Sermon

John 1:1-18 "What Is the Meaning of Life?"

August 20, 2023 Southwood Presbyterian Church - Sermons

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You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
Our passion is to experience and express grace.
Join us.
The Gospel of John introduces itself.
I usually start a sermon series with introductory thoughts about themes and why we're studying
the book and key context and we'll come back to some of that at the end this morning.
But the prologue of John's Gospel is, it's like a trailer to a movie that shows you some
of the highlights before you even get there.
It's like an orchestra.
Have you ever gone to a show in the orchestra before, when the lights are down, before the
curtain opens and there are actors on stage, plays through like the whole show and you
hear what's coming.
So I want to just start by reading it together this morning.
I'll simply say this before I do.
The Gospel of John for centuries has been referred to as water that a little child can paddle in
and that an elephant can swim in.
And I have been feeling that like an elephant doggy paddling for many days in the last few
weeks.
A little bit like the girl Marcus described, standing before the ocean and just having categories
redefined and mind blown, earth shattering.
Just looking at the prologue, it's overwhelmingly glorious.
The greatest ever written.
And I'm sure it's a literary masterpiece of chiastic structure and word choice.
And it is gloriously simple too.
So all of us should listen carefully to God's word.
Nothing I say will touch the edges of these words.
So listen most closely right now.
We put these page numbers up here so that if you don't have your own Bible open, you can
grab one from the back of the pew and have it open in front of you as I read the written
word of God, John 1 at verse 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 enlightens 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.
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.
And from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God.
God, the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
Let's pray.
God, I ask that you would show us your glory.
Show us your grace.
Would you show us yourself in your word?
God, we ask it in Jesus' name.
Amen.
If you want people to realize that you're writing about something really big,
you start with,
In the beginning.
Immediately, John reaches all the way back to the opening words of the Hebrew Scriptures in Genesis,
back before time began,
and he puts his account in the context of that grand story
that's reaching a climax in the events that he's going to recount.
All the way back,
before anything else was,
was the word.
The logos.
By using that word,
John is telling us that he is discussing the very meaning of life.
What or who is at the center of the universe that helps everything else hold together and matter.
When we ask,
What is the meaning of life?
We're asking really big why questions, right?
What's our purpose?
Our identity?
Our significance?
Our place in this world?
That's what nearly everyone in John's day would have heard when they heard the word logos.
They wouldn't have imagined the same thing, all of them,
but they would have known that whatever it was,
the word was the meaning of life.
See, religious people reading John's book,
they knew that the word in the Old Testament was right at the center of everything.
It referred to God's way of creating by the word of the Lord where the heavens made.
It referred to God's mighty acts in his world,
his power,
to his lasting nature that he endures forever.
And as a result,
to the hope of God's people,
as it goes out from his mouth,
his word accomplishes their blessing.
That was their ultimate hope.
But the word was the meaning of life for irreligious people, too.
In pagan philosophy, it was a principle,
the logos,
which if you understood this principle,
then life would have meaning.
It was the goal of life.
Sometimes the beginning and the end.
So now everyone is listening.
John is talking to all of us this morning.
Whether we've said that the meaning of life is my pleasure,
self-fulfillment,
God and his glory,
or even some then and now who say there is no bigger meaning.
Don't we long for something that's bigger than ourselves?
We feel it.
We know there's got to be some meaning in this life.
Back then, they felt it so desperately that many would say,
just live like there is,
even if you don't think there's meaning.
Live like there's something bigger.
You have to.
And we keep asking that question, don't we?
What is the meaning of life?
Well, John tells us several things about this word.
It's at the heart of the answer to that question.
He's already telling us about its eternal self-existence.
There was no time when the word was not.
He was before all things, we've read.
In the beginning, the word began?
No.
Became?
No.
No.
That's used several times of other things in this passage,
but the word here is was.
The word was in the beginning.
The Genesis account begins with God acting to create things,
but here it's the word's existence.
Back, all the way back then, with God.
Again, verse two, this same word,
in the beginning with God.
So close to God, yet distinct in some way.
I skipped the phrase, and the word was God.
That equates the word with God.
But some argue about grammar there,
so let me come back to it once you see what John says
to help us understand that phrase.
But second point, verse three, is the word's creative power.
Whatever or whoever the word is,
is the power behind the creation of the entire universe without exception.
John is especially pointing out positively,
he made all things,
and then negatively,
nothing was made except what the word made.
John's especially saying the word is not created.
But the word does create everything else.
There are so many implications of that.
If you stop to ponder for just a minute this morning,
the word's unparalleled power,
perhaps if you're feeling weak or overwhelmed this morning,
having that kind of power come to you.
The fact that the smallest particles of every bird,
every flower, every rock,
if you were to break it down beyond the microscopic
to its very smallest particles,
every single one of them hypothetically
would have TW inscribed on it,
made by the word.
