John 1:1-4a
Who is Jesus?
As we start at the beginning of John’s Gospel, we are going to see John started his gospel with one purpose in mind – so that you would know who God is so that you can believe in Him. This is the most important decision in your life.
I often ask people “What is the most important decision you could ever make?” And they reply with “The person I marry”, or, “The career I choose”, and so on. Big decisions indeed, but, there is a decision that is of greater importance than those I say. It is the decision you make regarding Who Jesus Christ is. That’s because the decision a person makes about Jesus, whether they choose to believe He is who He said He was or not, carries with it eternal consequences.
Last week we saw that John’s theme verse was chapter 20. That it captured the whole purpose of what John was saying. He says there in verse 31, “But these are written that you may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
This week we are starting the verse-by-verse study we are going to see that John begins his gospel with 18 verses of the most profound, most powerful truth in all of human history. These 18 verses are called the Prologue, and it is here that John introduces many of his themes that will be developed throughout the rest of the gospel.
I feel much like I did when we came to Philippians chapter 2 verses 6-9. You may remember I said then that I felt like trying to preach those short but enormous verses was like trying to play Beethoven’s 5th Symphony with a kazoo. Well here I am again, your kazoo, and I am going to try to convey what is in these 18 verses and I pray that God’s Spirit would press the weight of them on your heart.
Purpose of the Series
Remember, we are going through this Gospel for two reasons: First, so that people who do not believe would hear this gospel preached and believe so that they can have eternal life. That’s John’s purpose, that’s my purpose, and I hope you are giving me support by praying for God to save people through this series.
Secondly, those of us who do believe in Jesus, we want to know our Savior better, and to worship Him more fully as we let John make our understanding of Him more full in this gospel. So let’s approach this not simply as students, but as worshippers.
Definition of the Word
John begins in verse 1 by identifying Jesus Christ as the Word. Now we need to get an understanding of this word, “the Word.” It is the Greek word, “logos,” and John is the only writer to refer to Jesus as the Word.
John calls Jesus “the Word” in verse 1 and in verse 14. But he doesn’t only use it here. In his first epistle, in the very first verse, he refers to Jesus again as the Word, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands of touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.”
And John, also being the author of the book of Revelation, he calls Jesus Christ the Word of God as he describes an awesome vision of Christ’s return. He says in chapter 19 verses 11-13, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.”
But, here in verse 1 of his Gospel, John uses the term, “The Word” knowing that his readers, both Jews and Greeks, would have some grasp of its meaning. To the Greek philosophers of the day, Logos was the impersonal and unknowable cause of all things; the power and reason behind all that is seen and known.
To the Jews, the Word would immediately remind them of the OT Scriptures and “the word of the Lord”. They would understand that according to Psalm 33:6, it was “By the word of the Lord [that] the heavens made…”. And it was when God spoke in Genesis 1:3 that creation came into existence. And if you were a Jew reading verse 1 of John’s gospel you may even think remember that it was by the word of the Lord that He gave the 10 commandments in Exodus 20; the prophets of Israel were given revelation by the word of the Lord. And if you were really studying your OT Bible as a Jew, you may remember what the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah, “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11).
When John began his gospel and wrote of “the Word”, he was doing it deliberately because he knew both Jews and Greeks already understood some concept of the logos, Word. It made an excellent starting point to gather their attention and turn it towards the direction he was going to take them to teach them the identity of this Word.
Jesus is the Word of God
The first thing we see about Jesus Christ the Word, is that He is eternal. Notice verse 1 and 2, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”
The Greek word for “in the beginning” is the word “arche”, and it means in the beginning of all beginnings. As far back as you can possibly imagine, the very beginning of all things, time, space, etc, John says that at the point the Word was already in existence. He was before all things created - and the only way someone can exist before all things is if that someone is eternal. Jesus Christ, the Word, is eternal and was already in existence at the point when the heavens and the earth were made.
Let me reinforce the eternality of Jesus Christ by pointing out something John does here. When he says in the beginning WAS the Word”, he uses a very specific Greek word, it’s the word “eimi”. So what? He uses this word which means to continue to be as you were. Jesus Christ, as the eternal Word was continuing to be the eternal Word at the point when all things were created. In other words, Jesus is not a created being – He is uncreated God.
