God in Person
Notes
Transcript
Today, we're starting a new series called "Investigating Jésus" as we explore the Gospel of John together.
John was one of the twelve disciples—the men Jesus chose to walk with Him through thick and thin. John had a brother, James, and they were the sons of a man named Zebedee. Before Jesus entered the picture, John and James were wrapped up in the family fishing business. Imagine them on the Sea of Galilee, a big, shimmering lake surrounded by hills. They’re out there in a wooden boat, the sun beating down, casting nets into the water, hauling in whatever they could catch.
But then Jesus shows up. One day, He’s walking along the shore and He looks at John and James and says, “Follow me.” That’s it—just two words, but here’s the crazy part: John doesn’t ask for a minute to think it over. He drops the net right there, steps out of the boat, and leaves the fishing life behind. James does the same. Can you picture that moment? The boat bobbing in the water, Zebedee probably staring after them, wondering what just happened to his sons. It’s a bold move, walking away from everything familiar because this man, Jesus, has something in His voice, His presence, that pulls you in. That’s where John’s story with Jesus begins—not with a slow build, but with a leap.
John became part of Jesus’ inner circle—him, Peter, and James. These three got to see things the other disciples didn’t, moments that must have left them speechless. What’s even more striking is how John talks about himself later. In his Gospel, he doesn’t even use his name—he calls himself “the disciple Jesus loved.” That’s not him puffing out his chest, saying, “Look at me, Jesus’ favorite!” No, it’s quieter than that, more awestruck. It’s like he’s writing it down, shaking his head in wonder: “Me? Jesus loves me like this?” It’s personal, intimate, and it’s a thread that runs through everything he writes. He wants us to feel that too—that Jesus’ love isn’t distant or generic, but up close and real for each of us.
Speaking of what he wrote, John gave us a lot: the Gospel of John, three letters—1, 2, and 3 John—and the book of Revelation, that wild, vision-packed ride through the end of days. His Gospel’s got a different feel from the others—Matthew, Mark, and Luke give us the play-by-play of Jesus’ life, but John? He zooms in on the meaning, the why behind it all. He tells us his purpose in John 20:30-31:
30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book.
31 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Our first stop in this series is John 1:1-18, which is like the introduction to the whole story of Jésus. It's a passage that sets the stage for understanding who he is and what he means for us. Let's read it together—please turn to John 1:1-18 in your Bibles or follow along on the screen.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John.
7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him.
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,
13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 (John testified concerning him and exclaimed, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘The one coming after me ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ ”)
16 Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness,
17 for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.
John the disciple talks about a another John, the Baptist, in verse 6. John the Baptist was related to Jesus and was born before Him. He preached about the coming of the Messiah and told people to repent. John the Baptist wasn’t the light himself; he just pointed to the real light.
The true light, Jesus, who lights up everyone, was coming into the world. He came into the world, and even though he created the world, the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, but they didn’t welcome him.
But to everyone who does welcome him and believes in him, he gives the chance to become God’s children—not born the usual way, not from human choices or plans, but born from God. The Word became a person and lived with us.
The world saw Jesus - God’s glory who came from the Father, full of kindness and truth. John the Baptist spoke about him and shouted, ‘This is the one I meant when I said, “The one coming after me is greater than me because he was here before me.”’
Because of his mercy and kindness, we’ve all received blessing after blessing. The law came through Moses, but kindness and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the One and Only Jesus has shown us who God is. That’s what God’s Word says.
There’s a story people tell about a young mom watching her 4-year-old draw a picture. She asks, “Emma, what are you drawing?” Emma says, “I’m drawing God,” with all the confidence a 4-year-old can have. The mom says, “But Emma, no one knows what God looks like.” Emma replies, “They will when I’m done.”
We laugh at how simple that sounds. But it brings up a good question: How do we think about God? What pops into our heads when we say “God”? We can’t draw him. We don’t know what he looks like, so how do we know him? The Bible says we can only know God if he decides to show himself to us. So, how and where does he do that? How do we learn about God?
First, the Bible says we can know a little about him from the world he made. In the book of Romans, it says we can figure out that God exists and is powerful just by looking at creation. But that alone doesn’t tell us much about what he’s like. You could look at the world and guess God exists and is strong, but you might not see that he’s good. Some people don’t.
Anyway, the Bible says most of us are so far from God that we push away even that little bit we could know. We come up with ideas to explain the world without needing God. People say we don’t need God to understand the universe. Sure, science says the world is winding down, but then who started it? Some smart scientists try to explain that away too, just to leave God out.
We can also know God through the big things he’s done—like miracles in the past. We can know him from the flood that judged the world, or the bush that burned but didn’t burn up, or the plagues and Passover in Egypt, or the thunder and lightning when God gave the law on Mount Sinai.
