SS12-28-03

STUDY THEME: BORN TO SAVE. 12-28-03.

JOHN 1:1-3, 4-5,9, 10-13, 14-18.

PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO JOHN 1.

One of the most striking distinctives of the Gospel of John is the first 18 verses, called the prologue or preface to John’s Gospel. These verses serve as an introduction to what John presents in the remainder of the Book, beginning with Vs. 19. The main theme is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He always was, according to John.

These opening verses are the key that unlocks the Gospel or good news according to John. John’s overall purpose in writing about Jesus is stated in John 20:31---“that you may believe Jesus is the messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.” Please keep this purpose in mind as you study this lesson.

John presents Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity, as the eternal, preexisting Word who became flesh. He discussed various essential truths about Him beginning in eternity past and ending in His incarnation when He became a man. John proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God who became man so all people might believe on Him and become children of God.

The Word of God was in the beginning and was with God and was God. He was God’s agent in creation. He brought true life and light to the world, but the world rejected Him. Some, however, received Him and became children of God. The eternal Word became a human being in whom God dwelt with people and through whom God revealed himself and saved those who believe. The focal Scriptures of our lesson describe who Jesus is.

1. PLEASE READ JOHN 1: 1-3.

In vs. 14, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John forcefully set forth the true identity of Jesus, the subject of his book. Using the concept of the Word, he declared that the Word always existed. “In the beginning,” calls to mind the opening words of Gen. 1:1. However, these words in John 1:1 go back before the creation. A literal translation would be, “When the beginning began, the Word was already there. The Word did not come to be, He was in the beginning.” The birth of Jesus marked the beginning of His earthly life, but not His beginning.

Mark’s Gospel begins with Jesus as a grown man. The Gospels of Mathew and Luke begin with Jesus’ birth narratives. John began his Gospel where the activity of God started---in the beginning, before creation. Even then, before the universe existed, the Word was with God. More precisely, according toe John 10:30, the Word was God. John began his Gospel; therefore, by clearly and strongly declaring that Jesus is God Himself. And this Word became a human being.

For John to make such an affirmation was astounding. Monotheism, the belief of one God, was and is a central teaching of Judaism. Was John abandoning believe in one God? No! He was not. Scripture is clear that God is one. It records, however, that God has revealed Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God exists in three Persons, but God is also one, having no division of nature, essence, or being. While this challenges our understanding, we have no trouble praying to the Father, trusting in the Son, and experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I like the comparison to the solid ice melting into water and then evaporating into a vapor. In all three forms it is water and yet it has three distinct forms.

In Vs. 2 John reaffirmed that the Word was with God in the beginning, emphasizing that Jesus the Son was with God the Father in eternity past. This does not mean the Son came into existence at the beginning but from the beginning He existed with God. There never was a time when He was not.

In John 17:5 while praying for Himself, Jesus prayed, “Father glorify Me together with Yourself with the glory I had with you before the world was.” He always was, for in John 8:58 he said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” Yet he willingly gave up His heavenly status taking the form of a man and became subject to the death of the cross.

In vs. 3, so important is the recognition that Jesus has been with God from the beginning that John identified Jesus as the Agent of creation. John communicated this in both positive and negative ways, all things were created through Him; and negatively, apart from Him, not one thing was created that has been created. Rather than being a creation of the eternal God, He is the Creator Himself.

Paul also taught that the Son of God is God’s agent for creation. He wrote in Col. 1: 16 that, “all things have been created through Him and for Him.” The writer of the Book of Hebrews declared in Heb. 1:2 that God’s Son is the One “through who He made the universe. The universe is not eternal as some Gnostics believed. The Word, who became flesh in Christ, is the eternal creator of the universe.

Who has not stood in awe under the stars at night and wondered whether the Creator of such a vast universe could be concerned about our needs. The Psalmist in Psalm 8:3-4 must have had such an experience for he wrote, “When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?

Jesus, the One who crafted all of creation, became a human to show us how concerned for us God is. He revealed God’s love for us by taking on human flesh, and He demonstrated the extent of that love by dying on the cross to atone for our sins. As was true when He walked the earth, Jesus is approachable. He invites us to love, trust, and live in relationship with Him.

