So that you may believe

So that you may believe - Gospel of John  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  48:31
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God with us

God with us (Mt1:23). How do you put into words about God with us? John tasks himself with a great opportunity and responsibility to reveal to us God with us and the outcome of believing in God with us.
There is so much to try to grasp, it can be overwhelming when we try to consider the magnitude of the gospel of John, so tonight I will try to give us an introduction, background, some key verses, etc. and start more in depth to the gospel next week. So tonight, sit back as we start to unfold the “gospel of decision” as many call it.
God with us (Jn1:1-2, 14, 17; Mt1:23)
John 1:1–2 NASB95
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.
Then we need definition
John 1:14 NASB95
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.
and a name to go with the definition
John 1:17 NASB95
17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
God with us, now may we look into the back ground.
Purpose: So that you may believe (Jn20:30-31)
jn20:30-31
John 20:30–31 NASB95
30 Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
Purpose to produce believe
Through belief may have eternal life
The Person (author) John
Let me start with this is not John the Baptist; This is John: the one Jesus loved and more. We do find John the Baptist mentioned starting here in Chapter one and will get into that in near future, but he is not the author
The one Jesus loved (Jn21:7 13:23)
jn21:7 “7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea.”
Jn13:23 “23 There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.”
Was part of the circle of seven (Jn21:2)
jn21:2 “2 Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.”
Part of the inner three (Mt17:1, 26:37)
Mt17:1 “1 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.”
and add to that
Mt26:37 “37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed.”
He was an eyewitness (Jn19:35; 21:24; 1Jn1:1-4)
jn19:35 “35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.”
You can look up 1John, we have recently studied the book so no need to give it all to you, there is still much to cover tonight in our introduction.
John is not directly named as the author, but neither are Matthew, Mark or Luke, there are inferences and deductions to be made so you can know, but unlike some of the epistles it is not direct.
When: About AD 90 From Ephesus
This is the most common belief after his release from Patmos, after the destruction of temple and Jerusalem, belief in Jesus and eternal life in His name was vital for man to understand.
Interesting fact that in about AD150 a fraction of a copy of the Gospel was found, proving that it was written prior to that, some believe that parts were added after the fact by other people, but the literary style and the content seem to be the same.
To whom: Unbelievers (Jn20:31) and believers
John 20:31 GNB
31 But these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith in him you may have life.
Unbelievers so that they may believe
Believers that through your may have eternal life
Important themes
Signs/Miracles
There are fewer noted in John than the other gospels, they are intentional to line up with the purpose
First, water to wine (2:9-11)
Second, the Nobleman’s son (4:46-54)
The paralytic man at pool of Bethesda (5:5-9)
Feeding 5000 (6:1-14); walking on water (6:19-21)
Blind man from birth (9:1ff)
Resurrection of Lazarus (11:1ff)
Jesus!
The man
The Christ
The Son of God
Belief
Term used 98 times in gospel; and in believing you may have eternal life
Life
Eternal life in Him (3:14; 3:36)
Hears and believes has life in him (5:24)
Eternal life is belief in him and you will know and have the Father (17:3)
Simple outline
Public Ministry (Chapters 1-12)
Private Ministry (Chapters 13-17)
Passion Ministry (Chapters 18-21)
(Transition) so, now having done the background of this awe inspiring book it would be good for us to start at the beginning, and there is the prologue that goes from (vv.1-18) but I want us to focus on even a smaller chuck just in (vv.1-5) the topic of the pre-existence of Christ.
The Pre-existence of Christ
The Text (Jn1:1-5)
The evidence (survey)
The significance (survey)

The Text

There are so many scriptures that point to the pre-existence of Christ, some of the most significant are in our text.
John 1:1–2 NASB95
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.
John 1:3–4 NASB95
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.
John 1:5 NASB95
5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Gleaning from the text:
What was from the beginning (v.1)?
The word; God
Who was in the beginning (v.2)?
He was, and was with God
Keep in mind we do not have a name of who He is yet.
What is the fact stated in (v.3-4)?
There was life in Him, and Light
What was the promise and the problem in (vv.4-5)?
He was light that shines in the darkness
Darkness did not comprehend it

