John 1:1-5
INTRO: Good morning church. Today we will start taking a look at the Gospel of John which is a gospel unlike the other three. This gospel is not a narrative, even though there are narrative stories within it. None of the gospel writers had the intention to write a complete description of the life of Christ according to human principles. Yet, the three first Gospel-writers describe in brief outlines, the coming and actions of Christ from His baptism at the Jordan till His resurrection and ascension - and this is why they are called synoptic gospels.
John’s Gospel is highly symbolic and highly spiritual. As one reads the Gospel of John it becomes quickly apparent that this is not a simple gospel. John’s purpose for this gospel is stated toward the end of his writing in John 20:30-31 – “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”[ESV]
Of the thirty miracles listed in the synoptic Gospels John mentions some, but John also describes other miracles which are not mentioned anywhere else. This adds up to seven miracles however John does not call them miracles, but signs. This purpose statement in John 20 is extremely important to our study.
It is not our job nor should we desire to try to turn this gospel into a synoptic gospel. John is not telling a narration of Jesus’ life. We must appreciate the distinctiveness of the four gospels and especially consider how different John’s gospel is from the other three. John does not give any account of the birth of Jesus. There is no mention of Jesus’ baptism. There is no record of the temptation of Jesus, nor His transfiguration. The appointment of His apostles is not mentioned. The institution of the Lord’s Supper is not found in this gospel. The ascension of Jesus is not recorded. Neither is there a great commission declared in this gospel. Perhaps the most notable of missing elements in this gospel, is that there are no parables.
Further, John’s gospel records events that the other gospels do not record, which must catch our attention. Only John records the miracle of changing water to wine. Only John records Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus. Only John records the woman at the well in Samaria. Consider that only John, records the raising of Lazarus from the dead. While the other gospels focus mainly on the teachings and movements of Jesus outside of Jerusalem, John’s gospel keeps its focus on Jesus, primarily, though not entirely, in Jerusalem.
As we progress through John’s writing we must recognize that he is not recording everything that Jesus did. He did many other signs in the presence of His disciples. Therefore, as we come to the various signs and stories in this gospel, we need to ask this important question: “Why did John include this sign?” We need to consider what John is trying to teach his audience through the sign he records.
Now just because John is writing so that we believe, should not cause us to draw the conclusion that we do not need to study this gospel because we already believe. I strongly suggest to you that this gospel will deepen and strengthen your faith in incalculable ways when we grasp what John is trying to get us to see about Jesus. John is not looking for mere mental assent about Jesus. The belief that John is looking for…is a life-changing faith. The gospel is intended to cause us to fall on our faces and cry out, “My Lord and my God!”
I. Jesus Is God: Let’s read John 1:1-5 – “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 nothing was made that was made. 4. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”[NKJV]
A. The first few words of John’s gospel are simply staggering: “In the beginning was the Word.” This is an astounding statement that is made about Jesus. We know that “The Word” is a reference to Jesus because of John 14:1 - “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Also Revelation 19:11-13 – “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”
B. The holy scriptures begin with the words, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” John begins his gospel with, “In the beginning was the Word.”
1. An important word in this sentence is “was”. The scripture does not say that the Word became God or came to God. The Word was in the beginning with God. Therefore, just as at the beginning of the creation of the world, God existed, so also the Son, the Christ, existed.
2. John does not wait to get to the heart of the matter. We see no genealogy, like in the other gospel accounts. The reason is clear. John was to start with a very controversial point: Jesus is God. Jesus is not just a man. Jesus is not a mere prophet. Jesus is not a created being. Jesus, the Son of God, the Word, existed in the beginning, before the world began. There is no genealogy recorded because He is the eternal God. He has no beginning. He has no end. At the beginning of creation the Word already existed.
3. Further, to say that the Word was with God is not a statement of mere coexistence. This is a description of intimate fellowship with the Father. It describes a picture of equality as deity in that there is nothing lesser and nothing lacking in the Word in terms of His Godhood. The Word has the very same nature as God the Father. Verse 1 concludes; “And the Word was God …” We might have deduced this truth from either of the two preceding clauses, but the apostle left nothing to chance, categorically affirming in this third clause, that the Word was indeed God. As one commentator put it; “A word, in the primary meaning of the term, is a vessel for the conveyance of an idea; and Christ was the vessel which conveyed the true idea of God to humanity.” Jesus explained it this way in John 14:9 – “… He who has seen Me has seen the Father;…”.
