TRUTHS AND CHRIST'S EXISTENCE
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Introduction
Introduction
-Church unity is so important, and is emphasized in many other places in Scripture. And I believe it is constantly emphasized because there are forces out there that would like nothing better than to see a church fall into disarray, and thereby lose its influence.
I’ll close with this:
~Years ago National Geographic had a feature about the arctic wolf. The author described how a seven-member pack of these wolves had targeted some musk-oxen calves who were guarded by eleven musk-oxen adults. As the wolves approached their prey, the musk-oxen adults bunched together in an impenetrable semicircle, with their deadly rear hooves facing out to kick the wolves.
~As long as the oxen stayed united, they were safe. However, a single oxen broke rank, and the herd scattered into nervous groups, and the wolves were then able to go after the calves.
-Spiritual wolves continue to attack the church today, but they cannot penetrate and destroy when the church stands together. We are a united body with a singular purpose of knowing Jesus and making Him known.
-I invite the church to come to the altar today to pray for a supernatural unity that is found in Christ, and united we are able to move forward with His kingdom work.
-Maybe, in hearing this message today, you realize that there is some sort of division on your part—either someone did something to you to alienate you, or maybe you did something to alienate someone else—why not get that settled this morning. We as a church don’t need a chink in the armor. And getting right with others to be united with them in peace is what pleases the Lord.
-Maybe you have never united yourself with Christ—you unite with Christ first by faith and repentance, and then you can unite yourself with a church. Jesus died for you to save your soul—believe on Him today.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
-There are three important truths that John gives about Christ’s existence. He first talks about:
I) The divinity of Christ (vv. 1-2)
I) The divinity of Christ (vv. 1-2)
-The first two verses of the gospel pack a theological punch that, to be truthful, can be overwhelming, using human imagery to try to convey in human language what is actually very difficult for humans to understand.
-How can the temporal understand the eternal? How can the finite understand the infinite? It might be difficult, but the Holy Spirit uses John to declare right off the bat to one and all that Jesus Christ is God. It is not just that Jesus has some divine qualities, but that by His very nature and character, He is the divine God.
-How exactly does He convey this?
-notice that John uses the description of Jesus as being the Word—or in the Greek language, the LOGOS. Using this particular expression to describe Jesus had connotations for both Gentiles and Jews in his reading audience.
-For the Gentiles, the LOGOS was a philosophical term that denoted the rational principle and creative energy of the universe. We get our word LOGIC from here. From a Greek perspective, Jesus is the LOGIC that is behind the universe,
-From a Jewish perspective, the WORD is the divine self-expression whereby God relates personally to His people. So, the WORD is not an impersonal force of reason, but is the personal, ruling fact that not only creates the universe (as we will see in a moment), but also holds it all together.
-So Jesus, as the Word, not only is God’s self-expression, but is a personal revelation of God and is Himself God. And this is seen by how this Word is described.
-John first says that this Word already was in existence in the beginning. IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD. Before there was a universe, before there was history, before there was time and space, the WORD already existed.
-This indicates the eternality of Christ. Outside of time and space, Christ existed in the Godhead. This is what makes the incarnation, where the Christ became man, so amazing. The eternal took on temporal, and the infinite clothed Himself in the finite. And yet, He did not lose who He was as the One already there at the beginning.
-John goes on to say that the Word was with God—literally saying that the Word was towards God. This is where some theology of the Trinity comes into play. There is One God, which is attested to throughout the Old Testament—there is One Nature…One Godhead.
-Yet within the Godhead there are distinct persons who lose nothing of the God Nature. The Word, who is God, is distinct from the Father, who is God, and they have an intimate relationship with One another that they have shared in eternity.
-So to make sure you do not think that this Word is in any way inferior to the Father, John again emphasizes: AND THE WORD WAS GOD. HE ALREADY WAS IN THE BEGINNING WITH GOD.
-I don’t know about you, but my brain hurts now trying to grasp this. But the bottom line is that whatever characteristics of deity we ascribe to the Father are also true of the Word. He is completely divine.
-That means that Jesus is not merely a good teacher. That means that Jesus is not merely a prophet. That then means that Jesus is not just one way to God, He is the only way to God, because He is God.
-Anything or anyone that tries to make Jesus any less than who He is as the One True God, is offering a false Jesus==an idol.
-But there is more, as we secondly learn the truth of:
II) The creativity of Christ (v. 3)
II) The creativity of Christ (v. 3)
-When John said that in the beginning was the Word, He was also talking about the origin of all that existed outside of God. The Word was the basic cause for all things to exist.
-John then fully develops this in v. 3—ALL THINGS WERE MADE THROUGH HIM, AND WITHOUT HIM WAS NOT ANYTHING MADE THAT WAS MADE
-God alone is the only self-existent being that there is. God has no beginning and no end and no limits. God is uncaused—but everything else that exists has a cause, and the Word (who Himself is God) is the cause of all things.
