Jesus the Word

Incarnation of Christ • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago • Presented 3 years ago

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For John, the Logos is more than what others have described. The Logos is Jesus Christ who is eternal, personal, divine, and separate from Creation. John opens his gospel by redirecting these concepts of logos to a unique description of Jesus Christ.

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Jesus the Word

John 1:1–18 ESV

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 were made through 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 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 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 have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

The Logos

The term "logos" has a variety of historical uses. For the ancient Greeks, the term was used to describe words, speech, and reason, but it was also used in philosophy to describe the concept of the impersonal force that holds the universe together. In the LXX (Septuagint - the Greek translation of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible), the "logos" occurs in verses that describe the powerful Word of God in creation and God's commands as well as commandments. Psalm 33:6.

And for some Jewish philosophers, such as Philo of Alexandria,

The logos was both the power through which the universe was originally ordered and the power by which the universe continued to be ordered.

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary Logos

The Logos is Jesus Christ

For John, the Logos is more than what others have described. The Logos is Jesus Christ who is eternal, personal, divine and separate from Creation. John opens his gospel by redirecting these concepts of logos to a unique description of Jesus Christ.

Eternal

The first thing we learn is that the Word is eternal. But before we move on, we need to look at the careful way John describes the Word. In the gospel's original language, uses a particular verb to describe the existence of the Word. Unfortunately, the English language does not have the nuance of the Greek language to express being. The Greek language has verbs that can express action both how something occurred and when. Our word translated "was" comes from two different verbs. One denotes continuous action in the past, and the other implies the origin of something. Guess what verb is used in verse one. It is the verb that shows continuous action in the past. In the beginning, the Word already existed in the past before the beginning. John makes us focus on the eternal quality and existence of the Word. If we could go back to the first second of the beginning, we would find that Jesus was already there.

Personal

The second phrase of verse one uses the same verb that describes the eternal and continuous existence of Jesus but connects it to being present with God. The Hebrew scriptures clearly describe God as the pre-existent Creator of all things. God has no beginning or end. He simply just is.

Divine and Separate from Creation

The last phrase of the verse is the most important part of this sentence. Without this part, Jesus has a status similar to the angelic creatures. But none have the right to be named God. And remember the verb that shows continuous action in the past. One has to read the entire gospel to understand what John means by saying the Word is God. In short, John is declaring the Divinity of Jesus. Whatever makes God unique and eternal, Jesus has the same. We can not make Jesus one of God's created angelic creatures or some higher spiritual being because verse 2 tells us that the Word is the Creator. He is not the creator of something but all things. No one has this attributed them except God. Jesus is the Creator of all things.

John carefully crafted the opening of his gospel to introduce us to Jesus. The remainder of his gospel describes Jesus in greater detail, with the hope that those who read will receive and believe in Jesus.

The Mission of the Logos

Light and Life for all humanity

In verse 4, the Logos is the life and light for all people. We should note the echos of the Creation story in these opening verses. These are spiritual terms that describe the situation of humanity. We need life because we are spiritually dead and cut-off from God. We live in spiritual darkness until we receive Jesus the Light of the World. John also reminds us that even though light and darkness are at odds with each other, the light will always pierce through the darkness. Jesus, the eternal light, will not fail at showing us the way of life. All other paths will lead us into darkness and death.

The message of John the Baptist came to prepare others to receive the True Light. Jesus was not like the sun or stars that remain far away to shine the light. Jesus would come into the world in a personal manner to pinpoint the time and location. We could say like the early disciples, come and see.

Receiving or Rejecting

The light and life that Jesus came to bring required a human response. John reminds us that there are only two responses: receive or reject. And with these two responses, we find two corresponding results. Receiving (believing) results in becoming a child of God. While it is true that all humanity can claim to be a child of God in the sense that God is our Creator, only those who receive Christ can come into the intimate fellowship with God in a new-birth experience. Jesus brought the light and life that all humans need.

