John 1:1 First Sermon
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· 30 viewsJesus is the Word who was with God in the beginning
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1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Outline
Outline
1. In the beginning (v.1a)
2. Was the Word (v.1b)
Background
Background
Traditionally, it was believed that John was the author of this account. Not John the baptist, but John the Apostle, who was one of the sons of Zebedee which can be found in .
It is very important to note that there were copies of fragments made of papyrus (a plant prepared to be used to write on) dating around 135 A.D. Which points to it being written around 85 - 90 A.D.
The purpose of this book is made clear by the author himself.
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.
The intent is clear.
This is 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.
Sermon Text
Sermon Text
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Introduction
Introduction
Question: What was there from the beginning?
When thinking of this question I was reminded of how we value people in our lives that were there as we used to say back in the day, “from the gate.”
There is something special when you have someone in your life who was there from the beginning and someone who was there through thick and thin.
But deeper then that, everyone at some point will have to ask the question what was in the beginning of all things.
The reason for that is because in finding the answer to that question we find meaning and the reason for us being here today.
This is the answer philosophers have wanted an answer to.
To know this answer is to know our roots.
To know this answer is to know what is truth.
To know this answer is to know why we are here.
And to know this answer is to know where we are going.
The question “ What was there from the beginning” is actually flawed.
The better way to ask the question is “who was there from the beginning.”
Some people believe that there was an impersonal force that began everything. Meaning that something not someone was there in the beginning.
Meaning that something not someone was there in the beginning.
That is fundamentally the only two options we can come up with.
Either something was there from the beginning or someone was there in the beginning.
John leaves no room for interpretation as to there being someone in the beginning.
So the better question is: Who was there from the beginning?
Before there was a heaven and the angels, who was there?
Before the heavens and the earth, who was there?
Before the world, mankind and animals, who was there?
Before the lands and nations , who was there?
John makes it very clear that in the beginning, before all things, the Word was there.
God when bringing correction to Job said in
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? 6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Job 38:
Question: Where were you in the beginning? Where were we?
Answer: We weren’t there. There was only God. And John, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is given the answer to the most fundamental question of existence.
Where were we?
And John, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is given the answer to the most fundamental question.
Question: Did John tell us what was there in the beginning?
Answer: No.
.
Correction. It was a who.
He tells us who was there in the beginning. In the beginning was the Word!
Answer: In the beginning was the Word!
Background
Background
Traditionally, it was believed that John was the author of this account. Not John the baptist, but John the Apostle, who was one of the sons of Zebedee which can be found in .
It is very important to note that there were copies of fragments made of papyrus (a plant prepared to be used to write on) dating around 135 A.D. Which points to it being written around 85 - 90 A.D.
Discovery of certain papyrus fragments dated around AD 135 require the gospel of John to have been written, copied, and circulated before then. And, while some think it was written before Jerusalem was destroyed (AD 70), AD 85—90 is a more accepted time for the writing of the gospel of John.
The purpose of this book is made clear by the author himself.
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.
The intent is clear.
This is 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.
Sermon
Sermon
1. In the beginning (v.1a)
1. In the beginning (v.1a)
Mark’s gospel also begins with in the beginning.
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Here Mark begins with the earthly ministry of Jesus.
But John goes further back.
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
I would argue that John goes further back than .
Mainly, because he begins with the existence of the Word.
That’s what he 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.
John speaks of the Word being in the beginning.
Here we have two questions.
First question: Who is the Word here?
And the second question, which will lead to our last point: Why does John use the term “the Word.”
1. Who is the Word?
One of the most important things to know as a Christian is that to read the Scriptures we must always read before the text we are reading and we must read after.
In our text, since it’s the first verse, we should continue to read to know what John is talking about here.
In verse 2 we see that John calls the Word a personal pronoun (He).
2 He was in the beginning with God.
This clearly shows that the Word is a person.
In verse 3 we see that John speaks of the Word as being the Creator of all things. Admitting that the Word he is speaking of created all things.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
And finally, in verse 14 we see that the Word became flesh. Calling the Word the only Son.
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.
The person John is speaking of as the Word was:
Was there in the beginning
Was a person who created all things
Was the only Son from the Father who became flesh and dwelt among us
The Word is Jesus Christ. The only begotten Son of God who came in the flesh and dwelled among us. The Creator of all things and the sustainer of all things is Jesus Christ.
The Creator of all things and the sustainer of all things is Jesus Christ.
