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More than all in Him I find, He hath granted me forgiveness, I am His, and He is mine.
John chapter 1, as we continue our study of this gospel. Every week I'm increasingly made aware of the complexity of this gospel, even though John expresses himself in rather short, simple sentences with a rather simple vocabulary, nevertheless there's a depth, there's an intricacy of this gospel that is quite amazing.
And even as we address it and present it, I want to do it in a way that's understandable for us and not overwhelming, frankly, because it is a very rich, rich gospel. This, of course, is the third Lord's Day in our study of this gospel of John.
We're presently working through John's prologue, which is contained in verses 1 through 18. And as we've already noted, John's purpose in his prologue was to establish at the outset of his gospel that the invisible God, the eternal God, was working within history through his word in order to save his people from their sin, that's the purpose of the prologue, set the stage.
John's prologue first introduced us to the pre-incarnate Son of God, begotten of the Father from eternity, in the beginning was the Word. He set forth as the eternal Word who was with God in the beginning, who was in fact God.
John declared, secondly, that this Word of God was present and active in the creation of all things. The Word was the agent through which God created everything. Thirdly, John stated that the presence of the Word continued to be active in the world that he made, and that he gave life and enhanced life as the true light of the world.
But the world that he created was enveloped in darkness, a dreadful spiritual condition in which the inhabitants of the world are unable to see and perceive the light of the.
Word.
And so, we see God therefore sent a witness, that means John the Baptist, to bear witness of the light, even though the world was in darkness and could not perceive it. But we now arrive to verse 10 of John chapter 1, in which we read of the Word himself having come into the world, but no one in the world knew him or received him for who he was.
Actually verse 9 rather than 10. Even his own people, the Jews, did not receive him, as we'll see in verse 11, but some did receive him according to verses 12 and 13. But they did so only due to the grace of God causing them to be born anew spiritually, which enabled them to see and believe and thereby they were enabled to become the children.
Of God.
Now the outline that we have been developing through this prologue is as follows. Again the prologue being the first 18 verses. The first five verses of this prologue is basically an introduction to the Word.
Last Lord's Day we addressed the witness of the Word, being principally John the Baptist. And then today we address the manifestation of the Word, which is verses 9 through 13. Commentators of John's gospel differ in the content and order of their outlines of the gospel.
I found no two outlines identical with one another. For example, the outline that we have listed there, just those few points, reflects a change of emphasis from John the Baptist's witness to the Word, which is contained in verses 6 through 8, to the manifestation of the Word that begins with verse 9 and continues through verse 13.
But others, including the translators of the New King James Version, include verse 9 with the previous paragraph. In other words, verses 6 through 9. We have it 6 through 8. These New King James translators then have verses 10 through 13 in the next paragraph, with verse 14 separated from those verses in yet another new paragraph.
And if you compare translations side by side, you'll notice there are differences in their identification of paragraphs, which verses are to be included in which paragraph, reflecting the understanding of the translators.
Now although the translation that we're using is the New King James Version, the outline we're using differs from the paragraph division of the prologue in the New King James Version. Our outline follows the paragraph distinctions of the English Standard Version, which I think is a better rendition.
The ESV has the prologue organized in four paragraphs, and that's basically what we're following. The first paragraph contains verses 1 through 5, the second paragraph verses 6 through 8, the third paragraph verses 9 through 13, and then the fourth paragraph of the prologue is verses 14 through 18.
I think that one of the major reasons for differences of opinion on how to organize our outline in John's Gospel is due to the repetition of words, which on the surface seem to suggest a continuance of the paragraph.
And just looking at the words, one might conclude verse 9 belongs with verses 6 through 8. But actually upon closer inspection, I think we can see there are other distinctions that would argue the ESV probably has it right.
Verse 9 begins the new paragraph, even though there's the same words found in the previous verses. So we'll read John 1, 9 through 13. Again here we have the manifestation of the Word. In verse 9 we have the Word is set forth as the light of every man in the world.
The New King James Version, which we just read, translates verse 9, that was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. Look at that closely. The true light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
So although we're using the New King James Version, we must point out its faulty translation of this verse. And as we do, let us remember that although the original writings of the original writers are the inerrant inspired Word of God, the translations of the Greek New Testament and the Hebrew Old Testament and other languages are only inspired to the degree that they accurately reflect the original writings.
And so our translations are good, but they are not necessarily perfect. And the New King James Version as well as the King James Version translators were wrong in their translation here, verse 9, in this way.
Again the New King James Version reads, that was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. But actually the phrase coming into the world is a reference to the true light coming into the world, not to every man coming into the world.
