God Made Known

Introduction

F260 Reading/Preaching Plan

We have been studying the Old Testament for 8 months

We have witnessed the beautiful plan of redemption that takes place in the lives of the Israelites .

But, Today we witness the beginning of the greatest act of redemption the World has ever seen.

Are you ready for some Jesus this morning?

Reading of the Text

READ

PRAY

1. Intertestamental Period (approx. 400 years)

From the time of Malachi, Nehemiah, and Ezra, God has been silent. God’s Chosen people have returned from exile, they have access to the temple, but there is no new prophet bringing a message from God. Since the time of Malachi, the Babylonians have been conquered by the Persians, the Persians by the Greeks, the

Greeks were conquered by the Romans — Rome is the world power now.

The Jews have an increased expectation for the Messiah to come… they desire to be delivered from the oppressive Roman empire and be restored to greatness, like they were before the exile.

2. The Gospel of John

READ SUMMARY STATEMENT

John’s Gospel account differences.

The Gospel of John was written by the John the Apostle.

Christianity has began to explode, and there is now more Greco-Roman Christian’s than Jewish Christians. John recognizes that the Greco-Roman Christians do not know anything about this “Messiah,” so how can he write about Christ in a way that will call both social groups to believe in Christ as Lord?

3. The Concept of the Word

What did “the Word” mean for the audience?

The Jews knew that God created the world with the words of his mouth - for them “the word” was a dynamic “thing” that brought the world into existence.

The Greeks saw “the word” as the creating, guiding, and directing power of God - the power of the universe that kept it going.

(William Barclay; John Commentary)

John is communicating that Jesus and the Word are the same. “The Bible is God’s Word in written form, Christ is God’s Word in human form” (Peter Enns).

The Text

1. The Word existed before the World.

“In the Beginning” is a direct quote from .

Jesus was not created with the creation of the World, he already existed.

John also says that the Word was with God and is God.

The Word was with, and also has the very nature, of God.

The Word KNOWS God - Jesus knows everything there is to know about God.

The Word Is OF God - Jesus is of the very same character and quality and essence and being as God.

“Jesus is the one person in all the universe who can reveal to us what God is like and how God feels towards us” (Barclay).

Jesus knew, before the foundations of the World, that He would come to earth and accomplish redemption from sin.

- “He chose us in him before the foundations of the world.”

Jesus existed before all things were created, and he chose to come and bring redemption to us.

Not only was The Word present before creation, he is the agent of creation.

John was combating a heresy that separated God from creation. The Gnostics believed that God was purely spirit, and separate from flesh or matter.

John combats this belief by connecting Jesus with the comprehensive act of creation.

This was a theme that the Apostle Paul built on in his letter to the Colossians: “For in him all things in heaven and on earth were created… all things have been created through him and for him” (1:16).

Jesus created all things and is of the same nature as the creator God.

2. The Word brings Life.

“In him was life” — The coming of Christ brings life!

Jesus created life (in the act of creation) but he also brings spiritual life!

This is a common theme in the Gospel of John (Life is mentioned 35 times)

To the original audience, Life simply meant the opposite of destruction, condemnation and death.

Jesus did not just happen to be the source of life, and just happen to arrive on earth.

The mission of God is clear!

— “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

God sent the Word (Jesus) so that those who believe in him would not experience condemnation and death, instead they would experience eternal life.

It was no coincidence that the only one who could bring life was sent by God to be present in human form and to redeem mankind from sin.

The coming of Christ makes the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ possible! Believing in Christ, and what he has done, brings new Life!

Characteristics of this life?

The Word wasn’t coming empty handed. He brought Life!

3. The Word brings Light

In addition to life, The Word brings light

This is another common theme in the writing of John (light 21 times)

This is also an echo from Genesis where light was God’s first creative act.

The light in creation pierced the darkness - the beginning of life itself.

John says that “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it”

Just like the light that pierced the darkness in creation — the event that created life; Jesus, the light, shines in the darkness and brings new life.

The light shines — and the darkness did not overcome it.

The verb tenses that John uses communicates the continual shining of God’s light (The Word) and the conclusion that the darkness did not overcome it.

John did not say that the darkness is trying to overcome it… The darkness did not overcome it.

The coming of Jesus predicted the defeat of darkness. The resurrection of Christ ensured the defeat of darkness.

The results are in. Darkness is defeated. The Word has brought life and light.

When you are tempted to think that the powers of darkness can overcome you, recognize they have already lost.

Paul says, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.” ()

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

God sent a man named John to prepare the way for Jesus. The ministry of John the Baptist breaks God’s silence in the intertestamental period.

He had a mission - to be a testimony for the light that was coming so that all might believe in Jesus.

He knew that he himself was not the light - but he was fulfilling his calling of testifying about the Light.

