In the Beginning Was the Word John 1:1-13 Dan Brooks, Pastor Sunday Morning, December 9, 2012 Introduction: Think of John s Gospel in 4 parts: 1. The Prologue (1:1-18) 2. The Book of Signs (1:19-12:50) a. Words b. Works 3. The Book of Passion (13:1-20:31) 4. The Epilogue (21) I. THE PURPOSE OF THE WORD (1:1-2) A. How should we understand the Word? 1. Linguistically? a. If we were to transliterate the Greek term into the English it would be logos. b. In the Greek language there is actually a wide range of meaning for this term: 1) statement: 33.98 2) speech: 33.99 3) gospel: 33.260 4) treatise: 33.51 5) Word: 33.100 6) account: 57.228 7) reason: 89.18 8) event: 13.115 9) appearance: 30.13 10) accusation: 56.7 1 2. Philosophically? a. There is an enormous amount of Greek writing which develops the idea of the Logos in a philosophical way. b. Sample of ideas: For Heraclitus the Logos is the omnipresent wisdom by which all things are steered ; it is the divine word received by the prophet, which becomes almost equivalent to God (see J. Adam, The Religious Teachers of Ancient Greeks, 216 34). For the Stoics, the Logos is the common law of nature, immanent in the universe and maintaining its unity, the divine fire, the soul of the universe. Philo of Alexandria exploited the concept in a striking fashion. He saw the Logos as the agent of creation, distinguishing between the Logos as a thought in the mind of God, his eternal wisdom, and its expression in making formless matter a universe. The Logos is the medium of divine government of the world; it is the captain and pilot of the universe. The Logos is the means by which man may know God, for God is unknowable by the mass of mankind; they can know him only in and through the Logos: The Logos is the God of us imperfect men, but the primal God is the God of the wise and perfect ; accordingly the Logos is viewed as the High Priest through whom men come to God, an Advocate (παράκλητος) for the forgiveness of sins. And the Logos is identified with the Perfect Man, the man of Gen 1, made in the image of God, as distinct from the man of the earth of Gen 2; he is the Father s eldest Son, his Firstborn. These contacts of Philonic thought with the Fourth 1 Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, vol. 2, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 153.
P a g e 2 Gospel are the more significant in view of the independence of the two authors, for they clearly reflect related traditions and modes of thinking. To some extent a similar observation may be made regarding Gnostic representations of the Logos as an intermediary figure between God and the world; through the Logos God is able to make a material world, and through him man has the possibility of deliverance from this world. The concepts of creation and redemption are, of course, quite different from the biblical concepts. For the Gnostic the Logos is the Redeemer who descended into the lower world in human form, deceiving the demonic powers, and made it possible for man to follow him into the higher world of God. Here the Logos is called the Son of God, the μονογενής, the Image of God, the demiurge, even a δεύτερος θεός, and also Man (Ἄνθρωπος) 2 c. Lest the believer find himself carried away with the idea that John was simply borrowing and recycling Greek philosophy, here s a helpful word of caution: as helpful as the background study may be, it cannot by itself determine exactly what John means by logos. For that information, while thinking through the background uses, we must above all listen to the Evangelist himself. 3 3. Scripturally? a. Why would the Holy Spirit move John to use this term? b. John is not borrowing a concept from Greek literature; John is developing and explaining something God began doing long before. c. The God of the Bible is a communicating God. d. The first record of God speaking is Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. e. The first record of God speaking to mankind is in Gen 1:28 And God said to them [mankind], Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. f. In biblical history God continues to speak to people. 1) Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great. 2) From this point forward the phrase the word of the Lord occurs another 261 times in our English Bibles. 3) The word of the Lord comes to patriarchs like Abram, Isaac and Jacob. It comes to prophets like Moses, Samuel, Isaiah and Ezekiel. It comes to kings like David and Solomon. 4) In those communications God is always revealing and disclosing truth about Himself or about His plan in order that people may be blessed. 4. The Word: (λόγος) A reference to the content of God s revelation and as a verbal echo of the use of the verbs meaning to speak in Genesis 1 and in many utterances of the prophets. 4 a. God s Word in the Old Testament is his powerful self-expression in creation, revelation and salvation, and the personification of that Word makes it suitable for John to apply it as a title to God s ultimate self-disclosure, the person of his own Son. 5 2 George R. Beasley-Murray, vol. 36, John, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2002), 6-7. 3 D. A. Carson, 116. 4 Louw and Nida, 399. 5 D. A. Carson, 116. See Carson s further explanation on p. 115: Considering how frequently John quotes or alludes to the Old Testament, that is the place to begin. There, the word (Heb. dāba ār) of God is connected with God s powerful activity in creation (cf. Gn. 1:3ff.; Ps. 33:6), revelation (Je. 1:4; Is. 9:8; Ezk. 33:7; Am. 3:1, 8) and deliverance (Ps. 107:20; Is. 55:1). If the LORD is said to speak to the prophet Isaiah (e.g. Is. 7:3), elsewhere we read that the word of the LORD came to Isaiah (Is. 38:4; cf. Je. 1:4; Ezk. 1:6). It was by the word of the LORD that the heavens were made (Ps. 33:6): in Gn. 1:3, 6, 9, etc. God simply speaks, and his powerful word creates. That same word effects deliverance and judgment (Is. 55:11; cf. Ps. 29:3ff.). When some of his people faced illness