That's an important distinction. The fact is John's Gospel never uses the expression coming into the world as a description of people in general. You and I didn't come into the world, Jesus Christ came into the world.
When you think in those terms it seems quite apparent, doesn't it? And elsewhere in John's Gospel there are references to Jesus Christ coming into the world, not every man coming into the world. And so a better translation of verse 9 would be as the ESV or the English Standard Version has, the true light, and I embolden and italicize that, which gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
It was the light coming into the world, not every man coming into the world. Important distinction. And to see that this is best we might consider our Lord's own words in John 12, 36, which reads, I have come into the world as light.
See Jesus himself is making that declaration, isn't he? I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. This corrected translation is agreed upon by most commentators.
And so William Hendrickson, who was a reformed commentator of the last quarter of the last century, quite a good one, last half of the century, the phrase coming into the world must not be understood as modifying every man as the AV, and that AV is an abbreviation for authorized version, in other words, another name for the King James Version, authorized by King James, not necessarily because it's the best, you know, or more accurate translation, but that's how it's called, the AV.
The Gospel of John does not contain any indisputed passage in which the expression coming into the world refers to the birth of an ordinary human being. On the other hand, it is customary for the apostle to speak of Christ as the one who came into the world, and there's, what, half a dozen references there, where Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John is described as having come into the world.
And so if you have a new King James translation, perhaps it would be good to make a notation of this. The coming into the world refers to the true light, not to every man. But the question still needs to be answered regarding verse 9, is the true light coming into the world referring to the eternal word of God, illuminating all humanity from the foundation of the world, or rather, is the light coming into the world a reference to the incarnation, when the word became flesh, which is it?
And the answer is, it's probably referring to both. The light has always been coming into the world to illuminate mankind, but the light came most fully and clearly in the incarnation, when the word became flesh and dwelt among.
Us.
The light coming into the world. The true light is the subject of the sentence. Here we have the familiar repetition of terms that is common to John's writing style. And so the gospel writer has already used the term light five times before verse 9.
Five times in verses 4 through 8. And here are those five occurrences, and I am bold and italicized the word. Verse 4, in him was life, 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.
Repetition of word.
A word.
And then again in verse 9 we read, the true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. Because of the frequent use of the term light in the previous five verses, it's understandable why there are those who would link verse 9 with verses 4 through 8.
It would seem like verse 9 concludes that little discussion about the light. One can understand why some would view it that way. However there's a difference being expressed in verse 9 about the light, than what was expressed about the light in verses 4 through 8.
And again we have to look closely and think clearly about these matters. This isn't necessarily easy. Whereas in verses before verse 9, the gospel writer was emphasizing the word in a cosmological.
Sense.
In other words, the word that was outside of the world. Beginning with verse 9 we read of the word at work within the world. And so here's a statement of one commentator that expresses this, it's a little difficult but I think he expresses it accurately.
Having plunged the word into the history of the world, the prologue is now able to make manifest the word, leading to the coalescence, or the coming together of the cosmological and historic strands of the plot.
The incarnation, verse 14. The focus is now shifted so that the work of the word is now a work in the world. This shift in focus gives warrant for considering verses 9 through 14 as a distinct section from within the prologue.
As part of the prologue, this section is guiding the reader to see the invisible and the visible, with the climax being the incarnation, the visible manifestation of the word. That's a very astute observation.
In other words, what John was doing was progressing through his prologue to bring the word of God in eternity, verse 1, before creation, to the words manifestation to the world in his incarnation, verse 14.
He's progressing from one to the other. And in verse 9, John, although he does not fully state the incarnation of the word that became flesh, here he's really introducing and suggesting this event, which he will not overtly declare until verse 14.
And so, whereas the word was operative upon the world, the word came into the world. The light was in the world, as we see in verse 9. And so, even though the term light is repeated here in verse 9, it contains additional information not found previously in the prologue.
First, the light is described as the true light. The Greek construction gives emphasis to this adjective, true. John speaks of the light, the true, that's how the Greek is literally translated. That John describes the light as true indicates that the light is real and genuine, ideal.
And the emphasis to make clear that this light is the light part excellence. And its qualifier true implies it is real, authentic, genuine, even though it's not recognized as such. The world didn't recognize it as such, but it is the true light, even if nobody sees.
It.
He is the true light. Now, what is precisely meant by the idea the true light gives light to every man coming into the world? That seems to be a pretty easy, straightforward sentence. What does it mean?
And there are actually a number of different proposals as to what it means. And William Hendrickson, in his commentary, and it's a good commentary on John, identified five different proposals as to what is meant by this statement.
The true light gives light to every man coming into the world. Here they are. A, Christ, who is the light, actually grants spiritual illumination in the highest, fullest sense of the term to every human being dwelling on earth without exception.
