Jesus Christ is God John 1:1,2

Well, good morning. Welcome to faith Bible Church this morning a couple of visitors we glad you're here and we pray that you would be blessed as this is our favorite day of the week and and we just are grateful to the Lord that he's allowed us to for this church that we can be open and We say hello to our brothers and sisters that are at home and watching this on YouTube.

We pray the Lord have his hand upon you and you would stay close to the Lord in this time being separated from the body. It can be a dangerous place and it's just we need this fellowship. We need each other.

So Again, I encourage you. There's plenty of room here to distance if you wish and we can Accommodate that very easily. So welcome. Thank you. We're here. We don't have any of announces some sort this morning.

We're continuing to Pursue Pastoral replacement and things are progressing there according to the Lord's timing and will so we're just keep praying for that. We just need to wait on him again and again and his timing is perfect and we we have our our idea of what this box ought to look like and The Lord in his timing and grace he comes in and left from left field and kind of says This is the way it's gonna look, you know.

So it's kind of exciting to wait on him that way and to see what he's going to do. So anyway, welcome glad you're here this morning. If you take your Bibles, I'd like to admit we're gonna read some scripture from the book of Gospel of John.

I'm gonna read verses 1 through 18. So if you want to follow along with me. And just to ready prepare our hearts for for this morning service and that's John Chapter 1 and we're gonna read through verse 18.

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him and without him. Nothing was made that was made. In him was life and And the life was the light of men and the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all through him might believe. He was not that light but was sent to bear witness of that light.

That was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him. He came to his own and his own did not receive him.

But as many as received him to them he gave the right to become children of God. To those who believe in his name who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man. But of God and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and he beheld his glory.

The glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. John bore witness of him and cried out saying this was he of whom I said he who comes after me is preferred before me for he was before me and as of His faithfulness we have all received and grace for grace for the law was given through Moses.

But grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father. He has declared him. Amen. Let's open and join with me and in prayer this morning Lord God.

We thank you that you have brought us together this morning that we have been gathered together for your purpose father. Lord, we are grateful. We ask for your help Lord as well this morning that you would guide in Our thoughts and our actions our worship and our celebration our adoration of you father.

Lord may we be able to rid ourselves of the cares that encumber us that drag us down that Distract us father. But that we can focus fully on your glory in your grace Lord because you are worthy of our praise.

I pray that we might do that in a way that would honor you father that would bring you glory entirely. You would refresh our tired and weary souls Lord of the the difficulties that surround us every day Lord nationally here in the state locally father.

But in and in our personal lives, but Lord you are greater you are Surpass all of those father and you have the answer for us and it's in your son Jesus Christ. So Lord, we commit our time to you today father.

Just go before us and and prepare our hearts for pastor John as he gives us the message this morning and. And as we lift our voices to you father, we give you praise and all things in Jesus name. Amen.

And we have brother David.

Good morning. I love the name of that song. I worship the King. Let's stand and sing and worship Jesus Christ our Lord our God our King.

Our shield and defender the ancient of days Pavilion With His might Oh sing of his grace. Whose robe is the light whose? Canopy space his chariots of wrath the deep thunder clouds form and dark is the.

On the wings of the storm Trail children of dust and feeble as frail. In thee do we trust nor find thee to fail. Thy mercies how tender how firm to thee our maker Defender Redeemer and.

Let us continue. In song you servants of God, sorry.

Servants of God your master proclaim Publish abroad his wonderful name the name of Victorious of Jesus. Extol. His kingdom is glorious He rules over on Ruleth on high Almighty to save. Still he is nigh his presence.

We have great Congregation whose triumphs shall sing Ascribing salvation to Jesus our King. Salvation to God who sits on the throne at all cry aloud and honor the son. Praises of Jesus the angels proclaim fall down on their faces and worship And let us adore And give him his right our glory and power all wisdom and might.

All honor and blessing with angels above and thanks never ceasing and infinite.

