Understanding Christ through John

The deity of Christ

If you have your Bibles today, we will be in the book of John starting and chapter 1 and verse 1. Today we will be talking about the deity of Christ. The truth of the deity of Christ has been argued since close to the beginning of Christianity. You had sects like Gnostics and other people that would argue against whether Jesus was fully human or fully God. This lead to divisions in the church and Christianity. It is important for the church to understand who Jesus is. Jesus is the founder and cornerstone of our faith. If we are supposed to be imitators of Christ then we should believe in first his nature or is incommunicable attributes (the attributes of God we can’t really imitate, and second his communicable attributes (the ones we can imitate). God’s incommunicable attributes are things like his all-powerfulness, his never changing, his omnipotence. If we fail to understand this to Jesus then we fail at his communicable ones which is following his goodness. If God is not all powerful, how can he be all good? If God is not omnipotent and eternal, how can he be all knowing and all good. This also affects our faith. If we do not know the true deity of Christ then our faith is in someone who cannot save. If Christ was not fully human while being fully God, then this would nullify his power on the cross. If Christ was not fully God and fully man he would cease to be perfect. If we can fully understand Christ deity than we can better understand who Christ is and further understand who we are supposed to be. So, let’s see what John says.

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 was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, [a] and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:1-5

John is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. He was one of the sons of Zebedee. The sons of Zebedee were attributed the name sons of thunder. John is believed to have one of the latest written gospels. His gospel is said to have been written around the time AD 70. Around the date of the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem. A lot of people debate the authorship and date of John specifically because of the way that it was written. The theology that was displayed in this book is characteristic of early church father writings. However, there is not enough evidence against John authorship. However, it is true the amount of theology that is displayed in this gospel. This gospel is different from the other gospels, called the synoptic gospels. The synoptic gospels focus on the life of Jesus. They give a synopsis on the life of Jesus. However, John focuses on the nature of Jesus. In John 20:31 he states his purpose, “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.” John’s sole purpose of writing this gospel is that would have a clear understanding of who Jesus is. Because without knowing we cannot have life. I believe that John points out three things to know about Jesus and his deity. The first of which being that he is the word.

Christ is the word

When we read the Bible, we understand many attributes about who God and who Christ is. We understand that God is all-powerful, all- knowing, all-wise, all-loving. We understand that he is invisible, immutable, and holy. These descriptions can be quite plainly seen in the old-Testament; however, how does this relate to the New Testament. This relates quite plainly when we understand the deity of Christ in first that he is the word of God. This statement is such a confusing and new statement, but it helps Christians to understand who Jesus is. Verse, one says, in the beginning was the word. It is important with understanding the deity of Christ is understanding the two terms used here, “beginning” and “was”. When we describe the beginning this points directly back to Genesis 1:1 which quite plainly means beginning. The second term “was” describing the character of the word. The word was or to be means that it was preexisting before the beginning. In oder for there to be a beginning which notes that there is time. Something has to exist outside of time. Something has to be outside of space, time, and matter in order to create it. If creation has time, space, and matter then the creator cannot be limited be space, time, and matter to create it. This is consistent with the attributes of God. We see in Genisis 1:1 where the Bible says, “in the beginning God”. In the beginning there was God. God is described with the characteristics of being the uncaused first cause. He is the alpha and the omega, he is the one before the beginning, the ancient of days. John here is saying that Jesus is this being. Jesus is God. The way John describes it here is that Jesus is logos. Logos is the Greek word for word. Which was believed by many Greeks to be the very thing that upheld all of creation. Which is what the very word of God does.. Paul says in Colossians 1:17, “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Hebrews 1:3 says, “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.” Jesus is the very word of God. By whom all things were created. Psalm 33:6, “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.”. Jesus is and has the nature of God.