Every single tiny particle in the world.
Nothing in the universe is beyond his control, right?
Boy, things feel out of control sometimes.
If that's true,
that he made every single thing,
then the word gets to dictate how things work,
doesn't he?
That means us too.
It doesn't work the other way around.
We don't dictate to him.
He made us.
He's the creator, the author, the designer.
What he says goes.
Maybe some of you like me
have been in a literature class at some point
and you're discussing a poem, right?
And I'm saying,
well, I think the poem is about this.
And someone else says,
well, I think the poem is about that.
And then the teacher says something like,
in a letter to a friend,
the author of the poem explains
that the poem is about the moon.
You can say that it makes you think of your friend
or that it makes you feel love
or whatever else you want to say,
but the debate on what the poem is about is over.
It's about the moon.
The author said so.
The creator,
in this case, the word,
has authority over all things.
No exception.
Do we live sometimes as though our lives,
our time,
our sexuality,
our mission,
our exceptions?
Next we read,
the word is the unique light source.
Clearly the word has life, right?
Not merely to create,
but to direct everything.
The light of men.
Yes, people are saying,
we all agree with that.
It's the meaning of life, right?
It drives out darkness.
It's the hope,
the peace,
the purpose.
That's the word.
Do you see how already the deity
of the word is being asserted
in this passage?
Only God can be eternally self-existent.
God created the heavens and the earth.
Nobody else, right?
The light to every single man must be God.
It can't be some other man
or created principle
if it's going to be life and light for everyone.
So while the word is distinguishable from God,
the word also was God.
God, not a God,
fully God,
lacking no aspect of God at all.
Whatever God was,
the word was.
That's what the grammar means.
No matter what a Jehovah's Witness
might tell you about the grammar there,
beyond that,
it's what the context demands
for the understanding of the word was God.
John is telling us of the deity of the word
at its very essence.
And this will get even more critical
as he identifies the word, right?
It's not this other John
that he starts telling us about.
Maybe if you'd read this for the first time,
you'd think,
oh, the word is named John.
No, no, he's very clear.
He came as a witness to the light.
We'll hear his testimony next week.
But whatever you do,
don't get confused,
John says,
about who the light is.
It's not John.
It's not you and your pleasure.
Nope, there is something bigger.
The meaning of life.
The word is God.
And John says,
was coming into the world.
Last year,
we were in London
during Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee,
celebrating 70 years on the throne.
A seemingly mythical,
larger-than-life figure
for that many years, right?
We saw her pictures all over the paper.
We heard about all of the amazing things
that she had accomplished during her reign.
We read many wonderful things
that she said Queen Elizabeth was everywhere.
And then one day,
on an unassuming,
uncrowded street in London,
with just a few people around us,
we saw her.
We saw the Queen.
Not on TV,
not up on a palace balcony,
but less than 10 feet away from us.
Smiling in the back seat of a car,
driving by really fast,
right by where we stood on the sidewalk.
But all of a sudden,
in that moment,
she seemed more real.
She was like our friend
for the rest of the trip.
We talked about her,
like we knew her.
We had this deep connection
because we had seen the Queen.
Can you imagine the difference
in knowing about someone
who's so far removed?
Maybe it's the president of your company.
Your life has been impacted
by his decisions over and over,
but you've never met him.
Maybe it's your favorite athlete.
You have watched them
over and over and over.
You know everything they're like,
you think.
Maybe it's your favorite entertainer.
You've heard all their songs.
You've read their biography.
You know this person.
But then the difference
when you meet them,
not merely for a drive-by.
Imagine if you lived for a month
with Taylor Swift.
Oh my goodness.
Imagine if you talked
with Lionel Messi.
If you watched them
with their family
and when they let their hair down,
you would get to know them
on an entirely different level, right?
Verse 14 moves us
from the glorious,
far off,
incredible word
to the mind-blowing,
we have no categories for this,
the word became flesh.
The meaning of life
is a person.
No, no, no.
It can't be,
cry the irreligious.
The word is separate
from this world.
It's beyond.
It's apart.
It can't take part
of this material.
No, no.
It can't be,
cry the religious.
The word is God,
not man then.
There is one God
and he is holy.
We can't even see him
and live.
It can't be.
John says,
yes, it is.
Yes, the word becomes a man
with flesh and blood
like you and me
and in fact,
not just in a drive-by moment,
but dwelling
for a while,
tabernacling among us.
That word for dwelling
refers to the tabernacle,
the tent
where Yahweh,
the one living God,
once lived among his people
as they journeyed
in the desert.
It kept them safe
from his full glory
which they could not handle.
It was too much for them.
It also refers to revelation
where one day forever,
the dwelling place of God
is where?
With man.
Already in the word made flesh,
this relationship,
God with man
has begun.