I imagine the Unitarians across the parking lot would agree with that one. Some argue that. B, he grants this spiritual illumination, which renews both heart and mind to every covenant child, whether elect or not.
And some lose it again. C, he grants this supreme blessing to every man who is saved in the sense that not one of the saved receives this illumination from any other source. Every true Christian receives this illumination.
The true light gives light to every man. This true light coming into the world. D, there are those who argue that this means that he bestows upon every human individual without exception the light of reason and conscience.
In other words, because you can think and you can reason through things, they would argue that that is the light that gives light to every man. And then E, he illumines every man who hears the gospel.
In other words, God imparts a degree of understanding regarding spiritual matters, not necessarily bringing salvation to all those whose ears and minds are reached by the message of salvation. In other words, God illuminates people to the truth that's the word of God.
The majority of people, however, don't respond favorably to this. Many who have the light prefer darkness. Some, however, do entirely to the sovereign saving grace of God, receive the word with proper attitude of heart, mind, and obtain everlasting life.
Hendrickson then argues what he thinks is the most likely interpretation, the right interpretation. He dismisses A and B at once, and he's right in that. He says that the fourth possibility, the letter D, is favored by eminent conservative exegetes and proclaims an element of truth that must not be denied, but he's not in favor of that one either.
He's in favor of either C or E, but actually prefers the last one, the latter one. And so I read through that, and I wasn't too satisfied with it, because it didn't seem to fit the text to me. And so although Hendrickson makes some good points, I believe there's another better understanding of what's expressed in verse 9.
The above proposed explanations either speak of understanding salvation given to all people without distinction, which is certainly not biblical, or to professing Christians or true Christians only, in other words, a limited number of people.
But the verse clearly says that this light enlightens everyone.
See that?
Everyone. It would seem without distinction. And so it seems to suggest that this speaks of an understanding of God that God grants to every human being, whether they're Christian or not. This idea is set forth elsewhere in the scriptures that God has revealed his law in a measure to all human beings, rendering them responsible and accountable before God for their knowledge.
And this was the understanding of Arthur Pinck, and so I appreciated what Pinck had to say in his commentary. Regarding verse 9, Pinck wrote, it speaks of the relation which Christ sustains to men,.
All men.
He is their light. This is confirmed by what we read in verse 9, that was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. In what sense then is Christ as the life, the light of men?
We answer in that which renders men accountable creatures. Every rational man is morally enlightened. All rational men show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, Romans 2 .15.
It is this light which lightens every man that cometh into the world that constitutes them responsible human beings. By the way, if you're very attentive here, you'll see Arthur Pinck is falling back on that wrong translation, but aside from that, he's right in what he says here.
By nature, spiritually, he is dead in trespasses and sins, and yet notwithstanding, the natural man is responsible, a responsible being before God, to whom he shall give an account of himself. Responsible because the work of God's law is written in his heart, his conscience, and also bearing witness.
And this we take it as the light which referred to in John 1 .4 and the lightness in John 1 .10, and the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehends it not. And I think that's the right way to understand it.
The light that was coming into the world enlightens all people everywhere. And everywhere you go, a human being has a sense there is a God. And every human being, wherever you go, has a sense of accountability before God.
You have to teach someone to be an atheist, because they're born into this world with a God consciousness. They don't know the true God, but they know there is a God. Their conscience tells them so. And they have to sear their conscience to get that out of their minds, because the true light that's coming to the world has given light to everyone.
And by the way, that's one of the assumptions that you and I can understand and assume when we're talking to somebody out on the street, cold turkey. You know that they know there's a God. And they might have repressed it, they might deny it, but regardless of even their strongest denials to you, you know that they know there's a God.
And you confront them with that truth. And you know that their conscience is going to be dealt with unless they've so seared it that they can no longer even think rationally. Now let us again give more direct attention to the word light in verse 9.
John wrote, the true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world. Light is used 20 times in John's gospel. It's one of these words that's frequently found. Seven of those 20 are found here in John 1, verses 4 through 9.
And so the word is repeated in the text itself. And again, this explains why in our study of this passage, this word light keeps resurfacing. In fact, I went back in the last two Sundays and looked at my sermon notes.
And two weeks ago, I used the word light 54 times in my sermon notes. And last Lord's Day, I used it 68 times. And believe it or not, in the notes thus far, we're on page 4 of our notes, I've already used the word light 65 times in my notes this morning.
It's an important word which we need to understand and reinforce as it recurs in the text. In John's gospel, light is a reference to Jesus Christ himself. And more specifically, of the life that Jesus Christ bestows to the world.
