"THE ETERNAL WORD"

JOHN 1:1-5 & 14:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was with God in the beginning. (3) Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. (4) In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. (5) The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. (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.

Prologue of the Gospel – Verses 1-2:

He was called the Word – not as a man.

He was the Word before He was man; for it was as the Word that He became flesh (Verse #14)

He was the Word as He was the Son of God – "the only begotten of the Father.

Yet He is called the Word here rather than the Son of God – because the Jews were familiar with this name as applied to the Messiah, and as has been suggested, the apostle would not at first alienate their hearts by the title "Son of God," which was so offensive to the unbelieving Jews (John 10:30-31).

Today we weigh carefully the techniques that we use in dealing with non-believers (We don’t grab someone and say, "Buddy, are you saved? No. Why? Because we have to win a person to ourselves so that they’ll respect us and listen to what we have to say. So, [1] we win them to ourselves, [2] then we win them to Jesus! We win the right first.

While I was pastoring at Watkins Glen, New York, one of my older brothers came to stay with me for awhile. He was in rather unfortunate circumstances so my family took him into our home for awhile. He had problems with drinking and smoking at the time. But he knew about Jesus. He would sit on the steps of the parsonage and when people would walk by he would confront them, saying, "Brother, are you saved?" I’ve always loved my brother. He meant well at the time but I had to confront him about it was it was offensive to people in the manner that it was done. Also, no one took him seriously at the time as he often smelled like alcohol and cigarette smoke. We need to make sure that we are where we need to be with Jesus and that our own hearts and lives clearly reflect so.

THE ESSENTIAL NATURE OF THE WORD

He is an absolute Eternal Being – "in the beginning was the Word."

The beginning carries us back to the initial point of time.

The Word existed in the beginning. The Word "was" suggests a continuous state.

This passage condemns other theories of Jesus’ existence. There never was a time in which Christ did not exist.

As a kid, I remember laying in bed one night trying to comprehend having heard the statement as to how there never was a time that the Lord did not exist! He is eternal! He is forever! I remember that I knew this to be true even as a young boy. It struck me as amazing back then and it still does today!

He is a distinct person from God, yet One with Him – "And the Word was with God." I am one of a family that had a dad, mom, a sister and four of us brothers. We existed as distinct persons, yet are of one family. It is He Who was with the Father in eternal glory. It was He to Whom the Father said, "Let us make man in our image."

He is God "And the Word was God." The passage asserts the Divinity of Jesus Christ our Lord in the plainest of terms. It places Him within the unity of the Godhead. The Son, therefore, is not inferior to the Father. The text refutes such groups as the Arians, who said Jesus is a super-angelic being inferior to the Father. It refuted others who stated that Jesus was only a man. It refutes those who deny any distinction of Persons in the Trinity.

The doctrine of the Trinity is a deep mystery but it is fundamental in Christianity.

To illustrate the Trinity, consider an apple or an egg. While the apple has the flesh (skin), the mean (main part), and the core. The apple clearly consists of these three parts, yet is still an apple. The egg consists of the shell, the white and the yoke. Each can be distinctly separated and used to create various things, yet an egg is still an egg. One of my aunts used to blow out the center of eggs and decorate the shells beautifully. There are certain types of cakes, for example, like an angel food cake where you use the white, while other recipes just call for the yoke. Yet an egg is still an egg, no matter how it is divided and used.

Therefore, the Apostle John reiterates the eternity, the personality, and the oneness of the Word of God. "The same was in the beginning with God." Someone might say that there was a time when the Word was not a distinct Person in the Trinity. The statement is made that the same Person, Who was eternal and Divine, was from eternity a distinct Person of the Godhead. We believe it! It brings eternal life to know it!

THE ETERNAL CREATOR AND CONQUEROR! – VERSES 3-5 (JESUS IN RELATION TO CREATION)

John now points out the difference between the finite and the infinite, - the Divine and the human.

