Gospel of John series - The Word has Spoke

                                                         The Word has Spoken

John 1:1-5

After praying and seeking guidance for the next series of lessons, I will be teaching in the Gospel of John. This gospel is one that I believe sets the foundation for understanding the work of Jesus Christ in the life and salvation of mankind. So let’s begin with the first five verses.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

If there was one concept universal to mankind, it is the “word”. Whether spoken or written, it truly was from the beginning of mankind. The concept of communication, reasoning, and sense all begin with the word. The apostle John expressed this point at the beginning of his gospel on Jesus Christ. He clarified it to five areas, the Word in the beginning (creativity), the origin of the Word, the divinity of the Word, the Life eternal, and the Light that overcame the darkness. 

Let’s look at the first part of the text, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God...All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” The beginning, when all started, is connected to the beginning of the universe. God spoke the Word and it became. By definition fiat means - “a command or act of will that creates something without or as if without further effort.” by Merriam-Webster The word fiat speaks of the power of the Word. God by fiat created all things. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Gen.1:1 The Word was not created, but was in the beginning. Before any thing was, God spoke through the Word and it was created. 

John believed God, the Trinity, created the heavens and the earth from nothing, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” Heb. 11:3 God spoke through the Word and it became, fiat, creation ex nihilo, creation from nothing. God spoke into darkness, a void of nothingness, and spoke with divine wisdom Prov.8:22-31, “The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old.  Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world. When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.”

Application - It is by faith, “...the conviction of things unseen.” Heb.11:1 that we understand the creation of this world we call Earth. God said it with divine reasoning (Logos) and power, and it became, orderly, created with wisdom. The universe, mankind cannot fathom the depth of creation because he must start with something in order to create something. Thus we get the Theories of Evolution. 

With a believer in Jesus Christ, we by faith, not out of ignorance or myth, nor reasoning by the mind of mankind, believe and trust in our Lord God and Savior, who created the Earth and came to Earth to save mankind and restore fellowship with God the Father. As it was at the beginning of the creation of Earth, God will again create a new Heavens and new Earth so that God can once again be with man. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Rev.21:1-3

Second, let’s look at this portion of text, “...the Word of God was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” This portion of the scripture speaks to the origin and divinity of Jesus Christ, Jesus is God. In Genesis 1:26, God is speaking “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…” John would have heard this scripture as a child in synagogue. He would have heard the creation story, and how God said. Let us...” create man in “our” image. As a disciple of Christ, John saw God the Father in Christ Jesus, (...Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.) Jn.14:9) and “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the Word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” 1 John 1:1-4

John was one of the first disciples to see Jesus, at his baptism on the Jordan river. Here John the Baptist tells John and Andrew to follow Jesus, “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God!’ When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.” John 1:36-37

John is told that Jesus is the Lamb of God. John sees early on that Jesus is not of this world, but from God the Father. He would connect Jesus as the Messiah at first, but through his life and walk with Jesus, he understood Jesus as God. 

Application - No one has ever seen God the Father except the Son, “It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.” Jn. 6:46  And “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” Jn.1:18

Just like the apostle John, we too can believe from the prophets, “All your children will be taught by the Lord…” Isa 54:13 and “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord Almighty is his name: and great will be their peace. Jer. 31:33-35 

Jesus is the God the Son, he was with God and was God in the beginning, and He is the Lamb of God who came into the world, to save the world from sin and death. We who believe have his Word written on our hearts and in our minds. We have been forgiven  and our sins are no longer remembered by God. God, the Trinity, created everything, and there is nothing that they didn’t create. 

So we today who believe have received the Holy Spirit of God, promised by the Father, and given to us by the Son. We now have fellowship with the Father, the Word, and with the Holy Spirit. We have experienced a new creation of our soul and spirit. 

2 Cor. 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” We have fellowship with the Word of God who was from the beginning.

Last, John speaks of Jesus as the Life. Let’s look at the text, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John learned that in Jesus is life and that it is eternal. Jesus opened the eyes of His disciples by the scriptures and by the Holy Spirit. 

John heard Jesus teach on Life throughout their walk together. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” Jn.14:6 “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” Jn.10:10 “And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” 1 Jn. 5:20 “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” 1 Jn. 5:11

Before Jesus came to Earth, John knew life as hard labor, fishing with his family, the oppression of Roman tyranny, and the legalism of the religious leaders and teachers of the law. He also heard a new voice, the voice of the One calling out from the desert, John the Baptist. As John listened to John the Baptist, and then Jesus. John’s eyes became open as were Andrews “We have found the Messiah!” they told Peter and others in their fishing village of Capernaum. The light had come to men, and John wanted all to see it. This light awakened John and others to the fact the Messiah had come at last. Jesus was the light that would shine through the darkness of men’s hearts and minds, just as in the creation of the universe. John learned that spiritual darkness couldn’t overcome the light. Jesus as the Light, drove out the darkness of Satan and demonic forces. Jesus was the Light to the world.

Application -  Before I knew Jesus, my life was wrapped up in work, entertainment, and family. And many times the order of the three was changed around. It was not till I heard Jesus’ words spoken by someone who had been where I was, did I believe in God who created everything, who gave His Son for my wearisome life, and that in Him my life was changed. He created a new creation, a man who desired to know God, to love God, and to live in the Light of His Word, the Lord Jesus Christ who gives and is eternal life. Like John, my eyes and ears are open to the author of life. He has driven the darkness out of me, and filled me with light. Light that shows up sin and eradicates it so that it will no longer be remembered by God the Father. 

This is the Creator, Jesus, who was from the beginning, the one who came into the world to save all who would call out to him, believe and confess their sins, and trust in Him to fulfill the promises in scripture until he comes and takes us to be with Him forever, eternal life with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

  I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation (JD Farag). Please, Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He is Life and that eternal, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day. First,

A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis