Real Belief in the Real Jesus
John 1:1-3 and 20:30-31
2-9-03
John 1:1-5
1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning.
3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. NIV
I. Here is the Proclamation of John’s Gospel—the Real Jesus.
John immediately opens with some bold assertions about who Jesus is—an assertion that Jesus is God, an assertion that he created all things, an assertion that he is the source of life. Who is Jesus of Nazareth. John tells us he is the Christ, the Messiah. He is the Son of God. John’s gospel is about a person who is fully man and fully God. The book of John is about Jesus.
Christianity is not a philosophy of life although a philosophy of life emerges as we follow Jesus. Christianity is not a set of do’s and don’ts although there are certain things we do and certain things we don’t do simply because we love the Lord Jesus Christ. Christianity is about a relationship with a person. It is about faith in the One who loved us and gave himself for us.
In these opening verses John refers to Jesus as “the Word”—the Logos which is the Greek word for message or communication. Jesus is our message. Acts 5:42 “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” NJV
Jesus is God’s message to us. Heb 1:1-2 “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.” NIV
We live in a world that is always searching for the truth yet never coming to the knowledge of the truth. It’s popular in our society to be a searcher for truth. But it is not popular to be a proclaimer of the truth. John does not worry about what is popular or politically correct. He has a message to proclaim and boldly and assertively proclaims it.
“In the beginning was the Word.”
1. Christ is Eternal in his Existence.
The Greek word translated was carries the idea of continuance. It simply means, “to be”.[1]
Before the worlds were ever created—God is! There in the eternal past is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit: One God, three persons. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word.” When we read those words what Old Testament verse comes to mind? Gen. 1:1 “In the beginning God…” In neither case is there any effort on God’s part to prove his existence. God is. God has always been and God always will be. The heavens declare his glory. All of creation testifies of his existence. The moral conscience of every man intuitively knows it. John’s purpose is not to argue the existence of God. His purpose is to make sure we understand who Jesus really is. “In the beginning was the Word-Logos-Christ-the Son of God.
In John 8 Jesus got into a discussion with the Pharisees. In that chapter they appeal to their relationship with Abraham. The confrontation culminated in them saying to Jesus, “Who do you think you are?” In Jesus’ response to them he makes this statement, “Before Abraham was born, I am.” He is the great I Am who spoke to Moses from the burning bush—the eternally existing One. The Word, Logos, took upon himself the form of man and became Jesus. Phil 2:6-8 “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross! NIV
As a man Jesus submitted himself to the Father and relied upon the power of the Holy Spirit. As a man he did not assert his deity. But he never, never, never stopped being divine.
“In the beginning was the Word,and the Word was with God.”
2. Christ enjoys face to face Communion with the Father.
As a distinct person, God the Son was with the Father. As to his essential nature the Son is God. He is not just God-like; He is God. He is not just a good representation of God; He is God.
“and the Word was with God.” John is saying something very powerful here. There is an assertion of equality and intimacy in the way John uses the Greek words pros and ton in that verse. The Word was with God in perfect fellowship—on an equal plane—face to face.[2] That is the relationship that eternally exists within the Trinity.
“..and the Word was God.”
3. Christ is God!
You cannot say it much clearer than that.
“He was with God in the beginning.”
Verse 3: Through him all things were made…” Christ is Creator!
In perfect cooperation with the Father and the Spirit he created all things. God the Father is creator. God the Son is creator. God the Holy Spirit is creator. All things were created by the Trinity.
John wants to be sure we understand: Jesus is more than a man, more than a prophet. He is the eternal One. He is the creator of all things. To be very sure we understand John drives his point home with another statement. “Without him nothing (not one thing) was made that has been made.” Remember the words of Genesis 1:26 “Then God” (Elohiym--plural[3]) “said, Let us make man in our image…” The three persons of the Trinity at work in creation.
John makes another assertion about the deity of Christ in verse 4 of our text.
“In him was life and that life was the light of men.”
5. Christ is the Source of life and light.
Life is in the Son. In John 5:26 Jesus said “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.” NIV
The only life you and I have, whether it is natural life or spiritual life, we received from God. We are not a source of life. But life is inherent in the nature of God. The Son has life in himself. He does not have to get it from anyone else. It is part of who he is as God.
Jesus said, “ I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) KJV
In Proverbs 8 we see Christ as Wisdom.
In John 1:1 we see him as the Logos—the Word.
In John 14:6 we see him as the Truth.
Is there not a consistency in all that?
Col 2:3 “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” NIV
Verse 4 “…and that light was the light of men.”
The life that is in Jesus is the illumination we all need. In him we have understanding.
Without him we are in darkness. He is more than a reflection of light. “God is light.”(I Jn 1:5).
Light is characteristic of his nature. It issues forth from him.
Jesus said, “"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Later John wrote, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:12 NIV
Everybody wants light.
Everybody wants life.
Everybody wants eternal life.