This is what light is in John's gospel. John had declared this forthrightly in verse 4, in him was life and the life was the light.
Of men.
And so it's a metaphor, it's a term filled with meaning, it's the life of Christ. And so as in the first creation, God said, let there be light. And what commenced afterwards was the appearance of life, Genesis 1.
So when Jesus Christ is perceived for who he is and the light of his life is manifest to them, life results, new life results. His life is the light of men. Paul wrote in a similar way in 2 Corinthians 4.
But even if our gospel is veiled or hidden, it's veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age, that would be the devil, has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus, the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light out of dark, who shone in darkness, referring to Genesis 1, who is shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
We preach Jesus Christ. And when God turns on the lights, people see it. Life is in him. And they're transformed. One final word regarding verse 9. This is the first occasion in which we read the word world.
And it's used frequently in John's gospel. In fact, John uses the term world 70 times. One of the concerns I have for this study that's going to go over many months is we're going to keep coming across the same words over and over.
And yet there's going to be a filling out of meaning in these. And I've got to figure out how to capture that and convey that without being too laborious to you. Well, let's consider secondly, the world does not know the word.
Verse 10. John 1, 10 reads, he was in the world and the world was made through him and the world did not know him. Again, the word world was first used in verse 9, which we considered, however, it's used three times in verse 10.
And it's in this verse, verse 10, that the term world becomes used in a way that's reflected in many places in the gospel. The term is being filled out, enhanced for our understanding. As one stated, although world is first mentioned in verse 9, it's in verse 10 where it begins to receive important definition, which becomes foundational to the use of this central term in the gospel.
Notice the movement. In other words, the change in meaning within the word of God with respect to the term world from verse 9 to verse 10. In verse 9, we read the true light, that is the word, was coming into the world.
But in verse 10, we read that he was in the world, coming into the world, was in the world. There's a distinction there. In verse 9, John spoke of the light of the second person of the Holy Trinity or the eternally beyond Son of God is coming into the world through history, illuminating all mankind with knowledge of the true God and knowledge of sin and the conscience of all people.
We talked about that. But in verse 10, we have a reference to the incarnation. He wasn't just, he was not just coming into the world, revealing to people truth. He was in the world. This is speaking about his incarnation, isn't it?
This word became flesh, although he doesn't declare it forthrightly until verse 14. Here, the incarnation is suggested, is being hinted at. And once again, Arthur Pink, I think, nailed it. He was in the world, refers, we believe, to his incarnation and the 33 years during which he tabernacled among men.
Then it is said, and the world was made by him. This is to magnify the divine glory of the one who had become incarnate and to emphasize the tragedy of what follows. And the world knew him not. He was in the world.
Who was? None other than the one who made it. How was he received? The great creator was about to appear. Will not a thrill of glad expectancy run around the world? I remember when I was converted, I thought, this is such a wonderful thing.
All my friends are going to rejoice to hear it. Was I surprised?
They weren't.
But you'd expect that, wouldn't you? The wonder and the joy of life, eternal life in Christ. But how was it received? The great creator was about to appear. Will not a thrill of glad expectancy run around the world?
He is coming not to judge, but to save. He is to appear not as a haughty despot, but as a man holy, harmless, undefiled, not to be ministered onto, but to minister. Will not such in one receive a hearty welcome?
Alas, the world knew him not. Full of their own schemes and pursuits, they thought nothing of him. Unspeakably tragic is this, yet something even more pathetic follows. John declared the world was made through him.
The Greek preposition is quite, the Greek preposition that's translated as through, is quite precise in its meaning. The word, that is the pre-incarnate word of God, was the agent through whom God created.
The world.
In creation, God the Father issued the decree to create. God the Son was the agent who executed that decree. He created everything. And so the Son of God created the world, or worlds, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
When it says everything was made through him, Jesus Christ was the agent through which God created all things. And there are other places in the New Testament where it says the same thing. Again, the language is very precise.
For example, Colossians 1, 16, for by him all things were created that are in heaven, that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through him, as well as for him, that is for the purpose of bringing benefit to the Son.
But the point is, it was through him God created all things. Yes, the Lord Jesus was the creator, but he was executing, basically, the decree of God the Father. And Hebrews 1, verse 1 and 2 states it also, long ago at many times, in many ways, talking about the Old Testament times, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
God created the world through Jesus Christ. He was the agent. Now with regard to the word of God as the agent through which God the Father created all things, we might consider a word from Isaiah's prophecy.
And probably most of us are familiar with this passage, because it's most commonly applied to the Holy Scriptures. And it should be, by the way. However, it can be easily applied to the living word of God as well, Jesus Christ.
