John 1:3-1:51 — Damian Kyle

John’s Gospel Presents Jesus as Eternal God and Creator

John chapter 1. Now last week in looking at verses 1 and 2, we saw that John, listen I did two verses. The last minute I got that second one in there just for conscience sake. But this beautiful description of our Lord by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle John, and the Apostle John is a very very special brother.

So we look at him in the scriptures in such an intimate love for the Lord. I mean all the way through the scriptures when you see the 12 there and all, he's always trying to get the closest place to him.

That's a love he had for the Lord. And he described Jesus to us in verse 1, speaking to us of Jesus's pre-existence, the fact that he is eternal. Spoke to us in verse 1 of the fact that Jesus is divine, that he is the Son of God but also God the Son.

Spoke to us thirdly in verse 1 that he is a part of the Godhead, the triunity of God, or the you know multiple personality in the Godhead there in his place in that. And then in verse 2 that he was in the beginning with God.

He didn't, Jesus did not begin to exist when he was born into this world in the city of Bethlehem. But he had existed from before time was even time, eternal, no beginning. Then in verse 3 he moves in his description to describing Jesus as the creator and he declares that all things, and all is an important word there, all things were made through him and without him nothing was made that was made.

He kind of says the same thing twice just so we get it. If Jesus made all things then he cannot be a made thing or he would be the one who made all things except himself that was made. So he is not a created being.

He is the author of all creation and you take that in that famous verse in Colossians chapter 1 and verses 16 and 17 and we're told there by the apostle Paul for by him that is Jesus all things, the same words again, were created that were that are in heaven and on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.

All things were created through him and for him and he is before all things and in him all things consist or they that is that they are held together. We'll get back to that in just a moment. So here is Jesus as the creator.

Nothing was made apart from him. Now you go to the very first verse in the bible. In the beginning who created the heavens and the earth? God created the heavens and the earth and here you have all of creation being ascribed to Jesus.

So what is it again? It is a testimony to the deity of Jesus Christ. Now one of the things that's happening is John is writing this gospel and it's one of the last documents of the new testament canon.

He's writing it toward the end of the century and so by this time there are a lot of heresies that are surfacing most notably the gnostic heresy which it came up with all kinds of you know weird mystical ideas that were untrue about Jesus and about who he was and what he was and all these different kinds of things and so John is already by the spirit of God coming against these heresies and so one of the ideas was that Jesus was created.

The Jehovah Witnesses they have they have a gnostic element to their teaching today and and they teach that Jesus was a created being. Well he can't be a he was created and so John is laying these things out and then in verse 4 he describes Jesus as the source of life and the source of light and in him was life.

All life is found in Jesus. Physical life is found in him. All spiritual life is found in him. When it says in him was life it doesn't mean that he possessed life. It means that he is the source of all physical life.

He is the source of all spiritual life. They both come from him. They are both a gift from him to us to mankind. In him all physical life consists. Again chapter 1 of Colossians verse 17. In him all things consist.

The word consist there means to be held together and I remember listening as a brand new Christian to Chuck Smith speaking about that whole consist thing and if you listen to Chuck's tapes and all he's like a born and he wanted to be a doctor and so you know physics is interesting to him and chemistry and all these things.

I try to get away from all of those classes in school. I was unsuccessful but I mean as little as I could do and still stay on the college prep you know track I did it and and so I go into these classes and you go into chemistry class and there are these people that are all excited.

Mr. Dinsmore up in the front you know and he's doing all these things you know as if he's like discovered the light bulb or something you know and the whole deal of here and it just get me out of here get me out of here out of this out of this room.

So I don't understand all this kind of stuff and how things so but I do know that opposites attract in terms of poles and and I do know that like poles they push apart from one another. The interesting thing is in the one of these basic building blocks of what we're made of and the atoms and and all of these these kinds of things that you have as a part of that you have likes held together and it has been something that the and then I Chuck got me going on this thing so I began to investigate the thing I thought well is that something they're still messing with today and the scientists still mess with it today.

To save their life they do not know how when they look at the structure of how God has built things why the thing doesn't blow up to smithereens and a thousand different directions every single atom and the theory among the scientists is that it's held together by atomic glue.

So it's a mystery they don't they they don't know and and we wouldn't really know except that the Holy Spirit reveals it to us in the book of Colossians that the whole thing is held together by Jesus.

He holds all of it together. You and I sit here in this room in one piece together because he holds us together. He's the source of of human life. He's the source of all life but then he's also the source of all spiritual life.

