Alright brethren, let's turn
our Bibles to John, the Gospel of John. Let's begin reading in verse
1. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. All things were made by him,
and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was
life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth
in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. Now drop
down to verse 14. And the word was made flesh and
dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. The Word. The Word is the Son
of God, and He is God. He's the Creator, He's life,
and He's light. All of this is speaking of Christ,
and this one was made flesh and He dwelt among us. All that glory that He had with
the Father before anything was made, in the beginning, before
the beginning we know as the creation of this world, before
that, this is the glory He had with the Father. He's the Word.
He's the Son of God. He's God. He's the Creator, He's
life, He's light. He was set up as the God-man
mediator. All that glory He had with the
Father before He made anything. And that's what John and the
other apostles that were in the Mount of Transfiguration, that's
the glory they saw. That's the glory they saw. And
John's declaring here that the Word, that One who is the Word,
He's the Son of God. He's God. He's the Creator. He's
life. He's life. He's saying that same
Word was made flesh. And we saw it. We're eyewitnesses. We saw Him in the mount. Go back
over to 1 John. This is what he's saying. It's
what he's opened his epistle with over here. 1 John 1. That which was from the beginning,
which we've heard, which we've seen with our eyes, which we've
looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life. For the life was manifested and
we've seen and bear witness and show unto you that eternal life
which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. That
which we've seen and heard declare we unto you. that ye also may
have fellowship with us and truly our fellowships with the Father
and with His Son, Jesus Christ. You know, if we read that kind
of a witness in just a secular book and somebody said, I saw
it, and I'm telling you, this is what I saw, this is what I
heard, this is what my hands handled, I'm telling you who
this is. If we read that in a secular
book about something that did amount to a hill of beans, we'd
take it hook, line, and sinker and believe it. Wouldn't we? Why don't we believe John? He's saying, we saw this. We
heard him. We're telling you, we saw his
glory in the mount. We saw him. All the glory I'm
telling you about he had before the world was made, we saw that
glory in the Mount of Transfiguration. He's an eyewitness telling us
this. And that's what he's declaring
to us in the gospel. Now go back to John chapter one. I want to just take this a little
at a time and I don't think I'm going to get through all of it
but I just want to try to cover the first verse if we can. Now
first of all he says here Christ is the Word. He said in the beginning
was the Word. I think it's it's wise, the Spirit
of God moved John to call him The Word, capital W-O-R-D. There's a reason for that. The
unbelieving Jews, as well as the philosophers and the Gnostics,
they called Messiah, they talked about the coming Messiah and
they called him The Word, capital W-O-R-D. The unbelieving Jews
called Him the Word. The philosophers called Him the
Word. The Gnostics called Him the Word. They didn't believe
Messiah had come. They didn't believe Christ was
Messiah. But they called Him the Word.
I'll give you an example. When they would read Psalm 110.1,
where it says, the Lord said to my Lord, they would say, the
Lord said to the Word. capital W-O-R-D, the Lord said
to the Word. So they used that title for the
coming Messiah. They referred to him as the Word.
Now, John says here, he starts off where they have some common
ground. We agree that the Messiah is
the Word. You know, he's meeting them on
common ground. He's the Word. And he says, and this word was
made flesh. The one you're saying the word,
he's come, John said. He's made flesh. We saw his glory
in the Mount of Transfiguration. So he's declaring that this glory
that Christ had before the world was made, that's the glory Christ
spoke about in John 17. When he was praying to the Father
and he said, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with
the glory which I had with thee before the earth was. Before
the world was. He's talking about his glory
as God-man as the mediator. I'm not saying he was a man yet. He was not incarnate, but he
was already set up in the purpose and decree of God as the God-man. The Word. The Word is how He's known. That's the
revelation of God. Everything God has to say, He's
saying through Christ to us. He's the Word. He conveys, manifests
who God is. Go over to Revelation 19. Revelation 19 and look at verse
11. John said, I saw heaven open,
behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called
Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His
eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns,
and he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And
he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name
is called the Word of God. That's who Christ is, he's the
Word of God. A word is an expression, a word,
Let you know somebody's heart. It's how you convey meaning.
