After Darkness … Light!

Good morning, dear church family. Please stand for the reading of God's Word.

Our sermon text today is John chapter 1, verses 1 through 14.

John 1:1–14

We'll be preaching through the gospel of John, verse by verse.

John 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John.

He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through Him.

He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him.

Yet the world did not know Him.

He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.

But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name,

He gave the right to become children of God,

who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

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.

This is the Word of God.

Thanks be to God.

Let's pray.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.

We confess that You are eternal, infinite, and unchangeable

in Your power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice, and truth.

Nothing happens except through You and by Your will.

And You have willed to reveal Yourself to us, Your creation,

that we could worship You and enjoy You forever.

We thank You, Lord, that You continue to speak even today through Your Word,

by the power of Your Holy Spirit,

the same power which raised Jesus Christ from the dead

and inaugurated the new creation.

Lord, we long for Your return.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Please speak to us, call us to You, draw us, prepare us to heaven.

We ask, Lord, that with every breath of this sermon

and with every meditation of each heart,

that You will be pleased,

that You will be glorified, Father,

in the name of Jesus and by the help of the Holy Spirit we ask.

Amen.

The title for today's sermon is,

After Darkness, Light.

And that was the battle cry, the motto of the Reformation.

After Darkness, Light.

Darkness means death.

In 2012, 57 cult members believed a lie.

In a Russian bunker, they were taken underground where they lived,

and children were born in that bunker,

who as they grew year after year, never were exposed to sunlight.

And the scientists who helped care for them,

they made several observations.

And we can learn from this how darkness means death.

Sunlight deprivation leads to chronic diabetes,

tuberculosis, no vitamin D,

which can create undeveloped bones, teeth, nails,

and it can ultimately lead to throat spasms and suffocation.

Darkness means death.

We read in verses 4 and 5 that life is light.

Look with me at verses 4 and 5.

In Him, Jesus Christ was life.

And the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

That's what I want to talk with you about today.

If you reject Christ, you are dead in darkness.

Believe in Him and live.

Look at verse 14.

This Word, this God, the Son,

who created the world,

this 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.

How can this be?

The Dutch theologian Herman Boving said,

it is entirely incomprehensible to us,

how God can reveal Himself.

But mystery does not mean contradiction.

In His kindness,

our Creator makes Himself known to you,

the created being.

See, in Christ,

we have eternity brought into time,

immensity into space,

infinity in the finite,

immutability in change,

being in becoming,

the all, as it were,

in that which is nothing.

This mystery, says Boving,

cannot be comprehended.

It can only be gratefully acknowledged.

If that's true,

that life is light,

and darkness is death,

and if it's true,

that if you reject Christ,

you are dead in darkness,

but if you believe in Him,

you live,

where are you today?

And this is how I've been praying

for each one of you

in preparation for this sermon.

Some of you,

you decide if this is you.

You are still in darkness,

and you battle against the light of God.

My prayer for you is that the Word of Jesus

will convict you of sin

in your life and in your heart

before the Holy God.

There are others of you

you are in darkness,

but you,

for a reason you can't explain,

you don't find yourself battling

the light of the gospel any longer.

My prayer for you has been

that the great love of Christ

for sinners such as you and me

will be made real in your life

once and for all,

that you'll no longer remain in darkness,

that you'll believe and have life in Christ.

There's a third category.

It's those of you who are

in the light of Christ.

But you are not battling

the darkness of sin in your own heart.

You've become worldly.

My prayer for you is that

the darkness of sin in your heart,

yes, it's still there,

will be overcome

by the love and the light of Christ

so that you will battle

darkness and sin in your life.

And my final group,

it's those of you

who are in the light

and by God's grace,

every day you do battle

the darkness of your own thoughts

in your heart.

My prayer is simply

that with this sermon,

your faith will be strengthened

and you will be convinced

once again

that the light of Christ

overcomes

all the darkness,

the hard things

and trials

that you endure

in this life

as you continue

to battle sin

and walk

in the light of Christ.

Well, before we have

the sermon,

I want to introduce

the book.

Who wrote it?

What else did he write?

What is his writing style?

And what is the purpose

of the Gospel of John?

So first,

who wrote it?

Well, five times

in the Gospel

we're given this phrase,

the disciple whom Jesus loved.

