21.09.08 John 1:1-2 (NASB)
Audio Sermon File: John 1:1-2
Going Deeper: Study Guide
Unveiling The Saviour
Today I am going to UNVEIL to you something that we as Christians depend upon. It infiltrates everything that we think, do, and are. Our very being - who we are - absolutely depends on this. Today we are going to UNVEIL THE SAVIOUR - so that you will know, with certainty that the SAVIOR is Jesus Christ, and that Jesus is God - and Jesus is man - according to the Holy Bible. Jesus Christ is fully human and fully God - and we will unfold this reality in the weeks ahead as we launch into the Gospel of John.
John in his Gospel reveals to us in clear - certain terms the truth about Jesus. He does this so that you may make a decision to accept Him as God or reject Him as God.
The overall reason that we have been given the Gospel of John, by God - is to establish that Jesus Christ is "The Son of God." And it is this very purpose that God has given us this gift of the Gospel of John - for if you turn to John 20:31 - this is the key verse of the Gospel is John - 20:31 - "these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."
The overall nature of the Gospel of John, brings all who are confronted with its treasure, to make a personal decision about Jesus Christ. For those who are unbelievers will need to seriously consider the SAVIOUR. For the born again Christian - it will challenge you to go deeper in your submission and obedience to Christ the SAVIOUR. Because the truth contained in this book is definitive - it is concrete - it is black or white.
Allow me to read to you today’s sermon verses - 4 powerful statements….
John 1:1-2
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
The Apostle John hits hard as he begins the first round of his Gospel with one of the unparalleled statements in the New Testament . There are 2 other statements concerning Jesus that we need to keep in context Col. 1:15-20 and Heb. 1:1-13. John’s first inspired words, authoritatively exalt the person of Jesus Christ. And how we know this is about Jesus Christ is not given until later in section (v.14,17).
These opening verses of the Gospel of John set the focus for the rest of the book. Instead of starting with a genealogy of Christ’s lineage, or even a record of His birth and early years, John takes us to a point before creation - to eternity past.
John writes "In the beginning was the Word…" which launches what is known as the prologue, or in other words the introduction, of John’s gospel. The prologue of the Gospel of John is found in chapter 1, verses 1 to 18. The prologue reveals clearly the proper identity of Jesus Christ.
One Chistian writer (NAC, Borchert) states:
"This Prologue is one of the most complex theological statements in the Bible….Study takes time, but those who ponder these magnificent words will learn that God will reward His children who diligently and prayerfully seek understanding. The reader is welcomed to an intellectual, spiritual, and life-challenging pilgrimage with an evangelist who continues to call us to new dimensions of believing."
What John clearly does for us in these first 2 verses - he unveils the Saviour. He communicates a truth so deep that no one in human history could fully describe how - the eternal and infinite God emptied Himself and became the likeness of men in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:7) - and being so - is identified in these 2 verses as the WORD.
Today we will discover this truth through four realities of the Word:
1. The Word is Eternal (has no beginning or end) (v. 1a)
2. The Word Enjoys Eternal Fellowship With God (v. 1b)
3. The Word is God (v. 1c)
4. The Word is with God (v. 2)
1.The Word Is Eternal (v. 1a)
In verse one, we find that it is composed of three fundamental affirmations of our faith.
The first affirmation is "In the beginning was the Word." This establishes the association of the Word with the beginning. For those who are familiar with the Bible it should draw our attention to WHAT PASSAGE? Genesis 1:1 - "In the beginning God…" Yet John does not link the beginning to God as in Genesis. But John instead links the beginning to the Word. The proper name "Word" in Greek is perhaps known to you, which is "Logos."
Why does John use the designation "the Word?" What does it signify? For both Jew and Greek it was understood to express a person’s reasoning or thought. For the Jew - it brought to mind God’s creation of the universe through His Word:
Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light (Gen.1:3)
Further it was the Word which guided the prophets
Thus says the Lord - Amos 1:3…
The Word delivered His people:
He sent His word and healed them - Ps. 107:20..
