The Book of John - 3
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction: As we continue slowly through John chapter 1, we come to verse 4. The Bible says, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
In this opening prologue, John is using the term, the Word to declare truth to us concerning the Lord Jesus Christ before He became incarnate.
“In using the term “Word” (logos), John was using a term familiar to both Jews and Greeks, though each attributed a different meaning to the term. For the Greek mind the “Word” referred to the rational principle that supervised or governed the universe. To the Jew, “Word” was a reference to God.” James Emery White, “John,” in Holman Concise Bible Commentary, ed. David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998), 466.
For the Jewish people, we might think of the phrase, “the word of the LORD” at the head of many of the prophetic books. We might think about all that was given in the law. We might go back and think about God’s creative power recorded for us in Him speaking, even as is recorded for us in Psalm 33:6 “6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.”
We will discover as we continue through the book of John, that the Apostle John uses a number of expressive titles for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Expressive titles for the Lord Jesus Christ in John 1:
These much like the revealed names for God as meant to help us to understand more about the Lord.
The Word (1:1, 1:4)
The Light (1:9)
The Christ (1:20)
The Lamb of God (1:29)
The Son of God (1:34)
The Master (1:38)
The King of Israel (1:49)
The Son of Man (1:51)
We have so far seen the:
I. Prologue - The Revelation of the Word 1:1-14
I. Prologue - The Revelation of the Word 1:1-14
A. The Word vs. 1-5, 9-14
A. The Word vs. 1-5, 9-14
The eternality of the Word. vs. 1a
The co-existence of the Word. vs. 1b-2
The deity of the Word. vs.1c
The Creator God: the Word. v3
Let us now consider verses 4-9:
5. The Word is life and the Light. v4-9
Here in this prologue is a natural progression to the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God is first revealed to us in the vastness of eternity.
Then we have the Word revealed as part of the Triunity of God.
This is expressed in the coexistence of the Word with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
Next He is expressed as God.
And then as the Creator and the giver of life.
We go from the infinite to that which you and I can begin to grasp.
How is it that our infinite God has dealt with us?
This is the declaration of the Gospel, that God came to save us!
In this fourth verse, we are introduced to two key words for the book of John. They are life and light.
It is from this point that this Gospel record begins to tell us narrative concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and His earthly ministry.
The Bible tells us two things, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
We discover inherit to the Word is life.
As we see all that is around us, we understand that the life we possess is life that was given to us by God.
The life that the Word possesses is “in Him...”
The Word possesses divine life because He is God.
Not by any communication or derivative as John Gill states, “but originally, and independently, and from all eternity...”
In other Words, the Word is the I AM.
He is, and in Him is life.
Following this, we find He is the light that communicates life to men.
Merrill C. Tenney had this to say concerning this usage of the word life in verse 4, “Life as a noun occurs no less than thirty-six times in this Gospel and eleven of these are in conjunction with the adjective eternal. Its connotation is not merely that of conscious existence, but of the life of God as a principle, expressed in human experience. Merrill C. Tenney, John: The Gospel of Belief, The New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), 66.
God is always the source of light and life. Christ the Son, the Creator, provides life and light to humanity.
He alone is the life-giver and the light-bearer.
The Bible tells us that in Him was life. And His life is the light of men.
Because of this He is later described as the only true Light. (verse 9)
You see this Gospel record tells us that man’s need can only be met in the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we progress through the book of John we will continually be confronted with the Lord Jesus Christ who is life and the Light of all men.
The Bible goes on to describe for us what will be before us in this Gospel record, namely, “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
The Bible says in II Corinthians 4:5-6 “5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
The light of Christ shines in darkness.
This true Light, the Lord Jesus Christ, reveals to us our sinfulness and our need for Him as our Savior.
Tenney states in His commentary, “The word true (alethinos) means true in contrast to secondary rather than in contrast to false, original rather than correct. It is used of God in 17:3, where the stress lies on the ultimate character of God’s being, not upon the essential truthfulness of His personality.” Merrill C. Tenney, John: The Gospel of Belief, The New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), 67.
The darkness here refers to fallen man. Every man that enters this world is in spiritual darkness.
The prophetic announcement of Zecharias in the 1st chapter of Luke spoke about this concerning the Lord Jesus Christ when he said, “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
And so the Lord Jesus Christ came and is the light of the world.
His life, which is recorded for us in such vivid display gives light to men.
He showed His light first to the Jews. The Bible says, that “He came unto His own and His own received Him not.” (vs.11)
But this “true Light” is the light, “which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (v9.)
In other words, the light of Christ is for all men.
We are reminded of the wonderful hymn, The Light of the World is Jesus,
It goes something like this:
The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin,
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Like sunshine at noonday, His glory shone in;
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Refrain:
Come to the light, ’tis shining for thee;
Sweetly the light has dawned upon me;
Once I was blind, but now I can see:
The Light of the world is Jesus!
