Introducing the Incarnate God
Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted
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· 5 viewsIntroducing the Incarnate God so that we might believe and have eternal life – John 1:1-18
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Introduction
Introduction
Christ is the sum of the whole Bible, prophesied, typified, prefigured, exhibited, demonstrated, to be found in every leaf, almost in every line, the Scriptures being but as it were the swaddling bands of the child Jesus.
The Works of Thomas Adams (1862; reprint, Tanski, 1998), 3:224.
Thomas Adams
This is a beautifully true statement.
Christ, Jesus, the Messiah, The Son of God is the focus of the whole of scripture. OT and NT alike.
For in His fullness, God Himself is revealed.
God became man....Jesus took on flesh....incarnating Himself, so that we might see and believe.
Outline
Outline
Introducing the Incarnate God so that we might believe and have eternal life – John 1:1-18
Jesus as Pre-existent God
Jesus; the eternal God – John1:1-2
Jesus; the high creator – John1:3
Jesus; life itself – John1:4
Jesus; the truth light – John1:4-5
Self-revelation of a pre-existent God.
A man sent that we might believe – John 1:6-8
Failure to believe; failure to live – John 1:9-11
The right to life – John 1:12-13
Rivers of grace from a pre-existent God – John 1:14-18
A tabernacling God – John 1:14
Glory of the One and Only – John 1:14
Grace and Truth – John 1:14
The High-Ranking God – John 1:15
Fullness of Grace – John 1:16
Law and Christ – John 1:17
Invisible God Revealed – John 1:18
Sermon Body
Sermon Body
John 20:30-31.
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
These (signs) are written so that you may BELIEVE that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by BELIEVING you may have LIFE in his name.
This is the purpose of John’s “spiritual gospel.” Thus, we will seek to continually tie back everything recorded here to this purpose AND we will seek to APPLY it as such.
In the opening verses of his gospel, John gives us a foyer to the gospel. He introduces key themes and truths that he will expound upon in the course of this book.
Prologue Gospel
the pre-existence of the Logos or Son 1:1–2 17:5
in him was life 1:4 5:26
life is light 1:4 8:12
light rejected by darkness 1:5 3:19
yet not quenched by it 1:5 12:35
light coming into the world 1:9 3:19; 12:46
Christ not received by his own 1:11 4:44
being born to God and not of flesh 1:13 3:6; 8:41–42
seeing his glory 1:14 12:41
the ‘one and only’ Son 1:14, 18 3:16
truth in Jesus Christ 1:17 14:6
no-one has seen God, except the one who comes from God’s side 1:18 6:46
The first 18 verses introduce us to the Incarnate God who came near to us so that we might believe and have eternal life.
Introducing the Incarnate God so that we might believe and have eternal life – John 1:1-18
Jesus as Pre-existent God - John 1:1-5
The first five verses introduce us to Jesus, the pre-existent God.
Jesus is seen to be eternal, creator, life, and truth.
Jesus; the eternal God – John1:1-2
Jesus; the eternal God – John1:1-2
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
In the beginning....
What does this remind you of?
Genesis 1:1.
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
With purpose, I believe that John pens it this way. The imagery is one of the beginning of time.
In the beginning WAS the Word....He was in the beginning with God.
WAS....not the word became....but the Word Was.
Imperfect tense - Describes continuing action in the past.
He was continuously in existence before the beginning.
There was never a point when He came into being.
He just always ways.
Written this way to refute/ward off those who believe that Jesus was created, became and was not always eternal.
These verses stress the eternality of God; of Jesus.
But this is not the only place we see this. This is not the only place we see the eternality of Jesus.
Consider also....
Colossians 1:17 - Referring to Jesus
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
1 John 1:1.
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
Revelation 1:4. - God the Father
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
Revelation 1:8. - God the Father
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:17. - Same title, first and last, now being applied to Jesus.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,
Revelation 3:14. - Jesus speaking,
14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
THE BEGINNING of creation
Revelation 21:6. - Jesus
6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
Revelation 22:13. - Jesus speaking
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
Point is… throughout scripture, Jesus’s eternality is emphasized and reinforced throughout the pages of scripture.
John 1:1-2.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
Word
In the beginning was the Word
The Word was with God
The Word was God
Vs. 14 - The word become flesh and dwelt among us
This word IS Jesus.
Why use WORD imagery? For those studying along or who have studied this, what did you learn about “the word?”
logos - means word message, report, and sometimes deed. Can be used to refer to communication in both verbal and physical means.
Jesus came to preach and proclaim the word of God. He was the physical and audible expression of His father to the world.
