Who Is Jesus Christ? Text: John 1:1-18 Series: Gospel of John [#1] Pastor Lyle L. Wahl September 22, 2013 Introduction Who Is Jesus Christ? Pastor Lockridge, the speaker in the opening video, knew who Jesus is. To some people this may sound like an elementary question Of course we know who Jesus is! To other people it may be a difficult question I don t know that much about Him or, I know some things, but I m not certain what I think about Him. Whatever your response, this is a vital question for all of us. Today we begin a series in the Gospel of John. The opening verses get right to this vital question. Let s begin by setting the scene for this Gospel. The human author God used to give us this part of the Bible was the Apostle John. While not stated directly in the book, the apostle s fingerprints are all over it. He is identified as the disciple Jesus loved. 1 After the crucifixion He took Jesus mother as his own. He also wrote the letters of 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd John, as well as the last book of the New Testament, The Revelation. The book was most likely written around the year 85. John had been in Ephesus for over 20 years overseeing the churches of Asia Minor. The apostles Peter and Paul had been gone for about 20 years, and Jerusalem fell to the Romans back in the year 70. It was not an easy time for Christians. The Roman government was persecuting the church. Then, false teaching about Christ and the Christian faith had arisen from both within and outside of the church. Some of the false teachings which would rock the church in the second century were developing. When we come to John after paging through Matthew, Mark and Luke, we could ask, Why another Gospel? After all, Matthew, Mark and Luke had been in circulation for 20 or more years. This gospel is different than the earlier three and compliments them, rather than repeating historical accounts. From the very start the aim is clear: John s subject is the person and work of Jesus Christ. Who is He? What did He do? What does this mean? As a believer, if you are looking for more information on who Christ is, or information to combat the blatantly false views of Christ (such as, Jesus never claimed to be God ), read this gospel. If you are not sure about Christ and the Christian faith, if you have questions about who Jesus really is, read this gospel. John gives us his purpose in 20:31. He tells us he is writing this, so that you may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. So one writer describes it as The Gospel of Belief. 2 Today we begin with John s introduction, the first 18 verses of chapter one, and their central question Who is Jesus Christ?
A handful of essential answers. The New Testament gives many answers to this question. The first eighteen verses of John s gospel give us a handful of essential answers, a handful of absolutely necessary truths about Jesus without which any description of Him is incomplete and incorrect. The first one is that Jesus is God. We see this in the opening lines of the Gospel. Verses 1 & 2, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Who is this Word who was in the beginning? John does not leave any doubt. Drop down to verse 14. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (NIV). John s first readers knew he was speaking of Jesus. As he goes on John names Him in verse 17 and then goes on to describe John the Baptist s introduction of Jesus, followed by the beginning of Jesus ministry. But why did John use this term the Word to describe Jesus? The term had a very wide range of uses in John s day. Jewish readers were familiar with the idea of the Word in the Old Testament where the word of God is seen in creation, 3 His ruling and judging, 4 rescuing and healing. 5 John s use emphasizes God s power, truth and wisdom. 6 John used a familiar term, then through the course of the gospel defining it to describe Jesus as we see Him in this Gospel. 7 In just a few words, John makes a case for the deity of Christ, for Jesus being God. Jesus Christ was there when the beginning took place. When time and space were brought into being, Jesus was already there, He is eternal. He was with God, that is, near or face to face. It describes the intimacy and harmony of God the Son and God the Father. Then, there is the direct statement the Word was God. Just as the Father is God, so is the Son. John is telling us that the most basic and essential part of who Jesus Christ is: that He is eternal God. The second essential answer to the question Who is Jesus Christ? is that He is the Creator. Jesus is the source of creation. Look at verse 3, Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made (NIV). The first words of this gospel are In the beginning, the same words that open the book of Genesis, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This is no accident. It ties Jesus to creation, it tells us He is the Creator. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have created time, space and matter. John repeats this point in verse 10, the world was made through him (NIV). About 25 years earlier Paul told us in Colossians 1:16, For by Him [Jesus] all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things have been created through Him and for Him. 2
