Who is Jesus? - John 1:1-13
The Apostle John had watched and examined the Lord for a few years. He has now lived for the Lord for many years. It is believed that this Gospel was the last to be written, about 85 A.D. By the time this book was in the churches, much of the New Testament had already begun being circulated. It is another Gospel inspired by our Lord.
Matthew is very Jewish - Jesus the King Mark shows the Lord the Servant
Luke shows the Son of Man John Shows His Deity, the Son of God
All the Gospels complement one another
But as we consider this book we must first ask the question. Who is Jesus?
Is He simply another god? Is it just religion? Or is He GOD? He is!
I. The Sovereign Lord - vs. 1-3
A. The Word WITH God - His beginning was not in Bethlehem, The Messiah, the Logos, that WORD had always been with God! The Word is:
1. With God in Position - He is God
Joh 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
Php 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
2. With God in Power -
- The Self existent God - Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Jehovah
- Sin Erasing God -Mar 2:10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) 11 I say unto thee, Arise,
- The Supreme Eminent God - Mt. 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
3. With God in Prophecy - (too many) Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; Find it fulfilled in Luke 4:18
4. With God in Purpose - John 12:27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. 28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. And what was the cause? Same chapter
32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
B. The Word WAS God -Messiah, second Person in the Godhead, is Revealed:
Revealed as the Creator - vs. 3, 10a - The Living Word is the Creator!
1. He Transcends Time - this verb is in the Imperfect Tense with an Indicative Mood. Let me put that in English - The tense means that:
He "was" over and over! And the mood of the verb says - "and that's a fact" Stronger than "is" The little verb "was" simply says: Jesus always "was", and already was before anything else was - and that's a fact! He is, eternally. He was before anything else “is.”
2. The Lord is Timeless - The Beginning of everything!
II. The Source of Life and Light - 4 - John moved from the essence of creation to the most important elements of creation. Life and Light
A. In Him was LIFE - The Living God is the source of Life
1. God Formed Man - Imagine as God tenderly cradled the dust in the very hand - Ge 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. He began to form the one from whom all mankind would come. He formed his head, his arms all the way down to his finger prints. He formed the lungs for breath, THEN
2. God Gave life to Man - The Breath we have is a Gift of God
It is God's breath when your lungs are working
It is God's breath that you breath! Why does man think it belongs to him?
The very environment that God created makes the oxygen we breath!
But a problem occurred, man fell into sin. God allowed physical breath to remain, but it began to fade, as man began to physically die that day. The Spiritual breath was now gone - Man died in sin, and darkness came - But God had a plan!
B. In Him was LIGHT - Light is that by which we see objects clearly. - vs. 4-5
1. The Permeating Light - There is a contrast here.
- vs. 4 says it was the light of all men - If you have Life, the Light has shone on you! An atheist or agnostic are merely people who use their intellect as crutches to deny God and deal with the guilt of their sin!
JFB - "All that in men which is true light—knowledge, integrity, intelligent, willing subjection to God, love to Him and to their fellow creatures, wisdom, purity, holy joy, rational happiness—all this "light of men" has its fountain in the essential original "life" of "the Word""
2. The Promised Light - It shined to a Dark World - vs. 5 The light shone to all in darkness. - Zaccharias, in his prophecy of Christ said Lk 1:79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
3. The Problem of Darkness - Darkness of sin rejected the Light! It comprehended it not, that is "did not take possession" of the light.
Just because you believe in God with your head and know He exists, does not mean you are saved. You must accept the light of Jesus and Him alone.
Ro 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (After they rejected) Your heart is dark when you reject the light.
III. The Savior of the Lost - vs. 10-14
A. The Word was Revealed - He came unto His own creation - vs. 11
B. The Word was Rejected - vs. 11b Received Him not - believing neither the testimony given by his prophets, nor by John the Baptist, nor by himself - and that is still true today
C. The Word is Received - vs. 12-13
1. The Receiving - No one has ever been saved that did not first RECEIVE Christ. There must be a BIRTHDAY- The word "received" is the Greek word that means to take with the hand, to accept (as with a gift), to gain!
Salvation comes only by God - It is a SPIRITUAL Birth! And God has done it all, leaving us one step to take - FAITH - And then God produces the change, and confers the privilege of being called his children. - There must be a birthday.
2. The Redemption - we are not saved by our works, but the will of God is fulfilled in our lives - All that are saved are IN the will of God! He is longsuffering!
2 Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
D. The Word is Real - vs. 14
1. Was Real in Eternity
2. Was Real in the Flesh
3. Is Real in His Deity (glory)
4. Real in His Provision - He is FULL of Grace and Truth!
Nothing man has ever done can abound over His grace.
And no lie of earth, history, or society can supercede His truth. He is true And
- HE IS TRUTH!
De 32:4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
Ps 100:5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
Ps 119:160 Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
Romans 3:3 For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Re 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
Concl. Who is Jesus? The Sovereign Lord, The Source of Life and Light, and The Saviour of the Lost. HE'S ALL YOU NEED!
He took our place, have you received His gift?
There is no greater gift. Are you grateful for the gift?
Are you grateful for Christ's becoming a man and dying for your sins?
Disclaimer: A man once told me that if it is true, it is not new. If it is new, it is not true. We all know there is nothing new under the sun. With that said, I glean ideas for my sermons from God’s Word, my own work, and then I refer to many other sources. Any similarity to my sermons and others, where credit is not given, is either coincidental, or an unintentional mistake on my part. As none of us have a corner on the wisdom and teaching of God’s Word, it is my desire that any of my outlines be an encouragement, a help, and hopefully a motivation for others to preach God’s Word clearly. Please feel free to use any portion of my sermons if they can be of help to you and your ministry. I purposely include a skeleton outline, and not my full text, for this purpose. It is all for His Glory.
