sermonsonjohn

John 1:1,2

When a scholar of the calibre of Don Carson gives advice to preachers, he is worth listening to very carefully. In his commentary on the Gospel of John, he suggests tackling the prologue in one sermon because the themes here recur time and again in John's gospel. I must confess that I'm going to go against that advice but only for this reason: in this brief series, we're only intending to look at the prologue and not the whole book.

But we need to take notice of the point he makes, that what is said here is amply illustrated in the life of Jesus. And I trust that what we learn together from these verses will help us in our own reading of the whole gospel.

1. What's in a Word?
The first thing to ask about what John writes here is just what does he mean by 'the Word'? Clearly he's going to tell us many things but where does he get 'the Word' from?

This is a question that has been debated by scholars for a long time. The term was current in the Greek world of John's day, being used by philosophers of various persuasions and so some have suggested that that is the place to look to see what he means by 'the Word'. That is something john would have known and he wouldn't have ignored the fact.

But there is a better answer that is much nearer to hand and that fits in with John's own background and purpose in writing this gospel. The term comes from the OT and it used there in 3 very significant ways.

It speaks of the Lord who

- creates - Gen 1:3ff; Ps 33:6;

- reveals - Jer 1:4;

- saves/judges - Ps 107:20; Is 55:11;

It is this Word that John is writing about here, the personal, powerful self-expression of the one true God in creating, revealing and saving/judging. His Word is at the heart of all he does.

2. The Word, eternity and God
So what does John tell us about this Word? In vv.1,2 he highlights 3 things about the Word that lead into each other.

i) The Word existed before all created things.

'In the beginning was the Word'. John takes us back to the very beginning of all things, deliberately echoing Gen 1:1, and says that when all things were made, the Word was already there. Later he is going to expand on the Word's relationship to creation but notice for now that the Word was. He is excluded from the category of things that were created.

Now, that raises a question that John is going to answer for us. If the Word was there at the very beginning, already existing, what was his relationship to God?

ii) 'And the Word was with God'

The word John uses here, 'with' is nearly always used of one person with another, often speaking of an intimate relationship. So he is saying that the Word is a person and, as a person, was in relationship with God before all things began.

He is also clearly saying that this person - the Word - was distinct from God. You can't be with someone and at the same time be that someone! They are in close relationship yet distinct from each other.

But that surely raises another question: if this Word existed before all things and was in a close relationship with God, what is his status? What sort of being is he? That leads us on to John's next statement.

iii) 'And the Word was God'

The startling truth that John opens up for us is that the Word is God! Now, we need to look at this closely and think carefully about it.

Let's deal first with an objection some people raise against what we've just said - the Jehovah's Witnesses for instance. They say that because in the Greek the word for 'the' is not there, what John is saying is that Jesus is 'a god' but not 'the God'. How do we answer that?

Without wanting to get too complex, we answer it this way and say two things. Firstly, you don't need the word 'the' to mean a particular thing or person. There are many, many examples in the Bible and other Greek writings to show that. And to do what John does here has the effect of emphasising the word God - this is what the Word is; he is God!

Secondly, and very importantly for what John is saying here, if he had used the word 'the', he would be saying that no divine being existed except the Word, which would have been contradicting what he had just said about the Word and god together.

He is bringing before us something of tremendous importance but not easy to grasp: The Word is God, truly and fully. What God was, the Word was too. He shares all the attributes, all the characteristics, of God-ness. But God is not the Word only. There is more than one person in the Godhead (there are 3).

But distinction does not mean different in essence, nor does it mean dissonant in terms of their desires and agendas. There is one God who is at one in his purposes, yet he exists in 3 persons.

As you read through John's gospel, look out for these points to be illustrated in Jesus' life. Before Abraham was, Jesus says 'I am'. How often he says that he and the Father share the closest of relationships and are one - not in the sense of being identical, but the same God and completely united in purpose.

3. What is all means for us
How should all this truth impact on us as we begin our studies in this passage?

i) It humbles us - we're in the presence of a great and mysterious being, the God who is before all things, who creates, reveals and saves. Before him, we are as nothing.

ii) It should lead us to worship and serve the Lord Jesus - and all the more as we go through these verses and see just what he has done. But we need to stop and just appreciate him for who he is, the eternal God, worthy of all we can bring and so much more besides.

iii) It is something to proclaim - Jesus is unique, there is no-one like him and what the Bible says of him is utterly important. As John writes about Jesus, the most appropriate way he can find to describe him is at the one true God who creates, reveals and saves. That is why Jesus is so important to us and to this world. And that's why he must be proclaimed.

People in John's world spoke of 'the Word' but their ideas were far from the truth. Today people speak of God and of Jesus, but they are far from the truth. Our commission is to tell them who God really is as we tell them the good news of Jesus.

posted by minternational @ 2:30 AM