-This most definitely refers to the physical universe as we know it. The stars, the sun, the moon, the planets, the galaxies, were all created by Him.
-That has some implications on several opposing worldviews. Secular naturalists believe that matter and the universe are eternal—that the universe in some way shape or form has always existed, and that is all that exists; and we as humans are nothing more than a cosmic accident as the universe moved and changed.
-But the truth is that the universe had a beginning, and that beginning was caused by the Word. And what is so interesting is that both science and philosophy attest to the fact that the universe could not be eternal, but had a beginning. The infamous BIG BANG THEORY itself proclaims that there was a time where there was nothing, and then all of a sudden there was a universe. That was not by accident; that was by the Word of God.
-But this also has implications on pagan and animistic religions that attribute god-like qualities to parts of the universe. There are people who worship the sun and the moon and the stars. There are others that worship idols of wood and metal. Yet, all these things are bound by space and time. They are not gods, but are mere creations.
-But not only does creation refer to the physical universe, but it also speaks of the spiritual universe. We are told by Paul in Colossians:
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things were created through him and for him. (Col. 1:16 ESV)
-This means that all the angels owe their existence to the Word. And the realm in which the angels exist, what we commonly refer to as heaven, was also created by the Word as a place to interact with His angels and His chosen people who perish.
-Whether it is physical or spiritual, whether visible or invisible, its origins come through the Word of God.
-That Christ is divine and is the creator has another implication that is very important. THE WORD HIMSELF IS NOT CAUSED, BUT IS THE CAUSE OF ALL. Why this is important is because there are many cults who attribute to Jesus Christ the status of a created being.
-The Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that Jesus is the archangel Michael whom God created, and then God used this created being Michael to make everything else. But this cannot be, because the WORD is God, has always been God, will always be God, and He is the uncaused cause of everything else.
-That is why knowing the truths of Christ’s existence is so important, because to mess that up will lead you to false teachings, false religions, that all have a false gospel.
-Thirdly and finally, John gives us the truth about:
III) The vitality of Christ (vv. 4-5)
III) The vitality of Christ (vv. 4-5)
-vv. 4 & 5 share that IN THE WORD WAS LIFE, AND THE LIFE WAS THE LIGHT OF MEN. AND THIS LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS, AND THE DARKNESS HAS NOT OVERCOME IT AND NEVER WILL.
-Jesus is the source of all life, whether it is physical or spiritual—He is the vital Spirit behind all that exists. If there is no Jesus being God and Creator, then there is no life for anyone or anything.
-He is the life-giver----and to a universe that now experiences death due to sin, there is nowhere else to turn to in order to undo the curse that has been done. The only way to reverse death is to give life, and He alone can give life.
-But Jesus also is light----in a universe swallowed up in the darkness of wickedness and evil, which seems overwhelming and stifling, the only thing that can dispel the darkness is light, and Jesus alone is that light.
-Your moral platitudes and social justice causes are not able to penetrate the darkness, for this darkness is eternal. It takes an eternal light to make it disappear—and only Jesus is able to accomplish this.
-There is, then, a bit of a translation issue in v. 5. Some versions say the darkness cannot comprehend the light, and others say that the darkness cannot overcome the light. The translated word can mean either, and what we will find in the gospel of John is that often times he uses an ambiguous word to have dual meaning.
-Those who choose to remain living in darkness are not able to understand the light of who Christ is and what He has done. To them it is all foolishness.
-On the other hand, the darkness will never overcome the light, for the truths of Jesus will remain the same for all eternity—Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Conclusion
Conclusion
-But why is all this theology of Christ’s existence important to us?
~First, if Jesus is any less than who John just described Him to be, He cannot save people from their sins.
-If Jesus Christ is not God He cannot be the mediator between man and God. We are then still in our sins and headed to hell. But Jesus is God and made peace with God for all who believe in Him.
~Second, the only way to make sense of what Scripture says of Jesus Christ, and of what Jesus claims for Himself, is through the lens of what John says in these verses.
-Who He is as Messiah, Who He is as Son of Man, Who He is as Son of God, Who He is as Savior and Lord, only makes sense if He is the divine creator through whom is light and life.
~Third, what the Bible claims about humanity only makes sense through the truths of the person of Christ.
-Mankind is limited and finite, and is now in a sinful state. It took a man to pay the penalty of sin for man, but it took God to appease the just wrath of a Holy God. Jesus Christ, the divine creator, died to save His creation so that they might live in life and light, not death and darkness.
-The question is what have you done with this Jesus.
-If you have believed in a false Jesus, or if you have never trusted in Jesus at all, He is the only way to be right with God. Your sin separates you from God, but Jesus bridged the gap so that you can be in relationship with Him. Give your life to Jesus today.
-Maybe you know someone who believes wrongly about Jesus; I invite you to come to the altar today to pray that they would understand the truth of Who He really is.
-Maybe you are looking for a church home that preaches and teaches the true Jesus. Consider joining yourself with Harvest Baptist Church. We will always cling to the truths of Christ given in Scripture…