EVENING SERMON FOR 8/20/2024 8:20 PM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-6 “The
Nature of God”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 1 John 1:5
Message of the
verse: “5 This
is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in
Him there is no darkness at all.”
What I have decided to do as I look at this verse is
to quote from a sermon that John MacArthur gave in this section in 2002. The important thing that I am trying to talk
about is that God is Light. I know that
in the past that I looked at this subject, perhaps when I was studying the
Gospel of John and remember that this is a very important truth for us to
understand and that is why I chose to quote from this sermon mentioned
above. It will take us a number of days to look at it as I do not want
to put so much on these SD’s that will take a long time to read and may
discourage people from reading it.
“Verse 5: “Unless one is born of water and the
Spirit, he can’t enter the Kingdom of God.” And then down in verse 14, “As
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be
lifted up, that whoever believes may in Him have eternal” what?“life.”For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” It’s all about life.
But notice this, there’s a change as you come down to verse 19. “And this is
the judgment” - not that the life has come into the world but - “that
the light is come into the world.”
“That is the source of spiritual life, just as He
is the source of all natural life. “The light has come into the world, and man
loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil. For
everyone who does evil hates the light and doesn’t come to the light, lest his
deeds should be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the light,
that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” Light is life. Light, as John presents it, is
the eternal life of God.
“And the passage that we see there in John chapter
3, light, life, and even the term salvation is used, all relating to the same
great reality, eternal life. God, then, is the source of all life, including
eternal life. He dispenses
that eternal life to us so that we become the light, through the light
incarnate who is Jesus Christ. And for that, turn to chapter 8 and verse
12. Jesus, speaking again to the people on the Mount of Olives, said, “I am the
light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in the darkness” - listen
to this - “but shall have the light of” - what? - the light of
what? - “life.” The light that is life.
“He is the source of life. He is life because He
is God. He not only is life, He gives life. Whoever receives Him receives that
life, and so we become the possessors of life eternal. God is the light who
gives to us the light through His Son who is that light. Same idea appears
again in John chapter 12, verse 46, “I have come” - Jesus says in verse
46 - “as light into the world.” What He means by that is He didn’t come to
bring information, He came to bring life. “I’ve come as light into the world,
that everyone who believes in me may not remain in darkness.”
“What happens when you believe in Christ? What is
He talking about? You don’t just receive information, you don’t just receive
illumination, you receive life. That’s the point. And down in verse 50, He even
mentions eternal life. Back in verse 47, He came, He says, to save the world.
Saving the world, giving eternal life. Bringing light is the same thing. Light equals eternal life.
“Well, with that in mind, turn back to 1 John. And
when you come to 1 John, at this point, and you read again verse 5, “This is
the message we have heard from Him and announce to you that God is light and in Him there is no darkness
at all.” Does that take on some new meaning for you? I hope, if you were
listening. What does that mean “God is light”? He doesn’t mean that just that
God is information; it means that God is life, He is the source of all life,
especially as far as the gospel is concerned and the New Testament is
concerned, especially eternal life for all who believe.
“And in God’s life, there is no darkness at all.
What does that mean? There
is no death, there is no dying. There is nothing contrary to life. And
since God is life and light and no darkness and no death, and Christ is life
and light and no darkness and no death, and we have been given that life, there
is, then, for us no death. We,
like Christ and like God, live forever in that eternal life.”
8/20/2024
8:55 PM
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