If John wanted to say that the Word was created, he would have used the word “ginomai” which means to come into being, or, it did not exist and then at some point it came into being because it was created. John used ginomai in verse 3, when he is talking about creation, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing WAS made that has been made.” “WAS MADE” … came into being. He uses this word again in verse 10, “…and though the world WAS made through him” and again he uses it in verse 12, “Yet to all those who received him, to those who believed in his name he gave the right to BECOME children of God”
When John is talking about creation being made, bringing into existence things that did not exist before, or things that began, he uses the word ginomai. But, when he says the Word WAS in the beginning and was with God in the beginning and was there at the beginning, he uses the greek word that means He had ALREADY existed before all the things that were created.
Now, why do we celebrate Christmas then? Why do we celebrate Jesus birth? Because of verse 14, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us…” This is the point John is making, that the eternal Word who was with God and is God has come to man by becoming a man. He took on flesh. He is Immanuel, which means God with us. He has existed always before as the Word of God, fully and equally as much God as God the Father, but, he became a man, he participated in humanity, when he was born of a virgin.
Understand this though, Jesus Christ, the Word, did not give up His deity to do this. He always has been God and has never at any point stopped being God. Hebrews 13:8 says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. But what He did was add to His divine nature the human nature. Philippians 2:6-9 says Jesus Christ was in very nature, God, but that he was made in human likeness and appeared as a man.
God became a man for the world. God became a man for you. Let me put it another way, God has come to you as a man, the man Jesus Christ. So many people are trying so desperately to make a way to God and get to God by their good works, their charity, and their spirituality. They hinge their hope of eternity or the afterlife on their own efforts.
I have asked people why would God let you into heaven, and people have said things like “I’m a good person.” Or, “I’ve tried really hard to make a difference.” Or, “I’ve gone to church” Or, “I’m not as bad as some people”. If a person is trying to make it to God on their own efforts they will never have any assurance they will get there. The Bible teaches that nobody can go to God. The sins of man have separated man from God and man can do nothing about his sin. He is utterly lost and without hope.
But, John is saying that God came to man. He has made the way. In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except through me.” That’s why the incarnation is so important. God refuses anyone who will try to come to Him any other way than through His Son, Jesus Christ. Someone has said that religion is man’s efforts to reach God but Christianity is God reaching down to man. God has come to man by taking on human nature, and he did this so that he could die for our sins and give us eternal life if we turn to Christ and believe in Him.
The point is that John was saying Jesus Christ is the Word and before He existed in the flesh as a man He existed as the eternal Word of God - before all things existed. Only God is eternal - He has no beginning and no end; time cannot touch Him; He exists outside of time. Nobody caused God; nobody caused the Word. The Word of God is self-sufficient, or, self-existent, which is to say that He needs nothing and no one in order to exist. Instead, all of creation, everything else that is not God, needed the Word of God in order to come into existence, and to continue to exist (Col 1:17). Jesus Christ already existed at the beginning of all beginnings, and John is saying here that Jesus Christ the Word is the eternal God.
Jesus Equal with God
So we see that Christ, as the Word, is eternal. We also see that He is Equal with God. The Word is equal with God in essence and nature and being. Notice verse 1 again, “And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The phrase “was with God” indicates face to face intimate communion. The Word was existing face to face, or, eye-to-eye with God in eternity. And then, John leaves no confusion regarding what He is saying about this Word, “the Word was God”.
Jesus is Creator not Creation
Notice verse 3, “Through him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.”
It is through the Word that all things were made. God created all things through Him. Over and over again the Bible teaches that it is through Jesus Christ that God made everything. In 1 Corinthians 8:6, it says“…and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.” Colossians 1:16, “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth; visible and invisible; whether thrones or rulers or authorities: all things were created by him and for him”. Hebrews 1:2 says, “But in these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe.” All that is, is because of God’s creative power being done through Jesus Christ the Word.
Christ Jesus was there before any creation existed, and He was the One by whom all things were made. There is nothing in all of creation, in heaven or on earth, in this galaxy or anywhere in the universe, that doesn’t exist because of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the Life
Jesus is the source of life. Notice verse 4, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
Many people may teach that life evolved from nothing, but, the Bible teaches that all life came from the Life. Before anything else was alive, there was God, existing in three persons, in eternal, self-sufficient, perfect, life, and He is the source and the Giver of life.
