Untitled Sermon

Revelation 5:13 ESV

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

1:1-5) Introduction: John jumps right into the great subject he wants to cover. There is no greeting and no salutation. What he has to say is of unparalleled importance; he must get right to the point: God's Son has come to earth. God is not living off in outer space someplace like so many people think and say; God has not forgotten the earth. God is not unconcerned and disinterested in the world. The very opposite is true. God loves and cares for us and He has proven it in the most supreme way possible: God has sent His Son into the world. This is the glorious testimony of John: God's Son has come into the world and His name is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior of the world.

1.  Jesus Christ has always existed (v.1).

2.  Jesus Christ has proven who He is (v.1).

3.  Jesus Christ has revealed who He is: the Word of Life (v.1-2).

4.  Jesus Christ came to earth for the most glorious purpose (v.3-4).

5.  Jesus Christ preached the most wonderful message (v.5).

(1:1-5) Another Outline: The Son of God Has Come to Earth.

1.  The basic fact: He has always existed (v.1).

2.  The clear proof: Man heard, saw, looked upon, and handled (v.1).

3.  The most glorious revelation (v.1-2).

a.  He manifested Himself, revealed the life to us.

b.  He identified with man: Gave man the opportunity to see Him.

4.  The most glorious purpose (v.3-4).

a.  That we might have fellowship together.

b.  That our joy might be full (v.4).

5.  The most wonderful message (v.5).

a.  That God is light.

b.  That there is no darkness in God.

1. (1:1) Jesus Christ, Son of God— Eternal— Pre-existent: Jesus Christ has always existed. This is what is meant by the words "that which was from the beginning." Jesus Christ was existing before the world was ever created. He was living and had always been living. He possessed life—the energy, the force, the power of life. He was the very being and essence of life, the very embodiment of life. Life was wrapped up in Him, for He was the very energy and force of life itself.

Thought 1. The point is clear: from the beginning Jesus Christ was already there. He did not have a beginning; He was not created. He "was from the beginning with God." Our Lord and Savior knows what the other world is all about, for He has come from there. Therefore, all that He told us is true. We can trust His Word.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" ().

"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God" ().

"I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was" ().

"And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was" ().

"[Christ Jesus] who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross" (; cp. ).

2. (1:1) Jesus Christ, Deity; Revelation, Proof of— John, Testimony of: Jesus Christ proved who He is. How? By partaking of human flesh, by becoming a man and letting people hear, see, look upon, and handle him.

1.  John and the early believers heard the Son of God. The Son of God actually partook of flesh and blood and became a man and spoke to men (cp. ). They heard Him teach and share the glorious news that God loves man, that man can be delivered from sin and death and live forever with God. The twelve apostles and thousands of others not only heard about Him, they actually heard Him proclaim the words of life. They heard Him deal with individuals and heard Him teach audiences of thousands. They themselves spoke to Him and heard Him speak to them. For three years John and the apostles and many others were in constant conversation with Him, listening and hanging on to every word He said.

Thought 1. One of the great needs of man is a Word from God—a Word that tells us the truth about God and about life—who we are, why we are here, and where we are going.

"Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself" ().

"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" ().

2.  John and the early believers saw the Son of God with their eyes. The Son of God actually became a man. Men saw Him in the flesh just as they see all other men. Note: John says they saw Him with their eyes. He wants us to know that Jesus Christ was not a phantom, ghost, or spirit. He was real; He had actually partaken of flesh and blood and become a man. He and the others saw Him with their eyes. They were as Matthew Henry says, "Eyewitnesses as well as ear-witnesses" (Matthew Henry's Commentary, Vol.6, p.1061).

⇒  They were witnesses of His life upon earth for three years, from His baptism by John the Baptist to His resurrection from the dead. They saw all his wonderful works: the healings and miracles and good deeds that He ministered to people. They saw the most wonderful event of all, His resurrection and conquest of death for man.

"Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection" ().

⇒  They were eyewitnesses of His majesty and they declare the truth to us.

"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty" ().

3.  John and the early believers looked upon the Son of God. This means more than just seeing Jesus Christ in a human body. The Greek word for "looked upon" (etheasametha PWS: 2397) means to gaze and look upon for a long time in order to study and understand and grasp. It means to look intensely and earnestly; it means to grasp the meaning and significance of a person. John is testifying that he and the other apostles and believers looked and gazed upon Jesus Christ in order...