And Christ is the word. He's the way God manifests who
he is. God's invisible. He's spirit.
This is how God declares who he is. In Christ, the word made
flesh. Hebrews 1 says, God at sundry
times and in different manners spake in time past by the prophets. But he has in his last days spoken
to us by his son. This is God's Word to us. He
spoke by His Son. He said whom He appointed heir
of all things. When did He do that? In the beginning
that John's talking about. In eternity. By Him He made the worlds. John
said the same thing. Hebrew writers said He's the
brightness of His glory. That's what John's declaring.
He's the express image of his person and he upholds all things
by the word of his power. John's declaring all of that
in verse one of his gospel. All this glory he had from the
beginning and he by himself purged our sin and went back to glory
and sat down at God's right hand. God's spoken to us by his son.
Now in eternity, we're talking about in the beginning, we're
talking about before that. We're talking about eternity
when there was nothing but God. Christ is the wisdom of God. That word, word, and wisdom,
they're synonymous. He's the wisdom of God. He's
the counsel of God. He's the covenant of God. Everything
God has to convey to you, the sinner, Christ is, in that name,
the Word. Go over to Proverbs 8. Proverbs 8, and look over here
at verse 14. Now he's speaking here as wisdom,
but he's speaking here as the word, and this is Christ. This
is who we're talking about here. Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom. Remember, he's made unto us wisdom. He's the counsel of God, the
counselor. I am understanding. I have strength. By me kings reign and princes
decree justice. By me princes rule and nobles,
even all the judges of the earth. I love them that love me, and
those that seek me early shall find me. Riches and honor are
with me, durable riches and righteousness. My fruit's better than gold,
yea, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in
the way of righteousness in the midst of the pass of judgment.
that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance, and
I'll fill their treasures. Now watch this. The Lord possessed
me in the beginning, in the beginning of his way. Before his works
of old, before he created anything, I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there was no
depths, I was brought forth. When there were no fountains
abounding with water, before the mountains were settled, before
the hills was I brought forth. While as yet he had not made
the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust
of the world, when he prepared the heavens, I was there. When
he set a compass above the face of the depth, when he established
the clouds above, when he strengthened the fountains of the deep, when
he gave to the sea his decree that the water should not pass
his commandment, when he appointed the foundations of the earth,
then I was by him as one brought up with him. I was daily his
delight, rejoicing always before him. rejoicing in the habitable
part of the earth, and my delights were with the sons of men. Now
therefore hearken unto me, O ye children, for blessed are they
that keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise
and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth
me watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.
For whoso findeth me findeth life and shall obtain favor of
the Lord. In eternity Christ is the word. God purposed, He decreed everything
God would do in time in Christ, in the Word. The eternal Word
is the wisdom and power of God. He's the counsel of God. He is
the counsel. Men talk about God entered into
a council, but Christ is the counsel. He is the counsel of
God. He's the Word. He's the covenant. He tells us plainly, I gave him
for a covenant. He's the word. He's the gospel. Somebody wanna know, ask you,
what's the gospel you preach? Christ, he's the gospel. He is
the gospel. He is salvation. He entered covenant
to lay down his life for his people and make us the righteousness
of God in him. He's the word. John said there,
in the beginning, you know how many times we're told that our
salvation was already purposed and decreed and worked from before
the world was made? Over and over we're told that.
