In the Gospel of Matthew, last Sunday, we learned
that he is the sun come to rain. the gospel that
he is the Savior who's come to die. And today
as we go to the gospel of John, we see that he
is the word come to reveal. The first 18 verses
of this gospel form what is called the prologue
of the book. The prologue, though, is more than
a preface to what John wants to say. It's actually
a thematic seedbed, and from it grow themes.
which mature throughout the book. Or to put it
a different way, there are several themes that
are tied together in these 18 verses that John
later unleads through the fabric of his writing.
You will see that if you know the Gospel of John
at all as we look at these 18 verses this morning.
The Gospel of John, as you may know, is a non
-synoptic gospel. The term synoptic gospel...
is used of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The term
means that they see the life of Jesus basically
the same way. John takes a different approach.
He sees the life of Jesus from a more theological
perspective. His reason for writing the book
is to present Jesus as the Son of God, and he
aims to make the reader a believer. in the Son
of God. John writes that himself in chapter 20,
verses 30 and 31. Since that is his aim, he is
very selective in the material that he chooses
to use. And, of course, he was led of the Spirit
of God in choosing this material. First of all,
notice that he does not include any parables
in the book at all. He asserts the deity of the
Lord Jesus Christ through a series of I Am statements,
seven of them. Correspondingly, he chooses seven
miracles to manifest the glory of the Son of
God. Five of those miracles are found recorded
only in the Gospel of John. And John emphasizes
the personal conversations that Jesus had. with
various individuals, including Nicodemus, the
woman at the well, etc. He begins his gospel
by applying a particular name to Jesus. It is
the name or title, Word, or Logos, as it is in
the Greek. What John is reminding us here is
that God has spoken through his Son. God exists
and he is not silent. Many of the early leaders
of our nation were deists. What they believed
was that God wound up his universe, which he
did create, they would say, but then he went
off and left it, no longer interested in it.
He's allowing it to run down on its own. That
simply isn't true. God is the creator, but he
is deeply involved in what's happening in the
world today. God is here. He is not silent. God
has spoken through his Son. In times past, it
was in bits and pieces through the prophets.
But now he has fully expressed his mind through
his Son. That's what the writer of Hebrews says
in chapter 1, verses 1 and 2. Essentially, that's
what John means when he uses this word, logos.
The word itself means a message. A word, a thought,
and then the expression of that word, message,
or thought, the giving of it. There was a word,
logos, that was used among the Greek philosophers
of John's day, especially the Stoics. They referred
to the logos as the central principle of all
things. Or another way, they would say it this
way. The logos is the reason which controls all
things, capital R on reason. That was always
rather ill -defined and difficult to put your
finger on, but it was the reason that controls
all things. That's the logos, according to the
Greeks. The Hebrews also used the word logos.
It was a more concrete term to them. They used
the term logos in relation to God in the Old
Testament. Dr. Bruce says, especially God in
action, especially in creation, revelation, and
deliverance. So that's how the Hebrews used the
term logos. They referred to God in action. Now
John is led by the Holy Spirit to reach into
the vocabulary of his day and to pull out a word
and to basically redefine it. He defines the
Logos as Jesus Christ, the full revelation of
God. That's what he means by it. It is a title
for the Christ. The Logos is the fullness of
God's wisdom and power. And it's personal. It
is Jesus. Now John says by his introduction in
these verses that to understand what he's about
to say in the rest of the book regarding Jesus,
we must first understand that he is the Logos
of God. If we miss that, we're going to miss
what he wants to present in the rest of the book.
He says he is the Logos who has come to reveal
God to mankind. So the Jesus of Christmas is
the word come to reveal. There are at least ten
wonderful truths about the Word recorded in our
text. That means we're going to have to really
move this morning because we want to talk about
all ten of them. But notice them with me as we
study beginning in verse 1. In this verse, there
are three of these truths. In the beginning was
the Word. The first truth we see about the Logos,
the Word, is that He is preexistent. In the beginning.
Does that remind you of another phrase somewhere?
Sure, where is it? In the beginning, in the book
of Genesis. Genesis 1 .1, in the beginning God
created. Here John says, in the beginning was
the Word. That phrase, in the beginning, does
not refer to a particular date. but rather it
refers to that which constitutes the beginning
of time and space. In other words, the universe.