And it was through the Word that God accomplished His will:
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not
return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And
without succeeding [in the matter] for which I sent it (Is. 55:11)
To the Jew, God’s Word was active and powerful. The name of God was considered too holy to say or to read out aloud, so Jews would substitute God’s name, with the phrase "the Word of God."
To the Greek , it would draw their minds to the starting point in time - the original beginning. They would philosophically think about the Word as the eternal, impersonal Reason that guided and permeated the universe. So both Jew, Greek, and even Gentile had an understanding, - though perhaps an improper understanding - of what John was driving at in His opening phrase - "In the beginning was the Word."
Therefore what John is stating is that God and the Word were together, already present at the beginning - they are both eternal - or a better description is that the Word is CO-ETERNAL with God. By using the description CO-ETERNAL, we mean that both the Word and God are in the realm in which there is no beginning or ending of existence; they are beyond time and not constrained by time. The Word, eternally exists, and is not limited by time. Being eternal - the Word is uncreated - and being uncreated - we understand that the Word is Deity.
John concisely forces our attention to the fact that we really need to consider who Jesus Christ the Word - is. And you must examine critically the impact of this truth upon the destination of your life. Acceptance leads to eternal life and rejection leads to eternal condemnation. As I have said before - The Christian faith is not a blind faith, but it is an informed faith.
John strongly brings to bear that the Word was pre-existent before anything that was created. John intentionally uses a Greek verb (h\n) - translated in the English Bible with - "was," which expresses the eternal pre-existence of the Word. ‘Was’ - in this verse is in the Greek imperfect tense - which gives us the knowledge of a continuing action in the past - which tells us that the Word - was eternally pre-existent - continuously present before the heavens and the earth were created.
If John meant to express that the Word was made or created by God - then he would have used another specific verb (ejgevneto), which would be translated - "was made / came into being" - as found in verse 3. Therefore John brings our thoughts back to a point prior to the beginning when finite time began - a point before human history began. The Word predates time and creation. Literally translated the opening phrase - "In the beginning was the Word," could be translated - "When the beginning began, the Word was already there."
If the Word is eternal and God is eternal, and we are created in God’s image, it must mean what? It means that we are eternal beings also. Though we may die physical deaths, our immaterial soul lives on, it never ceases to be. There are only 2 places our souls will remain at the end of our physical life…one is heaven and the other is hell.
Do you know for certain the final destination of your soul?
John in the first segment, of the very first verse of the Gospel John declares that ‘The Word Has No Beginning Or End,’…not only is the Word Eternal but he gets deeper and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit tells us that:
2. The Word Enjoys Eternal Fellowship With God (v. 1b)
The second affirmation is "the Word was with God"- speaking about the Word’s active relationship toward God. The English "the Word was with God" - doesn’t begin to express the fullness of meaning of the Greek. On the surface it seems that John is simply stating that Jesus existed with God. Rather the Greek has the deeper expression of picturing 2 personal beings - face to face - active in deep, intimate fellowship. So we unveil that Jesus has always been with God - that there has always existed 2 Persons from eternity past - active in deep, intimate fellowship. And this underscores the reality that there exists a Trinity.
This phrase emphasizes that there is a relational difference between God and the Word. This does not suggest that there is a difference between the essence of God and the Word. The Word shares the same essence with God and is not any less than God. Essence is the core of what makes the Word what He is, without being something else apart from God. The Father and Son are equal in all their attributes and Deity, yet they have a relationship different in function.
This verse in the Gospel of John is one place in the Bible we start to get the picture of the Trinitarian nature of God….
God being the first person of the Trinity,
The Word being the second person of the Trinity,
and the Holy Spirit being the third person of the Trinity.
The emphasis in the language of John is - the relational difference between the Word and God. The relationship difference is that the Word is "God the Son," and God is "God the Father."
