John Stott said, “Nothing hinders evangelism more than the widespread loss of confidence in the truth, relevance, and power of the Gospel.” There has been an erosion of convictions in Christian circles concerning: 1. the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, 2. the exclusive truth claims of Jesus, 3. our confidence in the Word of God, and 4. our commitment to the body of Christ. Because of this subtle but deadly assault on our Christian faith, it is of utmost importance that we continually examine our hearts to see where we stand in our relationship to Jesus Christ, His Word, and to the local church to which you have been called.
Today, we are beginning a study in the Gospel according to John. John’s Gospel was written for a specific purpose, which we see in throughout the book and especially in chapter 20 verse 30- 31:
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (ESV).
John selected certain stories, sermons, sayings, and signs to assure those who had placed or would place their faith in Christ about who He is. Why is this assurance so important? Martin Luther said,
If Christ is not true and natural God... we are doomed ... we must have a Savior who is true God and Lord over sin, death, devil, and hell. If we permit the devil to topple this stronghold for us, so that we disbelieve His divinity, then His suffering, death, and resurrection profit us nothing.
The gospel of John is addressing two groups of people: First, the God-fearing Jews and Greeks who regularly attended synagogue services and, second, the followers of Jesus. To the first group we could understand the word “believe” to mean - these things were written so that you may come to faith or believe that the Messiah, the Son of God, whom we have been waiting for is found in the person of Jesus. To the second group - the followers of Jesus, John is saying, “these things were written so that you may continue to have faith and continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.” If you believe and continue to believe in Jesus, you will experience life, real life, vital, exciting, compelling, fulfilling, satisfying life - as God intended it now and for all of eternity.
John 1:1-5 (NASB)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. 5 And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.
Right in this first passage in chapter 1, John is speaking about Jesus’:
? Pre-existence
? Power
? Personal presence
Jesus’ Pre-existence
John 1:1-2 says,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
In John 1:1, the apostle John is relating everything back to the very beginning of time, space, and matter. In the first verse of the first book of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
In speaking to the Jews ‘the word’ < dabar (Hebr) of God is connected with God’s powerful activity in creation (cf. Gn. 1:3ff.; Ps. 33:6), revelation (Jer 1:4; Isa 9:8; Ezk 33:7; Am 3:1, 8) and deliverance and judgment. God ‘sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave’ (Ps. 107:20). John was personifying the Word. The Word was Jesus, who existed as the second member of the Trinity. The Word “was” in this passage indicates that Jesus was not only there at the beginning of time but that He was always there. John is telling the Jews who Jesus is.
To the Greek, John was referring to Jesus as the divine Word or Logos - the logic behind all that exists. This is what the Greeks were searching for - the universal, divine reason that transcends humanity and the cosmos. They were seeking for the ultimate reason, the ultimate truth that explains why anything and everything exists.
What John was saying to both the Jews and the Greeks is that even before the world was spoken into being, Jesus (the Word) who always was with God, meaning face-to-face with God and equal with God is the reason for the universe’s existence. In the very first book of the Bible, Genesis, and also here in John 1, the context reveals that the beginning of time, space and matter was absolute but before time, space and matter even came into being, the Word (Jesus) already existed. Athanasius described it this way: “There never was when He was not.”
We serve a God who names and describes Himself in the Old and New Testaments in order to reveal to us who He is as a trinitarian God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the NT, His main title is, Lord, Jesus, and Christ and we consider Him as the Son of God, the Son of Man, and Logos (or “the Word”).
None of the four Gospels begins with a discussion about “why” and “how” God exists but all of them start with the ‘Who question’ - who is Jesus Christ? The entire New Testament is largely devoted to the person and work of the eternal Son of God incarnate.
Jesus refers to His pre-existence as Jesus when he says, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, Before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58 AMP). He was praying to God the Father in John 17. He prayed, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence that I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:5). In the same prayer, He tells His Father that He desired that His followers would be with Him, to see the glory He had before creation. In other words, Jesus existed before time with the Father and the Holy Spirit as part of the three-in-one God. These truth claims of Jesus created a clear distinction between what true followers of Christ believe about Him compared to what all other religions believe about Jesus. Therefore, Jesus was not just a prophet as the Muslims claim, created as the Jehovah Witnesses teach, or was born as a spirit-child that progressed to deity as the Mormons assert. Jesus is God, co-creator of the universe and is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:5). Let’s look at point 2 from the passage in John 1...
Jesus’ Power
John 1:3 says,
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being (John 1:3).
As the first chapter of Genesis is still present in the mind of the Jew, John gives a fuller meaning to the power of the “word.” All things that have come into existence, came by means of the pre-existent Word, in fact nothing came into being apart from Jesus.
Creation ‘out of nothing’ means exactly what it says. The universe didn’t come into existence by means of some pre-existing material ‘something.’ The laws of thermodynamics tell us that “energy cannot be created nor destroyed.” Yet, the universe did not evolve from another source of energy but rather was created out of ‘nothing’, non-existence, void. There must have been a first Cause for the energy it took to create the universe. What John is saying is that the living Word is the agent and power through which everything came into being. It was created ex-nihilo = from or out of nothing and points to the Person who created something out of nothing.
Hebrews 1:2-3 says,
but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word (Hebr 1:2-3 NIV).
The writer of Hebrews is speaking about the Son as the one through whom God made, sustains, and upholds the universe (Heb. 1:2).
The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Colosse,
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together (Col 1:16-17 NASB).