Some thought that he might be the Messiah, he had a large following at the time of Jesus.

John the Baptist ultimately accomplished his mission. He made the way for Christ, and was later put to death because of his outspoken beliefs.

4. The Word is the True Light

One translation says, “He was the real light.”

Jesus is the real and true light

There are false lights - glimpses of hope found in other people/things.

They are not the true light.

The true light shines for every man - God has a global mission that included Jesus coming for the World.

Just like there were false lights in the time of John, there are false lights today.

Christians must know the true light, so they can recognize the false lights.

Do you know

John 1:10-11

5. The Word was rejected by His own

The Word came to the world that he made, and the world “did not know him.”

Theme in the OT - God graciously began a covenant relationship with his people — but they did what was evil in their own eyes.

Imagery used in Hosea - God buying the Israelites back from prostitution.

This theme is carried into the life of Jesus.

The second fulfillment is found in the

Jesus did not come to Greece, Rome, or Egypt (center of the major world powers) no, he came to Israel — to his special people.

“He ought, therefore, to have been coming to a nation that would welcome him with open arms; the door should have been wide open for him; he should have been welcomed like a traveller coming home; or, even more, like a king coming to his own — but he was rejected. He was recieved with hate and not adoration” (Barclay).

Jesus came to the very people that he created, to the very place that his chosen people lived, and they hated him rather than adored him.

Application

John 1:12-13

6. The Word was recieved by others

In contrast to those who rejected Jesus, those who recieved him were given the right to become children of God by believing in Jesus.

John says that belief in Jesus gives one the right/authority to become a child of God.

Becoming a child of God is guaranteed for those who place their faith in Christ! We don’t have to wonder if God will adopt us into his family if we place our faith in Christ.

There are no alternate methods of adoption...

Story of adopting my little brother Taylor. We had to go to court and go through the legal process to adopt my Brother. There was a time when he wasn’t my brother, and then he legally was...

There is a God instituted process for one becoming a Child of God… and he has made it very accessible for us.

Becoming a child of God does not come through blood

Becoming a child of God does not come through human effort

Becoming a child of God does not come through human volition

No one is going to work their way into God’s family — There is no need!

We don’t need to try to make our way to God because God has come to us!

, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

The nature of our God is one that came to us.. He did not ask us to attempt to be good enough or reach some standard… he came to us!

Application

Take inventory of your spiritual life - what have you done with The Word - Jesus?

Have you believed in him and been given new life?

Have you rejected him?

Are you trying to get to God by some other means?

, “I am the way the truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”

Recognize that God has come and dwelt among us. Believe that God sent his one and only Son to redeem mankind from sin.

Recognize the eternal plan of God - Saving you from sin was in the mind of God before he created you.

He created you knowing you would sin.

He knew the death of Christ was the only way for your sins to be atoned for

Jesus came and accomplished redemption for us.

Get to Work.

There is a tendency in 21st century Christianity, and that is to only do what is required. We have many nominal Christians who seek a get out of hell free card rather than an intimate relationship with God.

John the Baptist challenges that mold. He was called by God to prepare the way for the Son of God.

His life mission was to bring attention to someone else, and he fulfilled his calling.

He was ultimately killed by an oppressive king who was living in sin.

He was born… told people about the coming of the Messiah…and died.

In the scope of the New Testament, he was rather insignificant.

His example reminds me of a group of teenagers in the 1730’s who recognized that God had sent Jesus to them, and they had not done anything to serve him. They belonged to rather wealthy families in Europe. They felt God stirring them to do something so they joined a man named Nicolaus Zinzendorf who was organizing missional movement.

They had their eyes set on the Danish West Indies, as they recognized that there were many black slaves who had not heard the good news of salvation.

They pleaded with the slave traders and owners of the industry on the islands but they would not let them on the ships going to the islands.

In 1732, two of the men (one of whom was 25) set out to the Danish West Indies, recognizing that the only way for them to get there was for themselves to be slaves on the ships - they sold themselves into slavery and began the very successful missionary endeavor to the slaves found on the West Indie islands.

Nicolaus Zinzendorf, the organizer of this movement, is quoted to have said: “Preach the Gospel, Die, and be forgotten.”

You and I have word to do. The reality is that the powers of darkness are going to try to keep us on the sidelines, while God is calling us to Get to Work.

John the Baptist and the man Moravian missionaries understood their God given mission, and they fulfilled their mission.

Preach the Gospel, Die, and be Forgotten.

God has revealed his Son to us… what are you doing in return?

Sign up to do evangelism this Fall

Sign up to go on our Mission trip that we are planning for this calendar year

Repent of making the life about you, and recognize you God given task to make disciples.

Determine that you are going to live for the Gospel right here, right now.