Let’s Go Back to the Beginning
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - Most people in the world today reduce Jesus to just a historical religious figure or some prophet of long ago. Some say he is a spiritual force, a wise teacher, or some kind of god among many other gods. Others have limited him to a Christmas story and a nativity scene of a little baby wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger surrounded by farm animals, Mary, Joseph, and 3 Wise men bearing gifts, then everybody goes to sleep and some fat white guy in a red suit, leaves everybody presents, and you wake up in the morning you eat ham and hot rolls.
They say stuff like he is a good morale guide and that he represents a nice standard of living but utterly reject and mock any morality today. They say ridiculous concepts and blindly follow these superficial commercials that make Jesus nothing more than a marketing gimmick and say stuff like Jesus was rejected, and Jesus was a rebel, and Jesus was fed up with politics too, Jesus was a refugee, Jesus had disdain for hypocrisy, and was also unfairly judged like other marginalized members of modern society and say absolutely nothing about how Jesus breaks us and shapes us into His image and likeness, how He picks us up out of the muck and mire, cleans us up, places our feet on solid ground, how He keeps watch over our coming and our going, how He loves me despite of my nature, how he saves me, how He heals us, how He gives us hope, how he transforms our lives, but say he gets us.
It is my desire today to go back to the beginning back before the creation of the world, before the foundations of the earth were laid, before the sons of God shouted for joy, before there was light or the moon or the stars, before there was a heartbeat, man, animal, or an angel and bring out something very powerful. Something that no doubt you have read many many times before as I have and possibly never looked at it quite this way before or maybe you have. I want to go back to the beginning and understand the power and the authority wrapped up in the name above all names to understand that Jesus is not just some historical figure or prophet from a long time ago, he is definitely not a marketing gimmick that makes you comfortable for being a rebel or a misfit of society, nor is he just the incarnation of a person called “God the Son”, but in fact is the fullness of God incarnate.
So today let’s go back to the beginning.
PRAYER
SCRIPTURE: - John 1:1,3, 14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”. I will say probably 3 of the most powerful verses of the entire Bible because they are packed with so much truth, power, and authority. These 3 verse explain the who what when how where questions. The who of course is answered – God, the what is answered – Word, the when is answered – the beginning, the how is answered – with God and the where is answered – with God in the beginning.
Kent Hovind an American Christian fundamentalist apologist. answered the questions years ago where did God come from like this:- All right, your question, “Where did God come from?” assumes that you’re thinking of the wrong, obviously displays that you’re thinking of the wrong God. Because the God of the Bible is not affected by time, space or matter. If He’s affected by time, space or matter, He’s not God. Time, space and matter is what we call a continuum. All of them have to come into existence at the same instant. Because if there were matter but no space, where would you put it? If there were matter and space but no time, when would you put it? You cannot have time, space or matter independently. They have to come into existence simultaneously.
The Bible answers that in 10 words. “In the beginning”, there’s time, “God created the heaven”, there’s space, “and the earth”, there’s matter. So you have time, space, matter created, a trinity of trinities there. Time is past, present, future, space has length, width, height, matter has solid, liquid, gas. You have a trinity of trinities created instantaneously, and the God who created them has to be outside of them. If He’s limited by time, He’s not God.
Story: - This is one of my favorite passages of scripture for many reasons but one reason I truly hold this passage dear is because many years ago when I was going for my ordination and I sat before the board of Elders; Bishop Pace asked me this question “Minister Maughmer – What did the Word become”? I lost it I couldn’t think of the answer, and I broke down and cried and said I said I don’t know. Bishop Pace said, “You know it I know you know it”. He then said what does John 1:14 say and I said, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”. The other Bishops on the Examining Board just started laughing Bishop Pace said you just said it and I said I said what he said what the Word became, and I said I did. Yes, minister Maughmer the Word became, and I said Flesh. After calming down and the bishop’s having a good laugh and telling me it’s o.k. don’t be nervous I passed my ordination test Praise the Lord.
TEXT: - John the brother of James the son of Zebedee one of the sons Jesus called “Boanerges” the sons of “Thunder” which is believed to describe their thunderous fervency and impetuous desire and zeal to work for the Lord.
John doesn’t start his gospel with a lengthy genealogy, he didn’t start with a ministry, but he starts with the beginning, before there was time in the existence of eternity past, before there was light, moon, stars, or angels before there was anything but God. This is simply what Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God…”. John connects his gospel directly with Genesis 1:1 when he starts with “In the beginning…” This is not the beginning of time, this is not day one on the calendar of eternity this is in the beginning within the mind of God. Revelation 1:8 says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty”. So, when the Bible says “In the beginning” it is literally saying in God the eternal existence, the author and finisher, the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the everlasting to everlasting – In GOD.