Jesus is Fully Human and Divine

The Word became flesh

So far John has made it clear that Jesus is not created but eternal and divine through his careful use of verbs. However, in verse 14, John changes that to describe the Incarnation. The Eternal and Divine Word took on flesh at a specific point in time. Before that, Jesus did not have flesh, so the change in verb is appropriate to describe God's supernatural act in Jesus taking upon human flesh.

Jesus stands uniquely in the universe. In the King James Version, this is described through the term "begotten". Unfortunately, it doesn't adequately describe what John is telling us. The English term can imply that he was the result of a human father (Abraham beget Isaac). The ordinal term implies the unique quality given to only one. This understanding fits Jesus properly. There is none like him, nor will there ever be anyone or anything that comes close to who he is.

Tabernacle-ing

But the Word did more than just become human. He spent a significant time upon the earth dwelling with humanity. The verb used to describe dwelling carries the idea of pitching a tent to dwell for a time, similar to the Old Testament Tabernacle.

Like the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple, Jesus had a glory about Him. John, who wrote the gospel, saw Jesus firsthand. He walked, talked, and was a witness to Jesus' glory both figuratively and literally at the Mount of Transfiguration. Matthew 17:1-8

John finishes this introduction by tying Jesus to the Old Testament. In keeping with God's great covenant through Moses and the Law, God would bring an over-flowing (grace upon grace) abundance of grace and truth through Jesus. John leaves us no other viable option than to place our whole trust in Jesus Christ. In Christ, we receive God's plan to restore His creation back to himself.

The Challenge of Receiving

After reading John's introduction, we might assume it an easy thing to come to the conclusion that Jesus is fully divine and human. The New Testament and history remind us that it has been a challenge for the human heart and mind to receive. Some of those who encountered Jesus firsthand decided to reject him. Throughout John's Gospel, he records multiple instances when some were quite upset that Jesus connected himself so intimately with God. How could Jesus not only do outlandish things and make outrageous statements such as these?

Healing on the Sabbath and calling God Father, John 5:18

Claiming that He had come down from heaven, John 6:42

Claiming that He existed before Abraham and using the term "I AM", John 8:58-59, Exodus 3:14

The Early Christians had to often defend against those who would try to change the teachings of the Gospels and early apostles. As the gospel spread throughout the lands of the Roman Empire, some applied Gnostic influences to the nature of Jesus. "Gnostics" describes multiple groups that primarily insisted that their group had the "secret" knowledge on "better" Christianity. Many of these groups held a dualistic view of the world. Namely that the physical world and things are basically evil and, only spiritual things are "real". To their advantage, it was to deny the full humanity of Jesus and his physical death upon the cross.

2 John 7 ESV

7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

The Challenge at Nicea

When we review church history, we find that this continued to be an issue for which believers had to defend scriptures' teaching.

Jude 3 ESV

3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

Contending for the faith continued into the 4th century. As Christianity expanded, so did the challenge of the opposing voices. It seems that Constantine wanted to unite Rome under the banner of Christianity. So having disagreements among those who claimed the Christian faith would not be advantageous to Constantine's vision of a united Rome. In 325, the Emperor Constantine was influential in calling the churches to settle the discussion of the nature of Jesus and the Trinity. Some have erroneously assumed that the divinity of Jesus and the Trinity were created at Nicea. We have already noted that the early church of the 1st century had to defend against a variety of heresies. Although the discussion of Jesus’ divinity and the Trinity preceded Nicaea's council, the council formulated a statement that was accurately faithful to scripture.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

And we continue to share the message of Christ, we must always be on guard of taking away Jesus Humanity or Jesus Deity. Many still refuse to accept that Jesus is fully God and fully Human.

Spirit and Truth - John 4

To whom can we compare Jesus? If we deny His divinity, he is nothing more than a prophet who lived a good moral life but suffered a tragic death of little consequence. If we take away His humanity, we have a great deception from the scriptures that claim he was human. Jesus becomes nothing more than another supernatural creature like an angel, powerful but not having the right or ability to be a proper representative for humanity upon the cross. God still remains a distance away from us. Jesus deserves the focus and attention because He is like no other.