But the kind of life John is talking about here is not physical life. Certainly we go around and see people in the mall, in the stores, at school everywhere who are up and alive walking around. But that is physical life. If John wanted to convey physical life he would have used the word “bios”. He doesn’t, he uses a different word, “zoe” which means spiritual life. Jesus is the source of physical life, yes, but, it is the spiritual life that John is so concerned with.
Remember his theme verse? Chapter 20 verse 31, “I write these things to you that you may know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” Life is a major theme in John’s gospel, he mentions the word life 54 times. He wants his readers to have eternal life, to understand where they get it from, and to understand that unless they have Jesus Christ they don’t have real, true, eternal life.
The Bible says they are dead. They are walking dead people. Anyone who does not have the life of Jesus Christ does not have life at all. Why? Because Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1 says, “[We] were dead in [our] transgressions and sins”.
The Bible isn’t talking about being physically dead in sins, it is talking about being spiritually dead. Someone who is unsaved may be walking around breathing air but they are dead because the true life, the eternal life, the zoe spiritual life is not in them, and they are therefore dead in their sins.
John Piper points out one crucial point to understand about spiritual death. He says, “it is clear that when John says in John 1:4, “In him was life,” he means spiritual life, eternal life, life that saves from judgment. If you have the Son, if you have Jesus—if he is in you and you are in him—life is in you, and you are in life. You have life forever. Vital union with Jesus is everything.”
Zoe life, spiritual life, eternal life, is the life that saves from judgment. This life is in Christ Jesus and in Him alone. Having Jesus Christ’s life means you will never be judged by God because God does not judge Jesus Christ. His life is holy, His life is eternal, His life is the life of God. When someone believes in Christ they now have that same eternal, holy life in them and God does not judge the life of Christ. That’s why Romans 8:1 says “therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” It says this because God will not condemn anyone who is in Christ because God will not condemn His own Son. God gave His Son, His One, His Only Son – He gave Him over to be tortured and crucified and killed so that His eternal life could be given to all those who would believe in His Name.
And that’s just it: It’s the life that can be accepted or rejected. In John chapter 5 Jesus was speaking to some very hard hearted people, and in verse 40 he said, “You refuse to come to me to have life”. These were the religious leaders. These were the people who studied the Scriptures who kept all the laws who were so outwardly religious and yet Jesus said they were dead! They did not have life because they rejected the One who is life.
A person can be sincere; they can spend their life doing good things; they can be better than the next guy; they can be religious; they can be “in church”, they can be doing everything they can possibly think of and hope that they will get to go be in a better place. But it will all be for nothing, it will all count for nothing if they refuse to come to Jesus for life.
That’s so unloving of God someone might say, NO, THAT’s AMAZINGLY LOVING! That God would love us when we hated Him. That he would give to us when all we do is take from Him. When His thoughts towards us are too numerous to count we don’t give Him the time of day. When He wants us to be with Him forever, and He provided a way in Jesus Christ, we turn away and reject Him. Listen, when He sent His Son into the world to reveal Himself to the world, the world crucified Him! That’s amazing love. That’s Romans 5:8 love. Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates His love for us in this: that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”
The eternal Word gave His life so that we might have life. What do you mean “might.” I mean that this zoe, spiritual life that is eternal life only found in Jesus Christ the Word, can be accepted or rejected. I mentioned last week that John’s gospel contrasts the two reactions people have to Jesus Christ. They either believe Him or they reject Him. In chapter 1 verses 11 and 12, John talks about those who receive Christ. “Yet to all those who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husbands will, but born of God.”
The only way any person has ever entered into this world was by being born. We all have birthdays – some of us have had more than we care to admit. But those birthdays represent our physical birth, our bios birthday.
John is talking in these verses about having a zoe birthday, a spiritual birthday. It’s the day that you were born of God, or, “born again” as Jesus says in chapter 3 and became a child of God. He became your Father. It’s the day that you were born out of spiritual death and judgment and into spiritual life in Christ. That happens to all those who believe in His name. That’s how you receive Christ. You accept Him as the Son of God, the eternal Word who is God, who was sent into this world and who died on the cross for your sins.
What does it matter that Jesus is the eternal Word of God to me? How does this apply to my life? Because Jesus is eternal, because He is “the same yesterday, today and forever” according to Hebrews 13:8, your salvation is secure. Because He lives, those who have trusted in Him for eternal life will live too.
Who is Jesus?
