The Reality Of The Uncaused Cause
Notes
Transcript
One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. So they picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him.
The scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer need you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't you just go on and get lost.”
God listened very patiently and kindly to the man. After the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well, how about this?
Let's say we have a man-making contest." To which the scientist replied, "Okay, great!"
But God added, "Now, we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam."
The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.
God looked at him and said, "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt!"
Historical/Cultural Context -
Historical/Cultural Context -
The Gospel of John was written between 90 AD and 100 AD. Scholars also believe that John wrote the three Epistles and the book of Revelation around the same time-frame as he wrote this Gospel. According to Dr. J. Vernon McGee “John wrote at the request of the church which already had three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke were being circulated) and wanted something more spiritual and deep, something that would enable them to grow.” Indeed this Gospel has been dubbed by most scholars as “The Spiritual Gospel.” In it we find profound truths and deep meaning. He sticks to the behind-the-scenes spiritual truths of who Jesus is, and what He is about.
Some interesting things to note that I came across during my study of this Gospel.
Matthew and Mark emphasize the miracles of Jesus, and Luke gives attention to the parables. John does neither.
The miracles in John are given as signs and were chosen with a great deal of discrimination in order to interpret certain great truths. (For example, the discourse on the Bread of Life follows the feeding of the five thousand.) There are eleven specific signs in the Gospel of John.
There are no parables in the fourth gospel. The word parable does occur one time in John 10:6, but it is not the regular Greek word parabole but paroimia. This word ought not to be translated “parable” at all. The story of the Good Shepherd is not a parable; it is a discourse [that is illustrative].
Biblical Text -
Biblical Text -
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 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 we 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 of His fullness 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.
-[Prayer]-
-[Prayer]-
Life Principle - True Christians Believe That Jesus is God & the Light of the World & that they are a child Of God Through His sacrifice.
Life Principle - True Christians Believe That Jesus is God & the Light of the World & that they are a child Of God Through His sacrifice.
Life Point- Jesus Is Not Created But Is The Uncaused Cause Of All Things.
Life Point- Jesus Is Not Created But Is The Uncaused Cause Of All Things.
Exegetical -
Exegetical -
In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
Homiletical -
Homiletical -
In the beginning.
The beginning of all things. The beginning of the universe.
The Word already existed. Meaning Jesus already existed before the universe was created before time and space existed Jesus was there. Not only that but this states that Jesus was with God and was God.
By the way the greek word used for was here carries with it an image of continual existence. Not that he was and then stopped being, but that he was there in the beginning, existed before the beginning and continues to be for all of eternity.
This does not mean that God has a beginning but that the universe has a beginning. The triuine God has always existed and will always exist outside of time and space. He has no beginning and no end. He is the uncaused cause of all things in the material and spiritual universe.
Here me, God created all things and without the second in the trinity nothing was created. Because all things were created through Him. God is the creator.
Not evolution, not theistic evolution (which says that God used evolution to create). No, God directly created all things.
There is evidence of this throughout the world that proves the account in Genesis. We will not belabor this point this morning but if you want to talk about it after service I would be more than happy to do so.
Then it says that Jesus, The Word, gave life to everything that is alive.
His life, that is The Word, brought light to everyone. We know that Jesus is the light of the world.
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
Because Jesus is God and shines in the darkness, nothing can ever extinguish the light.
As humans we constantly want to bring God down, or take away from the deity of Christ. We want to say that God will win, but it will be hard for Him. If you don’t believe me, look at the movies that deal with the supernatural. It always some fight and they put the devil on the same playing field as God.
Is it a struggle when you turn on the light in the dark? Does the dark fight back or does it just flee? It flees, it retreats as it were. God is so much bigger than the enemy of our souls. Jesus is so much bigger and more powerful than we give Him credit. Don’t let anyone take away from the power of this statement.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
Some will says that Jesus is the first thing to be created and then He in turn created us.
To say that Jesus is a created being completely invalidates His deity. He is not a created being, but the being that did the creating. He is God. This is an essential of the Christian faith. To changes this, is to change the Gospel. Don’t fall for anyone that would tell you otherwise. Don’t let anyone tell you that Jesus is a created being. He is not, He is God. He is God from Eternity past to Eternity future. He is infinite.
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
Life Point - Jesus Is The Light Of The World & To Not Proclaim Him Is A Sin.
Life Point - Jesus Is The Light Of The World & To Not Proclaim Him Is A Sin.
Exegetical -
Exegetical -
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.
Homiletical -
Homiletical -
Though everything we see was made through Jesus, everyone in the world rejected Jesus. All nations rejected God.
Adam and Eve rejected God when they ate of the knowledge of good and evil. we were all in Adam and so we all have original sin and all have rejected Him.
When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
Later, after the flood man was told to spread out and repopulate the earth, and man rebelled and instead stayed in relatively one spot and built the tower of Babel in order to reach God. For their disobedience God scattered them through the earth and confused their languages.
When Jesus came, He came to His own. The Jewish people. But instead of receiving Him whole heartedly as a nation, they put Him to death.
So with all of this in mind we can see why God would send John the Baptist to proclaim the light is in the world and on the way. He was sent to proclaim the light. To proclaim the coming of our Lord.
Our job as christians is to proclaim that He has come into the world and has brought peace between God and man through His sacrifice on the cross.
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.
For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
We are not John who prepared the way for the light preaching the kingdom is at hand. We are Christians who are to bear witness of the light, preaching the kingdom of heaven is here and ready to receive all those who are being saved into that kingdom.
To not share the Gospel, to not witness for Christ is a sin. We were told to go and make disciples. That is a command and to not do so is sin.
Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
Life Point - The Christian Is A Child Of God, Not Just A Slave.
Life Point - The Christian Is A Child Of God, Not Just A Slave.
Exegetical -
Exegetical -
But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.
John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’ ”
From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.
For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
Homiletical -
Homiletical -
To truly receive Christ requires the use of faith that Christ gives to us.
We are not born-again by our own will, of blood or works but are born again by God.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest anyone should boast.
A true born-again Christian is given the right to become a child of God. You see a slave is a slave, but a child of God is much closer than a slave. A child has the right to know what the parents are doing. They are loved much more deeply than a slave is, if the slave is loved at all. The born-again Christian is loved deeply as a child of God. That is your position in God’s eyes, if you have been born-again.
Then we are told that Jesus, the Word, took upon Himself flesh and dwelt amongst us. What a statement, that the God of the universe would condescend to our level and dwell amongst us, even die for our sins. When you truly think about it, it is mind blowing.
John bore witness of His deity for he says that Jesus came after him, but was before him.
The law, which brings forth death because no one can keep it perfectly, was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness comes through Jesus Christ. Through the New Covenant made in His blood, not by human hands or human will but by the will of God and by God’s hand.
We know that God the father is spirit and no one has seen him except for Jesus. Jesus makes the father visible to us. His attributes and His purposes for our lives are shown in the God Man Jesus Christ.
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
I and My Father are one.”
Jesus said to him, “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? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.
Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
Are you living as an honorable child of the Most High God? Believing the position that Christ has made you a part of? Are you showing others the way to Christ and showing them what a child of God looks like?
Christianity isn’t about rules and regulations but is about a relationship with God.
Is your life marked by that relationship? Do you know Him and spend time with Him?
Have you ever been introduced to Jesus at all?
Life Principle– True Christians Believe That Jesus is God & the Light of the World & that they are a child Of God Through His sacrifice.
Life Principle– True Christians Believe That Jesus is God & the Light of the World & that they are a child Of God Through His sacrifice.
Call to Action – altar call….
Call to Action – altar call….