This one is a bit new but if you would continue to sing to our Lord I Will glory in my Redeemer.

Redeemer his faithfulness My standing place. The foes are mighty and rush upon me. My feet are firm held by his grace. My feet are firm held by his grace. I Will glory in. Most the grave and death are called my bonds of sin and shame.

Most the grave and death are conquered. Oh my bonds of sin and shame my rock and my Redeemer May all my days Bring glory to your name.

Thank you all for singing. Please be seated at this time and invite pastor John here.

The Gospel of John and the Need for Fellowship

Well, isn't that a blessing seeing David again up here? Amen, and hearing his beautiful voice that God gave him. I'll praise God. And again, if you're watching By video we miss you we love you and There's plenty of room to be six feet from people if you want.

Well open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 2. I don't want to throw anybody off. There's an old saying in ministry when one person has a complaint about the temperature ten other People have it, but they just didn't voice it.

So More than one person has said when are we going to go back to the Old Testament to the jet overview? Well as soon as we can. It's just been on my heart burdened, you know as we look forward as a church.

And as we look ahead to just lay some foundational truths and as you recall We looked at the gospel. What is a biblical gospel, right? We spent three or four Sundays on that and the summary is what doing versus done, right?

Workspace salvation versus a grace through faith based salvation all in Christ. Remember that? Okay, so I don't have to preach all those again. But I was looking at the calendar. Do you realize? That we're already two months into the year.

Do you realize that in four weeks we're going to be celebrating Resurrection Sunday well five weeks and It's typical for me. For years on Palm Sunday. I preach a Palm Sunday message on Resurrection Sunday.

I preach a Resurrection Sunday message and I'm not a prophet at all, but you can write this down if you want. It's not a stock tip but plan a Week or so before Resurrection Sunday on I don't know. We don't have TV, but I guess with cable you can have 125 standard channels.

Does that sound right? 130 and then with premium you can get 230. Well, I just want to tell you right down on a piece of paper. It's not a stock tip, but you can bet That there's going to be a TV special about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and how it's not true Every Christmas, what do we get?

See back in the old days, maybe some of you are old enough to remember we had three channels NBC ABC and CBN. I mean it was a big deal when UHF came in. I mean, it was like these weird shows on UHF channel 40 and Every Christmas there is a special or two or three about the virgin birth of Jesus Christ and how it really didn't happen.

It's impossible for a virgin to give birth to a child and every Easter you had the same deal, you know. He fainted he didn't really die. When Mary came by the tomb he you know had woken up. So on Palm Sunday, which is just three weeks away.

I Which we know is a historical fact. I mean nobody doubts that no legitimate Historian doubts the reality that a man named Jesus Christ rode on a donkey into the gates of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Because it's written down in in history outside of the Bible, right?

So if we're gonna question, you know, why not question that well Where are we gonna stop questioning God's Word? So what I want to do is over the next couple weeks. I want to circle back to this passage in Ephesians that we started our gospel series on and I just want to read a couple of verses and I want you I want to get very personal and I'm gonna do it from a distance.

I Want to get very personal and challenge you to ask yourself a question, okay. Ready for it. Who is Jesus to you? Just think about that for a moment. Who exactly is Jesus to you. If you have your sermon notes, you'll see the message title today is Jesus Christ is God.

But I want to begin the message back here over here in Ephesians chapter 2 as you think about that question. Take a look at Ephesians chapter 2 beginning at verse 1 and you that is Who he's writing to the Apostle Paul to the church at Ephesus He made alive Who were dead and trespasses in sin in Which you once walked according to the course of this world.

According to the Prince of the power of the air the Spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. Among whom also we also once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and Were by nature children of wrath just as the others.

But God who is rich in mercy. Because of his great love which he loved us even when we were dead in trespasses made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved and Raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship Created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

And then he goes into a discussion about the Jew Gentile issue. The wall has come down. I won't take the time to read that because this is what I really want us to focus on. Verse 19. Now therefore that is because of salvation right because of justification by faith.

