John 1:1-14

How has God made Himself known to mankind? 

In John chapter one we are introduced to God as, "The Word" and also, "The Light." 

God has made Himself known to mankind and is still doing so today! Learn more on this weeks episode of Daily Delight.  

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Well, turn in your Bibles if you would to the Gospel of John. I'm excited. We're starting a a new series and gonna go through verse by verse uh the book of the Gospel of John, uh according to John. And so we'll see his perspective of what he saw when uh he walked with the Lord Jesus and uh spent time with him and of course saw him die on the cross and be buried and raised again from the dead. And uh so uh the the key to the book of John is John chapter 20, verse 30 and 31. It says, as many and many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not seen, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through his name. So this is the whole purpose of the book. Matter of fact, the word believe is used uh I'm wanting to say about 85 to 90 times, somewhere around there, uh, in some form. And so God is obviously putting an emphasis uh on that word, believe, and that is what he's wanting us to do. He wants us to believe on his son. Uh but here we have the record of the Apostle John and the witness that he gave of the things that he saw in the Lord Jesus Christ as he was here on earth. Uh the key verse of chapter one would be, I believe, verse 29. It says, The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. Uh but the theme of chapter one would be meeting Jesus and making him known to others. And uh John introduces us to the Lord Jesus Christ in this book, in this gospel record. And uh you see all through chapter one and uh other passages of scripture as well, but uh you see that someone is making Jesus known uh to others. And that is, by the way, that is a part of the Christian life, and I believe God's desire for every Christian is he does want us to make um Jesus known to others, and that's the whole purpose of this podcast is uh I want you to I want you to meet Jesus and and learn to delight in him, amen. But I want you to look at verses one through fourteen. Uh this will be our first uh section today. It says, In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. Now this is another John. This is John the Baptist, not John the Apostle, but it says that there was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came into his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. I want us to notice some things here about meeting Jesus and making him known to others. So I want you to notice, number one, meeting Jesus as the Word. We're introduced to Jesus as the Word in verses one through three and also verse fourteen. Again, I want you to notice what it says. It says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. I want you to notice the time of the word that's mentioned in verses one and two. It says, In the beginning was the word, and also verse two, the same was in the beginning with God. And so uh I want you to notice this. Uh in the beginning was the word, the same was in the beginning with God. I believe John is referring to Genesis chapter one, verses one through three. He takes us back to creation. Uh matter of fact, again, we see that without him was not anything made that was made there in verse 3. But he takes us back to the book of Genesis, chapter 1, verses 1 through 3. And I don't know if this was the springboard for his uh gospel record, but he shows us the Lord as creator. In the beginning, uh in Genesis 1, 1 through 3, it says, In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, and God said, And this is where it all began. There's a lot of talk and a lot of debate about where we came from and and uh where how the world began and all those things, and and I just by faith I take what God's Word says, that in the beginning God, I believe He just spoke this world into existence and He created these things, and uh of course He created it perfect, and sin came in and of course corrupted that. Uh God has given man a free will, the will to choose, but uh I'm sure we'll talk about that later. But he was here when time began and before time began. Uh Colossians 1, 16 and 17 says, For by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And so, uh, you know, I I as I'm reading this, I think about what the Lord told Job. He said, Where was where were you when I created the heavens? Where were you when I created the world? And you know, so many people we debate and we argue and we discuss these things, and uh let's be honest, where were we when when these things happened? But listen, God has given us a record of it, and we see the time of the word, that hey, listen, the word was with God, and the word was God, and the word was here before anything else was here. And so we see the time of the word. I want you to notice the title of the word in verse one. He is called the word in verse one. That title is used three times in uh the Gospel of John, chapter one, here in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. And that name, word is uh with a capital W, so that shows that it's a it's a person and a title that we're given here. But the Bible explains itself here, but honestly, it's hard for us to wrap our minds around. Uh, one of my favorite Bible teachers that I listen to uh very regularly, who's gone on to be with the Lord, uh Dr. J. Vernon McGee, he uh mentions um he mentions this uh about how the fact that there all the words in the Gospel of John are something that a four or five-year-old child could read. But the truth that's in there is something that is uh so hard to wrap your mind around. Matter of fact, listen, uh listen to verse one. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. I have very young children uh who could read that verse, uh, but listen, again, the truth that is in that verse is something that is hard for us to wrap our minds around. Uh but the word was with God, and the word was God. Um and so uh this is another title or divine expression of who Christ is. He is the word of God, he is the promise, uh the promised seed that is mentioned in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15. He is that promised seed that God had promised all through the Bible, and we continue to see promises all through the scriptures of him. But he is that manifestation of God's promise to this world that I'm gonna send a seed, the seed of the woman to this world, and we'll get into that uh when we get into the word being made flesh, but uh that he would send that seed into the world that would bruise the serpent's head and the serpent would bruise his heel. This is the promise of God. Uh for God to reveal himself to us, uh to really even to begin for us to understand him. He gave us his word, and as we will see in verse 14, the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Uh Jesus is the physical manifestation of God. And so we'll see more about that uh as we continue on. But in other words, he was given a body and he came to this earth. He was not only with God in the beginning of time, but was God, which means that he was here before time began, as we mentioned a moment ago. But for us to truly know God, we have to know his son, and his son is the word, and that is why we study the Bible. John chapter 14, verse 9, Jesus said, He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. So, in other words, when we see the life of the Lord Jesus Christ and we study his life, we study his word, we begin to understand more about the character of God and who God is. And listen, for this, for us to truly know him, as we'll see here in just a moment, we have to receive his son. We have to believe on him, and uh, to really truly know him and understand him is to believe him by faith. I want you to notice also the things of the word in verse 3 that are mentioned, it says, All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. Uh they were all made by Jesus Christ. Uh, you know, there is what's uh I heard uh some teaching on this not long ago, but there is what is direct creation and there is indirect creation, all right? And so God directly uh created Adam from the sense that he took the dust of the ground and he formed man of the dust of the ground and he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. We see that in Genesis chapter 1, and also I believe is mentioned in Genesis chapter 2 as well. And so direct creation, and so God created mankind, and of course he took the rib of Adam and He made the woman and uh brought them together, and they of course became husband and wife, and then they began to have children. And uh that would, I believe, would be considered what would be indirect creation. But the fact of the matter is this is what this verse says uh all things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. Again, mankind and sin has come in and corrupted the things. Uh there are things that are made that man has come up and uh with his ideas and things like that, and uh for some reason God has allowed those things uh that are created, but sin has perverted those things, and uh sin has corrupted those things, and there's even good things. We were studying in our history class uh yesterday about how technology, there have been things that have been created with technology, the internet and things like that that can be used as good tools and can be used for beneficial things uh such as communication and things like that. But of course, evil communications corrupt good manners, and those things have been perverted. And why is that? Because of sin. But listen, when God made everything, God made everything right, and God is gonna make everything right again, praise the Lord, and He's gonna fix the sin problem that is in this earth. But they were all made by Jesus Christ. And so Ephesians 3 9 says, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. That word made it means to cause to be, to become, and to come into being. There's nothing that has come into existence without him. Uh listen, he is from everlasting to everlasting, the Bible says. He always has been here, and so he is the one that was here before the world was created, and answers that question of where we came from. But we see the things of the word. And then I want you to notice also the meeting, uh, meeting Jesus as the light. So not only is he mentioned as the word in verses one through three, but we see that he's mentioned as the light in verses four through ten. Notice what the Bible says here. It says, In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Excuse me, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. So let's meet Jesus as the light. The word that brought all things into existence has life. There was no other life until he spoke it into existence. Of course, he was life, is life, and was there before anything else was in existence. But the Bible says, in him was life, and the life was the light of men. That word light, it means to shine, to make manifest, uh uh, to be luminous. Um, you know, I think of our conscience and how it testifies to us that there is a creator, that we came from somewhere, um, and all those things. But I couldn't hardly understand this until praying over and listening to some other Bible teaching. Uh, this passage says, in him was life, and the life was the light of man. Again, another one of those examples of very small words, but the truth that is in this is hard for us to wrap our minds around, and they have to be spiritually discerned. But who have we been talking about specifically up to this point? We we find in verses one through three, he's the word. The word gives life. In him is life. Notice this in Genesis 2 7. And the Lord God formed the man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. In 2 Timothy 3 16, all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That word inspiration, it means divinely breathed. Uh, and that word breathed, it means to puff, but there is no life apart from the word. In him was life. Uh notice these examples in Genesis when God speaks. It says in Genesis 1, 11 and 12, and God said, and then it says, and the earth brought forth. Uh Genesis 1, 20 and 21, and God said, in Genesis 1 24, and God said, and it was so. If you read the account of Genesis chapter 1, you're gonna find that when God speaks, life comes. And hey, listen, when God speaks to your heart as a Christian, does it not revive your heart? Does it not stir your heart? Uh the Bible says being born again, I'm gonna get ahead of myself, but uh, but listen, uh, 1 Peter 1 23, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever. God's word gives life. And listen, if you'll believe, you may be out there, and listen, if you're out there and don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the Bible says that you are dead in trespasses and sins. Yes, you may have physical existence, but you do not have that life that God gives from his word and from the Holy Spirit and trust in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen, in him was life, the word, and the life was made, uh was the light of men. So we see that the word gives life, but he is also the light of men. I want you to look at the definition again of light. It means to shine or to make manifest. Uh listen, he is the manifestation of light. In verses four through seven, uh again, the Bible says here, in him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. Uh and so the word that gives life and is the light of men, he makes himself manifest to mankind. Hey, listen, I know there's a lot of debate and there's a lot of talk, and I've had, of course, being a teacher of middle and high school, I I've had the question asked to me several times. What about the people that are that are out in the jungle, out in the middle of nowhere, that don't have a Bible? Well, listen, I there's a there's something that answers that question in the Bible, and it's found in Romans chapter one and verse twenty. 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. Listen, creation testifies that there is a God. Psalm chapter 19, verse 1 says, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Psalm 119 130, the entrance of thy words giveth light, it giveth understanding unto the simple. Hey, listen, I understand that there is a limited knowledge of God in creation, and but God has revealed himself to mankind, and I do believe that if a person will respond to the light that they're given, God will give them more light. And I believe that's why God sends missionaries all over the world out into the middle of nowhere to witness to people and to give the gospel and to tell who He is. Notice verse 5 and how the light has been revealed to mankind, but not accepted. It says, And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. From the very beginning of creation, God separated the light from the darkness. And listen, uh, those that are in darkness, matter of fact, the Bible describes salvation as coming out of darkness and into his marvelous light. And when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are stepping into the light that God gives. It says, and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. That word comprehended, it means to take eagerly, to seize and to possess. You know, uh lately I've I've had some discussions uh with people who are unbelievers, and you know, sometimes as a new believer, I was always like, Why don't people get it? Why don't they understand? But the thing the thing is, is that it they're not comprehending what God is giving because it has to be comprehended by faith. And when a person doesn't have faith, God doesn't make things any more clear to him. Matter of fact, we'll see in the Gospel of John, there's another passage of Scripture that talks about if we're going to understand the doctrine, we have to obey the doctrine. It has to be obeyed and it has to be accepted by faith for that to be understood. And uh, you know, everybody wants to understand first and then believe later, but that's not how God's designed it. It's to be accepted by faith. No doubt speaking of the rejection of Christ, I believe, when that verse, when he says, And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. I want you to notice not always not only do we see the manifestation of light, but I want you to notice also the messenger of light in verses six through eight. The Bible says there was a man sent from God whose name was John. Now, this is in reference to John the Baptist, as I mentioned earlier, and not the Apostle John, but this is John the Baptist, and it says, the same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. And so we see he's the messenger. He was a man sent from God whose name was John. And uh I want you to notice where the messenger came from. It says there was a man sent from God. There was a man sent from God. Hey, listen, I don't know why, uh, but listen, God has chosen, uh, God has chosen to reveal himself uh through man's witness of him, all right? And and that listen, that that's the whole reason why I'm doing what I'm doing right now as I speak to you. I met the Lord Jesus Christ 20 years ago. It'll be 20 years ago, July 16th, and uh and and he he forever changed my life. And ever since then, I have been, I've had a great desire to share him with others and to let others know about what he did in my life and what he can do in their life and what he came to this world to do for them. John the Baptist was one of those witnesses. Uh it says in Luke chapter 1, verse 76 and through 79, this is in reference to John, and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the highest. For thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge. Of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the day spring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Praise the Lord. Hey, listen, did you know his witness is still standing today? After two thousand years of persecution and oppression and people trying to stop the witness, the witness still goes on today. And the more this world and the devil tries to suppress it, the further out it goes. Praise the Lord. Listen, this is uh John the Baptist is called the forerunner of Christ because he was, it was prophesied that he would come uh before Jesus and he would announce that he was here. Matter of fact, we'll see his announcement in John chapter 1 and verse 29, when he announces him to Israel, and he says, Behold, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Praise the Lord. But in Malachi chapter 3, verse 1, it's also mentioned of him, of John the Baptist. He says, Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come into his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in. Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. Now I want you to see also a mention of him in Isaiah chapter 40 in verse 3. The Bible says, The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Praise the Lord. And then right after that, there's a multitude professing their faith in him, they were baptized and praise the Lord. Listen, uh, the messenger of light. We see where the messenger came from. There was a man sent from God. And man, what a blessing it is to know if you're a Christian and you're going out and you're sharing the gospel with people, that you're a man or you're a woman that was sent from God to take that message into all the world. I love the name, the meaning of John's name. His name means Jehovah Favored. Praise the Lord. Now I want you to notice why the messenger came. Look in verses 7 and 8. It says, The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light. And so we see why he came. Number one, to witness of the light. That word witness, it means to give evidence, to testify. And he he was also came not only to witness so that, but that others may believe. And we saw again, that's the whole purpose of the book. Now I want you to look at the message of light in verses 9 through 13. It's a message of truth. It says that was the true light, the true light, uh, the truth. You know, man, people do not want to hear the truth today. There are so many philosophies out there. The humanistic philosophy today says that mankind is generally good. It's his environment that has uh caused him to be bad, or it's his upbringing that has caused him to be bad. It's because his mom uh didn't do certain things, or his dad didn't do certain things, or because someone hurt his feelings. Hey, listen, this message that comes to you uh from the Word of God, uh, this message that came from John the Baptist, it was a message of truth. That was the true light, uh not concealing, you understand, to make manifest. Jesus is the truth. He said in John chapter 14 and verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. In John 15, 22, he said, If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin, but now they have no cloak for their sin. And I'm gonna tell you something, when God's word speaks, God's word sheds light and it shines light on our sin. I remember coming, and I remember hearing the preaching of God's word, and I remember weeping in the pews over my sin, knowing that I had done wrong. What is that? That is a message of truth. And then it's a message to all. I want you to notice this message of the true light is to all. It says, Which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Uh Luke 20, or two, verses thirty through thirty-two, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared for the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. This is Simeon's testimony when the Lord Jesus Christ was born. And I love it says that it's a uh which thou hast prepared for the before the face of all people. Hey, listen, if you're out there and you're listening to this message, and maybe some church has pushed you out and some religion has pushed you out and said you can't get to heaven, you can't come to God the way you are, listen, I'm gonna tell you something. The true light came, the salvation came, and yes, it reveals your sin, but I'm gonna tell you something else it reveals. It reveals the truth that Jesus Christ is righteous and that he will justify the ungodly by faith. And if you come to him today, and if you'll believe on his name and you'll call upon him for that salvation, he's promised to save you. Notice verse 10 in reference to this message being to all. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. Uh listen, Isaiah 53, 2 and 3 says, There is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid our as if it were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not. Jesus came into his own creation and was known to them, and also speaks of his humility. But verse 11, he came into his own, and his own received him not. That word received, it means to receive near, to associate with oneself. And listen, this message must be taken. Notice in verses twelve and thirteen. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. But listen, I'm going to tell you something. That message, it has to be received. Remember verse 5 the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. That word comprehended, it means to take eagerly, to seize and to possess. But he says in verse 12, But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. How do we take or get a hold of this true light? The Bible tells us in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 and 9, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Can I emphasize that through faith there? You want to receive this gift of light and truth and life that God gives, friend, it has to be taken by faith. And the Bible says in Romans chapter 10, verses 9 and 10, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. That's how the message is received. And I want you to notice what happens when that message is received. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. Friend, if you're out there today and you believe that Jesus did this for you, that he died for your sins, that he was buried and raised again according to the scriptures, he promises that by faith he will save your soul if you'll trust him. Would you do that today? May the Lord bless you and have a good day.