John said, I was given grace to preach the gospel, and listen
to this, in Ephesians 3, he said, to make all see what is the fellowship
of the mystery which from the beginning of the world has been
hid in God who created all things by Jesus Christ. I'm sent to
the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in
heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom
of God. That's when John says he's the
word, he's the manifold wisdom of God. Listen, according to
the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by
his faithfulness. That's all encompassed in that
word, word. He's the mystery. All God's purpose
that he would bring to pass in time, all his counsel, it was
all in Christ, the word. from the very beginning. He says
in Isaiah 48, let's look at this, Isaiah 48, 16. He says, come ye near unto me,
hear ye this. I've not spoken in secret from
the beginning. From the time that it was, there
am I. Only God can use that kind of
language. From the time that it was, there
am I. And now the Lord God and His
Spirit hath sent me. Who's saying this? Thus saith
the Lord thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. I'm the Lord thy
God which teaches thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way
that thou shouldest go. Look at Isaiah 41 and verse 4. He says, Who hath wrought and done it,
calling the generations from the beginning? You know what
he's saying? You take all the generations
from Adam to the last generation on this earth. He said, I called
them all from the beginning. This beginning John's talking
about, before ever anything was made. I the Lord, the first and with
the last. I am He. Christ said in Revelation,
I'm the Alpha and I'm the Omega. God trusted it all to Him, the
Word, and He's the beginning and the end. He's the whole alphabet
of everything God has to say. Look at Isaiah 46 in verse 9. Remember the former things of
old. This is what he's talking about,
all from eternity. For I'm God and there's none
else, I'm God and there's none like me, declaring the end from
the beginning. That's what he means by I'm the
Alpha and the Omega, I'm the beginning and the end. I declare
the end from the beginning, from ancient times, the things that
are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand, my word. He's the
word, my counsel shall stand. I will do all my pleasure, Calling
a ravenous man from the East, Christ is the man that executes
God's counsel from a far country. Yeah, I've spoken it. I'll also
bring it to pass. I've purposed it. I will also
do it. The election of God's people. the redemption of God's
people, the regeneration of God's people, the way He would do it
on the cross, everything, the works were finished from the
foundation of the world in Christ who cannot fail, in Christ the
Word. It was all settled. We're told
that over and over. We're bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God has
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit, belief of the truth. When's the beginning?
Before anything was made in the word. According as he chose us
in him before the foundation of the world. He, it says, Peter said, he verily
was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest
in these last times for you. The Word, before there was anything,
he was foreordained. God ordained him to be the God-man. We're talking about him as the
Christ, the God-man. And then he came forth as the
Word so that we understand God and can hear God and understand
this gospel of God. When he came, he communicated
to us, he revealed to us, he made manifest to us the mystery,
the salvation of God. Paul told Timothy, he saved us
and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but
according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us
in Christ before the world began, but is now made manifest. by
the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ. The Word was before,
and then the Word came forth, and that's how we know the Word
of God. We know the Gospel. He made manifest
God and His purpose. That's what the Word is. God's
invisible. How are we going to see God?
Christ is everything God has to say to us. He's the Word of
God to us, the living Word. And that Word was made flesh
and dwelt among us. Look down at verse 15, John the
Baptist, bear witness of him. What'd he say? This was he of
whom I spake, he that cometh after me, he's preferred before
me, for he was before me. He from eternity. So John says,
he's the word, I agree with you, he's the word. And that word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. Isn't it amazing? John, who most
people believe was, I believe he was the Lord's nephew. I believe
that's it. According to the flesh, I think
Joseph had a daughter named Salome, who was John's mother. And then Joseph was the Lord's
father, according to the flesh, you know. John laid on the breast of the
Word. He said, we handled him, we saw
him, we heard him. This one who existed before time
ever was a thing. John said, I leaned upon his
breast, talked to him. That's God in human flesh. That's
just astounding. And then look now back at our
text, I'm not gonna get far on this, I don't think, but John
says here, he's a distinct person in the Godhead and he is God. Now look here at verse one, in
the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the
word was God. Now again, the unbelieving Jews,
as well as the heathen philosophers and the Gnostics, they were like
modern-day so-called Jehovah's Witnesses. Their Bible doesn't
say this. The Watchtower says he was a
God, because they don't believe he was God. He was a God. But John here says he's the second
person in the Trinity. He's the son of God. He says
here, the word was with God. That means he was distinct from
God as the person of the Son of God. This is the relation
of Christ to the Godhead. With God means he's the second
person in the Trinity. God the Father, the Son of God,
and God the Holy Spirit. And then when he says he was
God, that means those three persons are one God. So he's a distinct
person in the Godhead, but he is God. That's why John said
over in 1 John 5, 7, there are three that bear record in heaven,
the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are
one. Three distinct persons, but only
one God. Now the Gnostics believed that
when he came in the flesh, if he was manifest in the flesh,
and he truly took flesh, then he would have been sin. and been
a sinner. So they said he couldn't have
really been made flesh, he just appeared like he was made flesh.