The opening lines of the book of Hebrews also tells us that the world was made through Him (verse 2). That Christ is the Creator both reinforces His deity and flows from the fact that He is God. As the Creator Jesus is the source of life and light. Go to verse 4. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it (4-5, NIV), or perhaps better, has not overcome it (ESV). The third essential answer is: Jesus Christ is God who became one of us. Eternal God the Son came to the world, became a man. We celebrate this during the Christmas season. This truth is so basic and familiar in the church that we can pass by without stopping to think, to wonder, to worship. Think about the cost to Christ. Paul tells us that Christ, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 8 The truth of becoming one of us truly God and truly man is one of the great mysteries of our faith. While we can describe some of this truth, we can t explore and understand it completely because it is beyond us. We grow in love and devotion to God the more we explore and reflect on what we can know of this truth. The apostle Paul wrote, great is the mystery of godliness: He [Christ] who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. 9 This is a great mystery and a great truth: Jesus Christ is God who became one of us. And because Jesus is God and one of us He can be and is the Savior, which is the next essential, absolutely necessary truth about Him that John gives us. Here we meet three key terms in this gospel: life (which occurs 45 times); light (appearing 23 times); and darkness (which we see 7 times). As the Savior, Jesus brings light to enlighten people and to replace darkness. Some philosophers before, in and since John s day used the terms light and darkness to refer to equal and opposite forces of good and evil. But that is wrong, it is not the case. Verse 5 tells us that the darkness did not comprehend, or understand or overcome the Light. This word originally had the idea of taking hold of, of making your own. So it was used to describe understanding or comprehending something. It also was used to picture taking hold of and overtaking, or overpowering something or someone. We see this later in chapter 12, verse 35, Then Jesus told them, You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes 3
[there s our word] you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going (NIV). The darkness of Satan and sin has not, cannot ever overtake, overpower Jesus and His light. In verse 4 John writes, In Him was life. His emphasis here is on real, everlasting, spiritual life, as it is throughout the gospel. True, eternal life is in Jesus it exists in Him. He is the life, 10 and so life has its source in Him. There is no true life with God, no way to true life with God apart from Jesus. Negatively, Jesus tells us in chapter 6 verse 53, you have no life in yourselves, but positively he said, in chapter 14, verse 6, I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. Jesus is the Savior the One, the only one who saves from sin and gives everlasting life with God. As Peter preached in Acts chapter 4, there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (verse 12). Then the final absolutely necessary truth about Jesus that John gives us here is that Jesus is the One who gives us a personal portrait of God. What does God look like? That is, What is He really like? God is spirit, not physical as we are. There are testimonies of God s goodness, and statements about His character and actions in the Bible that help us. One pastor tells of the near-death experience of his three-year-old son Colton. Colton told his parents that during that time he had gone to heaven, sat on Jesus lap and also met his grandfather and unborn sister. Later he affirmed a picture of Jesus by a girl who had a near-death experience at age 4 as being accurate representation of what the resurrected Jesus looks like. 11 Now, there are some very touching scenes in this book, but there also are some serious questions. My main point here is we do not know what the resurrected Jesus looks like. But we do know that Jesus has given us a picture of the nature and character of God, of what God is like. Many people have their own mental pictures of what Jesus is like, and many of those are inaccurate. Drop down to verse 18. reading from the New American Standard Version, No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. Later in chapter 14 Jesus tells us He who has seen Me has seen the Father (verse 9). Jesus, God the Son, is unique in who He is and His relationship with God the Father. He is the One who explains what God is like to us. Literally, the term tells us He leads out and presents the truth of who God is, of what God is really like. He is the Light and as such reveals the truth and person of God which is available to all. I am always saddened when I hear people imply or even say that they have been a believer for some time now, and so don t need to study or even read the gospels any more. They think of the gospels as elementary. In so doing, they close themselves off from the clear portrait of God in the character, life and works of Jesus. 4
