Recognize God’s Gift
Week of December 4, 2011
Bible Verses: John
1:1-4, 10-18.
Lesson Focus: This
lesson is about the identity of Christ. It addresses the fact that God’s
greatest gift is more than a baby.
Jesus is Completely God: John
1:1-4.
[1] 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 were made through him, and without
him was not any thing made that was made. [4]
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. [ESV]
[1-4] Verse 1 teaches three things
about the divinity of Jesus Christ. The first statement is that Jesus existed in the beginning. In other words, Jesus
was preexistent. He was before all things. The second statement is that Jesus
Christ was with God. This is an
affirmation of Christ’s separate personality. The final phrase is a declaration
that Jesus is fully divine, for John says, and
the Word was God, or literally, “and God was the Word.” This means that
everything that can be said about God the Father can be said about God the Son.
In Jesus dwells all the wisdom, glory, power, love, holiness, justice,
goodness, and truth of the Father. In Him, God the Father is known. Why is
Jesus Christ called the Word? What
is the significance of this title? The answer has to do with God’s revealing of
Himself. To understand this term, we need to ask what meaning it would have had
for those to whom the Gospel of John was first written. For instance, what
meaning would it have had for a person of Jewish background who was just
beginning to hear and understand the gospel? The first verses of John’s Gospel,
including the term Word, would refer
a Jewish person to the first words of Genesis where we are told that in the
beginning God spoke and all things came into being. To the Jewish mind Jesus
would somehow be associated with the creative power of God and with the
self-disclosure of God in creation. The idea of Word would also have meant more to a Jewish mind than it does to us
today. To the Jew a word was something concrete, something much closer to what
we would call an event or a deed. A word spoken was a deed done. This way of
thinking resulted from the Jew’s Old Testament theology. What happens when God
speaks? The answer is that the thing is instantly done. John’s Gospel would
also be read by Greeks and by those who spoke Greek and were influenced by
Greek thought. What would the word “logos” mean to them? For the Greeks, the
answer to this question is found, not in religion, but in philosophy. Greek philosophers,
beginning with Heraclitus in the sixth century BC, understood logos as the
divine reason that provides order to the world. The point John is making is not
only that Jesus is the revelation of God, but that Jesus was always active in
revealing God. Hence, even before the incarnation, there was no excuse for
failing to believe. This is seen first of all in the emphasis John places upon
Christ’s role in creation. Creation reveals God, and Jesus was God’s agent in
creation. When Jesus Christ began by revealing God in creation He revealed Him
in two important aspects: His existence and His power. These two things are
sufficient to condemn all men for their failure to bow down and worship Him.
Preeminently, however, Jesus has revealed God through the incarnation, and it
is there that God is known personally. In verse 4 John introduces two of the
greatest themes of his writings: life and light. What does it mean to say that
Jesus is the source of life or that He is the life? The first answer to that
question is one that takes us back to the opening pages of Genesis and
therefore to the role of Jesus Christ in giving life to all living things in
the world. John is saying that our physical life comes from God through the
Lord Jesus. God brought forth life in humans by speaking the word of life in
such a way that the Spirit of life passes into man and causes him to breathe.
However, this is only the beginning of our understanding of what John intends
by the use of the word life in the
Gospel. It is true that John speaks of physical life in verse 4, but as his
Gospel goes on he speaks increasingly of spiritual life. And the point is that
just as Jesus is the source of physical life, so is He the source of the
spiritual life that we receive when we believe on Him. To appreciate the
importance of the gift of spiritual life, we must realize first that apart from
it we are dead spiritually [Eph. 2:1-6]. In our natural state we can do nothing
to improve ourselves spiritually. Apart from Christ no man has ever breathed
one breath toward God, nor had one spiritual heartbeat. Man is dead in sin. He
needs a new life. That is why we must be born again. Being born again means
receiving a new life from God through the Lord Jesus Christ by faith in Him.
