Sermon Tone Analysis

In The Beginning

Verses 1-2

Is Mary the “Mother of God?”

Is Mary the “Mother of God?”

Early in Christian history there arose a controversy within the church over the answer to this question, “Was Mary the Mother of God?” “The Council of Ephesus in AD 431 decreed that Mary is the Theotokos because her son Jesus is both God and man: one divine person with two natures (divine and human) intimately and hypostatically united.”

Christ's humanity and divinity are in one individual existence.

He is fully God and fully man.

In early Christendom there was a controversy over whether Mary should be given the title, “Mother of God.”

The answer to this question is critical to our understanding of Jesus and our salvation.

Ultimately the Council of Ephesus in 431 said Mary was the Mother of God.

However, we must understand the term for its intended use.

Mary was the “Mother of God incarnate” not the Mother of God the Father nor the source of existence for God the Son.

Jesus was fully human and took his flesh from Mary.

However, Jesus is also fully God and as such has always existed.

In fact, Jesus, the Word of God, was the creative agent through which all of creation came into being.

He was the creative force of God by which everything was made.

Colossians 1:16-17

“In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

W A Criswell — The written Word, the spoken word, the incarnate Word, all three of them are the same.

God and His Word are unique in creation and in revelation.

A man and his word may be two different things; but not God and His Word.

God’s Word is like Himself:  the same yesterday, today, and forever [].

The written Word, the spoken word, the incarnate Word, all three of them are the same.

God and His Word are unique in creation and in revelation.

A man and his word may be two different things; but not God and His Word.

God’s Word is like Himself:  the same yesterday, today, and forever [].

Word — In the Old Testament God expressed Himself by His Word.

He spoke the universe into existence…His Word or revelation came to the prophets and His Salvation came at His Word

So John uses this imagery in reference to Jesus.

He calls Jesus the “Word” indicating that He is the highest expression of God’s creation, revelation and salvation.

Word — In the Old Testament God expressed Himself by His Word.

He spoke the universe into existence…His Word or revelation came to the prophets and His Salvation came by His Word

So John tells us the creation, revelation and salvation of God, which we see in the OT is now truly found in Jesus..He is God…He is God’s ultimate expression of Himself to us.

So John tells us the creation, revelation and salvation of God is Jesus..He is God…He is God’s ultimate expression of Himself to us.

Theologically, the term "Mother of God" should not be taken to imply that Mary is the source of the existence of the divine person of Jesus, who existed with the Father from all eternity, or of her Son's divinity.

Within the Orthodox and Catholic tradition, Mother of God has not been understood, nor been intended to be understood, as referring to Mary as Mother of God from eternity — that is, as Mother of God the Father — but only with reference to the birth of Jesus, that is, the Incarnation.

The “beginning” referenced here is the absolute beginning of the universe.

There was a time when the universe did not exist, time did not exist, matter did not exist, there was nothing at all.

Theologically, the term "Mother of God" (and its variants) should not be taken to imply that Mary is the source of the existence of the divine person of Jesus, who existed with the Father from all eternity,[14] or of her Son's divinity.[15]

Within the Orthodox and Catholic tradition, Mother of God has not been understood, nor been intended to be understood, as referring to Mary as Mother of God from eternity — that is, as Mother of God the Father — but only with reference to the birth of Jesus, that is, the Incarnation.

John’s Gospel gives us the answer and a proper understanding of the person of Jesus

In the midst of this “nothingness,” God existed and Jesus is God.

It is crucial that we understand this so that we are not confused about the identity of Jesus.

Is Mary the “Mother of God?”

In early Christendom there was a controversy over whether Mary should be given the title, “Mother of God.”

The answer to this question is critical to our understanding of Jesus and our salvation.

The “Word” in the Old Testament is “God’s powerful self-expression in creation, revelation and salvation, and the personification of that “Word” makes it suitable for John to apply is as a title to God’s ultimate self-disclosure, the Person of His own Son.”

Ultimately the Council of Ephesus in 431 said Mary was the Mother of God.

However, we must understand the term for its intended use.

Mary was the “Mother of God incarnate” not the Mother of God the Father nor the source of existence for God the Son.

Jesus was fully human and took his flesh from Mary.

However, Jesus is also fully God and as such has always existed.

He was not just a man.

He was a man but also fully God.

We must never lose sight of this.

God created everything with His spoken Word, it was the expression of His power; He reveals Himself through the Word He gives to His prophets and others and He saves the world through the “Word of His Gospel” which finds it’s ultimate expression in the person of Jesus Christ.

One must conclude whether they believe Jesus to be God or not…there is no half way…no compromise on this point…any attempt to do so compromises His message and mission.

Jesus is the “Word.”

The power, revelation and salvation of God…but also simply God Himself.

In fact, Jesus, the Word of God, was the creative agent through which all of creation came into being.

He was the creative force of God by which everything was made.

John brings this point home by taking things a step further...

The Light of a Thousand Suns

Verses 3-5

Jesus, the Word of God, was the creative agent through which all of creation came into being.

He was the creative force by which everything was made.

God created life.

He is the origin of life.

Nothing was made and nothing continues to exist apart from Jesus.

No inanimate matter ever became life apart from Him.

And the advent of life reveals the reality that there is God

“The self-existing life of the Word was so dispensed at creation that it became the light of the human race.”

God poured out life into creation and in doing so has made Himself evident to all mankind.

Romans

Theologians call this “general revelation.”

God has revealed His power, character and nature in the creation to such a degree that it lights the sky like an infinite number of suns…it can be seen by everyone.

Romans 1:

People refuse to believe that which they don't want to believe, in spite of evidence.

When explorers first went to Australia they found a mammal which laid eggs; spent some time in water, some on land; had a broad, flat tail, webbed feet, and a bill similar to a duck.

Upon their return to England, they told the populace of this, and all felt it was a hoax.

They returned to Australia and found a pelt from this animal and took it back to England, but the people still felt it was a hoax.

In spite of the evidence, they disbelieved because they didn't want to believe.

People refuse to believe that which they don't want to believe, in spite of evidence.

When explorers first went to Australia they found a mammal which laid eggs; spent some time in water, some on land; had a broad, flat tail, webbed feet, and a bill similar to a duck.

Upon their return to England, they told the populace of this, and all felt it was a hoax.

They returned to Australia and found a pelt from this animal and took it back to England, but the people still felt it was a hoax.

In spite of the evidence, they disbelieved because they didn't want to believe.

This demonstrates the absurdity of the position of an avowed atheist.

How could one look at the creation and NOT see God.

His existence is evident and to take any other position is to abandon all reason.

George Bernard Shaw is perhaps most renowned as a free thinker and liberal philosopher.

In his last writings we read, "The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt.

Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, led, instead, directly to the suicide of Europe.