As God the Father sent his word on a creative and redemption mission. And so, Isaiah 55, 6 -12. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near, let the wicked forsake his way, the unrighteous man his thoughts, let him return to the Lord, he will have mercy on him, to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven, do not return there, but water the earth and make it bring forth and bread, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, and here it is, I've emboldened it, italicized it, so shall my word be that it goes forth from my mouth, it shall not return to me void, see it goes forth, it's sent to use John the Gospel's language, and then it returns, it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
For you shall go out with joy, be led out with peace, the mountains and the hills shall break forth and sing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Again, this passage is commonly applied to the scriptures, the written word of God, and that's good, and that it's applied in that way, but if you read it carefully, you'll see that the word is personified in this passage.
The word is he that goes forth out of God's mouth, in other words, God's decree, and then his word goes forth and accomplishes what was decreed. This is true of the eternal word of God, the eternally begotten son of God, as the agent, and so the word is he that goes forth out of God's mouth, in other words, the word is an active entity going forth due to God's decree from his mouth, and this word accomplishes the purpose for which he was sent, and then he returns to God having accomplished all of God's will, and this is what the pre-incarnate word of God did in the creation of all things, and this is also what the word of God does in the incarnation.
God sent him forth, and he came into this world to accomplish all that the Father had assigned him to do, securing the redemption of his people, reconciling the fallen, rebellious word to himself, and then he returned to God.
He came forth, and he didn't come forth void. He didn't come forth having failed in the task he was sent. He came back as God's agent, being sent by God the Father, having accomplished everything for which he was sent.
Now in John 1 .10, we have stated that this world that God the Son had created was ignorant of him, and the world did not know him. The New International Version, as well as the New Christian Standard Version, which is a newer translation, translate this clause, the world did not recognize him.
Many in the world saw him, but they didn't recognize him for who he really was. This speaks of the incapability of people to know God, even though God had manifested himself in very clear, continual, and extensive ways.
The light of God's glory has bathed this world with presence and knowledge of God, yet man does not see him, does not know him. This conveys the truth that is everywhere found in the Holy Scriptures, we cannot know the true God unless God reveals himself to us individually.
And there are two reasons for this inability that characterizes each of us. First, there's a problem that God is infinite, an infinite spiritual being, and we're finite physical beings. There's no correlation there, there's no common ground there.
God is infinite, and you're not. You cannot know him. You can know in a measure what he's like, but it's only a similarity. You cannot really know him for who he is. There's a vast, even infinite distance between who God is and who we are.
There's nothing created or physical which can accurately or fully depict or represent God to us. He is so unlike us. We've emphasized that in the past, the great creator-creature distinction that we must always preserve, and people get in trouble when they fail to keep that distinction.
They begin to refashion God into someone like themselves, and that's idolatry by the definition of what idolatry is. God is infinite in all his attributes, he's unchangeable in all of his dealings, he's too vast for our comprehension, he's too holy for our abiding in his presence, why, we can't even seek God for who he is, for no man shall see me and live.
Any manifestation of God we see in the Bible there, for example, we see the Father represented as sitting on the throne in Daniel 7, in the Ancient of Days, Daniel 7, and the Father sitting on the throne in Revelation 5, that's just a visible manifestation, very limited, so you and I can comprehend him in a measure.
Because the fact is, God is spirit, and God is fully everywhere, right? He's just as fully here as he is in heaven, and so any manifestation of God to us, apart from Jesus Christ, is an analogy, is an anthropomorphism, as they call it, appearing in some ways human so we can even comprehend in a measure what he's like.
But it's all by way of analogy, we can't know him for who he actually is. And then the second reason we cannot know God is because we're sinners, and sin has rendered us unable to know him through our own reason or effort.
And the Word of God teaches us, there's none that seeks after God, you didn't, I didn't, and so if we find ourselves seeking after the Lord, we know it's because of a work of grace in us, because natural man doesn't do so.
Natural man is like Adam and Eve, they heard the presence of God coming, they ran and hid. And that's what natural men do when the true God is presented to them. People don't want the true God until a work of grace in their soul gives them that desire and that ability to know him.
And so apart from grace, apart from God revealing himself, he's not going to be known. And so because of our two-fold inability, we're finite and sinful, if God is to be known to us, God must reveal himself to us.
It's a work of God's grace in illumination that reveals himself to sinners. God must show what he's like through who he is, primarily by what he's done and what he does. He does so by the Holy Spirit illuminating the true light of his Word, the Bible, but God must reveal himself to us by communicating to us through his Word, the Holy Scriptures that he has given to us.
