Jesus: God in Flesh

Introduction

If you walked into a store and asked people “Who is Jesus?”, you would get a variety of answers. Everything from He was a good moral teacher to a fraud to He didn’t exist. To some He is a good curse word while to others He is Savior. These are just the tip of the iceberg, there are many different opinions about Jesus.

What we think about Jesus matters. More importantly, it’s important that we believe in who Jesus really is. We are starting a series in the gospel of John that simply asks the question, “Who is Jesus?” The answers we find can change our approach to the Lord of all.

I. Jesus is the Creator (vs. 1-5)

A. He’s the Giver of Life, the origin of all things. Without His speaking there would be nothing created. He is before creation, because He is God

1. The beginning of John calls us back to Genesis 1:1

a. An important phrase in Genesis 1 is “God said…(or called)” used 13 times (vs. 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29)

b. The Second Person of the Godhead is revealed by John as The Word, such power that comes from God when He speaks and this power is attributed to Jesus

2. The Word was God (emphasis added)

a. The word was means “to exist.”

b. John is literally saying “The Word existed and continues to exist as God.” His Deity was true in the past and is the case continually; in the present and beyond.

B. How do we know that the Word is God? By His actions (vs. 3-4)

1. 1) He was in the beginning (just as God was), 2) He created all things (as only God can), 3) He originated life (God breathed life into man’s nostrils, Genesis 2:7).

2. Apart from Jesus there is only darkness (John 8:12 “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””).

a. Illus. It’s hard to see in the dark. When I was a teenager I and a group of friends slept over at my buddy, Isaac’s house. Par normal, we chose to play manhunt when it got dark. Basically, a combination of hide-and-seek and tag, but in the dark and if you caught someone they joined the hunt for everyone else. Whoever got tagged last was it

1. Isaac had a wide and long backyard in the country with a couple of sheds, trampoline, pool, various clothes lines, and other junk that made for good hiding places. I happened to be “it” and after a bit of time I found Isaac

2. Something you need to know about him is that he is about 5’ 7” and a spry bugger. But I have longer legs, being at 6’ 1” and I was a little faster than him. As I chased him through his yard in the dark I failed to see the clothes line hanging between two trees. Isaac was short enough that he ran right under it without having to duck, I, on the other hand, ran into it at full sprint right under my chin which promptly shot me down to the ground like a slingshot. The worst part is that he got away

b. Walking around in the dark is dangerous, having the light keeps us from harm.

3. When we live separately from God’s will, as revealed in His Word, we choose death (being separated from God) and walk in the darkness the world has to offer

a. But when we turn to the light of Christ in humility we are given life (Colossians 1:13 “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,”)

b. The light of Jesus always beats the darkness, it cannot even comprehend Him, let alone, overcome Him.

II. Jesus is the True Light (vs. 6-13)

A. What if I were to say to you about myself: “Before Abraham was born, I Am. Apart from me nothing that exists would have come into being. I am the light and life of men.”

1. How would you respond? You’d probably stone me and rightfully so, but you’d have to get in line behind my dad. If I meant that about myself I would be committing blasphemy!

2. So, why does Jesus making these claims indicate His Deity? Why are they true for Jesus?

B. First, He has a witness who testifies to His Deity and greatness, John the Baptist

1. John the Baptist testifies to the light of Jesus (vs. 6-8). He came to prepare the way for the Messiah (1:22-23) and His testimony about Jesus is as follows: He is the Lamb of God (the sacrifice) that takes away the sins of the world (1:29).

2. That testimony needs to be proven true and it was. Jesus died on the cross and resurrected from the dead

a. You show me another man who rose from the dead according to 300+ prophecies (including many he made in his own lifetime), with 500+ witnesses of his resurrected body, bringing about an overnight change in 11 guys who were scared for their lives while filled with doubt and then proclaimed him as risen from the dead even to the point of persecution and death

b. The only one who has done this is Jesus; He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world

3. Therefore, Jesus is the guide to life (He enlightens every man, vs. 9).

C. Even with glaring proof of Jesus’ Deity with the light He shines people refuse to believe (vs. 10-13)

1. The ones who were His people (the Jews) did not receive (follow or believe) Him

a. How true is that today? Orthodox Jews still reject Jesus as their Messiah

b. Many Christians even reject Jesus as God. A quick Google search reveals that 55% of Christians don’t believe Jesus is God. Even so-called Christians reject the all-important Divine Nature of Jesus

c. The world, Christ’s own created possessions, do not stand with Him.

2. But, as many as have believed in Him and take alongside Him (stand at His side in defense of who He is) are given the right to be children of God by the will of God (vs. 12-13)

a. Life is not given by the way of the world: born into the right family, being a good enough person, or making our own beliefs about God

b. Rather, life is received by the will (desire) of God and that desire is that we receive His Son, believing in Him.

3. Jesus is the True Light that leads to two things: 1) a better relationship (God as our Father) and 2) a better life (eternal life)

III. Jesus Reveals the Father (vs. 14-18)

A. The fact that the Word became flesh is essential for our salvation (vs. 14)

1. The God-man, being fully God and fully man, came from the Father to reside in limited, sin-cursed flesh to be tempted and live perfectly that He might die for the sins of the world

2. In order to pay for mankind’s sin He had to be a man and in order to rise from the dead and give life He had to be God. Therefore, God became man

B. The second reason we know Jesus to be God is from the O.T.

1. Jesus dwelt or tabernacled among us (vs. 14a). The tabernacle was where God’s presence dwelled in the midst of His people. Thus, God came down to us in the form of man in the person Jesus

2. Jesus shows the glory of God (vs. 14b). Throughout Scripture the glory of God was a physical manifestation of His greatness. Jesus embodied the totality of God’s nature in Himself, revealing that on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2 “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.”)

3. Jesus gives the grace that the Law couldn’t (vs. 16-17). The Law was given to reveal God’s righteous standard, and thereby, the deplorable thing that is sin. People were meant to have faith in God and living by the Law was the by-product. Due to their lack of faith they disobeyed and the Law ended up being a judge against them, making them worthy of death. Jesus, however, fulfilled the Law. Grace and truth are realized by faith in the person, Jesus Christ. He is the One the Law spoke of, “a prophet like unto Moses”

C. We cannot help but agree with John the Baptist (vs. 15)

1. Jesus has not only seen God, which no mere mortal has done, He came directly from the side of the Father (vs. 18). He reveals (demonstrates, explains) who God is because He is God in flesh

2. Jesus is:

a 1. The Word (vs. 1, 14), 2. Creator (vs. 3), 3. Life (vs. 4), 4. True Light (vs. 9),

b. 5. Glory of the Father (vs. 14), 6. Only Begotten (sent directly from) Son of God (vs. 14), 7. Full of Grace and Truth (vs. 14, 17),

c. 8. Preexisting One (vs. 15), 9. The Christ (the Anointed One of God) (vs. 17), 10. Revealer of God (vs. 18)

Conclusion

A. God [the Father] reveals his power and will through his word. There is no greater revelation of the character and nature of the Father than through the person of Jesus. (Carter/Wredberg, Exalting Jesus in John [Who Is Jesus? (John 1:1–3)])

1. Jesus reveals God’s mind.

2. Jesus expresses God’s will.

3. Jesus displays God’s perfections.

4. Jesus exposes God’s heart.

B. Chose to dwell in the light of Christ

1. He is the incarnate Word, find His light that shines in Scripture and walk by it

2. Believe in Jesus, trusting you have grace and truth in Him

3. Walk in the light for Jesus is the light and life of men as God in flesh