It goes all the way back to timelessness, to
eternity. And John's point here is that when
the creation of the universe took place, what
happened in the beginning, the Word already was.
In other words, he was not a part. of the creation.
He is not a created thing. He is pre -existent,
is the way theologians put it. The Logos was
already in existence when the creation took place.
It means that He is eternal. He has continuous,
timeless existence. There are those today who
teach that He is the first of the created things,
the Jehovah's Witnesses, for example. And the
verse they would use to try to support that is
Colossians 1 .15, where Jesus is called the firstborn
of all creation. As they see, he's the firstborn
of all creation. But what they fail to take note
of is the meaning of firstborn. The word firstborn,
prototikos, means he is the unique one above
all creation. He is the preeminent one of all
creation. Not that he's a part of the creation
itself. Because he existed before creation. He
was. He didn't have a beginning. He just was.
He just was. Boy, that's hard to grasp, isn't
it? That is hard to get a hold of in your mind.
But believe it, my friend. Before there ever
was a tick on God's clock, the word was. That's
why in the Old Testament Messiah is called, among
other things, the Father of Eternity or the Eternal
Father. Now in the second phrase in verse 1 we
see another truth. The Word was with God. Or
we might put it this way. The Word coexists with
God. What is described in this phrase is the
eternal relationship or association between the
Word and God the Father. That is what is described
here. And the preposition is most important.
The word was with God. That preposition means
face -to -face with, pros. It describes the closest
possible union between two. The word was with
God, and it implies two things. First of all,
it implies equality. When this preposition is
used, you can put an equal between the two sides,
because he's really saying word equals God. So
equality is implied, but there's something more
implied. That is distinction. The word was with
God distinctly, as a distinct personality, different
from God. Parenthesis, the Father. The Word,
Jesus Christ, coexists with God. That's the second
truth. But then he goes on to say, and the Word
was God. The lack of an article before the word
God is jumped upon by, let me say it again, the
Jehovah's Witnesses, for they strongly deny the
deity of Jesus Christ. They attack this verse
because this verse is one of the clearest statements
of Christ's deity in all of the Bible. And so
to try to undermine it or change it or get around
it, what they do in this last phrase is to put
in the preposition, or rather the article A.
They say since there is no definite article,
the word was the God. It just says the word was
God. Therefore, they, in their translation, the
New World Translation, or perversion of Scripture,
I like to call it. It's not a version, it's a
perversion. It says, the Word was a God, small
g. The Word was a God. Now, in doing that, those
who translated it had to know that they were
perverting Greek grammar and syntax in doing
that. They had to know that. Because what John
is really saying here is this, that the Word
was God himself. The Word was the same essence
as God, the same nature as God, identical with
God. That is clearly what John, by the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, penned in these words. In
fact, he even makes it more clear. The way that
it really says it is in reverse to what our English
says. John says, in the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and God was the Word.
You see the point? He emphasizes. He could not
more clearly assert that God was the Word, the
fullness of deity. And so the Word is God. That's
the third truth. And verse 2 really summarizes
this and reemphasizes it. He was in the beginning
with God. In other words, the Logos did not at
some point begin a relationship with God. Both
God and the Logos have existed in distinct personhood
and yet of the same essence from all of eternity
past. In other words, this is the mystery of
the triunity of the Godhead. There is only one
God and yet he exists in three persons, God the
Father and God the Son. And that's what's emphasized
here. And then, of course, God, the Holy Spirit.
The point is that the Word is God, nothing less.
He is not divinity. He is not divine. He is deity
come in the flesh. He is not a wonderful teacher.
He is not the perfect man only. He is deity come
in the flesh. The Word is God. And then a fourth
truth is found in verse 3. That is, that he was
active in creation. Now he talks here about creation
in general, all of the universe. He says all
things, whatever they be, all things, each individual
thing, came into being by him. And apart from
him, nothing came into being that has come into
being. We see here that the word was active in
creation. Notice the contrast between all things
came into being and the word was. Was means that
it's eternal. The word is eternal. Always was.
But the universe, all things came into being.
Matter is not eternal. One of the suppositions
of evolution has traditionally been... that all
matter has always existed. It just changes forms.
