Let's meet the Word

I. Introduction

A. We will be in

B. The Subject of the Prologue: “The Word.”

1. The problem is people don’t know the Bible or the truth of the Bible if it hit them square in the middle of their face. In our nation today, we have great Biblical illiteracy rate.

(Opening Illustration)

On a cold winter day, January 12, 2007, A man wearing blue jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt and a Washington National ball Cap, went into a metro (subway) station in Washington DC and near the entrance next to some garbage cans opened his violin case, took out his violin and began to play, laying open his violin case to collect tips. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, over a thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on. In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.17. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the absolute best violinist in the world. His violin was a rare Stradivarius made in 1713, and worth 3.5 million dollars. Three days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell played at a sold out Boston’s stately Symphony Hall where the seats average $100 each. This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

Isn’t it tempting to see God like we want him to be, rather than how he has revealed himself? In an interview with Parade magazine, the musician Elton John said, “I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems.” One of the easiest ways to commit the sin of idolatry is to remake God in our image. For culture’s view of God, see Parade magazine.

2. For an accurate view of God, see the Bible.

3. The opening words of this gospel bear a striking parallel with the opening words of Genesis.

4. John’s own particular contribution is to show that the Word existed before creation.

5. I could give you the Greek definition, or the Gnostic definition, or even the views of Plato and Philo the philosophers, but the only view and definition that matters is what is in the Word or God.

6. The close connection between life and light is not unexpected. In the physical world life is dependent on light, and this idea is here transferred to the spiritual world.

7. The light, which is closely linked with the Word, must be regarded as personal.

8. It must mean the spiritual enlightenment which humankind has received exclusively through the coming of the Word.

9. In short, God’s ‘Word’ in the Old Testament is his powerful self-expression in creation, revelation and salvation, and the personification of that ‘Word’ makes it suitable for John to apply it as a title to God’s ultimate self-disclosure, the person of his own Son.

10. But if the expression would prove richest for Jewish readers, it would also resonate in the minds of some readers with entirely pagan backgrounds.

11. In their case, however, they would soon discover that whatever they had understood the term to mean in the past, the author whose work they were then reading was forcing them into fresh thought.

II. Body

A. THE PERSON—vv. 1–5

1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.

2. Many unregenerate men consider themselves to be God’s children, or “sons of God.” But being a product of God’s handiwork does not qualify one for a sonship relationship.

(Body Illustration)

A cabinetmaker constructs a cabinet. But this does not make the cabinet a “child” of the cabinetmaker. A birth process would be necessary for this. The unregenerate man who claims sonship with God “because he made me” is basing his claim merely on the fact that he is a product of God’s handiwork. Like the cabinet, he lacks the new birth necessary for a sonship relationship.

3. The Essential Nature of the Word.

4. Christ—vv. 1

a. In the beginning was the Word….

b. We know these words from – “In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

1) Jesus was in the beginning.

2) Time has a beginning and it is clearly documented in .

3) Jesus was there at that beginning point in time.

4) Like God, Jesus was present before there was time.

c. We would say eternity past, but what is eternity?

1) Our mind cannot comprehend the non-existence of time.

2) But the scriptures are clear.

3) Time itself is a creation of God and time had a beginning and time will have end.

4) So eternity is not so much as time without end, but timelessness.

5) And there was Jesus before time began.

5. He is an eternal being.

a. The beginning carries us back to the initial point of time. “In the beginning was the Word …”

1) The Word existed in the beginning.

2) John chose this term because it was familiar to his readers, but he invested it with his own meaning, which becomes evident in the prologue through three terms.

a) Past—“In the beginning was the Word.”

i. He is a distinct Person from God, yet one with Him.

ii. “And the Word was with God …”

1. The Word was with God in a special relationship of eternal fellowship in the Trinity.

2. The word “with” translates from Greek to mean “in company with”

a. In fact, when we were with you, we told you previously that we were going to suffer persecution, and as you know, it happened.

b. that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—

b) Power—“And the Word was with God.”

i. He is God. “And the Word was God.”

1. The Word has always been in a relationship with God the Father.

2. Christ did not at some point in time come into existence or begin a relationship with the Father.

3. In eternity past the Father (God) and the Son (the Word) have always been in a loving communion with each other.

4. Both Father and Son are God, yet there are not two Gods.

c) Person—“And the Word was God.”

i. Isn’t it interesting that John introduces Jesus as the Word.

ii. “In the Beginning [was the Word]”

iii. In Greek the word is “logos”.

iv. In Greek culture, the Stoics understood “logos” to be the rational principle by which everything exists, and which is of the essence of the rational human soul.

v. More generally, “logos” can refer to inner thought, hence ‘reason’, even ‘science’.

