Four Facts About Jesus

I would like you to turn this morning in your Bible, if you would, to John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

! We are going to study John chapter 1 verse 1.

John 1:1

And as we begin this morning, I'm going to ask that you join me in prayer

and that through the remainder of our time together that you continue in prayer.

That means multitasking.

You pray, I will preach, and we will rely upon the Spirit of God to work in us

that we might rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ

and have delight in the one that someday we are going to see face to face.

Let us pray.

Precious Father, this morning we who are your children,

blessed beyond our full comprehension with salvation, with the indwelling Spirit,

with the companions of people that love the Lord Jesus Christ,

and with the written Word of God, which is the revelation that you have given to us of your Son,

we who are richly blessed as we are come again to ask that your Spirit would work in us,

that the Lord Jesus might be exalted,

and that we would grow in our affection for Him and our likeness to Him.

And we ask this in your precious name.

Amen.

I want you to listen as I read John chapter 1, verse 1,

John 1:1

and just have it framed in your mind, if you would, with me.

It says,

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

As we look at that opening statement,

I want you to understand that the Apostle is doing what is an important feature in good teaching.

He begins by telling you what he's going to say.

And then you can expect that in the remainder of the book,

for pretty much the entire book,

he is going to lay out various pieces of information that bear in on what we are going to see and understand in John chapter 1, verse 1.

John 1:1

And as you might suppose,

at the close of the book of John,

he comes back around,

and in John chapter 20, verse 30 and 31,

John 20:30

he says,

Listen, there's a lot I could tell you about,

about the ministry and the testimony of Christ,

but the things that I've chosen,

they are the things that are going to focus in,

so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,

and believing in Him,

you may have life.

And as we look at this passage this morning,

one of the things that I want you to understand at the very outset,

is that as we take up the book of John,

one of the things that I always want to have fixed in our minds,

and be thinking about,

is the fact that where we are today is not the end of the story.

I want you to have that clear in your mind.

The fact of the matter is,

is that every single one of us here this morning,

will someday stand before God,

and give an account for our life,

and those of us who have come by faith,

to know the Lord Jesus Christ,

as our personal Savior,

will enjoy eternity forever with Him,

and we are going to delight in His presence,

and the blessing of being there with Him.

For those of you who are here today,

and do not know the Lord Jesus Christ,

I have no doubt that there will be moments in eternity,

where you will perhaps think back,

and remember,

I remember hearing the gospel,

I remember hearing about the Lord Jesus Christ,

and oh,

the wretchedness of my heart,

that hearing the sweetness of who Jesus is,

I turned away,

and rebelled,

and walked out into the darkness,

and ultimately into eternity of suffering and hardship.

I want you to understand,

as we take up this book this morning,

in John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

we are looking at a very,

very central statement,

about who the Lord Jesus Christ is.

And as we consider what it says here in this passage,

I want you to recognize that we who know Christ

are dependent this morning on the Spirit of God

helping us to comprehend,

and then apply the sweet truth that we find here.

I want to draw attention in this one verse

to four truths that the Spirit of God tells us about Christ.

Let's begin by recognizing that John the Apostle

says something about Jesus repetitiously in verse 1

that we're going to use as a starting point.

It says,

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

And so I want you to recognize this morning,

as you take this passage in hand,

that Jesus is the Word.

When it says,

In the beginning was the Word,

John is the only one of the apostles

and the writers of the Gospels

that refers to Christ by this title.

And as the title repeats itself

over and over again in the first verse,

it is fitting for us to ask the question,

So what is John saying?

What's the point

that he actually wants us to pick up on

and have stuck in my mind?

Allow me to go back just for a moment

to something I said last week.

And it was this,

that as a person reads through John,

one of the repeated questions that should be asked

is,

Okay, who is Jesus,

and who is he to me?

And as we have this little statement

that John makes again and again,

Jesus is the Word,

Jesus is the Word,

the question then is,

Okay, what does this tell us about Christ?

Now, we have a tendency sometimes

just to think that words are just blah, blah, blah.

In fact, you may have grown up as a child

and your mother or father

wanted to kind of soften

some of the criticisms of life

and so they taught you that little ditty.

Sticks and stones may break my bones,

but words will never hurt me.