The Christian doctrine of incarnation and Trinity are closely related. God is one, but He eternally exists as Father, Son, and Spirit. This also is how we have experienced him. The eternal triune God reveals Him self to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being.

Thus John 1:1-3 reveals that the preexistent Word of God is all God, although so are the Father and the Spirit. Down through history many people and groups have denied that Jesus is the divine Son of God. Some of these, like His enemies who sent Him to the cross, accused Jesus of blasphemy because He claimed to be God’s Son. Others admitted that Jesus was a good man---perhaps even a great man, teacher, or prophet; but they denied the N.T. view of Jesus. One popular claim was that Jesus was only a teacher of how to live a good life, but His followers turned Him into a divine being. Those who believe the N.T. believe that Jesus was and is the divine Son of God.

2. PLEASE READ JOHN 1:4-5, 9.

Everyone is interested in life. The word life in the Gospel of John is often linked with the name of Jesus. John used the term 36 times. Life in John usually refers to eternal life, which comes through Jesus Christ. Life does not exist on its own; it is the gift of God in Christ. In him was life. Jesus came to bring real life, abundant and eternal life. Jesus said in John 6:48, “I am the bread of life”; in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection, and the life” and in John 14: 6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” In 1 John 5: 11-12 Jesus said, “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”

Life and light are closely related in John’s Gospel. Another of John’s favorite words is light. He used it 21 times in His Gospel. The word means “brilliance” or “brightness.” John declared that the Word who was life was the light of men. This is how John saw the Word in relation to all humanity. As life, the Word who is the eternal Son of God is also light for all people. The life God gives sheds light on all reality, such as God, humanity, sin, salvation, and everything else pertaining to the plan and purposes of God. To receive Christ is to receive eternal life.

Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world.” Light enlightened by revealing what the darkness seeks to conceal. It exposes sin and evil. Thus the true light both reveals God and redeems from the darkness of sin.

“The light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” The NIV assumes that the word “comprehend” means “to understand.” “The darkness does not understand it.” Other translators assume that the word refers to victory in the conflict with evil. “The light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.” Both ideas are true. People who walk in darkness do not understand the light or those who walk in the light. Their minds and hearts are in darkness. Yet the One who is the light of the world will win the ultimate victory.

Vs. 6-8 sums up the ministry of John the Baptist in terms of light in contrast to the eternal Word. John was a man sent from God. He was not the light, but he was a herald of the One who is the light.

In vs. 9 perhaps some mistakenly thought that John the Baptist was the true light. The Gospel writer in John 1:6-8 clarified that he was not the light. The baptizer simply had born witness about the true light, who is Jesus. His purpose was to point people to the One who was coming into the world. By this, the Gospel writer John communicated that the divine Word became a man and actually came into this material world. Jesus, who existed before time, came at a specific time into this world as flesh and blood.

The words in vs. 9, the true light, which ligheth every man that cometh into the world, have been used at times to teach universal salvation. From this rendering it would seem that everyone who is born into the world is ‘lighted” by the true light. The crux of the issue are the words that cometh into the world. Do these words refer to the true light or to every man? If the words refer to every man, the point is that every person at birth receives light in some form, either as a gift of life itself or as some knowledge of God. If the words refer to the true Light, then the Word is the One who was coming into the world to bring light. Since Vs. 10-11 clearly refer to the Word’s coming into the world, I think it is best to understand vs. 9 as introducing this fact. The word true means real, genuine, authentic.

The opposite of true is not just false but also that which is imperfect or counterfeit. Jesus, the Word of God, is the only One who can reveal to us what real life is. He is the only One through who a person can have life and have it abundantly. While the true light…gives light to everyone, not everyone wants it. Not every person will accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Nevertheless, John acknowledged in John 1:11 that some will receive Jesus and others will not. Though the light is present many tragically choose to remain in darkness.