Which points to Jesus Christ being preeminent. Meaning that Jesus surpasses everything and everyone. He was there in the beginning. Before anything that was made there was Jesus Christ.
Jesus is paramount: which means that Jesus is more important than anything else
Jesus is supreme: meaning that Jesus is superior
Jesus is above everyone and everything
Jesus is eternal: meaning that He has no beginning and no end
Jesus is Creator and He rules over all things and everyone
He is more important and powerful than all others.
That is who the Word is according to John.
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.
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
That is who was there in the beginning.
That is who was there in the beginning.
Jesus would reveal this in John chapter 8.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.” 57 So the Jews said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” 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.
Remember ? Where God appeared to Moses?
13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
Jesus existed before coming in the flesh.
Jesus existed before Abraham.
Jesus existed before the foundations of the world. Showing us clearly that Jesus is God.
That is who the Word is.
Question: Why does it matter that we believe this about Jesus Christ?
Question: Why does it matter that we believe this about Jesus Christ?
1. When believing that Jesus is God, who was there in the beginning, we prove that we are followers of Christ.
1. When believing that Jesus is God, who was there in the beginning, we prove that we are followers of Christ.
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.
2.
Belief in the incarnation means that we believe that Jesus existed prior to coming in the flesh.
And we must believe that He was God who had come in the flesh. If not then we are denying clearly what Jesus said about Himself.
Anyone who denies the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh, meaning Jesus Christ who was before all things and who holds all things together, cannot be saved!
That is why any clear conviction and belief that Jesus is not God condemns. Because it is denying at the very core of who Jesus Christ is.
By Him all things were created. Anyone who denies Him coming in the flesh is a deceiver and an antichrist.
This is an essential doctrine of the Christian faith!
A denial of this proves that one has not come to saving faith.
This matters! It proves where someone will be in eternity!
I do not mean just simply acknowledging this truth, but a belief in this truth. Where there is conviction and a trust in and not just an ascent or an acknowledgment.
This matters eternally. Whether we believe this or not!
So if you are here and you deny Jesus Christ come in the flesh as God, repent. Believe that He was raised from the dead!
Trust in Him and believe that He was God in human flesh. Who came and died. Who rose again on the third day. Who ascended and now sits at the right hand of the Father. Who will come again to restore all things to Himself for His glory and our good!
The second reason for the question as to why does it matters that we believe this about Jesus Christ?
2. When believing that Jesus is God, who was there in the beginning, we have everything we need to be anchored in this life!
2. When believing that Jesus is God, who was there in the beginning, we have everything we need to be anchored in this life!
Jesus was there in the beginning with God the Father. Jesus is the Word. And the Word was and is God.
Because this is true then it means that Jesus knows all things. He created all things.
Remember: 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. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
This being true we can trust Him in all things!
Jesus is the steadfast anchor of the soul as the author of Hebrews reveals in .
We can trust Him in all things.
We can trust Him in trials
We can trust Him in
We can trust Him in suffering
We can trust Him in
We can trust Him in chaos
We can trust Him with wayward children
We can trust Him in hardships
We can trust Him in hunger and lack
We can trust Him to keep until the end
We can trust Him when life seems to fall apart
We can trust Him sickness and in health
We can trust Him with the future
We can trust Him in marital hardship
We can trust Him in struggle and pain
He was there in the beginning with God, Himself being God knowing all things and having everything under His rule!
So rest in the truth that Jesus Christ has everything under control and that He has purpose no matter the circumstances.
That is why as a church our first value states:
1. We value the exaltation of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We commit as a local body to exalt God in all our efforts and to always seek His glory in all things.
We say this because all things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
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.
He chose before the foundations of the world to be saved! And He will keep us until the day of redemption! All done in His mind before anything was made. Which should secure the believer in their faith!
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .
In the beginning was the Word. And the Word is Jesus Christ, who has everything under His sovereign rule!
So, Why does John use the term “the Word.”
2. Was the Word (v.1b)
2. Was the Word (v.1b)
In Greek philosophy, the term “word” or as they would say “logos,” was used to describe the principle that would bring everything together which would give everyone the wisdom to live. Which would make the word a something not a someone.
There were those in Greek philosophy who believed in
For Greeks who held to a theistic view of the universe, it could be understood as the means by which God reveals himself to the world
The Jews knew the word as “the word of the Lord” spoken in the Old Testament. Where God expressed His intent and purpose through the prophets to the people of God.