You are no longer strangers and foreigners. So Jews and Gentiles. But fellow citizens with the Saints and members of the household of God. Having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets remember that Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone in Whom the whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord in whom you also.

You believers are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. So The gospel two three four weeks on the gospel now Jesus Christ look carefully. Jesus Christ The chief cornerstone. And I showed you a picture of a stone building.

We are the stones. He is the cornerstone. And you might recall when we talked about the gospel in a stone building you ask any stone. Mason a journeyman stone if the cornerstone is off on a stone building if it is out of plum.

Even the slightest the entire building will be out of plum. Now we're going to be considering today just two verses if you want to turn there. John chapter 1. John chapter 1. And truly. What do you think of Jesus Christ?

According to the Bible. According to the historic Christian faith. That question is the most important question you or anyone else will ever have to face. Your answer to this question is important because it is in escapable.

Your answer to this question is Important because everyone will have to answer it sooner or later in This world or the world to come. Hebrews 927. It is appointed unto men once to die after this The judgment you don't need a prophet to tell you that all of us one day are going to die.

It's an inescapable fact and truth. And Philippians chapter 2 verse 9 says God has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name. Listen carefully that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of Those in heaven and those on earth and of those under the earth and that every tongue Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.

People say how is God glorified through Adam and Eve sin? You want an answer to that? Right. The whole world is a mess because of that, right? How is God glorified? He's glorified in his son Jesus Christ and Exhibiting his love in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

Can you imagine so your answer to this question is? Important because the quality of your life here and your eternal Destiny depend on your answer to that question. Now look at what John 1 1 says here about Jesus Christ.

In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and The word was God. Somebody was talking earlier about the Jehovah Witnesses before church. They insert a Indefinite article there. They say the word was with God and the word was a God.

They have actually a corrupted both a Greek text and a corrupted English translation to fit their theology. Ah is not there in the original Greek the word was God. He was look carefully in the beginning With God and see we have the explanation for that in verse 14 The word became 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.

So the message title today if you saw your notes is Jesus Christ is God. Let's pray Father we're so thankful for this day. Oh God, it is wonderful to be together with other believers. To sing to worship you father to be encouraged by the fellowship of the Saints.

Lord we pray and ask the Holy Spirit might be our teacher. God might indeed open our eyes of understanding to your word today. Oh God. We need the Holy Spirit to teach us. We need our hearts to be able to receive your word that it might produce fruit in our lives.

We pray in Jesus name. Amen. So who is Jesus Christ if he was only a man then people can safely forget him but if he is God as he claimed to be and as all Christians believe. Then we should yield our life to him we should worship and serve him faithfully.

You think about a person who has never answered this question personally or someone who has assumed perhaps without investigation That Jesus was only a man in particular for those kinds of people God the Holy Spirit Led the Apostle John part of the inner circle of three right Peter James and John.

He Led the Apostle John to write this very gospel to this person who says well I guess he's a historic figure because history proves there was a man named Jesus Christ that walked the earth. He was crucified.

I mean, that's not that's indisputable. Was he really God? Well, John writes this entire gospel to address that question go to John chapter 20 and look what John says About the purpose of his writing this gospel in John chapter 20 verse 30.

John 20 verse 30 and Truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples Which are not written in this book. Look carefully, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ The Son of God and that believing you may have life in his name.

So one of the main reasons that this gospel was written Was for those who do not yet believe that Jesus Christ is God and it was written to lead them to that conclusion. This is essentially what happened to me as I shared with you Month or so ago at the beginning of the year.

This gospel is inextricably Connected to my own personal salvation testimony. So in terms of purpose in one sense the Gospel of John Has the same purpose as the other Gospels Matthew Mark and Luke which is to present to the reader the earthly life death and resurrection of Jesus Christ a Jew who was born under the reign of Herod the Great Who died when Pontius Pilate was the Roman purcator in Judea?