The Word made flesh: "All things were made by Him." Therefore He must be God. "God is the builder of everything" (Hebrews 3:4 NIV). The creation has a double aspect. He made the world. He made matter. Therefore it is implied that matter exists. The existence of the eternal world has always been an article in the creed of men.

It has not always existed as the Gnostics and so many philosophers say. Its atoms have all the character of "a manufactured article." Science can tell us nothing of the time of its creation.

There is a Person great enough to create matter and form the worlds. He did not share with angels in the work of creation: for "without Him nothing was made that has been made." Neither was the world made by evil spirits as the Gnostics have said.

This is not, therefore, a Fatherless world.

The ultimate fact, therefore, is not force, or any unknown power, but a Person, wise and mighty, Who created all things.

So Christians can rejoice that the worlds are the handiwork of the Elder Brother (Jesus).

Have you ever laid on your back in the grass on a warm summer’s night and stared into the night sky? It can be an awesome experience. The sky is so starry that it can almost be scary. The vastness of the heavens eloquently tells of the glory of God. The expanse silently declares the work of His hands. No words would adequately describe the awesomeness of such a moment! It has been said, "Wonder is involuntary praise!" When such wonder comes upon us at such a time like that, our hearts cry out to the living God and we realize what is meant, as we behold His magnificent Creation, by the phrase, "Wonder is involuntary praise!"

He made man who is the crown of creation; for "in Him was life." No evolution. No monkeys turning into men.

The Word is the life of the world. Again, "In Him was life." The Word is life in its widest significance, - the life of the body, the life of the soul, the life of the spirit. The world (including man) which is represented here as made by Him is also represented as in Him as the Source of its continued preservation. "For in Him we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28).

The relation of the life to the light: "And that life was the Light of men." This refers to the period of man’s innocence in Paradise as the next clause to the fact of his fall.

Life developed in the form of light. It is peculiar to no being on earth but man. The light did not spring directly from the Word but was an emanation of the life that man received from the Word. The light is not [a] intellectual knowledge simply [b] nor holiness, but [c] the light of good through the medium of life. There was a steady shining of the light of man’s conscience and intellect and heart at his creation. It was the light of the whole race of man, not that of the Jew only. There may be an allusion in the use of the two terms "life" and "light" to the tree of life and the tree of knowledge in Paradise.

The conflict between light and darkness – Verse 5: "The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." This points to the period of the fall of man. Life and light suggests the contrasted ideas of death and darkness.

Light and darkness exist side by side in the spiritual world. In the natural world, light expels darkness or darkness expels the light. As the first light of dawn breaks on each new day, the sun is on its way. It lights up our world and is such a powerful and positive force that it lights up our world even through the toughest of storms. At night, the darkness sets in as a time for rest and renewal in preparation for the activities of the next day.

The light has always been shining, either in nature, providence, or revelation. Christ has never left Himself without a witness. The Sun of Righteousness is still shining in the darkness. Light is really "come into the world."

The darkness neither comprehended nor overcame the light. The light still shines with an ever-widening border as the darkness is being chased back. The darkness has not overpowered the light! But it has not understood it any better or assimilated it. "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

CLOSING CALL TO ACTION:

He humbled Himself and walked amongst us out of a deep love and concern for the eternal destinies of our souls. 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).

We have been clearly shown Who He is, a sampling of the greatness of His love and concern for each of us, and what He close to do about it. It’s up to us. Now we know. As I so often say in my messages and studies, when we look at Scripture, we need to see: [1] What does it say? [2] What does it say to me? [3] What am I going to do about it? How am I going to permeate the truth of His Word into my heart and life and how am I going to share this same truth to make a life-changing difference to others around me as well?

Today is the first day of the rest of your life. It may be long. It may not. Maybe today is all that we have left. Maybe we’ll have sufficient time to share with others. Today is a day of searching our hearts and lives. Today is a day of decision. Today is a day of application. Today is a day of action.

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Since August 8, 2004

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