FEBRUARY 12 / FEBRUARY 19, 2017
CHRIST THE ETERNAL WORD
INTRODUCTION:
1. We fully believe that the author of the fourth Gospel is the Apostle John, the son of Zebedee, who was an eyewitness of many of the things which he recorded. (See John 19:35; 21:24) Even though John does not mention himself by name, there is little doubt that he is the writer of the Gospel which bears his name. (John 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20)
2. To the reader it soon becomes clear that John is different from the other three (Synoptic) Gospels. The aim of the Synoptic Gospels is to recount the events of Jesus’ ministry, and give something of a consecutive history. John, on the other hand, though he too writes of the life of Jesus, has an aim that is more theological than historical.
3. Two of the Synoptics (Matthew and Luke) begin with the birth and genealogy of Jesus. Matthew, in presenting Him to Israel as the King Messiah, wishes to connect Him to the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants as the hereditary heir to the throne of David. Luke, by tracing His genealogy back even to Adam, wishes to present Jesus as the Son of Man, and Savior of all mankind.
4. The great theme of John’s Gospel is The Person of the Word made flesh, Who not only dwelt on earth (Ch. 1:14), but as He ever since has dwelt on earth in the hearts of all believers.
5. In Verses 1-18 we have a prologue to the narrative in which John sets forth the grandeur and importance of the subject.
I. JOHN PRESENTS THE WORD AS ETERNALLY ONE WITH GOD AND THE ACTIVE AND EFFICIENT CAUSE IN THE DIVINE WORK. (VERSES 1-4)
A. THE WORD POSSESSES FULL DEITY. (VERSES 1, 2)
1. Three assertions are made in this marvelous first verse with respect to Christ, who is the Word.
a) The Word is eternal. (Verse 1a) “In the beginning was the Word,…” At the beginning of creation, i.e. the temporal beginning of all things (See Gen. 1:1), the Word already was. He is eternal, as God is eternal.
b) The Word is co-equal with God. (Verse 1b) “…and the Word was with God,…” (See Gen. 1:26: “Let us make man…”) The phrase, “with God” tells us that He was a distinct Person from the Father; that the Word was in intimate communion with the Father, and that there was complete equality of the Word with God.
c) The word was Himself God. (Verse 1c) “…and the Word was God.” This indicates much more than that the Word was divine. It means that the Word possessed in Himself true deity. The Word, though a distinct Person, was of the same essence as God the Father.
2. A powerful confirmation that the Word was eternal with the Father. (Verse 2) “The same was in the beginning with God.”
a) Of whatever beginning one might conceive, the Word was there.
b) Here, however, John is speaking of the beginning of the creation.
c) This confirms that “the Word was God,” for God alone is eternal.
B. THE WORD WAS ACTIVE IN THE CREATION OF ALL THINGS. (VERSE 3)
1. The Word was the agent of the divine creation. “All things were made by Him.” Literally, “all things became by Him.”
a) He Who was did not come into existence, for He was before all things. (Col. 1:17)
b) All else came to exist by Him.
c) Those who claim that He was a created being, deny His eternality, and therefore, His deity. The gross error of all who do so is a fatal one, for it rejects that which John sets forth as being of vital importance in man’s redemption.
2. This gives the foundation for the Word being the agent of divine redemption.
C. THE WORD WAS LIFE AND LIGHT. (VERSE 4) “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
1. All created things receive their existence from Him, but life is more than existence, it is a quality of being. Every living thing receives its life from Him.
2. Every manifestation of life in the world whether spiritual of physical is owing to the Person of the Word.
3. By means of this life, men, that is, all moral beings, obtain light.
a) This is all Gospel light progressively given before Christ came.
b) This is all the moral and rational light given to mankind.
II. JOHN PRESENTS THE WORD AS REJECTED BY AN UNBELIEVING WORLD. (VERSES 5-11)
A. THE WORD, BY WHOM ALL THINGS WERE MADE, CAME INTO HIS OWN CREATION. (VERSE 5) “The light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
1. The marvelous creation which shone with the light of its Creator became “darkness” by the fall.
2. The beginning in John 1:1 is the same as the beginning in Gen. 1:1. John is writing to those familiar with the book of Genesis.
3. The state of darkness here is that which was brought about by man’s betrayal of His Creator, falling prey to Satan’s lie, and through disobedience, becoming subject to sin and falsehood. As soon as man ceased to live in Him Who is life, there was darkness.