However in another sense John has a purpose that is distinctly unique each of the Gospels when you read them have has a unique Purpose and presents Jesus in a in a different light and a different shed like for accident witnesses at an intersection, right?

They each have their own version. The car was red that hit the white car. No, it wasn't. It was greedy at the yellow car yellow car. I saw a yellow car yesterday, but not in that accident. But see John's purpose was to show that Jesus Christ is God and This is what we would call if you remember back to your college days for those of you that can remember back that far.

Remember when you wrote a paper you had to come up with a what thesis? That's his thesis. Jesus Christ is God. John reveals Jesus as the eternal pre-existing Son of God who became man in order to Reveal the Father and bring men access into eternal life through his historical death and literal Resurrection, how do we know this?

Well because John says so he testifies to it. So what I want to do is I want to unpack and Unwrap what John says back in these first two verses. So we can better see or at least begin to see John's thesis.

So when we turn from the end of John's gospel to the beginning we find John presenting there the thesis. Look at verse 1 That Jesus Christ is God the word was with God. The word was God. Okay, and who's the word.

Verse 14 the word became flesh. And dwelt among us and we beheld his glory now. When you write a composition paper in high school or university The best way to do it is to say in your opening paragraph What it is that you're setting out to prove.

I remember I still remember my freshman college English comp teacher. Literally a hero. You have one of those teachers from high school or college that just absolutely opened up the class to you the course Dr. King at American River College Just absolutely blew my mind one of the greatest teachers I ever had and we had to write a paper on the crucible.

Remember the crucible and death of a salesman. Did you guys write papers on that one? So you say in your opening paragraph what you're gonna set out to prove and then you prove it and when you get to the End you sum it all up and say see I did it.

There's a in in speech in high school speech or college speech. I can't remember which they have that old saying tell him what you're gonna tell him. Right then tell him what you told him you're gonna tell him and then the outline is Tell him what you told him you were gonna tell him again, right?

So three parts to any kind of speech so. So there's different ways to do this. You can be more subtle. They're great preachers of history. They're much more eloquent and adept at doing that than me, but that's the basic idea.

This is exactly what John does because it's good and effective communication. He starts out in these first two verses stating that Jesus Christ is God and then he spends the next 21 chapters. Proving it and then when he gets to the end Chapter 20 at the end that I just read is sort of the end, right?

He says the things that were written in his book were written so that you and I his readers might know that Jesus Christ is God and that we might believe on him. So he begins the whole thing with in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God now. What is John doing? He's testifying that Jesus existed from the beginning. That he was God in the beginning and that he was God. In other words the opening verses of the gospel contain a full statement of Christ's divinity and Declare John's purpose for writing the gospel, which is why he says therefore many other signs.

Jesus also performed the presence of disciples that were not written in this book, but these have been written. I Love it in the Bible when you come to a verse that tells you exactly why the thing is written.

You find that all over the place you find it in 1st John chapter 5. Why was 1st John written. You go to chapter 5 verse 17. You go through 2nd Peter chapter 1. He tells you why he's writing in 2nd Timothy chapter 1.

He tells Timothy why he's writing this. I'm about to die and I want to depart these final truths to you my beloved Timothy son in the faith. So what is the outline of this book? How can we sum up the 21 chapters of this gospel in just a few sentences.

Simple. John begins the gospel in the first two verses stating that Jesus Christ is God and then he proves it in the 21 chapters and. Then when he gets almost to the end He says that the things that were written in this book were written so that you and I His readers and you and I today Might know that Jesus Christ is God and that we might believe on him.

And my personal Salvation testimony is tied to this because by John chapter 3 God had opened my eyes. To this incredible truth that this horrible alcoholic sinner in a hotel room in Rochester, New York Balling his eyes out because of where his life had gone that there was a God that loved him and God showed me that.

So this gospel works now. Circle back. Jesus Christ is what? God. But Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2 that he's what the cornerstone. Not just any cornerstone. What the chief cornerstone because there's more than one cornerstone in a square, right?