So from these verses we learn that:

1. Life in all its fullness comes from the Word, Jesus Christ.

2. God’s true light is Jesus Christ, who leads us out of darkness.

3. Christ conquered all darkness.

4. Christ’s life and light are available for every human being.

3. PLEASE READ JOHN 1: 10-13.

He was in the world. With that simple statement, John declared the incarnation, the fact that God came to earth and lived as a man. The One who created the entire universe chose to come into the world and to be a part of humanity. Col. 1:16 says, “For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and are for Him.”

The word WORLD occurs three times in vs. 10. He was in the world when He became flesh and dwelt among humans. The world was made by Him repeats the theme of vs.3. The world knew Him not refers to the irony that the world of sinful humanity rejected the salvation and life offered by the Son of God. 1 John 5:12 says, “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
John often used the word WORLD in his Gospel. Although at times in the Bible the world refers to the good earth, John always used it to refer to people. The Word came to offer life to sinful humanity, but the people did not know Him. His own appears twice in vs. 11. The first time it is neuter, referring to the world of people whom He created and endowed with the gift of life. The second time it is masculine referring to His own people, the Jews. The people of the world He had created did not know Him. Even harder to explain; He came to the people who were prepared to receive Him, and they received Him not.

The world did not know Him. The use of the Greek word for know in this verse is relational. The idea is, knowing Jesus personally, having a relationship with Him.

Why did the majority of God’s chosen people (His own) in Vs. 11 fail to receive Jesus? In part because He was not the kind of Messiah they expected. Messianic expectations, though not common, did exist. For the most part, though, those expectations were shaped by the desire for a military and political deliverer. Jesus came teaching about the kingdom of God and the need for repentance. Aside from miraculous healings and feeding multitudes, He did not offer the worldly benefits and advantages they wanted.

Are matters much different today? Multitudes today want a god who serves them, but they are not interested in serving God. A practical definition of an idol is “a homemade god.” People reject God’s revelation of Himself in Christ, preferring their own ideas about God, and how to find a fulfilling life. They toss aside dependence on Christ for salvation and rely on themselves instead. They base their religious beliefs on their self-centered desires and prejudices, not on God’ revealed truth. In effect, people turn away from the true God revealed in Christ. As Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” Self is the most popular idol of today.

In Vs. 12 many of Jesus own people rejected Him, but not all. Some did receive Him. That means they did believe in His name. Name in biblical thought represents the person. The name “Jesus” expressed the idea of “salvation” or “savior.” This powerful name is “the name that is above every name” before which “every knee should bow.” That being true, Jesus appropriately is called “Lord.” Meaning the Master who has absolute authority. Furthermore, He is the “Christ” (Messiah), meaning anointed One, the One whom God sent to deliver His people from their sins. When people receive Jesus, that is, when they believe in Him, they are accepting Him as their Savior and Lord (repentance is implied;” they are making a faith commitment to follow Him.

Jesus response to those who place their faith in Him is to give them a gift. This gift, an expression of His grace, is the right to be Children of God. This place in God’s family is a right the Lord gives to believers, not something believers earn or deserve on their own. The term children, implies a spiritual birth, a new beginning. All peoples are children of God in the sense that God crated them, but only by accepting Jesus and being born again can people become a part of God’s heavenly family.

Vs. 13 emphasizes that the only way to be born into God’s family of redeemed sinners it to receive Jesus. Salvation is a work of God, not an achievement of humankind. God has provided the sole means of dealing with Human sin. Seeking to be right in God’s sight on any other grounds than faith in Christ is contrary to God’s will, and, therefore, is futile. Three terms in this verse contrast human ideas about salvation with God’s provision for salvation. Of blood designates natural descent; will of the flesh signifies normal desires of human nature; and will of men most likely refers to a husband’s will. While men and women typically can produce natural births, only God can produce spiritual births that give eternal life.

From these verses we have learned that:

1. Jesus offered himself for sinful humanity, but people, even His own people, rejected Him.

2. Receiving Him involves personal trust and commitment.

3. Those who believe in Him experience a new birth and become God’s children.

4. PLEASE READ JOHN 1: 14-18.

Vs. 14 is the key verse in John 1: 1-18 and a key verse in the N.T. Vs. 14 describes the reality, glory, and purpose of the incarnation of the Son of God. It is John’s account of the Christmas

Story. At a specific time in human history the eternal Word of God “ became flesh.

