MARCH 11, 2012 ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON THE WORD BECAME FLESH

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1 MARCH 11, 2012 ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON THE WORD BECAME FLESH MINISTRY INVOCATION O, God of Creation: We give You all the praise and the honor for what You have given us. Everything to which You have spoken and given name in earth and heaven glorify You. Amen. WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW AND UNDERSTAND To discover God s presence in heaven and on earth from creation To examine how God s Presence in the Word affects how they live To use John s description of the origin of Jesus found in the Fourth Gospel to inform and strengthen their faith THE APPLIED FULL GOSPEL DISTINCTIVE We believe that it is God s desire that all Believers live under the Divine Direction of the Holy Ghost. We believe that the infilling of the Holy Ghost is an ongoing ministry of the Spirit in the life of the Believer, that enables the Believer to live a life of power, victory, and glory to God. TEXT: Background Scripture: John 1:1-14 Key Verse: John 1:14 Lesson Scripture: John 1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 1

2 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. COMMENTARY The Gospel opens with one of the most elevated statements about Jesus found in the New Testament. The first eighteen verses of the Gospel have been labeled by scholars The Prologue. This Prologue is one of the most complex theological statements in the Bible. It contains a number of terms whose particular meanings appear only here in the entire Gospel for example, Word (logos) as a title, fullness (plēroma), grace (charis), only Son (monogenēs), and tent or tabernacle (skēnoun). The style of the Gospel is a tightly woven argument that moves the reader in stair-step fashion from point to point and provides the rationale for the Johannine testimony concerning the incarnation of Jesus namely, the assertions that the Word became flesh and that we have seen his glory (1:14). With the use of we and us in the text at 1:14, 16 there is a recognition of a community sense of witness in the testimony of the Gospel, particularly in the strong Christological assertions of the Prologue. This Gospel asserts a witness to one of the most crucial theological confessions of the Christian church namely, that God entered humanity in his Son. John started at the very beginning as Gen 1:1 does, when there was just God. He linked the incarnation with the Word that was present at the very beginning of time (John 1:1). In Christian theology, you cannot go back further than God. In the Bible there is no possibility of a cosmogony involving the creation of God. God is the beginning! 1:1 The first verse of the Gospel contains three basic affirmations that are fundamental to Christian theology. He began by linking the Logos (Word) with the beginning. This statement asserts that the Logos existed before creation began. John confirms this assertion in the two following verses. In this second statement of v. 1 the focus is on the relationship of the Word to God. Most translators render this statement and the Word was with God. There existed a kind of interactive reciprocality between the Word and God. The third affirmation leaves no doubt with respect to the interconnection or unity between the Word and God. Some Christians have been troubled by misinformed Jehovah s Witnesses who argue that the Word (namely, the one 2

3 who became flesh) was not actually God but was some lesser reality or a lower deity than God. It does not mean that the Word is a god as over against God or that the Word merely possesses some attributes of the divine nature. The meaning of John 1:1 is not merely that the Word has divine characteristics but that the Word participates in the reality called God. That Word was true deity. Logically for John the essential (ontological) being of the Logos preceded the acting of the Logos in time and space. To clarify further means that just as in Gen 1:1, where there was allowed no hint of the creation of God, there is here no time envisaged when the Word was not in existence or in relationship to God. A second important matter relates to the use of the term logos ( Word ) in the Prologue. When God spoke according to the Old Testament, his very speaking initiated the power to create or to order reality. Verse 1 of the Prologue then is a foundational confession (1) that the Logos has an origin that supersedes the created order of time and space, (2) that this Logos has an identity distinct from the previously understood designations for God, and (3) that the Logos must also be understood as part of the unity of God. Here then, are the beginnings of Christian reflection on the mind-stretching concept that became known as the doctrine of the Trinity. 1:2 The verse opens with the typical Johannine use of this one (houtos, the word in the Gospel that indicates a specific designation), and it pinpoints the focus of the affirmations of v. 1, namely, that from the very beginning the Logos was directly related to God. 1:3 The use of the verb egeneto ( were made ) in v. 3 signals to the reader that the evangelist has moved the focus of his discussion to the subject of creation. In the Johannine sense, however, the Greek term must refer to the created order, and the all things of the NIV probably should be read to include all realities except God. Although it is not stated here, those realities could well include the angelic host discussed in the lofty theological comparison with Jesus in Hebrews 1. In the second half of this verse, the evangelist made absolutely clear that apart from the work of the Logos nothing at all was created. 1:4 5 Light was the symbol of enlightenment as it is today. This text ought to press us to an even deeper insight, namely, that behind light stands a life reality. The Johannine message may suggest that we ought to look for ultimate meaning not merely in our systems or in enlightenment but in the ultimate source of the universe the Life-giver. NIV New International Version 3

