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Scripture Reading:
1 John 1
Six Truths of Jesus
A study of John 1:1-18 will show us 6
truths about Jesus that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, and that we may have life in His name.
I thought we would look at this passage
as Christmas time is almost upon us and these verses are part of
that time but are not often included because it isn’t the
“story”. But I think it is a huge part of the story.
I must admit the difficulty that I have
had at trying to make this passage personal. I don’t have
problems applying Jesus’ teaching or even Jesus at the cross.
Sometimes I read some of these passages
like this and don’t have any practical or personal application
and think of them as Star Wars passages “A long time ago in a
galaxy far far away.”
But John was very personal with Jesus.
And I think John wants to see this as well. In fact his whole
purpose for writing this gospel is found in John 20:31 saying
“these things have been written so that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ the Son of God; and that believing you may
have life in His name.”
A study of John 1:1-18 will show us 6
truths about Jesus that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, and that we may have life in His name.
The first truth is His nature.
- Right off
the bat John points us back to Gen 1:1 to point to God and
creation. In actuality this verse happened before Genesis 1:1.
- All
throughout the Old Testament we have hints and shadows of the
Trinity but it isn’t until this verse that the distinction
really starts to become apparent.
- The three
aspects of His nature that we can see is His timelessness, His
fellowship with God, and His union with God.
- These
verses also show the distinction of Him as well.
The second
truth is His work as God
- In the
beginning God spoke and all things came into being. Colossians
1: 16-17 echoes this by saying “For by Him 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. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold
together.
- All life
is based upon God. In fact life without God is only a farce. I
think the verses together describe it well. Without God we are
all stumbling around in the darkness thinking we are doing
something of value. Then we look up and we see a light and as we
step to the light we look around and the world as we know it
changes.
- We get a
new view. From a temporal to an eternal. From a man-centered
view to a God-centered view. From a selfish prideful stance to a
grateful humble stance.
- And
darkness can not comprehend or a better definition would be to
overcome or gain control or seize. The forces of darkness stand
against the light and yet they don’t even have a handle on it.
They may have thought that they won on the cross but they found
out three days later they lost when He rose again.
- This is
how it is in the kingdom of God. Nothing is so outside of God’s
control that the kingdom of darkness is advancing.
The third
truth is about His witness
- John was
Christ witness while He was on earth. He admitted freely that He
was not the Light.
- Likewise
we are to be witnesses and testify concerning the light as well.
And the point is that He may be glorified and that others would
believe and come into relationship with Him as well,
- In fact
there was a email that goes around that says
When I say
"I am a Christian" I'm not shouting "I'm clean living" I'm
whispering "I was lost, now I’m found and forgiven.
When I say
"I am a Christian" I'm not saying that I'm strong. I'm
professing that I'm weak, And need his strength to carry on.
When I say
that "I am a Christian" I'm not bragging of success. I'm
admitting that I failed, and need God to clean my mess.
When I say
"I am a Christian " I'm not claiming to be perfect, my flaws are
far to visible. But God believes I am worth it.
When I say
"I am a Christian" I still feel the sting of pain. I have my
share of heartaches, so I can call upon his name. It helps to
lighten the load.
When I say
"I am a Christian " I'm not saying that I'm holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner who received Gods grace, and all I had
to do was ask.
The fourth
truth is His rejection
- Even
though that all life has been created by Him there are those who
reject Him. These verses first and foremost talk about the Jews
rejecting Him but I think it would not be good if we just kept
it at that.
- The Light
came into the world and shines to enlighten every man. I think 1
Thess 1:6 states part of the reason why that those who will
perish in eternal destruction by stating
The fifth
truth is His acceptance
- I find
these two verses awesome how they are put together because it
shows man’s responsibility as well as God’s action. I think put
into context it is seen that it is talking about the entire plan
presented in all of these verses.
- To become
a child of God we can talk of the word adoption which is moving
from one family to another.
—Wesley's
Commentary
Who were born - Who became the
sons of God, not of blood - Not by descent from Abraham,
nor by the will of the flesh - By natural generation,
nor by the will of man - Adopting them, but of God -
By his Spirit.
The sixth
and final truth is His fullness and deity.
- The Word becoming flesh means that
He became human and dwelled with us
- His fullness is echoes in Eph 1:3
which says Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
- The Law which was given to Moses
was just a tutor. We can read the Old Testament and see that we
can not measure up. And just so we don’t nullify the Old
Testament Jesus seemed to have up-ed it.
The Old Testament may say “do not
murder” but Jesus says “anyone who is angry with his brother is
guilty.”
The Old Testament says “do not commit
adultery” but Jesus says “anyone who looks at a woman in lust is
guilty”
So in essence the Old Testament may
say do not do this outer thing but Jesus says I know your hearts
and you cannot be what I want you to be.
And grace is realized knowing that we
are unable to measure up. And grace is realized by seeing Jesus
life and hearing His teachings. And grace is realized by
watching the sinless Jesus being nailed to the tree. And grace
is realized by hearing “Father forgive them for they know not
what they do.” And grace is realized by hearing Him say it is
finished. And grace is realized that He took my place.
And grace is realized that I am clean. And grace is realized
that He rose again! And grace is realized that I am free! And
grace is realized that I can be in relationship with the Holy
God and maker again! And grace is realized when I wake up and
hear His voice. And grace is realized as I walk with Him each
day!
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