This verse is the Christmas story. We sing it, preach it, teach it, portray it in pageants, and read it in Christmas cards. Four words declare the greatest event of all times. The Word became flesh. The Word takes us back to the preexistence of Christ in Vs. 1-3. The Word always existed in eternity past, but at a specific point in time He became flesh. Flesh indicates that Jesus was truly human.

Flesh indicates that Jesus was truly human. The Word did not cease being the Son of God. Jesus was the Son of God, the Word in human flesh. Theology calls this the incarnation: God in the flesh. Jesus is the incarnate Word.

As God in the flesh, the Word took up residence or dwelt among us. This is one word in Greek and literally means “tabernacled among us.” Just as the presence of God was in the tabernacle in the wilderness, the presence of God was in Mary’s son, Jesus Christ. What did John see when he observed or beheld Jesus? The Word observed means “to watch as in a theater,” or “to contemplate.”

John said that we (those who saw Jesus in the flesh and became believers) “observed His glory, the glory of the One and Only begotten Son, from the Father.” That Son was full of grace and truth.

One translation has “we saw his glory, such glory as befits the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” The Greek word for One and Only emphasizes the unique relationship the Son has with the Father. The Son is the eternal Word who was with God in the beginning. In Jesus John saw the manifestation of the presence and power of God. In Jesus that presence and power was full or perfect. That manifestation was full of grace, which is God’s unmerited favor expressed in His loving kindness and truth, which is God’s faithfulness, veracity, and consistency.

In vs. 15 John the writer used the testimony of John the Baptist to declare the greatness of Christ. John the Baptist testified that Jesus was greater than he was. He reminded his hearers that though the One (Jesus Christ) came after him, Christ surpassed him. John said that he ministered first in time but Jesus was first in preeminence because “He existed before me.” This was the Word’s preexistence in eternity past. John was the forerunner to prepare the way for the coming of the Word. Jesus was the Son of God in the flesh who came into the world to provide salvation for all people. Jesus said of John the Baptist in Luke 7:28, “---Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.”

The word is identified as the One about whom John the Baptist had testified in 1:29-30, where the Word is identified as “Jesus.” Because Jesus existed with the Father from the beginning, Jesus actually existed before John the Baptist.

His fullness in vs. 16 includes all of the divine attributes, especially His abiding love and cleansing mercy. Each believer receives grace after grace from Jesus Christ’s inexhaustible supply. God’s grace to His children knows no limit.

In vs. 17 the law was given from Moses, and God’s law provides important insights into His character and purposes. God’s law calls for people to worship Him alone with all their devotion and to treat one another with justice, respect, and love. In Matt 5:17-19 Jesus honored the law

Though God’s law is good, none of the people ever were able to keep the law completely and consistently. Rom. 3: 10,23 points out “There is no one righteous, not even one….all have sinned.” The law included, therefore, a system of sacrifices to atone for sins. Actually, the sacrifices pointed to Jesus Christ’s sacrifice of Himself on the cross to provide atonement for sinners. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. All people can be “justified” freely by God’s grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Rom. 3:24,26 say that God will “declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.”

For the first time in vs. 17 John made reference to Jesus Christ by name. John wanted his readers to understand that Jesus was the Savior, the Christ (Messiah), and to place their faith in Him.

While God had made Himself known through His creation, the law, and messages given to His prophets, no one had ever seen God. Strictly speaking, that no longer is the case. The One and Only Son---the One who is at the Father’s side---He has revealed him. With clarity and precision Jesus has shown to us God the Father.

While we cannot see Jesus physically, we can see Him through the eyes of John and the other Gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Their accounts of Jesus life and teachings portray for us the truth about the One and only God who wants everyone to know Him as He really is. He longs for each individual to experience and, to enjoy true life by receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Have each of us had this experience? If not we need only apply Romans 10:9 which says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

NEXT SUNDAY 1 SAMUEL 16 FOCUSES ON INCEDENTS IN THE LIFE OF DAVID. WE BEGIN WITH “GOD CHOOSES AND EQUIPS.” A.V. DAUGHERTY 12-28-03