John Series 2019
Jesus is the Word
Text: John 1:1 – 2
Well here we are… the first Sunday of 2019. Think about that for a second… can you imagine that it’s been almost two decades since the year 2000… I mean… I still remember back when the Y2K scare was all you heard about on the news. Everyone was afraid that the computers would shut down because they weren’t sure that the internal clocks would roll over at the new millennium. But here we are, hurtling through time. Moving forward – and we’ve hit 2019…
So… the first Sunday of a new year sounds like a great time to begin a new sermon series. But it’s not like I just thought of that on the fly. I actually knew that I was going to be preaching on topics like Thanksgiving and Advent all through November and December, so back in November of last year I started praying about what the Lord would have us go through… and to be honest with you, I was actually thinking of either Colossians from the New Testament, or Malachi from the Old Testament. But instead, we’re going to the Gospel of John this morning. And we’re going to start in chapter one, and – Lord willing, we’ll work our way through the entire Gospel by 2020. No… I actually don’t know how long we’ll be in it… I just know that I feel like this is what the Lord has been leading me to preach through.
Now… before I get into the text itself. Let me give you a little bit of background to John’s Gospel. First of all – it was written by John. Not John the Baptist. But John the Disciple. Most often in order to distinguish the two we call him “John the Beloved.” John’s dad was named Zebedee, and he had to have been quite a character as James and John were nicknamed - “Sons of Thunder”. His mom’s name was Salome, and his brother was James. And the family business was fishing. He grew up in Capernaum, and he wrote four books of the New Testament (The Gospel according to John, 1st John, 2nd John, 3rd John, and Revelation). James and John, along with Peter were part of Jesus inner circle… in other words they kind of had special privilege amongst the disciples in the sense that they were the only disciples who got to see Jesus raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead, and they were the only three who got to see the transfiguration of Jesus.
John was also the only one of the 12 disciples who didn’t die a martyr. He died of old age… but that doesn’t mean he never faced any persecution. In-fact, we know that when he was older he was exiled to the island of Patmos – which was an island quarry… meaning John, was probably swinging a pick axe and shoveling rock in his 70’s or 80’s… all because of his witness for Jesus. He died in Ephesus around 98 AD, about 65 years or so after the death of Jesus.
So this is the guy who wrote this Gospel account… and the reason he wrote it was because he wanted it be used as an evangelistic tool. John was the last Gospel account written. So it comes after Mark and Matthew and Luke, and a lot of people think that John wrote this to supplement the other 3 Gospels… and even though it does that, that’s not why he wrote it. Some folks have pointed out that John’s Gospel is very good at refuting Gnosticism. Now the Gnostics were kind of a religious sect who believed that Jesus didn’t actually come in the flesh… They said that instead; He was only in Spirit form, but appeared to be in flesh form… they also taught that there was this kind of secret knowledge that only they had, and in order to grow to maturity with God, you had to get this secret knowledge from them. So they were kind of like other secret societies and cults in that way… and John’s Gospel does refute the Gnostic teaching… but again, that’s not primarily why he wrote it.
If you’ll turn real fast with me to the end of the Gospel… John 20:30 – 31 I’ll show you why he wrote this (READ). There it is; in his own words.
So like I was saying: He wrote it as an evangelistic tool. So that people would read it, believe it and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, and be saved.
Now if you’re here this morning, and you’re a Christian, that doesn’t mean you should just tune out… it doesn’t mean you should just say, “Well that’s for those unbelievers, not me.” Because that’s not the case at all. Because the Holy Spirit doesn’t just bring us to saving faith through the hearing of God’s Word. He sanctifies us – He sets us apart. He encourages us. He equips us. He builds us up. He not only gives us faith through the hearing of God’s Word, He strengthens our faith… and increases our fruitfulness.
Basically what happens is – as we dig into God’s Word, Christ becomes bigger, more beautiful, more glorious to us… and it’s not that He’s actually becoming bigger, or more beautiful, or more glorious… it’s that our eyes are being opened to see Him more clearly. So, when we encourage folks to gather with the Church on Sunday, it’s not because we’re counting numbers and it’s not because we’re about filling pews… we do that because we want people to experience the majesty of Jesus, and to be equipped and strengthened by the hearing of His Word.
So let’s go to it… We’re in the Gospel of John, chapter one, and we’re going to read verses one and two (READ John 1:1 – 2).
