A Study of the Book of John
“That You May Believe”
Sermon # 2
“Jesus – The Light of the World!”
John 1:4-13
We as human beings live in a world that is ever more confused and confusing, a world that is ever more given to darkness. While we humans are proud of our accomplishments in science, technology, and medicine, yet our civilization is coming apart at the seams. More marriages are ending in divorce not less. Homosexuals are being more and more militant in their demands for equal recognition and acceptance. We live in a world that calls good evil and evil good. What can call that except darkness?
John warns us that people either love the light or the darkness and this love controls their actions (John 3:16-19). God is light and if you push God out of your life you will left with darkness. (Romans 1:21)
John beginning in verse five introduces us to the struggle between darkness and light, between life and death, between the forces of good and evil. There are certain principles that we need to under-stand concerning the light and the darkness. God is light (1 John 1:5) while Satan is the “the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53).
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (5) And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (6) There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. (7) This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. (8) He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. (9) That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. (10) He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. (11) He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. (12) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: (13) who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Four Factors Concerning The Light.
First, Revealed The Light (vv. 4-5)
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (5) And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
The word translated “comprehend” (katelaben) in the New King James Version is a word that has at least three meanings. On the most literal level the word means “to seize” or “to apprehend.”
Secondly, the word can also mean “to overtake” - the darkness “never overpowered” or “overcomes” the light.
Third, the word can also mean “to quench or to extinguish or eclipse” – thus meaning that the light cannot be eclipsed by the darkness. (Boice. pp. 44-45)
But if the light unmasks and reveals the darkness for what it is, then the darkness will not remain passive but will fight back. It is the nature of darkness to try to quench the light.
Verse five says “the light shines” indicating a continuous action. The light is constantly showing up the darkness for what is, ignorance, unbelief and rebellion against God.
Not Only Was the Light Revealed but …
Secondly, Witness to the Light. (vv. 6-9)
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. (7) This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. (8) He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. (9) That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.”
The first thing that we are told about this witness to the light (v. 6) was that God sent a man named John. It has always been God’s way to spread his light by using people. John is a witness to the light but he is not the light. The responsibility of the witness is to bring men to the place where they must decide, where they take a definite step of faith.
There are at least two implications of this text for us today.
•One is that you should be alert to the possible
call of God in your life. All Christians are to be the light of the world (Matt. 5:16). All are called to witness to the light (Acts 1:8, 1 Pet. 2:9). But God still calls some in a special way and for special tasks. "Pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth laborers into his harvest" (Matt. 9:38). "How shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?" (Rom. 10:14-15). "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has set you as overseers" (Acts 20:28).
It may be a vocational sending to the ministry. God may be calling some of you into full-time ministry. Or it may be that God is calling you to a single or special mission (across the ocean or across the street). But it is God’s way to speak to a person and send that person to testify to the light. Be ready and open to hear that call and accept that commission.
• And the other implication is that you should be
ready and open to hear the testimony from others who are sent to you. God means to communicate to you not merely through your own private Bible reading, but also through other people. He means to communicate to you through my preaching and through your Sunday School teacher and through godly parents, friends or co-workers. We should be aware that it is God’s way to communicate with us through those that he calls and sends. Otherwise why bring into our lives if He has nothing to say to us through them?
And the second main thing we are told about the witness to the light is that “This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light…” (v. 7a). The way God uses people to spread the light is by their testimony. John was a burning and a shining lamp to Jesus. He was burning with zeal and shining with the light of truth. And that’s the way our witness should be too.
Not Only Was the Light Testified To but….
Third, Rejected The Light (vv. 10-11)
“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
(11) He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”
Not only did His creation “not know Him” (v.10) even His own people, the children of Israel, “did not receive Him.” (v.11). It seems rather mysterious to us that Jesus was not accepted by his own people, the very people who had been waiting in anticipation of His coming for many generations.
Did Israel have any excuse for their failure to recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah? Think of the reasons why they should have recognized Him. In the first place they had the prophecies of His coming in the scripture. And if that were not enough they had the evidence of the miracles that Christ performed. And yet they did not accept Jesus as the promised one!
