John 1:1-2 - The Word
The Gospel of John - That You May Believe • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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The Word Read
The Word Read
Please remain standing for the reading of the Holy Scripture. Hear the Word of the Lord from:
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.
Behold, brothers and sisters, this is the Word of the Lord. Please be seated.
Exordium
Exordium
Beloved in Christ,
I invite you to open Holy Scripture to John 1:1-2 this morning.
This morning, we begin the Gospel of John. John’s Gospel is a beloved Gospel by many Christians, most likely including many of us. The Gospel of John is simple enough that any Christian can understand it, and yet it is profound enough that a believer could spend their lives reflecting on the deep truths that John, an eyewitness to Jesus, presents. I am sure many of us have memorized John 3:16, as it is undoubtedly one of the most popular Bible verses of all time.
There is agreement amongst scholars and commentators on how the book is structured. John 1:1-18 is the prologue, and John 21 is the epilogue. In between the prologue and epilogue are two “books”: “The Book of Signs” and “The Book of Glory.” The “Book of Signs” is encompassed in John 1:19-John 12, and “The Book of Glory” is seen in John 13-John 20.
As many of you may know, the purpose of John’s book is clearly stated in John 20:30-31:
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 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.
Everything in John’s Gospel is an outflow of this purpose statement. John is writing so that people “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” The seven signs, seven discourses, seven “I am” statements, and seven witnesses all point to this purpose. For those of you who are familiar with Hebrew numerology, you know that the number seven has significant meaning: it symbolizes fullness, completion, and perfection. John, even in his use of numbers, is letting the reader know that Jesus is the perfect Christ and the Son of God.
Yet, it would be incredibly wrong for us to think that John’s Gospel is merely evangelistic. We would be mistaken if we thought, “Well, I’m saved now, so there is no need to read this Gospel.” This would be the equivalent of saying, “I do not need to hear the Gospel anymore now that I am in Christ.” We, as ones who believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God, read this Gospel in utter wonder and amazement at Jesus, the Son of God. We will be encouraged and exhorted. Our eyes will behold the glory of God in Christ Jesus, and our hearts will be taken up to heaven. We will come face-to-face with our glorious Savior, where we will see His love for our souls and His beckoning for us to be further transformed into His image. Jesus does not just say “come,” but He says, “come and be changed.” So, brothers and sisters, let us see our Savior, long to love Him greater, be changed into His image, and find eternal joy in Christ as we journey through John’s Gospel. For as we behold Christ more, we will savor Him more. As we savor Him more, we will become more like Him. As we become more like Him, we will worship Him more. Let us behold Christ together in this great Gospel.
Now, as we begin our verses, I want to share with you my thesis: The Word has eternally existed in the presence of God, and is Himself God.
John 1:1a - The Preexistence of the Word
John 1:1a - The Preexistence of the Word
1 In the beginning was the Word
On May 18, 1980, at 8:32 a.m. Mount St. Helens, located in Washington state, powerfully erupted following a 5.1 magnitude earthquake that triggered the largest debris landslide ever recorded. Within 15 minutes, soot and ash were violently thrown 15 miles upward into the atmosphere at speeds exceeding 300 miles an hour. Everything within 6 miles of the volcano was demolished, and the area was utterly scorched. However, the volcano did not erupt without warning. For a couple of months, the volcano showed signs of erupting, with the first eruption beginning on March 27, 1980.
The Gospel of John does not slowly build up and then erupt, like Mount St. Helens. You open the book and within the first two verses, you experience a Christological explosion. John writes highly of Jesus Christ. There is no warning of the eruption. John starts his Gospel by immediately showing us the greatness of Jesus Christ as “the Word.” There is no time to catch your breath; we feast on the deity of Christ.
We must first take time to define a significant word in these verses: “Word.” There is some conversation that surrounds John’s use of the word “Word”, or logos (λόγος), in these verses. John, writing this Gospel sometime around 80-90 AD in the city of Ephesus, was a Jew. However, logos was not a word just used by the Jews. The Greeks also used this word. For the Greeks, logos was attributed to reason and science. To them, there was an impersonal logos that ordered the universe in creation.
Then there is the Hebraic understanding of logos, which is John’s understanding and use of the word. For the Jews, logos, derived from the Old Testament, details God’s self-disclosure in creation, revelation, and deliverance/salvation. We see God’s self-disclosure by the Word in creation in Psalm 33:6:
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
We see His self-disclosure by the Word in revelation in Jeremiah 1:4:
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
We also recognize that self-disclosure occurs in revelation whenever prophets say, “Thus says the Lord.”