And that, is that true?

Not at all.

Not at all.

Words have far greater impact

than we may want to admit on the surface,

but the truth of the matter is,

words are very, very significant.

And I want you to understand

that words really,

and this is something

that I want you to recognize

and identify and accept.

Words give expression

to the inner thought

that someone else is having.

I want you to turn just for a moment.

You're there in John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

but I want you to turn,

if you will,

over to 1 Corinthians chapter 2.

1 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

1 Corinthians chapter 2.

1 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

Give me just a second

to get there myself.

1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 11 says,

1 Corinthians 2:11

For who knows a person's thoughts

except the spirit of that person

which is in him?

I don't know what you're thinking.

I may on occasion say,

I know what you're thinking,

and I may be able,

on the basis of recurring experience,

say, I think I've got a reasonable guess

at what you're thinking,

but the truth of the matter is,

I don't know what you're thinking

unless you, what?

Open your mouth

and out come indications

of what's really going on in your mind.

And that's the reason

that I think for one thing,

we who are believers,

listen to me carefully,

need to be more careful

about what we say with our lips.

Isn't that right?

Because the things we say

should reflect favorably

on the Lord Jesus Christ

in every instance

when we open our mouth.

Words tell other people

what is inside.

And words tell us

things about the speaker.

Furthermore,

going back to John chapter 1,

John 1 · chapter mention

I want you to recognize

that in the case of God,

His words don't just tell us

about His character,

and that is true.

His words do tell us

about His character,

but His words are also powerful

to accomplish things.

You and I,

we can't do anything

other than put out

a little bit of hot air

and maybe influence

other people's thinking,

whatever,

but our words don't have

the same kind of power

that God's words have,

do they?

My word,

when I say,

brakes be fixed,

the car looks at me

and says,

yeah,

what's going on?

No,

I can't change anything

by virtue of my mere words

in a physical sense,

but God,

when He says something,

it actually takes place.

We understand

that the worlds were created,

the world was created

by God,

what?

Merely speaking it

into being.

And not only

did He speak it

into being,

but He did so

out of nothing.

Not just,

well,

I'm going to take

a little bit of this

and a little bit of that

and I'm going to make

something out of it.

God,

by virtue of His word,

created all

that we see around us

and we understand

that God's word

is powerful,

it is active,

it accomplishes

what He intends

to accomplish

and we recognize

also that by His word

the universe

is sustained.

By His word,

sinners are converted.

By His word,

those who were rebels

and enemies of God

become the children

of God

and by His word,

we receive

eternal life

and the blessings

that are full

for us who are

His children.

So when John

calls Jesus

the word of God

or the word,

he is announcing

several very important

facts that I want

you to fix in your mind

and have there

locked in.

Number one,

Jesus is the complete

revelation of God

the Father.

When John says

in John chapter 1

John 1:1

verse 1,

in the beginning

was the word,

the word,

the word,

he is telling us

that Jesus Christ

is the full,

complete,

accurate revelation

of who God

the Father is.

In relationship

to this,

I want you to look

at a couple

different passages

that are going

to amplify this

in your thinking

and so turn over

to Colossians chapter 1

Colossians 1:15–19

verse 15 through 19.

By the way,

as we are going

to this passage,

let me explain

one of the characteristics

of learning

to be a good

Bible student.

You recognize

that the scriptures

are entirely reliable

and we can gain

further understanding

of one scriptural truth

by looking to see

where else

that scriptural truth

appears in scripture

and putting those

things together

helps us gain

a greater

and more complete

understanding

of whatever the point

is that we're seeking.

So when I say to you

that Jesus is the

complete revelation

of God the Father

and I have you turn

to Colossians chapter 1,

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

my purpose is to kind

of hammer the point

down and get you

to understand it

more clearly.

He, verse 15,

is the image

of the invisible God,

the firstborn

of all creation

for by him

all things were created

in heaven and on earth,

visible, invisible,

whether thrones

or dominions

or rulers

or authorities,

all things were created

through him

and for him

and he is before

all things

and in him

all things

are held together

and he is the head

of the body,

the church.