And it's only through Jesus Christ that we can know the true God, because in Jesus Christ the divine nature is joined with the human nature, not that they're mixed, but the divine nature took upon himself a human nature, and the only reason we can therefore know God is because of the human nature of Jesus Christ.
There's a connection there, and that's why Jesus Christ is the only mediator between.
God and man.
The Pope isn't, Mary isn't, angels aren't, Jesus Christ alone is, because he is the God.
Of man.
Now, Lord Jesus affirmed the inability we have as finite, sinful creatures to know the true God. He said these words, all things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father.
That includes you and me. Only the Father knows the Son. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal him. If you know God today in a relational sense through faith in Jesus Christ, it's because the Son willed to reveal him to you.
It was a work of grace. You didn't find Jesus. He found you, didn't he? You were the one who was lost. Jesus wasn't lost. You didn't find Jesus. He found you. Now, before we move on from verse 10, let's consider closely the three uses of the word.
World.
Again, we're getting into some fine points here. Now, we've said in the past that ultimately the precise definition of word is shaped by the context in which the word is used. And so, although you can look up the word world, say, in a dictionary, and it'll list maybe eight or ten meanings of the word world, and usually the most commonly used in society would be listed as one, they're in descending order of importance or usage.
That's not how you come to the Bible. A word will have a broad definition, but once it gets within a verse and context mixed with other words, it becomes precise. And, actually, there's two different uses of the word world here in this verse.
It's used three times. Two of the uses are the same. The third is quite different, if you look closely. Here in verse 10, the first two uses of world carries the idea of the physical created universe.
But the third use of the world carries a different meaning. It speaks of the human race. The term is shown in its living relational sense in the third clause. Now, we're getting down to nuances here, but this is important because a lot of the misunderstanding about John's gospel centers around a wrong definition of word, like the word world.
We'll get to that in John 3 .16. And so, as one wrote, Leon Morrison, a commentator in the middle of the 20th century, notice a subtle shift in the meaning of the word world. On the first two occasions, it refers to the earth together with all that is in it, including.
Man.
But on this third occasion, it signifies men at large, more particularly those men who came into contact with Jesus of Nazareth. And so, the repetition of words sometimes is misleading. There's a depth and precision here that is quite amazing.
And so, we have to pay close attention to the meaning of words within the context in which they're found. Well, let's consider thirdly, his own people did not receive him. In verse 11. And we're going to be skipping over a little bit of this because of the time.
He came to his own and his own did not receive him. This is a reference to Jewish people generally. Only relatively few, a remnant of Jews, believed on Jesus as the promised Messiah, the son of David, the son of God.
Move this up a little bit. And this was one of the scandals of the early church. How can you say Jesus is the Jewish Messiah when Israel didn't embrace him? And this challenge would commonly arise. This is the charge that the Apostle Paul addressed in Romans chapter 9.
After Paul expressed his own love and concern for the salvation of the Jewish people, and as he was aware of this question, how can you say Jesus is the Jewish Messiah when Israel didn't accept him, Paul responded in this way.
He said, first of all, it's not as though God had failed in his effort to save him. You shouldn't think that God tried to save Israel and failed in doing so. God doesn't fail at anything he tries to do.
Secondly, Paul went on to declare, for they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children, because they are the seed of Abraham. But in Isaac your children shall be called. This is very important.
If you understood this verse, it would discredit much of dispensational teaching that is all over the radio, all over television, all over books. Paul draws a distinction here between Israel and Israel, doesn't he?
Two Israels here are identified by Paul. Our dispensational friends argue vehemently against our Reformed theology when they advocate the Bible distinguishes, when we argue, the Bible distinguishes between physical Israel comprised of ethnic Jewish people, the physical descendants of Abraham, and spiritual Israel, which are all those who are saved from their sin by God, by God's grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.
There is physical Israel and there is spiritual Israel. And Paul declared this. How can you say he was a Jewish Messiah when Israel didn't accept him? He says, well, not everyone in Israel is really Israel.
Paul stated very clearly in Romans 9 .8, those who are the children of flesh, these are not the children of God. In other words, just because you're descended from Abraham physically, that doesn't make you a child of God.
But the children of the promise are to be counted as the seed. Paul argued that this was true of Abraham's children, specifically. Although Abraham fathered Ishmael long before Isaac was born, Ishmael was not an heir of the promises of God.
God passed over Ishmael. Rather, God promised Abraham, it was through Sarah that his child would be born. And he, Isaac, would be the heir of the promise to Abraham. And so Paul wrote in Romans 9 .9, for this is the word of promise.
At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. And elsewhere, Paul argues that all true believers in Jesus Christ are children of promise, just like Isaac was. If you're a Christian, you are a child of promise as much as Isaac was a child of promise.