He IS the very word of God in both speech and action.
The WORD was a familiar and recognizable OT term/concept
By the word, God gave his covenant to Abraham - Gen 15:1.
God gave the 10 commandments by his word - Ex 24:3-4; Deut 5:5.
Came to Solomon while he was building the temple - 1 Kings 6:11-13.
Came to Samuel - 1 Samuel 3:21.
Pronounced Judgment - 1 Kings 2:27.
Counseled Elijah - 1 Kings 19:9ff
Directed Israel - 1 Samuel 15:10ff
Spoke creation into being - Psalm 33:6.
Revealed to the prophets - (Jer. 1:2; Ezek. 1:3; Dan. 9:2; Hos. 1:1; Joel 1:1; Jonah 1:1; Mic. 1:1; Zeph. 1:1; Hag. 1:1; Zech. 1:1; Mal. 1:1).
DA Carson
The Gospel according to John (I. The Prologue (1:1–18))
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.
NT references
Jesus, as the word, initiated a new covenant - Luke 22:20; Heb 9:15; 12:24.
Jesus instructed believers - John 10:27.
Jesus united believers into a spiritual temple - 1 Cor 3:16-17; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21.
Revealed God to man (John 1:18; 14:7–9),
Judges those who reject Him (John 3:18; 5:22),
Directs the church through those whom He has raised up to lead it (Eph. 4:11–12; 1 Tim. 5:17; Titus 1:5; 1 Peter 5:1–3),
Was the agent of creation (John 1:3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2),
Inspired the Scripture penned by the New Testament writers (John 14:26) through the Holy Spirit whom He sent (John 15:26).
As the incarnate Word, Jesus was God’s final word to mankind (Hebrews 1:1-2)
Both OT and NT are filled with imagery of the word of God.
JESUS is the FINAL and FULLEST expression of that word.
The Word was WITH God
The word, Jesus was WITH God the Father.
John MacArthur notes...
John 1–11: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Preexistence of the Word
The English translation does not bring out the full richness of the Greek expression (pros ton theon). That phrase means far more than merely that the Word existed with God; it “[gives] the picture of two personal beings facing one another and engaging in intelligent discourse” (W. Robert Cook, The Theology of John [Chicago: Moody, 1979], 49). From all eternity Jesus, as the second person of the trinity, was “with the Father [pros ton patera]” (1 John 1:2) in deep, intimate fellowship. Perhaps pros ton theon could best be rendered “face-to-face.” The Word is a person, not an attribute of God or an emanation from Him. And He is of the same essence as the Father.
So, not only was Jesus IN THE BEGINNING, he was IN THE BEGINNING in CLOSE, INTIMATE fellowship with God. Their union was rich and potent.
What’s more, it WAS God.
The Word WAS God
Again, same imperfect tense speaking to the continuous nature.
The word always was and always is God. Ceaseless, without break or interruption.
You do not get must clearer a statement about the deity of Christ than this.
Why is this important? Why must we affirm and stress his eternality?
2 John 7-10.
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.
8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.
9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting,
If anyone teaches something contrary to the truth already taught (here or otherwise), they are to be accursed.
Rejection and denial of these truth’s have profound implications.
If he is not God, if he is not eternal, everything falls apart.
If he is not God, than he is a liar, for he claimed to be God.
If he was not God, the gospel is not real.
If he was not God, salvation is not possible and we are still without hope.
His eternality affirms his deity.
God transcends time. He is timeless.
This elevates his authority
This emphasizes his superiority.
John wastes no time in affirming Jesus’ eternality.
But he does not stop there....
Jesus; the high creator – John1:3
Jesus; the high creator – John1:3
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John is accompanied by a cloud of witness to God/Jesus as creator
Psalm 33:6.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
1 Corinthians 8:6.
6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
Colossians 1:16.
16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Hebrews 1:2.
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Jesus is also creator of the world.
This also serves as a proof of his deity. .
Also supports his eternality
The creator of all things must himself be uncreated and only the eternal God is uncreated
God, throughout the Bible, is seen as the eternal creator
Thus, the Word, Jesus, being referred to as such here solidifies the claim of his deity.
ALL things were made....without him was not anything made...
Jesus, along with his father and the Spirit brought into being all that there is.
Why is his involvement in creation necessary to affirm and defend? How does that affect our lives?
Makes us accountable to him
Establishes authority, ownership
Establishes relationship and identity
Establishes purpose.
Thirdly.....
Jesus; life itself – John1:4
Jesus; life itself – John1:4
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
IN HIM WAS LIFE
Was - imperfect - Continuous action
IN JESUS IS life.