Being One, how can we define the relational differences of the members of the Trinity? In the context of our verse we will only look at the relational aspects of the Word and God (it should be understood that the Holy Spirit is actively involved also). The relationship is the different functions of each member of the Trinity as it relates to creation, the world, and redemption. With our limited time we will focus briefly upon creation and redemption.
With creation, it was God who spoke the words that brought the world into existence - Genesis 1:3 for example - Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. But it was God the Son - the eternal Word of God, who brought to completion God’s creative decrees. This can be seen in verse 3 of John chapter 1 - All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
In the work of redemption, it was God the Father who planned redemption and to accomplish that, God sent The Son. This is testified to in the Bible, as seen in John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Here we see that God the Father did not come and die for our sins, but it was the God the Son who obeyed the Father - and accomplished redemption for sin, for those who believe upon the cross.
From these verses we can see that the role of the Father was in the planning and direction of His will, and it is the Son whom carries it out. This reality is pictured, even though imperfectly - in a human model of a father and a son.
My father, who now has passed away, was the head of our family before I got married. My father had direct authority over me as his son. Whenever he asked me to do something - like cut the grass, and because of my relationship to him, I would obey and respond to my father’s directions (most of the time anyway - yes I still sin - this is where this illustration breaks down).
The relationship that exists between the Word toward God, has practical implications for each one of us. For all of us sitting here, we just have looked at the fact that Jesus Christ - the Word is the agent of creation of each one of us. By reason of this fact then He has authority over you, for you are created in His image. But because of your sin, this relationship is broken - so God sent His Son to redeem you and give you eternal life in Christ.
If you do not know what it means to have Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour then you must consider this: How does Jesus Christ want you to respond to His offer of forgiveness from your sins?
For those who have been saved from the guilt and penalty of your sins -having received eternal life with God, through Jesus Christ, we must consider this: How does Jesus Christ want you to respond to His authority over you? Are there any areas of your life which are not fully submitted to Christ? How can you improve your relationship toward God?
As important it is to know that "The Word has no Beginning or End - eternally exisiting" and "The Word enjoys eternal deep, face to face, intimate fellowship with God…John now reveals that "The Word is God."
3. The Word is God (v. 1c)
The third affirmation is "the Word was God" - which is likely the most explicit declaration of the unity between the Word and God. John is telling the reader that the Word is of the same Divine essence with God. Another way we express this is that - Jesus, the Word - is God. Jesus states this clearly later in John 10:30 - where He says of Himself - I and the Father are one (also cf. 14:9).
We have already discussed in point number 1, that "The Word Has No Beginning or End." This means that both the Word and God are equally in the realm in which there is no beginning or ending of existence; they are beyond time and not constrained by time.
We know this of God:
God has the attribute of Omnipresence - that is that He is present
everywhere;
God is Omniscient - He is all knowing;
God is Omnipotent - He is all powerful;
God is Immutable - His attributes and character do not change.
So what John is stating then, is that the Word is CO-EQUAL to God, therefore the Word is also all present everywhere, all knowing, all powerful, and unchanging. "The Word was God," is testified to in the Bible through many passages. We will look at just a few of these parallel passages which support the truth that "the Word was God."
In the Bible, the Word, attributes to Himself a name that belongs to God:
Exod 3: 14 - God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, `I AM has sent me to you.' " The name "I AM" is a declaration of eternal self pre-existence. Compare this with - John 8:58 - Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
Works that belong to God are demonstrated and accomplished also by the Word, such as the forgiving of sin:
Exod. 34:6-7 - Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; 7 who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave [the guilty] unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations." Compare this with - Mk. 2:5 - And Jesus seeing their faith ^said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
The attributes of God are also attributed to the Word. Both God and the Word are Omniscient (all knowing):
John says of Jesus in chapter 2:24-25 - But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, 25 and because He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man. And the disciples recognized this when they declared in John 16:30: "Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God."