The life that God gives through Jesus Christ is not merely an earthly life or a
life of such quality that it can be lost, but eternal life. It is a life that
is meant to be abundant even in our present circumstances. The image of Christ
as the light of the world is the second theme that John introduces in verse 4.
What does John mean when he declares that Jesus is the light of men? By this title, Jesus is revealed as the One who
knows God the Father and who makes Him known. Light is a universal image for
the illumination of the mind through understanding. The image also teaches that
by His coming into the world Jesus exposed the works of darkness [5]. For He
shone in the darkness, and the darkness did not like it. The light which
streams from Christ is ever opening the way to a clearer distinction between
good and evil. Is Jesus your light? He is if He does for you what light always
does when it issues forth from the Father. First, it puts confusion to flight.
If Jesus is the light of your life, He also dispels the darkness and places
your life in order. Second, the light of Jesus Christ is revealing. That is, it
penetrates the darkness and shows us what has always been there. Finally, if
Christ is your light, you will have guidance in the midst of darkness and, with
the guidance of God, true liberty.
Jesus is Completely Man: John
1:10-11, 14-15.
[10] He was in the
world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
[11] He came to his own, and his own
people did not receive him. [14] And the
Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of
the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. [15] (John bore witness about him, and cried out,
"This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me,
because he was before me.'") [ESV]
[10-11] The Word who was the light was in the world; not just paying a
fleeting visit, but, as John goes on to elaborate in verse 14, dwelt among us. Even though the world
was created through the Word, it did not recognize that Word, because it was
estranged from Him. Yet the world should have recognized the one through whom
it was made. The first half of John’s Gospel documents how not only the pagan
world, but even Israel –his own –
failed to recognize Jesus as Messiah and Savior of the world, rejecting the
light, including all demonstrations of Jesus’ deity and messiahship. John
highlights the irony, even tragedy, of the world rejecting the one through whom
it was made. Did not know him refers
to more than mere intellectual rejection. It means a willful refusal to accept
or believe in someone or something. The basic sin in John’s Gospel is the
failure to know and believe in Jesus. This refers first and foremost to a
rejection of Jesus’ claim of equality with God and His revelation of the Father
through words and signs. In verse 11, what is said first in general terms – his own – is then elaborated with
specific reference to God’s chosen people Israel: his own people. Not only was Jesus not received by a world made
through Him, but also He was rejected by a people specially chosen by God as
His very own. The picture is that of the Word not being a welcomed guest among
His own people, the very ones who should have received Him with open arms. To
substantiate this claim, John 1-12 narrates Jesus’ performance of seven
selected signs specifically for Israel, climaxing in a final statement
regarding Israel’s rejection of Jesus’ signs in 12:37-43. In 13:1, then, the
epithet his own is transferred from
Israel to God’s new messianic community, consisting of the inner circle of
followers of Jesus the Messiah. The entire Gospel is taken up with the
narration of the ever-escalating confrontation between “the Jews” and Jesus,
culminating in Jesus’ crucifixion.
[14-15] In verse 14 John now returns to
the preexistent Word. The major burden of verses 14-18 is to identify the Word
explicitly with Jesus. Rather than using the words “man” or “body”, John here
employs the almost crude term “flesh”, which here means all that it means to be
human as distinct from God. The powerful Word of God has been born into frail
humanity. Became does not mean
“changed into” in the sense that Jesus, by becoming human, ceased to be God.
Nor does it mean “appeared” human or even “took on” humanity. The main point is
that God now has chosen to be with His people in a more personal way than ever
before. The affirmation that the Word
became flesh takes the opening statement in verse 1 a step further: that
same Word now has been born as a human being. Though John does not elaborate on
the precise way in which Jesus was made flesh, his contention that deity
assumed human nature in Jesus would have been anathema for Greeks who held to a
spirit/matter dualism and could hardly have imagined immaterial Reason (Logos)
becoming a physical being. John’s message is that the incarnation represents an
event of equal importance with creation. Since the world – including God’s
chosen people – is dark, fallen, and sinful, humanity’s need is for spiritual
rebirth, available only through the preexistent, enfleshed Word. The Greek verb
dwelt more literally means “to pitch
one’s tent.” This rare term, used elsewhere in the New Testament only in the
Book of Revelation [7:15; 12:12; 13:6; 21:3], suggests that in Jesus, God has
come to take up residence among His people once again, in a way even more
intimate than when He dwelt in the midst of wilderness Israel in the
tabernacle. Moses met God and heard His word in the “tent of meeting” [Ex.