Finally, God’s self-explanation is revealed by the Word in deliverance/salvation in Isaiah 55:10-11:
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
John very much ties Isaiah 55:11 to Christ Himself. He is the Word that God sent, and the Word accomplished that which it was sent to accomplish. God has revealed Himself by the Word in creation, revelation, and salvation.
In the prologue, John will make clear that the Word became flesh in Jesus Christ. So John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, uses a word that is going to grab the attention of both Jews and Greeks.
This is very significant for us today as it was for John. Doesn’t our culture view creation in a manner similar to how the Greeks did thousands of years ago? There was an impersonal force that ordered the universe, over billions of years, to what we see today. And if we just used reason and science, we would come to a similar conclusion that after billions of years and after many macro and micro evolutions, we have arrived at 2025. When we declare that Christ is “the Word,” we are making a countercultural claim, just as our forefathers did 2,000 years ago. We are not stating that an impersonal force created the universe, but instead that the universe and world we live in was created by a person who is sovereignly in control of all things, and He has revealed Himself in creation, revelation, and salvation.
Now, with this understanding, let us look at the first part of John 1:1, where we see the preexistence of the Word: “In the beginning was the Word.” John’s Gospel grabs language from Genesis 1:1:
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
When we survey the other three Gospels, we do see that each of them starts with a “beginning” as well. Matthew’s Gospel begins with a genealogy of Jesus. Luke’s Gospel begins with an opening statement from Luke to Theophilus stating that he had compiled this information that had been handed down to him “from the beginning.” Mark’s Gospel begins with the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. John’s Gospel invites us to a different beginning, not the beginning of Jesus’s birth or ministry, but at a time before the foundation of creation itself - eternity past.
Every Thursday, Dad would come home from work, and we would travel to my Grandpa’s house, which was about 30 minutes away. I grew up in a city slightly larger than Eden, with a population of approximately 25,000 people. We had streetlights on our streets, which would somewhat impede our ability to see the universe on a summer’s night. However, Grandpa had a farm out in the middle of nowhere, at least that’s what it felt like as a kid. You’d step outside at night, and the sky appeared to be a canvas of stars and constellations. As you looked up, a sense of smallness would overcome you as you realize the grandness of God’s creation. A quietness would wash over your heart and soul.
John takes us back before Adam breathed his first breath. A time before sea animals filled the waters, land animals filled the land, and birds filled the sky—a time before a single star filled the panorama of the universe. In eternity past, the Word existed. There has never been a time when the Word, the Son of God, did not exist. We reject the claim of Arianism, which states that Christ is a created being with a beginning. John is clear: before time began, the Word existed.
We find this truth hard to comprehend as we have finite minds. Have you ever tried the mental exercise of thinking that we will live for all eternity with Christ? If Christ were to return today, we would still be living with Him 1 year from now, and also 100 years from now, and also 1,000 years from now, and also 1,000,000 years from now! The thought overwhelms our simple minds. We cannot fathom living forever. Yet, imagine this exercise in the other direction. Ten thousand years ago, the Word existed. One hundred billion years ago, the Word existed.
Brothers and sisters, marvel at the preexistence of the Son who loves us! The Son has always existed, and, as Ephesians 1:4 makes clear, in that eternity past God chose us in the Son. Not only has the Word eternally existed, but His love for us extends into eternity past.
John 1:1b - The Presence of the Word
John 1:1b - The Presence of the Word
1 and the Word was with God,
One of the incredible truths of eternity past is that the Father and the Son dwelled with one another in perfect communion. This wording here reveals that there was a personal and active relationship between the Father and the Son. Have you ever taken the time to think about the Father’s and the Son’s relationship before the beginning of creation? You might think, “Well, this is merely an academic exercise as it holds no bearing on my life today.” I would submit that the relationship between the Father and the Son has a tremendous impact on our lives today.