We continue on in verse 1 and the word was with God. This is a strange statement that can only be explained by the doctrine of the trinity. When you read the word of God. You can never find the word trinity or expression three in one. The idea of this doctrine of God is quite important. We realize quite plainly here that Jesus is preexistent, but he is also coexistent. Jesus is God in the sense of spirit and that he is eternal and uncreated, but not in the sense of God being the father. Theologian Grant Osborne puts it this way, “The idea that the Word was “with” (Greek: pros) God connotes both presence (they were together) and special relationship—the idea of pros is often “side by side” with another.[1] The word and God were one in deity, but two in person. Jesus as the word explains then revelation of God. Without God’s word we would not know who he is or anything about him. He is too great for us to comprehend. Only the spirit searches and knows the depths of God’s greatness. However, it is through God’s word that we can know him. In the Old Testament this was through the prophets and theophanies. A theophany is the revelation of God to humans through his creation. An example would be the story of Moses and the burning bush. However, Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God. John describes it in verse 14, “and the word became flesh and dwelt among us”. Jesus is fully God and fully man. Just like the bush was fully a bush so is Jesus fully man. Paul speaks of it as being made in the likeness of men in Philippians. Jesus came as it said to fulfill the law and the prophets. The law with it’s inability to save, and the prophets with the ability to hear and know the word of God. Jesus is the word of God manifested to us. John MacArthur said concerning this, “As the Old Testament id the written word and the revelation of God, the New Testament is the account of the incarnate word in the person of Jesus Christ”. Jesus is God in essence and he is God the son and the word in the trinity.

Christ is life

John describes Christ as the word, but he second describes Christ as life. Verse 4, “in him was life”. The Greek word used here is not bios like were we get the word biology, but the word zoe which refers to a different kind of life. One that is not discovered by science. We have biology to explain everything from the idea of procreation, to DNA, to brain function, to cells, but nothing can explain the idea of spirit or consciousness. This something that can only be explained by God. Jesus holds the keys to life. This is true in two senses. The first sense is a creative sense. We look back in verse 3 where John writes, “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”. It was the word of God, Jesus, that made everything. God spoke and it happened. By the word there comes the creation of life in the form of bios and zoe. However, in the second sense, he gave us the ability to receive spiritual everlasting life. This refers to death of creation from the fall of Adam. The why Jesus came. Paul speaks of this as the first and the second Adam. Through the first Adam. There was sin and therefore death. Adam brought the separation from the life giver therefore we were dead. However, the second Adam brings life and life everlasting. Jesus describes it to the woman at the well of living water. While we have the bios water it is the zoe water the living water that we drink of from the cup of Christ that we become saved. Jesus is life. Grant Osborne speaks of this in his commentary, “The Word has bridged the gap between the two. Life is encased in the Word, and in God’s gift to sinful humanity the life and light of God have become incarnate. Spiritual life is now available to all, and that life has become “the light of all mankind,” meaning it illuminates every human being with the light of God. All of creation culminates in the new life found in Christ.[2]”

Christ is light

In verse 4 and 5 John talks about Jesus being the light. He says, “and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can’t overcome it. Just like we are dead in our sins, we are walking around in darkness. Our sin has left us dead and in the dark, but Jesus not only brings the light. He is the light. The Greek word here Phos also means to bring about truth. When you bring light to a dark place it not only lights up the room, but it reveals everything that is in it. The darkness cannot overpower the light. Sin and death and darkness cannot overpower life and light that Jesus brings.

We know that Christ is the word, we know that he is life, and we know that he is light. Where does this leave us? Here’s a few quick points or questions of application.

If Christ is God, then what? As Christians most of us don’t really struggle with Gnosticism or other heresies about who Christ is, but we do struggle with our walk from time to time in other ways. If Christ is God, then we need to be like him. I went to a summer camp a few weeks ago as a chaperone. The theme of the summer camp was, “In His Image”. At this camp the students and the adults learned about what it meant to be created in God’s image and how we should respond to this message. This message is so important to the believer in today’s time with all this identity politics and what not. You have people distorting the truth about what we are supposed to be like your gender and your sexuality. They run this whole thing that gender is separate from sex even though the only people changing there pronouns of there gender also change their sexuality. You also run into people telling you to accept them for who they are when they couldn’t accept who they were. All of this confusion goes away when we remember we a created in the wonderful image of God. When we realize who Christ is we realize who we are supposed to be. If Christ, the word, is God, and we are created in God’s image, then we are created in Christ’s image as well. God and Christ are one as we talked about before. Therefore, we should be imitators of Christ. Paul speaks of this when he said, “be imitators of me as I am imitating Christ”.