4. Now verse 2 concludes the thought that the Word was in the beginning with God. Where God exists, the Word exists. There is not a time or place when the Word did not exist or when the Word was not God. There are three proofs that John offers in these first five verses to prove that Jesus, the Word, the Son of God, is in fact the fully divine God.
II. All Things Created Through Him: Verse 3 says, “All things were made through Him,…”
A. The Word is equal in nature to God in every way, and John declares all things were made through the Word.
1. When we read that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, John wants us to know that the Word was just as involved in the creation process as the Father.
2. The apostle Paul taught this very point to the Colossians 1:16-17 – “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
3. We are so assured of this truth that John continues, “… and without Him nothing was made that was made.”
4. In the beginning was nothing. Genesis records that it was simply void and darkness. Nothing was made without Him. Jesus is God because He created all things. Consider that this means that He created you. This is a point that will be more fully expressed in verse 11. We are His creation. Therefore, since He is God and He made us, then we bear an enormous responsibility to Him.
5. We find this again in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews 1:1-2 – “God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;” Also in Hebrews 1:10 – “And: "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands;”
III. Jesus Is Life: The apostle John makes the next stunning statement in John 1:4 – “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
A. We noted at the beginning of the lesson that this gospel is a highly spiritual and symbolic gospel. When the scripture says that in Jesus was life, is John referring to our physical, earthly breath of life or rather our spiritual life? I suggest John could be referring to both the physical and the spiritual.
1. As the agent of creation, Christ contained all life of every kind. All life came through Christ, is sustained by Him, and that life is responsible to Him. He gave life to the world because He created the world. But He did much more than that.
2. The use of the past tense shows that true spiritual life was in Christ before the incarnation, emphasizing the truth that all of the hopes of worshipers under Israel's law were actually in the Lord Jesus Christ, just as it is with all who ever lived. Physical life came from Him and in Christ there is eternal life.
3. Notice that John did not say that He gave life, but that life was in Him. Jesus is God because only God can give life. No one else can give life. The second reason that John uses to affirm that Jesus is God is because only God can give life and life is in the Word, Jesus. Jesus is not simply the bringer of life. Jesus is the life.
B. For Jesus to be the life means that we must rely upon Him for everything. Nothing else is life. To pursue anything else but Jesus is to pursue our death. Jesus as the life—describes our necessity to rely upon Him or else we are dead.
1. We need to be screaming to the world that they are pursuing their death, not life, when they follow the ways of the world. The world is looking for this life. Yet they are looking for life in every place—but in Christ. Jesus has been discounted as not being the source of life.
2. The world declares that life is found in giving back to the world, being charitable, leaving the world better than when we found it, making a mark, living your own way, or any of the many other mantras for life. In seeking these things we are pursuing death because life is not there.
3. To use the image of the scriptures, Jesus is the fountain of living waters giving life to all. We are as foolish as the person who sees a fountain of water in the desert, then passes by the water, and continues to walk looking for something else. By passing the fountain in the midst of the desert, you are sealing your death. When we pass by Jesus as the giver of life, we are sealing our death. In Jesus alone is life. We must rely upon Him completely for our life or else we are dead in our sins.
IV. Jesus Is Light: Next John says, “… and the life was the light of men.” Jesus is God because He is light. When we read the Genesis account we read of a realm of darkness. But God spoke light into existence. The Word was in the beginning with God and brought light into the world.
A. In the physical realm we define “light” as electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the human eye. For us to “see” things it is necessary for there to be light. We call the light provided for us to “see”—illumination. The act of illuminating something is the act of making that something visible.
1. Yes, at the creation “light” was created and it provides for our ability to see in the physical. However, just as John was not speaking about physical life, he is not speaking about physical light. John plays again on the creation imagery to show us that Jesus is the spiritual light. Spiritual awakening and understanding are in Jesus. Jesus as the light brings to this dark world true knowledge and moral purity.
2. Light represents holiness and purity. As light, Jesus gives guidance and direction for our lives. Jesus illuminates the heart for spiritual perception and knowledge. God is pictured as light often in the scriptures. Psalm 27:1 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?...” The psalmist wrote in Psalm 36:9 – “For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.” John wrote in his letter that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.
3. In similar manner, the world is described throughout the scriptures as living in darkness. Listen again to the apostle Paul; “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,”[ESV] Colossians 1:13.
