The Witness of John the Baptizer
THE WITNESSES TO THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST, John 1:1-5
Utawala Baptist Church
21/10/07
A.Jesus the Living Word: The First Witness of John the Apostle, 1:1-5
(1:1-5) Introduction: This passage is one of the summits of Scripture. In fact, it
probably reaches the highest of human thought. What is the thought that reaches the
height of human concepts? It is this: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is...
a, the Word of God
b. the Creator of Life
c. the Very Being and Essence of Life.
These three truths have to be deeply thought about to understand their meaning. A
quick reading of this passage leaves a person disinterested, not even close to
understanding what is being said. However, the importance of the truths lie at the very foundation of life. They cannot be overstated, for they determine a man’s destiny. If Jesus Christ is the Word of God, then men must hear and understand that Word or else be lost forever in ignorance of God Himself.
1.Christ is eternal (v.1-2).
2.Christ is the Creator (v.3).
3.Christ is Life (v.4-5).
a. 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.
b. 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.
c. Jesus Christ was the Word of God who came down to earth in human flesh to bring man into a face to face relationship with God (cp. John 1:1-2). Jesus was the Word of God who came to earth to live out the written Word of God.
1. (1:1-2) Jesus Christ, Son of God— Eternal— Preexistent— Revelation: Christ is eternal. Note three profound statements made about Christ, the Word.
1.Christ was preexistent. This means He was there before creation. He had always
existed.
a.“In the beginning does not mean from the beginning. Jesus Christ was already there. He did not become; He was not created; He never had a beginning. He “was in the beginning with God” (cp. John 17:5;
John 8:58).
b.The word “was” is the Greek imperfect tense which is the word so often used for deity. It means to be or I am. To be means continuous existence, without beginning or origin. (John 6:20.)
“And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the
glory which I had with thee before the world was” (John 17:5).
The testimony of John is that Jesus Christ was the Word, the One who had
always existed. He was the Son of the living God.
2.Christ was coexistent. He was and is face to face with God forever. The word
“with” has the idea of both being with and acting toward. Jesus Christ (the Word) was both with God and acting with God. He was “with God”: by God’s side, acting, living, and moving in the closest of relationships. Christ had the ideal and perfect
relationship with God the Father. Their life together—their relationship, communion,
fellowship, and connection—was a perfect eternal bond. This is exactly what is said:
“The same was in the beginning with God” (John 1:2).
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we
have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us)” (1 John 1:1-2).
The testimony of John was that Jesus Christ was the Word, the One who had always
co-existed with God. Jesus Christ was the Son of the living God.
3.John did not say that “the Word” was the God. He says “the Word”
was God. He omits the definite article. John was saying that “the
Word,” Jesus Christ...
1. is of the very nature and character of God the Father, but He is not the
identical person of God the Father.
2. is a distinct person from God the Father, but He is of the very being and
essence (perfection) of God the Father.
When a man sees Christ, he sees a distinct person, but he sees a person who is of the very substance and character of God in all of His perfect being.
“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” (Hebrews 1:3).
The testimony of John was that Jesus Christ was the Word, self-existent and eternal,
the Supreme Majesty of the universe who owes His existence to no one. Jesus Christ was the Son of the living God.
Thought 1. Jesus Christ is eternal. This says several critical things about Christ.
1)Christ reveals the most important Person in all the universe: God. He reveals
all that God is and wants to say to man. Therefore, Christ must be diligently
studied, and all that He is and says must be heeded to the utmost (cp. John 5:24).
2)Christ reveals God perfectly. He is just like God, identical to God; therefore,
when we look at Christ we see God (see Deeper Study #1—John 14:6, Deeper
Study #2—John 14:6, Deeper Study #3—John 14:6. Cp. John 14:9.)
3)Christ reveals that God is the most wonderful Person. God is far, far beyond
anyone we could have ever dreamed. He is loving and caring, full of goodness and truth; and He will not tolerate injustices: murder and stealing, lying and cheating of husband, wife, child, neighbor, brother, sister or stranger. God loves and is working and moving toward a perfect universe that will be filled with people who choose to love and worship and live and work for Him (cp. John 5:24-29).
Thought 2. The very nature of Christ is...
1. to exist eternally.
2. to exist in a perfect state of being, knowing nothing but eternal
perfection.
