The Credentials Of Jesus Series

Text: John 1:1-18

Title: The credentials of Jesus

Introduction

Last week in the E100 Bible reading challenge we started our first readings from the N.T.

For those of us who read the 5 passages last week…

Did anyone notice that we didn’t start out our N.T readings with a passage on the birth of Christ?

Instead our very first reading in the N.T. was taken from John 1:1-18

Why was that?

What has John 1:1-18 to say to us that would put it first- ahead of the passages on the birth of Christ?

I think John 1:1-18 was chosen for us to read first because in it we are given …

… the credentials of Christ

So we read last week the credentials of Christ first…and then we read the birth of Christ second…

The credentials of Christ first… The birth of Christ second.

I want to suggest my reason why the credentials of Christ might have come before the birth of Christ in the order of the readings.

Whenever you hear about someone’s birth you find yourself asking lots of questions…

This is more so for ladies than for men…

You ask questions like “What’s the baby’s name?” “What’s the baby’s weight”?

But whenever you hear about someone’s credentials…

Instead of having lots of questions you find yourself having lots of answers.

Their credentials will already tell you who they are.

Their credentials should tell you what they have done so far.

Their credentials will even tell you what they are capable of doing in the future.

And which would we rather have about someone?

Would we rather have lots of questions or would we rather have lots of answers?

We would rather have lots of answers!

Would we rather have lots of answers about Jesus or would we rather have lots of questions about Jesus?

We would rather have lots of answers about Jesus for those who have those who have lots of questions about Jesus

And John 1:1-18 is full of answers about Jesus

Here we are told who Jesus really is

Here we are told what Jesus has already done in the past

Here we are told what Jesus wants to do now

First of all we are told exactly who Jesus is

1.He is Eternal – In the beginning was the Word

Jesus has always existed. He existed before the first Christmas. He existed before creation.

Because Jesus is eternal there was never a time that Jesus never existed. He has always been there.

2.He is Divine – and the Word was with God and the Word was God

If Jesus is eternal then it must also be true that Jesus is equal with God.

John tells us that Jesus was with God and that Jesus is also God.

We see throughout the four gospels that whatever God could do Jesus could do also

3.He is Human – The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

God became one of us.

Why? So we could know what God is like.

More importantly it was so God could come and save us from our sins

So Jesus is Eternal, Divine and Human

Then we are told what Jesus has already done in the past

A.He is the Creator of all things (v3)

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

He made us. He made us so we can come to know him.

Then thirdly we are told what Jesus wants to do for us

1. He wants to give us eternal life

“In him was life.”

Why does he want to give us life? Because without Him we are dead in our sins.

The wages of sin is death

2. He wants to give us light

“and that life was the light of man.

Not only are we dead in our sins we are also blind.

Spiritually blind.

We can’t see that we are dead in our sins.

Sin blinds us so we can’t see the consequences for our sin

Jesus came to give us life. Jesus came to give us light.

3.Jesus came to bring us back to God

“Yet to those who received him, to those who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God.

When sin is killing you and blinding you; you need outside help in order to get back to God.

Jesus is that help. He is the bridge that takes us back to God.

He died for our sins so we don’t have to die for them.

He died in our place so that we could live forever with God in heaven.

Those are the credentials of Jesus

He is eternal. He is Divine. He is Human. He is our Creator. He came to give us life. He came to give us light. He came to bring us back to God.