John the same John when he writes his first epistle in first John chapter 5 verses 11 and 12 he writes and he says and this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life and this life is in his son and he who has the son has life and he who does not have the son of God does not have life.

Very simple for John. This is the apostle of love and yet one of the most beautiful things I love about him is he knew how to love people and he loved people enough to tell them the truth. And the truth is if I have the son I have spiritual life.

If I don't have the son I don't have spiritual life. That is the fact of the matter. As I've mentioned many times before in the United States we live in the most hyphenated country in the world. Nobody is just an American.

We're some version of American. There's some version of whatever this life is simpler in heaven. Life is simpler for the Holy Spirit. There are saved people and there are unsaved people. J Vernon McGee said they're saints and ain'ts.

Now that's offensive to the ain'ts but that that that's the kind of clarity though that there that there is with this. All spiritual life comes from him. It's all found in him and notice he says and the life was the light of men.

What is light? Light is illumination. This is beautiful because the Lord doesn't just give us physical life and spiritual life and then leave us on our own to figure out what to do with it. He knows that we need illumination from heaven his will in order to rightly spend this physical life.

In order to rightly spend this spiritual life. I'm so glad he didn't just save me and say now you get to be the same crummy guy and but you'll end up in heaven at the end of it. Now listen I would have taken that but he's done better than that.

He comes in and he says listen I've got something much greater than even that. I'm going to give you this life and then I'm going to give you my wisdom and illumination for how to live this life a different way and it's the greatest life a person can ever live is the Christian life.

Simple obedience to the word of God so that we don't waste our lives and the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it and so when Jesus came into this world his life and his truth and he is the light of the world and all it was something that as it relates to the world for the most part and looking at him when he came into this world he came into a dark world.

Why is the world dark? Human hearts human hearts and you got this the old argument between you know the what is the cause and what are the symptoms what is what are we born as and then what is a product of environment but why is the environment the way that it is because of our hearts man is a fallen creature the whole world is a testimony to that so Jesus came into this world and as different as light is to darkness Jesus was that different from everything in this world a complete contrast it's a beautiful beautiful description of our Lord but John is headed someplace with this then he says in verse six as he describes John the Baptist a forerunner of Jesus Christ he said there was a man sent from God whose name was John not John the Baptist I mean not John the apostle but John the Baptist now in the old testament scriptures God had declared that before the messiah came he would send a forerunner and a forerunner in those days was simply whenever a king was going to come someplace a messenger would always be set sent ahead of the king in order that people might be prepared to receive the king in a way that was worthy of a king.

John the Baptist Bears Witness to the Light

And so here's John the Baptist in his ministry he comes forward and he is warning the people to repent even religious people to repent the directions that they're going in. And then as they begin to press him a little bit more about his message and why he's doing the different things and all he declares the fact that I'm not the messiah I am a forerunner.

I am giving a message in preparation for the messiah that's coming behind me. And so the ministry of John the Baptist in this man John came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe.

Now there's a key word in the gospel according to John believe. I talked about it at the end of the book last week and we're going to run into this word believe over and over and over again through uh all of of this uh this passage is is we head head through it.

And so he comes in and he uh declares uh that um that he came as a witness to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe. That's what he wanted everyone to do was to believe in the lord jesus he is not was not that light that is the messiah.

But he was sent to bear witness to that light. And so john was faithful to his ministry to always point people to the lord and that was the true light. Now the subject is back on jesus himself and that was the true light in contrast to false lights.

There have been many false lights in man's history as jesus spoke in in john 14 or i forget where it is in there but he john said jesus said i am the true vine i'm the true vine a lot of he he's the true vine true connection to god.

And so there was that was the true light which gives light to every man who comes into the world. And so jesus provides light to every single person. Salvation is available. But not everybody is going to accept jesus the choice to make in all of that.

But they have a light a light concerning the truth and what they ought to to do uh in in choosing him or rejecting him. And he was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him.

Now this is speaking of the gentiles when jesus came into the world the gentile world though he had created the gentiles though he had created the world though he was the source of all of creation held all of it together.

And though they saw all of the miracles that he was doing they still did not acknowledge him as the creator that he was and as the messiah that he was. And so there was the rejection of him by the world.

But there was also the rejection of jesus by the jews verse 11 he came to his own and his own did not receive him. And so when jesus came of course and ministered uh reaching out to the jews first and then to the gentiles of the response of his own people the jews though they knew him now this is interesting because you have there in in verse 10 you have the gentiles not knowing him but they didn't know him.

They didn't recognize him for who he was. The rejection of the jews in verse 11 is is not based upon that not based upon the fact that they didn't know him. They did know him. They rejected him for for other reasons.

