Jesus is Lord, John 1:1-5, 14

Introduction

Welcome back to BASH

If you have your Bibles, please take those and turn to the Gospel of John

It is the 4th book in the New Testament, and we are going to start at verse 1

As some of you know, I just got back from the Mexico mission trip where we got to go out and share the gospel on the streets and also train some of the local church members there in theology and evangelism

It truly was a humbling experience; they deal with a lot of trials there that we don’t really have here

But what is amazing is to see the passion of those Christians there who love Jesus more than anything and want to make him known

It was greatly encouraging to my heart, but convicting as well because biblically every Christian whether here or in Mexico, or across the globe, ought to have the same passion for Jesus

This text tonight I think shows us why that should be the case

Tonight we start our final round of examining GMJR in different sections of Scripture

So once again we come to that foundational truth, the God is Holy, this time in the New Testament

Now, unlike previous weeks, this week is going to be both broader and deeper, because in we see two very important truths linked together:

God is holy, and Jesus is God

That, in a single statement is our theme tonight from the text

So stick with me for the next 15 to 20 minutes and we are going to examine some of the ins and outs of that truth as God has revealed it to us through this Word in the Gospel of John

READ ,

Prayer

Father, I am amazed by your shear greatness

And I am further amazed that you, the creator of the universe, would reveal yourself to people made from dust

And that you would call them to proclaim your truth and to live in it

Holy Spirit I ask that you help us to do just that tonight

Grant us understanding and draw hearts tonight according to your will

May we see and know that truth of salvation that you accomplished on the cross Lord Jesus

And it is in your holy name that we pray. Amen.

God’s Providence

I think it is no coincidence that we find ourselves in this text tonight

We outlined which texts we would be studying for every Wednesday night this fall way back in August

And the week we have returned from Mexico, we come to , which is essentially they gospel story which we shared with people in Mexico

We simply refer to it as creation to the cross, and ill condense it for you, but it goes like this:

In the beginning, there was God and only God; nothing else existed besides him

Then one day he spoke everything into existence, the earth, the stars, the moon; everything.

And he made a very special part of his creation; man and woman

He placed them in a special garden and told them to take care of it and to represent him on the earth

He blessed them and promised to provide for their every need; he was the source of their life, and they had perfect relationship with him

But one day they sinned against God and broke that relationship

And God cast them out of the garden and allowed sickness and death to enter the world, just as he promised it would, because of their disobedience

Man multiplied and filled the earth and continued sinning

God sent prophets to warn the people but they still didn’t listen

But because God loved his creation and even more loved his own holy name, and because he knew that man would continue in sin that leads to death, he promised to send a Savior

Jesus Christ was that Savior; he was the Son of God, God in the flesh, who came as a man, lived a perfect life, and went to the cross where he was beaten, wounded, and killed by men under the sovereignty of God as punishment for our sins.

He was raised 3 days later and ascended to heaven where he reigns and he promised one day to return and gather all who put their faith fully in him

And he will create for them a new earth that is perfect, will they will reign with him and have perfect, joyful relationship with him forever

In short, that is why we are here; that is the hope that we as a church want you and all the world to know

That Jesus is Lord and our only hope for life is found in Him

So lets see what this text says about that

Verse 1

“In the beginning”

Does that sound familiar? Starts just like

But when we looked at , we saw that it said “in the beginning God created”

This verse in John tells us what was there in the beginning BEFORE God created

“In the beginning WAS the Word”

I know that might seem like odd language and we will talk more about it in just a moment,

but we need to understand that in the beginning, before the beginning, this that John calls the Word existed

meaning the the Word had no beginning, it just simply is

Verse 1 goes on to tell us that this Word was with God and the the Word was God

Verse 2

Then verse 2 refers to the Word as “he,” saying “he was with God in the beginning”

Now, we are two verses in and that is probably enough to get your mind reeling if you are thinking about this

The Word was in the beginning, God was in the beginning, the Word was with God, but that Word also was God… Wow

So I told you we would try to get to the bottom of this Word business, lets try

This was written a long time ago, in a certain culture, in a certain place, in the Greek language, by a Jewish disciple of Jesus

Both the Greeks and the Jews had this concept of the divine logos which is translated into English thought as the Word

Greeks saw the logos as the other wordly power of creation in the universe and the Jews saw it the means by which God performed his work in creation

In short, this idea of the Word was a concept, an idea to describe how things came into being

Psalm 33:6 CSB

6 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.