That is not true. Matter had a beginning. Time
and space and matter were begun by the creative
act of God. And we see here that the Word was
involved in that creation. And by the way, the
Word here came into being does not mean that
it came into being over a process. of time, or
through a process of events. But the word emphasizes
the fact that in one event, all things came into
being. The one event, of course, was the creative
act of God. And it says, apart from him, nothing
that is came into being. The universe was originated
by the wisdom and the power of God. We see back
in Genesis. Several times stated, in fact, with
each of the six days of creation, and God said,
and God said, and God said. Now, when someone
says something, it involves a word, doesn't it?
You see how that ties together with the Logos,
Jesus Christ. He is the agent. He is the cause
of creation. Colossians 1, 16 and 17 emphasizes
this same truth in language just as clear as
this. So does Hebrews 1, 2. Now why does John
mention this? It is because his subject is that
the Word came to reveal God. And the creation
began the revelation of God. And so he starts
at that point. But now having talked about creation
in general, he narrows it down in verses 4 and
5 to mankind. And the truth that we see here,
number 5, is that his life... The life of the
word is the light of men. 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. It says here that in the word,
in him, and notice that it's becoming personal
now, in him was life. What is this life? The
life that John has in mind is the self -existence.
that belongs to God alone as the creator, apart
from his creation. In him was life. Therefore,
all life in creation, whether you talk about
spiritual life or physical life, all life finds
its source in him, in the logos. In him was life.
And that life came into the world, and it became
the light of men. The life was the light of men,
and the light shines in the darkness. The darkness
here refers to the ignorance of man regarding
God. It does refer to moral darkness and sin,
but the real emphasis in John seems to be the
lack of understanding, the lack of knowledge,
the ignorance in the natural man regarding the
true nature of God. Now it says the light shines
in the darkness. Jesus Christ came into the world
as the light. Later in John, he is recorded as
having said, I am the light of the world. The
light is the revelation that he gives, the knowledge
that he gives, the understanding that he gives.
I think it can be applied to the natural reasoning
that man has and the light that he can gain that
way. because there is a sense in which all truth
is God's truth. And yet I believe he especially
is referring to the spiritual revelation that
is in Jesus Christ. The knowledge that we find
in him of God. Darkness enshrouds mankind, but
that darkness is dispelled by the light that
has come into the world, the life of Jesus Christ.
Light and darkness are opposites. And the study
of light and darkness, or the metaphorical use
of them, was common in that day. John writes
about it later on, so does Paul. Even secular
writers in philosophy in that day would talk
about light and darkness as being two opposites.
While they are opposites, have you ever considered
the fact that light and darkness are not equals?
Opposites, but not equals. For a small candle
can dispel a whole room full of darkness and
yet not be dimmed itself by the darkness. Have
you ever thought about that? Perhaps you were
in a situation this last week where all the lights
were turned off except Christmas candles. And
the candles lit up the room. Did you notice the
candles were not dimmed by the darkness? And
yet the candles being lit dispel the darkness
from the room. They're opposites, but they're
not equals. A little light can dispel a great
deal of darkness. When I was a boy, I can remember
going to get the cows for milking and walking
after dark down to our timber area, which was
more than a quarter of a mile away. The only
light that I had was a light that was on our
barn, an electric light, a 100 -watt light bulb.
Believe it or not, there in the dense jungle
where I was on that farm, with evil beasts lurking
on every hand, there was light from that barn
that made a shadow. It made a shadow in the timber,
and I could see something of where I was going.
I didn't stay anywhere very long as I walked
through the darkness. You see, that little 100
-watt light bulb made a difference. The light
of the world came in the person of Jesus Christ
and dispelled darkness. That's why Jesus says
of you and me, you are the light of the world.
And you may feel that your candle is pretty small.