As we start at the beginning of John’s Gospel, we are going to see John started his gospel with one purpose in mind – so that you would know who God is so that you can believe in Him. This is the most important decision in your life.
I often ask people “What is the most important decision you could ever make?” And they reply with “The person I marry”, or, “The career I choose”, and so on. Big decisions indeed, but, there is a decision that is of greater importance than those I say. It is the decision you make regarding Who Jesus Christ is. That’s because the decision a person makes about Jesus, whether they choose to believe He is who He said He was or not, carries with it eternal consequences.
Last week we saw that John’s theme verse was chapter 20. That it captured the whole purpose of what John was saying. He says there in verse 31, “But these are written that you may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
This week we are starting the verse-by-verse study we are going to see that John begins his gospel with 18 verses of the most profound, most powerful truth in all of human history. These 18 verses are called the Prologue, and it is here that John introduces many of his themes that will be developed throughout the rest of the gospel.
I feel much like I did when we came to Philippians chapter 2 verses 6-9. You may remember I said then that I felt like trying to preach those short but enormous verses was like trying to play Beethoven’s 5th Symphony with a kazoo. Well here I am again, your kazoo, and I am going to try to convey what is in these 18 verses and I pray that God’s Spirit would press the weight of them on your heart.
Purpose of the Series
Remember, we are going through this Gospel for two reasons: First, so that people who do not believe would hear this gospel preached and believe so that they can have eternal life. That’s John’s purpose, that’s my purpose, and I hope you are giving me support by praying for God to save people through this series.
Secondly, those of us who do believe in Jesus, we want to know our Savior better, and to worship Him more fully as we let John make our understanding of Him more full in this gospel. So let’s approach this not simply as students, but as worshippers.
Definition of the Word
John begins in verse 1 by identifying Jesus Christ as the Word. Now we need to get an understanding of this word, “the Word.” It is the Greek word, “logos,” and John is the only writer to refer to Jesus as the Word.
John calls Jesus “the Word” in verse 1 and in verse 14. But he doesn’t only use it here. In his first epistle, in the very first verse, he refers to Jesus again as the Word, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands of touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.”
And John, also being the author of the book of Revelation, he calls Jesus Christ the Word of God as he describes an awesome vision of Christ’s return. He says in chapter 19 verses 11-13, “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.”
But, here in verse 1 of his Gospel, John uses the term, “The Word” knowing that his readers, both Jews and Greeks, would have some grasp of its meaning. To the Greek philosophers of the day, Logos was the impersonal and unknowable cause of all things; the power and reason behind all that is seen and known.
To the Jews, the Word would immediately remind them of the OT Scriptures and “the word of the Lord”. They would understand that according to Psalm 33:6, it was “By the word of the Lord [that] the heavens made…”. And it was when God spoke in Genesis 1:3 that creation came into existence. And if you were a Jew reading verse 1 of John’s gospel you may even think remember that it was by the word of the Lord that He gave the 10 commandments in Exodus 20; the prophets of Israel were given revelation by the word of the Lord. And if you were really studying your OT Bible as a Jew, you may remember what the Lord said through the prophet Isaiah, “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11).
When John began his gospel and wrote of “the Word”, he was doing it deliberately because he knew both Jews and Greeks already understood some concept of the logos, Word. It made an excellent starting point to gather their attention and turn it towards the direction he was going to take them to teach them the identity of this Word.
Jesus is the Word of God
The first thing we see about Jesus Christ the Word, is that He is eternal. Notice verse 1 and 2, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”
The Greek word for “in the beginning” is the word “arche”, and it means in the beginning of all beginnings. As far back as you can possibly imagine, the very beginning of all things, time, space, etc, John says that at the point the Word was already in existence. He was before all things created - and the only way someone can exist before all things is if that someone is eternal. Jesus Christ, the Word, is eternal and was already in existence at the point when the heavens and the earth were made.
Let me reinforce the eternality of Jesus Christ by pointing out something John does here. When he says in the beginning WAS the Word”, he uses a very specific Greek word, it’s the word “eimi”. So what? He uses this word which means to continue to be as you were. Jesus Christ, as the eternal Word was continuing to be the eternal Word at the point when all things were created. In other words, Jesus is not a created being – He is uncreated God.