And so he came to them. And even though he gave them you know undeniable evidence that he was the messiah through all of his miracles and and all of these things not only did the gentiles reject him but the jews did also by and large then notice in verse 12.

But as many as received him to them he gave the right or literally the authority to become children of god to those who believe in his name. So not everybody rejected jesus not everybody rejects him. Today there are many who believe.

And for those who believe or as many as they receive him into their life by believing. So you have people that have received the lord into their life. How did they do it to those who believe in his name.

So there are people who are born again by the holy spirit in in believing in him and then for that particular person they are given by god a certain authority. And the authority they are given is the authority to become the children of god to be called the children of god.

And that is the only authority by which a person can claim to be a child of god is that i have received jesus christ into my life. On what basis. By believing in him and believing in him it means to rely or to trust in where i am relying or trusting in him for the forgiveness of my sins trusting in his work upon the cross as death upon the cross for the forgiveness of my sins.

And only the person that has believed in him and received him into their life has the authority to be called a son of god a child of god. And it's beautiful that the phrase that's used children of god it it reinforces the idea that when we become christians supremely what we're called into is a relationship and not just any relationship a parent-child relationship.

That's what we need now. Sometimes you get this whole uh thing where you know when phil donahue was going doing his whole thing you know and he'd get his little panel together and find some snake handler from somewhere to represent the christian view on his show and then get some of the most brilliant people in the world to shred them to pieces on national television.

One of the things that phil had a problem with is he always had a problem with christians being narrow as it relates to salvation of saying that this is the only way that a person can get to heaven. And always the challenge is you know by what authority do you say that.

Who do you think that you are to say that. And that all these other people are wrong. Where does the authority come from. It comes from the holy spirit in john chapter 1 verse 12. Because it is the fact of heaven.

Only one who is born again by the holy spirit has the authority given by god to call themself a child of god. It is not arrogance to declare that it is the truth of the word of god. So it comes by receiving him into our life and receiving by believing and so again.

Verse 12. But as many as received him to them he gave the right or the authority to become children of god to those who believe in his name who were born now speaks of the spiritual birth not of blood.

Nobody is becomes a child of god by virtue of being born into this world. The old saying is born once. That is just have a physical birth without a spiritual birth in the course of his life. Born once die twice die physically and die forever spiritually.

Born twice die once. That's kind of what's going on here. Nobody is born in a safe condition in this world. And so we can't be be saved who who were born. It requires a spiritual birth more than just blood not a physical birth nor of the will of the flesh.

Nobody can be born again or gain access to heaven through their own efforts in the flesh. I don't care how many good works a person might do. I don't care what their title is i i don't care how many good things that they've done.

It is not the way to get to heaven. Nobody gets to heaven that way by the works of the flesh nor of the will of man. Nobody can get anybody else into heaven. Person has to choose to do that for themselves.

Otherwise what would we do. We'd will everyone that we love into the kingdom of god the whole world to be saved. We want the world safe. Then it'll all be done and we'll be out of here. But it's not our decision.

We make a decision for ourselves. Everybody else has to make a decision for themselves. And so this spiritual birth isn't of the flesh. It isn't by the will of the flesh. It isn't by the will of other people.

But this birth this spiritual birth is of god. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. The word and the word again refers to jesus and the word became flesh his incarnation his birth into the world through the virgin mary there in bethlehem.

The word became flesh and dwelt among us. And the word dwelt there means literally it means tabernacle. He's tabernacled with us. So for 33 and a half years he took on a tent and this body is likened to a tent often in the scriptures he took on that tent and he tabernacled with us.

We got a good close look at god and looking at jesus a good close look at him. And so as it says here and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Now we are nice american people so we have cut our teeth on the christmas story how the jesus was born of the virgin and he was there in the manger and the whole deal and everything like that.

And so we just kind of think of it in that terms. And so you talk with people about it and you think and you talk about that manger and you say well it was probably the stone trough and it probably was.

And can you imagine you know the animals drinking the water out of that and you ever seen cows drooling. And then god put her right in that. And we we are in awe of the incarnation almost exclusively from the point of his birth into the world on.

But what john is doing here in painting this picture of jesus and letting us know who he really is and who he has always been and that this whole thing consists and is held together by him and all spiritual life is found in him and he is eternal.

And he is god. Now all of a sudden when i get finally to verse 14 and i read that this is the one who was willing to become flesh in order to tabernacle among me in order that i might be saved and seeing his life.

