Knowing Jesus
John 1:1-1:18
Introduction-
Last week we looked at the Potter and the clay.
We saw that the Lord was speaking to the nation of Israel, and then to us as we allow the Lord to mold and make us more in the image of God.
We saw that if you have a hard time believing that He could change a nation, you would also have a hard time believing that He cares for you and can change your life.
Today, we are going to the basics.
I want to look at another familiar verse, John chapter 1
An eternal God would come to us and redeem us from our sins.
America I believe is at such a dangerous spot, they have the freedom of speech to hear the gospel, but deaf to the reality and responsibility that comes from hearing and knowing the gospel. People say that they know Jesus, but some would not know Him if He stood next to them.
John 1:1-1:18
John’s responsibility was to share what he knew and what he witnessed as he was with Jesus.
He recorded the gospel to build faith and confidence in Jesus Christ so that we may believe that He truly is the Son of God.
What Jesus taught and what He did are tied in-separately to who He is- John shows Jesus as fully human and fully God although Jesus took upon Himself humanity and lived as a man, He never ceased to be eternal God. Jesus is the creator, and sustainer of all things and the source of eternal life.
This is the truth about Jesus. If we cannot or do not believe this basic truth, we will not have enough faith to trust our eternal destiny to Him.
In the beginning, before time began- God was. God had a Son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ did not come into being when He was born because He is eternal. He (God) came to fulfill a promise that Jesus Christ would come to offer redemption for a world that was lost in sin.
John the Baptist, this wild looking locust eating man had no power or position in the Jewish political system, but he spoke with irresistible authority. People were moved by his words because he spoke the truth, challenging them to turn from their sins and baptizing them as a symbol of their repentance. They responded by the hundreds, but even as people crowded to him, he pointed beyond himself, never forgetting that his main role was to announce the coming of the savior.
Jesus was the Word, in fact, replacing the name Jesus each place you saw the word, (v1) would read “In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. He was with God in the beginning.”
To the Jews- saying that Jesus was God was blasphemous.
To the Greeks- to say Jesus was God in the flesh was unthinkable.
To John- The Word (Jesus) was the good news of the gospel.
Can our small brains really comprehend and grasp who Jesus is?
He spoke galaxies into existence!
He sent planets into orbit and had suns circle around them.
He spoke this world (earth) into existence.
Out of nothing, He made something!
He breathed life into mankind- and when we messed up, He chose to rescue the lost and offer the gift of salvation and eternity with Him.
Illustration-
A Theological college invited a professor to their annual conference as a guest lecturer. He spoke for two and half hours establishing proofs that the resurrection never took place. The professor quoted book after book that there was no historical resurrection, and the traditions of the church were groundless. It was all emotional mumbo-jumbo, because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus, who, in fact never rose from the dead. After his talk, he asked if there were any questions. An elderly pastor stood up and said, I have only one question. He reached into his sack lunch and pulled out an apple and began eating it. Crunch, my question is simple, crunch, now I have never read those books you quoted, crunch, and I can’t recite the scriptures in the original Greek, crunch, I know nothing about Niebuhr and Heidegger, crunch, all I want to know is … the apple I just ate…was it bitter or sweet? The professor paused for a moment and answered in a scholarly fashion. I cannot possible answer that question, for “I haven’t tasted your apple”
The elderly pastor dropped the core of his apple in his paper bag, looked up at the professor and said calmly, “neither have you tasted of my Jesus”
Listen, it is all about Jesus! (repeat)
You want to know Jesus, His Word tells you that it will happen. If you want to listen to all the false teachers and all the doubters, you will never find that peace that only Jesus can give you.
The closer to Jesus you draw, the more truth that He will reveal to you. The farther away you are from Him, the more you listen to the voices of doubt. The choice is yours.
“For He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son.”
At that time, just like today, they fought against false teachers. They didn’t think He was resurrected, they didn’t believe him to be God, did not understand the immaculate birth, didn’t believe that He had to go, so the Holy Spirit of God could come.
Jesus wasn’t born, he was begotten. He says you see me, you see my Father. The only way to the Father is through me. Because we are one in the God head…Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
It is a lot to take in, it is a lot to comprehend. He’s God, His ways are higher than your ways and He doesn’t have to ask your approval before he does something.
You weren’t there when He started this plan for mankind and He does not need your help to accomplish it.
He created all things
He was before all things.
He holds all things.
It may seem like Satan is wining and is in control, but our God is on the throne.
This is my Fathers World
O let me nair forget
That though the wrong
Seems oft so strong
God is the ruler yet.
Church collapse-(unknown)
When doctrine and truth are abandoned, when the authority of scripture is denied, you do not get liberal Christianity, you get a whole new humanistic religion. A religion that is perverted by man, a religion that attacks the preeminence of Christ, a religion that denies the Godhead.
Some truth to write down this morning
I. Jesus Christ is a Holy God
Genesis chapter 1-(Old Testament) “in the beginning. Jesus was there!
John chapter 1-(New Testament) “In the beginning was the Word… in the beginning was Jesus.
I (Jesus) am the way, the truth, the life. No man comes to the Father except by me.
All things were made by Him and for Him.
He does not have to defend Himself to anyone- there is only one person who can say “I am the light of the world” and that is Jesus!
He owes us nothing and has done everything for us!
“Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
All other gods are dead and buried somewhere.
II. Like Apostle John, we are to reflect the light of Christ to this world
(7) He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light, he came only as a witness to the light.”
John was the forerunner of Christ- he was to be the reflection of Christ and so should we!
Coming to this church is a reflection of our relationship with God. We come here to worship. We come here to build our relationship with Christ. If we came to church with the same hunger we come to the dinner table, we would be blessed by God and our relationship with him would grow.
If we understood the urgency for those we come into contact with, we would open ourselves up to our neighbors, friends, family, and tell the story of what Jesus has done for us. If we can’t tell the story, that in itself might be the problem.
The Greek word for witness translated is testify, 33 times John attests or testifies to the facts of Jesus. That through Him, all men might believe. People were not to be believers in John the Baptist, or in us, the purpose was to draw them to Jesus. (Through us)
III. We must be children of God
(12) “yet to all who received him, to those that believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
Each one of us has a responsibility as a believer.
Pastors around the world should not have to beg believers to tell their story of what Christ has done in their life. They should not have to beg for money, time, to build the kingdom of God.
The children of God have been given a new relationship with God that was not there’s as a result of natural childbirth but because of a new spiritual birth.
Closing,
We were made in God’s image, which means there is something in us that reflects who God is. God put that there when we accepted Christ as savior.
I don’t know where you are at this morning, but I know no one is too bad to be saved, and no one is too good to need God.
One has a low opinion of themselves and one has a too high opinion of themselves. I don’t know which one maybe you are this morning, but Jesus is here to help you this morning. God’s grace is not able to help you until you are desperate enough to receive it.
Until you confess Jesus as Lord, you are not a Christian. Now you can do that in the church, at your bedside, driving in a car, but at some point you have to admit to God that you need a savior, and want Jesus to be that savior.
Some feel like they need to clean up before they come to Jesus- they spend their lives trying to be good enough. No one is good enough- you say clean up and then ill come to God, and God says while you are still dirty, I’ll clean you up.
Time in prayer
Amen.