Men and women
and children
see the glory of God
and what happens?
They live.
The unique one
who has been near God,
the Father,
who has always been there
before and after John
and is therefore
of greatest rank,
shines the radiance
of God's glory
into the world,
John says,
so that we receive what?
Grace upon grace.
Really,
that means what
verse 17 explains.
The grace of God's law
through Moses.
It was a gift,
a grace,
but we needed yet more
to know God
fully and truly,
to know not just
his creation,
the things he has done,
to know not just
his laws,
the things that
he has said,
but now,
up close and personal,
the full grace
and truth
of Jesus Christ.
There's the name
for the first time.
The eternal word,
the light of the world,
who has come into the world,
John wants us to know,
is Jesus Christ.
Christ,
the promised king.
And so,
so now we see him
when we,
with unveiled faces,
see Jesus.
We,
we see the glory of God.
We encounter
the very meaning of life.
We personally know God
on an entirely different level.
In the face of Jesus,
we see the glory of God
in human form.
In the life of Jesus,
we see the perfect image
of God.
In the gentle and lowly
heart of Jesus,
we feel the heartbeat
of a God
who is abounding
in steadfast love
and faithfulness.
In the sacrifice of Jesus,
we experience God
actually forgiving sins,
not merely a system of laws,
picturing that.
In the death of Jesus,
we see the deep love
of God for us played out.
In the resurrection of Jesus,
we witnessed the power of God
to bring life from death
and light from darkness.
Do you see the point?
Do you see why
the word became flesh?
It's to make God known to us,
to reveal the Father perfectly.
Because see,
no one
has ever seen God.
Verse 18 summarizes.
So God,
the one and only,
the word with God
near to his heart,
the only one
who can do this perfectly
has made him known.
That's why John
wants you to know
the word is God.
God and the word
became flesh.
Both of those things
somehow,
amazingly,
so that you know
you see Jesus
and you're not
missing anything.
The whole thing
right there.
You can have a Mormon
tell you
or you can read
in a Christian science
reading room
that God
found a man
to dwell in.
This is so much
better than that.
this is God himself.
True God
of true God.
Very God
of very God.
The old creeds
clarify for us.
The God
of all creation.
The God
of the flood.
The God
of the burning bush.
The God
of the red sea.
The God
who walked
with his people
back in the
Garden of Eden.
You remember?
The God
who traveled
with his people
in the tabernacle.
The God
who lived
with his people
in the temple
taking on
flesh.
That God
revealing himself
again
breaking apart
the heavens
to come down
breaking in
to draw near
again
in relationship
so that you
and I
can really
and truly
and personally
know him.
Grace
upon grace.
Amen?
Can you believe
that he's done that?
Jesus
the word
made flesh
didn't step down
from the palace
in order to
gain votes
to attract
followers
to make
an obligatory
appearance
for a photo op.
Jesus came down
to know you
and to invite
you
truly
to know
him.
God
made you
to live
with him.
That is the
meaning of life
friends.
God
has designed
all of
history
so that
for all
eternity
his people
will live
with him.
That's the point.
And God
became man
because he was
unwilling
that you should
stay in darkness
apart from him.
He was unwilling
to leave you
living for your
own pleasures
defining your
own identity
not realizing
that there was
a light
that you were
made for
a life
with unimaginable
joy
and purpose
and hope.
He didn't want
to leave you
without that
so he
came
down.
Let's back
up just a few
verses
and see what
happened
when the word
became flesh
for that
very purpose.
Verse 10
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.
many of the
religious
and the
irreligious
reject
this Jesus
who comes
to reveal
God
to them.