So God wants people to believe in Jesus… And God wants us who do already believe, to be strengthened in our faith. And the way He does that is by giving us His Word, and it’s interesting that one of the titles given to Jesus right here in our text is that He is the Word. “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…” Now in the original Greek the word that we translate as “Word” is the Greek word “Logos”. It’s where we get our word “logic”. And the meaning of Logos is hard to define. It means Word… but it also means the mind of God, the plan of God, the purpose of God, the reasoning of God, the logic of God, and the Revelation of God. Basically everything that makes God who He is… the essence, the being, of God – was with God, in the beginning. And the reason we use the phrase “The Word” is because words communicate something… they reveal something… they show us something. If I came up to this pulpit and didn’t say a word… but instead just smiled like a doofus, no one would be getting anything out of that, and you would all leave after Sunday School. If I did that Sunday after Sunday, you’d either stop coming; or, you’d be looking for a new pastor. But I get up here, and I try to exposit the Word of God. And if I do it the way He intends, then He takes His Word, and He uses it for His purpose, whatever that might be… whether it’s to save the lost, or bless you, or encourage you, or give you insight, or convict you, or whatever. His Word will not return unto Him void, but will accomplish His purpose. So the reason that Jesus is given the title of “The Word” is because He reveals God’s plan and God’s purpose, and He reveals to us God Himself.
Now how can Jesus do that?
Because, like John says, The Word was not only with God… the Word IS GOD! Jesus Christ is God. He is equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He’s not a created being. He is in-fact; the Creator! (That’s verse 3 by the way, if you want to look at it). You notice, it doesn’t say, “In the beginning the Word was created, or formed…” Nope… it says, “In the beginning WAS the Word.” Jesus wasn’t made at the beginning, He made the beginning… and of course when it says “the beginning” it’s talking about the beginning of time. Before Jesus made time, there was just eternity… we call it eternity past in order to help us wrap our minds around it. But in reality eternity is neither past nor future… it’s always present. That’s why the Lord calls Himself The Great I AM. So the Father, and Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are eternally existent… they existed before time began.
Now John uses this wording for a specific purpose. He’s wanting his readers to link this back to the Book of Genesis, which starts out very similar. Gen. 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Well John’s saying, “You remember Genesis? Remember when it says God created everything? Well I’m about to introduce you to that God who did that. His Name is Jesus!”
Turn with me real quick to Colossians 1:16 and look at how Paul says it (READ).
So; John’s going to go on and explain that this same God who created the world, and created the universe, and created EVERYTHING… is the same God who became a man and died for our sin. He set His glory aside and stepped out of heaven and out of eternity, and put on flesh. God became a man and dwelt among us. And that’s a big point in John’s Gospel… is that Jesus really and truly is God. He’s not just a prophet like Islam claims. He’s not some created minor deity like the Jehovah’s Witnesses claim. He’s not one of many gods like the Mormon’s claim. He is God and He was with God in the beginning…
Now when John says that Jesus was with God… that’s a relational term. Jesus existed with God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit in the beginning, before time began. They shared eternity together. Again the Greek here implies that Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit were side by side here, or even face to face. Which again, it’s showing us that the Logos here… the Word… that Jesus isn’t a projection of God, or an attribute of God… but that He actually is God, along with God the Father, and the Holy Spirit.
This is why, when we go back to Genesis 1:26 we see the Father say, “Let US make man in OUR image, and after our likeness.”
So again; this is why Jesus is given the title of “The Word” or “The Logos”… because He is the only one who is capable of revealing (communicating) God to us… because He was with God, and because He IS God.
Now I hope I’ve driven that home. Turn with me real quick to Isaiah 55:1 – 11 (READ).
Now this is the prophet Isaiah, speaking on behalf of God… and God is having Isaiah tell His people… PROPHESY to His people, about Jesus. So this passage in Isaiah is talking about Jesus… and isn’t it interesting what God says in verse 11? There are literally two meanings to this… first of all I already mentioned it. If we preach God’s Word as God intends it to be preached, then He will use His Word to accomplish what He wants it to… but also… the Word who was made flesh – Jesus, will accomplish what God intends Him to, and will succeed in His purpose.
My point? Jesus cannot fail. Jesus cannot be stopped. What Jesus does can’t be undone. So when He saves you – you’re saved. When He forgives you – you’re forgiven. When He redeems you – you’re redeemed. JESUS CANNOT FAIL! EVER!
Now if that isn’t good news, I don’t know what is.
CONCLUSION