It is designed in the jewish mind to completely undo you that he would be willing to do that. I don't know what glory he left to come here to provide a salvation for me one day i will but i am always in awe in john chapter 17 on the night before the cross as he's praying for the disciples he begins to pray for them and his desires that they would be one.

And that's a theme through that whole prayer. But then as he prays to the father his desire that they would see his glory the glory that he had from the beginning the astonishing glory that he left to even be willing to come here to say nothing of being willing to die here in our place that we might be saved.

And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld. And the word beheld is the word that we get our theater from. What john is saying was to watch jesus in the tabernacle in his body to watch him.

And his public ministry was like to be at a theater only. It was real raising people from the dead healing people speaking the truth cleansing the temple whatever the things might be he said it was just like a movie.

I mean it was drama all the time when you understand who he was we beheld his glory. The glory is of the only begotten of the father. We are born again and thus we are the children of god. But he is the son of god in a way that no one else is of course.

And so when it calls him the only begotten it is the altogether unique one of the father full of grace full of truth. And there it is right there on the verse full of grace and full of truth. I've always loved that verse obviously.

But i love those two great things that have only come together in a complete way in him. I want grace. I need grace. But i don't want grace at the expense of truth. That's not. It's not good enough for me.

I cannot live a lie. I cannot live in darkness. Well i want truth. But i don't want just truth because of my condition the fallen condition that i'm born into. So i want grace coupled with the truth. And jesus comes and he brings both of those things grace and truth.

And the great picture. And it's always the misquoted passage of there's a few verses that everyone learns whether they want to know the bible or not. And when jesus addresses the sin of that woman caught in the very act of adultery after he gets done dealing with the religious crowd and they kind of slink off.

This is where your accusers they're all gone. Where are those that condemn you. Then jesus said neither do i condemn you. And that's that's the portion of the verse that i always remember when jesus said to the woman caught in the very act of adultery neither do i condemn you.

Yes i remember that. But do you remember the remainder of the because jesus said neither do i condemn you. That's grace go and sin. No more. That's the truth all the way through. You see this wonderful i don't know.

The balance is the right word for it. This beautiful combination of the two things that are found in him and john bore witness of him and cried out saying this is he of whom i said he who comes after me is preferred before me.

For he was before me now. This is interesting because john the baptist is again testifying to jesus. And he describes jesus in verse 15 those final four words as being before him. And the reason it's interesting is that john the baptist was born three months prior to jesus.

So how could jesus be before him when jesus was born after him again a reference to jesus's pre-existence. There's eternalness and of his fullness. We have all received and grace for grace when we come have come into a personal relationship with jesus christ.

What does he lavish us with grace. You all you have to do is just look around the room and realize okay they're going to be a big run on grace even after people get saved. And so that's what he gives that undeserved favor.

That's what we've received from him. We don't get justice from him. We get grace now. Grace is a funny thing. Grace is a firm thing when it needs to be. I think that most often we think of grace in the sense of forgiveness almost exclusively in the sense of forgiveness our grace.

Yes god forgives. The grace is bigger than that. God gives us the grace that we need for forgiveness. But he also gives us grace in the form of power to live a different kind of life the ability not to sin or to live a life where it is dominated or characterized by sin.

And so he gives grace. And it's it's stronger than sometimes that it's thought about always. What he he deals with this on is the basis on the basis of grace. For the law was given through moses. But grace and truth came through jesus christ.

And so the law said um obey to live you better obey. Or you're a dead man kind of like that under jesus christ it all gets turned around. And now it is live to obey is our desire to do it not out of a fear of what god might do to me if i disobey him.

But because i realize how much he has done for me how good he's been to me how gracious he's been to me. And the only logical response to that then is a desire to live a life in response to that that pleases him and brings him pleasure.

And so there's the difference between the two covenants. No one has seen god at any time. The only begotten that is the unique son who is in the bosom of the father he has declared him. And so to look at jesus and to see jesus was to see the father.

You remember philip said to jesus show us the father and it'll be sufficient for us. And jesus said you know how long have i been with you. Philip. If you've seen me you've seen the father. And so jesus is this beautiful exact um manifestation revelation of the father.

John the Baptist Identifies the Messiah

We look and say well you know the father up in heaven he's always just a little bit steamed. But you know somebody's got to be like that. Or the place goes crazy you know. And jesus is kind of the softy that goes in and kind of appeases the father.

So all right. I know they did that again but um you know can we give him one more chance. And then the father against his better judgment you know doesn't wipe us out. We look at them in two different ways.

But here to see jesus was to see the father and the nature of the father. Now this is the testimony of john when the jews sent priests and levites from jerusalem to ask him who are you. And when john the baptist is doing baptizing and his preaching around the area of the jordan river there hadn't been this much spiritual excitement in israel for 400 years.