The act of worship is to be offered to the Word in the same manner as to God Himself. The OT states that worship is only to be offered to God:
Deut 6:13 - "You shall fear [only] the Lord your God ; and you shall worship Him, and swear by His name." Compare this with - the NT teaching that Jesus Christ is to be worshipped - Rev. 5:13-14 - And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, [be] blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever." 14 And the four living creatures kept saying, "Amen." And the elders fell down and worshiped. In short, the Word is God the Son, who is Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior.
How does this revealed truth, that "The Word Is God," affect your view of the importance of who Jesus is? Does the knowledge that Jesus Christ is all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, and unchangeable affect the way that you conduct your daily life? How will your attitudes be transformed? How will the way you do things be changed? How will your evangelism be impacted? Knowing that only Jesus Christ can forgive sins, how will you deal with the penalty for your sin? These are just a few of the implications as we UNVEIL THE SAVIOUR and learn of the truth about Jesus.
John wants you to make sure you did not miss his point…. So he backtracks and we are told…
4. The Word is with God (v. 2)
In verse 2 - John restates his basic thesis - "He was in the beginning with God" - and he does this for you the reader, so that you do not miss the importance of what has just been stated.
The Word is the One who was with God in the beginning. John’s statement serves to place emphasis on the focus and affirmations of verse one, namely, that from the very beginning the Word was God. There is no way to escape John’s confrontational truth, given to us. It is clear that the Word of God - Jesus Christ, is not a mere man. And due to the nature and character of the Word, John calls each of you here to see your need to be reconciled with God - in a right relationship with your Creator through Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION
John is very clear in his Gospel that Jesus is that He is no ordinary man. Jesus Christ is the WORD. As the Word - Jesus is ETERNAL - He has no beginning or end. The Word has a fundamental in-divisible nature with God, because the Word is GOD! Jesus Christ is God and was not created. Jesus Christ was in the beginning with God. To believe that Jesus Christ is not God, or is "God-like," or is in some fashion a super-natural powerful created being, or anything in a like manner - is heresy - it is blasphemy.
A famous Christian writer and teacher - BB Warfield wrote, "The Word is declared, in the most express manner possible, to be all that God is, to possess the whole fullness of attributes which make God God."
Any attack on the Deity of Christ is an attack on the core of our faith. Understanding who Jesus is, is also important since if one were to believe that He were only a man, then his death would have no significance in terms of saving us from the penalty of our sin. The essence of orthodox teaching and belief is to accept the reality that Jesus Christ died in the place of sinners to provide salvation for those who believe.
And, because Jesus is God, Jesus’ death has supreme value since it would be completely effective to deal with the reality of man’s sinfulness.
One theologian puts it this way, "Christ is undiminished deity" (Enns p.224). And as such He alone is able to save us from our sins - for He alone is perfect - as the Scripture declares - He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). In these 2 short verses - John begins to UNVEIL THE SAVIOUR. How will you respond to Him today?
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Going Deeper - added notes and insights
The first two short verses of John 1 contain very important information. How can we as believers use this in the defense of our faith? Has this ever happened to you?
KNOCK KNOCK – How are you today? We are in your
neighborhood and we are asking your neighbours "Do you think we can find peace on earth?"
The 2 people wait for your response…they respond and elaborate on the question asked…all the while not identifying themselves….eventually they hand you a magazine "Watchtower"…and offer to come back to answer any questions.
These people are from the cult - The Jehovah Witnesses. The Jehovah Witnesses have their own interpretation of verse 1 of John, in their version of the Bible - The New World Translation. In the last phrase of John 1:1, instead of translating the verse as "and the Word was God" - the JW’s translation states - "In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god [emphasis mine]."
The JW’s claim that the Word was not God, but only "a god" - that the Word - is a heavenly being which is not Deity, not the One True God. They believe that Jesus Christ the Word, is a created being - the angel Michael.