We can narrow it down

to being one of the three disciples

among the twelve

who were at the Lord's Supper

and the three then

who accompanied Jesus

to the garden,

which were Peter

and the two brothers,

the sons of Zebedee,

James and John.

Could it be James?

We can rule out James

because of what we read

in Acts 12,

Acts 12:1

verses 1, 2, and 3,

which is this.

King Herod,

this is early on,

still King Herod,

as the Christian movement grows,

he laid violent hands

on some who belonged

to the church.

He killed James,

brother of John,

with the sword.

When he saw

that it pleased the Jews,

he proceeded to arrest

Peter also.

So having eliminated Peter

as being a separate man

from these two sons of Zebedee

and knowing that James

was killed early on,

we deduce that the disciple

whom Jesus loved

was the younger son

of Zebedee, John.

What else did John write?

He wrote,

in addition to this gospel,

three epistles,

1, 2, and 3 John

in the magnificent

apocalyptic book

of Revelation.

This gospel of John

was most likely written

toward the very end

of his life,

just like the book

of Revelation,

perhaps also

from the island

of Patmos.

So many of the doctrines

that the church

had been wrestling with,

he is speaking to

and clarifying

as the final

living apostle.

His style is bold

and poetic.

Take, for instance,

what he writes

in Revelation 22,

Revelation 22:1

verses 1 and 2.

Listen for the theme

of death,

life,

and new creation.

Remember,

this is the same author.

John wrote,

See that bold,

poetic style?

He was also direct

and simple,

but not simplistic.

In fact,

he's very deep,

but he throws down

sharp contrasts

in what he teaches.

Take, for instance,

1 John 5, 16,

the same author

John wrote,

We know that we have

passed out of death

into life.

There's our theme again.

How?

Because we love

the brothers.

Whoever does not love

abides in death.

And John is also

perhaps the most

Trinitarian

of all

New Testament authors.

He gives us

jaw-dropping insights

into the Godhead,

Father,

Son,

and Holy Spirit,

our triune God.

His gospel

has been called

like an eagle

because it takes us

to the soaring heights

of heaven itself,

the fellowship

among Father,

Son,

and Spirit.

Steve Lawson said

that the gospel of John

is the theological

Mount Everest,

the highest,

most soaring peak.

In the Old Testament,

you're approaching

on the foothills

and then you get

into the pinery

and the snowy tops

before you know

you're in the highest

realms of heaven itself

in John's book.

Why did he write this book?

The purpose

of the gospel of John,

we get this very clearly

in John chapter 20.

John 20 · chapter mention

Please turn there.

I want to point out

a phrase to you

which is,

you believe.

That phrase,

you believe,

or to believe,

or that you may believe,

it's used 96 times

in the whole New Testament.

In the other gospels,

Matthew, Mark, and Luke,

it's used only between

three and six times.

The next runner-up

in the whole New Testament

is the book of Acts

which uses that phrase

that you may believe

nine times.

But here in John,

it is used 46 times.

And what is his purpose?

We read in John chapter 20,

John 20:31

verse 31,

These are written

that you may believe

that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God,

and that by believing

you may have life

in his name.

We're reinforced

this purpose

with John chapter 5,

John 5:24

verse 24.

Jesus himself says,

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

whoever hears my word

and believes him

who sent me

has eternal life.

He does not come

into judgment,

but has passed

from death to life.

And in John 6,

John 6:47

verse 47,

Jesus says again,

Truly, truly,

I say to you,

whoever believes in me

has eternal life.

In John 8, 24,

Jesus says,

I told you

that you would die

in your sins,

for unless you believe

that I am he,

you will die

in your sins.

Well, what can we conclude

from this introduction

to the Gospel of John?

It's the same message

that we read

in the prologue,

that if you don't believe

in Jesus Christ,

you remain a slave

to sin.

Satan,

death,

and darkness.

But like we read

in verse 14,

Jesus Christ,

who is full of grace

and truth,

came to save you

by his glorious light

to give you life

in him.

So my proposition

for you this morning

is from verses 4 and 5.

Look there again.

John chapter 1,

John 1:4

verses 4 and 5.

We read,

So what does John mean

by the darkness?

Well,

Andreas Kostenberger,

New Testament scholar,

says,

Darkness,

in John's Gospel,

is the world

alienated from God,

spiritually ignorant

and blind,

fallen,

sinful,

dominated by Satan.

Now look at verse 1,

John 1,

1.

In the beginning,

now if you grew up

in a Judeo-Christian

upbringing,

a family,

you would have been

very familiar

with those first three words,

in the beginning.

And the next word

that would automatically

pop in your mind,

everybody say it,

in the beginning,

God.

But here the author

wants you to think

in the same way

and instead of

saying the very

familiar term,

Yahweh,

he says instead,

In the beginning

was the Word,

and the Word

was with God,

and the Word

was God.

So what that means

is that the Son

is God,

and the Son

was with God,

and the Son

is God's Word.

So the author

of John,

he wants you to know

that Jesus,

the Son of God,

who took on flesh,

he was with God

in the beginning,

and through him

everything was created.

And I want you

to see the darkness,

the reference

to the beginning

and the thought

of darkness,

I want you to see

that in Genesis

Genesis 1:2

chapter 1,

verse 2.

Please turn there

in your Bible.

Genesis chapter 1,

Genesis 1:2

verse 2.

In the beginning,

God created

the heavens and the earth.

Now look at verse 2.

The earth

was without form

and void,

and darkness

was over

the face of the deep.

Well, let's take

each phrase.

The earth

was without form,

you can picture chaos,

and void,

you can picture

emptiness.

Somehow,

this chaotic

emptiness

was also

like a black hole.

Darkness

was over

the face of it.

It's like a black hole

that's going to suck you in

and consume you

in the midst of chaos

and death

and destruction.

And even though

nothing existed,

it was like

the face of the deep.

For an Israelite

who had been a slave

in Egypt their whole life,

entering now

the wilderness

promised land,

when they hear

the deep,

they would be picturing

the Mediterranean Sea,

perhaps.

They'd be picturing

this scary ocean

that they would never

sail on,

that at nighttime,

it's chaotic,

and it's like

a darkness

that could consume you

and destroy you.

And that's how

God describes

the world

before

the Word of God

speaks it all

into being.

See,

the darkness of the world

is so black,

that's the best comparison

for what Christ

came to do

in this earth.

God's revelation

needed to bring

order,

a new creation

into the darkness

of man's sin

in this world.

Now look at

verses 6, 7, and 8.

See,

the world was so dark

that God had to,

he had to shine

the light on the sun.

And that's what

John the Baptist

came to do,

and we're going to

talk more about him

next week.

But look at verse 6.

There was a man

sent from God

whose name was John,

John the Baptizer.

He came as a witness

to bear witness

to the light

that all might believe

through him.

He was not the light

but came to bear witness

about the light.

the true light

which gives light

to everyone

was coming

into the world.

We read in verse 10,

although God

was revealing himself

ultimately through Jesus,

fulfilling all

that the prophets

had prepared,

in verse 10

we read that

the world

did not know him.

And now look at verse 11.

Jesus came to his own

and his own people

did not receive him.

the light

of God

who gives life

rejected

by the very ones

God sent him

to preach to.

Jesus says

in John chapter 3

John 3:19

verse 19

that the people

loved the darkness

rather than the light

because their works

were evil.

See how it was

their love

for darkness

and evil

that kept them blind

to the light

of Jesus.

John 12

35

Jesus said

if you don't

walk in Christ

then the darkness

will overtake you.

The one who walks

in darkness

does not know

where he is going

because the darkness

is the opposite

of the light of God.

First John 1

5 through 6

we're told that

God is light

and in him

is no darkness

at all.

So why

did the people

reject him?

Again,

John 3

19

the people

loved

the darkness

rather than

the light.

So darkness

is not only

the absence

of God's light

as D.A. Carson

says

the darkness

in this prologue

of John

it is an

aggressive

intentional

unrepented

and enslaving

lust

for evil.

That's what

darkness is.

See because of sin

all people

became

like J.R. Tolkien

and the Lord

of the Rings

like his

orcs

and trolls.

These are ugly

creatures that

fear the sunlight

they shun it

they can't be near it

and under

Morgoth's

power of darkness

for them

the night time

became a time

of peril

unseen

of fear

without form

an uneasy

vigil

or a haunted

dream

leading through

despair

to the shadow

of death.

that's what

it's like

to be in

the darkness

of sin

it's to be

an orc

or a troll

if you reject

Jesus

as your king

you remain

infected

by sin

you remain

a slave

to Satan

you are trapped

in dreadful

darkness

a spiritually

dead soul

with eternity

only one

faint

heartbeat away

a shallow

breath

away

or a tragic

car accident

away from

everlasting

judgment

of your soul

before

the holy

God

do you realize

that this is

the state

of your soul

if you are not

walking in the

light of Christ

if you don't

see your own

sin before God

you are blind

you cannot

see

the glory

of Christ

you need

surgery

how

Psalm 90

Psalms 90:8

verse 8

we're told

God's word

sets your sin

before him

your secret sins

in the light

of his presence

that's how God

cuts you

to the heart

that's how he

performs his

surgery

to heal you

from blindness

to see his

glory

ask God

to show you

your sin

ask him

to allow

you to see

the glory

of God

and you

will feel

like Charles

Wesley wrote

long my

imprisoned

spirit

lay

fast bound

in sin

and nature's

night

but thine

eye diffused

a quickening

ray

I woke

the dungeon

flamed

with light

my chains

fell off

my heart

was free

I rose

went forth

and followed

thee

when God

performs a

heart surgery

on you

he changes

you

you become

like that

young man

in the

colonial period

who had

some smooth

heavy stones

in his pocket

walked out

to the field

he was mocking

George

Whitfield

an evangelist

preaching the gospel

and he was ready

to throw these

stones and see

if he could

smash

break the head

of that preacher

he let him

get through his

prayer

and took the

first stone

out

Whitfield

read from

God's word

and the Holy

Spirit cut

this young

man to the

heart

he confessed

later

I came to

crush his

head

but instead

the word

of God

broke my

heart

pray that

God will

do that

to you

what is

the light

that overcomes

such

darkness

that's our

promise

in verse

five

do you

see that

the light

of Christ

shines in

the darkness

and the

darkness

has not

overcome

it

what we

read in

John

we read

verse one

how does

the light

of God

do this

work

look at

verse two

he was

in the

beginning

with God

and all

things

were made

through him

this is

referring to

the word

of God

without him

was not

anything

made

that was

made

you need

to be

thinking

now

of

creation

that

darkness

of

chaos

and

emptiness

and

death

the word

of God

speaks

six times

God said

God said

when God

spoke

when God's

word went

forth

it was

effective

to create

to bring

physical

new life

just as

God's

word

going

forth

today

is

effective

to bring

spiritual

new

creation

in

Psalm

33

verse six

we're

told

by the

word

of the

Lord

the

heavens

were

made

and by

the

breath

of his

mouth

all

their

host

God

breathed

through

Jesus

Christ

and the

stars

took

their

places

in the

sky

God's

word

is also

personal

it's

personal

near

associated

with

God's

essence

Isaiah

55

10

and 11

say

my

word

that

goes

out

from

my

mouth

it

shall

not

return

to

me

empty

it

shall

accomplish

that

which

I

purpose

and

shall

succeed

in

the

thing

for

which

I

sent

it

says

the

father

the

son

goes

forth

as

the

word

of

God

and

the

son

does

not

fail

in

his

mission

he

accomplishes

what

the

father

gave

him

to

do

do

you

hear

the

word

of

God

and

John

connects

the

word

of

God

to

the

actual

person

of

Jesus

Christ

the

word

was

God

look at

verse 14

the

word

became

flesh

and

dwelt

among us

and we

have seen

his glory

thanks be

to God

the

word

was

with

God

and

the

word

was

God

two

distinct

persons

one

God

Jesus

is

God

Jesus

was

with

God

the

Nicene

Creed

says

that

the

son

is

of

the

same

substance

of

the

father

God

of

God

light

of

light

true

God

of

true

God

begotten

not

made

of

one

substance

with

the

father

God

in

man

God

take

on

flesh

the

same

person

should

have

both

the

glory

and

a

grief

Stephen

Charnock

said

what a

wonder

that

two

natures

divine

and

human

infinitely

distant

should

be more

intimately

united

than

anything

in the

world

in the

person

of

Jesus

an

infinite

joy

in the

deity

and

an

inexpressible

sorrow

in the

humanity

that

in

God

upon

a

throne

should

be

an

infant

in

a

cradle

the

thundering

creator

be a

weeping

baby

and a

suffering

man

the

incarnation

astonishes

men

men

men

upon

earth

and

angels

in

heaven

look at

verse

9

this

is the

true

light

Jesus

who

gives

light

to

everyone

coming

into

the

world

he

was

in

the

world

and

the

world

was

made

through

him

he

came

to

his

own

and

his

own

did

not

receive

him

the

life

giving

word

of

God

must

break

into

darkness

and

who

is it

that

God

saves

look at

verse

12

to

all

who

did

receive

him

who

believed

in

his

name

he

gave

the

right

to

become

children

of

God

well

then

who

is it

that

can

believe

in

him

who

isn't

still

dead

in

sin

look

at

verse

13

we're

told

it's

those

who

were

born

not

of

blood

nor

of

the

will

of

the

flesh

nor

of

the

will

of

man

you

cannot

will

your

way

into

the

kingdom

of

God

you

must

be

look

at

verse

13

the

last

words

you

must

be

born

of

God

you

cannot

make

yourself

born

again

because

your

flesh

cannot

believe

in

God

on

its

own

so

you

see

how

God

must

get

all

the

glory

when

a

sinner

is

saved

look

at

verse

14

one

more

time

the

word

became

flesh

and

dwelt

that

word

is

tabernacled

set

up

a

tent

so

the

purpose

of

the

tabernacle

the

tent

was

to

shield

sinners

from

the

glory

of

God

so

they

don't

get

consumed

and

killed

by

it

and

now

look

what

John

says

God

dwelt

among

us

and

we

have

seen

his

glory

because

he

was

tabernacled

in

the

flesh

of

a

man

Jesus

it's

the

glory

as

of

the

only

son

from

the

father

full

of

grace

and

truth

so

when

Jesus

became

flesh

and

brought

the

glory

and

truth

of

heaven

to

earth

and

his

fleshly

body

he

made

it

possible

for

a

sinner

on

earth

to

be

united

to

God

himself

so

what

does

this

mean

for

you

today

do

you

see

the

glory

of

Jesus

as

of

the

only

son

from

the

father

do

you

see

Jesus

full

of

grace

and

truth

there's

no

life

apart

from

his

light

Andreas

Kastenberger

again

said

that

life

and

light

attest

to

the

blessing

resulting

from

Jesus

coming

into

the

dark

world

to

bring

new

eternal

life

through

his

death

for

who

for

you

who

believe

in

him

he

saves

you

from

death

to

life

from

darkness

to

light

from

this

present

evil

age

into

his

new

creation

he

saves

you

from

Satan's

dungeon

into

the

kingdom

of

God

Jesus

satisfies

all

the

psalmist

longings

everything

the

psalms

long

for

is

fulfilled

in

Christ

and

he

makes

possible

all

highest

aspirations

every

expectation

that was

placed

on the

shoulders

of

the

coming

son

of

David

Jesus

accomplishes

and he

paves the

way for

the

fulfillment

of

that

abundant

eternal

life

in

the

presence

of

the

holy

creator

himself

for

all

eternity

that

we

read

in

all

of

the

apocalyptic

literature

and

why

does

it

matter

for

you

that

God

took

on

flesh

because

the

eternal

son

in

his

resurrection

body

is

your

only

hope

for

eternity

in

1st

John

John 3:2

chapter

3

verse

2

we're

told

we

shall

be

like

him

body

and

soul

mark

jones

explains

it

this

way

we

yearn

for

the

day

when

our

bodies

and

souls

both

will

be

transformed

into

the

likeness

of

christ

glorious

body

the

incarnation

of

the

son

explains

why

heaven

will

be

forever

why

is

that

because

we

are

united

to

christ

for

heaven

to

end

one

of

two

things

would

have

to

happen

right

this is

what

mark

jones

writes

number

one

jesus

would

have

to

pass

out

of

existence

or

god

would

have

to

sin

see

you're

united

to

christ

like

a

marriage

and

god

would

never

dissolve

your

marriage

to

his

son

it

pleases

the

father

that

you

the

church

belong

to

christ

and

jesus

because

he

is

god

will

never

pass

out

of

existence

both

of

those

possibilities

are

are

non-existent

the

union

between

christ

and

his

bride

the

true

church

would

have

to

be

dissolved

but

neither

god

nor

our

loving

savior

will

ever

allow

this

to

happen

christ

holds

his

church

forever

that's

our

hope

of

heaven

so

does

isaiah

9

to

describe

you

are

you

one

who

once

walked

in

darkness

but

now

have

seen

this