John 17 is often called the High Priestly prayer. This is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus we have in the Scriptures. This prayer is given right before He is betrayed by Judas, arrested, found guilty at a mock trial, whipped 39 times, sent to Golgotha, and crucified on the cross. He prays for Himself, His immediate followers, and then for all who will come to know Him. Which, as an aside, means that Jesus prays for you in John 17:20-26. In Jesus’ prayer for all those who will come to Him, He says these words in John 17:24:
24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
Did you hear that last portion? “Because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” I think one of the saddest truths that I hear amongst our evangelical spectrum is this notion that we shouldn’t think deeply. Instead of meditating on the wonderful, yet at times mind-boggling truths found in Scripture, there has been a bill sold to us that we should have fun. No doubt, true Christian fellowship centered on Christ is indeed joyful and fun. However, we cannot turn our brains off when it comes to our faith. There are profound truths for us to meditate on found in the Word, which will cause us to love God deeper.
Here is one of those truths that we should reflect on: the Father loved the Son before the foundation of the world. In the Trinity, there is Eternal Love. Again, a profound, magnificent truth that we should take time to consider. Have you spent time thinking about this truth as you undoubtedly read John 17:24? I spent time considering this reality: The Father has eternally loved the Son.
In one aspect, my mind could not fully comprehend this type of love. A baby does not have unconditional love for their spouse or their future children. How could they? If you met your spouse in college, you did not love them as a middle school or high school student, for you did not know them. Similarly, when Kristin and I were married, we did not have love for our children because they did not exist. Yet, there has never been a time in all eternity when the Father did not love the Son. This is Eternal Love.
So, there is eternal love between the Father and the Son, and now I want to begin to narrow down how that affects us today. Revelation 13 details the first beast. Hear the words of Revelation 13:5-8:
5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.
As verse 8 states, some names are not written “in the Book of Life of the Lamb who was slain.” This means that before the creation of the world, there were some names in the Lamb’s Book of Life and others that were not. Those who have been redeemed, who are redeemed today, and who will be redeemed in the future, all those names were in the Lamb’s book of life in eternity past.
Today, we, rightfully, speak of being “in Christ.” We think of verses such as Romans 8:1:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Colossians 3:3:
3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
We are “in Christ.” So, to give a quick recap: 1) The Word was with the Father before time began, 2) The Father has eternally loved the Son, 3) Our names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life before the foundation of the world, and 4) We, who are truly Christian, are in Christ today. With these four premises, we can be assured that the Father, who has eternally loved the Son, so loved us that He gave us to the Son so that He would redeem us from sin. The Son, who the Father eternally loved, so loved us that He willingly agreed to go to the cross to ransom us from our sin.
We read Jeremiah 31:3 and take comfort:
3 the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Last evening, a friend called me and we began talking about time, eternity past, and eternity future. The longer that we talked, the more I found myself thinking about this passage. God loves me with an everlasting love. Even as we spoke, I found myself moved by that truth. God has always loved me, and will always love me. When we take the time to put down our smartphones, turn off our televisions, and wade into the deep waters of the Word, the Son, being with the Father before time began, we find ourselves meditating on love.
We find ourselves swallowed up in God’s love for us. How could we not be entirely undone by these truths? How can our affections remain dull when God’s eternal love for us burns bright? How can our hearts not be moved by the Word’s love for us? He agreed, before we were even born, to live and die for us.
The more I thought about the Word being with the Father in eternity past, the more I was held captive by His mighty love for me. I thought about my sinfulness, yet He loved, loves, and will always love me. I thought about how my heart is often cold towards Him, yet He took me under His wings. I thought about all the ways I’ve failed Him this week, yet He forgives again, and again, and again. Dwelling on the Word being with the Father will always cause our hearts to love the triune God more.
Earlier this week, I listened to a podcast on Jonathan Edwards. Many of us would probably be quick to remember his sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” This has led to a misconception that Jonathan Edwards always portrayed God as a mad, angry God. The man who was being interviewed said that in Edwards’ early years of preaching, he was quick to preach on the horrors of hell, but the mature Edwards loved to preach on the beauty of Christ. I think this occurred as, yes, he obviously matured as a pastor, but more importantly, as he matured as a Christian. The more he meditated on Scripture and the Lord, the more of Jesus’ loveliness became his epicenter. I think the same is true for us. The more we meditate on truths like this in John 1:1, the more we see the beauty, splendor, glory, and loveliness of Christ.
Does your heart doubt Christ’s love this morning? Know your name was written in His Book of Life long ago. Does life seem too hard, and is God’s love distant? Know that the Father loved you before the Big Dipper lit up the evening sky, before time was in existence. We worship Christ because He has loved us eternally.
John 1:1c - The Essence of the Word
John 1:1c - The Essence of the Word
1 and the Word was God.
