John Lesson 2

Introduction

A very pleasant good day to you, and welcome to Let the Bible Speak. I want to encourage you to get your New Testaments open to the Gospel of John. As today we’re going to study verse by verse through John chapter 1, verses 1 through 18. There is no better way to study the Bible than simply to get it open and go verse by verse and keeping each scripture within its own context. That way we best understand the Word of God. That’s why we call this a study of let the Bible speak. We simply want to open the Bible and array verse by verse what the Bible says. And as we begin our study of the Gospel of John, we find it to be one of the greatest studies.

For it tells us who Jesus Christ is. It defines Jesus as the Son of God. Do you accept him as the Son of God? There are a great number of people today who refuse that claim. They will tell us that they believe Jesus is a great man. They believe that he was indeed a good moral teacher, perhaps even a prophet. But they deny him to be the divine Son of God, deity. But one cannot study through the Gospel of John and conclude that he is no more than just a good man. In fact, either he is what he claims to be the Son of God or else he is a liar. He is either what he claims to be the Son of God or the greatest imposter ever brought upon society.

What do you believe about Jesus Christ? As we observed in our introductory lesson, the Gospel of John is unique. For it does not begin with the birth of Jesus Christ, that is, from a fleshly point of view, but rather it begins right in the middle of its subject, and that is the proof that Jesus is divine, that he is deity. And throughout the book it argues that point of view, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who he is from a doctrinal point of view, from a claim of being God or deity. Look with me in John chapter 1, beginning in verses 1 through 3. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.

1. The Word Who Communicates God

All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. Right often you raise the question who is Jesus, you have an answer. The Word He is described as being. Now we understand that the Word describes the means by which we communicate one with another. I’m using words to communicate my thoughts to you. The Word of God that we sometimes describe the Bible as being. And how can we know the mind of God except by that revealed word through the Bible? First Corinthians chapter two, verses eleven through thirteen, the apostle even raises the point, who know the mind of a man save the spirit of man that is in him, even so no man knoweth the mind of God save the Spirit of God.

And then he went on to claim that that the things that we speak, that is the inspired scriptures, he said are are not the word of men, but rather they are the word of God, that they are the words that have been given to us by the Holy Spirit. So the Bible is God’s mean of communicating his revelation to us. But Jesus Christ is the divine word. The Greek text here uses the term logos. And in that sense, Christ is the communicator. He is the one who reveals the Father to us. You want to know God? Then look to Jesus Christ. You cannot really know the Father except we know the Word, or Jesus, who is the Word of God. In fact, the scripture speaks about him as being the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

That’s in Colossians chapter 2 and in verse nine. He is the one who came as God in the flesh. That’s what the angel defined for us in Matthew 1 and verse 23, when it said his name would be Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us. The Word, you see, became flesh and dwelt among men. That’s what our text, John 1 and verse 14, says. So Jesus Christ communicates the Father to us. He is God, but He became flesh. He walked among men. Notice what the Apostle John said in his letter called 1 John in 1 John chapter 1, in verses 1 through 3. That which was from the beginning, which we heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life.

2. In the Beginning, With God, and Was God

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. That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you that your joy may be full. He is the Word who communicates God. He walked in the flesh. And if you want to know the Father, come to Jesus Christ. But again, in the Gospel of John chapter 1, you notice the time factor. The very first words are in the beginning was the Word. Now that’s the way the Bible starts.

You go back to Genesis chapter 1 and verse 1. What are the first words? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Really, there is in this term an idea of eternity. What is before all things? God. Jesus Christ was in the beginning with God. He is eternal in his nature. In fact, in his prayer, recorded in John chapter 17 and verse five, his prayer to the Father just shortly before his betrayal and crucifixion, Jesus prayed that the Father would glorify him with the glory that he had with him before the world was. His beginning was not with his birth, but rather his true beginning is with God. He always has been.