There's not much wattage there. Listen, a little
light dispels a lot of darkness. His life is
the light of men. Then we learn in verses 6 through
8 that his forerunner bore witness to him. historical
truth is now inserted into the theological. Now
John is going to be talked about a little bit
more later, in fact in this chapter as well as
in chapter 3, but the Apostle John here refers
briefly to John the Baptist, the forerunner of
Jesus the Messiah. He came to awaken Israel to
the coming of the light. He came as a witness
to the light. He was not the light itself. He
was subordinate to the logos. In fact, that is
said again in verse 15, just to jump ahead of
ourselves. This was he, says John, of whom I
said, he who comes after me has a higher rank
than I, for he existed before me. Those are the
words of John the Baptist. He recognizes his
role. and the superiority of the light, of the
Logos, who's come into the world. By the way,
it's interesting that he says what he does. He
existed before me. If you're a student of the
Gospel of Luke, you'll recall that the conception
of John was announced three months before the
conception of Jesus. That means that John was
born about three months before Jesus, and yet
John says here, he existed before me. Why does
he say that? Well, of course, it is another clear
statement to his preexistence. That even before
John was conceived in the womb of Elizabeth,
the logos, the light, was. He existed before
me. The emphasis here on John the Baptist is
on his function, his purpose as a witness to
the light. rather than upon his character and
his origin, which is shrouded in some mystery
beyond his birth. That brings us to number seven,
where it says that the word, the logos, came
into the world. Verses 9 through 13. Now there
is a sense, of course, in which he was always
in the world as the transcendent creator. As
God, he is omnipresent, and yet in a very special,
unique way, he came into the world. There are
three results of that. First, he gives illumination
to every man, verse 9. Now, there are some people
who believe this teaches universal salvation,
that ultimately, that is, everyone is going to
be saved. That is simply not true. What John
is seemingly saying here is that Jesus Christ,
coming into the world, has given illumination
to every man. with regard either to salvation
or to coming judgment, so that if a person fails
to respond to the light that he has, whatever
it is, it is because he prefers darkness rather
than light, John 3, 19. And it's because he is
moving toward judgment and is already under the
wrath of God. There is some sense in which coming
into the world, the Logos gives illumination
to every man. The second result of his coming
is that he was not received. That's strange,
isn't it? It says he was in the world. That is
the very world made by him. His environment,
his universe. And the world was made through
him and the world did not know him. He came to
his own. The word there means his own things
or to his own place. He came, but he was not
received. He came to his own people, the verse
goes on to say, verse 11, and they did not receive
him. So while he came into the world bringing
illumination to every man, he came to his own
and was not received. The very universe that
owed to him his existence did not recognize him.
And even the nation of Israel to whom were given
special privileges and revelation did not receive
him. That brings us to verses 12 and 13 where
we see the third result of the word coming into
the world, and that is that he was received by
some. By some. As always in the Old Testament,
even now, there is a believing remnant who are
the true people of God who become his own in
a very special sense, as Jesus uses it in John
13, 1, where it says he loved his own to the
uttermost. These of his own... received him.
Notice that verse 12 says that to receive him
is to believe him, and to believe him is to receive
him. The two words are used synonymously. It
means to commit oneself to him. How we try to
complicate faith is just amazing. We try to add
to it all kinds of ornaments to seemingly make
it more palatable or attractive to man. But faith
is a very simple concept, really. It simply means
to receive. Someone gave you a Christmas gift.
What did you do? You reached out and took it.
Jesus Christ comes into the world bringing light
and life. We reach out and we receive him and
the gifts that he brings. That's all that it
means. It's not simplistic, but it is simple.
It is simple. And he says that those who do that
receive the authority to become God's children.
Notice, become God's children. In other words,
they become something they were not before. Now
there are those within Christendom who try to
tell us that all people are the children of God
and that God is the Father of all. Is that true?