But it is not something we can have independent from the Son of God. When we have Jesus we have life. Without him we are in spiritual death, not life. Life is in the Son and that life is the light of all men. There’s not a light for the Jews and a different light for the Gentiles—just one light for all men: Jesus. There’s not a light for the Hindu and a light for the Muslim and a light for the Christian—just one light: Jesus.
John has made 5 assertions about Jesus that insist upon his deity.
1st His eternal existence: “In the beginning was the Word…”
2nd His face-to-face communion with the Father: “and the Word was with God.”
3rd A direct statement of his deity: “and the Word was God.”
4th His capacity as Creator: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
5th He is the Source of life and light: “In him was life and that life was the light of men.”
Why does John open this book that way? Because this is primarily what John wants to say.
He has a purpose under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for writing this gospel and those verses introduce it well. Turn with me to john 20 and let’s see
II. The Purpose of John’s gospel—Real Belief in the Real Jesus.
John 20:30-31 “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” NIV
At this point in his gospel, John has shared several miracles that Jesus worked. He has talked about the resurrection of Jesus and his interaction with the disciples in a resurrected body. John wants us to know that there is much more. But he has shared enough to serve his purpose.
What is John’s purpose?
1st that we would know who Jesus is.
John’s gospel is a book about Jesus. It is a book telling us who Jesus really is and what that means for you and me. When we read the book of John we will understand it best if know why the book was written in the first place.
In fact that is true of the whole bible in a broader sense. What is the purpose of the bible? It is a revelation of redemption. It tells us about the creation of man and his sin in the Garden of Eden. It prophesies the Seed of woman, the Messiah, who would come and crush the head of the serpent, the devil. The bible gives us the story of how God is reconciling us to himself through Jesus. As a whole the Old Testament points forward to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. That is what the Old Testament revelation is moving toward. The New Testament points back at the cross and Jesus’ resurrection as the way of salvation and source of our hope. So, why doesn’t the bible tell us more about heaven and hell? Because true to its purpose it tells us all we need to know to get right with God. Why doesn’t the bible tell us about dinosaurs or fill us in on what was going on in eternity before creation? It’s not essential to our own salvation. What is essential? --the cross, the death of Jesus for our sin, the resurrection of Jesus for our justification. That is the heart of the gospel. If that is not proclaimed—if that is not preached—if that is not central to our faith, our faith is vain.
There are many streams of wisdom that flow out of one mighty river. There is wisdom about how to live in covenant relationship with a spouse. There is wisdom about how to train our children, how to conduct our business affairs, how to manage our finances, how to relate to friends. Those are all important issues of life and the bible addresses all of them. But the central theme is Jesus. Who is Jesus? There is salvation in no other name.
What is it about Jesus we must see? We must see that he is
a. the Christ—Christos—the Messiah that is promised in the Old Testament—who comes as our Redeemer—as our Savior—the anointed One. To reject Jesus as the Christ is to reject Jesus for who he is. That’s what most of Israel did when Jesus stepped into history 2000 years ago. “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him”.[4] John says in chapter 1 verse 10 “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.” NIV What a tragedy? That is a fatal mistake—to encounter Jesus and not recognize him for who he is. It is not enough to simply acknowledge that he was a good man. There is no salvation in just accepting him as one of the prophets, perhaps even the greatest of prophets. We must see that his the “The One.” We must realize he is “The Christ.”
John is not negotiable on this issue—and we too must not compromise on this. There are a lot of doctrines that we can misunderstand and still get to heaven. But we must, absolutely must, understand who Jesus is. This is the faith once delivered unto the saints that is to be contended for. Without this revelation we are nothing more than a nice social club. Without this truth burning in our hearts and on our lips we will not change the world. In our culture the temptation is to compromise this. Tolerance is the one virtue embraced by our society. How will I relate to the Muslim at the office? John is the apostle of love but there is no vacillation in his words when he talks about who Jesus is.
1 Tim 3:16 “Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body,was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.” NIV
This is Paul’s message in a nutshell.
This is John’s message.
This must always be our message. “Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
In Matthew 16 Jesus turned to the disciples and asked, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
They answered that some say he is John the Baptist, some say he is Elijah, others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Then Jesus asked a question each and every one of us must answer—“Who do you say that I am?” That is the essential question! The Holy Spirit revealed to Peter the right answer, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” That’s what we must know about Jesus. Has the Holy Spirit made that revelation clear in your heart or is it just a cold, orthodox doctrine you have accepted?
Who do you say that Jesus is? Your answer can be seen in how you live. My answer can be seen in what I live for? Jesus is unique. He is not just a Christ—he is the Christ. Salvation is found in receiving him for who he is.
Why is John so dogmatic about all this?--Because our very eternity depends upon it. If we don’t understand biblical principles about finances, we may lose some money, we may suffer some degree of poverty. But if we don’t understand about Jesus we can lose our eternal soul.