Before our Savior entered into this world, the Bible tells us of God’s messenger who was sent to be a witness and prepare the way of the Lord.
Notice in verses 6-8 “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.”
John the Baptist did bear light, the Lord Jesus Christ referred to this in John chapter 5 as a burning and shining light.
John 5:35 “35 He [John the Baptist] was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.”
John the Baptists’ light though was of a temporary sort. The word used in that passage indicates a burning lamp, which of course in time would cease.
We would think about maybe a candle that is lit, by an external source.
Whereas the word light here is in connection with the Lord Jesus Christ speaks to luminance inherit in Him.
His light is the true Light.
His life is the light of men.
John’s job was simply to point others to the True Light.
Our purpose is bound up in this today as Christians carries on the ministry of John from a different perspective. We too are to “bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.”
Of course, our perspective on this is different because this man sent from God whose name was John, was the forerunner to the Lord Jesus’ earthly ministry in this world.
You and I look backward at His life, His death, His burial and His resurrection. We herald this to lost world,
We declare that the Light of the World is Jesus.
All that men need is seen by looking at the Lord Jesus Christ.
John was a witness, the Bible tells us.
The word used for witness in verse 7 is where we get the word martyr.
It is the word μαρτυρία (martyria).
In the secular world, this would be one that is a legal witness to the facts.
There is a sense in where someone who can attest to the facts is a witness. When the word is used in this way it as a noun. Because they have witnessed, they can be a witness (verb).
John was equipped with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit from His mothers womb.
This is recorded for us in Luke 1:15.
In John 1:33, John declares to us, “33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.”
God dealt with John specially to reveal to Him the Christ, the Lamb of God.
We can only surmise by bits and pieces all that God spoke to John the Baptist about in his younger preparatory days in the wilderness.
But we can certainly say this, because John had spent time with God and was indwelt by God he could be a witness for God.
You and I, like John are to be witness because we are witnesses.
We attest to the truth of God’s Word and our Lord Jesus Christ, because we have been with Him.
John purpose like ours is expressly given.
There was no question in John’s mind what he was to be doing.
And so, the Bible tells us “The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.” (vs.7)
When we put this all together, it is astounding what the Lord allows us to be involved in.
Think about it for a moment.
God became man without ceasing to be God. This was by necessity because of man’s need for a Savior.
He dwelt among us, the creator and sustainer of all the world.
He became sin for us who knew no sin....He is the Lamb, slain to set us free.
He is the only true Light.
He is the Light which every man needs.
And of all the world, He had selected John to be a witness to this marvelous, enormous truth!
This, God-man the Lord Jesus Christ, is all that the world needs, and we are witnesses of Him.
Example: Oftentimes the moon is used as a great example of our responsibility, in that the moon, though it shines has no light in of Himself, but rather reflects the glory of the Sun. And so, we as beholding Christ reflect glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. As soon as the Sun rises light abounds so that men may see.
And we look at the Scriptures and see such a specialized time in which God used this man, and yet you and I in this dispensation have a more sure word of prophecy before us to attest to.
We live in the time that the Savior has already come, and bled, and died and rose again.He sits at the right hand of the Father on high. He has already sent the Comforter the Holy Ghost, who tells out the the hearts of men the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we are special Ambassadors for Him!
In verse 8, we see the great disclaimer of John’s work.
The Bible says, “8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.”
All eyes upon Jesus Christ is the proclamation heralded down through the centuries.
John Gill said this concerning this verse, “He was a light [speaking of John the Baptist]; he was the forerunner of the sun of
righteousness, the "phosphorus" of the Gospel day; he had great light in him; he knew that the Messiah was ready to come, and declared it; and upon his baptism he knew him personally, and signified him to others:”
Think about the ministry that John the Baptist had among the people, for the Holy Spirit is careful to point us to the Lord Jesus Christ. He states of John the Baptist, “He was not that Light...”
Robertson in His word pictures said this, “The light was shining and men with blinded eyes were not seeing the light (John 1:26), blinded by the god of this world still (2 Cor. 4:4). John had his own eyes opened so that he saw and told what he saw. That is the mission of every preacher of Christ. But he must first have his own eyes opened.” A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), Jn 1:7.
I want you to see that the true Light, is available to all men.
When we think of this treasure name for the Lord Jesus Christ and His life being the light for us.
We begin to see the simplicity of the Gospel.
Such simple words, and yet such profound truth.
These words, life and light are easy to understand in contrast with death and darkness.
And yet, there is a great depth to the life and ministry of Christ being fully-God and fully-man who gave His life a ransom for us.
We will stop here for today and continue looking at this wonderful epilogue.
Let’s pray.