Some kind of apparition or something. John says, no, the word was made
flesh. He was made flesh, he dwelt among
us. We saw his glory, the glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. So fully,
perfectly did Christ reveal God, I mean perfectly, Fully, he revealed
God so that he could say, if you've seen me, you've seen the
Father. He is God. He is God. So John said, don't believe every
spirit. He said, this is how you're gonna
know if a man's sin of God. If he confesses that Jesus Christ
has come in the flesh, he's of God. And that's what he was referring
to, was the Gnostics who were saying, he came and we saw, but
he really wasn't made flesh. He just appeared that way. John
said, no, he was made flesh. He was made flesh, and any man
that says he wasn't, John said, is an antichrist. Men can't understand
it, and Paul said, without controversy, grace the mystery of godliness.
God was manifest in the flesh. He came in the flesh without
sin. Scripture says in all points
it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren. So he was
made of a woman, he was made flesh, he was made under the
law because he had to redeem his people out from under the
law. In order for God to be righteous and not punish one who was innocent,
there wouldn't be justice, there wouldn't be righteousness in
any shape, form or fashion, there wouldn't be justice. So what
did he do? He made him sin. He made him
bear the sin of his people. So God was just to pour out wrath
on him. Doing so, God poured out that
wrath on him and he was made a curse for us and redeemed us
from the curse of the law. And now, having made his people
the righteousness of God, now he's made higher than the heavens.
He made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
He's gone back to eternity where he was, without beginning of
days, without ending of days, without mother, without father,
like Melchizedek. He's a high priest forever, ever
living to make intercession for his people. His work's finished,
he came and he accomplished the work and he made us righteous
and he went back to glory. It's real. And then look, he
tells us here, he's the creator, the life, the light of man. Verse
two, the same was in the beginning with God. Now, this is probably
speaking of creation here. This is the second beginning.
He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by
him. Without him was not anything
made that was made. In him was life, and the life
was the light of man. Christ is the word. God entrusted
everything to him to do this whole work, and he's the word
who spoke everything into existence. All things were made by him,
all things. Without him was not anything
made that was made. When we read Genesis 1, it says,
in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. This
is who we're talking about. The earth was without form, it
was a picture of the fallen Adam, the spirit moved upon the deep,
and God said, God, the word, spoke the word. It said, let
there be light, and there was light. And he didn't create the
sun for four more days. The sun wasn't created until
the fourth day. He said, let there be light,
and there was light. The light shined in the darkness. He's
the light. He's the creator. He created
that first creation and he gave life and light to picture the
new creation. And he's the light and the life
of that new creation. I think this is what Paul's talking
about in Colossians. He said he's the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn of every creature, meaning he
created them all. By Him were all things created
that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible.
He's before all things. By Him all things consist. They
were created by Him and for Him. That's the first creation. And
all of that pictures how Christ creates a new creation. His people,
His church in righteousness. The next thing He says is He's
the head of the body, the church. Who's the beginning? the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things he might have the preeminence.
It pleased the Father that in him all fullness dwell. And he
made peace through the blood of his cross. He reconciled those
that were in heaven and those that were in earth, his people.
He reconciled us to God. He was made flesh and he bore
the sins of his people and he satisfied justice for God and
he justified his people. In doing so, he's the word who
manifests to us God's holiness. He made known to us God's righteousness. He made known to us God's mercy
and God's kindness and God's love. Everything we know about
God, we see it in Christ, particularly at the cross. What he accomplished. and he creates his people anew
in righteousness. He said, I created new heavens
and a new earth. He's the one that created the
first, he's the one that creates the new. I created new heavens
and a new earth, the former won't be remembered, it won't come
into mind, none of this that we see now. He said he's gonna
fold it up like you fold up a vest, put it away. But this new heaven
and new earth's created in righteousness, his righteousness. Look over
at Revelation 21. John said, verse 1, I saw a new
heaven and a new earth. The first heaven, the first earth
were passed away. There was no more sea. And I,
John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God
out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. That
New Jerusalem is all his people. made righteous and holy by Christ. That's his people, that's his
church. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold,
the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them
and they shall be his people and God himself shall be with
them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former
things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne
said, behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, write, these
words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, it's done.