That's what he argues. Whether or not people are Jewish or Gentile is immaterial according to Paul. Just as Isaac was the son that God had promised Abraham and Sarah, so it's true of you. If you're a Christian, you're a child of promise, that God had promised to be redeemed and made a member of the family of God.
Abraham is your father if you're a believer in Christ because you have the same faith as Abraham. And Paul argued in Romans 4, originally God told Abraham, I will make you a father of many nations, meaning Gentiles.
Abraham is our father. With regard to the blessings of salvation that were promised to Abraham, we are the inheritors of those promises. Paul went on to declare the fact that God's promise of salvation was not based on physical descent by arguing from Jacob and Rebekah's twins.
These twins were born. Jacob and Esau. Esau was born first. The blessing should have come upon Esau, but God, ahead of time, before they were born and before these children did any good or bad, in order to demonstrate that it's God's grace and election that makes the determining matter, God told Rebekah, the elder shall serve the younger.
In other words, Jacob would be the inheritor of the promises of God. And again, Paul was arguing, you know, you shouldn't think that somehow God has failed because not all Israel believed on Jesus. It's never been that way.
Through history, it's never been the case that all of the physical descendants of Abraham were blessed of God. And then again, Paul reasoned the whole matter. This was all done to show that it was all of grace.
All God's doing. Now John wrote in the verse we're looking at, verse 11, that he came to his own, Jesus came to his own and his own did not receive him. John doesn't give the specific reason why his own didn't receive him here.
He didn't argue as Paul did later. This was in the purpose, the sovereign purpose of God. What John is implying here is that Jesus Christ had come into his own people who should have recognized him, who should have acknowledged him, but they failed to do so.
And so John didn't state it forthrightly, but certainly it's implied the Jewish people were to be faulted for their failure and their refusal to believe on Jesus. Of course, when we speak of the culpability of the Jewish people for not having received him, we're not in any way putting them down and justifying ourselves because really they were just a representative of the world.
The whole world was enveloped in darkness and we would have done the same thing apart from God's grace. Well lastly, we look at the blessing of those who did receive him in verses 12 and 13. Here we read of the wonderful blessing of those who did receive Jesus Christ.
John wrote, 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 the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.
John wrote, but as many as received him. Although his own people, the Jewish people, for the most part did not receive him, some did and some do. And those who do so are not necessarily Jewish, but Gentile also, as one wrote.
While the world and its representative, the Jewish people, rejected the Savior, individuals accepted him. But these persons received the greatest spiritual benefit without respect to nationality or physical descent.
The expression, as many as, amounts to whosoever, whether Jewish or Gentile. That's a good point that he makes there. The Jew was very slow to learn that in the new dispensation there are no special privileges based on physical relationships.
And the evangelist, that would be John, is keenly aware of this Jewish trait, as he indicates again and again in his book. It is therefore not at all strange that John dwells on this great truth and develops it in some detail in verse 14.
And of course to these ones, as many as received him, to them gave he the right or authority to become the children of God. Now verse 12 is commonly used to advocate the need or responsibility for the sinner to do something in order to receive salvation.
It's asserted to receive him means to accept him. And although this is true in a measure, it can be somewhat misleading. In other words, this idea of receiving him in verse 12 is commonly used to appeal to non-Christians, to make a decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, to accept him as it were.
And so it's often put at the end of a gospel presentation, an invitation that many churches observe, many tracts, now he's done all he can do, now you need to accept him, you need to receive him, as many as received him.
And so they're told if you do this, if you receive him in prayer, the sinner's prayer, that you'll be saved. Well, this spirit of decisionism permeates evangelicalism, it has since about 1850 or.
So.
It's the belief that fallen man has the ability to do his part combined with God doing his part. God's done everything he can do, now you have to accept it. And you do this in a prayer, they say. And this is really errant, the combined effort between a sinner and God, and between the two of you, you come up with salvation, is sometimes called synergism.
Sin coming together, the Greek word together, the second part, the G-E-R-I-S-M, speaks of working together, God and man, sinner, working together between the two of you, you come up with salvation.
But the Bible teaches monergism, in other words, a single work, and that's the work.
And that's what Reformed theology teaches. That's what the Bible teaches. And so I would suggest that the idea of those who receive him, in verse 12, describes more of a passive reception of Christ, bestowed by God, rather than an active acceptance of Christ offered by God.
He's not talking about people accepting something that's offered to them, he's talking about something that happened to them. They received him. Now don't misunderstand, certainly we advocate the responsibility of sinners to respond to the gospel, they're to repent and believe, certainly.