And the word was with God. Now that’s another powerful statement when you comprehend it. He was with God. He’s not the same as God. There are some today who teach a doctrine sometimes referred to as the Jesus only doctrine, some of our Pentecostal friends. And they make out as though there is only one personality, Father, who became as in flesh, God in the flesh, but the same personality. But the scripture here uses the language as though there are two. He is with God in the beginning. And there was a divine relationship. He is not the same as the Father, but he was with the Father. Philippians chapter 2 and verse 6, the scripture says that he was on an equality with God. And he felt it not a thing to be held on to.

He lord himself. He came to this earth. He lived among men. As a man was tempted in all points as like as we are, and died for man that we might be saved. But his eternal nature, he possessed the nature of deity, of Godhood. He was with the Father. In fact, the next statement says that the Word was God. And that within itself is a claim of deity. He was with the Father, and He possessed the same nature. He’s not the same person as the Father, but He is the same nature as the Father. Just as you and I have the same nature of manhood. We’re not angels. We’re not animals. We’re not God in nature. But Jesus Christ had the nature above angels, above man, above animal, he had the nature of Godhood.

He is not the same as the Father, but He is God, or possessed Godhood. And as He said in John chapter 5, verses 17 and 18, my Father and I worketh hitherto, and I work. My Father, he’s not the same as the Father, but they are as one and that they possess the same nature of deity. The Jews understood that he made himself God, and they were ready to crucify him for that claim. And in John chapter 10 and verse 30, he said, I and my father are one. Again, it doesn’t mean one person any more than you and I are one, but believers ought to be one. Jesus prayed in John chapter 17, verses 20 through 23, that all believers be one, but we’re united when we’re one.

And so the Father and the Son were in agreement. They were united. They were one in the sense that they work perfectly together. But on an equality with God, Jesus Christ possessed the nature of deity. Indeed He was God. As Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 8, a quotation from the Psalm, Psalm 45, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. And the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Now that prophecy is about Jesus Christ. And the scripture said that it was said of the Son. He was called God. Our Jehovah’s Witnesses, friends, have trouble with Hebrews 1 and verse 8. They have trouble with John chapter 1 and in verse 1. In fact, the New World Translation, their own translation, they translated this.

The word was a God. And if you ever read it, you’ll notice it has a small g. It says he was a God. Well, that’s not what the text says. The text says he was God, and it’s properly translated and capitalized G, for it refers to his nature as of Godhood. In fact, it’s the same translation, identically in the Greek as in verse 6 of John chapter 1, where it talks about John the Baptist as being a man from God. The New World translation doesn’t say a man from a God, small g, but in the Greek it’s identically in the same expression as John 1 and 1. Hothios. He was from God. He was God, verse 1. And in John chapter 20 and then verse 28, where Thomas said, My Lord and my God.

3. All Things Made by Him; In Him Was Life

Again, the New World translation translates that with a capital G. Same form as in John 1 and verse 1. In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God. The Word was God. He is deity. He wasn’t created an angel who became a God, but he is God. Always has been, with the Father. But notice further, in verse 2, the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. He’s the divine creator. He himself was eternal. But he is the one by whom the Father made the worlds. Listen to the language in Hebrews chapter 1, where in verses 1 through 3, that grand book also describes who Jesus is, the preeminence of the Christ, where it says, God, who at sundry times and in violence manner spake in time passed unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds, who, being the brightness of his glory and the expressed 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.

Jesus Christ made all things, by whom God made the worlds. Revelation chapter 3 and verse 14, in introducing the letter to the church at Laodicea, he’s described as the beginning of the creation. Now that doesn’t mean he was the first one of the creation, created by the Father. That’s the way some would try to translate that verse. But he was the beginner of it. That’s literally the meaning of it. He is the one by whom the worlds were made. He is the beginner of it. He is the first one who created. Colossians chapter 1 says it this way. Read with me, Colossians 1, verse 15, speaking of Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. He’s the preeminent one. The word firstborn here carries the idea of in first place.

He is above all things. And here’s what the rest of the text says. Verse 16, for by him were all things created. Now, if all things were created by him, did he create himself? Certainly not. But by him all things were created. He always has been, just as the Father, eternal. But by him all things were created, that are in heaven, 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. He is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body of the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence. Christ, the preeminent one.

