DIGGING DEEP NO: 1027 – March 19, 2024 JOHN THE REVELATOR

Jesus Is Eternal God – John1:18

John earnestly wants us to know that Jesus is no mere man. With beautiful artistry, John affirms Jesus’s deity before he tells us one thing Jesus said or did on earth. In these opening verses, John did not mention Jesus’s name but referred to Jesus as “the Word.” This term occurs four times in these 18 verses—three times in the first verse and again in verse 14. The word Logos incorporates far more layers of meaning than can be easily captured in a single word. In ancient Greek mythology, Logos indicated the “First Cause”—an intelligent, divine, but unknown power behind the universe. In Judaism, God’s “Word” represents the dynamic power of His will. He speaks and it is done. Psalm 33:6 reads, “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” John fittingly used “the Word” which signified ultimate wisdom to describe the superior glory of God the Son.

“In the Beginning Was the Word” – 1:1a John opens his Gospel with the same majestic words that launch Genesis 1— “In the beginning.” John’s revelation of Jesus does not begin with a manger in Bethlehem but in eternity past. Before the world was created or time began, the Word “was.” This amazingly simple yet utterly weighty phrase relates to Jesus’s eternal pre-existence. God’s Son did not come into being when He came to earth. Like His Father, Jesus has always existed.

“The Word Was with God” – 1:1b The truth John reveals about Jesus continues to expand. He exposes the intimate, eternal relationship between the Son and the Father. “With God” suggests the fellowship of two distinct eternal persons. This amazing phrase gazes into the mystery of the Trinity—the separate yet unified Persons within the Godhead. In His pre-incarnate state, Jesus enjoyed unbroken, intimate communion with His Father. This fact magnifies the wonder that Jesus left the splendors of heaven to come to earth and be made in human likeness.

“The Word Was God” – 1:1c Before the end of his first verse, John pulls out all the stops to indisputably claim that Jesus was fully God. John intended every word of his Gospel to be read considering this life-changing fact. Jesus shares all His Father’s attributes, possessing the same nature or essence. To know Christ as Savior means believing He is fully God. Jesus’s deeds and words are the very deeds and words of God Himself—nothing less. Colossians 1:15 declares, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

Jesus Is Creator God – 1:2-3

Jesus was with God “in the beginning”—a full participant with His Father when all things were created. More than a casual observer, Jesus, the eternal Word, was the agent of creation. With Human likeness: Philippians 2:7. Jesus’s partnership in creation: Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2 John states this truth both positively and negatively in verse 3: “Through him, all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made.” Countless galaxies in the farthest reaches of the universe, the smallest subatomic particles, and the human body all reflect creation’s vast intricacies. Christ’s creative wisdom can be seen all around us. Jesus was involved in creating everything that has been. God’s Son remains so central to creation that even today He sustains all things by His powerful word. Without Him, everything would fall apart. Every electron and every planet maintain their orbits because of Jesus’s sovereign control. He set the earth on its axis, tilted at the right angle and distance from the sun to sustain life. Even our individual lives depend on His sustaining grace.

Jesus Is Life and Light – 1:4-5 Jesus, the Life and Light of all Humanity – 1:4 Humanity’s spiritual and physical life and light flow from Jesus, the eternal Word. These two keywords, life, and light, appear throughout John’s Gospel as well as in the epistle of 1 John and the book of Revelation. God Himself first breathed life into human beings, whom He created in His image. In the Bible, the word “life” refers to not just physical life, but includes moral, intellectual, and eternal life. Light describes the whole realm of reality that is dominated by God and known through Christ Jesus. The concepts of “life” and “light” were linked by Jesus Himself when He promised, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” John 8:12b. God shares the qualities of life and light with those who come to Christ for salvation. Jesus came to offer people abundant life. John uses “light” as a metaphor for regeneration—a new life given by God and lived out in a relationship with Him. Jesus, the Light that darkness cannot extinguish – 1:5 John often teaches truth through contrast. God’s light shines on all humankind and cannot be overcome by sin’s darkness. Adam and Eve’s choice to distrust and disobey God broke humanity’s fellowship and union with Him. The darkness of sin resulted in spiritual and physical death. From that moment on, all people have walked in spiritual darkness, gripped by death and the fear of death. Throughout all time, God’s light “shines” into the darkness—describing the present continuous action of Jesus Christ, the Word. The light of God’s glory shining through Christ overcomes. The light within those who find life in Christ is greater than the darkness around them. When believers shine God’s light into the dark world, they reflect His light, which is set ablaze within them.

The Forerunner of Christ – John 1:6-8

John shifts his focus from the eternal God to a faithful man God used to point to His Son. Because the Gospel writer John does not refer to himself by name, we know that the John to which this verse refers is John the Baptist. God sent John the Baptist to prepare the world for the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. This trustworthy servant had one mission—to testify about the light of Christ so that people would believe in Him. John the Baptist’s ministry was not about himself; he humbly and consistently exalted Jesus. In the same way, your highest calling is to point people to Jesus. John the Baptist remains an important focus throughout the first chapter of John’s Gospel. John speaks of him again in verse 15 and verses 19-36.

The Reception of Christ – John 1:9-13 The True Light Shines – 1:9 The infinite Son of God entered our world in human flesh. “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” This verse presents the amazing truth of Jesus’s incarnation. Jesus became a man to bring the only source of true light into a dark world.