But those things didn’t last or prove everything forever. The burning bush was just a weird thing to Moses until God spoke. The plagues? They made Pharaoh’s heart harder. The flood? People still did bad things after, like in Sodom and Gomorrah. The Ten Commandments? While Moses was getting them, the people were partying with a golden calf down below.
Miracles can impress us, but people explain them away. In John chapter 12, when God spoke to Jesus, some just thought it was thunder. Even back then, some people didn’t believe. So, we can know God through his words, when he explains what he’s doing. The Bible says God is a talking God.
He’s not just some quiet force or a nameless spirit out there. He talks to us in words we can understand. That’s huge! He spoke to specific people in specific places at specific times, and the Bible says a lot of what he said was written down.
We can read it today and think about what God thinks. But words by themselves can feel far away, cold, or just boring, right? Imagine you never met April and I tried to tell you about her. I might say: She’s five-foot-five. She has a beautiful voice. She has curly hair. She loves Walt Disney and the old school Disney that she grew up with as a child. She’s a nurse and owns a travel agency.
Do you feel like you know her now? What if you wrote her a letter asking about Disney, and she sent back tons of info? You’d have words about her and from her. Would you know her then? But if you worked with her or stayed at our house for a month, saw how we act in the morning, how we talk to our kids, what makes us laugh, how we live together—then if I said the same things or she sent the same letter, wouldn’t those words mean way more?
Knowing someone in person makes their words so much richer. That’s why the Bible can feel strange or closed off to people—they don’t know the One who wrote it. The better you know God, the more the Bible makes sense. Its words start to fit together and remind you of someone you know.
We need more than just words—we need to really know God, not just know stuff about him. In the Old Testament, God showed himself from time to time through his Spirit in personal ways. In the New Testament and today it’s always like that. The Holy Spirit helps us know God inside us. It’s not just a test of facts to prove you’re a Christian. It’s a real, personal knowing.
But even then, it’s tricky to understand what it means to know a God who’s so big and beyond us. We say we know Jesus personally, but how can we really know God the same way we know other people? When I talk about knowing a person, I mean things like asking you what you did today, you telling me, me telling you what I did, maybe arguing a little, hanging out together, then going our separate ways and meeting up again. That’s how we know people we can see and touch.
But now we’re talking about knowing a God who’s above time and space, yet still personal. He talks to us, connects with us, and we’re not totally sure how that looks. How does that help us understand God better? Even here, God did something to break through that gap.
See, all these ways God shows himself are real, but we twist them. He shows himself in creation, but we’re too blind to see. He shows himself in miracles, but we find other ways to explain them. He shows himself in words, but they feel dead to some. He shows himself through his Spirit, but we might run away. He also shows himself as a human. “The Word was with God. The Word was God. The Word became a person.”
So, if we struggle to understand God without this big reveal, here’s the best one: “The Word was with God. The Word was God. The Word became a person.” John is saying, if you want to know God, look at Jesus. That’s what we’ll explore as we study John.
The passage starts with words anyone who knew the Bible back then would recognize: “In the beginning…” They’d think of Genesis 1, where the Bible begins: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Here, it says, “In the beginning was the Word…”
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
It still talks about creation, but it quickly moves to what’s called a “new creation.” John writes, “In the beginning was the Word…” What does that mean? We hear these words so much we don’t always stop to think about them.
In Greek, “Word” can mean two things: it can mean thoughts inside your head or science or logic. But more often, it means speaking out loud, like a message. I think that’s what it means here. For example, in John 8:31, Jesus says,
31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples.
“If you continue in my word…”—it means his teaching, what he’s saying. Or in 1 Corinthians 1:18, it says,
18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved.
It doesn’t mean the word “cross” is foolishness—it means the message about the cross. So here, “In the beginning was the Word…” means God’s message, God expressing Himself. “In the beginning was the message, and the message was with God, and the message was God.”
Why does John use this for Jesus? In his book, Jesus gets lots of names—Son of Man, Son of God, Teacher, King of Israel. But here at the start, John picks “Word” to sum it all up. If he just used “Son of God,” you might think that’s the only way to see Jesus. Instead, he uses lots of names throughout the book, but starts with “Word” to cover everything. For people who knew the Old Testament back then, “Word” meant big things.
First, it’s tied to creation. In Genesis 1, God spoke, and the world started. Psalm 33 says, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made.” God’s word made everything just by speaking.
Second, it’s tied to showing himself. Prophets always said, “The word of the Lord came to me…”
Third, it’s tied to saving people. Like in Psalm 107:19-20,
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent his word and healed them; he rescued them from their traps.