If Christ is the word and we are supposed to be imitators of Christ, then are we reading our Bibles. The word of God is our guide our weapon against the enemy. While we are created in the image of God are seeking to be like him through his word. There are so many passages that speak of the attributes of God that we are to imitate. Like God’s patience, his love, his kindness, and his righteousness. If your not constantly studying the word you are not growing in your relationship. This idea of sanctification is a never-ending process that takes place when you get saved. You are becoming more and more like Christ every day. You can’t learn about Christ the word without reading the word, it’s not possible. There is also another importance to this study. It’s to guard against falsehood and false teaching. When Jesus was being tempted by the devil to bow down to him and do other things, he didn’t use his own words. He quoted scripture. A proper understanding of scripture guards against the enemy and his adversaries. If scripture was so easy to understand and grasp we wouldn’t have all of the different beliefs about it that we have today. Scripture is for our personal growth, but it is also for our defense.

If Christ is life, then are we sharing it? The Bible speaks of the wonderful stories of God’s saving being done, but one thing you notice is that the people share the good news. In the old testament it was actually a command by God to share what he has done. Deuteronomy 6:20-25, “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. 24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. 25 And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’. We see in Psalm 78 the consequences that come with not teaching your children. “Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, 3 things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. 4 We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. 5 He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, 6 that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, 7 so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; 8 and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.” The Psalm continues for a while on the consequences of the Israelites not sharing the testimonies of God with their children. However, we see three stated quite plainly right here. Without teaching they will be stubborn and rebellious generation. One whose heart will not be steadfast to God’s work and one whose spirit is not faithful. However, church we are not supposed to just tell our children. Jesus tells us to go and make disciples of all nations. This good news is worth sharing. After the woman at the well met with Jesus she went away proclaiming the good news of this savior saying, “come find this man that has told me all that I have done”. She was not ashamed of the saving that took place, but rejoiced. As should we. Paul says so greatly in Romans, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes”. We need to be proclaiming the gospel daily.

Lastly, if Christ is the light, are you letting his light shine through you? Such a wonderful representation the light. This is a very dark world we live in. With confusion and sin and the devil who is the prince of this world. However, we know the victory story we know and rejoice in the fact that darkness cannot overcome the light. Let us be vessels for Christ light to shine through. When we understand that Jesus is the word, can we agree with the Psalmist when he says, “your word is a lamp unto my feet a light unto my path”. As Christians we should not hide what we believe. We should not be afraid to confront one another and sin in love. Paul says the word is for teaching correcting and reproof in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. You do not put light under a basket to cover it up. You put it on a post so it will shine further.

As we close today you might be thinking, how does this apply to me today. What do I learn from the deity of Christ? The answer again is quite simple. If you are seeking the Lord you will seek to be like him. Jesus said if you love me you will keep my commandments. Last week I was at my home church and Ebenezer Baptist Church and brother Chris Lee was preaching through Acts. One of the quotes he said that I think has great meaning is that, “the problem with the church today is not in the knowing, but in the going”. Church how true is that. I can’t tell you how many people I know, or more accurately how many times I have either viewed or lived like the Bible is just some good book. Like the Pastor just had a good word and so on. While this sermon uses a lot of theology in the theology of God, let us remember that we are not supposed to be intellectuals of Christ, but disciples of Christ. Let us take this message that John has given to us about the wonders of Christ and who he is and share it. For those today who do not know this message or maybe have never surrendered your life. What better time than now. Because Jesus is fully God and fully man, the Bible says that he is the perfect sacrifice for our sins. It also said that while we were yet sinners, he died for us. He didn’t stay dead he conquered death because in him is life. This life was the light of men. We can now be made right with God because of Jesus. If that’s you today, we will have a time of invitation where you can speak with some of the elders here and they can share with you how to become saved. For the rest of us let us live like and proclaim that we know Christ and who he is. The word of life and light. Let’s pray.

[1] Grant R. Osborne, John: Verse by Verse, ed. Jeffrey Reimer et al., Osborne New Testament Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), 25. [2] Grant R. Osborne, John: Verse by Verse, ed. Jeffrey Reimer et al., Osborne New Testament Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018), 27.