P a g e 3 b. So the Word we are reading about is God s ultimate self-disclosure. c. Heb 1:1 3a 1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. 5. Point: God is revealing Himself to us through the Word. 6. How do we know this is God Himself? II. THE IDENTITY OF THE WORD (1:1-2) A. The Word is Eternal 1. in the beginning was the Word a. Clearly an echo of Genesis 1:1 in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. b. Yet notice that the Word existed at that point. B. The Word is a Person 1. Personal relationship: the Word was with God a. πρὸς: a marker of association, often with the implication of interrelationships 6 b. Ro 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God 2. The idea indicates relationship as seen in Mk 6:3 And are not his sisters here with us? C. The Word is Divine 1. the Word was God. a. What about the Jehovah s Witness s use of the Greek to posit that this actually says, The Word was a God? b. They are trying to make a theological point by the absence of the definite article. c. καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος d. It is commonly known and adequately demonstrated that in the Greek, a noun in this construction which is placed before the verb will often have no article. 7 2. Furthermore, had John supplied the article the before God, the meaning would have changed. The Word could not be understood as a separate person from God. Such a statement by John would have affirmed the unity of God but been exclusive of the Trinity of God. D. The Word is Distinct 1. He was in the beginning with God (1:2) 2. Point: The Word is both related to God as a distinct person (with God), and yet also shares every part of divinity that makes God God (was God). III. THE POWER OF THE WORD (1:3-4) A. The Word creates life (1:3). 1. Sovereign creative power: all things were made through Him a. See Proverbs 8:12ff b. Pr 8:30 Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him. 2. Uncreated divinity: without Him was not anything made that was made. a. He Himself is uncreated. that brought them to the brink of death, God sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave (Ps. 107:20). This personification of the word becomes even more colourful in Jewish writing composed after the Old Testament (e.g. Wisdom 18:14, 15). 6 Louw and Nida, 791. 7 See John 1:49 as an example. σὺ βασιλεὺς εἶ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ. In English this would read literally, You [are] king in the Israel. But Nathaniel s testimony is accurately translated, You are the King of Israel.
P a g e 4 b. Col 1:16 17 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. c. Heb 1:2 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. d. Rev 3:14 B. The Word sustains life (1:4a) 1. in Him was life 2. In John s gospel, life will be associated most commonly with spiritual life or eternal life, but he is speaking here of created life. 3. At creation the Word spoke all things into existence and the pinnacle of creation was the human race, created in the very image of God for relationship with Him. 4. It was God who breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul (Gen 2:7). 5. It was God who designed mankind to live in personal relationship with Him. 6. All life has its source and sustenance in Him. C. The Word illuminates mankind (1:4b). 1. Life was the light of men [mankind] 2. All through the Gospel of John light will be used with reference to truth or spiritual knowledge. 3. Very often it will stand in contrast to darkness. 4. The general revelation of creation. a. Ps 19:1 2 1 The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. b. Ro 1:20 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. IV. THE REJECTION OF THE WORD (1:5) A. The light shines in the darkness 1. Shines is present tense. It is ongoing. a. When has the light shined in darkness? b. Creation: Ge 1:2 3 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, Let there be light ; and there was light. c. The light of the Incarnation: the true light was coming into the world. d. The light of the Cross & Resurrection e. The light of the Gospel as it is preached and published to all nations. f. Christ shines in every age! 2. Darkness: (σκοτίᾳ) a. Jn 3:19-20 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. b. The darkness is clearly associated with evil works and wicked things. c. Jn 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. d. Jn 12:46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. e. The darkness in John is not only absence of light, but positive evil (cf. 3:19; 8:12; 12:35, 46; 1 Jn. 1:5, 6; 2:8, 9, 11); the light is not only revelation bound up with creation, but with salvation.