He is the beginning

of the firstborn

from the dead

that in everything

he might be preeminent

and then verse 19,

well worth underlining

and remembering

in your heart,

it says this,

for in him

all the fullness,

all the fullness

of God

was pleased

to dwell

and that word

that is used there,

fullness,

is saying it's all there.

In Jesus

is the entire

complete revelation

of God the Father.

Have you look

at another passage

in relationship

to this same point

and turn over

to Hebrews chapter 1,

Hebrews 1 · chapter mention

Hebrews chapter 1,

Hebrews 1:2

verse 2 and 3.

In these last days

he has spoken to us

by his Son

whom he appointed

the heir of all things

through whom also

he created the world.

He is the radiance

of the glory of God

and the exact imprint

of his nature

and he upholds

the universe

by the word

of his power.

As we look

at this passage

coupled with

the Colossians

passage,

we understand

that when

John penned

that statement,

Jesus Christ

is the word,

he was telling us

that Jesus

is the complete

revelation

of God the Father.

Furthermore,

Jesus is the

perfect expression

of the will

of God.

Not only does

he tell us

or Jesus serve

as a revelation

of the character

and nature

of God,

but he also

serves to tell us

exactly what

the will of God

is.

Now,

let me back that up

when I say

exactly.

Are there parts

about the will

of God

that I will

never understand?

The answer

is yes.

However,

that which is

given to us,

revealed in the

scriptures,

about the will

of God,

Jesus explains

in its entirety.

And Jesus

shows us

what love is.

He shows us

how love acts.

He tells us

what lengths

grace will go

to to accomplish

salvation.

He makes

his heart

and his affection

for his children

evident.

He also makes

it clear

what it is

to fall

under the judgment

and condemnation

of God.

I want you to

recognize one

of the interesting

truths about

the Lord Jesus

Christ is that

most of what

the Bible

tells us

about hell

was actually

told from

the mouth

of Jesus

himself.

He was the

one who

talked about

hell more

than anybody

else.

And so

Jesus is

not only

the complete

revelation

of God

the Father

but he's

also the

perfect

expression

of the

will of

the Father.

I want you

to look at

a little

statement

that Philip

made in

John chapter

John 14 · chapter mention

14.

You're there

in John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

but go to

John chapter

John 14 · chapter mention

14 if you

will just

for a

moment.

In John

John 14:8

chapter 14

verse 8

Philip said

to him

Lord show

us the

Father

and it's

enough for

us.

Say hey

listen the

one thing

we want

we want

to see

the Father.

And how

did Jesus

respond?

Well wait

a minute

I've got a

little more

to teach

you.

That's not

what he

said.

He said

have I

been with

you so

long and

you still

do not

know me

Philip?

Now remember

what Philip

had said

is we

want to

see the

Father.

And Jesus

immediately

responds and

says hey

have I

been with

you so

long and

you still

do not

know me?

Whoever

has seen

me has

seen the

Father.

How can

you say

show us

the Father?

Do you

understand that

point?

Jesus

is saying

to

Philip

don't

you

get

it?

I

am

the

complete

and

satisfying

revelation

of who

the

Father

is

and

when

you

know

me

you

know

the

Father.

Going

back to

John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter

1 I

want us

to

recognize

secondly

that

Jesus

is

eternal.

In

the

beginning

was

the

word.

And

as

John

opens

up

his

gospel

if

you

know

much

about

the

scriptures

at

all

that

little

statement

in

the

beginning

takes

you

back

to

which

other

book?

Takes

you

back

to

Genesis.

In

the

beginning

God

created

the

heavens

and

the

earth.

And

here

as

John

begins

to

open

up

his

gospel

for

us

he

says

hey

listen

I

want

to

remind

you

of

who

Jesus

is

and

set

him

against

the

backdrop

of

creation

because

he

indeed

is

God

he

is

eternal

and

when

that

little

statement

is

made

in

the

beginning

the

intention

of

the

apostle

is

to

remind

us

good

Bible

students

that

we

are

of

the

fact

that

there

is

that

connection

between

Christ

as

the

creator

and

God

of

this

universe

and

in

speaking

about

the

beginning

John

is

not

using

the

term

to

!