•  to study and understand Him.

•  to seek and grasp the meaning and significance of His person.

Thought 1. A person will never see and understand who Christ is by just glancing at Him. If a person wants to know Christ, he has to look intensely and seriously; he has to seek to understand if Christ really is who John and other believers claim He is.

"But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the lord" ().

"Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth" ().

"Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself" ().

"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed" ().

4.  John and the early believers handled Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The word "handled" (epsēlaphēsan PWS: 1846) means more than just touching. It means to grope and grasp after in order to understand; to handle in order to examine closely (John RW Stott. The Epistles of John. "Tyndale New Testament Commentary," p.60). A.T. Robertson, the Greek scholar, says that it is a graphic word, the very same word that Jesus used to prove that He was not a spirit after His resurrection (Word Pictures In The New Testament, Vol.6, p.205).

"Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" ().

"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing" ().

Thought 1. The Son of God came to earth; He partook of flesh and blood and became a Man just like all other men. He is called Jesus Christ or Jesus the Messiah, the Savior of the world. He was heard, seen, intensely looked upon and handled by John and the other apostles and by many others who believed and followed Him. Jesus Christ did everything He could to show man that the Son of God had come to earth—that He had come to save man, to deliver man from this corruptible world of sin and death—that He had come to give man life eternal, the glorious privilege of living in heaven with God forever and ever.

"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" ().

"Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?" ().

"Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever" ().

"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature" ().

"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" ().

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory" ().

"Which in his [Jesus Christ] times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting" ().

"And he [Jesus Christ] hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" ().

3. (1:1-2) Jesus Christ, Person— Revelation— Word, The: Jesus Christ revealed who He was, the Word of Life. This means two things:

⇒  First, Jesus Christ Himself is the Word. Remember what a word is: it is the expression of an idea, a thought, an image in the mind of a person. A word describes what is in the mind of a person. John is saying this: in the life of Jesus Christ, God was speaking to the world, speaking and demonstrating just what He wanted to say to man. This means the most wonderful thing. It means that God has given us much more than mere words in the Holy Scriptures. God has given us Jesus Christ, The Word. As The Word, Jesus Christ was the picture, the expression, the pattern, the very image of what God wished to say to man. The very image within God's mind of the Ideal Man was demonstrated in the life of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was the perfect expression of all that God wishes man to be. Jesus Christ was God's utterance, God's speech, God's Word to man. Jesus Christ was the Word of life who came to earth to show us that the very energy, force, power, and essence of life is in God and in God alone. Therefore, if a person wants life, he must trust and depend upon God for life. For life in all of its energy and force and being exists only in God.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" ().

⇒  Second, Jesus Christ Himself is the Word of life, the very message of life, the good news (gospel) of life. He is the very embodiment of life, the energy and force of life; therefore, when He came to earth, He brought the Word of life to man. Jesus Christ—His life, His acts, His teaching—tells men how to live. In Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ alone is the Word of life, the Word that tells man how to conquer death and to live abundantly both now and eternally. Jesus Christ is the Word of life. This is the great thing that He revealed to man. But note: How did He reveal this great message to man? tells us in clear language. The verse is here given just as it reads in the Greek text:

"(And the life was revealed, and we have seen and bear witness, and report to you the life, the eternal, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us)."

1.  Jesus Christ manifested or revealed the life to us (). That is, He came to earth and showed us the life that was in Him. He showed us what life is...

⇒  that it is the very energy and force of living forever just as God Himself lives. Life never dies and never ceases to be.

⇒  that it is the very energy and force of living abundantly, of experiencing love, joy, and peace just as God experiences. Life never lacks and never ceases to experience the fulness of life to the ultimate.

Thought 1. The point is this. Jesus Christ revealed who He was; He came to earth and showed us life—showed us that life is in God and in God alone. Therefore, if man wants to really live, he has to put his life into the hands of God, for life exists only in God. God alone can give man life.

