I Believe in Jesus Christ

Introduction

They had seen incredible things.

Just days, perhaps hours after being witness to a crowd of well over 5000 individuals being miraculously fed with leftovers available for everyone…

And just moments after witnessing the complete healing of a man who had been born blind…

The disciples we’re pressed to answer what may be the most important question that any one would ever answer in their life.

Jesus asked the question of his disciples as they journeyed… but he asked it in two ways.

First, “who do people say that I am?” - that is, what is the word on the street about me? Who do the crowds believe me to be?

But the second way of asking the question was the more pointed…

“Who do you say that I am?”

I believe this to be the most important question that any human being could wrestle with, and the most important question we will ever answer in our lives.

The way we answer it says everything about our lives, our past, our present, and our future.

Who we believe Jesus to be, and how we relate to him has massive and immense implications for all of life.

Who do you say, or believe that Jesus is?

Popular culture offers us many options today:

from the Jesus that would never offend or disagree with us,

to the Jesus that “gets us”,

to the Jesus that Kayne West promotes that is really a reflection of Kayne West.

But who do you say that he is?

With the Apostles’ Creed we confess the statement…

“I believe in Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary...”

To get our heads and hearts around this confession and what it means we need ask how does the Bible present Jesus to us?

We need an introduction to Jesus so that we will be able to rightly confess him.

So we’re going to go to John’s Gospel where he gives us a unique vantage point into who Jesus is, and why we should confess him as “the Christ, God’s Son, our Lord…”

The first 18 verse of John’s Gospel sets up the rest of the book that John writes “so that...”

John 20:31 ESV

31 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.

His way of articulating it here at the beginning is this ---

Big Idea: Jesus shines the light on God.

Or another way to say is it that Jesus is the one who reveals and explains who God is.

He illuminates God for us.

The question we might as is “how?”

[Key Question:] How does Jesus shine the light on God?

Three key ways Jesus shines the light on God for us…

Through his relationship to God (Jn 1:1-4)

The first way Jesus shines the light on God, how he reveals and explains who God is is through his relationship to God.

John begins his Gospel account with talking about who Jesus is before he became a human.

John 1:1 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John identifies this one as “the Word” - whom we discover in verse 17 is Jesus- he wants us to know the true identity of this central character.

One scholar states it this way,

John: An Introduction and Commentary (2nd Ed.) 1. The Prologue (1:1–18)

‘John intends that the whole of his Gospel shall be read in the light of this verse. The deeds and words of Jesus are the deeds and words of God; if this be not true the book is blasphemous.’

The idea of the “Word” is that this One is the logic, reasoning, speech, and words of God.

He identification of Jesus as “The Word” refers to how he stands in relationship to God.

First - being present with God -

So we have eternity before all things, “the beginning”

and we have The Word with God…

The term “with” here in the Greek has the meaning of towards or nearby. It’s a preposition used to speak of relationship or orientation.

So this idea of face-to-face together, with God.

Not only does he stand eternally in positive relationship to God but he himself IS God.

“The Word was God.”

So we have the Word facing God, and the Word being God.

These are relational statements that give shape to the doctrine of the Trinity.

We believe in One God, who eternally exists in the three distinct persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

John can describe the Logos, Jesus, as distinct from the Father (yet “with” him) and one with the Father (was God).

He’s aiming to help us see who Jesus is!

Verse 2

John 1:2 ESV

2 He was in the beginning with God.

There is relationship here - eternally the Word has existed with God, as God, and in relationship to God.

And in that relationship we see he does the things of God — creation specifically.

Or more directly, he is the agent of creation.

The Father spoke “Let there be light” and the Son brought light into existence.

John 1:3 ESV

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

If you want to answer your friends that are Jehovah’s Witness, or Mormon who say that Jesus was the first and greatest created being you can easily answer that here…

Everything was made through him.

he himself can’t be created because “without him was not any thing made that was made.”

So we have the Word - with or towards God and is God.

The eternal agent of creation

But there is another identity that John unfolds that reveals the relationship of Jesus to God, that is through the names given in verse 14.

He, Jesus is identified as ‘the only Son from the Father.’

John 1:14 ESV

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.

