THE WORD MADE FLESH. ABRIDGED.
John 1:1-18.
I. THE ETERNAL WORD.
John 1:1-3.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”
“In the beginning” (John 1:1a) takes us back to a point before Creation.
The Word, John tells us, was “with,” towards, or ‘face to face with’ God (John 1:1b). As such He is both co-equal and co-eternal with God. This makes the condescension of God in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ seem all the more awesome.
“And the Word was God” (John 1:1c). Yes, folks, the Bible DOES teach that Jesus is God!
“The same” Word who was “in the beginning with God” (John 1:2) became flesh (John 1:14), and is now known to us as Jesus, the Christ (John 1:17). He is later identified as the only begotten Son of God who is in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18).
John emphasises the instrumentality of the Word in the work of Creation (John 1:3).
The One who is the Word of God in creation is also the Word of God in redemption.
The Word who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) is also the One who died for us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.
II. LIFE AND LIGHT.
John 1:4-5.
“In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
We have here four propositions:
1. The Word of God is the source of all life.
2. His life illuminates all men.
3. The light appears in the darkness.
4. The darkness cannot overwhelm the light.
III. THE ENVOY.
John 1:6-8.
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.”
John the Evangelist has introduced the Word of God as the Creator (John 1:1-3), and as the source of life and light (John 1:4-5).
This is all building up to a climax in the incarnation of the Word (John 1:14), but for now we are introduced to the messenger who goes before Him to prepare the way (John 1:6-8).
This is the man we call John the Baptist.
1. John the Baptist was commissioned by God Himself (John 1:6).
2. John the Baptist was a witness (John 1:7a).
3. John the Baptist’s testimony was Christ-centred (John 1:7b, John 1:15).
4. John the Baptist’s desire was to win people to faith in Jesus (John 1:7c).
5. John the Baptist pointed away from himself to Jesus (John 1:8).
John was a popular preacher. Yet John’s commission was to prepare the way for Jesus, not to seek honour for himself.
IV. LIGHT AND FAITH.
John 1:9-13.
1. LIGHT.
We have already established that the life of the Word of God was the source of light for all men (John 1:4). That light shines forth out of the darkness, and the darkness cannot overwhelm the light (John 1:5). John the Baptist was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light (John 1:7-8).
(a). The true Light lightens everyone that comes into the world (John 1:9).
Even the palest understanding of the world around us comes from the light of God. Any truth found in philosophy or even worldly religions comes from the same source. Supremely, Bible wisdom and prophecy is informed by the light of the Word of God.
(b). The Light has been with us since the very beginning (John 1:10).
The light shone in the primeval darkness, and the darkness was vanquished (John 1:5). Light shows up all the hidden places, so that there is no escaping from it. Our consciences also bear witness to the light, no matter how hard we try to suppress it.
(c). The ultimate revelation of the Light is seen in the incarnation (John 1:11).
The incarnation brought light to bear upon a fallen world, but the world could not bear it. Jesus came to the world he created, and His own chosen people rejected Him. Yet we are all guilty: it is our sins that nailed the Lord of glory to the Cross.
2. FAITH.
Thankfully, however, there were those who received Him. There are those who put their trust in Jesus to this very day. These are those who are described as having been born of God.
(a). All who receive Him are given power to be sons of God (John 1:12a).
There is a universality to Christ’s offer. It is for everyone who receives Him. This is regardless of their nationality, religious privileges, status, education, age, or gender.
The power which we carry is the right of sons within the family of God. We are heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ. We are no longer servants of sin and of death, but have all the privileges of true-born sons.
(b). To believe on His name is to trust in His Person (John 1:12b).
We are not here talking of the casual belief of the person who agrees to a set of ideas but who has no need to put them to the test. The mark of a true believer is a whole-hearted trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour, and abandonment to His will in all things.
(c). New birth is a sovereign act of God (John 1:13).
We are given several negatives so that we can understand this teaching. To be born of God has nothing to do with natural descent (bloods), fleshly desire, nor human will. It is to be born again, born anew, born from above; to be born of the Spirit.
Whatever plans our earthly parents may have had about bringing us into the world, we were not there to influence their actions. This is important, because what we must see is that conversion to Christianity is the work of God, not the work of man. He must have the glory: and man’s part must be to fall into line with the will of God in his life.
V. THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD.
John 1:14-18.
1. “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14a).
Having established the connection between faith and being “born again” (John 1:12-13), the Apostle John now explains how that has been made possible. It took nothing less than the incarnation of God Himself (John 1:1; John 1:14).
The word “flesh” hints at vulnerability, the potential for suffering and death. The wonder is that it is into the likeness of sinful flesh that God sent His own Son, born of a woman, yet without sin.
He who was before is now coming after (John 1:15). The One who counted it not robbery to be equal with God, humbled Himself, embraced mortality, and died for us. He who is the eternal Word of God took upon Himself our mortal flesh, and overcame death on our behalf.
Rather than man reaching up to God, God reaches down to man in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ. He became flesh and died for all the sins of all His people. He dwelt among His own people as a real living man, born of a woman, breathing the very air He had created; knowing hunger and thirst, sadness and tiredness, pain, and death.
2. The Word “dwelt among us” (John 1:14b).
The Word who was face to face with God (John 1:1), the only begotten Son of God who is in the bosom of the Father (John 1:18), now took upon Himself frail flesh, gathering our humanity into the Godhead.
3. “We beheld His glory” (John 1:14c).
Almost imperceptibly, the author has moved from declaration to personal testimony. The disciples caught occasional glimpses of the glory of God as they journeyed with our Lord, confirming His Messianic status, Sonship, and divinity. Three of the disciples, Peter, James, and John, were privileged to see Jesus transformed on the mountaintop, where He was revealed in His heavenly glory.
4. “The glory as of the only begotten Son of the Father” (John 1:14d).
When we recognise Jesus for who He is, we also see something of the glory of God.
5. “Full of grace and truth” (John 1:14e).
The supreme demonstration of God’s covenant love and faithfulness, grace, and truth, is seen in Jesus Christ (John 1:16-17). The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made God known (John 1:18).