2.  But Jesus Christ did a second thing: He identified with man. He gave men the opportunity to see Him and the life which He was bringing to man. As covered in , men heard, saw, looked upon, and touched Christ. He made Himself available to men, allowed them to use all their physical senses in order to prove that He was indeed the Son of God, the very embodiment of life eternal. He allowed men to use all their physical senses so they could have perfect proof and never be able to question that the Son of God had come to earth, not if they were honest and willing to study and know the truth.

Note the testimony of John: "we have seen and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested to us" (). There is compulsion here: the witnesses to the Son of God must proclaim the truth. The Son of God, Jesus Christ, has come to earth. He came to bring the glorious message of the Word of life. Men do not have to live in sin and the dread of corruption and death; men can live in the abundance of love, joy, and peace with God, both now and eternally.

"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life" ().

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" ().

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" ().

"And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day" ().

"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee" ().

"He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal" ().

"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord" ().

"For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" ().

"But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" ().

"We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" ().

"And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" ().

4. (1:3-4) Jesus Christ, Purpose— Fellowship: Jesus Christ came to earth for the greatest of purposes.

1.  Jesus Christ came that men might have fellowship with God and with His Son Jesus Christ and with one another. This is the most wonderful declaration, for it means that God is not far off in outer space someplace. God is not disinterested and uncaring about what happens to man. God has not left us to fend for ourselves upon earth with nothing but death and the grave to look forward to. The very opposite is true: God has revealed Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ and has shown us that He deeply loves and cares for us and that He wants to fellowship with us. Imagine! Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth to show us that we can know God personally and fellowship with Him. We can actually fellowship with God...

•  become acceptable to Him

•  relate to Him and talk and share with Him

•  have Him walk with us throughout the day, looking after and caring for us step by step

•  cast our problems upon Him

•  trust Him to help us in meeting our needs

•  ask Him for strength to conquer the trials and temptations of life

•  know that He will constantly give us a life of love, joy, and peace

•  know that He will deliver us from sin and death and give us life eternal

•  depend upon Him for righteousness so that we can be acceptable to Him

We can know both God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, know them personally just like all the above describes. And we can experience fulness of life with all other believers who truly give their lives to follow Christ. We can all have fellowship together, the kind of fellowship that exists within the greatest of all families—the family of God Himself.

2.  Jesus Christ came that our joy might be full (see Deeper Study #1, Joy— for discussion).

DEEPER STUDY #1  (1:4) Joy (chara)

5. (1:5) Jesus Christ, Message of— God, Nature— Light: Jesus Christ preached the most wonderful message. It included two wonderful things.

1.  God is light. What does this mean? It means several things.

a.  God is light by nature and character. Light is what God is within Himself, within His being, essence, nature, and character. God dwells in the splendor, glory, and brilliance of light. Wherever He is, the splendor, glory, and brilliance of light shines out of His being. In fact, there is not even a need for the sun when God's glory is present. The glory of His presence just beams forth the most brilliant light imaginable, so brilliant and glorious that it would consume human flesh.

"And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof" ().

"And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever" ().

b.  God is light in that He reveals the light of all things, the truth of all things.

⇒  Jesus, the Light, tells us that God is holy, righteous, and pure. Light is the symbol of purity and holiness. Light means the absence of darkness and blindness; it has no spots of darkness and blackness, of sin and shame.

⇒  Jesus, the Light, reveals. His light shows clearly the nature, the meaning, and the destiny of all things. His light beams in, spots, opens up, identifies, illuminates, and shows things as they really are. The light of Jesus Christ shows the truth about the world and man and God. The light of Christ reveals that God loves and cares for man and wants man to love and care for Him.

⇒  Jesus, the Light, guides. His light allows a man to walk out of darkness. Man no longer has to grope, grasp, and stumble about trying to find his way through life. The path of life can now be clearly seen.

⇒  Jesus, the Light, does away with darkness and with chaos. His light routs, wipes out, strips away and erases the darkness. The empty chaos of creation was routed by the light given by God (). Jesus Christ is the Light that can save man from chaos (, ; ; ).

2.  There is no darkness in God. What does this mean? (See Deeper Study #2, Darkness— for discussion. Observe that none of the descriptions of darkness are true of God.) (Also see Deeper Study #2, Darkness— for more discussion.)

DEEPER STUDY #2  (1:5) Darkness (skotos, skotia)

Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - 1 & 2 Peter; 1, 2 & 3 John; Jude.