If John wanted to say that the Word was created, he would have used the word “ginomai” which means to come into being, or, it did not exist and then at some point it came into being because it was created. John used ginomai in verse 3, when he is talking about creation, “Through him all things were made; without him nothing WAS made that has been made.” “WAS MADE” … came into being. He uses this word again in verse 10, “…and though the world WAS made through him” and again he uses it in verse 12, “Yet to all those who received him, to those who believed in his name he gave the right to BECOME children of God”
When John is talking about creation being made, bringing into existence things that did not exist before, or things that began, he uses the word ginomai. But, when he says the Word WAS in the beginning and was with God in the beginning and was there at the beginning, he uses the greek word that means He had ALREADY existed before all the things that were created.
Now, why do we celebrate Christmas then? Why do we celebrate Jesus birth? Because of verse 14, “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us…” This is the point John is making, that the eternal Word who was with God and is God has come to man by becoming a man. He took on flesh. He is Immanuel, which means God with us. He has existed always before as the Word of God, fully and equally as much God as God the Father, but, he became a man, he participated in humanity, when he was born of a virgin.
Understand this though, Jesus Christ, the Word, did not give up His deity to do this. He always has been God and has never at any point stopped being God. Hebrews 13:8 says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. But what He did was add to His divine nature the human nature. Philippians 2:6-9 says Jesus Christ was in very nature, God, but that he was made in human likeness and appeared as a man.
God became a man for the world. God became a man for you. Let me put it another way, God has come to you as a man, the man Jesus Christ. So many people are trying so desperately to make a way to God and get to God by their good works, their charity, and their spirituality. They hinge their hope of eternity or the afterlife on their own efforts.
I have asked people why would God let you into heaven, and people have said things like “I’m a good person.” Or, “I’ve tried really hard to make a difference.” Or, “I’ve gone to church” Or, “I’m not as bad as some people”. If a person is trying to make it to God on their own efforts they will never have any assurance they will get there. The Bible teaches that nobody can go to God. The sins of man have separated man from God and man can do nothing about his sin. He is utterly lost and without hope.
But, John is saying that God came to man. He has made the way. In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one goes to the Father except through me.” That’s why the incarnation is so important. God refuses anyone who will try to come to Him any other way than through His Son, Jesus Christ. Someone has said that religion is man’s efforts to reach God but Christianity is God reaching down to man. God has come to man by taking on human nature, and he did this so that he could die for our sins and give us eternal life if we turn to Christ and believe in Him.
The point is that John was saying Jesus Christ is the Word and before He existed in the flesh as a man He existed as the eternal Word of God - before all things existed. Only God is eternal - He has no beginning and no end; time cannot touch Him; He exists outside of time. Nobody caused God; nobody caused the Word. The Word of God is self-sufficient, or, self-existent, which is to say that He needs nothing and no one in order to exist. Instead, all of creation, everything else that is not God, needed the Word of God in order to come into existence, and to continue to exist (Col 1:17). Jesus Christ already existed at the beginning of all beginnings, and John is saying here that Jesus Christ the Word is the eternal God.
Jesus Equal with God
So we see that Christ, as the Word, is eternal. We also see that He is Equal with God. The Word is equal with God in essence and nature and being. Notice verse 1 again, “And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The phrase “was with God” indicates face to face intimate communion. The Word was existing face to face, or, eye-to-eye with God in eternity. And then, John leaves no confusion regarding what He is saying about this Word, “the Word was God”.
Jesus is Creator not Creation
Notice verse 3, “Through him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.”
It is through the Word that all things were made. God created all things through Him. Over and over again the Bible teaches that it is through Jesus Christ that God made everything. In 1 Corinthians 8:6, it says“…and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.” Colossians 1:16, “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth; visible and invisible; whether thrones or rulers or authorities: all things were created by him and for him”. Hebrews 1:2 says, “But in these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe.” All that is, is because of God’s creative power being done through Jesus Christ the Word.
Christ Jesus was there before any creation existed, and He was the One by whom all things were made. There is nothing in all of creation, in heaven or on earth, in this galaxy or anywhere in the universe, that doesn’t exist because of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the Life
Jesus is the source of life. Notice verse 4, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
Many people may teach that life evolved from nothing, but, the Bible teaches that all life came from the Life. Before anything else was alive, there was God, existing in three persons, in eternal, self-sufficient, perfect, life, and He is the source and the Giver of life.