Who is Jesus Christ? John tells us that He is God, He is the Creator, He is God who became one of us, He is the Savior, He is the One who gives us a personal picture of God. The only two options of response. Our consideration of this opening section is not complete. We see here what we see throughout the whole gospel. John is not just presenting information. He is pointing out the options we have in response to the truth, and calling us to make a decision. There are only two options of how to respond to John s statements of who Jesus is. The first is to not recognize or receive Him. When Jesus was here on earth most people did not recognize or receive Him for who He is. Look at verse 10, He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him (10-11). The situation has not changed. Verse 9 tells us Jesus is the Light who enlightens every man. That is, He brings truth which is in the world for all to see. Most people, as Paul points out in Romans chapters 1 and 2 have rejected the light of God they receive. But to those who receive the light they have, no matter how limited it may be, God will keep on giving them more light until they can see Jesus clearly. There are many people today who have heard some things, even many things about Jesus, their need of Him and what it takes to be right with Him, who are rejecting that light. Frequently they state, I don t know enough. I m not sure. I don t have time to think it through now. Perhaps at some later time I will consider it. While not diminishing the process, please note that until you recognize and receive Jesus, you are continuing to reject Him. Putting off making a decision to receive Him is rejection. The second and only other option is to recognize and receive Him. It was so when Jesus was here on earth and has been so at all times since then, including today. Go to verse 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, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (12-13). We don t have to clean ourselves up or get our act together first! How many of you are glad about that? I hope that more than just a few. We don t have to clean ourselves up, we don t have to have it all together before God accepts us! Forgiveness of sin, the gift of God s life, the gift of becoming God s child is God s gift of grace when we believe and receive Jesus Christ as our Savior. We turn the page to chapter 3 and read, For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (16). It is God s work, His gift of grace to all who believe. As Ephesians 2:8 tells us, For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. 5
A clear example of someone who did this is John the Baptist, another John we meet in this gospel, who was born to Mary s cousin Elisabeth before Christ was born. Go back up to verse 6. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world (6-9, NIV). We will see more about John the Baptist next time. Conclusion Who is Jesus Christ? The question of Pastor Lockridge faces each of today, Do you know Him? What is your response to Him today? This is important for all of us. It is important for those who Jesus as our Savior to push on to know more about Him, and to ask God to continue to make us more like Jesus. This is a quest that needs to be pursued actively throughout all of our time on earth. It is important for those of who do not know Jesus as Savior to move beyond the fears, pride, putting it off and all other factors that keep you from believing and receiving, and come to Jesus. As we spend the next moments in reflection and response, take stock of what you know and believe about Jesus. Thank God for Jesus and all that He offers and gives. Make a commitment to believe, receive and grow in what God graciously shows you in Jesus at all times in light of and in spite of all situations and circumstances. If you have not placed your faith in Jesus as God, Creator, one of us, the Savior who gives us a portrait of God, do that now, or talk with Pastor Jared or myself before you leave today about questions you have. 1 John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7, 20. 2 Merrill C. Tenny. John: The Gospel of Belief. Grand Rapids: William B. Eeerdmans Publishing Company, 1948, 1976. 3 The repetition of Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20,24, 26; See also Psalm 33:6; 148:1-6. 4 Psalm 147:15-18; Isaiah 55:10-11. 5 Psalm 107:17-22; Isaiah 55:1-3. 6 See: Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, F. Wilbur Gingrich. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1957, pages 479-80. 6
Colin Brown (Gerneral Editor). The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Volume 3. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1971, pages 1081-1119. Gerhard Kittel (Editor). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Volume IV. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967, pages 69-136. 7 James Montgomery Boice. Witness and Revelation in the Gospel of John. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1970, page 163. 8 Philippians 2:6-8. 9 1 Timothy 3:16. 10 John 11:25; 14:6. 11 Todd Burpo. Heaven Is For Real. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2010. 2013 Lyle L. Wahl Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 7