September 25th, 2011 The Gospel of John
Part #1 John 1:1-14
Introduction & Context
John was the longest surviving apostle and one of the last students who had been trained directly by Jesus himself. He had seen many or most of his spiritual brothers pass away naturally or be executed for their faith. John wrote this gospel as a testimony to Jesus’ divine nature and to his spiritual work. The writing are inspired by the Holy Spirit and stem from the things that John personally heard, saw, and experienced in Jesus’ earthly ministry.
John wrote this gospel in the midst of two particular worldviews. The dominant worldview of John’s day was Greek, shaped a lot by the prominent philosophers. In the Greek language, the original written language of the New Testament, ‘logos’ was a word that meant “speech, explanation, principle, or reason”. In addition, he himself, along with many of Jesus’ first disciples were Jewish. Both worldviews accepted the “logos” concept. So, in order to connect as many people to Jesus as possible, he opens up his writing with these two audiences in mind.
It is also good to note that this gospel is John’s testimony, not a vision or prophetic dream like his writing for the book of Revelation. So John wrote this testimony and account of the God-man Jesus to further the gospel truth in a very mixed and confusing world.
Bible Claim #1 – Jesus is the Word – (John 1:14)
“the Word [‘logos’] became flesh and dwelled among us …”
Regardless of whether we are looking through the Greek worldview or the Jewish worldview, John is contending for the gospel in his writing here. John wanted to be certain that people understood the differences between the Bible’s concept of God and those that had existed in the past. One of the main distinctions he make with this verse is that Jesus, the God-man, is both personal and knowable.
Recently, one of the landlords we met here in Bellingham directly told me he was agnostic. He confidently sensed a greater power, a force that he “sees evidence of everyday”. He was actually indignant and expressed a frustration that more people “didn’t see it.” Yet, this power he spoke of is utterly unknowable. A man cannot have a relationship with an impersonal “force”. That’s like asking gravity to go on a date with you. Sure, you can co-exist, but there isn’t going to be a lot of romance involved. In fact, this man was not an agnostic at all, but a deist.
Bible Claim #2 – Jesus is Eternal – (John 1:1,2)
“In the beginning was the Word…” and “He was with God in the beginning.”
Up to a certain point, Greeks and Jews alike would agree with John’s writing here. They too believed that a supernatural “logos” had been in existence for forever, long before humankind. It is when John claims that Jesus is the “logos” that he rejects their beliefs. John writes that Jesus had no beginning and was pre-existent.
Bible Claim #3 – Jesus had a Relationship with God – (John 1:1)
“…and the Word was with God.”
Jesus the Word was his own person, we understand that if you are “with” someone, the two of you maybe together, but you are not one person. I don’t describe my day yesterday saying “I was in the park with myself” or “I went to the movies with myself yesterday”. God the Father and God the Son are distinct from one another.
Bible Claim #4 – Jesus was God – (John 1:2)
“… and the Word was God.”
Other world prophets, teachers, moralists, and leaders don’t themselves claim to be God. They may claim to be Godly or claim to be “sent by God” – but few are so bold as to say they are God.
Muhammad, Gandhi and the Dalai Lama don’t claim to be God, yet the Bible here is claiming that Jesus the Word was and is God. In some Greek beliefs, the Logos was viewed as an intelligence that represented God, but in essence wasn’t actually God himself. The apostle John spoke directly against this notion.
If the Bible did not claim that Jesus was God, then Christians would face a grave problem. Jesus’ death would not have been worthy enough to forgive the world’s sins.
Bible Claim #5 – Jesus is the Creator – (John 1:3)
To distinguish between a creator and the creation is as relevant today as it was during the time of the famous Greek philosophers. One reason John may have written this is to cement the fact that Jesus is separate and distinct from creation. He is the creator, rather than a part of the creation. When we allow these two elements to bleed together then our worldview shifts from monotheism (there is one God and the creation) to pantheism (the creation is god). This is the fallacy that Paul spoke of in Romans 1:24-25. In order to protect the church in Rome, he begged the Christians there not to worship created things, insisting that only the Creator was worthy of our hearts. If we magnify created things too much with our affection and time, we are more prone to idolatry of the heart.
Jesus coordinated with God to create the universe. They worked together perfectly and harmoniously. This speaks to the Trinitarian example of cooperation and team work. See also 1st Corinthians 8:6 and Colossians 1:16.
As Creator, verse 4 also tells us that Jesus is the source of (1) life (physical existence) and (2) light (spiritual understanding).
Because Jesus was fully God and fully flesh, he is both powerful enough to save and was fully human when he perfectly fulfilled the Old Testament Law. If Jesus had been anything less than fully God and fully man, then his work on the cross would have been insufficient.
Hebrews 1:1-3
Questions for Reflection:
(1) We have seen in this passage that Jesus the Son, along with God the Father coordinated together to create the universe. What does this holy example show us about team work when we think about working together with other Christians?
(2) Jesus volunteered to leave riches, comfort and perfect unity with God the Father to enter human history and dwell among us. How do we view the city of Bellingham? Do we see it as a beautiful place to live, enjoy, and even consume? Is it a city of refuge and hiding for us? Jesus volunteered to leave heaven and come to earth to heal, rescue, and restore. Again, how do we view our city in light of Jesus’ example?