But the kind of life John is talking about here is not physical life. Certainly we go around and see people in the mall, in the stores, at school everywhere who are up and alive walking around. But that is physical life. If John wanted to convey physical life he would have used the word “bios”. He doesn’t, he uses a different word, “zoe” which means spiritual life. Jesus is the source of physical life, yes, but, it is the spiritual life that John is so concerned with.
Remember his theme verse? Chapter 20 verse 31, “I write these things to you that you may know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.” Life is a major theme in John’s gospel, he mentions the word life 54 times. He wants his readers to have eternal life, to understand where they get it from, and to understand that unless they have Jesus Christ they don’t have real, true, eternal life.
The Bible says they are dead. They are walking dead people. Anyone who does not have the life of Jesus Christ does not have life at all. Why? Because Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1 says, “[We] were dead in [our] transgressions and sins”.
The Bible isn’t talking about being physically dead in sins, it is talking about being spiritually dead. Someone who is unsaved may be walking around breathing air but they are dead because the true life, the eternal life, the zoe spiritual life is not in them, and they are therefore dead in their sins.
John Piper points out one crucial point to understand about spiritual death. He says, “it is clear that when John says in John 1:4, “In him was life,” he means spiritual life, eternal life, life that saves from judgment. If you have the Son, if you have Jesus—if he is in you and you are in him—life is in you, and you are in life. You have life forever. Vital union with Jesus is everything.”
Zoe life, spiritual life, eternal life, is the life that saves from judgment. This life is in Christ Jesus and in Him alone. Having Jesus Christ’s life means you will never be judged by God because God does not judge Jesus Christ. His life is holy, His life is eternal, His life is the life of God. When someone believes in Christ they now have that same eternal, holy life in them and God does not judge the life of Christ. That’s why Romans 8:1 says “therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” It says this because God will not condemn anyone who is in Christ because God will not condemn His own Son. God gave His Son, His One, His Only Son – He gave Him over to be tortured and crucified and killed so that His eternal life could be given to all those who would believe in His Name.
And that’s just it: It’s the life that can be accepted or rejected. In John chapter 5 Jesus was speaking to some very hard hearted people, and in verse 40 he said, “You refuse to come to me to have life”. These were the religious leaders. These were the people who studied the Scriptures who kept all the laws who were so outwardly religious and yet Jesus said they were dead! They did not have life because they rejected the One who is life.
A person can be sincere; they can spend their life doing good things; they can be better than the next guy; they can be religious; they can be “in church”, they can be doing everything they can possibly think of and hope that they will get to go be in a better place. But it will all be for nothing, it will all count for nothing if they refuse to come to Jesus for life.
That’s so unloving of God someone might say, NO, THAT’s AMAZINGLY LOVING! That God would love us when we hated Him. That he would give to us when all we do is take from Him. When His thoughts towards us are too numerous to count we don’t give Him the time of day. When He wants us to be with Him forever, and He provided a way in Jesus Christ, we turn away and reject Him. Listen, when He sent His Son into the world to reveal Himself to the world, the world crucified Him! That’s amazing love. That’s Romans 5:8 love. Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates His love for us in this: that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”
The eternal Word gave His life so that we might have life. What do you mean “might.” I mean that this zoe, spiritual life that is eternal life only found in Jesus Christ the Word, can be accepted or rejected. I mentioned last week that John’s gospel contrasts the two reactions people have to Jesus Christ. They either believe Him or they reject Him. In chapter 1 verses 11 and 12, John talks about those who receive Christ. “Yet to all those who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husbands will, but born of God.”
The only way any person has ever entered into this world was by being born. We all have birthdays – some of us have had more than we care to admit. But those birthdays represent our physical birth, our bios birthday.
John is talking in these verses about having a zoe birthday, a spiritual birthday. It’s the day that you were born of God, or, “born again” as Jesus says in chapter 3 and became a child of God. He became your Father. It’s the day that you were born out of spiritual death and judgment and into spiritual life in Christ. That happens to all those who believe in His name. That’s how you receive Christ. You accept Him as the Son of God, the eternal Word who is God, who was sent into this world and who died on the cross for your sins.
What does it matter that Jesus is the eternal Word of God to me? How does this apply to my life? Because Jesus is eternal, because He is “the same yesterday, today and forever” according to Hebrews 13:8, your salvation is secure. Because He lives, those who have trusted in Him for eternal life will live too.
Comments
Post a Comment