You know, I teach pre-algebra, right? So I have to know how to find the area and the perimeter of a square. Trust me. I can do that in centimeters and inches. Don't ask me to do feet. So what I want to do is I want to unpack just a few of the riches of Christological and theological truth that are found in these open verses of the gospel John.

I want to take if you want a figurative hammer and chisel to this cornerstone of Christ and Our understanding get get with me. We have who is Jesus Christ to you, right? Let's take hammer and chisel and let's plumb each side of that Cornerstone of our understanding of who Jesus Christ is.

Let's plumb it and square it to what. Not what we think not who we think Jesus is. But what who what the Bible says? Jesus is and he says that Jesus Christ is God to encourage us in the person and work of Jesus Christ now.

To begin with three things that these first two verses. Teach us about the divinity of Jesus Christ. Three truths about the divinity and Deity of Jesus Christ. Notice. He starts with in the beginning in the beginning.

What's the word? What is he testifying to when he says in the beginning? He's testifying that the word was pre-existent. The word is who Christ. Pre-existent, I don't know about anybody else, but I wasn't pre-existent.

Not to my parents got married. Jesus was before all things. Like God the Father was and is pre-existence. You know, there's several ways In which the phrase in the beginning if you take a concordance nowadays, you don't need it.

You just go to Google, right? Type in in the beginning put it in quotes. You'll get about 85 million hits. You know what a hit is not a fist. Some of you I know you're staying away from computers. There's some people in our church over my dead body.

Okay, I Don't need a computer. I love one of the elderly gentlemen in our church just got his first phone. You know one of these things. He calls it a dumb phone. He doesn't even know how to use it. He doesn't want to know how to use it, but I got it with me.

So in the beginning. How does the Bible start? Genesis 1 1 can you all quote it from memory in the beginning? What God in the beginning? God was pre-existent in Eternity past. God was is and always will be in the beginning God.

There was no beginning. Because God is eternal in the beginning God and what did God do? He created the heavens and the earth. Now, can I explain it scientifically? I teach science. I can't give you The the hypothesis and repeat the experiment.

I could just tell you what the book says in the beginning God and I can give you as much understanding as I possibly can. What does that mean in the beginning? There was no beginning because God is eternal.

I Can't wrap my mind around that but that's what the Bible says in the beginning God. That is such a rich apologetic. For the existence of God. No, no debate. No question. Just a statement of fact first.

John. John the same writer in his first epistle uses the exact same language. He says that which was from the beginning which we have heard which we have seen with our eyes. Which we have looked at and our hands have touched this we proclaim concerning the Word of Life.

But the author but the use of the phrase in John's Gospel goes beyond these uses because when you begin to Talk about Jesus Christ You can do so properly only when you go back beyond his earthly life.

You go back to the beginning of creation. You go back to eternity past that has No idea what it is. That's where Jesus Christ was. Go over to Hebrews. Hebrews chapter 1. Man, I can get on some rabbit trails.

My I'm just so full this morning. I did my cup overflow it. This is found whenever the Bible speaks in detail about the person of Jesus Christ. Hebrews chapter 1. God. Who at various times and in various ways?

Spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. Has In these last days spoken to us by his son. Look carefully whom he has appointed heir of all things. Through whom also he made the worlds or the universe.

In the book of Revelation. It tells us that Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. The beginning and the end the first and the last in Philippians. Paul writes that Jesus when Jesus before Jesus became a man he was in very nature God.

Philippians 2. Philippians 2. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God Did not consider it Robbery to be equal with God while he was on earth. But made himself of no Reputation taking the form of a bondservant doulos that we covered last week and coming in the likeness of men these statements about Jesus Christ all point to the pre-existence of Jesus as one Important aspect of his divinity.

Go to John back to John and go to John 14. Second John testifies that the word that is Jesus Christ was with God, right? So the first two verses of John in the beginning was the word and the word was with God.

Now look at John 14. John 14 9. Have I been with you so long and this is towards the end of his earthly ministry. He says to Philip have I been with you so long and yet you have not known me Philip. He who has seen me Has seen the father.

So, how can you say show us the father? Do you not believe that I am in the father and the father in me? Now go back to John 1. In the beginning was the word and The word was with God and the word was God.

Jesus is and always will be fully God. But he is separate and distinct from God the father. It wasn't God the father that came to the earth and was born of a virgin Right and lived a sinless life and died a cruel crop a cruel death on the cross and rose again after three days.

Now there's a final phrase in here. Then the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. Actually the Greek order there is God was the word. But it doesn't flow in the English that way.

This means that everything that can be said about God the father can be said about God the son. God was the word right God was the word everything that can be said about God the father Can be said about what the word and who is the word Jesus Christ?

Everything that can be said about God the father can be said about God the son because Jesus Christ is God in Jesus dwells the wisdom, glory, power, love, holiness, justice, goodness and truth of the Father.

In him, God the Father is known. That's why he said so many times in John, When you see me, who are you seeing? God, the Father. He was in the beginning, verse two, with God. With these words, the highly emphatic and unequivocal statement of the full divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ is ended.

Two verses. Oh, I'm not convinced. Verse three. All things were made through him. The word. And without him, nothing was made that was made in him was life. And the life was the light of men. So three truths about the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Just in the first two verses, we didn't even get to verse three. I just gave that to you free. Jesus is the chief cornerstone. Listen, in the days in which we live. Do I need to tell you about how wicked the world is becoming?

Do I need to give you examples from the news? Do you understand we are literally in a free fall of immorality and wickedness in this country? Do you understand that? So understand Satan from the very beginning attacked God.

He attacked the authority of his word. He he he mocked God. Did God really say? So understand that attacks on Jesus Christ and who he is. He wasn't just a good teacher and a good man. He was God. We have to be right about who Jesus is.

Was and always will be. Jesus Christ was with God in the beginning, whenever that was. Before the very creation of the earth, Jesus was there with God and he is God. All right. So that's some Christology.

That's just, you know, a little lettuce with some, you know, that's an appetizer. It's that dollar 50 extra salad you get at lunch. Would you like a salad with that? How much? Dollar 50. You know, you get that little thing about like that.

You know, it is it's a handful of iceberg lettuce, which has absolutely no nutritional value. You know that, right? Just yeah, that's a freebie. No charge. Romaine, you need Romaine. So we have these two verses about Jesus's deity and divinity.

Now, second, how about some practical application? Right. What does it matter to say that Jesus Christ is God? How does the fact that Jesus Christ is God impact our Christian faith today? Just a couple.

So rich. Number one. To say that Jesus Christ is God is to say that we can now know the truth about God. To say that Jesus Christ is God means that we mere humans can know the truth about what God is like.

Can I give you the counterpart, please? Apart from Jesus Christ. We can't really know God. You see, if the one is true, the other has to be true. Dear friends, please ask yourself an honest question. Who is Jesus to me?

See, apart from Jesus Christ, no one can know the one true God. Is God the made up and thought up God of Immanuel Kamp, the German philosopher? Or he is, is he the God of the other philosophers? Is he the God of the mystics?

Is he the God of Islam? See, to answer questions like this, apart from Jesus Christ, we don't know who what God is like. But since Jesus Christ is God, then we do know because to know the Lord Jesus is to know God.

There is no knowledge of God apart from the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is no knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ apart from the knowledge of the Bible. You see, one of one of the saddest stories in all of God's word concerns this theme over in chapter 14.

I already read it once. Look at this, John 14, 9. Philip says, well, I want to go all the way back to Thomas. I'm actually going to go back to verse four. Jesus is talking about when he goes away, he's preparing a mansion, right?

Verse three, I prepare a place for you. I will come again, receive you to myself that where I am, there you may be also and where I go, you know, and the way, you know. Now watch, Thomas said, Lord, we don't know where you're going.