P a g e 5 Apart from the light brought by the Messiah, the incarnate Word, people love darkness because their deeds are evil (3:19), and when the light does put in an appearance, they hate it, because they do not want their deeds to be exposed (3:20). 8 B. and the darkness has not overcome it. 1. Has not overcome it: (κατέλαβεν) lit., to lay hold of, but figuratively, to seize with the mind, to comprehend (John 1:5, the darkness did not admit or receive the light [cf. John 1:10 12; 3:19]). 9 2. KJV & NASB are my preferred translations. a. KJV: And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. b. NASB: The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. c. To me the evidence that comprehension is in view rather than overcoming is in vv. 10-11. d. Jn 1:10 11 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. e. Such rejection causes us to ask, How deep is this spiritual darkness? f. So deep that despite the Creator coming into the world which He created, the world did not know Him! g. So deep that despite the offer of light and life, the created ones choose death and darkness because they love it and the need the cover it provides for their evil works and wicked things. h. Question: Do you love darkness more than light? 1) Do you have secret web accounts or Facebook pages so that you can maintain relationships that your family doesn t know about? 2) Do you argue with your spouse and spew profanity at her yet carefully guard your tongue and maintain your public appearance in a place like this? 3) Do you lie to and deceive your parents as to what you are really doing at your friends house after school and laugh about how naïve they are? 4) Do you avoid other believers and isolate yourself so that people will not know the real you? 5) In the Gospel of John the most profound darkness is the moralism and tradition of the Jews. The Law, the ceremony, the ritual and the culture are nearly impenetrable to the light. 6) Strange, isn t it, that you can love the darkness of moralism and tradition to the exclusion of God s Word? i. What has to happen for such darkness to be overcome? 3. God acts! a. John s Gospel is the record of what God has done in Jesus Christ to overcome the rejection and unbelief of sin-darkened, darkness-loving people like us! b. God sent a witness: John (not the apostle, but the Baptist) 1) 1:6 8 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. c. God sent the Word 1) 1:9-11 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 8 D. A. Carson, 119-20. 9 Zodhiates
P a g e 6 2) This rejection spans the generations from Adam and Eve to Barak and Michelle. It spans cultures from Eden to Babylon and from 1 st Century Rome to the 21 st Century Upstate. 3) Point: Some of you continue to run the same path of rejection. My Creator? I don t think so. You would rather praise the powers of natural selection than acknowledge the True Light who has come into the world. Your darkness is profound. V. THE RECEPTION OF THE WORD (1:12-13) 1. Some have received Him. a. 1:12 13 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God b. There are, in fact, some who do receive Him! c. Receiving Him is equated with believing in his name. d. To those who believe, God gave the right to become children of God. e. How do you become a child of God? 2. All who received Him were born of God. a. 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 1) not of blood (blood relationship) 2) nor of the will of the flesh (human decision) 3) nor of the will of man (will of a husband or through a marital relationship) b. Point: The new birth cannot be accounted for by the natural means through which we establish all other relationships. 1) I m a Brooks because there are genetic blood lines running back to Jim and Ruth Brooks (born of blood). 2) I m a Brooks because my parents decided to have a third child (the will of the flesh). But they could not decide for me that I would be a follower of Jesus Christ. 3) I m a Brooks because my father initiated something (will of a man/husband that would result in the birth of children). 4) But no person is a child of God by that kind of birth. There must be a spiritual birth, a new birth. c. The first act of God to overcome our rejection and our unbelief was this: Jn 1:14 18 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me. ) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father s side, he has made him known. d. Because God does not want you to dwell in darkness any longer, He has revealed Himself, not merely through prophets and manuscripts, but chiefly and gloriously in the Word, Jesus the Christ. And through Him God has made Himself known!