WATCH THIS: - Everything starts with a thought. For Example: - If you want to take a trip it first starts with the thought of, I want to take a trip then there is a process that must take place you have to book the trip book the hotel take vacation pay for the trip stop the mail get the dog boarded make sure everything is in order until eventually that thought will come true and you can take you trip. However, God’s thought process is not like ours Isaiah 55:8 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord”. God’s thought action result was all done in an instant, there is not a process He has to go through, He is God the beginning of all things. He is not bound by space time and matter because He is the reason for space time and matter if He were limited by space time or matter, He would not be God. So, John starts here establishing the fact that God is the beginning, the start of all.
Then he says, “was the Word” – Logos: - is broadly defined as the Word of God, or principle of divine reason and creative order. The concept of Logos has had a crucial and far-reaching influence upon philosophical and Christian thought. The term has a long history, and the development of the idea it embodies is really the unfolding of man's conception of God. The Greek word logos has been used with a certain degree of agreement by a series of thinkers to express and define the nature and form of God's revelation. Logos in classical Greek both "reason" and "word." The translation "thought" is probably the best equivalent for the Greek term, since it indicates, on the one hand, the faculty of reason, or the thought inwardly conceived in the mind; and, on the other hand, the thought outwardly expressed through the vehicle of language.
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. Understand that many Gnostics believed that the word (Logos) and God were separate entities. They held the belief that a god existed but had nothing to do with creation or with the universe and that another entity called the word or Logos was responsible for creation and dealing with everything. John was defending the fact that the Word not only was with God but in fact that the Word is God not some separate entity, not some false god, not some mythical concept, but was in fact God Himself. Logos is God expresses it is God uttering Himself. It is not some mystical entity that is separate and independent, it is God and He is One Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord”.
He continues to solidify the fact with the 3rd verse “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made”. This connects Genesis 1:3-26 creation week to the Word (Logos) because God said and it was so. Remember I said the thought action and result process is instantaneous verse #3 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” 10 times in Genesis 1 the phrase “God said” is used the number 10 represents Divine Order the word (Logos) displays the Divine Order of God in creation and instantaneously it was so.
When John says in John 1: 3 “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” he is saying with thunderous clarity and strength the Word (Logos), not some separate entity, not some other god, not some other spiritual force, but the Power, Authority, Divine Order of God squashes all the false teachings, all the crazy philosophies, all the wrong ideologies, all the misconceptions, all the false ideas, all the lies.
Then John expounds even more upon this in verse 4 – 13 when he says “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 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. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, (that connects with verse #3 and Genesis 1 talking about the word (Logos) and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God”. John is laying the pathway here for these people who had this mixed up theology thinking that there was some alternate path to the divine and spiritual enlightenment much like today where people are so focused on the, materialistic view of the world, or more concerned with an integrated version of spirituality and worldliness that can dance cheek to cheek than one understanding who Jesus is.
Vs 14 says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” – that’s JESUS. The word (Logos) that created everything, not a separate entity, not another god, not some other spiritual force, but the very essence of God, the principals, the thoughts, the power, the authority the full of God now is wrapped in flesh and steps into that which He created. Not a pre-existed Jesus in substance and form, but in thought (Logos) the Word was made flesh. The very thing that said and it was so was made flesh.
John 3:16 calls Jesus the only begotten Son of God, the word begotten indicates a point in time when one is fathered. He came to His own people, but they did not receive Him but WATCH THIS:- the elements knew who He was, the sun, moon, and the stars knew who He was. When the disciples were on the boat and the sea was tossed and they thought they were going to die He stood up and said, “Peace Be Still” and the winds stopped blowing the sea became calm the disciples said, “What manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey”. The wind and the sea understood that He who created them, the one that laid the foundations of the earth and shut up the sea with doors was telling them in the midst of their rage, in the midst of turmoil, “Peace Be Still” and they had to obey. Colossians 1:16-17 says, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist”. Because in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. When the was made flesh it was God manifested in the flesh. He is Theanthropos the God/Man fully God and fully human not just merely anointed but He has a dual nature and His name is Jesus.
Now this is what I want you to see:- Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”.
I was thinking on this down through this week and it hit me do you realize just what you are saying when you say the name Jesus. This is what John was letting the Gnostic know when you say the name Jesus you are speaking the very word that spoke everything into existence. Wrapped up in the name Jesus caused the sun, moon, and stars to hold their place in the universe. Wrapped up in the name Jesus laid the foundations of the earth. Wrapped up in the name Jesus is life everlasting. Wrapped in the name Jesus is everything you need.
CLOSING:- Regardless if John was refuting Gnosticism and the false religions and doctrines of his time or we are refuting the false doctrines and teachings of today we must understand something very important and go back to the beginning realizing that verse 1, 3, & 14 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”. That’s Jesus and do as Colossians 2:8-10 says, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power”.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr
