Receiving the Word

John 1:6-13

Tuning In

Life before Streaming and Cable - the Antennae. Having to tune the TV just right to get the signal.

Sermon Idea: Though God has shined His light in the world, we are by nature blind and resistant to it. Yet God, in grace, gives the Light, sends witnesses, and grants new birth so that we might receive and believe.

God’s Gifts and Man’s Response

God Gives the True Light in Christ

In Creation: General revelation showing God’s glory.

Ps 97:6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory…

Rom 1:20 God’s invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world…

As all things were made in and through Christ, and all things were made to reveal the goodness and glory of God, Christ then, is the light by which all may see the splendor of God.

In Redemption: Special revelation to bring us to salvation

The light of reason and general revelation can show us that there is a God, but they are insufficient in showing us our relationship with God. So God gave the light of His Word that we might not grope in the dark to find Him.

Through the O.T.: Signs, types, prophecies, ceremonies, all pointing to the promised work of the redeemer.

Through the N.T.: The life of Christ, his death, resurrection and ascension, all showing his grace and truth, the completed work of our redeemer for our salvation.

John declares that Christ is the True Light, the standard by which all other things will be judged.

True = genuine or real; no other light can show us the truth about God and ourselves, about life and eternity; no other light will lead us in righteousness; no other light can lead you to true joy or eternal life.

God Gives a Witness: John the Baptist’s Ministry.

“A man sent from God” vs 6. - "an apostle…”

John’s name means “the gift of God.” God gave Israel the gift of a witness to Christ.

Mal 3:1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me…”

A Witness to the light. He was not the light.

A.W. Pink - He is a “witness,” and a witness is one who knows what he says and says what he knows. He does not speculate or give his own opinions, but he testifies to what he knows to be the truth.

“He was a burning and shining lamp (Jn 5:35),” “shining in a dark place (2 Pt 1:19).”

John’s purpose: That all might believe.

Lk 1:16–17 “He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before [the Christ] in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

This was the Baptist’s call, to lead all to Christ

Man Gives Resistance:

A witness is only needed because we are spiritually blind. Apart from God’s saving grace, we all reject Jesus rather than humble ourselves, confessing and forsaking our sin.

The world did not know Him, even though it was made by him. The Word of God brought all things into being, His handwriting is all over creation.

He was there from the very beginning, ruling, ordering, and governing the whole creation. By Him all things consisted. (Col. 1:17.) He gave to all life and breath, rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons. By Him kings reigned, and nations were increased or diminished. Yet men knew Him not, and honored Him not.

Nature recognized Jesus as its Creator and Lord; the winds and the waves obeyed his voice (Mark 4:35–41). The mind of the world is shrouded in darkness. Dutch theologian Herman Ridderbos noted on this passage, “The world did not know him, not because he was a stranger but because it was estranged from him. The world should have known.” The fact that mankind does not also recognize him shows that because of our sin we are spiritually dead.

Romans 1:21–22 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools…

Jn 3:19 - They hate the light because their works are evil.

His Own Rejected Him

He came to his own in the incarnation

Isa 9:2 “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”

2 Cor 4:6 “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But they received him not

Acts 3:14 “You denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.”

Israel’s rejection reveals the depravity of the human heart and our need for the saving grace of God to enable us to believe.

God Gives His Grace that We May Receive Him.

The world’s rejection does not stop the light from shining; the darkness has not overcome it.

To all who did receive him, who believed in his name…

What it means to receive Christ:

We must receive Jesus as the person He has revealed Himself to be. Not what we want him to be, or what the world says he is, but how He is found in His world. He is the Christ, the Son of God, the true prophet, priest, and king, the only way to the Father, the perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins, the One who is ascended, and who is coming again in glory.

We receive him personally. We do not merely acknowledge Jesus as God and Christ, but say: “Jesus, you are my God. You are my Christ—my Prophet, my Priest, and my King.”

What it means to believe in Christ:

Believing is resting in His work to justify, sanctify, and keep us to the very end - it is his work, not ours.

Knowing and doing His word: accepting that his word is true, and yielding obedience to it, turning, transforming, and living according to His word.

Leaning on everlasting arms, embracing his promises.

He gave the right to be children of God

Creation and New Creation. The world, though made by Him, did not know Him, would not receive Him. But those who He brings to life, those who’s eyes have been opened, will see the light and come to walk in it.

Jn 3:3 “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God

Those who believe are the children of God - not born of blood, nor of flesh, nor of the will of man, but born of God.

By his sovereign, regenerating, grace we are born into a living hope in Jesus Christ. We see the light and live in the light because God has brought us to the light.

That All May Believe

Back to the Antennae: If we are to receive the light, we must be tuned in. How can we tune in to receive the light?

How to hear a sermon and read the Bible.

Pray: Only God can enable us to understand his word.

Reading and Hearing faithfully.

Read the Bible with reverence, believing it to be the word of God, with a desire to know His truth and His will for you.

Attend to the sermon with diligence, preparation, and prayer, receive it with faith and love

Reading the text before you get to church, discussing it with your family after the service, meditating on it through the week.

Receiving the message with love, as it is preached in love.

God still works by giving witnesses to the word. John man was “sent from God,” so is every man who bears faithful witness to Christ. My goal is to be transparent, that you may see and hear Christ through my preaching - that you may believe in Him.

Lay up God’s word in your hearts and practice in your life.

What good does it do you know the word if you do not live according to it.

Respond with faith — rest and trust in Christ

To those who have not accepted Christ, who have not received him - Oh that you would hear his call, see his light, and receive and believe in him today.

To those who believe on his name for salvation, continue to rest in Him - look to no other savior,

Rely on grace — regeneration is God’s work, not ours

Not absolving us from responsibility, but genuinely producing in us thankfulness, obedience, and joy because we know we are secure in Him.