33:9]; now, people may meet God and hear Him in the flesh of Jesus. Jesus’
pitching His tent among us is here related to the incarnation, that is, His
being made human flesh; according to John, Jesus took the place of the temple.
In Jesus, His followers saw the glory of God. First mentioned here, glory is another important term
introduced in the opening section of John’s Gospel. In the Old Testament, God’s
glory was said to dwell first in the tabernacle, and later in the temple. As
John makes clear; now, in Jesus, God’s glory has taken up residence in the
midst of His people once again. To bring glory to God is said to be Jesus’
overriding purpose in John’s Gospel. As He brings glory to God, glory also
comes to Jesus. This only continues what was already true of Jesus prior to His
coming, for glory characterized both Jesus’ eternal relationship with God and
His preincarnate state. While on earth, Jesus’ glory is manifested to His first
followers particularly through His signs. As the obedient, dependent Son, Jesus
brings glory to God the Father throughout His entire ministry, but He does so
supremely by submitting to the cross, which for John is the place of God’s –
and Jesus’ – ultimate glorification. Jesus is God’s “one-of-a-kind Son
(begotten). The term is used in the Old Testament to mean “only child.” Being
an only child, and thus irreplaceable, makes a child of special value to its
parents. The seminal event in Old Testament history in this regard is Abraham’s
offering of Isaac, who in Genesis 22:2,12,16 is called Abraham’s only son, even though Abraham had
earlier fathered Ishmael. Therefore the term “only begotten” means
“one-of-a-kind” son; in Isaac’s case, the son of promise. Only Son is similar to the designation of Jesus as God’s beloved Son, which surfaces in the
Synoptics in the voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism and transfiguration. Jesus
is the “one-of-a-kind” Son from, or
alongside of, the Father, in the sense that He was with the Father, that He has
come from the Father, and that He will send the Paraclete from the Father. The
Son also sees and hears and receives from the Father. While Jesus is God’s only Son, God is Jesus’ Father, which is Jesus’ preferred way
of referring to God in John. Although Jesus taught His disciples, who upon
believing in Jesus had become God’s children,
to call God Father as well, Jesus’
divine sonship remains unique. The relationship that Christians are able to
enjoy with God their Father is
unique among the world’s religions, many of which portray God as remote, stern,
impersonal, or mystical. The special fatherhood of God for believers is already
implied in 1:12-13 in the reference to the children
of God who are born … of God.
According to John, Jesus is full of
grace and truth. Grace in John’s
Gospel, in conjunction with truth,
alludes to the Old Testament phrase “loving-kindness” (hesed) and truth (emet)
[Ex. 34:6]. In this expression, both loving-kindness and truth refer to God’s
covenant faithfulness to His people Israel. According to John, this
faithfulness found ultimate expression in God’s sending of Jesus, His only Son. In verse 15 John now returns
to the witness of John the Baptist. The Baptist serves as the prototypical Old
Testament prophetic witness to Jesus and His coming, which makes his testimony
an integral part of the salvation history canvassed by the evangelist. The
Baptist was six months older than Jesus and began his ministry before Jesus
did. The Old Testament generally supports the notion that rank and honor are
tied to one’s age. Thus, priority in time implied preeminence. Because of the
Baptist’s age and earlier ministry, both he and John are at pains to show that
Jesus really was before the Baptist
and therefore rightfully to be honored above him.
Jesus is Completely Necessary: John
1:12-13, 16-18.