Are all men and women of the world the children
of God in some sense? No, it is not true. The
Bible does not teach that. We become the children
of God, the Bible says. One of the questions
asked this morning in the interview on the radio
program was, why is it that evangelical churches
are growing and mainline denominations, for the
most part, are declining? Have you ever heard
that question before? It's been posed many, many
times, and I don't think there's a simple answer
to it. But a quick answer, and I think a correct
answer, is that the mainline churches have left
their theological roots for liberalism. The kind
of liberal gibberish that I just said to you,
that all men are the children of God and God
is the father of all. That goes right back to
the beginning of liberal theology. And having
left the theology of the Bible, they no longer
have anything to offer to their people. The theology
they have adopted is death, and they are dying,
and it is no strange thing at all. There was
an interesting letter last Sunday in the newspaper
from a pastor of a Baptist church on the west
side of Minneapolis. He was reacting to... a
column, I think it was a week before, in which
a man was castigating and lacerating fundamentalists
and evangelicals and warning everybody to watch
out for them. This pastor wrote in defense of
fundamentalists and evangelicals, of which he
is one and which I am one. And in his letter,
he quoted a liberal theologian who was at least
honest. This man said, We look upon the evangelicals
and fundamentalists as something new. This is
the liberal writing. But he says, they're not
the new ones. We're the new ones. Because what
they teach and preach is what historic Christianity
has taught for hundreds of years. We are the
ones who have changed. So let's not call them
new on the scene. I appreciated his honesty.
You say, how did I get... to there from where
our text. I'm not quite sure. Except to say this,
that it is wrong to say that everyone is a child
of God. Those who are children of God become
children of God. How? By birth. Verse 13, who
were born, not of blood or the will of the flesh
or the will of man, but of God. Born of God.
Regeneration. The new birth. Is John going to
talk about that some more, do you think? John
chapter 3, of course, is a wonderful elaboration
on this. He says here it has nothing to do with
one's ancestry, one's physical relationship,
or the willful efforts of a person. But he says
becoming a child of God is being born of God.
It's the supernatural, regenerative work of God
the Holy Spirit, awakening one to faith and belief
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is those then who
will receive and believe. Now we have to rush
on to verses 14 through 16, which is John's Christmas
story. If you want to find the shepherds and
the manger and the angels and the wise men in
the Gospel of John, you find it here in verse
14. He takes away all the wrappings and gets
right down to the gift. He says, and the word
became flesh. The word that has always been,
the word that has been with God, the word that
is God, that word has become flesh. The miracle
of the incarnation. Notice he says the word became
here, before the word was. Now the word became,
something he was not before. He's had a change
in his state. A new dimension of existence is
his through birth. He enters the world as genuine
yet sinless man, eternal God united with sinless
man in one person. And he says that he came,
became flesh, and lived in a tent with us. That's
what the word means. He tabernacled amongst us.
If you know the Old Testament, you recognize
that term. The tabernacle was the tent of the
meeting where God met with his people. It's where
his Shekinah glory dwelt. In the holy of holies.
And you see that's exactly what John is saying
here about the word. He lived, he tabernacled
amongst us. And we beheld his glory. The Shekinah
glory of God that was in the tabernacle of the
Old Testament was in the body of Jesus Christ
because he is God. We beheld his glory. John
doesn't talk about the transfiguration either.
But here he inset it. He says, we beheld his
glory as the only begotten of the Father. Boy,
that word begotten bothers some people. You say,
well, you see, Jesus was begotten. He was born.
He had a beginning. This term, the only begotten,
is a special term. It means the only one of its
kind. He is the only begotten, the unrivaled,
the unequaled from the Father. He alone is the
point, can give the revelation of the Father.
He's the only begotten, full of grace and truth.
In verse 16 he says, of his fullness we have
received. In other words, in Jesus Christ there
is sufficient for all of our needs, folks, all
of them. He says grace upon grace. A strange
way of putting it. Literally, John says grace
against grace. Grace against grace. And the idea
seems to be that of a wave of the ocean. An ocean
view is a beautiful thing. You see this vast
body of water attacking the shore. One wave comes
and it withdraws. Then another wave comes and
it withdraws. And it seems to have no effect.
But of course it does, and the shore can be eroded.
One wave follows another, and yet the ocean is
always there, same level, it's never diminished.
You see, that's the point that John's making
about the grace that is in Jesus Christ. You
and I who know him have one wave lavished upon
us after another. Grace upon grace comes into
our lives, and yet the great reservoir of his
grace is never the least diminished. always there,
always available. You say, you know, Dad, I'd
love to believe that, but I need to get my life
cleaned up so I can get God's grace. Listen,
you've got it wrong. What you need to do is believe
and receive the Lord Jesus Christ so that he
can bring that grace into your life and clean
it up. If you wait to clean it up before you
come to receive his grace, you'll never come.