Life is a constant theme in the book of John.
Throughout most the book, this idea of life (and light) are tied to salvation.
The light is revelation that, when received, results in saving faith and eternal life.
Here in the opening verses, a different aspect of life is focused on.
Here life is focused on creation .
Carson Notes
The Gospel according to John I. The Prologue (1:1–18)
The self-existing life of the Word was so dispensed at creation that it became the light of the human race (tōn anthrōpōn, ‘of human beings’).
The creating and self existing life of Jesus, of God the father entered its own creation and came as the light in order that this rebellious and sinful creation could find its way back to the creator through repentance and faith and found eternal life.
It is stated in his purpose for writing in John 20:30-31.
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book;
31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Bill Mounce will note that this life is both present and future.
“Life” is an especially important theme in the gospel of John. John emphasizes in his gospel that future, eternal life may be experienced in the present through Jesus:
John 5:24.
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
John will reaffirm this life in Jesus two verses later...
John 5:26.
26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.
Jesus has LIFE IN HIMSELF…AS DOES THE FATHER.
Acts 17:22-31.
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
28 for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’
29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,
31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
Note verse 25 in particular.
HE has LIFE in himself.
Verse 24 - God as creator
Verse 26
He has made from one man every nation
He predetermined their allotted periods, boundaries, and dwellings.
THAT they should seek God
He is not far from us…(he became flesh)
Verse 30
He commands all men to repent
A day of judgment is coming
Point is....this God, this Jesus..who possesses life in himself, is the creator, the origin of life, and thus possess every authority to judge and demand repentance from us.
John MacArthur notes.
John 1–11: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary The Self-Existence of the Word
This truth of God’s and Christ’s self-existence—having life in themselves—is foundational to our faith. All that is created can be said to be “becoming,” because nothing created is unchanging. It is essential to understand that permanent, eternal, non-changing being or life is distinct from all that is becoming. “Being” is eternal and the source of life for what is “becoming.” That is what distinguishes creatures from the Creator, us from God.
God IS.
We are BECOMING.
He is constant
We are changing.
This is powerful distinction to make.
This repentance is the avenue to eternal life that he speaks so frequently about in this book.
Jesus IS life.
Jesus; the true light – John1:4-5
Jesus; the true light – John1:4-5
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
DA Carson notes
The Gospel according to John I. The Prologue (1:1–18)
The relationship between God and the Word in the Prologue is identical with the relationship between the Father and the Son in the rest of the Gospel. Both 1:4 and 5:26 insist the Word/Son shares in the self-existing life of God. Later on Jesus claims that he is both the light of the world (8:12; 9:5) and the life (11:25; 14:6). Both Wisdom and Torah are commonly associated with life and light in the Jewish sources; John ties them in with Christ, the Word.
Jesus is LIFE and LIGHT.
Why light?
Light
Light exposes, reveals
See things clearly, for what they are
See things in totality.
Light guides, directs
Light shines in the darkness
God sent Jesus to expose the darkness of man’s rebellion and sin.
God sent Jesus to make known the person of God in a more comprehensive way.
I started to say FULLY known, but then realized that this is not possible for God cannot be fully known by us.
To see Jesus IS TO SEE GOD. We can know him better, more deeply because we see Jesus.
The light shines into the darkness to show us God
AND
To show us ourselves and our true condition before him IN ORDER THAT we might believe and repent.
Darkness has not overcome it
Darkness is merely the absence of light
Darkness has no power of its own - it is merely the state when light is absent
In the context of “In the beginning” and “In Him was life,” the imagery of creation is exposed.
Here is this statement we continue to see it.
In the beginning we read that darkness was over the face of the deep. It was there UNTIL God spoke light into existence.
What happened to the darkness? It fled.
There is no such thing as duality of light and darkness existing as matched opposites. Darkness is merely the absence of light and when light comes, darkness flees. Period.
Light and Darkness DO dominate as a theme in much of the rest of the book.
Jumping ahead...
John 3:19-20.
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
The light exposes. Men CHOOSE to remain in darkness, fleeing from the light because they prefer the pleasures of their darkness.
Carson again
The Gospel according to John I. The Prologue (1:1–18)
The ‘darkness’ in John is not only absence of light, but positive evil (cf. 3:19; 8:12; 12:35, 46; 1 Jn. 1:5, 6; 2:8, 9, 11); the light is not only revelation bound up with creation, but with salvation. Apart from the light brought by the Messiah, the incarnate Word, people love darkness because their deeds are evil (3:19), and when the light does put in an appearance, they hate it, because they do not want their deeds to be exposed (3:20). In fact, wherever it is true that the light shines in the darkness, it is also true that the darkness has not understood it (taking katelaben as in the NIV).