1. “logos” can refer to outward expression, hence ‘speech’ or ‘message’, which is why ‘Word’ is still thought by many to be the most appropriate term, provided it does not narrowly refer to a mere linguistic sign but is understood to mean something like ‘message’ as in the following.

vi.

1. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.

2. “Message in this verse is the Greek “logos” Jesus is God’s message to us.

a. Jesus is God’s Word because “the Word was with God.”

vii. But the goes even further. Not only was the Word, the Logos, came from God, and the Logos was with God, but John makes it very clear, “and the Word was God” This is foundational to the the doctrine of the Trinity.

1. As a sidebar the Holy Spirit will be included later, the fact is, Jesus the Word, Jesus the Logos, is God.

6. Beware of anything that tells you different.

a. The Jehovah Witnesses have a Bible Translation called “The New World Translation” which is an abomination.

1) They translate this verse as “The Word was a god.” Anything that denies the deity and co-equal status of Jesus with God the Father is heresy.

2) As the Word that was with God and the Word that is God, we see that the Word was the very agent of creation.

b.

1) The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all the stars, by the breath of His mouth.

c.

1) For He spoke, and it came into being; He commanded, and it came into existence.

d. God spoke the “Logos” and creation happened.

e.

1) For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

a) The Word of God we hold in our hands is the very power of the universe.

b) Words have letters as we read.

c) And Jesus calls Himself:

f.

1) “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.”

a) Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.

b) Notice the last two words, “The Almighty.”

c) Those word are reserved for God alone.

d) Jesus is God and Jesus is all in all, and Jesus is everything.

2) So John introduces Jesus, as the one from the very beginning.

g. Permanence—“He has always been alive and is himself God.”—LB

B. Creation—v. 2-3.

1. All things we see, and the unseen was created by Him.

2. All the stars, planets, moon, sun, etc. were made by Him.

3. .

a. For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.

4. Again, it must be emphasized.

a. The Word, the Logos, Jesus is from the very beginning.

b. The Word of God, spoken by God, who was God, spoke all things into being.

c. You see the very words and deeds of Jesus are the words and deeds of God.

d. So what does that mean for us?

C. Conversion—v. 4. Christ is the light spoken of in . This was 740 B.C.

1. Just read

a. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men.

b. The Word, the Logos, does not merely possess life, He is life and the giver of life.

2.

a. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live.

1) Jesus gives not only physical life, but more importantly, He gives us spiritual life in Him.

3.

a. This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and the One You have sent—Jesus Christ.

1) Knowing Jesus, knowing the Word, the Logos is with God, and the Logos that is God, is the very definition of eternal life.

2) And that life is “the light of men.”

3) What did Jesus say about the light?

4) Why is there something rather than nothing?

5) That is a great question in philosophy.

6) The Christian answer is God.

7) He is eternal, and He is the Creator of all things.

8) And the Word was the agent of Creation

4.

a. yet for us there is one God, the Father. All things are from Him, and we exist for Him. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ. All things are through Him, and we exist through Him.

5.

a. For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

6.

a. In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him.

1) All Creation was made by the Word in relation with the Father and the Spirit.

2) John stressed the work of the Word. He came to reveal the Father; and the work of revelation began in Creation for Creation reveals God.

3) But the only way for Jesus to give us life was to give up His life for us.

4) That's what Jesus did on the cross.

5) There could be no relationship with God without the cross of Jesus Christ!

b. We see the end result in , where God's Word tells us that:

1) But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name,

c. As Christians: We have the power of Jesus' life!

d. It came from His death.

e. There can be no relationship with God without the cross of Jesus Christ!

f. So, remember what the prophet told God in .

1) You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You.

g. Life is man’s most important asset.

h. To lose life is tragic.

i. John affirmed that in the ultimate sense, life is in Christ.

j. Man’s spiritual and physical life come from Him.

k. Jesus, the Source of “life,” he is also the light of men

D. Control—v. 5.

1. Light is commonly used in the Bible as an emblem of God; darkness is commonly used to denote death, ignorance, sin, and separation from God.

2. Jesus is that light.

3. But there is problem with that light, the darkness doesn’t like the light:

4. Like the world class violinist who played in the subway as a street musician, those who passed by did not hear or appreciate the talent right before them.

5. Jesus came and brought light into a world of darkness, but the world failed to see or to even notice, and still does not see today.

6. In the Gospel of John, life and light are central themes.

7. Isn’t interesting about life and light in comparison to death and darkness.

8. Death is the absence of life, and darkness is the absence of light.

9. Because men reject the very light that is life, they are clearly choosing their own death because they reject the One who is life.

10. But here is the greatest miracle of all time, the greatest miracle of the entire universe:

11. Christ was greater than all the darkness.

12. Though sin may be great and increasing, He is above all sin.

13. Light’s nature is to shine and dispel darkness.

14. Darkness is almost personified in this verse: darkness is unable to overpower light.

15. By this, John summarized his Gospel record:

a. Light will invade the dominion of darkness.

b. Satan the ruler and his subjects will resist the light, but they will be unable to conquer its power.

c. The Word will be victorious in spite of opposition.

16. This is truly Good New.

17. This is truly the Gospel.

18. But even though God sent the Word, the Logos, He sent Himself into the world, to be the Light of the world, and Life that brings life, that light that is life, it is rejected by men.

19. The Word we hold in our hands is all about Jesus through and through.

20. It is in this understanding that all of scripture needs to be viewed and interpreted:

21. The Word points us to Jesus, the Word testifies of Jesus, the Word is Jesus.

22. Moses put it out plain and simple. Choose life.

23. Yet man will conscientiously choose death.

24. The Word is rejected.

25. The Word that is light, the Word that is life.

26. The doctrine of the Trinity is a deep mystery, but it is fundamental in Christianity.

27. Therefore, the apostle John reiterates the eternity, the personality, the oneness of the Word with God. “The same was in the beginning with God.”

a. The Perils of Walking in Darkness.

1) If we say that we are Christians and the world knows we call ourselves one and we continue to walk in darkness we are liars and we are pretending to be something that we are not.

2) Not only are we lying to others, but we are lying to ourselves and deceiving ourselves.

b. Jesus Is the Light of the World

1) Jesus Christ is the source of all life.

2) His life brings light and life to us.

c. The Joy of Walking in the Light

1) Today, if you have been lying to yourself and others you must realize that you are a sinner and that you must repent of your sins and put your faith (full trust) in Christ as your only hope for salvation from the wrath which is to come

III. Conclusion

A. God’s Word is GREAT

B. Let’s look at the word Great to help us remember through the week

1. G-racious Word

a. Christ is the gracious Word who came down from heaven to die on the cross for our sins, taking our place.

b. God’s Word is great because “he was manifested to take away our sins”.

c. All who will repent, believe, and forsake their sins may be saved.

2. R-eliable Word

a. People and possessions fail, but God’s Word is trustworthy and dependable. It never fails.

b. The rich and poor, great and small, and young and old may safely trust in God’s Word.

3. E-nduring Word

a. There are few things in today’s world that are enduring. They wear out, rust, decay, or disappear.

b. God’s Word is enduring because it doesn’t last for just a day, week, month, or year.

c. God’s Word is eternal.

4. A-uthentic Word

a. Authentic means: “That which can be believed or accepted … genuine; real … authoritative”—Webster.

b. God’s Word is authentic that He gave his Word to faithful men who recorded and preserved it.

c. His Word has stood the test of skepticism, misuse, and abuse. It has never failed.

5. T-imely Word

a. God’s Word is effective for all people, in all places, and at all times.

b. It is no less potent today than when it was first recorded.

c. God’s Word is timely because it is “quick and powerful.”

d. The promises bring pardon, purity, peace, and purpose to those who trust and obey.

6. But instead of cursing us under His breath, Jesus blesses us with words clearly-spoken.

7. Since He’s faced the darkness of death and lived to tell about it, He has the right to say, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” ()

8. Walking in the light isn’t just theological jargon.

9. It means we’re honest — first with God and then with each other.

10. We confess our sins and we forgive those who sin against us.

11. When that’s happening, we can see where we’re going, and we can invite others to walk in the light with us.

12. Where are you walking these days?

13. Are you being honest with God and with others?

14. It’s never too late to turn to God and let Him turn on the light.

15. Not only will He change the way you walk, He will keep you from destroying what is precious.

16. Why trust the Word?

a. Because The Word is all about Jesus.

b. The Word is Jesus.