3. to exist in perfect communion and fellowship eternally (cp. 1 John
1:3).
Note: it is the very nature of Christ that shall be imparted to believers;
therefore, all three things will become our experience.
“At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me,
and I in you” (John 14:20).
2. (1:3) Jesus Christ, Creator: Christ is the Creator. Note several things.
1.“All things” mean every detail of creation—not creation as a
whole, but every single detail. Each element and thing, each being and person—whether material or spiritual, angelic or human—has come into being by Christ.
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him” (Col. 1:16).
2.The words “were made” mean came into being or became.
Note what this is saying. Nothing was existing—no substance, no matter whatsoever. Matter is not eternal. God did not take something outside of Himself, something less than perfect (evil) and create the world. Christ, the Word, took nothing but His will and power; and He spoke the Word, and created every single thing out of nothing
3.Christ was the One who created all things—one by one. Among the Godhead, He
was the active Agent, the Person who made all things. Creation was His function and
work (cp. Col. 1:16 above).
“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and
we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by
him” (1 Cor. 8:6).
4.Note that two statements of fact are made.
1. The positive statement of fact: “All things were made by Him.”
2. The absolute statement of fact: “Without Him was not anything made that was made.”
A .Christ was actively involved in the creation of every single thing: “Without
Him was not anything made.”
B. The words “not anything” mean not even one thing, not a
single thing, not even a detail was made apart from Him.
Thought 1. Note a critical point for man. The world is God’s; He made it, every element of it, one by one. This means several things.
1) God is not off in some distant place far removed from the world, unconcerned and disinterested in what happens to the world. God cares about the world. He cares deeply, even about the most minute detail and smallest person. He cares about everything and every person in the world.
2) The problems of the world are not due to God and His attitude. The problems of the world are due to sin, to the attitude and evil of man’s heart.
3) The answer to the world’s problems is not man and his technical skill. The
answer is Christ: for men to turn to Christ, surrendering and giving their lives to know Christ in the most personal and intimate way possible. Then, and only then, can men set their lives and world in order as God intends.
3. (1:4-5) Jesus Christ, Life—Light: Christ is life
1.Christ is the source of light. Note the statement: “The life [Christ] was the light of
men.” From the very beginning man was to know that life, to know God personally and intimately. The knowledge of the life of Christ was to be the light of men, the beam that was to...
1. give real life to man, both abundant and eternal life.
2. infuse energy and motivation into men so that he might walk and live as they
should.
The life (Christ) was to be the light of man’s purpose, meaning and significance upon
earth.
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am
come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
2.Christ is the answer to darkness.
1::5) Darkness: darkness does not understand the light, does not overcome the light, does not extinguish the light.
(8:12) Darkness (skotos, skotia): the word is used in Scripture to describe both the state and the works of man. Darkness is very real in Scripture.
1.The darkness refers to the world of the natural man who does not know Jesus
Christ (John 8:12). The natural man walks in ignorance...
1. of Jesus Christ.
2. of God as revealed by Jesus Christ.
3. of the real purpose and destiny of life as shown by Jesus Christ.
The natural man stumbles and gropes about in this world. He knows nothing other
than the things of this world as he sees them. His only hope is the hope of living a long life before death overtakes him. He walks in darkness, ignorant of real life now and hereafter (John 12:35, 46).
2.The darkness symbolizes unpreparedness and unwatchfulness. It symbolizes the
time when evil occurs (1 Thes. 5:4-8).
3.The darkness is loved by men. Sinful men do their evil deeds under the cover of
darkness. Men therefore hate the light because the light uncovers their evil behavior
(John 3:19-20).
4.The darkness is hostile to light (see Deeper Study #4—John 1:5).
a.Christ’s life did shine in the darkness (see Deeper Study #2, Darkness—John 8:12). Very simply, since man had brought darkness into the world (by sin), the life of Christ was the light of man, the beam that showed man the way, the truth and the life.
1. Christ showed man the way God intended him to live.
2. Christ showed man the truth of life, that is, the truth about God and
man and the truth about the world of man.
3. Christ showed man the life, that is, how to save his life and avoid the
things that can cause him to stumble and lose his life.
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy
nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).
b.Christ’s life (the Light) cannot be overcome
CLOSING!