John uses the term to help both the Jew and Greek to know the Word as a person.
while among those who were pantheistic in outlook, the Word was the principle that held the world together and at the same time endowed men with the wisdom for living.
The Word as John describes is a person.
Strategically, the term “Word” serves as a bridge-word to reach not only Jews but also the unsaved Greeks. John chose this concept because both Jews and Greeks were familiar with it.
The MacArthur Study Bible Chapter 1
John borrowed the use of the term “Word” not only from the vocabulary of the OT but also from Gr. philosophy, in which the term was essentially impersonal, signifying the rational principle of “divine reason,” “mind,” or even “wisdom.” John, however, imbued the term entirely with OT and Christian meaning (e.g., Gen. 1:3 where God’s Word brought the world into being; Pss. 33:6; 107:20; Prov. 8:27 where God’s Word is His powerful self-expression in creation, wisdom, revelation, and salvation) and made it refer to a person, i.e., Jesus Christ. Greek philosophical usage, therefore, is not the exclusive background of John’s thought. Strategically, the term “Word” serves as a bridge-word to reach not only Jews but also the unsaved Greeks. John chose this concept because both Jews and Greeks were familiar with it.
The Word as John describes is a person.
John was reaching the Greeks with someone who is the Word.
John was reaching the Jews with someone who is the Word of the Lord.
A Handbook on the Gospel of John John 1:1
The term the Word has a rich heritage, by way of both its Greek and Jewish backgrounds. For the Greeks who held to a theistic view of the universe, it could be understood as the means by which God reveals himself to the world, while among those who were pantheistic in outlook, the Word was the principle that held the world together and at the same time endowed men with the wisdom for living.
In we also see the answer to what the Greeks needed.
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
In , we see the answer given to the Hebrews.
He held all things
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 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.
John uses the term to show both Jew and Greek that Jesus is the Word.
The principle that would unify all ideas together, making sense of creation and all of existence is the Lord Jesus Christ!
The word of the Lord that spoken by the prophets would be fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ who came in the flesh. Who was Himself the Word which was and is God Himself.
The prophets spoke the word of the Lord but Jesus appeared as the Word of the Lord! Revealing Jesus as far better than any prophet.
That is what this church is built on!
That is what this church is built on!
The foundation of Christ Alone Fellowship is the revelation of Jesus Christ as God.
In Article 4 of our Statement of Faith section 2 it reads,
“The Lord Jesus Christ is the revelation of God to man. In the days of His humiliation He lived a sinless life, performed miracles, taught the will of God, was crucified, and died. He was buried and arose bodily from the dead on the third day. The Lord Jesus offered Himself a sacrifice for sins, satisfied the justice of the Father, propitiated the wrath of God, reconciled God and man, and obtained an eternal inheritance.”
Jesus was not created
Jesus was not just a prophet
Jesus was not just a man
Jesus was not
Jesus always existed as God. And He has revealed Himself in coming to us in the flesh. The Word that was with God in the beginning who became flesh and dwelt among us.
Born of the virgin Mary who lived a sinless life.
Who was crucified and died. Doing this because we have sinned. Ultimately to fulfill the will of the Father.
From the beginning God knew that He would come as the Son into the world to die for the sins of His people.
In the article “Why the Son of God Came into the World” by John Piper, he pointed out how Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, and the writer to the Hebrews pointed out the reason for Jesus coming to the world.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The witnesses are Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, and the writer to the Hebrews. The answers they give are six reasons for Jesus' coming:
to ransom many
to call sinners
to give sight to the blind
to divide households
to save from divine condemnation
to give eternal life
Jesus is the Word. The Who holds all things together. Who, when believed, makes sense of all things.
Jesus is the Word of the Lord. Who appeared as the Word that by His very life He gives life to those who hear His voice.
This is what Christ Alone Fellowship is about.
We exist to declare the gospel of Jesus Christ to all people for His glory.
We desire the glory of God in making disciples and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. To teach and observe the commandments of Jesus Christ while beholding Him as ever present and returning for His Church.
And because we have done this our lawbreaking demands a judgement. And the judgement is death.
Christ Alone is the Head of the Church and Fellowship is the result of what He has accomplished at the cross.
And the judgement is death. So what God had done
God put into place a system where for the sin of the people of Israel, an unblemished lamb would be offered to be killed for their sin.
Close in prayer!
In Old Testament times this would cover them, but it would not ultimately deliver from sin.
So, in order for us to
God
From the beginning