The Son of God - in relationship to God Jesus is as a Son - proceeding or begotten (not made) begotten from the Father.

The relationship is as a Father and a Son.

John 1:4 ESV

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

He is life and light

As life and light he has come to enliven and enlighten humanity.

His mission is to make alive human beings who are dead and shine the light of God on darkened humanity.

John 5:26 ESV

26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

He does this as one who knows God (with God) and one who is God.

Notice here the metaphor - “in him was life and the life was the light of men.”

What John is unfolding to us is that you cannot know God, you cannot have life and be “enlightened” today apart from knowing Jesus.

Knowing Jesus means that we relate to him as he has revealed himself to be.

The claim here is not that Jesus is a good teacher, or a moral exemplar, or a guru of some distinction.

The claim that the first four verses of John’s Gospel is making about Jesus is that he is God.

This is the underlying claim that Jesus makes through the entire book - “I and the Father are one.”

He claimed to be God and that’s why the religious leaders of his day wanted to kill him.

C.S. Lewis remarks that if Jesus’ claims to be God are not true, then he is the greatest megalomaniac ever and Hitler—in comparison— is the most humble and sane man who ever lived.

The Quotable Lewis Jesus: God, Lunatic, or Evil Man

There is no half-way house and there is no parallel in other religions. If you had gone to Buddha and asked him “Are you the son of Bramah?” he would have said, “My son, you are still in the vale of illusion.” If you had gone to Socrates and asked, “Are you Zeus?” he would have laughed at you. If you had gone to Mohammed and asked, “Are you Allah?” he would first have rent his clothes and then cut your head off.

The Quotable Lewis Jesus: God, Lunatic, or Evil Man

The idea of a great moral teacher saying what Christ said is out of the question.

Who do you say Jesus is?

Do you believe this and confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?

The first key way Jesus shines the light on God is through his relationship to God. The Word of God, the Son of God.

The second key way Jesus shines the light on God is…

By enlightening everyone who believes in him (Jn 1:9-13)

Here John focuses on Jesus’ relationship towards the world.

First that he is the one who illuminates or enlightens the world.

If anyone can bring light - and that light is LIFE - the it’s Jesus…

He illuminates

He does that by “coming into the world”.

We’ll unpack how he came into the world in the next point, but here notice how John is saying Jesus, as the one who shines the light on God, is coming to shine that light.

And for us that is a past event.

John 1:10 ESV

10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

He came, he was in the world - on planet earth. The world he made… yet

The “world did not know him” - no comprehension or desire to follow and know the one who made it all.

In fact the irony is even thicker in verse 11

John 1:11 ESV

11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

The peoples, or ethnic community he was born into - the Jews - even they rejected him and did not receive him.

The light was not received - instead it was rejected. True light, true clarity and enlightenment was missed.

The point is that you can be religious - you can be in the right place, hearing the right things, and still miss the true light.

The action is put on our shoulders - will we receive him?

John 1:12–13 ESV

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.

This is the good news. If you will see Jesus for who he is - the Christ, the Son of God, and believe in Him and entrust yourself to him you will be adopted into his family.

You will be given the right to become children of God.

You will be en-lightened, or another way of saying this is “born again”

As the light of Christ shines, and as we believe in who he is and what he’s done we’re made alive again which doesn’t happen through our parentage (you can’t be born into this family), it doesn’t happen through our works (the will of man), but God makes us alive by his grace.

He gifts to us the new birth we need - it’s by grace we are saved, through faith!

We believe in Jesus alone and he enlightens everyone who believes in Him.

Here’s what Jesus does.

He comes and he shines the light - friend - do you know how dark it is here?

Do you know that you are not well? That you are in fact dead? Do you know that you live in the slum and ghetto of sin and wickedness.

It smells of burning flesh and tastes of toxic waste. The state of your heart and soul is deplorable.

Jesus shines the light and say do you know where you are??

And then he shines the light and says, let me take you to the eternal and glorious kingdom. Let me take you to where light and life and every good and blessing are!

Just trust me and cling to me and I will rescue you and bring you into eternal glory and light and get you out of this dark slum of slavery to sin!