Indeed, God wants us to come as we are. and receive
of this grace that he lavishes upon us. In verse
17, just quickly, we have a ninth truth, and
that is that he has fulfilled the Old Testament
law. Several contrasts here between the law and
grace. Moses and Christ, the law was given. Grace
and truth were realized. But the point that I
want to draw from it is simply this, that Jesus
Christ in coming has fulfilled the Old Testament
law. That law which sets the standard. That law
which condemns those that cannot meet the standard,
that law has been fulfilled. And now grace and
truth are fully brought to us in the person of
Jesus Christ. And finally, the tenth wonderful
truth that we see is that the word, the logos,
has fully revealed God. Verse 18. God is spirit.
No man has seen him at any time. What God is,
is invisible to physical sight. Even Moses could
not look upon the glory of God. He saw only the
afterglow. The essential nature of God, his inner
essence, has never been seen by man. And yet
Jesus Christ has fully revealed that glory. The
only begotten God, who's in the bosom of the
Father, showing again the close... The relationship,
the intimacy of the word, the logos and the Father.
He has explained him. The idea is that he has
brought him out into view so that we can see
him. You've seen the automobiles, the latest
models. And they rather tease us by putting a
blanket of some kind over this car. And they
say on such and such a day, you'll be able to
see what this car is like. and on that day it's
brought into view. You see, that's what the Son
of God did in revealing the Father to us. God
has not been seen at any time, but the Son of
God in coming brought him out into view so that
we may now look upon God. You wonder what God
is like? Look at Jesus Christ, for he is the
full expression of all that God is. Wonderful
truths here regarding the Word who has come to
reveal. We conclude by saying, so what? So all
of this is true, so what? A couple of things.
Number one, if what I've said is true this morning
and Jesus Christ is the Logos of God, then he
is worthy of your worship and mine. And he is
worthy of our total obedience. Whatever he says
is the word of God. He speaks as the full expression
of all that God wants to say as the logos. Therefore,
whatever he says deserves my full attention.
I dare not be complacent and casual about what
Jesus Christ says to me in this book because
this is the written word of God as he is the
living word of God. He deserves my worship, my
obedience. And then secondly, to turn from him
is to reject what God is. It is to reject what
God has to say, and it is to turn oneself to
eternal damnation. You see, this is a crossroads.
It may be a crossroads for you personally. For
you to come to church and to understand maybe
for the first time who the Logos is and why he
has come and to go away rejecting him is for
you to make a wrong turn, my friend, on the road
of life. It's for you to turn away from the only
one who can save your soul. That's why we plead
with you to receive him. That's why we plead
to you to adore him and worship him with us.
That's why we plead with you to believe on him
so that you may become a child of God, be born
of God. A young man by the name of Mike, the
name, was a Jewish boy born into a Gentile neighborhood.
That's kind of a rough combination. As he grew
up, he was called a Christ killer. All the other
names that unthinking, mean -minded people can
use. against Jews. So he grew up to hate Christ
and he grew up to hate Christians, not understanding
really who Christ is. One day he met a librarian
by the name of Shirley. Shirley was a genuine
Christian. And she began to talk to him about
his people and to tell Mike how much she loved
the Jews because they were God's chosen people.
And it was then for the first time that Mike
realized that Jesus was a Jew. He had never known
that before. And she began to tell him how Jesus
fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. He was intrigued
by it, and yet he refused to personally identify
with Jesus because he wanted to be a Jew. But
as the conversations continued between Shirley,
the librarian, and Mike, her friend, he came
to realize that for him to accept Jesus was but
to complete his Jewishness. It was not for him
to forsake the faith of his fathers. It was to
find its fulfillment in their Messiah. And there
came a night when all by himself he got down
on his knees and confessed his sins and received,
believed Jesus Christ and became a child of God.
What about you, my friend? Have you done that?
Perhaps you're a few steps behind Mike. You're
coming to realize all that that means. May I
urge you today to continue on in that direction.
And if we can pray with you and help you, we're
here to do that. Heavenly Father, I pray that
having understood something more perhaps today
of who the Jesus of Christmas is, that our hearts
will be drawn to adore and worship him all the
more. Thank you for revealing yourself fully
to us through the Logos, the Word, in whom we
have come to trust and through whom we have come
to know you personally. Amen.