4. The light shining is the ministry of the Word down through human history, and culminating in the Incarnation.
a) This light shined through the patriarchs and the prophets, and was realized in the ministry of our Lord. The hostility of the darkness in all of its resistance and persecution is not able to snuff out the light.
b) The active hostility against the light was due to the incapacity and unwillingness of the darkness to recognize and understand the light. “And the darkness comprehended it not.”
c) There is a twofold indictment against fallen mankind. First, men of darkness are unwilling to hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they hear Christ. Second, they are in love with darkness and prefer darkness to light. (Luke 16:29, 31; John 3:19; 5:39, 40, 46, 47)
B. GOD SENT ONE BEFORE AS A WITNESS TO PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE APPEARANCE OF THE WORD. (VERSES 6-8)
1. God sent a man named John for a witness to bear witness of the true light. (Verse 6)
a) Notice the contrast: He was a man; the Word was God. He came to bear witness of the Light; the Word was the Light.
b) He was the last in a long line of witnesses, yet he broke a long silence. He was sent to prepare the way for Jesus. (Verse 6; Isa. 40:3-5; Mal. 3:1)
c) “His name was John,” which means “God shows grace.” He came not only to announce the Messiah, but to announce the nature of the coming age. “The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (Verse 17)
2. This man came as a witness to the Eternal Word as the Light, so that all men in darkness might believe. (Verse 7)
a) Only through faith in Christ is the darkness dispelled. (Matt. 4:16; Col. 1:12, 13)
b) John’s witness was necessary because of the form in which the Light was to appear. (Verse 14)
c) The objective was “that all men through him might believe.” John bore “witness,” “testimony” of which the correlative is faith. The reciprocal response to a faithful witness is belief. “…that all men through him might believe.”
3. The witness himself was not the Light. (Verse 8)
C. DESPITE THE OVERWHELMING FACTS IN EVIDENCE, THERE REMAINED INCREDIBLE UNBELIEF WITH MANKIND. (VERSES 9-11)
1. The Word was rejected even though He was the Light of men. (Verse 9; Verse 4)
2. The Word was rejected even though He was the world’s Creator. (Verse 10; Verse 3)
3. The Word was rejected by Israel even though He was their Messiah. (Verse 11; Verse 5)
a) Jesus came “unto His own.” Literally, His own things: His home; His own land; His own temple.
b) Jesus came to His own people, i.e. the Jews, the natural children of Abraham.
c) “His own received Him not.” They did not welcome Him, but rather hated Him, and even slew Him.
III. JOHN PRESENTS THE WORD RECEIVED BY THE ACT OF FAITH. (VERSES 12-18) John holds up the Person of the Word to the eye of faith as the true hope of all mankind.
A. THERE IS A SHARP CONTRAST DRAWN BETWEEN THE SHOCKING UNBELIEF SEEN IN VERSE 11, AND THE RECEPTION OF FAITH IN VERSE 12.
1. Mankind, generally, and Israel, particularly, did not welcome Him. (Verse 11)
a) He was not received by His own, that is, He was not welcomed, literally.
b) Israel officially did not welcome Christ, Whom they should have received with open arms.
c) The leaders who sat in Moses’ seat should have flung the door open wide but instead, they slammed it shut.
2. Believers, individually and particularly did receive Him. (Vse. 12) That word, “receive,” refers to an individual, personal act, in contrast to the official, corporate act seen in Verse 11. Saving faith is always individual and personal.
3. Receivers were given authority to become God’s sons.
a) This faith is the product of regeneration, as the next verse will show. “…which were born…” that is, born before this receiving act of faith occurred.
b) As many as received Him were granted authority to become part of the family as adopted sons. (Gal. 4:6, 7)
B. THEREFORE, FAITH MANIFESTS THE REGENERATING POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. (VSE. 13)
1. Here are three things to which the new birth cannot be attributed.
a) It is not by natural, hereditary descent, as the Jews were prone to think. “not of blood…”
b) It is not by virtue of man’s free will as so many groups are want to believe. “…nor of the will of the flesh.”
c) If is not by the force of human determination. “…nor of the will of man.”
2. Here is the one and only effectual source for credit, as to both its means and accomplishment. “…but of God.”
C. THE POWER OF FAITH IS EXPLAINED. (VERSE 14a) “The word was made flesh and dwelt among us.”
1. The power does not lie in faith itself.
2. It lies in the object of faith, which is, “the word made flesh.”
D. FAITH RESTS UPON A THREE-FOLD TESTIMONY. (VERSES 14-18) Notwithstanding the unbelief of the majority of mankind, the mission of the Word made flesh is certain.
1. It is certain because of the testimony of eyewitnesses, of whom John is one. (Verse 14)
2. It is certain because He was pointed out by the one sent by God to bear witness to the Light. (Verse 15)
3. It is certain because of the witness of the whole church. (Verses 16-18)
a) We have all received our fullness from Christ. (Verse 16a)
b) Grace upon grace is the experiences of Christ’s people.
(1) The law could only partially reveal God. (Verse 17a)
(2) The Gospel fully reveals Him (Who is grace and truth) through Jesus Christ.
c) The only begotten Son is the true revealer of the Father. (Verse 18)
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