The evidence of pre-existence

As mentioned before there are many passages that speak of the pre-existence of the Christ. Many are prophesy, some are affirmations and declarations as well as some illustrations, but too many for us to get into depth tonight. We will only survey some, I suggest take and look up some of these scriptures on your own, be a good Berean (Act17:11)
Foretold by the prophets
Micah on the Messiah to come (Mic5:2)
Micah 5:2 NKJV
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
Isaiah on the King, everlasting Father (Isa9:6-7)
isa9:6-7 “6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7 There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.”
Zechariah the Messiahs own promise to come (Zec2:10-11)
I am coming
I will dwell among them
You will be My people
Affirmed by Jesus Himself
That He existed in Abrahams day (Jn8:56-58)
Before Abraham was born, I AM
In His prayers to the Father (Jn17:4-5)
Glorify Me as I have glorified You!
In His revelation to John (Rev22:13)
Revelation 22:13 NKJV
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”
Declared by the Apostles
By John (Jn1:1-4; 1Jn2:14)
1 John 2:14 NASB95
14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
By Paul (1Cor10:1-4; Php2:5-8; Col1:16-17)
All drank the same Spirit from spiritual rock, that being Jesus
That beautiful illustration you can find in Php2, you should read that one on your own as well as the Colossians one, oh wait, hold on, I will use that one in a minute
Illustrated by creation
All things created by Him (Jn1:3; Heb1:2-3)
Hebrews 1:2–3 NASB95
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
I could not just summarize that one, I had to put it in
He existed before all creation (Col1:16-17)
OK this one too
Colossians 1:16–17 NASB95
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Displays is eternal power through creation (Rom1:20)
Well, maybe being a little selfish here, but had to put this in too
Romans 1:20 NASB95
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
(Transition) Remember the purpose of the gospel, belief so can have eternal life, the claim of pre-existence is clearly evidenced and now let’s look at the significance.

Significance of pre-existence of Christ

The foundation of Christian faith is in Christ. The significance of His eternal existence is vital.
Significance: He is deity
From everlasting (Mic5:2); From eternal and is eternal (Jn8:58; Exo3:13-14)
Micah 5:2 KJV 1900
2 But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, Though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
and consider
John 8:58 NASB95
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.”
As clearly seen in John’s prologue (Jn1:1-2) acknowledge by others (Mt16:16; Jn20:28)
We have already looked at some of the prologue, but consider Peter’s words
Matthew 16:16 NASB95
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
and then the words of Thomas
John 20:28 NASB95
28 Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
He truly was God in the flesh and is worthy of all praise.
Significance of pre-existence: He is life
All things created by Him (Col1:16)
Colossians 1:16 NASB95
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
All things held together by Him (Col1:17)
Colossians 1:17 NASB95
17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Without Him nothing was made (Jn1:3-4)
jn1:3-4
John 1:3–4 ESV
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.
He gives life
John 5:21 NASB95
21 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.
What hope we can have by our faith, by our belief for our eternal life, again a reminder of why the book of John was written so that we may have eternal life by belief
Significance: He is light
We live in a world full of darkness (Eph4:17-19) many chose darkness (Jn3:19)
Ephesians 4:17–19 NASB95
17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
and then think of
Jn3:19 “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.”
Jesus came to bring light (Jn1:4) so we can be sons of light (Jn12:35-36) and that light might shine through us (Mt5:14-16)
Son’s of light
John 12:35–36 NASB95
35 So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. 36 “While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them.
That light being the light of men; is in us and should shine through us.
Matthew 5:14–16 NASB95
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
As we prepare to close out our introduction to this study, so that you may believe: The gospel of John, may we remember the words:
(Insert light of the world in you picture here)
jn8:12 “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.””
Let His light who came into the world, that was light, gave you, and you received it and now that light in you may it shine through you!
(prayer) (Exit)
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