NOW A WORD FROM JOHN
John 1:1-18
INTRO: Suppose you have an idea. You want others to know about this idea. How do you communicate that idea to another person? Simple. You convey an idea from your mind to another person’s mind by the medium of words.
John began the Fourth Gospel with an introduction to Jesus as the Word. A word is a means of communication. John conceived of Jesus as God’s supreme communication to human beings. The idea of God existed. His character needed to be expressed. When John called Jesus the “Word,” he shared that Jesus expressed the idea of God.
I. JESUS IS THE INCREDIBLE WORD (vv. 1-3).
The prologue of John began with the identification of Jesus. The prologue has an incredible insight of Jesus’ relationship to the Father. John first told of the Word in eternity — “in the beginning.” The verb was means that there was never a time when Jesus did not exist. Not only did John speak of Jesus’ close relationship to the Father, but also he said that “the Word was God” (v. 1).
The prologue has an incredible insight of the creative activity of the Word. “All things were made by Him” (v. 3). To think of Jesus as the creator causes us to worship and trust Him for our needs.
II. JESUS IS THE ILLUMINATING WORD (vv. 4-9).
Jesus came to earth to bring life to people and to give illumination about the nature of God. John identified Jesus as “the Light” (v. 4) of man. People can know exactly what God is like by the illumination of Jesus’ life. The forces of evil (darkness) cannot suppress God’s illumination in Jesus.
People who open their lives to Jesus Christ become a witness to the light. In verses 6-9, the writer spoke of John the Baptist as a witness to Jesus. Every person who becomes a follower of Jesus becomes a witness or a reflector of the illumination Jesus gives.
III. JESUS IS THE INCLUDING WORD (vv. 10-13).
Jesus came to the world to communicate the character of God to all the people and to include every person in His family. Jesus gives people a choice--to accept or to reject Him. When He came to His own people, they rejected Him. John’s emphasis on rejection is tragic. The saddest words have to be “his own received him not” (v. 11).
Some chose to open their lives to Jesus. They received Him. To these people He gave authority to become children of God. Jesus includes people in His family not by racial or national or family ties. Jesus includes people because they open their lives to His power.
IV. JESUS IS THE INCARNATE WORD (vv. 14-18).
Jesus became a human being. When He became a man, He chose to live in the midst of people and to become acquainted with their situations. Jesus became flesh so that he might help us with our human situations.
Jesus became flesh so people may really see what God is like. “He hath declared him” (v. 18). If anyone wants to know what God is like, they may look at Jesus. He explains the idea of God.
CONC: Have you heard the Word? We have an ultimate Word from God. The Word is Jesus.
