The Deity of Christ

The Gospel of John – The Deity of Jesus Christ God in the flesh! What would he be like? What would he do? How would he live in relationship to the father once he came to earth? How would people know that he was God? Would he force people to believe in him? And what about those who refuse to believe he was God? And what of those who believed, who followed him? What would God in the flesh expect from them? And what if they failed? God in the flesh. It would be hard for some to believe, but their belief or unbelief would be a matter of life or death. Remember, 3 other Gospels had been written years prior. But one more Gospel was needed that would answer these questions & more. One which would eliminate all doubt. John answered God’s call to write a fourth & final Gospel to explain the one who came to reveal the Father. The Gospel of John is commonly referred to as the ‘Faith’ Gospel. It was written about AD 85. It is helpful to know who the 3 other Gospels, Matthew, Mark & Luke were directed to. Many believe that even though they are for everyone, there was a target audience. Matthew was reaching out to the Jews & it largely was what Jesus ‘Said’. The people wanted a King, a deliverer as they were oppressed by the Romans. & Jesus is referred to as King. Mark was towards the Romans & it largely was what Jesus ‘Did’. Luke was the physician & he reached out to the ‘Greeks’ & it was more about what Jesus felt. He refers to the ‘Son of Man’. John was directed to everyone, because the Church was now established. John’s choice of words emphasis the focus of his book. Words such as – ‘believe, life, love, truth, eternal & grace appear more often than in the other 3 Gospels. In fact, ‘believe’ – 98 times, ‘life’ – 36 times. – To confirm that one MUST believe in order to live eternally. I think of all the verses in the Bible, the one that is the most common, most used & one that we all know & have learnt as children is John 3:16 which happens to have those 2 words.! As many of you know, Rose & I were Gideons for many years & still give out Bibles when the opportunity arises. Gideons are about giving out the ‘Word’, which is God Breathed. Over the years we have handed out hundreds. For many, we are able to spend some time talking to them, explaining how to use the Bibles & how to find things that will help them in time of need. Of all the Bibles that I personally have handed out, only once have I been abused! 99% of the time, people gladly accept them. As an example, only last week …………. The Word is a powerful thing, most of the time we don’t know the end result of the Bibles we hand out, but every now & then we get blessed by hearing someone’s story • Gideon Video The book, that I encourage them to read first, is the Gospel of John & for good reason which we will explore as we go through the first 15 verses in John now. As we start at the beginning of John, we will read just a few verses at a time & look at them carefully & try not to miss what John is telling us. You see even though the Old Testament & the New Testament are 2 series of books. The Old Testament, which is the Old Covenant is full of prophecies that are fore filled in the New Testament. You can’t have one without the other. They go, ‘Hand in Hand!” • John 1:1-2 ‘In the beginning was the Word & the Word was with God, & the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made. I am reminded of an old phrase that I have not heard for years that was quite common at the time. Probably because it is ‘politically incorrect now, & probably racially motivated’. On first reading it sounds like ‘Double Dutch’. That it doesn’t make sense with all the repetiveness. But if you read it slowly, it makes perfect sense. I will ‘unpack’ this to help better understand what John is saying. So, let’s read it again – slowly. John 1:1-2 ‘In the beginning was the Word & the Word was with God, & the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made. Like Genesis 1:1 John begins with the beginning of the universe. He states that in the beginning was the ‘Word’. Also, in Proverbs 30:5-6 ‘Every Word OF God is flawless, he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his Words, or he will rebuke you & prove you a liar’. Again, in the Old Testament, Isaiah 40:7-8 ‘The grass withers & the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers & the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever’. *We see also in John 1:14 The Word became flesh & made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One & Only, who came from the father, full of grace & truth. John is not telling us of the beginning of the Word, but that before the universe existed Jesus Christ was, which testifies to his Deity. John is stating that Jesus Christ is Deity, Jesus is God. *We read in John 1:18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One & Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. Who is he talking about? This statement – ‘No one has ever seen God’, means that our knowledge of God did not come from any man, but from the One & Only, referring that Jesus, ‘the Word’, he has revealed the knowledge of God to man. Remember in Genesis 1:1 ‘In the beginning God created the heaven & the earth’. We are told in many places that he has no beginning & no end & therefore is eternal. God the Father is the Alpha & Omega. In Isaiah 44:6 ‘I am the first & I am the last, apart from me there is no God. You have to remember that, we are material people, bound to the restraints of time so we find it difficult to grasp this concept. Man, in this world has nothing to explain or to compare to the concept of existence without ‘time space & matter’. Remember, God is Spirit & exists outside of the Universe. He spoke the Universe into existence. Before this, the Universe did not even exist or anything that is part of it. Time, space & matter were created on the first day of Creation & then for a period of 6 days God formed all our Universe & created life. We exist in time, but God our Creator, exists outside of our material world & outside the limits of time, space & matter. This is not a truth we can understand easily, but a revelation from God about ‘His’ existence & therefore we accept it without understanding it. It’s called ‘Faith’. In Jesus’ prayer before he was crucified & resurrected – *John 17: 1-5 ‘Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God & Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.’ Jesus is eternal as is God the Father. When Jesus was born to Mary, it was not his beginning. His earthly birth was his ‘incarnation’. Incarnation refers to the embodiment of God the Son in human form. ‘In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was with God’, tells us that Jesus Christ is separate from God the Father, Jesus is God the Son. God the father is distinct from the Son & the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the Second member of the Trinity. ‘The Word was God’, confirms that he is equal. Paul confirms this in – *Philippians 2:6-11 ‘Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself & became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place & gave him the name that is above every other name , that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven & on earth & under the earth, & every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ As we read in – *John 1:14 ‘The Word became flesh & dwelt amongst us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One & Only, who came from the father, full of grace & truth’. Jesus was fully Man & fully God. If He was NOT God, not Perfect & without sin, He could not have been an ‘Offering that could atone for Sin. The Sin offering as pictured in the Old & New Testaments must be completely pure & without sin. All men are sinners & none are righteous. Only God Himself is Perfect & Righteous & only He could offer the sacrifice that would be acceptable to pay the sin debt of the world. So, Jesus the Son was God & being God could take on Himself the task of paying for all sin. This again is a truth that we have trouble grasping. We have nothing in our physical world that is One Being & yet Three (God Father, Son & Holy Spirit). Each member of the Godhead is a distinct Person who are One God. The Bible does not present the Trinity as three Gods, but one God, there Persons who are One God. Rose reminded me of a great analogy. The Sun! We get heat from the Sun; we get power from the Sun & we get light form the Sun. *John 1:3 ‘Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made.’ Notice the repetition to ensure that we understand. 1) Through him all things were made, & 2) without him, nothing was made that has been made’. Jesus did not begin when he was born in Bethlehem. But was there before the universe & was the Creator. This is a major theme of Johns Gospel, that Jesus is the source of life. Not just physical, natural life, but also spiritual life. *John 1:4 ‘In him was life, & that life was the light of men’. Right in the beginning, in Genesis 1:3-4 ‘And God said, let there be light, & there was light. God saw that the light was good & he separated the light from the darkness’. Jesus said himself in John 8:12 – I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’ John 6:35 – Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life” John 6:47 – “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life” John 10:27-28 – “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them & they follow me. I give them eternal life, & they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand’. John 11:25-26 – (To Martha) Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection & the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, & whoever lives & believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ & in John 12:44-46 – ‘Then Jesus cried out, ‘When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in the darkness.’ If we go to the next verse, *John 1:5 ’The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.’ The ‘New King James uses the word ‘Comprehend’ while in the ESV the word used is ‘Overcome’. The original ‘Greek’ word is ‘katalambano’ & it literally means ‘to apprehend’ & means, to ’lay hold of so as to possess as one’s own, to seize upon, take possession of’. The word does not mean man could not understand the light of the truth, but that rather, he refused to embrace it. He didn’t want to know. *John 1:6-9 There came a man who was sent from God, his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning the light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light, he came as only a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. Now we all know which John he is talking about. So, if we look at- *Matthew 3:1-6 In those days. John the Baptist came, preaching in the desert of Judea & saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near’. This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: ‘A voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him’. Johns cloths were made of camel’s hair, & he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts & wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem & all Judea & the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the Jordan River. John’s message was to the nation of Israel to repent & prepare the way for the coming Messiah & His Kingdom. John was preaching that the Jews needed to repent of their sins & prepare their hearts for the promised kingdom of God. This emphasized the spiritual nature of the coming Messiah & Kingdom. However, Israel’s religious leaders were not interested in spiritual things, but rather in being delivered from the Romans. They believed that being born a Jew & their good works in keeping the Law assured them of entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. What does John 3:16 say?....... & in verse 17 ‘For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him’. Remember what we read in John 1:5 ’The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.’ Well in John 3:19 Jesus said,’ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light & will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God’. Reading further on. *John 1:10-13 He was in the world, & though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. How sad, that most did not recognise who he was & what we had to do. We simple have to believe & put their faith in Jesus, that’s all. Unless we do, we are lost in our sin. Paul says in Acts 17:28 ‘For in him we live & move & have our being. As some of your own poets have said, we are his offspring’. And, in Ephesians 1:4-6 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy & blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure & will – to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Jesus Christ is the only source of life, & we cannot receive life of our own apart from him. Because Jesus Christ is the source of life, he is life & gives this life to those who will accept it. It is not by ‘works’, we cannot earn our way into heaven. Remember, the Jews believed that keeping the law, doing sacrifices & having all the ritual feasts as well as works will earn them the ‘brownie points’ they needed. The same applies to some people today. We call then ‘nominal’ Christians! When John refers to the right to become Children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of a human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God, we are reminded of what Jesus said in – John 3:5-8 to the Pharisee Nicodemus, Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water & the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should nor be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again. The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the spirit’. The next verse confirms what we already know. That in John 1:1 he is referring to Jesus Christ, that he is the Word, that he is God. So, let’s read it together. *John 1:14-15 The Word became flesh & made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One & Only, who came from the father, full of grace & truth. ‘The Word became flesh’ this clearly states that God came to earth & became a man. He was still in all ways God. But came in the form of a man. In Philippians 2:6-11 we read, *Philippians 2:7-11 ‘Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. & being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself & became obedient to death- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him, to the highest place & gave him the name that is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven & on earth & under the earth, & every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’. As I said from the beginning, The Gospel of John was directed to everyone, John’s choice of words emphasis the focus of his book. Words such as – ‘believe, life, love, truth, eternal & grace appear more often than in the other 3 Gospels., ‘Believe’ – 98 times, ‘life’ – 36 times. – To confirm that one MUST believe in order to live eternally. And that’s the purpose of John’s Gospel which he sums up near the end of the Gospel in chapter 20: 30-31 – which says …. *John 20:30-31 ‘Jesus did many miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God & that by believing you may have life in his name’. You see, we have all sinned & deserve God’s judgement. God, The Father sent his only Son to satisfy that judgement for those that believe in Him, Jesus the Creator & eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that he died for our sins. Taking the punishment that we deserve, he was buried & rose from the dead according to the Bible. If you truly believe & trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus as your saviour & declaring that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved from judgement & spend eternity with God in heaven.