Who Is Jesus?
Text: Jn. 1:1-5
Introduction
1. Who is Jesus?
a. Some say he is the Son of God
b. Some say he was a moral teacher
c. Some say he was a good man
d. But can he be all of those things?
2. C. S. Lewis, who was a professor at Cambridge University and once an agnostic, understood this issue clearly. He writes: "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the son of God: or else a madman or something worse."
Then Lewis adds: "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
3. In my mind the best way to discover who Jesus was is to examine the book that talks about him most - the Bible.
4. A great place to start with that examination is the Gospel of John, because John states that this is the purpose for his writing of the Gospel.
5. John 20:30-31 (NLT)
30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.
6. According to John, Jesus is...
a. God
b. Co-Creator
c. Our Hope
7. Let's stand as we read together Jn. 1:1-5
Proposition: Jesus is the Son of God and Savior of the world.
Transition: First and foremost...
I. He Is God (1-2).
A. The Word Was God
1. John starts at the “beginning,” with the first eighteen verses of John, called the prologue. John’s goal and guiding purpose in writing can be found in almost every phrase of his work. In the rest of the Gospel, John expanded and illustrated each of these from Jesus’ life and ministry (Barton, 372).
2. So how does John begin? He says, "In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God."
a. John begins by establishing the preeminence of the Jesus existing before the creation of the world.
b. The initial allusion to Genesis 1 cannot be missed (John 1:1). This is a Gospel that will record the re-creation of men and women, the giving of life in darkness where there is no hope (Burge, NIV Application Commentary, The – John, 54).
c. John uses the Greek term logos translated "word" in reference to Jesus.
d. In Greek thought, the logos was the rational principle guiding the universe and making life coherent.
e. For Jewish people, the logos was the word of the Lord, an expression of God's wisdom and creative power.
f. By Jesus' time, the logos was viewed as coming from God and having his personality (NLTStudyBible).
g. Although the basic idea can take on different meanings in this case the dominant idea underlying New Testament usage is that the “word” equals two things: (1) the gospel message and (2) Christ himself (The Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary – Lambda-Omicron, 3030).
h. John says that before time began Jesus was already there.
i. Before there was a sun Jesus already existed.
j. Before there was an earth, oceans, mountains, or trees Jesus was already there.
3. Then John says, "The Word was with God, and the Word was God."
a. By using the expression, he was with God, John was explaining that the Word (the Son) and God (the Father) already enjoyed an intimate, personal relationship in the beginning.
b. To be with God means the Word is distinct from him. The word with (pros) in a context like this is used to indicate personal relationship, not mere proximity (cf. Mk 6:3).
c. But he also was God; that is, there is an identity of being between them. These two truths seem impossible to reconcile logically, and yet both must be held with equal firmness.
d. At this point John simply affirms this antinomy, but later he will reveal more of the relations of the Father and the Son, as well as of the Holy Spirit.
e. The last verse of the prologue (1:18) tells us that the Son was at the Father’s side; and in Jesus’ special prayer for his followers (chapter 17), he expressed that the Father loved him before the foundation of the world (Barton, 372-373).
4. Next John expresses the unity between the Father and Jesus when he says, "He existed in the beginning with God."
a. Nothing new is added in this verse, but two points are repeated from verse 1 and thereby given emphasis.
b. The Word was "in the beginning" and the Word was "with God."
c. The eternity of the Word is not to be overlooked or minimized. The other point concerns the close relationship between the Father and the Word.
d. These two are not the same, but they belong together. The fact that One may be said to be "with" the Other clearly differentiates them.
e. Yet though they are distinct, there is no disharmony. John's expression points us to the perfect unity in which they are joined (Morris, 69).
f. A wrong teaching called the “Arian heresy” developed in the fourth century of Christianity.
g. Arius, the father of this heresy, was a priest of Alexandria (in Egypt) during the reign of Emperor Constantine.
h. He taught that Jesus, the Son of God, was not eternal but was created by the Father.
i. Therefore, Jesus was not God by nature. Arius’s views gained some support.
j. At the Church Council in Nicea in A.D. 325, Athanasius defeated Arius in debate and the Nicene Creed was adopted, which established the biblical teaching that Jesus was “one essence with the Father.”
k. Yet this controversy raged until it was defeated at the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 325.
l. This heresy still exists, however, in several cults. Yet John’s Gospel proclaims simply and clearly that the Son of God is coeternal with the Father (Barton 373).