4 In v. 5 this Johannine idea is completed as the Life/Light-giver continues to shine (notice the present tense) into the darkness. Ancient thinkers were fully aware that light transcended the darkness and not the reverse. Johannine theology is directly opposed to a dualism that gives evil such power. It nevertheless takes evil and darkness seriously. There is no question that light is set against darkness in John, and the full impact of such a battle is recognized in the Gospel when Judas is sent out to do his evil deed. Conflict is at the core of this Gospel. Conflict is clearly related to the coming of the Logos to earth. It is crucial to remember that the evangelist was writing with a post resurrection perspective. From his point of view, there was no guesswork in how the story would turn out. The light of the Logos shone and continues to shine. Certainly the darkness did not accept it, but neither did it have victory over it. That is the reason confession and witness are possible. The prospect of victory is the reason there is a church and a gospel and why small groups of Christians like a Johannine community, who were being squeezed by the world, could make a powerful confession concerning the Logos. The concept of witness in John might seem to offer the readers an open-minded choice, but not really. The decisive moment in history had already come, and that is why readers of the Gospel must always hold together the three important verses of John 3: In the combination of those verses is encapsulated the Johannine perspective of the coming of light enunciated here and elsewhere in the Gospel. The Johannine witness implies something about one s response. What you decide about Jesus is absolutely crucial. 1:6 7 In contrast to the Logos, who was from the beginning, a man named John (the Baptizer) came onto the stage of created history (egeneto), sent by God on a mission (apestalmenos). His purpose in coming was, according to the evangelist, clearly defined namely, to be a witness (marturian). Although John certainly was sent to baptize, if the fourth evangelist s writing is any test, then he may have preferred another designation John the Witness). Given the importance of the theme to bear witness in this Gospel (the verb marturein itself appears thirty-three times), the designation of John as a witness is no small affirmation of him. The focus of John s testimony was to bear witness to Jesus. 1:8 From the evangelist s point of view John must never be categorized as light. His role is that of a witness, and no one should get the roles of Logos and John the witness confused. This verse has great continuing relevance for the church because of the temptation for Christian leaders to assume a status of being more than witnesses and to pretend to speak personally with the authority of the light. In such times Christian leaders need to hear the warning that they are not the light but are merely humble witnesses to the light. 4