To everyone who says “yes” - and entrusts themselves to Jesus, everyone who believes in him, he rescues and brings into his Father’s kingdom of light!

But to all who say, “no, I’ll stay here” - they perish.

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.

So if you come and believe in him, good news! You won’t perish.

Instead you are adopted into his family and are given the right to become a child of God!

Who do you say that he is?

Has Jesus made you alive with him? Has he shined the light of God on you?

Believe in him! Put your hope and trust — all your faith in him.

Jesus shines the light on God through his relationship to God, Jesus shines the light on God by enlightening all who believe in him.

Finally, a third key way Jesus shines the light on God is…

By physically making God known (Jn 1:14, 18)

Here’s where we come to the climax of John’s emphasis about Jesus here.

He takes us back to the Word - and unpacks how the Word came into the world as he mentioned in verse 9.

John 1:14 ESV

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.

The Word became flesh.

This is where we get the concept of incarnation - or enfleshing of God the eternal Son as a human being.

This does not mean that he stopped being God or that he just appeared as a human being

Instead it means that the Word, fully God, became fully human at the same time.

The Word lost none of his Divinity or glory, but became a fully human man

Furthermore, “he dwelt among us” - literally tabernacled or “moved into the neighborhood” with us.

What an amazing mystery.

The eternal Son of God became a fully human being, humbled himself, and came and lived in our condition and nature fully and completely.

The Apostles’ Creed speaks of this reality by saying that Jesus, the Son of God was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

Through the human and normal means of development in a woman’s womb and birth, Jesus, the Son of God came into the world as a fully human being.

You might say “I don’t understand that” - you won’t be alone.

One of the church fathers, Jerome, said this:

New Testament IVa: John 1–10 Who Can Describe His Generation into Flesh?

The Word was made flesh, but how he was made flesh, we do not know. The doctrine from God, I have; the science of it, I do not have. I know that the Word was made flesh; how it was done, I do not know.…

Yet we believe, and the Scripture teaches that from a Virgin’s womb, the Son of God was born.

And here we see who he is.

“We have seen his glory” - that is his majesty has been revealed.

“Glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

fully God, fully man - come for us and our salvation!

This is what another ancient creed of the church that we affirm and embrace teaches and gives us language to say about Jesus and his relationship to God the Father:

We believe…

Historic Creeds and Confessions Nicene Creed

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.

He has gloriously come, full of grace and truth!

What’s the point? John 1:18 explains and brings it all to a conclusion:

John 1:18 ESV

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

God is invisible, immortal, spirit.

And yet… “the only [begotten] God, who is at the Father’s side” - this is the Word, Jesus.

Notice relationship - at the Father’s side

Notice nature - fully God

He has made him known.

He has explained or declared him.

Jesus has come to show and explain and reveal and make known God to us!

This is why Jesus can say on the night before his crucifixion, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (Jn 14:9).

Or Heb 1:3

Hebrews 1:3 ESV

3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Jesus, makes God known to us by becoming a fully human being bringing the two things we need most.

The light of truth to show reality!

The light of grace to rescue and redeem us from our sin and deception.

Conclusion leading to Communion

Who do you say that Jesus is?

Just a moral teacher, just a religious leader, maybe a philosopher or prophet from God?

C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity brings us to clarity when he says:

The Quotable Lewis Jesus: God, Lunatic, or Evil Man

Jesus . . . told people that their sins were forgiven. . . . This makes sense only if He really was the God whose laws are broken and whose love is wounded in every sin.

. . . I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

Jesus has come to shine the light on God and in his coming and becoming fully human, living the perfect life we had not, and dying on the cross in our place for our sins, and being raised again on the third day shows us the truth and grace of God.

Do you believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God, our Lord?

If you do - let’s remember this morning his incarnation and his suffering our behalf through the Lord’s Supper.

In these physical elements we are partaking, by faith, of Christ’s suffering and sacrifice on our behalf. We acknowledge his HUMANITY and identification with us.

The bread represents Christ’s body - his flesh - given as a sacrifice for us

The cup represents Christ’s blood - poured out as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins.

Let all those who believe in Jesus Christ come forward and receive the elements this morning so that we might partake together by faith!