Do you know why the religious leaders of His day rejected Jesus? They rejected Him primarily because He did not fit their expectations. Because He did not come with great pomp and ceremony, because He did not come to set up an earthly kingdom, they refused to accept Him. They did not accept Him because He came with a message that they must repent and be born again. They did not accept Him because as “the light of God” He revealed them for what they were, sinners who needed to be saved. And because of this, rather than welcoming Him, they became more suspicious and finally rejected Him in blind anger even accusing Him of being a child of the devil. Then they killed Him.
Verse eleven says “he came to His own” which means he came to the place and among the people who were His own. He came among His own people, the Jews, but they “did not receive Him.” As John 3:19-20 says, "This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone who is evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." The light came to His own and His own were in love with the darkness. And so they did not receive the light.
Not only was the Light Rejected by some but ….
Fourth, Received The Light (vv. 12-13)
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: (13) who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Let’s look at these verses in reverse order. In verse thirteen John lists the mistaken ways people think they can come to God.
First, he says that new birth is "not of blood." That means, not by inheritance, not by human ancestry. You cannot get into Heaven by being raised in a Christian family. You can be a member of a family, every one of whom is Christian except you, but that does not make you a Christian. You can grow up in a Christian home, attend a Christian school, be involved in all the activities of a Church, but until you are born again you are not a Christian. You are not saved by Christian parents or Christian grandparents or by being born in a Christian country.
Secondly, the new birth is "not of the will of the flesh." It is not by determining to be a Christian that you become a Christian. You act like a Christian, join the church and attend worship services and go through all the motions of being a Christian and still not be a Christian. It is "not of the will of the flesh." It is only, as we will see, by a new birth.
Third, the new birth is "not of the will of man." No one else can do it for you. Nobody can make you a Christian. You cannot come by any ritual, by standing up or sitting down, by going forward or by kneeling at a bench or even shaking the preacher’s hand. That does not make you a Christian.
It is what has happened in your heart that makes you a Christian. It is a new birth. It is done by God: "but of God."
Then in verse twelve says “but as many as received Him” the word translated “as many” (hosoi) is sometimes translated “whosoever” and it opens the doors of salvation to all who will receive Him. “Receive” means receive as God’s revelation of light and truth. In verse twelve John says first –“receive” then “believe” and then “born”.
Throughout the gospel of John, the verb “believe” is emphasized as an activity, something that one does. Receiving Jesus means taking Jesus into your life for what he is. It does not mean a kind of peaceful co-existence with a Christ who makes no claims — as though he can stay in the house as long as he doesn’t play his music so loud.
Dr. J. Vernon McGee says it this way, “Notice that this is for “them that believe on his name.” And always with the word “believe” there is a preposition. You see, faith, as the Bible uses it, is not just head knowledge. Many people ask, “You mean all that I have to do is to say I believe?” Yes, that is all you have to do, but let’s see what that implies. With the verb “to believe” there is always a preposition—sometimes en (in), sometimes eis (into) or sometimes epi (upon). You must believe into, in, or upon Jesus Christ. …. Is Christ holding you up? Is He your Savior? It is not a question of standing to the side and saying, “Oh, yes, I believe Jesus is the Son of God.” The question is have you trusted Him, have you believed into Him, are you resting in Him?” [J. Vernon McGee. Thru the Bible Commentary. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson (electronic ed. 1997)]
Fortunately, John does record that there were
some who received Him; like the Samaritan woman (chap four) the woman taken in adultery (chap eight) and the blind man (chap nine).
Those who receive the light are given the “power” (exousia) literally “authority or the right” to become “the children of God.” Those who are born are those who “believe.” This is such a profound truth that apparently John never got over it for when he was very old he wrote (1 John 3:1) “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God!”
Conclusion
Verse twelve and thirteen give us the marvelous promise of God that anyone who receives and believes in Jesus will be born again and become a part of the family of God.
“Jesus – The Light of the World!”
John 1:4-13
First, ______________ The Light. (vv. 4-5)
Secondly, _____________ The Light. (vv. 6-9)
Two implications for us today.
•You Should Be Alert To The Possible ______l Of God In Your Life.
•You Should Be Ready And Open To Hear The _______ From Others Who Are Sent To You.
Third, ____________ The Light. (vv. 10-11)
Fourth, ________________ The Light. (vv. 12-13)
•The new birth is "not of _________."
•The new birth is "not of the ______."
•The new birth is "not of the will of _______."
•The new birth is of ________.