5 1:9 In v. 9 the evangelist returns to a consideration of the Logos, and, in contrast to the function of John the Witness, the Johannine writer asserts that the Logos was the true (alēthinon) light. The idea of true or truth is another of the central themes of the Gospel. It should not be presupposed that the evangelist assumed everyone would accept the Logos (cf. 1:10 11) the point is that the testimony and the enlightenment were intended for all. 1:10 This verse presupposes the incarnation of the Word (cf. John 1:14), and in Greek there is a vivid contrast with v. 1 namely, In the beginning was the Word, and in the world was he. The confession is that the Logos has functioned in both the realms of eternity and of creation. The use of the verb was here again stresses that the Logos was not part of creation. Indeed, the second segment of this verse reiterates that the Logos is creator and not creature, for the world was made (egeneto) through him. The term world (kosmos), carries a particular meaning in this Gospel. Although the Greek term literally refers to the results of ordering or adorning and was applied to the ordered universe or the world in general, for John the basic sense of world is to be understood as the realm where human beings live. In this Gospel, world does not refer to the earth apart from people. The people of the world did not know their Creator when the Logos was among them. Western Christians generally have lived with the concept of knowing as primarily related to the sphere of intellectual information (i.e., head knowledge), but they need to recognize that such a definition is a far cry from the Johannine meaning of knowing. Knowing is a relational idea in this Gospel. Accordingly, knowing the Logos in this Gospel is more than knowing facts about the Logos. Here the point is that the world (i.e., people) has a dark relationship with its Creator and Redeemer. 1:11 Not only did the people of the world not know the Logos, but when He came to His own historical land (Israel), His own people rejected ( did not receive ) Him. For the writers of the New Testament the rejection of Jesus by the Jews was extremely difficult to comprehend. Not only does John repeatedly detail the surprising unbelief of the Jews (e.g., 5:46 47; John viewed this non-receiving (ou parelabon) of Jesus by Israel not merely as a matter of not knowing (contrast 1:10) but as a conscious decision of rejection. Moreover, one of the clear undertones in this Gospel is that the rejection by the Jews was not merely directed at Jesus but also at the Jewish Christians who sought to remain in the synagogues. 1:12 The situation, however, was not regarded as hopeless because some people did receive him, and to as many (hosoi autois) as had done so (elabon) the Logos bestowed the power on them to become children (tekna) of God. To be a child of God comes by way of God s gift through human receiving. The 5

6 Johannine idea is thus quite similar to the Pauline idea that justification comes by way of grace as a gift that is received through faith. The text should be fairly clear, but the concluding clause of John 1:12 has been the focus of a great deal of misunderstanding, particularly among evangelicals. The misunderstanding derives from the KJV translation even to them that believe on his name. Evangelists anxious to explain the way of salvation have often stressed the even in the text of the KJV. They have thus treated this misfocused Johannine statement as a kind of minimal requirement of what is necessary to become a Christian. First, even is not in the Greek, as the italicized type in the KJV indicates. The statement therefore is not a statement of minimums of belief necessary to obtain salvation. The second, more pressing problem concerns believing. Believing, like knowing (see my comments at v. 10), in John does not stress head-type information. By the time the evangelist wrote his Gospel, he recognized that great care had to be taken in communicating the idea of believing because of the wrong perspectives that were infiltrating Christian communities. John knew that the core of the Gospel was focused not so much on what you know or what you believe but rather whom you know and in whom you believe. The evangelist, therefore, exhibits his communicative skill in completely avoiding the Greek nouns for knowledge (gnōsis) and belief or faith (pistis) and chose to use only the verbs for knowing and believing. It was not that by doing so he was criticizing the other New Testament writers but instead was trying to avoid the misuse of the Christian vocabulary. Comparable misuse also was the case for the logic of many of the Church Fathers and later exegetes; and such remains the case for avid preachers who desire to spell out easy formulas for salvation. To be a child of God, however, means to accept personally the incredible reality of the coming of the Logos into the human situation. Clearly to know and believe personally that the power of the universe is able to touch your life means that one can be adopted into the family of the Logos and become a child of God. **Moreover, there is also among evangelicals much misunderstanding about the issue of believing in the name. In the Old Testament, the idea of name is related directly to a person s or a being s nature. To receive a new name in the Old Testament, therefore, is symbolic of having a new relationship or a new nature. Israel was tempted to use that name as a magical symbol of power to control the divine forces. Israelites also were worried that the name might carry bewitching power that would strike the user. So they actually ceased to use the name of God (YHWH, sometimes translated or wrongly transliterated 6