God sent His Son into the world to redeem humanity from their sinful state. Jesus humbled Himself and came to earth as an obedient servant—dying on the cross to save sinners. Because Jesus is fully divine, He could offer the perfect sacrifice God required and bear sin’s penalty. Failure to recognize Jesus as God means forfeiting the greatest gift offered to humanity. There is no true and lasting hope to be found without receiving the gift of salvation Jesus came to provide. The truth about Jesus cannot be avoided forever. One day every tongue will confess who Jesus is—even those who deny or ignore Him now. Life changes forever when you understand who Jesus is and how deeply He loves you. Worship flows when you recognize that Jesus left heaven’s glories, not for faceless humanity—He did this for you. John’s awestruck words about Jesus resonate deeply, not merely as lofty truth, but as a transforming reality rising from eternity past to change your present and future. Your response to Jesus matters.

Christ Rejected – 1:10-11 The Creator Was Unrecognized – 1:10 This verse presents a rather astonishing fact. The Creator entered the world He made, and the people He created did not recognize Him! Almost 80 times in his Gospel, John uses the term “world” to indicate the sphere of human life in which people choose to live apart from God. Those who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ prove they love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Whether through conscious rebellion or unconscious repression of truth, ignoring or rejecting Jesus brings serious consequences. Jesus was Rejected by His Own – 1:11 Jesus came unto His “own” who did not receive Him. In one sense, everything Jesus encountered on earth was truly His “own.” The dust and grass through which He walked and the people to whom He talked were all His creations. However, more specifically, the people of Israel failed to accept Jesus. The nation God entrusted with His revelation of truth failed to receive the promised Messiah they awaited. Israel’s rejection represents the human majority in every age who choose to live in alienation from their Maker. God created people with the unique capacity to know and worship Him. As a plant turns to sunlight, we are designed to turn to God. To reject God’s light and choose darkness signifies the greatest tragedy imaginable.

Christ Received – 1:12-13 By God’s grace and to His glory, not everyone rejected Christ. The remainder of John’s prologue describes the blessings and benefits of turning to Christ. Faith in Christ never rises from a man-made resolution or an emotional impulse. John uses two verbs to describe a personal commitment to God through true faith in Christ.

Receiving Christ and Believing in Him – 1:12 True believers “receive” Christ—they come to Jesus on His terms, not their own. Christ’s saving work need not be validated by human agreement or acceptance. Instead, true believers receive and surrender themselves to the undeniable, light-infusing, and life-transforming truth of all Christ is and what He has declared. This means to receive Christ into your heart as Lord, King, and Savior from sins. To “believe” in Christ represents a deliberate commitment to everything Jesus claims as absolutely and eternally true. An individual agrees with this truth and commits to live based on this belief. Saving faith in Christ includes personal appropriation of His atoning sacrifice and resurrection life. A believer grows to understand all Jesus is and His rightful claim on their life by walking with Him and yielding to His truth

Becoming Children of God – 1:13 John wants us to recognize that our salvation is not a human work. To be adopted as God’s child represents God’s supernatural, life-giving work on behalf of the believer. All who receive Christ are reborn by God to be His children. God creates eternal life within a person who receives Christ by faith. John employs three negative phrases to help us understand the miracle of life in Christ. God’s children are not born of “natural descent”—salvation is not inherited through a physical family. No one becomes a believer through a “human decision”—mere intellectual or emotional determination. Neither does a “husband’s will” bring salvation—a decision to receive Christ cannot be made for someone else. New birth brings life from God because He chooses to give it and sends His Son, Jesus, to make it possible. Have you experienced this miracle?

The Incarnation of Christ – John 1:14-18 The Word Became Flesh – 1:14 This verse represents a pivotal statement of majestic beauty as John returns to the language that opened his prologue. A glorious expression captures the mysterious union of eternal God with humanity: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. There is much to amaze us within this glorious truth. The infinite, eternal God made Himself subject to time and space. The invisible God became visible on earth. Jesus’s incarnation did not limit or negate His deity. In the ultimate expression of sacrificial love, Jesus took on flesh to be able to die. Equipped to understand our struggles, Jesus provided an example of reverent and obedient submission to His Father. John himself witnessed God’s very glory in the man Jesus Christ, especially at the transfiguration. Jesus uniquely revealed and expressed His Father’s glory—the fullness of His divine nature of grace and truth. The Testimony of John the Baptist – 1:15 Jesus’s forerunner proclaimed Jesus’s infinite superiority. He declared that Jesus came after him in time but surpassed him in every way because “he was before me.” With this statement, John the Baptist affirmed Jesus’s preexistence and deity.

The Glory of Christ – 1:16-18 The final three verses of John’s prologue continue to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. We hear John’s humble personal testimony woven unobtrusively into these words as his primary focus remains on Jesus. John wrote, “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.” The humble Gospel writer personally experienced relentless waves of God’s inexhaustible grace. To the believer, God’s steadfast provision of grace operates like the life-sustaining supply of oxygen inhaled into our lungs with each breath. God continues to pour out undeserved blessings onto believers from His infinite storehouse of eternal riches. God gave the Law for human life through Moses, but sinful humans could not keep God’s righteous standard. Much-needed grace and truth came through Christ Jesus. Christ fulfilled the truth to which all Old Testament symbolism and ceremonies pointed. John concludes his prologue with the glorious reminder that God reveals Himself through His Son. Jesus came to make His Father known. Jesus left heaven’s glories to walk on earth and make a way for us to know God. Jesus Himself said in John 14:9, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” Jesus Christ is God—the only source of eternal life and light. John wants us to know Jesus and believe in Him.