If you look down in your Bibles at the last 5 words at the end of the sentence in John 1:1 - "and the Word was God" - you will see that there is the definite article "the" present before "Word." This is translated properly from the Greek. But you will notice there is no definite article, "the" in front of "God" in our widely accepted Christian translations (like NIV, NASB, NKJV, etc.) - just as in the Greek also. Since there is no "the" in front of God, JW’s claim that it is not referring to God Almighty, but only to "a god."
What the JW’s neglect is a recognized Greek grammatical structure referred to as "Colwell’s rule. Simply put, this rule states that the absence of the definite article, only indicates that the subject of the sentence is not "God," but the subject is "Word." John is making it clear here that his intended subject is the "Word." Therefore John reveals the "Truth About Jesus" which is - that The Word is God Himself.
In isolation, there is basis for the JW’s translation, but the context of the surrounding verses, which refer to God Almighty (vv. 2, 6, 12, 13, etc.) make it clear that the person that is being referred to is, God the Almighty Creator. As a side note if the JW’s wanted to be consistent in their translation then in vv. 6, 12, 13, and 18, should also be translated as "a god," since they also do not have a definite article -"the" - before them either in the Greek.
So how do we deal with JW’s when encountered? We first need to have a firm foundation on what the Bible teaches about the truth concerning Jesus Christ. Even armed with proper doctrine, speaking with JW’s is a challenge. Do try to point them to the real Christ - but it will be difficult. They are well versed in select Bible verses and are trained to recite them with high efficiency to defend their error. If approached by JW’s simply be polite with them, and reject any materials they bring by giving them back to them; as not reflective of Biblical Truth.
At this point they may want to discuss what issues you have. But, continue to be polite and then send them off - yet pray for them, that the Lord open their eyes to the true gospel.
God is able to convert the sinner and open their eyes to His truth. With out God’s intervention, JW’s and any unbelievers, continue to "suppress the truth in unrighteousness" and are "futile in their speculations, and their foolish [hearts are] darkened" (Roman 1:18 ff). But, remember this was our state before Christ saved us.
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Theological Tidbits
The ontological argument for the doctrine of God is a priori and deductive. The word "ontological" comes from the Greek word "ontos" which is translated as "being" or "existence." The basis of the argument is not inductive but rather it is philosophical. Enns quotes the reasoning behind the argument as "If man could conceive of a Perfect God who does not exist, then he could conceive of someone greater than God himself which is impossible. Therefore God exists" (p. 185) All men have an awareness of God and therefore the ontological argument builds it position from this fact. The further premise is that God must have placed the innate understanding that there is a God since the concept is universal.
The pre-existence and eternality of Christ is shown in John’s Gospel. The Greek word hen translated as "was" is in the imperfect tense and brings out a continuous force of the past in the phrase "in the beginning." Our attention is drawn to the fact that in Genesis’ opening it draws the reader back to the beginning and everything that starts from that point. But John’s gospel takes the reader’s thoughts back to a point prior to that, to a point when finite time began. Therefore the Word was already in existence before the beginning began and the Word predates time and Creation. The emphasis from John is that the Word is continuously existing.
The deity of Christ is an essential foundation to Christianity, therefore any attack on this doctrine is an attack on the core of our faith. The essence of orthodox teaching and belief is to accept the reality that Jesus Christ died in the place of sinners to provide salvation to a lost humanity. Understanding who Jesus is also important since if one were to believe that He were only a man, then his death would have no significance in terms of saving the world. But, because Jesus is also God, Jesus’ death has supreme value since it would be efficacious to deal with the reality of man’s sinfulness. The affirmation that Christ is God is more than making the claim that He is "God-like." For Christ is fully equal with the Father’s Person and work. Enns puts it this way, "Christ is undiminished deity" (p.224).
(For a full explanation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - click here - http://www.doihaveeternallife.blogspot.com/)
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