And what did he say next? I am the alpha. I'm that one
that John told you all about in the beginning. I'm the alpha,
and I'm the omega. I'm the one here now that's ushering
in this new creation, completed. I'm the beginning and the end,
and I'll give unto him that's the thirst of the fountain of
the water of life freely. Who did John say that life is? He says in our text, he says
in the next word, He says, in him was life, and
the life was the light of men. In him was life, and the life
was the light of men. How did Adam have life? Well,
God breathed the breath of life to him. That was Christ the life. He had life by Christ giving
him life. He didn't give him immutable
life. He didn't give him life that couldn't be changed, but
he gave him life. And Adam sinned and died. Who
sustained him in life even after he sinned and died? Christ did.
Who gives a dead sinner that comes into this world? How come
he's alive? Christ gives him life. I'm talking
about just natural life. John said, he's not far from
every one of us for in him we live and move and have our being. He's the life of the man who's
cussing his name and hates him. And if he took that life away,
he'd meet him. We're just so helpless. We're
just so frail and fragile. All he's gotta do is take away
the life and we're standing in front of his presence. And he's the light. That was
the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world. Every man has understanding. He's the light of our understanding.
He's the light. But he's also spiritual life
and spiritual light. And when he's given that, he
quickened us. It'll never be taken away. Forever
with him, because we're life. The light shined in darkness.
The dark darkness comprehended it not. John came preaching the
light, nobody listened to him. Christ came unto his own, his
own received him not. How's a man gonna be made to
have this life and this light? He said, as many as received
him, to them gave he the privilege to become the sons of God, to
them that believe on his name, which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. But of God, gotta be born of
God. He's the creator. of everything, spiritual and
temporal. John said in that word, that
very life, that very God was made flesh and we saw his glory. Where eyewitnesses, I do pray,
I pray that he would call somebody to believe the witness. I don't
want to just preach to go through a form. I don't want to be here
just to go through a form of religion and go through a religious
exercise. I want Christ to be glorified,
and I want to see his people comforted, and I want to see
sinners called out of darkness into his light, called out of
death into life, made a new creation by Christ. Listen to this witness. This is the record. God hath
given to us eternal life, and this life's in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life,
and he that hath not the Son hath not life. We're going to meet him. He's
coming again, and either he's gonna come again, and we're gonna
meet him that way, or he's gonna take your physical life from
you, and you're gonna meet him in judgment face to face. But
we're gonna meet him. You're going to deal with God.
This one we're talking about, you're gonna meet him. You know,
you that know God, think about this. We'd be scared to death
meeting him and knowing him. I mean, it would be frightening.
If you looked up and saw Christ coming, don't tell me, I know
that we're not gonna hide and run under the rocks like the
unbelievers are, but you still, it's something we've never seen.
You still gonna have some bit of trepidation when you look up
and see him, to some degree. And you're gonna stand before
almighty, holy God, But imagine if you didn't have Christ and
you stood there. That's why scripture says they'll
run and try to beg for the rocks to fall on them. That won't do
any good. Still gonna meet him. So I pray
you give your heart to, this is the witness. These are eyewitnesses. You read something on the internet,
some harebrained wrote, people act like it's the truth. Oh,
that's gotta be true, it was on the internet. This is one of God's apostles
that said, I saw him. I saw him. I saw him in the mount. Find out who he is. Believe on
him. Amen. All right, brethren, let's
stand together. Our gracious God, we thank you
for Thank you that the works were finished from the foundation
of the world. Thankful Lord that Christ is a lamb slain from the
very beginning. You left nothing in our hands,
nothing undone. Thank you for sending your only
begotten son. Lord, make us realize just how
true he is, salvation. Make us seek him, make us flee
to Christ. And Lord, make us worship. We
thank you for your people. Thank you for our brethren everywhere.
Pray that you'd be with them today as they meet. Make your
gospel go forth in truth and in spirit. And let us all today
as we meet together, let us all be gathered around your throne
in glory, worshiping you, singing praises to you, the church in
heaven and in earth, that you might get all the honor. from
every single tongue and eye and heart in your people. Thank you, Lord, for this day.
We ask it in Christ's name, amen.