Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Remember Genesis 1.1… it is a recollection of that.
It does not mean a specific point in time- it means , or assumes, a timeless eternity.
God was the original “to infinity and beyond” advocate.
Word- logos- it refers to the emphasis on meaning of a spoken word.
In this context it refers to personality expressed in communication.
What is God like?
Look at Jesus- it will show you precisely what God is like.
It has creative power- Psalm 33.6
God’s word had creative power and called the universe into being.
John is telling us that the “Word” is the source of all that you see and existed before all that the material world consists of.
John is telling everyone something- Jew and greek alike- thatthe significance of the Incarnation for the world and not just a limited geographic location.
The word was with God- it means “face to face.”
The Word was God- not another God or another being in the same rank- but one and the same.
This unity is not just similarity- it is oneness.
This is repetitive by design.
A summary of verse 1 in a succinct effective restatement.
Remember John 8.58
Life (zoe)- either the principle of physical life, or more likely, spiritual life.
36 times in John.
Christ is the perfect embodiment of Life- what it is … and what it should be!
He is the benchmark.
His lifeis the light of men- God’s purpose and power are made available to us, and He is our ultimate hope.
light and dark are powers of good and evil, common metaphors and imagery in John’s day.
Darkness cannot overcome the light of the word.
Nevertheless, Satan always tries to cloud, or darken, the thinking of those who encounter the light.
Think about the times when Jesus is speaking in spiritual terms, and all his listeners can understand are physical things.
Satan strives to shut out, or darken, the light of Christ’s gospel message into their lives.
This truth, that Satan wants to block out the light with darkness, helps us to understand the ministry of John the baptist which is introduced in the next vers.
The human agent to present the Word of God was John- sent from God.
There are people who come into our lives.
There are people whose lives we come into or stumble into.
John didn’t come or stumble- he was sent.
Sent from God.
This is the most important word in this verse.
His sending was from the Highest Authority.
His function is defined by John 1.7
Witness is a Johannine word.
It is an attempt to establish testimony that Jesus is the Son of God.
John would testify that he was only the forerunner of another who would give them the Holy Spirit, and that they must repent in anticipation of meeting him.
John says John the Baptist was not the light, but a testimony to him.
John came on a human level to tell about God’s light.
And our need for it.
What have we learned in John 1.1-8?
God’s Word, who is God, was with God, and is an eternal being… spoke the world into existence and spoke to the world he spoke into existence now has stepped into the world he created by word with His living Word-Jesus.
He has given life to the expression, “Don’t listen to what people say- watch what they do..
John (the writer) wants us to see the Word- the creating Word- as coming into, stepping into the creation that He created!
The Lego master just stepped into His own Lego house!
In Genesis 1, the climax of the story is the creation of humans in God’s image.
In John 1, the climax is the arrival of this human being- the Word- become flesh.
In fact, John 1 and the Word becoming flesh is the climax of the story that began in Genesis 1- it was God’s plan all along.
So what has happened since the beginning of the story to the climax of the story , the birth of Jesus?
God has been speaking with words.
He once spoke by writing on a wall with a hand that just appeared.
He once spoke through a donkey.
The phrase, “The word of the Lord came to:” .... and you fill in the blank- it could be Moses or Jonah or Adam or any one of the OT characters.
He spoke through and to prophets and seers.
But one thing is common- He spoke with words.
A string of intelligible, sensible words either verbally or written down.
Words.
Our words are important- but just think for one minute how important God’s words are! he spoke over and over and over again- but we didn’t hear God’s words in the right way.
We didn’t hear Him speaking.
And he knew it, but he was patient with us over centuries in His story until the climax- the birth of Jesus.
Listen to Deuteronomy 11.18-25
Our words reveal our hearts and our minds, our intentions.
Jesus is God’s “Word” to reveal God’s heart and mind to us.
See John 14.9
Jesus is also God’s last word- having spoken time and again through prophets, judges, kings and circumstances- he now speaks finally in this Word, Jesus.
See Hebrews 1.1-3
Why did God speak for centuries and centuries and we didn’t get it?
Why , when God spoke in the birth of Jesus, do people still not get it?
John told us: John 1.5
The darkness cannot comprehend it.
I want you to imagine, for a moment- that you are in a sound sleep in your bedroom.
You have pulled the blinds so no streetlight or moonlight can come in.
You have a totally dark room- and the lights don’t work.
The light on your nightstand- out. the other lights in the room?
Kapoot.
The blinds aren’t open and can’t be opened.
And you have to make it to the door to get the door open to let in the light.
Now some of you said, no problem.
Right?
You know where everything is in your room and you can make it to the door with no problem.
Okay.
But there’s one more thing.
the furniture has not only been moved, it is still moving.
In the darkened room where you can see nothing.
You are effectively blind.
And everything is moving.
Your night stand, your dressers, your knick knacks, the jewelry box, your slippers, your robe, your everything is randomly moving around the room.
You really need light.
Now, before you go any further, let’s acknowledge that I have gone to great lengths, absurd lengths, to make this difficult.
Right?
This could never happen in real life.
Or could it?
I’d submit to you that it does happen.
Every moment of every day.
And has for every day since the first climax of the story in Genesis 1- the creation of humans.
The darkness is Satan’s best efforts to darken the light of Christ in this world.
For some of us it is food- for others of us it is alcohol, drugs, sex or porn, or something else.
It’s hobbies and good unfulfilled intentions, bad relationships and the temptations that come with them.
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