The Savior as Creator
Who is Jesus? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 8 viewsThis is the first in the series: "Who is Jesus?" It addresses the idea that Jesus was involved in creation.
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Where is Your Faith?
The Muslim puts faith in the Koran and Mohammed.
The Buddhist puts faith in graven images.
The Humanist puts faith in himself.
The Religious man puts faith in his works.
The Materialist puts faith in his wealth.
But, a true spiritual life of faith is only as good as its object. Acts 16:31
31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved....”
Last week, we heard an exceptional message from Dr. Drake, as he cited several extra-Biblical sources that mention Jesus. And that we must never doubt His historical existence.
To add, most of the original disciples died at the hands of those who tried to force their recantation. But they would not deny what they had seen and held. 1 John 1:1-3
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Yet, we live in a world where people’s reaction to Jesus is all over the place. Thom Rainer states:
“It is rare that someone has not ever heard of the name of Jesus today. How they understand the meaning is varied. How they respond to the name varies as well. We know, however, that everyone will be called to respond to the name of Jesus at some point. And everyone will respond in reverence and awe. (Rainer, I Believe, 29-30).”
The first chapter of John helps us realize that reverence and awe. Let us first learn that the Scriptures teach that...
Jesus is Creator-King
Jesus is Creator-King
No other gospel begins like John’s. Whereas the others begin with lineages (Matthew) or reasons for writing (Luke) or immediately in his ministry (Mark), John’s gospel begins with telling us who Jesus was, rather than what he did or how He was born.
Also noteworthy is the similarity between John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1. They both speak of creation and preeminence of God. Genesis 1:1
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The very first words of Scripture identify the beginning of time and creation with not just the presence of God, but His action, His behavior. He created the heavens and the earth.
John, to show the magnitude of this person known as Jesus, states in John 1:1-3
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. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Think of the importance of Jesus Christ for a moment. This one, in His preincarnate state, was instrumental in creating the heavens and the earth.
Recently in the new members’ class, a question was asked: “Who created God?” And the answer is NO ONE! He is and always has been. He is the “uncaused cause,” as Thomas Aquinas taught in the 13th century. It is his second of five ways to prove that God exists.
There is an importance of this passage which lies in its readers. John, writing to Jews, who understand that …in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In other words, John takes the Jewish common knowledge of creation and inserts Jesus.
Hebrews 1: 2 tells us, that Jesus is God’s speech in the first century.
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
As the Nicene Creed teaches:
Historic Creeds and Confessions Nicene Creed
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
If you view Christ in the way the Bible views Him, you see He is no mere man, but God Himself!
Jesus is more than just what popular opinion says.
Jesus is more than just what popular opinion says.
Among those opinions is that Jesus was a moral example. Jesus was a good teacher. Jesus was a prophet. And yet Jesus never said these things. He did say: “Before Abraham was, I am.” John 8:58.
Then there’s how the Jehovah’s Witnesses understand Jesus. John 1:1. Since there is an absence of the article the statement, and the word was God, the JW’s hold that it should be rendered, and the word was a god. In doing so, they deny the deity of our Lord Jesus.
But as Walter Martin, author of the Christian textbook on the cults, Kingdom of the Cults, this is easily explained. According to Colwell’s rule, a definite predicate nominative NEVER takes an article when it precedes the verb. Hence, it is easy for them to devise their own translation and write off the authenticity of John 1:1.
The word mentioned in John 1:1 is none other than our Lord Jesus. Notice what John says in just a few verses later in John 1:14
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
One commentator notes:
“In Greek philosophy, the Logos was “reason” or “logic” as an abstract force that brought order and harmony to the universe. But in John’s writings such qualities of the Logos are gathered in the Person of Christ (NGSB, 1658).”
It’s important to look at “the word” as a title for Jesus Christ. As our words tell others who we are, Jesus, being God’s word in flesh, tells us who He is. Next, we find that...
Jesus explained God the Father to us.
Jesus explained God the Father to us.
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.
It is important to note from this opening paragraph that Christ is the eternal Son of God. Verses two and three tell us that He was in the beginning with God and all things were made through Him. Some, reading this, have cited Genesis 1:26 as a reference to the Trinity.
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Think for a moment of what this says about Jesus Christ. Was He just a man? Was he merely a prophet like the Jews and Muslims claim? Was He just a good example for us like some churches teach?
Your answer to that question will affect how you pray and worship.
Let the words of our hymns teach you! Just survey what we have sung today:
“All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name, let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all.”
Or
“Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”
Rainer goes on to state:
“The greatest demonstration of God’s love was his sending Jesus to us. God came into the physical world. God came into the realm of humanity. Jesus was both full God and fully man. Such a concept can be hard to grasp since it can only happen by the miraculous hand of God. Yet it happened. And that one person changed the course of history forever. (Rainer, 30).
Jesus had those who foretold His arrival.
Jesus had those who foretold His arrival.
There are so many prophets that spoke of the coming of Jesus. Isaiah 53:5
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
And Jeremiah who foretold of the New Covenant that Jesus would initiate with His own blood. Jeremiah 31:31-34
31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Jesus said in Luke 22:20 “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
John the Baptist was the last of a long line of prophets that foretold the coming of Jesus. Our text tells us of Him, a unique individual with a specific purpose in preparing the way for Christ. John, we are told, is among other things:
1. sent from God.
2. Bore witness of the light
3. He was not the light himself
John is the last of a long line of prophets, starting with Moses in the Old Testament. Each of these men were given the task of preaching God’s word, calling the people to repentance and preparing the way for the Messiah.
John was chosen especially for this role. In 1:19-28 we see John’s self-perception. He denies that he is the second coming of Elijah. On the other hand, Jesus affirmed John was the second Elijah in Matthew 11:11-15
11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
But as significant as John the Baptist was, he was also humble.
Something you and I can appreciate about John the Baptist is his humility. And yet he is the designated preparer of the world for Christ. He said of Himself in comparison to Christ in John 1:27
27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”
Even when some of John’s disciples left him to follow Jesus, the prophet said, John 3:30
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Maybe this is how some like Andrew immediately left John and followed Jesus (1:40). John bore witness to Christ by stating in John 1:29: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Conclusion
Conclusion
Many a successful businessman would advise those coming after him of the important decisions that they made to turn their companies for better.
But then there are those rare individuals who attribute their success to none other than the grace of God. James Cash Penney was one of those people.
Growing up in a large family that was plagued with poor health, James had plans to become a lawyer. But his father’s untimely death led him to work as a sales clerk in a local store.
He invested modestly and his positions grew, then afforded him opportunity at ownership. He suffered financial ruin because of the stock market crash in 1929 and subsequent Great Depression.
His health was greatly affected and so he spent some time in the hospital recovering. One day, he attended the chapel service in the hospital and heard Civilla’s Martin’s hymn: “God Will Take Care of You,” and became a born again Christian.
He later became one of the most successful businessmen of the 20th century, directing his stores to close on Sundays so employees could attend church services.
On one occasion J. C. Penney was asked the reason for His success. He said, “Adversity, and Jesus Christ.”