William Barclay said:
This means that not only is the Son the agent of creation in the beginning, and the goal of creation in the end, but between the beginning and the end, during time as we know it, it is he who holds the world together. That is to say, all the laws by which this world is order and not chaos are an expression of the mind of the Son. The law of gravity and the rest, the laws by which the universe hangs together, are not only scientific laws but also divine.
In verse 15, Paul tells us that Jesus is the firstborn over all creation. This does not mean he was “born first” or “created,” but that he has all the rights, privileges, and inheritance as the firstborn over His creation. As Creator of all, He is the ruler of all, He has power over all, He is above all and is obligated to no one. He is the absolute standard, the final authority for all things, He created reality as we know it, He is the standard for morality, determines the course of history, and is the reason we exist. God is not some abstract power but is loving, caring and personal. He is the one we should worship. Which brings us to our third point: Jesus’
Personal Presence
In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it (John 1:4-5).
John said, “In Him was life.” The Word/Son shares in the same self-existing eternal life of God and this life was the Light to humankind. Jesus, who is the revelation of God, came into a world that was overcome with darkness, a world that could not comprehend their own sinfulness or need for a savior, a world which operates in a context of alienation from God. Yet Jesus came to us and was not overcome or overpowered by the darkness.
John was an eyewitness of Jesus' life, ministry, death, and resurrection. For three years, he followed Jesus, learned from Him, ate with Him, witnessed His love, compassion, and miracles. John chose specific stories, signs, and teachings of Jesus so our Christian faith would be founded on a historic, tangible person, Jesus Christ, God incarnate, whose existence goes farther back than the beginning of His ministry, farther back than the virgin birth, farther back even than the creation itself. John wrote this gospel so that people would believe that Jesus Christ was God and that in believing He was God they would share in the joy of salvation (1 John 1:1-4).
We were all far from God and powerless to change our condition as a human race, so the Word, Jesus Christ, became a human being to live on this earth, present amongst us, to redeem us as our all-powerful Creator-God. Think about this, God Almighty was personally present on this earth at a precise point in human history to die for our sins so we could be rescued from our sin, delivered from shame, have everlasting life, and share in His inheritance. He came in Person, in the flesh so that we might obtain eternal life by His mercy, truth, and power. This is Jesus’ desire and promise to those who have a personal encounter with Him - that we would experience eternal, abundant life, peace and joy.
Christ’s life, His presence was light in the darkness, those who trust in Him have hope. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He made a promise to us, His followers saying, “I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually regardless of the circumstances, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20 AMP). His life and light shines in our darkness and even as believers we don’t always grasp it and can be overcome with darkness.
As many of you know, Pearl and I just returned from the States, where we spent time with our families, friends, and visited supporting churches. On one of our family visits, my nephew, a Christian, who is very successful in business, has a godly wife and two beautiful children shared with us how he had been living in depression and despair for the past 7 years. He hadn’t heard God's voice for all this time and didn’t know if God was really present. He prayed, read the Word, spoke to friends and family, pastors and leaders in his church, but nothing helped, there was no connection. He tried other ways to fill the void and drown out his emptiness but just ended up in greater darkness. It wasn’t till about three weeks ago, after a series of unusual events, that he finally recognized that God had always been and is with him in his darkness. God showed him that He has been there all the time though he didn’t feel or experience Him in a tangible way. He’s not an emotional type but told us that recently the Scriptures came alive to him and though he isn’t out of the woods yet, he finally encountered God again and experienced Him as Light and life in his darkness, he became aware that Jesus is always present, regardless of his circumstances and on every occasion.
Maybe someone here has been experiencing a period of spiritual darkness or depression. You don't understand exactly what's going on and can't figure out why things are going the way they are. You don’t see any real purpose for what is happening in your life. These times can make us doubt the goodness or even existence of God and can make us vulnerable to temptation and despair.
Charles Spurgeon once preached,
Surprising as it may seem to be, it is a fact that some of the best of God’s people frequently walk in darkness; ay, some of them are wrapt in a sevenfold gloom at times, and to them neither sun, nor moon, nor stars appear. They do not rejoice in the light of God’s countenance, though they trust in the shadow of his wings. They are on the way to eternal light, and yet they walk in darkness.
What is the key to walking with God through darkness?
First, is knowing that God’s personal presence is always with you, regardless of your circumstances and on every occasion. Second, is knowing God always has a purpose for the darkness you are walking through. Even if you do not know what that purpose is you can be assured that He never does anything haphazardly or allows just anything to happen to us. He will only allow these dark times for a season in order for us to learn what He wants us to learn and to accomplish what He desires in our lives. He alone will be your light and life in the times of darkness.
Lastly, like my nephew did, share those things you have learned in the darkness with others. He finally understood that Jesus was always with him, had never left him, understood that there was a purpose for the darkness, and now has a desire to reach out to others who are walking through darkness and depression. He believes God allowed this season to build empathy in his life for others.
Why do you think you are here in Vienna? Whether you were born here, have grown up here or recently moved here, it’s not just by chance that you are here. It’s not just for a job, or for your studies, or just to get married and raise a family, or experience a good quality of life. In whatever circumstance you find yourself, or whatever transition of life you are going through (which can create a lot of anxiety, uncertainty) an all-powerful, present God wants to meet you right where you are. John 1:1-5 sets the stage for the rest of gospel - we get to see the Son of God, the Messiah in every story, every place, every circumstance and with every person. This is who Jesus is! This is what John wants the reader to experience in their own lives, to encounter Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, the pre-existent, all-powerful Creator of the Universe. To know that no matter what, He is fully present, that He is your Light, your Life, at all times, in every place, in every circumstance, and every part of your journey of life.
