The Eternal Word

John 1:1-18

God Is Here!

Opening:

In the other Gospels Jesus is introduced in various ways. Matthew begins with Jesus’ genealogy from Abraham through the kingly line of David to show that Jesus is the rightful King. Mark emphasizes the works of Jesus and so he begins with Jesus’ public ministry that began at His baptism. Mark gives no genealogy because Jesus is the active servant of God who came to give His life as a ransom for many and it doesn’t matter what a servant’s genealogy is. Luke introduces us to the Son of Man who fulfills the prophesies of the Old Testament as only a living, breathing human being could. It is the account of a man’s life in time and history and so it rightly begins with the conception of this unique man named Jesus.

But John, as we will see, writes so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God Himself and that through believing we may have life in His name. So how would you begin to tell the story of the Son of God. The conception and birth of Jesus Christ is one of the most historically and spiritually significant events in human history, but you can’t even start there because He existed before that took place. You can’t even reach back in time to show His pedigree as the promised king of Israel as some of the other gospels do. No, to tell about the God-Man, and to truly understand the significance of Jesus’ birth, you have to start at the very beginning of known history and that is exactly what John does. “In the beginning was the Word.”

I. The Explanation of the Word (1-5)

A. The Word is God (1-2)

John 1:1–2 NASB95

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.

Jon Courson’s Application Commentary Chapter 1

“In the beginning was the Word”—not “at the beginning,” not “from the beginning,” but “in the beginning,” Jesus was already there.

All of the verbs in the first two verses are the same and they are written in such a way as to communicate continuous action in past time not just a completed action in past time. In other words, if I said, “I moved on Monday,” you would understand that I completed the action of moving on Monday and am no longer moving. If I said, “I was moving on Monday,” you would know that I was continually doing something on Monday, which is in the past, but without further information you wouldn’t know when I began moving or when I stopped. In the beginning was the Word. He hasn’t stopped being the Word. He continually was the Word even in the beginning. The Word was continually with God, and the Word continually was God. This same one continually was in the beginning with God. In other words, the Son of God is God, He already had been God for all of eternity when the creation began.

Micah puts it this way:

Micah 5:2 NASB95

2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

B. The Word is the Creator (3)

John 1:3 NASB95

3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

Not only this but the eternal Son of God is the Creator. “All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” I was talking with a Jehovah’s Witness one time on a mission trip in Newark, OH and she was trying to tell me that her Jesus was the first creature that her God ever created and then her Jesus created everything else. I took her to this verse and explained that the Jesus of the Bible created everything so if what she believed about her Jesus was true then her Jesus must have created himself, which is more fantastic than simply believing that the Jesus of the Bible is God Himself and has existed from all eternity.

How astounding to know that the baby in the manger of Bethlehem cooing and crying, created our planet with the power of his voice. He set hydrogen and helium into the pockets of outer space, lit them on fire, making billions of nuclear fusion reactors when spoke the word, “stars.” He confidently said “trees” and instantly full grown trees without a single ring in there trunks appeared. He said to Holy Spirit, “fish” and oceans swelled with tuna, sharks, salmon, crabs, and lobsters. The angels heard Him say “beasts” and horses, dinosaurs, birds, sheep, and dogs appeared.

4000 years later the Word of God would speak again. He would tun to the Holy Spirit and say “Immanuel” and so a single cell was created by Him and for Him to become one with His creation.

He entered our world peacefully and gently.

Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)

300 Quotations and Prayers for Christmas By His Weakness We Know He Does Not Come to Destroy

Behold, He comes as an infant, and without speech, for the voice of the wailing infant arouses compassion, not terror. If He is terrible to any, yet not to you. He is become a little one, His virgin mother swathes His tender limbs with bands, and do you still tremble with fear? By this weakness you may know that He comes not to destroy, but to save; not to bind, but to unbind.

C. The Word is Life (4)

John 1:4 NASB95

4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

In this eternal God-man, who created all things, continually was life. True life, abundant life, full life, life to the uttermost.

Warren Wiersbe asks the question,

“What are the essentials for human life? There are at least four: light, air, water, and food. Jesus is all of these! He is the Light of life and the Light of the world (John 8:12). He is the ‘Sun of righteousness’ (Mal. 4:2). By His Holy Spirit, He gives us the “breath of life” (John 3:8, 20:22), as well as the Water of life (John 4:10, 13-14; 7:37-39). Finally, Jesus is the Living Bread of Life that came down from heaven (John 6:35). He not only has life and gives life, but He is life (John 14:6)”

Greek philosophers like Plato talked about the logos, the greek word for “word”. In their philosophy the logos was the original cause of our universe. To them the logos was the perfect, pure thought which exists somewhere in the heavens, and the earth is the imperfect shadow of the logos.

D. The Word is Light (5)

John 1:5 NASB95

5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

The life continually was the light of men, and the light shines, appears, or shows up in the darkness. The second half of verse 5 is better translated overcome rather than comprehend. John uses it in this sense consistently in his gospel (see John 12:35). When light shines, darkness can only be created by blocking the light and creating shadows. The only way to totally overcome light is to destroy it at its source. The darkened human race amplified by the power of Satan tried their best to destroy the source of light but could not succeed and so the light continues to shine. Is. 9:2, Matt. 4:6