[12] But to all who
did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children
of God, [13] who were born, not of blood
nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. [16] And from his fullness we have all received,
grace upon grace. [17] For the law was
given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [18] No one has ever seen God; the only God, who
is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
[12-13] Verses 12-13 is very possibly
the climactic statement of the entire prologue, and epitomizes the very purpose
for which the Gospel was written: for people to believe and have life in his
name [John 20:31]. The present statement sharply contrasts those who
received Him and believed with those who did not, marking out believers as
those who broke with the general pattern by which the world thinks, lives, and
acts. To receive him means to
entrust oneself to Jesus, to acknowledge His claims, and to confess Him. Being
a child of God is neither a quality possessed by all nor an exclusive
prerogative for Israelites; it is an entitlement for those who believe in the
Word. The word translated right
refers to the authorization or legitimate claim of becoming God’s children, a privilege
that now has been made available to all who believe in Jesus as Messiah. This
assumes that, in one sense, sinful people are not God’s children, even though
they are created by God, unless and until they believe in Jesus Christ. John is
careful to distinguish believers, who become children of God, from Jesus, who
is the unique Son of God. The Word’s ability to give the right to become children of God is proof of His exclusive and
unique relationship with God. The opposite of being born of God spiritually is
natural procreation, mentioned by the evangelist in three different
expressions. Spiritual birth is not the result of human initiative but of a
supernatural origin. John’s point is that being a child of God is not a result
of blood relations, as if a Jew, for instance, could simply presume upon
descent from Abraham or Moses. Rather, spiritual birth is a result of the work
of God who caused us to be born again
[1 Peter 1:3].
[16-18] Verse 16 continues the thought
of verse 14. By portraying Jesus’ coming in terms of the giving of grace upon grace, John affirms that the
grace given through Moses was replaced by the grace bestowed through Christ.
True grace came through Jesus Christ. Rather than offend the Gospel’s Jewish
audience, this verse is designed to draw it in. John is saying that if you want
an even more gracious demonstration of God’s covenant love and faithfulness, it
is found in Jesus Christ. Jesus’ ministry is superior to that of Moses, just as
He is superior to Jacob and Abraham. Verse 17 is the first mention of Jesus in
the Gospel, culminating a string of references to the Word – both preexistent
and incarnate – and the light. At the conclusion of his prologue to the Gospel,
John states emphatically, No one has
ever seen God. Verse 1 said that the
Word was with God, and the Word was God. Here in verse 18 it is similarly
said that the only Son was God and that He was with God in the closest way
possible: at the Father’s side. This
relationship, in turn, is presented as the all-important reason why Jesus, the
enfleshed Word, was able to overcome the vast gulf that had existed between God
and humankind up to that point – despite the law. Although the law is God’s
gracious revelation, it is not adequate as a vehicle of the true, ultimate grace
that came only through Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, God had stated
clearly that no one could see His face and live [Ex. 33:20]. The reason for
humankind’s inability to see God is two-fold: first, God is spirit; second,
humankind fell into sin and was expelled from God’s presence. Jesus surmounted
both obstacles: He, Himself God, became a human being, so that others could see
God in Him; and, being sinless, He died for people, so that their sinfulness no
longer keeps them from entering into fellowship with God. The phrase at the Father’s side refers to the
unmatched intimacy of Jesus’ relationship with the Father, which enabled Him to
reveal the Father in an unprecedented way. Made
him known means “to give a full account” in the sense of “telling the whole
story.” As he concludes his introduction, John therefore makes the important
point that the entire Gospel to follow should be read as an account of Jesus
“telling the whole story” of God the Father.
Questions for
Discussion:
1. What three things does
verse 1 teach about the divinity of Jesus Christ? What do verses 3 and 4 add?
What does John mean by writing that the Word is life and light?
2. Why does John call Jesus the
Word?
3. What does John mean by writing
that Jesus is full of grace and truth [1:14,16]?
4. What does it mean to receive
Jesus? According to 1:13, what must first happen before anyone can receive Jesus?
References:
The Gospel
According to John, D. A.
Carson, Eerdmans.
John, Andreas Kostenberger, ECNT, Baker.
John, Volume 1, James Boice, Baker.