B. Jesus Divinity
1. Illustration: In a 1983 Gallup poll Americans were asked, "Who do you think Jesus is." 70% of those interviewed said Jesus was not just another man. 42% stated Jesus was God among men. 27% felt Jesus was only human but divinely called. 9% states Jesus was divine because he embodied the best of humanity. Also, 81% of Americans consider themselves to be Christians. Gallup Poll.
2. The Bible is very clear; Jesus is God the Son.
a. Matthew 16:15-16 (NLT)
Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
b. Jesus is God based on Biblical truth.
c. Jesus is God based on eye witness acounts.
d. Jesus is God based on his miraculous signs and wonders.
e. Jesus is God based on his death on the cross for our sins, and on the fact that he rose again on the 3rd day.
f. He is not just a good man.
g. He is not just a great teacher.
h. Jesus is the Son of the Living God!
Transition: Jesus is also actively involved in creation.
II. He Is Co-Creator (3-4a).
A. Created Everything Through Him
1. Next John further illustrates the divine nature of Jesus by illustrating his partnership with the Father in creation.
2. He says, "God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him."
a. The creative capacity of God was Jesus. Therefore John stresses not merely that who God is, the Jesus is, but that what God does, the Jesus does.
b. Therefore in the Gospel, what Jesus does is divine activity.
c. When he heals or speaks—when he gives eternal life (v. 4)—this is God at work, just as God worked at the foundation of the world (Gary Burge, NIV Application Commentary, The – John, 55).
d. John is saying that everything owes its existence to the Word.
e. He does not say that all was made "by" him, but "through" him.
f. This way of putting it safeguards the truth that the Father is the source of all that is.
g. Creation was not the solitary act of either. Both were at work. The Father created, but he did it "through" the Word (Morris, 70-71).
h. John emphasizes that there were no exceptions: the existence of absolutely all things came by this Word.
i. Although with verse 3 we move from eternity to creation, we are still dealing with facts hard to comprehend.
j. Until discoveries made in the 1920s, the Milky Way was thought to be the entire universe, but now we realize there are many billions of galaxies.
k. Science is helping us spiritually, for it silences us before God in wonder and awe. But this verse also helps us put science in its proper place.
l. The universe is incredibly wonderful, so how much more wonderful must be the one upon whose purpose and power it depends.
m. Hebrews 3:3 (NLT)
just as a person who builds a house deserves more praise than the house itself.
3. Then John says, "The Word gave life to everything that was created..."
a. There is a punctuation problem here. It is possible to take the last words of the previous verse with the opening words of this one to give some such meaning as "What has been made was life in him," or, alternatively, "What has been made in him was life."
b. Life is one of John's characteristic concepts: he uses the word 36 times, whereas no other New Testament writing has it more than 17 times (Revelation; next come Romans with 14 times and 1 John with 13 times).
c. Thus more than a quarter of all the New Testament references to life occur in this one writing. (135).
d. "Life" in John characteristically refers to eternal life (see on 3:15), the gift of God through his Son.
e. Here, however, the term must be taken in its broadest sense.
f. It is only because there is life in the Logos that there is life in anything on earth at all.
g. Life does not exist in its own right. It is not even spoken of as made "by" or "through" the Word, but as existing "in" him (Morris, 73).
B. Creator
1. Illustration: In 1989, Professor H. S. Lipson, a distinguished member of the Institute of Physics, published an article in the professional journal "PHYSICS BULLETIN." He studied the mathematical probability that Darwinian evolution has occurred. As with many scientists who are beginning to argue against evolution in favor of "Intelligent Design," Lipson has concluded that many facets of nature simply could not have evolved. He says this:
"We must … admit that the only acceptable alternative [to evolution] is creation. I know that this is anathema to physicists, as indeed it is to me, but we must not reject a theory that we do not like if the experimental evidence supports it." Those scientists who are willing to look at the evidence with open minds are coming to the conclusion that the evolutionary theory that life just happened to evolve as a result of a series of lucky coincidences requires far too much faith! At the very least, something or someone "got the ball rolling"
2. As God the Son Jesus worked in conjunction with God the Father in creation.
a. Genesis 1:26 (NLT)
"Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like ourselves..."
b. The prologue of John's Gospel does in deed mirror the account of creation in Genesis.
c. It most certainly does tell us that Jesus was involved in the creation of all things
d. Now you can think that the universe, as complex and marvelous as it is, was just some cosmic accident all you want.
e. But I believe that it was accomplished by intelligent design.
f. And a part of that intelligent design was Jesus.
g. Not only did he help create it, but it is by his hand that it all holds together.
h. Without him there would be nothing, and without him there is nothing!