7 Jehovah ) because of such a fear (cf. Amos 6:10). Instead, they carefully used the substitute name Adonai for God, but God knew the people s ways. The misuse of God s name raises the specter of judgment, but the proper recognition (believing) of God and his name brings the hope of life (cf. John 1:12). 1:13 This next verse is an important commentary, by the use of contrast, on the nature of becoming children of God. How often have non-christians or nominal Christians made the point that some distant relative was a minister as though that blood connection would gain them points with God. The same could be said of those who think human comparisons will help them gain acceptance with God by showing that they are not really so bad after all, or that by human calculations like the minute tithing of the Pharisees (Matt 23:23) God s scales should be weighted in their favor. To be begotten (egennēthēsan) of God or to have a new origin (ek) from God is the result of God s gift of life made possible to those who have received the Logos (John 1:12), and certainly it does not come as the result of human relationship, achievement, or determination (1:13). 1:14 This second verse in which the term Logos appears here in the Prologue signals another major comparison with v. 1. The eternal Logos was first introduced as coexistent with God (1:1); he was second identified with life and the source of light (1:8) in comparison to John, the witness (1:6 8); then third he was presented as being in the created world though he was unknown by his creatures (1:10). Now here as the Prologue reaches its climactic assertion the Logos is Announced as fully participating in the realm of creation. The term flesh carries no necessary negative or evil attributes here. Instead the text means that the eternal Logos became human truly human. The usual theological terminology used to describe this idea is the incarnation an English construct word from Latin that has come to mean God incorporated in flesh. The confession of a genuine incarnation is one of the basic theological affirmations of Christianity. Although Christians may differ on a number of theological issues, the incarnation has been one of the few boundary doctrines that applies to all who are legitimately called by the name of Christ. The incarnation is defined as the test for determining whether the presence of the Spirit of God or the spirit of antichrist is in the community. The enfleshment of the Logos is speaking of the divine presence on earth and is best rendered by tabernacled or tented. The meaning of the text here then should be: And the word became flesh and tented * presenced itself+ in our midst. As the people of Israel witnessed the glory of the Lord covering the tent of meeting (Exodus 40:34), so the evangelist and perhaps some in the 7

8 community bore witness ( we ) to seeing (etheasametha, we beheld or we have seen ; cf. 1 John 1:1) the glory of the incarnate Logos. In the Gospel of John, the linkage between hour and glory will become extremely significant, and the hour is focused on the death of Jesus. There is no question that this Gospel is written with a pervading post resurrection perspective, but the powerful glorification of Jesus in John begins its final focus at the cross. As a prelude to the hour of glory in the Gospel, therefore, the introduction of glory here would carry for the evangelist the great meaning that in Jesus the manifestation of presence and power was revealed. Indeed, the depth of this glory could alone be revealed by the only Son from alongside (para) the Father. John the Witness/Baptizer (1:6) and other servants of God may well be described as being sent from God, but there is no comparison between their mission and that of the only Son who proceeded directly from the Father. He was the Father s special agent or representative (shaliach) on earth. This text makes it absolutely clear that the mission of the Logos was unique in the history of the world. This uniqueness of the Son makes it impossible for Christianity to be a syncretistic religion. In our mission to the world, we cannot say Jesus and Caesar or Jesus and Buddha, and so forth. Our confession is Jesus, the one and only! The early Christians suffered and died because they refused to recognize any other pattern than that which was revealed in Jesus Christ. The incarnate Logos was God s unique messenger, and he is here characterized as being full of grace and truth. God s messenger has the full incorporation of two characteristics that are usually ascribed to God. The first term grace (charis), which occurs only here in the Gospel but which is a frequent term in the Pauline corpus, is closely related to the Hebrew (c) ḥesed and can be rendered by such tender expressions as loving-kindness or gracious mercy. The second term truth (alētheia) is one of the major Johannine themes and is rooted in the Hebrew ʾĕmet, which carries the ideas of faithfulness, steadfastness, and consistency. In analyzing this crucial verse of the Prologue, it becomes quickly apparent that this verse is like a great jewel with many facets that spreads its rays of implication into the various dimensions of Christology the theology of Christ. As a summary of this verse, it may be said that the evangelist recognized and bore witness to the fact that the characteristics ascribed only to God by the Old Testament were present in the incarnate Logos, God s unique messenger to the world, who not only epitomized in person the awesome sense of God s presence in their midst as a pilgrim people but also evidenced those stabilizing divine qualities God s people had experienced repeatedly. 8

9 RELATED DISCUSSION TOPICS CLOSING PRAYER O, Father of all that is and will be: We bless Your Name. Forgive us of all our sins and create a righteous spirit within us. Make us afresh to Your glory. Amen. 9