A few years ago, I sat in front of our Presbytery for my final examination. The Stated Clerk and Moderator had selected questions specifically for me to answer in front of everyone. You all have heard of one of the memorable questions I was given: “Detail Paul’s missionary journeys.” However, there was another question that invoked great fear in my heart, not because I didn’t have an answer, but because I really, really did not want to get this wrong: Define the trinity. “One in essence, three in persons.” Simple answer, right? However, for some reason, this plagued me. I literally imagined myself being asked this question and giving that answer.
We would all read this verse and conclude that the Word, the Son of God, is one in essence with the Father, or one in substance. We would also appeal to Romans 9:5:
5 To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
Furthermore, we could come to this conclusion by reading Colossians 1:15-20:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
However, this has not always been the case. In 318AD, in Alexandria, Egypt, a controversy broke out. A man by the name of Arius began teaching that the Son was not of the same substance as the Father. According to His thinking, if the Son was begotten, this means that there was a time when the Son was not in existence. In his words, “For He (the Son) is not equal (to the Father), no, nor one in essence with Him… Thus, there is a Triad, not equal in glories.”
As one can imagine, this caused quite a stir in the Christian realm. Christian leaders rose against one another. Churches began to quarrel over this teaching against one another. The controversy was so great that Emperor Constantine gathered 318 bishops, according to tradition, in 325AD. This has become known as the Council of Nicea, and the purpose was to deal with Arius’ teaching on the Son. On June 19, 325AD, the “Creed of Nicaea” was pronounced. Over the next few decades, the creed was developed and refined. What we call the “Nicene Creed” was solidified in 325 AD.
When we recite the Nicene Creed, you may notice that it is broken into three sections: 1) The Father, 2) The Son, and 3) The Holy Spirit. The portion on the Father and Holy Spirit is relatively short. However, the portion regarding the Son dominates the Creed. Listen to what is written about the Son:
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
The wording that is pertinent for us this morning is, “Being of one substance with the Father.” The Greek word for “one substance,” used here in the Nicene Creed, is homoousios, which means that the Son of God possesses the same “Godness” as the Father. Our fathers used John 1:1 as they defended the deity of Jesus Christ.
The Word was God, is God, and will always be God. The Word that has become flesh is Jesus Christ. The New Testament does not hide the fact that Jesus is truly God. This truth is clearly present here, but we also see it in John 20:28 as Thomas exclaims that Jesus is his Lord and his God! In Titus 2:13, Paul writes that we await the coming of Jesus Christ, who is our God and our Savior. Furthermore, Jesus understood that He was God. We see this in John 8:58-59:
58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” 59 So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
Jesus also uses the divine title “Son of Man.” Finally, in Revelation 22:12-13:
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
The one whom we worship is not another idol the world has created. The Word whom we love is not a god amongst a pantheon of gods. Christ Jesus is God! The God-man has redeemed us. He has saved us. He has brought us to the heavenly temple by His sacrifice. He is the Alpha and the Omega. In eternity past, He existed and was God. In the present, He exists and He is still God. In the future, He will still exist, and He will continue to be God. He is worthy of our worship, praise, glory, honor, and blessing. The Word is God, and is a distinct being. This is the beauty and majesty of the Trinity. Let us praise the One who saved our souls!
John 1:2 - The Word in the Beginning
John 1:2 - The Word in the Beginning
2 He was in the beginning with God.
John 1:2 emphasizes the truths that He has just presented. He circles back to let the truths sit in our hearts. The Word was in the beginning with God.
Closing
Closing
As I sat in these two verses this week, I was overwhelmed by the Word. He existed before time began. He was with God, and He was God. The more I pondered and wondered at these truths, the more I felt that my finite mind and limited language could not describe the Word. We often say we must glorify, worship, and praise Christ, but even those words seemed to fall flat in light of these verses. We say that the Son is glorious, majestic, magnificent, awesome, excellent, lovely, etc., and yet even those words seem to fall short. I found myself stating, “The Word is gloriously awesome.” Glorious because the Word is worthy of all glory. Awesome because a sense of awe overcame me as I reflected on these verses. Even as I said that over and over again, my soul yearned and ached for a deeper, more profound language because these words don’t fully grasp the glory attributed to the Word.
As we close, will you worship Jesus as the Eternal Word? Will your soul bow down before Jesus, glorifying Him? Will you, with great joy, join the everlasting song and praise Him, Lord of all?