In John 4, Jesus interacts with a Samaritan woman. He reveals his identity through inquiry, kindness, and personal revelation. The woman is drawn toward Jesus with Messianic hopes. Could this be the One which the scriptures promised would come? She is hopeful but is still troubled because she is a Samaritan and is concerned about the Jewish and Samaritan differences in worship. Jesus reveals God's plan to her.

John 4:22–23 ESV

22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

These words of Jesus point us to accept how God has chosen to reveal Jesus Christ. The scriptures point to this truth, Jesus was fully God and fully human. It hurts our brain to try to figure it out, and some refuse to accept the apparent contradiction that it seems to be. But the Incarnation is not simply given as a brain teaser but rather a point in which we surrender our hearts, mind, and will to God and worship Him.

When we think of great people who do great things, we are often in awe of those who go beyond the average person. Think of the athlete, the scientist, the hero, or even survivor who defies all situations to excel to a level few ever achieve. We are amazed and astounded. In a greater way, we are to look to Jesus and be astounded all the more because there is none like him. None even come close. And we humbly declare we are not worthy but are simultaneously drawn toward Him. We find ourselves repeating the words of John, "He must increase and I must decrease." Let us decrease ourselves and everyone else so that Jesus is truly lifted up in our lives as the Holy One we worship. We must accept his revelation of who He is.

Does it matter?Jesus said that the Father is seeking worshipers who will worship in spirit and in truth. God is not honored by the worship of false gods. And we are hardly benefited by worshiping something or someone that does not exist.

True Christian worship is founded upon Christian truth. We have to have knowledge of our God to worship Him correctly. If we have defective knowledge, or worse, if we have wrong information and have been deceived, our worship is either lessened (due to simple ignorance), or it is completely invalid, as the worship of idols and false gods. That is not to say that we have to have perfect knowledge to worship God—none of us do. But our desire must be to grow in the grace and knowledge of God, and we must always remember that Jesus taught that eternal life was the possession of those who know the one true God. Knowledge does not save (that is the error of Gnosticism); but true worship does not exist without knowledge.

White, James R. The Forgotten Trinity. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1998. Print.

The Incarnation is God's Love for the World - John 3:16

When we read the scriptures concerning the Incarnation, we discover the many ways it fulfills God's plan for humanity. We are separated from God because of our sin and rebellion. We can never jump high enough or be good enough to earn our way into a good standing with God. Jesus took on human flesh to be the way God would ultimately deal with sin. Sin causes spiritual death, but God allows a holy substitute to take our place of wrath and separation so that we can be united to Himself. The only one who could successfully do it is God. The only appropriate substitute is a human without sin. Jesus fits the solution so perfectly.

Why would God want to have this occur? John reminds us that the Incarnation occurs because God truly loves the world. Everything in it is loved by God even though it is separated and stained by sin. God first and foremost loves those He created. This means every living person from the beginning until the end. He loves us enough to step out of eternity into our temporary humanity. He finished the work upon the cross and stepped back into eternity. God did this. The One True God who exists as three persons yet one being. Each person is God but has a unique aspect of our relationship. The Father sent the Son, and the Son sacrificed himself upon the cross. The Son sent the Holy Spirit, the spirit brings to remembrance the teachings of the Son. The Son does the will of the Father, etc. Yet all three are one being, the Holy God. And this complicated God, at least to our minds, loves you so much that He is willing and able to make it possible for you to step out of darkness and death into His light and life.

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

If our greatest need had been information,

God would have sent us an educator.

If our greatest need had been technology,

God would have sent us a scientist.

If our greatest need had been money,

God would have sent us an economist.

If our greatest need had been pleasure,

God would have sent us an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness,

so God sent us a Savior!

Charles R. Swindoll, The Grace Awakening

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