You ask, does this not mean that darkness has overcome the light? If men love darkness rather then light and choose to remain, how can we say that darkness has not overcome the light?
Look with me at 2 Corinthians 4:1-6.
1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.
2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The light HAS SHOWN and GIVEN LIGHT of the knowledge of the glory of Christ. The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ has been revealed and embraced
For those who fail to see it, the adversary has blinded their minds so that they cannot see.
BUT where God removes those blinders, light invades and is unresisted.
Since therefore, it is God who removes it and causes men to see and believe, our efforts to share must be accompanied by intense prayer for God to expose.
But where God does, the darkness cannot withstand it.
This theme of light and darkness will carry throughout the book.
BUT it is so critical to note that darkness has no power over light!
God is light.
Jesus is light.
Application/So What?
Application/So What?
Introducing the Incarnate God so that we might believe and have eternal life – John 1:1-18
Jesus as Pre-existent God
Jesus; the eternal God – John1:1-2
Jesus; the high creator – John1:3
Jesus; life itself – John1:4
Jesus; the truth light – John1:4-5.
Worship
Jesus will say, in his discourse with the Samaritan women, that those who worship God must do so in spirit and in truth.
Worshipping God must be done AS HE IS. If we worship “god” in a fabrication of our own making, in any way OTHER than the way He IS, then we worship, not God, but an idol. Worship, true worship MUST know WHO God is and take such delight in that being that attitudes and actions of worship flow from our enjoyment of and delight in that God.
Too many people today are proclaiming to worship “god” when in reality worship their perception of God and not the true God.
Worship, true worship begins with a true understanding of WHO God is.
Submission/Authority
We are all under authority. Understanding WHOS authority and the superiority of it is critical.
Understanding the SUPREME authority is essential. When authorities conflict, who do you submit to?
Understanding and embracing God, Jesus with all the authority He possess will have profound implications for our daily lives. It should affect the way we conduct our marriages, who we spend our time, energy, and resources, the things we value and prioritize, etc.
It about voluntarily placing our will in submission to His. And this will affect everything.
Identity
Seeing and knowing God for who He is, places who we are as his creation into profound perspective.
We are part of a story far larger than an our own. We are part of an epic larger than our little lives. We are made for more than ourselves.
God is that purpose.
God is the source of our identity and value. As the life giver, the creator, the eternal God and true light, our identity is found in him.
Too often we find it in everything else.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Jesus Christ is not valued at all until He is valued above all.
Augustine
How do we come to value him above all?
See him as he is.
Thus John begins here.
And here we must begin as well.
As we do, I pray that we every growing together to become more like Jesus for the glory of God.
Discussion And Application Questions
Discussion And Application Questions
Which truth about God/Jesus in John 1:1-5 stood out to you most and why?
How does the eternality of God affect our day to day lives?
Assurance of his constancy
Assurance of his unchanging nature
Give hope and confidence, stability in an unstable world.
What passages of scripture can you add to your arsenal that speak to God’s constancy and unchangingness?
Hebrews 13:5.
Hebrews 13:8.
2 Corinthians 4:7-12.
Romans 8:31-39.
James 1:17.
Malachi 3:6.
How does the reality of God as Creator affect our daily lives?
Places us under authority. Our lives are not our own to do with as we please. We are subject to the rule and authority of another. That gives great bearing into all we do. Everything we do must be subjected and submitted to the authority of that one, to God. “I will do whatever I want” is not a valid option for our lives.
We must be careful to know and obey what the authority in our lives demands.
It should also place us in awe and wonder of one so powerful and wonderful to create all we see. There is such beauty and wonder in creation that as we consider the maker of such wonder, we ought to see the the supreme wonder of the maker above all.
How does knowing that Christ IS life and HAS life in himself affect our daily lives?
Places a higher value on ALL life, even upon those who can be difficult.
Our life is bound up in the reality of his. Thus, our identity is bound up in his. We are his creation. Our new life is found in Him. We cannot hope to find our sense of worth, purpose, or identity apart from him. If we are, we making something else our god and we create idols.
How does the reality of Jesus as light affect our daily lives?
He is truth. We should look to no other source for truth. Therefore, we should value and cherish the Word of God above all else in this life.
We should not be afraid of the the exposing power of his light but embrace it. Be willing to be rebuke, corrected, and taught. Be teachable. Be accountable.
We should hold the torch aloft for others to see and know the truth as well.