As always, the transcript of the service is below
Revelation 2:7
“Whoever
has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
JOHN 1:1-14
In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God.2 He
was with God in the beginning.3 Through
Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been
made.4 In
Him was life, and that life was the light of all
humankind.5 The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not
overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John.7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true Light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize him.11 He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.12 Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:1-14 JESUS IS THE WORD OF TRUTH
Springford Baptist Church: January 10, 2021.
I have been strongly impacted as I have witnessed the events of this past week and have been reminded again how vital it is to know what is true. What we saw happen in Washington D.C. occurred because a crowd of people believed what they had been told was true. They believed the false narrative that the American election had been fraudulent and was stolen from them. They listened to the words of an irresponsible leader and thought what they were hearing was truth. We have seen the disturbing outcome.
Yes, it is vital to know what is true. When we are LISTENING FOR GOD, we are listening for truth and we need to identify truth. Jesus, God’s Son came into our world as the Word of truth. We will examine today what the opening verses of John’s Gospel tell us about Jesus who was “full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14b)
Our world is so unstable and so uncertain in a number of ways isn’t it? There is political instability, financial and economic instability, environmental instability, moral instability, relational instability, physical instability (particularly with this spread of Covid that continues to challenge all our resources to see it brought under control).
In the writing of the Gospel of John here at the outset, John establishes that the Word, Jesus was in the beginning: “the Word was with God and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
Jesus is God and is infinite, always has been and always will be. This is a difficult concept for us to grasp with our finite minds. Just because something is difficult to understand does not mean that it is not true.
Our eternal God, Who was in the beginning and knows all things, is the very One we will want to begin with in a quest for truth. Then in our ongoing desire for truth, we will need and to continue with God every day of our lives.
vs. 3 “Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.”
Think here of a child with a broken toy. I’m sure there have been lots of those since Christmas. The one best able to fix a broken toy is the toymaker. He knows just how the toy fits together and what will be required to repair it.
Likewise, our God is a wise Toymaker who knows best how to mend our brokenness because He first designed and created us. He made us. He knows the truth of who we are.
Not only do both God the Father and the Word, Jesus, God the Son, know about human beings, but remember, “without Him nothing was made that has been made.” This means that the intricacies of our whole world and Universe do not escape the understanding of our God.
Any answers, any truth that we are looking to discover will be available as we look to the One without whom nothing was made that has been made.
And this next statement at
the beginning of verse 4
is powerful:
“In Him was life…”
Remember when some of those who followed Jesus turned away because they said that His teaching was too hard for them. Recall that Jesus looked at His close disciples (the 12) and asked, “Are you going too”? Peter replied, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68,69)
Jesus does not just have the words of eternal life. He is Truth. He is Life. Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. (John 14:6)
If we were not convinced, like Jesus’ close followers, that there is life in Jesus then of course we would need to keep looking, keep searching. We don’t have to keep looking because the Word Jesus offers us life, eternal life! Why look anywhere else?
Another powerful image is that Jesus is the Light (John 1:4b,5).
Realize, we are wanting to listen for God and to discern what is truth.
Jesus is the Light. He brings spiritual illumination. He reveals truth.
The darkness by contrast has not understood Jesus and has never been able to overcome the Light that shines through Jesus.
The darkness could not destroy Jesus and He still shines on- the one who gives eternal life shines with eternal and inextinguishable light!
All of these truths about Jesus, who was with God in the beginning and was God, reinforce the importance of beginning with God.
No one else can offer us what God can! God has given us Jesus who is the Word of Truth.
The Bible provides us with the remarkable testimony of those who were eyewitnesses to the things that happened when Jesus came to live on earth.
We have just celebrated the birth of Jesus at Christmas and joined in the wonder we experience every time we recall that God really did come to live among human beings like us in the person of His own Son Jesus.
This is something we never get over nor should we.
It may seem “too good to be true”, yet it is.
And think of the way that God came to this plan to send His Son Jesus into our world.
God loved our world. God loved us so much that He sent His Son (John 3:16) God clearly knew that this was the only way to demonstrate His love and only as His Son faced death and triumphed over death could human beings like us be set free from the grip of sin and be redeemed to live forever in heaven with God.
Jesus, God’s Son was willing to come and live among us and he was also willing to give His life for us. This too is truth.
vs. 9 “The True Light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.”
John the Baptist’s task was to prepare the way for the Lord. He was to get people ready to meet Jesus and to be prepared to accept the truth that Jesus was God’s Son. With this acceptance comes the opportunity to accept what Jesus has to offer.
Jesus gives light. He is able to give light and understanding because Jesus is the True Light.
If we are trying to show someone the way and hand them a candle that is nearly burnt down or a flashlight with batteries that are nearly dead, it will not be a lasting light to guide to safety.
Jesus is the lasting Light and as He came to live among us, He consistently shone that Light.
People who were ready and had faith to believe were able to receive Jesus as a gift that gives light and direction. When we listen to the true words that Jesus speaks, we are listening to God.
At the time that Jesus was on earth, there were those who were completely unwilling to even for a moment consider that this was God living among them.
vs. 11 He came to His own, but His own did not receive Him.
It is puzzling that many of the Jewish people who knew that God had promised to send a Messiah, a Saviour and had been longing for this to happen, many of these people would not believe that Jesus was God’s Son, sent from God. They would not accept the truth.
Here they had the chance to believe because Jesus was living right among them. Even with His teaching and miracles they closed their hearts and minds to the truth of who Jesus is.
Still the gift of what Jesus came to offer was available,“to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name(vs. 12).
These people were given the right to become children of God. As we believe the truth of who Jesus is, we too become children of God.
God did all that He could to have people recognize Him and what He has to offer.
This is the whole purpose of the Word (Jesus) becoming flesh and making His dwelling among us.
It may be that if you were raised to believe that Jesus is God’s Son this seems easy to accept.
You might wonder why others do not readily accept this truth and receive what Jesus has to offer.
We think about how loved we feel by Jesus and how we want to respond by loving Him. Knowing how valuable our faith is to us, we want others to discover the truth of who is Jesus.
A person can see others who believe and hear others who believe that Jesus is God’s Son sent by God into our world, but until people can see and hear Jesus for themselves,believing is not possible. Are we committed to “LISTENING FOR GOD”?
Then we can pray with urgency the words of that song, “Open our eyes Lord we want to see Jesus. Open our ears Lord and help us to listen…” If you want to know what is true, look to Jesus!
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.