But in John chapter 1, let’s read verses 4 and 5. After making this bold claim of who he is, it also says, in him was life. And the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Life. He not only is the creator, but he sustained sustainer of life. You want to have fullness and purpose of living. Come to Jesus Christ. Not only will you have the promise of life everlasting in the world to come, but you’ll have a peace that surpasseth understanding in this life, a purpose for living, a fulfillment of your life. As John chapter 10 and verse 10, Jesus came that men might have life and that more abundantly. But he is also the light of the world.

He is the great illuminator. Now the world may not have comprehended, that is, they may not have fully understood who he is. And they were not able to accept him as a whole. The world as a majority rejected him. But the world did not put out the light. Even when it crucified the Son of God, it did not put out the light. Light overcomes darkness. You can light a match in a dark room, and it is stronger than the darkness. Light shines. And so it is that Christ shines as in a dark place, the light of the world. You want real wisdom? Come to Jesus Christ. We’re going to pause for a moment. We’ll come back and continue our study through John chapter 1. We hope you’ll stay with us in this very important study of who Jesus really is.

4. John the Baptist Bore Witness of That Light

In John chapter 1, verses 6 through 13, if you have your Bibles open, you may read with us as we continue this introductory comments about who Jesus Christ is. The scripture says in John 1 and verse 6, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe.

But was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. This is a powerful beginning. In describing Jesus Christ, as we’ve already in the verse five verses, that he was with God, that he was God, that he was eternal, that this one who is the creator of the world is also life and light.

Then it begins to launch out and say there are some witnesses of him. And the first witness that is given in the Gospel of John is John, John the Baptist, we better know it. Now it’s not the same as the writer of this book, because the writer of this is John the Apostle, the brother of James. But the John the Baptist, who was who was sent from God, who was to bear witness of that light. John the Baptist was prophesied even in Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 3 as one who would come to prepare the way for the Lord. Now John the Baptist was a powerful preacher and a prophet of God. He was a man who for whom multitudes came out to hear. But John the Baptist was not as great as Jesus Christ.

And John the Baptist was not that light.

And this scripture simply says the true light, that is Jesus Christ, as it later identifies us, is the one who lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Now John the Baptist, though he was not that light, did testify that he was the Son of God. In John chapter 1 and verse 34, we’ll read later where he said, I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God. John the Baptist recognized him to be the one who truly gives illumination, understanding of the way of God. He is the light of the world. But a sad verse. In verse 10, where it says he was in the world, the very world that was made by him, but the world did not know him. It knew him not.

5. Power to Become the Sons of God

He came to save all men, but all men will not believe in him or accept him. Even his own, verse 11 says, his own received him not. Now I think that particularly would describe the Jewish nation. For of this family, of the seed of Abraham, Christ came. But his own family, that is, the nation that was prepared for the coming of the Messiah, as a majority did not receive him. Now, the very first Christians were Jews. And there were many Jews who obeyed the gospel in the first century, and even to this day there are Jews who believe in him. But as a majority, as a nation, the Jews rejected Jesus as the Christ. What a sad verse. But in verse 12, in comparison, as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

Those who believe on his name are given power to become the sons of God. What a privilege, what an opportunity that we can approach God as our Father. But notice just who it is. It isn’t because of some fleshly birth or heritage that you’re the child of God. Now that’s the word you became the child of God because he was born of the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He became by inheritance the Son of God. But now in Christ Jesus, it isn’t going to be that way. As verse 13 says, not of blood. It isn’t even going to be by carnal desire. It says not by the will of the flesh. Nor is it going to be by the will of man, that is by purpose and planning.

You cannot become the child of God because your parents designed in their own plan that you would be a child of God. You don’t inherit it in any way. It isn’t by physical birth or by physical heritage. But he says, only men who are born of God are the children of God, the sons of God. Now notice verse 12 says, To those who believe on his name. Now, the word believe is used throughout the Gospel of John carries that idea of a mental agreement, but more often than just that, it carries the idea of a comprehensive belief. You see, those who believe on Jesus Christ are the ones who have life through his name. Today many preachers will read verse like this, and they want to make it easy to go to heaven.