John wants us to understand that Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed One who would come.
He also wants us to understand that Jesus is
b. the Son of God.
This is the truth that so upset the religious rulers of John’s day—and will always upset the world. This is why the priests and Pharisees tore their clothes and called Jesus a blasphemer—because he claimed to be God (100% God and 100% Man).
In John 10:33 they said to him, "We are not stoning you for any of these,…but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." NIV
Throughout the book of John we are confronted with Jesus’ claim of deity. There is no middle ground. We either accept Jesus for who he says he is or we must reject him as a liar and a deceiver. Here is what C.S. Lewis said about that:
"I am trying here to prevent anyone from 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 the 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. 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 with any patronizing nonsense about Him being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."[5]
By his resurrection Jesus has demonstrated that he is who he says he is.
“…declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead…”Rom 1:4
This is the Jesus we must accept as Lord of our lives. To simply acknowledge him as a great teacher leaves us in charge—allows us to pick and choose what part of his teaching we will embrace. But if he is God then he is Lord and I am called upon to bow to him and obey him.
John 20:31 “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” NIV
John does not leave this at a purely doctrinal level. He calls us to a faith in Christ that transforms us and gives us eternal live. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” NIV
Faith must have substance! There must be something specific that we believe. To say that I believe is not enough—the question is what do I believe? An even deeper question is in whom do I believe? I wonder how many people say a prayer asking Jesus into their heart and they don’t even know who he really is or what the implications of that prayer are. To receive Christ is not only to receive the benefits he can give us. It is also to receive his Lordship—his rulership over our lives. The two go hand in hand. We are not just receiving a package of benefits to make our lives a little more pleasant and give us a hope of everlasting life—an escape from hell and damnation. We are receiving a person into and over our lives—his name is Jesus. His name is indicative of all that he is. His name as the Christ and the Son of God convey the authority he rightfully exercises over us. That’s why John put it this way, “…that by believing you may have life in his name.” The name conveys who he is and for us to receive his life we must receive him for who he is. We must not receive “another Jesus”. We must not receive a Jesus of our own making. We must receive the real Jesus. We must receive the Jesus John is describing in his book.
John 1:12 “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- “NIV
The problem is everybody thinks they know who Jesus is. But what if John has something to say about Jesus that we don’t know? What if we think we know more than we really know? What if there were something about Jesus in the book of John that would absolutely revolutionize your life? What if it were essential to our eternal destiny? What a significant thing that might be.
What is John’s purpose? “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
2nd That by believing in the right way and in the right thing we would have eternal life.
John uses the verb “believe” 98 times in his gospel, far more than any other book in the bible.[6] In our culture I’m not sure the word “believe” fully conveys what John was saying. We say things like, “I believe it might rain today” or “I believe I will finish my college education” or “I believe I’m right on that.” There is often tentativeness in our mind when we say, “believe.” In our culture the word believe can have a weak connotation.
But the word John uses, pisteuo,[7] is a strong word. It’s not just “I guess so.” It’s not just “I think so.” It goes beyond accepting and being convinced of a prepositional truth. It means I am so convinced that I rely upon it—I put my full trust in it—I’m committed to it—I live by it. John calls for a biblical kind of belief in a biblical Jesus—the Christ, the Son of God.
What we believe is ultimately demonstrated by what we do. James tells us that:
“Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”James 2:18 John is talking about a belief that transforms us and changes how we live, what we live for, and what we do.
In Acts 16 the Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas, “What must I do to be saved?” They answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Is there a cry in your heart asking that question, “What must I do to be saved?” The answer has not changed, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved…”
Invitation to Receive Christ & Prayer
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[1] Was een (NT:2258). Three times in this sentence John uses this imperfect of eimi (NT:1510) to be which conveys no idea of origin for God or for the [Logos], simply continuous existence. Quite a different verb egeneto (NT:1096), became) appears in John 1:14 for the beginning of the Incarnation of the Logos . See the distinction sharply drawn in John 8:58 "before Abraham came genesthai(from Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft & Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament. Copyright (c) 1985 by Broadman Press)
[2] With God pros (NT:4314) ton (NT:3588) Theon (NT:2316). Though existing eternally with God the [Logos] was in perfect fellowship with God. Pros (NT:4314) with the accusative presents a plane of equality and intimacy, face to face with each other. In 1 John 2:1 we have a like use of pros (NT:4314): "We have a Paraclete with the Father"
(from Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft & Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament. Copyright (c) 1985 by Broadman Press)
[3] Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
[4] John 1:11 NIV
[5] Sermon entitle “Answering Our Culture #6: Jesus was Just a Good Teacher” by Brian La Croix, Aberdeen Wesleyan Church, Aberdeen, S.D.
[6] Leon Morris, New Testament Theology, Academie Books of Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1986, p 274
[7] Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
Richard Tow
Grace Chapel Foursquare Church
Springfield, MO
www.gracechapelchurch.org