identify

a

beginning

Lord

Jesus

Christ

rather

he

is

marking

the

fact

that

Jesus

existed

from

all

eternity

past

and

even

at

the

start

of

all

known

history

Jesus

was

already

present

already

active

already

engaged

and

in

communion

with

the

father

in

other

words

when

that

little

statement

is

made

in

the

beginning

was

the

word

that

little

word

there

that

is

used

could

be

put

this

way

was

continuing

the

word

actually

was

already

there

and

was

continuing

Christ

from

the

very

beginning

of

not

just

recorded

history

but

from

the

beginning

in

terms

of

eternity

past

Jesus

is

actually

there

and

it

is

a

recognition

that

he

is

part

of

the

triune

God

John

makes

it

clear

that

Jesus

is

God

who

alone

is

eternal

all

other

things

have

a

beginning

in

the

creative

work

of

God

look

forward

just

a

little

bit

if you

will

to

verse

two

and

three

he

was

in

the

beginning

with

God

all

things

were

made

through

him

and

without

him

was

not

anything

made

that

was

made

only

God

is

not

a

created

being

do you

understand

that

Jesus

Christ

was

engaged

and

part

of

the

creation

of

all

things

and

he

alone

is

God

and

we

recognize

that

I

particularly

love

the way

Jesus

nails

his

eternality

over

in

John

John 8:58

chapter

8

verse

58

and

so

turn

forward

just a

little

bit

if you

will

to

John

John 8:58

chapter

8

verse

58

in

John

John 8 · chapter mention

chapter

8

we

find

Jesus

having

one

of

those

famous

discourses

with

his

adversaries

particularly

with

the

Pharisees

and

in

the

course

of

conversation

they

accuse

him

of being

a

Samaritan

and

having

a

demon

and

he

goes

on

and

explains

hey

listen

you're

not

interested

at

all

in

what

I

have

to

say

and

he

goes

on

and

nails

it

down

this

way

there

in

verse

58

he

says

truly

truly

I

say

to

you

before

Abraham

was

what's

he

say

next

I

am

can

anybody

think

of

where

else

we

hear

that

phrase

I

am

remember

when

Moses

in

the

wilderness

at

the

burning

bush

said

hey

by

the

way

who

shall

I

tell

them

you

are

who

shall

I

explain

has

sent

me

he

says

well

you

can

refer

to

me

as

I

am

I

am

God

and

here

is

Jesus

taking

that

little

phrase

that

every

good

Jew

would

have

known

quite

well

from

Exodus

and

he

says

hey

before

Abraham

was

I

am

an

excellent

declaration

of the

deity

of

Christ

and

how

did

the

Jews

respond

you

look

there

in

the

passage

verse

59

so

they

picked

up

stones

to

throw

at

him

but

Jesus

hid

himself

and

went

out of

the

temple

the

reason

is

they

understood

that

Jesus

was

saying

I

am

God

I'm

God

so

as we

look at

this

passage

I want

you to

recognize

that

Jesus

is

telling

us

not only

that

that

he

is

the

revelation

of

God

but

he

also

is

eternal

God

eternal

further

more

as you

look

at

the

passage

in

John

John 1 · chapter mention

chapter

1

we

find

another

fact

stated

about

Christ

it

says

and

the

word

was

with

God

the

word

was

with

God

it's

amazing

that

the

doctrine

of the

trinity

is

not

an easy

one

to

understand

we

accept

it

the

only

reason

I

believe

in

the

trinity

is

because

it's

in

the

Bible

it

doesn't

make

logic

that

3

1

right

and

here

is

Jesus

saying

I

am

God

and

I

am

with

God

when

he

makes

that

statement

the

word

was

with

God

he

is

pointing

out

that

he

and

the

father

have

this

interaction

with

one

another

and

relate

to

one

another

inequality

from

the

beginning

the

word

with

that

is

used

here

in

the

Greek

carries

the

idea

of

nearness

and

communion

in

other

words

what

Jesus

is

saying

is

that

I

am

in

communion

with

the

father

in

complete

equality

and

nearness

and

closeness

because

of my

relationship

with

him

and

I

want

you

to

understand

that

Jesus

who

is

our

savior

is

not

some

kind

of

senior

created

being

like

the

Mormons

would

recommend

the idea

is

well

Jesus

kind of

worked up

the ladder

and he's

ahead of us

a little bit

no the fact

of the matter

is is Jesus

makes it clear

that he is

God

the son

and equal

to the father

in every aspect

I want

I want you to

recognize

also that

when Jesus

saved us

and called

us