B. Jesus will say later in John’s gospel, John 8:12 – “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.''”[NKJV]
1. Without Jesus, we are lost in the darkness of this world. We are lost in our own wisdom, our own futility of life, and our own foolish thinking. We are so lost in our minds and hearts that we think we have life right now. We are so deluded by Satan that we think we have all that we need while we are sitting in this darkness.
2. Listen to how Paul described this condition—first in Romans 1:21 – “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”[ESV] And then in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where he says, Ephesians 4:18 – “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.”
3. Paul describes this again in his second letter to the Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians 4:3-6 - “3. But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4. whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 5. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 6. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
4. Satan, through the ways and schemes of this world, blinds us from seeing the light of Jesus. We are left sitting in the darkness, thinking that we have all the answers, not recognizing that we are in the dark!
C. Have you ever sat in a room reading or watching television or something like that in the late afternoon and you did not need the lights on because the light from outside was strong enough. As the afternoon wanes the darkness grows you do not notice it. Your eyes simply continue to adjust to the darkness, not recognizing how the darkness is encompassing you.
1. Suddenly someone turns on the light and you recognize how dark it truly was in the room. But up to that point you did not perceive the amount darkness you were in. You had no motivation to seek the light because you thought you could see fine, even though you were encompassed by the darkness.
2. That is what it is like to live in this world. We think we have light. We think that we have the wisdom and knowledge we need - even though the darkness is slowly closing in around us. Jesus is the light. Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness so that we can see. Only in Jesus can we have direction and can our hearts be enlightened. Only in Jesus can our hearts have spiritual perception and understanding. Otherwise, we are sitting in the dark room not realizing that we cannot see clearly. Light is crucial. Without this spiritual light we are dead and cannot see the way. Jesus came to shine in the darkness. He exposes the works of darkness.
3. Where there is no light, there is no vision, no view of reality, no direction, and no guidance. The world of darkness does not understand Jesus, and does not overcome Him. Light always overpowers darkness. There is never a time when you turn on the light and the darkness is not vanquished. Light always overpowers the darkness.
a. John is describing this world with people who cannot see in front of their faces. It is like a cave trip where to show you complete darkness they turn out the lights.
b. Without light, there's no vision. There's no view of reality. If you've ever done one of those trips where the light is turned out, there's no concept of reality anymore. Where are the people? Where's the walls? Where's anything?
c. You can't even see what's around you. There's no direction, no guidance, no concept of what may be.
4. Christ overcomes the powers of darkness through His life, and death on the cross. The darkness would not be victorious over Christ. The light and the darkness came into bitter and decisive conflict and the darkness could not prevail. Jesus always overcomes. Jesus is always victorious.
CONCLUSION:
In the text this morning we start to see what John wants us to take away from this Gospel. Not just simply a warm, fuzzy Jesus that so often gets presented before us as just a good old boy. The intention of John, right from the very first words, is that we be struck by the recognition, that He is God.
He is the eternal God. He created everything. That means we are responsible to Him because He is God.
He is life. Not only the giver of life, but He is life. If we are not in Him, if our relationship is not with Him, if we are not pursuing Him, we do not have life. We are pursuing death. We are wasting our time in the things of the world when we do not pursue the ways of God.
And He is the light. The Scriptures so often try to remind us that we were in darkness. We were lost in our sins. We didn't know which way to go. But with Jesus, we now can receive light and life. Now we know the way to God. Jesus reveals everything about where we stand before God and what we need to do to be in a relationship with God.
Otherwise, we are walking blindly and falling into sin, and condemnation is assured. He lights the path so that we can be with Him, removing the obstacles that stand in our way so that we can have life with Him.
What a great picture. What staggering, profound words. It's something I hope this afternoon you will go think about and we'll come back to these verses again because there is more to be found here.
Have you found your life in Him? He is the light… and we should ask ourselves if we are walking on the path that He is lighting? Or perhaps are we going our own way? There are many forces in the world that insist we follow our own way. Do not be deceived.
Don't go your own path. Don't go your own direction. It leads to death. Turn this very morning to Jesus. Turn away from your sins. Realize that He is where life is found and only through obeying Him and serving Him can you have that eternal life.
As we sing the song of invitation, if you’ve been clinging to the darkness of this world let us urge you to repent, and make whatever changes need to be made. As a Christian if you need to change, ask God’s forgiveness. If you need our prayers, we would be glad to pray with you. If you need to be baptized into Christ, don’t continue to hide in the darkness of this life without the Lord, for there will come a time when it is too late.
Whatever you need we invite you to come as we stand together and sing.
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Reference Sermon: Brent Kercherville