And God certainly by grace has made it possible that we can have salvation. But there’s more to it than just having lip service or word service saying, Oh Lord, I believe. There’s more to it than just sort of raising the hand and praying what some call a sinner’s prayer. If we’re going to be saved, we must indeed receive Christ. We must believe on him. But true saving faith involves obedience. In the gospel of John itself, that is illustrated for us. In John chapter 12, verses 42 and 43, there is an example of some lost believers. The scripture there speaks about the rulers of the synagogue, that many believed on him. But because of the Pharisees, they did not confess him lest they should be put out of the synagogue, for they love the praise of men more than the praise of God.

There are those who believed on Christ. They had mental agreement, all right. They knew who he is, the Son of God, but they weren’t willing to stand up for him. They were not willing to count the cost. They were afraid they’d be cut off from their friends and from all kind of social and religious ties that they had. And they would not confess him to be the Son of God. They’re lost believers. Jesus said that those who deny him before men, even those same ones Christ will deny before the Father.

But recognize that saving faith is an obedient faith. As Galatians chapter 3, verses 26 and verse 27 says, You are the children of God by faith. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. As a believer, my friends, by faith once you repent of your sins. As a believer in Christ, once you confess him with your mouth, and as in your life that he is the Christ, the Son of God, your Lord. But as a believer, be baptized, immersed into Christ. At that point in time you put on Christ, because by his precious blood and baptism your sins are washed away. There’s more to believing in Christ than just raising your hand or saying a few words. As many as believe on him, to them gave you power to become the sons of God.

6. The Word Was Made Flesh

What a privilege. But now reading verses 14 through 18. The scripture further describing the Son of God says the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John, bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake. He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me. And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father of the Father, he hath declared him.

The word became flesh. As we’ve already talked about, Jesus was God in the flesh. That’s what Matthew 1 in verse 23 says. That’s hard for some to believe. Muslims have denied it. Even Jews who who reject Christ as a Messiah deny it. There are many who deny that he was God in the flesh, but in Matthew 1 and verse 23, that’s what his name Emmanuel meant, God with us. And he lived among us, he dwelt among us. And people who were eyewitnesses of the signs, the wonders, the miracles that he did, bore witness that God was with him. The death, the burial, and the resurrection bear testimony that he is God with us, that he’s the Son of God, that he was crowned with glory when he arose from the grave.

Now John bare witness of him. This great prophet sent by God, John the Baptist, he testified that Jesus was preferred before him. Now John was a great man. But but Jesus even was above him, was preeminent. And in fact, John said he was before me. By chronological age, John was probably about six months older than Jesus. But Jesus was eternal. He existed before his fleshly birth. So he was before John. And John bore witness that of Christ, of his fullness, have we all received grace for grace, spiritual blessings, grace upon grace upon grace. We are truly blessed with all spiritual blessings in him, Ephesians 1 and verse 3. He is greater even than Moses. Now Moses was a great prophet. But in verse 17, the scripture said the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

There’s something by Christ that Moses couldn’t give. Forgiveness of sins, the law of Moses could not give. As Acts chapter 13, verses 38 and 39, the law of Moses could not justify us. Who do you say Jesus Christ is? I want to say to you, my beloved, that Jesus was more than just a man. Jesus was God with us. He is the Son of God. John 134. He is the one by whom grace and truth came. Jesus Christ is the one who declares the Father. As verse 18 says, No man hath seen God at any time. We have not seen his face. No man has seen his face and lived. But Jesus Christ is the one by whom we can know the Father. As John 14, verses 7 through 9 says, if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.

Conclusion

You want to know the expression of God’s love. You want to know the expression of God’s mercy. You want to know the expression even of God’s justice. Look at Jesus Christ, the cross, and the resurrection. Until our next study, we bid that the grace and peace of our Lord be with you.