They're commanded to repent. But the idea of receiving Christ, I would suggest, is more a result of God's grace in the soul, rather than an act of our will, accepting Christ. I have led hundreds and hundreds of people in my early years, back in the later mid -70s, early 80s, mostly 70s, hundreds and hundreds, maybe several thousand of people to accept Christ using John 1 .12 as a proof text.
It's up to you to accept him as your personal savior. And they did. But they didn't receive Jesus. What is described in John 1 .12 didn't happen to the vast majority of them. They weren't being saved, even though they claimed to be accepting Christ.
This idea of receiving Christ, I would suggest, again, is more a result of God's work of grace, rather than the soul acting to accept something. Consider what this commentator had to say. Now this is kind of difficult, you know, it's a little nuanced here, but he's right.
John simply begins verse 12 by telling that some received him in sharp contrast to those described in verses 10 -11. The term receive can have a more general meaning relating to reception, in other words, receive what is offered, in other words, accept.
Or a more specific meaning relating to authority, accept or recognize someone's authority. Interestingly, the term is found to have the latter meaning, and he cites two passages in John's Gospel. And he argues, therefore, in the same context, that this is how John 1 .12 should be understood as well.
And it would seem to me, even though John emphasizes verse 12, as many as received him, to them gave either right or the authority to become the children of God, the emphasis is on verse 13. Whatever these people experienced, although conveyed to them through receiving him, was due solely to the sovereign regenerating grace of God, not due to some action they took.
John very clearly stated, after identifying them who received him, they were born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. You cannot receive him unless you're born of God.
In fact, one could argue that to receive him is to be born of God. Christ in you is the hope of glory. When did you receive Christ? When you were born again by the grace of God, the Holy Spirit. It's what happened to you, not something you did.
That's the whole emphasis here. Some were saved, but it was due to the grace of God and solely the grace of God, not because of some decision that somebody makes at the end of an invitation. We don't have time to deal with the wonder of being a child of God, we'll have to at some point.
You and I cannot fathom what's entailed in becoming a child of God, but it means that God relates to you in a whole different way than those who are not Christians. God is a father who has promised to provide for you.
God is a father who has promised to answer your prayer. God is a father who promises to protect you. God is a father who is always ready for you to come to. God is a father who trains you as a child. There are blessings in this life that we enjoy every day, probably take for granted, but you and I cannot comprehend the glory that's going to be conferred upon us on the day of the resurrection when we come into the full adoption of being children of God.
It's beyond our comprehension, is what Paul argues in Romans chapter 8. You and I are going to be looking at one another and be amazed at the glory emanating from us because we have been made by God's grace children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Now John makes it clear that those who received him, those who were born, they were ones who were believers. He makes it very clear, I hope you take time to read the notes, he makes it very clear, you did not become born again by believing.
He says they were born, he talks about believers, they were born. The new birth preceded faith. He makes that very clear in verse 13. And by the way, there is a point of emphasis in the Greek text I'll just draw your attention to.
In an English translation it says, who were born, not of blood, not of the will of flesh, not of the will of man, but of God. In the Greek, it takes the verb and puts it in the last place, and he does it for emphasis.
He first says who, and then he dismisses any possibilities and then concludes with emphasis, no you're born of God. It wasn't due to who your daddy was, not of blood, it's not because of your free will, it wasn't due to the will of the flesh, it wasn't because somebody was really concerned for your soul, the will of man brought you to salvation, you were born of God.
And that's the only way, an explanation of how you and I as sinners came to receive Christ. That God did a work of grace in you and me, and it was a sovereign work of grace. Because if you were like me, maybe you weren't, maybe you grew up in church and there's never a time you haven't known Christ, good for you, you're the blessed one.
But some of us weren't, and I can tell you the last thing I wanted to be in this world was a Christian. I had no interest, and it was just something that was just totally, I was totally averted to, had no desire, and I looked, had no respect for the Christian.
You know, Christian is for old women, children, and weak men, was my attitude. And so how can you explain how any of us become Christians? It's a work of God's grace, isn't it? And John's going to emphasize this over and over and over in the Gospel of John, and may he get glory for it.
Let's pray. Thank you, our Father, for your work of grace through Jesus Christ, and that although he provides light for every one of us, always has, always will, that light was not perceived by us because our souls were enveloped in darkness until that time that day when you turned on the lights, as it were, and enabled us to see the glory of God in the face of Christ, and we were wonderfully saved on that occasion when we truly received him as our Lord and Savior.
Help us, Lord, to go forth from this place with great gratitude in our souls and with a great confidence, our God, that you can save the greatest of sinners, and you do so.
Through your Gospel.
Help us to be faithful, to proclaim it rightly, truthfully, and broadly. For we pray in Jesus' name, amen.