoning that leads to a well-thought-out faith. God wants us to be so convinced as to the identity of the Light, that we don’t just believe in the Light mentally, but whole-heatedly (that is we are really convinced down to our core) that this is true.
III. The universal need to receive the Light (John 1:9-13)
III. The universal need to receive the Light (John 1:9-13)
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
v.9- Why does John emphasize the word true? That was THE TRUE Light. Why didn’t John say “that was a true light” or “one of a number of true lights” instead of “the true light”? Does this verse seem to suggest that there are false lights in the world?
This verse seems to point out the “narrowness” of true Christianity. A lot of people do not like what the Bible has to say because it does not fit with their own views of religion and the world. What should be our response to this- “I don’t like the Bible, it is too narrow”? I have family members that tell me my view of God is too narrow, that God will accept anyone as long as they are sincere. Look I didn’t write the Bible and you don’t have to accept it just because I do. The purpose of reading through the Bible is so you can find out what the Bible has to say for itself. If it turns out to be narrower that your own beliefs, then you simply have to choose between what you find comfortable to believe and what is written in the Bible. I am not reading anything into the text of the Bible. I am simply reading it as it stands.
At this point you may be tempted to jump all over in the Bible to different cross-references. What is the danger of jumping all over in Scripture as you are reading the Bible with your unsaved friends? Looking up cross-references can make our friends think that we are pulling verses out of context to support our view of the Bible, that we are making the Bible say what we want it to say. By continuing to read the book of John in its context we are allowing the Bible to speak for itself. What matters is not what I think the Bible says, but what matters is what you believe the Bible says.
However, sometimes it is powerful to use cross-references. We should be careful when we do so and always be sure to encourage our friends to read the whole passage for themselves to see if we are misrepresenting what these verses are saying.
A few good cross-references here would be:
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Does that verse sound narrow to you?
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Note in Matthew 7 these people are religious people. Atheists do not go around saying, “Lord, Lord” in this way. And these people are doing things in the name of Jesus, in other words they are claiming to be Christians. Only people who claim to be Christians do things in the name of Jesus. And what are they doing in His name? Many wonderful works. If people cannot get to heaven on the basis of such good deeds as these, how can they get there?
Back to John 1.9
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
What does the True Light do? He enlightens every man. How many people are enlightened? Every man, woman and child that come into the world. Does that mean the natives in Africa as well as the people in the modern west? How can a person be enlightened in they have never seen a Bible or spoken to someone who has? Well, this text doesn’t tell us. The Bible gives a very clear answer to this in Romans 1, but before we are ready to read Romans we really need to finish with John so hold on to that question.
What does enlightened mean? It must mean to come to understand something. Does being enlightened mean that everyone will go to heaven? Can a person be enlightened about something and still reject what he or she has come to understand?
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
What was the original problem in v. 5? Because men were in spiritual darkness they did not comprehend the light.
What problem is given in v. 10? He made the world, and he came into the world, but the world did not know him. Why didn’t the world know the true light? How is that possible?
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
Does man’s problem get worse in v. 11? How does it get worse? In v. 5 they didn’t comprehend the Light, in v. 10 they didn’t know the light. Now in v. 11 they did not receive the Light. The verb did not receive is active. It would seem that the world could not have cared less about the true light but has actively rejected Him.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
V. 12 is a key verse. It demands much attention and concentration. You would do well to spend more time thinking about v. 12 that the rest of chapter 1 combined.
Let me ask you this, is every person a child of God? How would most people answer that question? Most people would answer “yes.” Their reasoning is that because God made everyone, then we are automatically his children. But how does the Bible answer this question? The Bible teaches that there are two classes of people- children of God and everyone else. If not all people are children of God, then what are they? We are all created by God, but we are not all members of his family. Regardless of what many different religions say, the Bible does not teach that everyone is a child of God.
How does one become a child of God? Read v. 12 and think about it. Many people may still be thinking well one becomes a child of God by baptism or by confirmation or by church membership. But what does the Bible say? We become children of God by receiving and believing. If you want to become a child of God do you think it is important to know what it means to receive and believe? If you don’t understand this according to the Bible you cannot become a child of God.
How do we receive a person? What does it mean to believe in someone?
How do we receive a person? What does it mean to believe in someone? I once heard the story about a man who had a rope stretched across Niagara Falls, and then he advertised that he was going to walk across the rope. On the day he was to do this, he asked a number of people if they believed that he could do it. Naturally, they all said yes. Then he asked if they believed that he could do it carrying a large oil drum on his shoulders. Most of them said no, and then he did it. They all became believers. Then he asked if they believed that he could carry a person across on his shoulders. Everyone said yes; they believed that he could do it. Then he went from person to person, asking each one of them if they would be willing to be carried across. No one said yes – except a small boy. The man did not carry anyone across (the boy’s mother wouldn’t let him). Everyone “believed” that he could do it, but no one “trusted” him enough to climb onto his shoulders. Everyone could say that they “knew” he could do it, but no one really “believed in him” enough to entrust their life to him. Becoming a child of God requires this “trust” or “believing in” the Lord Jesus. If we are to put our trust in the Lord Jesus the important questions becomes whether He is trustworthy. Do you believe that Jesus is dependable? He does not want blind faith. He wants you to actually receive him, to really believe on His name.
If your friend says to you, “I have my belief. That’s good enough for me,” you might ask him, “But is your belief good enough for God?” Or you might give him an illustration. Suppose I have a cup of boiling water in front of me. What would you think if I said, “I believe that if I stick my finger in this cup of hot water, I’ll burn my finger. And therefore, on the basis of this “belief,” I am going to heaven.”
That is obviously absurd. It points out, however, that not just any belief is good enough to get a person into heaven. If I wanted to travel abroad, I would need a passport. Imagine if I arrived at a border and gave the border guard your passport, which was twenty years out of date. I could yell all day long that the passport was good enough to get me through the border, but I might end up in a foreign jail.
What passport does God require to get into his heaven? After all, heaven belongs to Him. Doesn’t He have the right to determine what is needed to get into it? Doesn’t He have the right to reject anyone who doesn’t meet His standards? Some people say, “I’m just as good as the next person. If that person gets into heaven, then I will, too.” Doesn’t this assume that God has to accept our standards for living and for entering heaven? What if God does not agree with our views? Who is going to judge whom after we die?
Do you know if you are a child of God? How can you know?
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
What kind of birth is required in order to become a child of God? Does being born physically make you a child of God? How can a person be born a child of God?
How are the three phrases different: “born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man”? Can a person get to heaven by inheritance, that is, his parents are believers and their bloodline qualifies their children for heaven? Can a person get to heaven by doing good works (i.e., works of the flesh)? Can a person get to heaven because some clergy sprinkles water over him and says that he is a child of God, by the will of man?