Perhaps
they prefer
their own
meaning of
life
perhaps
there are
other reasons
but regardless
we're going to
see this time
and again
through John's
gospel
this is what
happens
Jesus comes
and his words
and his actions
and his claims
elicit widely
different responses
many do not
receive him
but
verse 12
don't miss
this
if you've
gotten lost
come back
this is
spotlighted by
the whole
structure of
the entire
prologue
verse 12
but
to all
who did
receive him
who believed
in his name
he gave
the right
to become
children
of God
children
of God
are you
kidding me
the greatest
blessing
in all
of the
scripture
that could
ever be
given
to someone
to have
God
as your
father
to relate
intimately
with him
who to know
is life
itself
having him
listen to you
and provide
for you
and lead
and guide
you
and defeat
your enemies
and remake
you after
his image
and live
with you
forever
that is
the life
that Jesus
is inviting
you into
he has
come
that we
might
believe
both
religious
and
irreligious
if you're
here this
morning
all
who receive
him
who truly
and simply
believe
become
children
of God
not based
on their
performance
not because
they were
better than
the next
guy
it's not
their own
willpower
to get
them there
but it's
the grace
of God
they are
born
of
God
that's
the invitation
for all
of us
in fact
John tells
us near
the end
of his
book
what the
purpose
of the
entire
book
is
all the
things
that he
writes
all the
stories
about the
life
of Jesus
he records
so that
you may
believe
John
20
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
that you
may believe
believe what
that Jesus
is the
Christ
John wants
you and me
to know
that this
man Jesus
is really
God
and he's
really become
flesh
so that you
can see
and truly
know
God
that is the
meaning of life
that true
life
when you
embrace
that reality
when you
believe
into Jesus
when you
become
a child
of God
and have
life
abundant
life
free
life
fulfilling
life
John
says
even
eternal
life
that's
why
John
writes
and that's
why we're
studying
John
for the
next
78
years
I haven't
decided
when we're
finishing
yet
we're just
starting
today
okay
I was
going to
tell you
why
we're
studying
John
theoretically
but I
think I'll
tell you
why
personally
based on
my
experience
this
week
Tuesday
was a
rough
day
it
started
bad
and just
got
worse
had a
day
like
that
of
course
it
started
with
no
one
sleeping
well
because
the
kids
were
all
coughing
through
the
night
so
that's
always
you know
the day
is going
to be
good
when you
start
with
no
sleep
a
small
leak
in the
kitchen
was
becoming
a big
problem
here
messy
and
expensive
the car
wouldn't
work
people I
loved
shared
some heavy
news
other beloved
people I was
supposed to
meet with
got COVID
then I
wasn't
thoughtful
trying to
talk with
my wife
about these
things
things
I
tried
in
effort
to
save
the
day
to
take
the
family
out
to
dinner
both
avoiding
the
kitchen
which
was
not a
good
place
and
salvaging
the
day
and it
didn't
go
well
no
details
we got
ready for
bed and
I just
wanted to
put the
day
behind
me
I had
failed
life
just
felt
all
too
dark
too
too
heavy
life
was
just
bad
when I
woke up
the next
morning
none of
the
circumstances
was
different
but part
of the
grace
of my
calling
such a
gift
is that
I really
needed
Wednesday
morning
to spend
some time
in the
gospel
of John
I started
reading
in him
was life
the light
of man
that darkness
has not
overcome
Jesus has
shown me
the glory
of God
Jesus has
made me
a child
of God
Jesus has
given me
grace
upon grace
he understands
the pain
of yesterday
but that
pain doesn't
make life
all bad
that's not
where life
is found
life
doesn't
consist
in the
abundance
of my
possessions
life's not
about spending
my resources
the way
I planned
life's not
about performing
well enough
as a husband
or a father
certainly
not as a
handyman
life
Tuesday
and every
day
is in
Jesus
and so
it is
abundant
and free
and fulfilling
and eternal
and I started
believing that
and I got to
feel light
shine
into my
darkness
to have hope
meet me in
despair
to have life
be fulfilling
even in my
failures
and my
frustrations
we're studying
John because
I need it
because you
need it
religious
people
irreligious
people
we need
to believe
that Jesus
is the
Christ
the son
of God
and find
life
in his
name
nowhere else
the ultimate
meaning of
life
in Christ
alone
knowing him
trusting him
talking to him
relying on him
and John is one of the easiest places
to encounter the person of Jesus
the eternal word
made flesh
so it is good for each of us
and it's good for friends and neighbors
that we're praying for
that we're wanting to talk with God about
perhaps longing
to point them to Jesus
John helps
John holds out for all of us
Jesus as the meaning
of life
he's right
it's true
I've lived it this week
many of you have lived it on good days
and bad days
and maybe the gospel of John
will be a tool
that will help you believe
and find life
for the first time
or believe again
and live life
with the true meaning
reset
maybe it'll be a tool
you can use
to offer someone else
the joy of believing
and finding life
that's the preview
John's giving us
of where we're going
in the months ahead
we're going to encounter Jesus
and a wide range of responses
to him
my prayer is
you'll not only believe
but
also assent
not just to the theoretical truth
but truly believe
and find life with him
like you've never known it
to be fulfilling
abundant
and free
and I want to close
with the grandest possible words
to highlight the glory
and grace of Jesus
so now that we've meditated
on some of what this prologue means
in spite of what time it is
I want us to read it together
one more time
I want you to hear these words
maybe in a fresh way
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 enlightens 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
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
and from his fullness
we have all received grace
upon grace
for the law was given
through Moses
grace and truth
came through Jesus Christ
no one has ever seen God
the only God
who is at the father's side
he has made him known
let's pray
Jesus we thank you
for giving us
what we most desperately needed
we needed to know God
we need to know
where life was found
we've looked for it
in lots of places
we still do
would we see you
this morning
and in every page
of this book
as beautiful and glorious
and life-giving
might we find our life
in you
help us by your spirit
we ask it in your name
amen
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