Transition: And because of this we have hope.
III. He Is Our Hope (4b-5).
A. His Life Brought Light
1. John's point so far has been that Jesus is completely divine, and in conjunction with God the Father was actively involved in creation. Now he takes that point and shows why that matters to us; that he is our hope.
2. He says, "...and his life brought light to everyone."
a. Life is one of John's characteristic concepts: he uses the word 36 times, whereas no other New Testament writing has it more than 17 times (Revelation; next come Romans with 14 times and 1 John with 13 times).
b. Thus more than a quarter of all the New Testament references to life occur in this one writing. (135).
c. "Life" in John characteristically refers to eternal life, the gift of God through his Son.
d. Here, however, the term must be taken in its broadest sense. It is only because there is life in the Logos that there is life in anything on earth at all.
e. Life does not exist in its own right. It is not even spoken of as made "by" or "through" the Word, but as existing "in" him.
f. There is probably a characteristic Johannine double meaning here.
g. The life of which John writes is in the first instance the kind of life that we find throughout this earth, but this will call to mind that spiritual life (Morris, 73).
h. The divine life embodied in Christ gives light to everyone—revealing divine truth and exposing their sin.
i. Everywhere Christ went, he brought light. Light means understanding and moral insight, spiritual vision.
j. But more than just shining or reflecting, the light of Jesus penetrates and enlightens hearts and minds.
k. Everyone who comes into contact with Christ can be enlightened. When Christ’s light shines, we see our sin and his glory.
l. We can refuse to see the light and remain in darkness. But whoever responds will be enlightened by Christ.
m. He will fill our minds with God’s thoughts. He will guide our path, give us God’s perspective, and drive out the darkness of sin (Barton, 373).
3. Then John takes his point to the ultimate conclusion. He says, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it."
a. Notice that John changes his tense. Until now he has used the past exclusively, but the light, he says, "shines."
b. The light is continually in action. Even as John writes it is shining.
c. The light of the world, "the light of men," never ceases to shine.
d. Discussions of whether John has in mind the pre-incarnate Christ or the incarnate Christ seem quite beside the point.
e. He is not dealing here with the incarnation, but with the fact that it is of the very essence of light that it shines (Morris, 75).
f. The timeless light has invaded our time, and we can see it in our darkness.
g. As the light shines, it drives away the darkness, for the unsaved world is blinded by the prince of this world..
h. Christ’s light shined to a hardened, darkened humanity—and he continues to shine.
i. But the darkness can never extinguish it. This statement indicates the struggle between the darkness and the light.
j. Unregenerate humanity under the influence of Satan, the prince of darkness, has not accepted the light and even resists the light.
k. Thus, “darkness” indicates ignorance and sin, active rejection of God’s will.
l. Those in darkness reject Christ, his light, and his followers. But no matter how deep the darkness, even a small light can drive it back. The power of Christ’s light overcomes any darkness in the world (Barton, 373).
B. Hope
1. Illustration: The Greek philosopher Socrates made this statement: "Oh that someone would arise, man or god, to show us God." In the minds of scholars, here's one of the greatest philosophers who ever lived; and yet he, himself, had beating in his own breast--and he admitted it--oh that god could come in a man and show the world god in human form.
Plato, who was one of the great students of Socrates, said, "Unless a god man comes to us and reveals to us the Supreme Being, there is no help or hope."
2. We have hope because God became a man.
a. Romans 1:3-4 (NLT)
The Good News is about his Son, Jesus. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.
b. We were lost in the darkness of sin and hopelessness.
c. But God in his mercy and grace sent his Son Jesus to be our hope.
d. He was God in every way, but he chose to become like us so that he could stand in our place on the cross.
e. In doing so he dispelled the darkness and hopelessness of this life.
f. Because of him we have hope for today, hope for tomorrow, and hope for eternity.
Conclusion
1. Who is Jesus?
a. God
b. Co-Creator
c. Hope
2. Who do you think Jesus is?
