John 1:1-18 The Deity of Jesus

by Dan Ahlenius

 
INTRODUCTION

Please open your Bibles to JOHN 1: 1. Last week we began a series considering some of the heresies that are found in Dan Brown's Best-selling Book, THE Dl VINCI CODE, which is also scheduled to come out as a movie. Well, we began our series on this heretical book by affirming that the Bible, that we have in our hands, consisting of 66 books, is indeed the Holy and Inspired word of God. Having established that conviction, it is now time to consider the nature and identity of the man prophesied to come all through the Old Testament as the Messiah and Savior and who is also the clear emphasis in the New Testament, none other than Jesus Christ. And to begin we must consider what we believe about this man named Jesus. Was he merely just a great teacher who performed a bunch of miracles, or was He who He claimed to be God Himself, being completely Divine and completely human? Focus on what you think about who Jesus really is to you. Then we will look at what the Apostle John has to say who he believes Him to be.

READ JOHN 1:1-18

I. Jesus is Eternal (vs. 1-3,15)

A. The Word Was in the Beginning (vs. 1-2)

1) The Apostle John doesn't waste any time in his Gospel account of the Lord Jesus' life here on Earth, instead he comes straight out and shares his firm belief that Jesus Christ, as the Word, was in the Beginning.

2) Now, if you are familiar with your Bible you might be thinking back to the very first verse in the Bible, back in GENESIS 1: 1, where it says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth."

3) The same thought is in mind here in the Gospel of John, whereby John believes that the Word was actually there before time began because, in fact the Word was with God and even greater than that the Word was God.

4) Consequently, in verse 1, we have a very clear and explicit statement about two people in the Trinity, about God the Father and God the Son, otherwise known as Jesus Christ.

5) No man or woman can truly explain the Trinity of God completely because, in a way, it is a mystery beyond our comprehension.

6) However, the best way that I can explain it is to say that God is God as One God but He has three personalities that relate in three different ways with mankind and all other creation.

7) For example, I am your Pastor, I am my mother's son, and I will one day be my child's father. Thus, I have three distinct relationships, but somehow I relate and approach all three groups differently.

8) God the Father, is invisible and cannot be seen, but Jesus came so that Men might know what the Father is like, then the Holy Spirit confirms in believers hearts about sin, righteousness, and judgment and also teaches us from the Holy Bible about God so that we might know Him better.

9) Then in verse 2, John sums up his statements from

Verse 1, by making sure there is no misunderstanding among his readers concerning how Jesus Christ was eternally divine, or was God Himself as deity.

10) Jesus Christ did not just happen upon the scene some 2,000 years ago, rather He has always been pre-existent as part of the God-head.

11) READ v. 15, whereby John the Baptist testifies that Jesus Christ was greater than he and that he was before him.

12) Back in READ LUKE 1 :35-37, whereby Jesus' mother Mary had a relative named Elizabeth who gave birth to John the Baptist, Jesus' own cousin which would mean that John the Baptist was physically born before Jesus. Nevertheless, back in JOHN 1: 15, we read that John knows that Jesus was always before him probably because he realized that Jesus was not simply his cousin, but was the promised Messiah that the Jews had been looking forward to for quite some time.

13) Consequently, if we hold that the GOSPEL OF JOHN, has been inspired by God as a trustworthy and true account about Himself then we must concede and believe that Jesus Christ is God eternal as the Word of God existing before the Creation of the World.

B. Jesus is the Eternal Creator (v. 3)

1) Once again, John comes straight out and informs us that all things were created by Jesus Christ, because He is God.

2) Now, typically in the Bible we read that God the Father is the one in GENESIS, that was responsible for creating the Heavens and the Earth, however, if Jesus Christ is God, then He surely was working with God the Father in the Creation activity.

3) For someone to stubbornly say no God the Father is the part of the Trinity who does the active creating is like splitting atoms, or hairs, because the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are closely, and tightly intertwined and are truly one God.

4) Moreover, John even uses reverse thinking and claims that if Jesus did not create, or make anything, then nothing would have ever been created.

5) READ COLOSSIANS 1: 15-17, whereby the Apostle Paul confirms the teacher of John by explaining that Jesus Christ created all things for Himself and without Him nothing would have ever been created.

6) Consequently, not only is Jesus Christ Co-eternal with God the Father, He is also Co-creator.

7) But, you might ask yourself, "What is the Big Deal Pastor, if I already believe that Jesus Christ is God divine and eternal and that He created all things?"

8) Well, the answer goes back to the Heretical Book and upcoming movie, THE DA VINCI CODE, because the author buys into the ancient heresy of Gnosticism, which believes that Jesus Christ was merely a good man and could not be God because matter, or flesh, is evil and only the spirit is good.

9) The idea is that God is good and perfect and in order for Jesus Christ to be incarnated in the flesh as a man, He must have been like a Demiurge, in that he was a copy, of the copy, of the copy of God way down the line so that He was only partly divine and mostly evil human.

10) What Blasphemy!!! John clearly teaches us that Jesus Christ was God and that He was God in the Flesh, not merely a hand-me down copy of the original God in Heaven.

11) Next, let us consider how Jesus Christ is said to be Light.

II. Jesus is Light (vs. 4-9)

A. Jesus' Life Brought Light (vs. 4-5)

1) In verse 4, John tells us that Jesus Christ demonstrated true life and He was able to bring real light into the minds and hearts of men so that they might be able to comprehend spiritual truth and apply it to their lives.

2) Without Jesus Christ and what He has taught and done for us we all would still be in the dark spiritually trying to find our way to God the Father.

3) Next, in verse 5, Jesus came shining in the darkness of this fallen world and yet the darkness, or the world has not understood Him.

4) It should break our hearts that the vast majority of the people in this world still live in spiritual darkness when they can accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and enter the Light of God's fellowship and Love.

5) Jesus came to open our eyes so that we might see the Truth of the Gospel and so that we might not have to live in the dark any longer.

B. A Witness to the Light (vs. 6-9)

1) In verse 6, the Apostle John reminds us that God had sent John the Baptist to testify and prepare people's hearts for when God would send His light into the World.

2) And as verse 7, declares John the Baptist faithfully tried to prepare the way for the coming of the Light in the Darkness that men might believe in Jesus Christ when He came.

3) Consequently, in verses 8-9, John the Baptist recognized that his purpose was merely as a testifier, or a messenger preparing the way for the promised Messiah, who just happened to be related to him on his mother's side of the family.

4) Therefore, John prepared the way for Jesus to come and give light and life to all who might recognize and accept Him as their Lord and Savior.

III. Jesus Was in the World (vs. 10-14)

A. Rejected By His Own (vs. 10-11)

1) In verse 10, we are told that Jesus was in the world meaning that He came into this world as described by the term incarnation, as He clothed Himself with the physical body of a human being while retaining His divine nature.

2) However, Mankind that He created failed to recognize Him for who He was, their Creator, Savior, and God.

3) And as verse 11, tells us even the Jews failed to accept Him when they had the privilege of being able to know God and know about all His plans for them and the world.

4) Thus, on the surface God's Plan to be born as a human baby boy to relate to and talk to mankind seemed to backfire, because the majority of Jews and other people refused to recognize Him as God divine stepping out of Heaven to give them light to see clearly their only path to God the Father, namely repenting of their sins and asking Jesus Christ to forgive them because of His substitutionary death on the Cross of Calvary.

B. Some Still Receive Him (vs. 12-14)

1) The Good new in verse 12, is that all who do believe in Him and accept Him as Lord and Savior are given the right to become children of God.

2) And as verse 13, explains it, God Himself gives birth to them spiritually as He accepts them into His Eternal family.

3) It is not our ultimate decision, but it is God's as He has the right to offer His grace to whomever He so chooses.

4) Next, in verse 14, John reminds us that Jesus came in the Flesh and lived among us, experiencing most of what we humans experience here on Earth.

5) Moreover, John declares that he and others had seen Jesus' glory, which is probably a reference to the Mount of Transfiguration READ MATTHEW 17:1-8.

6) Also READ JOHN 14:9-11, whereby Jesus tells His disciples if they have seen Him and know Him then they will know God the Father and Jesus are One.

7) Back to JOHN 1: 14, John declares that Jesus is full of Grace and Truth, meaning that He overflows with blessings on others and there is not one iota of falsehood in the One and Only Son of God because He is truly, or really, surely, and genuinely God Himself.

8) Next, we will briefly consider how Jesus' motives for being incarnated as the God-man was focused on the best interest of mankind.

IV. Jesus Came to Bless (vs. 16-18)

A. Jesus Christ Showers His Blessings On Us (vs. 16-17)

1) In verse 16, God in His overflowing goodness has an immeasurable amount of blessing that He wants to shower upon those who love and seek Him.

2) God's unmerited favor has been repeatedly poured out upon believers because God delights in taking care of His children.

3) Consequently, the Apostle John can probably look at his own life and confess that Jesus Christ had poured blessing upon blessing upon his life beginning the salvation of his soul on down the line of God's continual providence in his life.

4) Now, I am not preaching a name-it, claim-it Gospel, but I do believe that God delights in blessing His children that are living in obedience to His commands and who are fellowshipping daily with Him and other brothers and sisters in Christ.

5) Next, in verse 17, John reminds us that God the Father had sent Moses to teach the people the Law that they could never fully obey, but then He sent Jesus Christ who brought grace and truth for God's people.

6) Jesus Christ, is God in the Flesh, and He came as the ultimate Gift of helping men understand and appreciate the Creator God and His love for us.

B. Jesus Makes the Father Knowable (v. 18)

1) In verse 18, we read about how simple Jesus' ultimate mission was, namely that He might prepare the way so that men might come to know God and love Him.

2) But, in order for that plan to materialize men have a need to see God, therefore, Jesus is the physical manifestation of God the Father so that we might know Him more fully. 3) READ 1 JOHN 3:1-2, whereby one day we will be able to see Jesus in the flesh, or physically because God the Spirit is not capable of being seen here on Earth.

4) Consequently, Jesus Christ is God and men can look at Him to better understand God the Father.

CONCLUSION

Overall, this morning we have looked at how the Apostle John shared with us his strong and earnest convictions about Jesus Christ. That He is the Word of God existing eternally before time. That He is the Light of the World enabling men to see spiritually in a dark world. That Jesus Christ indeed took upon a frail human body in what we call being incarnated so that He could relate to our human condition. And finally, that Jesus Christ was incarnated so that God might bless us immensely, with the most important blessing being that we can relate to an invisible God based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus Christ, according to the Bible, is not just any ordinary human being, rather He is truly the One and Only God that delights in blessing us with His presence and goodness.
 

(c) 2005 Message by Dan Ahlenius. Dan is a graduate of William Carey University, B.A., New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Master Divinity.

LEGAL NOTICE: Used by permission.

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