God sent his word and healed them, or he promised to bring people back home, and it happened.So, in the Old Testament, God’s word is his powerful way of creating the world, showing himself, and saving people. John picks “Word” for Jesus because it fits perfectly. Jesus created the universe. Jesus shows us God. Jesus saves us. It’s the best way to sum up everything John wants to say in his book.
Back then, people knew the big prophets had been quiet for hundreds of years, since about 400 BC. They thought the next big word from God would come from the Messiah. John says God was quiet for a while, but then he spoke again—through Jesus. Another Bible book, Hebrews, says it too: “Long ago, God spoke through prophets in many ways, but now, in these last days, he has spoken to us through his Son.”
Before, God used words through prophets. Now, he spoke through Jesus—the ultimate Word. “The Word was with God…” in fellowship. “…and the Word was God…”—God himself. There’s a difference but also a sameness. John explains more in chapter 5. It’s the start of understanding the Trinity—God as three-in-one.
John starts with the Word and then says five things about him in these 18 verses. First, he says the Word creates us:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.
Verses 1-3 say he was with God at the start and made everything. Nothing was made without him. Jesus, before he became a person, made the whole universe. The Bible says this in other places too, like Colossians 1 and Hebrews. It’s a big idea, but why put it here? In our world today, like back then, people have lots of ideas about God—some think everything’s part of one big god, or there’s a far-off god we can’t know.
John says, “No, the Word made us, and we’re responsible to him.” That’s what creation means—it’s not just a fight about how the world started. It’s about why we answer to God. If someone says, “That’s your truth, not mine,” you might have to say, “I can’t let it go. The Bible says he made you, so you owe him your life. You can’t just ignore that.”
Next John says the Word gives us light and life:
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John.
7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
The light shines in the dark, but the dark doesn’t get it. Then John the Baptist comes to point to that light so people can believe. He’s not the light—just a sign pointing to it. The true light was coming into the world.
If you read just verses 1-5, you might think it’s about creation—life and light coming when the world began. The dark couldn’t stop it. But as you read more, you see it’s more. In John 8, Jesus says, “I am the light of the world.” In John 3, it says light came into the world, but people loved darkness because they did bad things. Now it’s about right and wrong, not just the start of everything.
So, “In him was life…” means eternal life. That life is our light to see what’s good in a messed-up world. The dark didn’t get it—or stop it. John the Baptist showed it was real, something people could see when Jesus came. Next, John says the Word confronts us and divides us.
10 He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him.
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name,
13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.
Verses 10-13 say he was in the world he made, but the world didn’t know him. His own people didn’t welcome him. But those who did, who believed in him, became God’s children—born by God, not the usual way. “World” here means people fighting against God. He made them, but they didn’t want him.
This shows we’re broken and turn away from God. Long ago, most people agreed there’s one God who made us, we’re sinful, and he’ll judge us. Now, lots of people don’t think that. They see problems as just bad luck or tough times, not rebellion against God. So when we say, “Jesus died for you,” they hear, “Try Jesus to feel better,” not “Turn back to God.”
We have to start further back—tell them God made us, we’ve gone wrong, and Jesus fixes it. John says some welcome Jesus and become God’s children, born new by God, not just naturally. That’s a hint of what’s coming in John 3. Next John says the Word makes God real for us.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 (John testified concerning him and exclaimed, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘The one coming after me ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ ”)
Verse 14 says, “The Word became a person and lived with us. We saw his glory, full of kindness and truth.” He didn’t just look human—he really became one. He lived with us like God lived among the Israelites in the tabernacle long ago. In Exodus, after the golden calf mess, Moses begged to see God’s glory. God showed him kindness and truth but said, “You can’t see my face and live.” But John says, “We saw his glory”—Jesus’ glory. In John, that glory shines brightest on the cross, where Jesus dies and rises. That’s where we see God’s goodness most.
Finally, John says the Word reveals God to us like nothing else.
16 Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness,
17 for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.
Verses 16-18 say from Jesus’ fullness, we got grace upon grace. The law came through Moses. They are God’s rules for righteousness that none of us can perfectly keep. They weren’t meant to save us, but to show us the need to be saved. The ultimate grace and truth came through Jesus and He is God’s ultimate way of revealing himself to us.
I hope you have seen Jesus in a new light this morning. You might have seen pictures of Him in Sunday School as a kid holding a lamb and thought He was a nice guy. Or maybe you know about His life on earth and that He died on a cross, but never thought about Him as the creator who was with God before the universe existed. My prayer is for you to see Him as the ultimate expression of God’s love who wants to have a personal relationship with you.