Well actually longer than that religion was just it was dead. It was just dead. So john the baptist is preaching this message he's baptizing people. People are coming out in droves. They know what he's saying is true.

Well that kind of thing is a threat to the existing kind of religious establishment. And so they send out representatives of the religious community to kind of call john the baptist on the carpet and say what in the world are you.

Who are you. And what are you doing out here. And john the baptist evidently uh understands their question to be a question of whether he's the messiah or not. Who are you. You better be the messiah doing stuff out here when john the baptist confessed and he did not deny but confessed i am not the christ i am not the messiah.

And they asked him what then are you elijah. Because in the book of malachi the lord had declared that for the coming of messiah elijah would come before that great and notable day of the lord. And elijah is going to precede jesus in his second coming.

But they ask him now because of the malachi passage whether he's elijah. He said i am not. Are you the prophet. And the prophet is the one that moses spoke of coming. And he answered clearly no. And then they said to him who are you.

That we may give an answer to those who sent us. They were sent to get an explanation. And we're not leaving until you tell us who you are. What do you say about yourself. As on the baptist said i am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

Make straight the way of the lord. Quoting isaiah chapter 40 verse 3 i am the forerunner preparing a way for the messiah who is coming behind me. Now it's interesting again in verse 23 there's no mistakes in any of this.

And verse 23 john the baptist purposely ascribes isaiah chapter 40 verse 3 to jesus and that he is making straight the way of the lord. And when you see lord there in all capitals that is always in the bible a reference to yahweh or jehovah.

So you have john the baptist ascribing deity to jesus christ once again. Now those who were sent were from the pharisees. And they asked him saying why then do you baptize if you're not the christ nor elijah nor the prophet.

And john answered and said answer them saying i baptize with water. But there stands one among you whom you do not know. It is he who coming after me is preferred before me whose sandal strap i'm not worthy to lose.

So jesus is kind of in the mix of things at this particular point in time perhaps in the in the very setting there. And john the baptist simply describes the fact what you know why am i doing things. I'm only baptizing you baptizing with water the messiah who is about to be revealed here whether you see he's going to baptize you know with the holy spirit i'm not worthy even put his sandals on and off.

You've got trouble with me. Wait till he shows up. And these things were done in beth abera beyond the jordan where john was baptizing. And the next day john saw jesus coming toward him. And he declared concerning jesus behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin singular of the world.

And so he declares with whatever audience of people that are around john the baptist when he sees jesus he immediately directs people to jesus. And that's always a a revelation that the holy spirit is working working a person's life.

There's none of this. Well i think i'll draw people to me and then i'll point them to god. John the baptist wasn't interested in the mediator position that's already taken. So he immediately looks at and begins to direct them to jesus.

Behold the lamb of god who takes away the sin of the world now in the jewish mind. And that's who's listening to john the baptist at this time when they hear jesus referred to as the lamb of god immediately what's produced in their mind they begin to associate it with sacrifice.

They sacrifice lambs all the time in that old testament covenant. And so when john the baptist refers to jesus as the lamb of god they know they're working through it a little bit now it's just the light's kind of going on here.

But there's a recognition in their mind that john sees this man as a sacrifice and as a sacrifice that is different from the sacrifices of the old testament because this man's sacrifice is going to be given to take away the sin of the world.

In the old testament all of these offerings that were given for sin offerings were given for the purpose of covering sin. They could never take away sin in the old testament they covered sin. And so here you have a sacrifice of one a sacrifice from god that is vastly superior to the old covenant because whatever he's about and whatever is going to happen with him he's going to take away sin.

That's exactly what he's done when we receive the lord's forgiveness. My sin has separated me from me as far as the east is from the west i will never come into contact with it again. I like that because he takes it away he just doesn't cover it.

Covering isn't good enough. It takes away the sin of the world. And this is he of whom i said after me comes a man who is preferred before me for he was before me and i i did not know him but that he should be revealed to israel.

Therefore i came baptizing with with water. And john bore witness saying i saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove. And he that is the holy spirit remained upon him. And i did not know him. But he who sent me to baptize with water said to me upon whom you see the spirit descending and remaining on him.

This is he who baptizes with the holy spirit. John the baptist said i didn't know who the messiah was except that the lord told me that there would be this event concerning the holy spirit that would identify him.

Of course jesus and the other gospels when he was water baptized the holy spirit descended upon him. And that was when john knew for sure that jesus was the messiah. And i have seen and testified that this is the son of god.