his own

he draws

us into

communion

and relationship

with him

and with the

father

in very much

the same

way

in which

he is in

communion

with his

father

I want you

to turn

over if you

will to

John chapter

John 17 · chapter mention

17

and take a

look at this

issue of

union

with the

father

that appears

over and

over again

in John

17

John chapter

John 1:1

1 verse

1 it says

the word

was with

God

in communion

closeness

unity

and in

John chapter

John 17 · chapter mention

17 as

Jesus

prays his

high priestly

prayer

he wants

all of us

to understand

that he

is interested

in the unity

of the body

of Christ

together

because of

our relationship

with him

look at

if you will

at verse

11

I am no

longer in the

world but

they are in

the world

and I'm

coming to

you holy

father

keep them

in your

name

which you

have given

me that

they may

be one

how

even as

we are

one

now let's

stop just

for a moment

and think

about this

how easy

is it to

be one

how easy

is it to

be one

it's a

whole lot

easier to

talk about

than to

do it

why is

that

does anybody

have an

idea

it's because

of our

nasty little

old problem

called what

self

sin

pride

whatever it

is

and here

is Jesus

praying

listen

father I

want you

to work

in them

so they

can be

one like

you and

I are

one

follow along

if you will

also

in John

John 17:21

chapter 17

verse 21

that they

may all

be one

just as

you father

are in

me and

I in

you

then again

in verse

22 the

glory that

you've given

me I've

given to

them that

they may

be one

even as

we are

one

verse 23

I in

them and

you in

me that

they may

become

perfectly

one so

that the

world may

know that

you sent

me and

love them

even as

you love

me

what is

the

relationship

that believers

are supposed

to have

with one

another

what is

it

it is

something

completely

different

from what

the

unbelieving

world

experiences

the only

time the

unbelieving

world really

has any

kind of

unity

is when

there is

some

self-serving

purpose

behind the

scene

right

yeah

we're

interested

in accomplishing

something

and so we

kind of

partner to

pull it

off

but there

is not

that

affinity

and that

union

that really

comes out

of a

genuine

relationship

with one

another

and with

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

and as

we look

at the

foundational

issue

of the

character

of Christ

we understand

that he

is in

union

with God

the Father

and as a

result

we who are

his children

are to be

in union

with one

another

I want you

to look

at another

fact here

if you

will

Jesus is

with God

but then we

come to one

other point

and there in

John chapter

John 1 · chapter mention

1 it says

and the

word

was

God

when John

wrote those

words

the word

was

God

John

was not

declaring

that

Jesus

is one

of God's

subordinates

God's

how many

of you

have ever

had

Jehovah

Witness

knock

on your

door

ever

had

that

one

of the

things

that

Jehovah

Witnesses

struggle

with

Morim

struggle

with

Muslims

struggle

with

is the

idea

of

the

Trinity

the idea

in their

thinking

is that

there really

is

only

one

God

and

they

argue

and try

to mess

with the

scriptures

and don't

get very

far

with it

I want

you to

understand

that

here

in the

very

opening

verse

of

John

chapter

one

the

apostle

nails

the

issue

of

Jesus

absolute

relationship

and equality

with the

father

he says

Jesus

is

God

Jesus

Christ

is

God

I

love

the way

in which

John's

gospel

will back

up that

opening

declaration

of the

deity

of Christ

with one

miracle

after another

in fact

as we

are working

our way

through the

book of

John

one of the

things you're

going to

recognize

is that

after every

one of the

incidents or

pictures that

we're going

to see

of Christ

the underlying

question is

yeah and

who is he

and guess what

the answer is

in every case

that Jesus

is God

I shared

with you last

week that

the week

previous I

ended up in a

conversation with

a young lady

that was

interested in

having her

wedding performed

here and as I

was going

through the

process of

what it

meant to

have a

Christian

wedding

I ended

up sharing

the gospel

with her

and talking

to her

about the

Lord Jesus

and I

shared in

that context

I said

listen one

of the things

I want you

to do

is I want

you to read