This reminds us of , do you remember what happened there?

Genesis 1:3 CSB

3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

He created by speaking the Word, and by this Word, all creation came into being

It all has its source in God and his Word

Now an assumption I am making is that you guys already have a grasp on the idea that God is holy

That he is separate, altogether other

Verse 3 shows this explicitly, but lets get ahold of what or rather who this Word is by looking at verse 14 which we read a moment ago

John 1:14 CSB

14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

So this Word, which has existed with God from the beginning and is in fact fully God; it is the one and only Son of God, Jesus Christ

Jesus was with God in the beginning and he is God

Verse 3

Verse 3 shows that explicitly when it says “All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.”

Which means what? This Word, Jesus is the life source of all creation

You exist because of him; you have breath in your lungs because of him; you enjoy pleasure and enjoyment and all good things in this world because of him!

Think of it this way: I assume you all are somewhat familiar with electricity

It what powers all the lights, the sound system, all the technology around us

Now I don’t know much about electricity, and brother Rick could explain this a lot better than me, but in basic terms, electricity is created when a motor turns which converts physical, moving energy into electric current

That physical energy can be wind turning a giant windmill, or steam in a power plant, or water turning a water turbine…but in all cases some sort of energy has to turn a motor to create electricity

But even the wind, or the steam, or the flowing water has a source, and that source has a source, and on and on so that everything is caused by something else…doe that make sense?

And if you cut off that source, you cut off the energy created, and everything that depends on that energy no longer works; it is dead

Verse 4

Verse 4 explains this further, stating that “In him was life, and that life was the light of men”

All throughout Scripture, light represents order, understanding, and life, all things that come from God

But darkness represents chaos, disorder, judgement, and separation from God

So for it to say that Jesus is the source of the life that is the light of men makes the point that was began in verse 3

in the end, there is no life apart from Jesus Christ

He is life himself; he is the Giver of life, which is part of what it truly means that he is holy; he depends on no one and no thing but himself

which is what it means for us to be holy; to be so other from the world that we depend on no one and nothing but JESUS CHRIST himself

But the reality is, apart from Jesus’s saving work, no one is holy. In fact the bible says that all have fallen and sinned and deserve God’s just wrath

And indeed all who continue in darkness will face just that, because God is holy and he alone determines what is right and just

But Verse 5 leaves us with the hope that is found in the sovereign Creator of the world

Verse 5

It says “That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.”

Remember Verse 3 taught us that Jesus Christ is the source of all creation, so that all creation is dependent on him.

Nothing can occur apart from him; he is sovereign

Verse 4 says he is the light of men

And now verse 5 tells us that the darkness did not overcome the light

What does that mean? Jesus wins! Once again, he is the all powerful one

So when he comes to a person and he shines forth his light of life into them, meaning he gives them a new heart and redeems them from their sin...

The darkness is powerless against it…here it is even in the past tense; its already guaranteed, done.

No one and nothing can take new life away from those whom Jesus gives it to, because he is the Holy, Sovereign king.

Conclusion

tells us that Jesus, the Word is the source of all creation

He is the only being in the universe, the only thing that does not have a cause;

He was not created, he did not have a beginning, he simply WAS in the beginning

He exists in and of himself; unlike us, he does not need anything else in order to exist, because he is truly, and fully the holy God of the Universe

And you know what Jesus did:

Verse 14 tells us, and we have talked about it over and over again

John 1:14 CSB

14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

He left his position as exalted Creator of the universe, his rightful position as God, and he took on the form of a mere man

And he being fully God, who is the source of all creation, allowed himself to be humiliated; beaten; mocked; scourged to the bone; and executed on a cross

Why did he do it?

For his name; so that the world would see that he is God and that no power in hell or on earth compares to him

That not only can he created by the Word of his mouth, but he can even recreate and give new life to the dead; nothing is beyond his control

And in doing this, he loved us…can you imagine

IF YOU HEAR THIS AND YOU BELIEVE IT, YOU SAY “YES JESUS DIED FOR ME! HE DIED FOR ME!”

…its because he has loved you, from the very beginning

And so the Scripture testifies, in that the love of God is better than life, meaning this earthly life, because God is life.

Lets pray.