Introduction to John 1:1-5

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/27/2015 10:17 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Introduction to John 1:1-5

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  John 1:1-5

            Message of the verses:  “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.  5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

            John begins his gospel with words that a child can understand, yet these words express the most profound truth in the universe and he does it in the clearest terms.  John is telling his readers that Jesus Christ is God and that God came to earth to show us who the Father is.  At the end of John we see that Philip asks a question to Jesus or makes a statement to Him saying “show us the Father and that will be enough for us” to which Jesus stated “He who sees me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). 

            The deity of the Lord Jesus Christ is an essential, nonnegotiable tenet of the Christian faith” writes John MacArthur, and he goes on to write “Several lines of biblical evidence flow together to prove conclusively that He is God.”  That is what we see in these first five verses of John’s Gospel.

            We see in the opening verse of John “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  Now we will go over this verse in more detail later on but John is stating that Jesus Christ is the “Word.”  Now as we go through the book of John we will also see repeatedly that Jesus uses the divine name for Himself “I am” and by doing this He is claiming to be God, for that is who He is.  You have to go back to the book of Exodus and see Moses on the mountain where he sees the burning bush (this was actually the pre-incarnate Christ), and Moses wants to know His name and the Lord states “I I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ’I AM has sent me to you.’"”  This is the word translated Jehovah from the Hebrew Yahweh, a word so sacred that the Jews would not use it fearing that they would break the first commandment.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “Much as our words reveal to others our hearts and minds, so Jesus Christ is God’s ‘Word” to reveal His heart and mind to us.”  He later writes “A word is composed of letters and Jesus Christ is ‘Alpha and Omega” (Rev. 1:11), the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.  According to Hebrews 1:1-3, Jesus Christ is God’s last Word to mankind, for He is the climax of divine revelation.”

            In Philippians chapter two Paul writes that Jesus existed in the “form of God” as He possessed absolute “equality with God.”  This is seen in Philippians 2:6-10.  Yes the Bible makes it very clear that Jesus Christ is God, God who came in human flesh to show us the Father, to show us who God really is.  He came the first time to die for our sins, but He will come the next time to judge sin, judge sin for those who did not receive Him as Lord and Savior from the first time He came.  John is making sure that all who read what he writes that Jesus Christ is God, and that is what we will be seeing as we look at these verses in what is called the prelude to the book of John.

            John MacArthur lists several things that show that Jesus Christ showed Himself to be God, and we looked at the first one which shows that He existed before He became a man to come to earth as seen in Philippians chapter two.  Next he states that Jesus receives titles elsewhere in the Bible that are given to God.  We have already mentioned the use of the words “I am” and how it was used of God to Moses in Exodus chapter three.  Next he states “Jesus Christ possesses the incommunicable attributes of God, those unique to Him.  Scripture reveals Christ to be eternal (Mic. 5:2; Isa. 9:6), omnipresent (Matt. 18:20; 28:20), omniscient (Matt. 11:27; John 16:30; 21:17), omnipotent (Phil. 3:21), immutable (Heb. 13:8), sovereign (Matt. 28:18), and glorious 17:5; 1 Cor. 2:8; cf. Isa. 42:8; 48:11, where God states that He will not give His glory to another).”

            “Fourth, Jesus Christ does the works that only God can do” John 1:3 states “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”  Col. 1:16 states “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 also sustains the creation:  “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together (Col. 1:17).”  Heb. 1:3 “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

            “Fifth, Jesus Christ received worship.”  There are many verses in the gospel records showing this Matt. 14:33; 28:9; John 9:38, and then in the letters we find them in Phil. 2:10 and Heb. 1:6. 

            “Finally, Jesus Christ received prayer, which is only to be addressed to God (John 14:13-14; Acts 7:59-60; 1 John 5:13-15).”

            Two more quotes to help us see what we will be looking at and then we will stop for today:  “Verses 1-18, the prologue to John’s presentation of the deity of Christ, are a synopsis or overview of the entire book.  John clearly defined his purpose in writing his gospel in 20:31—that his readers ‘may believe that Jesus is the “Christ, the Son of God; and that believing [they] may have life in His name.’  John revealed Jesus Christ as ‘the Son of God,’ the eternal second person of the Trinity.  He because a man, the ‘Christ’ (Messiah), and offered Himself as a sacrifice for sins.  Those who put their faith in Him will ‘have life in His name,’ while those who reject Him will be judged and sentenced to eternal punishment.”

“From the first five verses of John’s gospel prologue flow three evidences of the deity of the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ:  His preexistence, His creative power, and His self-existence.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When I first became a believer in Jesus Christ, as I have mentioned that this did not happen in a church setting where I could be discipled into all the truths of the Scripture, and so it took a while for me to study and understand the truth that Jesus Christ is indeed God, the second Person of the Godhead.  Knowing and believing this has made all the difference in my study of the Word of God.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to help me get my lesson that I am to teach one Ezekiel 23-24 ready and firm in my mind sot that God will be glorified with it.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “That he would have a son” (Gen. 18).

Today’s Bible question:  “What is a little member that boasts great thing?”

Answer in our next SD.

11/27/2015 11:19 AM