Look at verse 1, John chapter
1, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. I'm entitling the message, In
the beginning. in the beginning. Everything
begins with God. Now, the Lord in His infinite
wisdom has given unto us four accounts of the Lord's ministry
among men, each one dealing with a certain particular theme, inspired
by the same Spirit of God, but recorded by four different men.
It's a painted picture of the same glorious gospel, a painted
picture of the same glorious Lord, but viewed from four different
aspects. Looking at the same person, but
viewing the same person from four different angles. That's
why we've been given the gospel written by Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John. Not a different gospel, not a
different Lord. Same gospel, same Lord, but four
different views of the same person. Matthew shows the Lord Jesus
Christ as the King, as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And
indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ is the Lion, the Tribe, Lion
of the Tribe of Judah. And he is the king that's born
to put away our sin. Remember the messenger from heaven
declared, call his name Jesus. He shall save his people from
their sin. Mark, in his gospel account,
shows the Lord Jesus Christ and pictures Him as Jehovah's righteous
servant who has come to accomplish our salvation, who has come to
do the will of God as that righteous servant of God, obedient in all
things, even obedient unto death. And then we have the gospel according
to Luke. And Luke shows us about the Lord
Jesus Christ in His full humanity, in His compassion, in His tenderness,
and His love toward His little children. He said, Suffer, little
children, to come unto Me, for such is the kingdom of God. In
the Gospel of Luke, He is seen as the Son of Man with compassion,
with pity, with mercy. upon His covenant people. And
then in the Gospel that bears the name John, the Gospel of
John. And John shows us this aspect
of the Lord Jesus Christ. While others talk about His humanity,
others talk about His being an obedient servant, and others
as the Son of Man, John talks about and shows us in plain,
clear, simple terms, He is Deity. He is Deity. Now, what do I mean? What does the word Deity mean?
Well, you adults know, but for the children, that the Lord Jesus
Christ, He is God. He is the Almighty, the Eternal
God. Don't ever let anyone ever tell
you that the Lord Jesus Christ is not God. He is. He always has been. The theme
of John's gospel, inspired and God-given, the gospel that bears
his name then, John clearly tells us about the deity or the Godhood,
the Godhead of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's always been God. Always has been. Always will
be God Almighty. Now, John has a special thought
about this. Turn over here to 1 John. 1 John now. And he, in his epistle
here, begins it the same way. The Lord used this servant John
to declare unto us the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, His
Lordship. His Godhead, He is God the Son. In 1 John chapter 1, that which
was from the beginning, from the beginning, and that which
we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we
have looked upon, our hands have handled of the Word of Life. For the life was manifested.
We've seen it. We bear witness and show unto
you that eternal life, which was with the Father, was manifested
unto us. And we've seen Him. We've heard
Him. And we declare unto you this
glorious message, this glorious gospel. We've been studying in
the Revelation. Do you remember from Revelation
chapter 1 where the Lord said, I am Alpha? I am Omega, which
means He is the beginning, He is the beginning, and He is the
ending. Which is, which was, and which
is to come, He is the Almighty God. Now let's take a close look
at verse 1. In the beginning, John chapter
1, verse 1. In the beginning was the Word,
was the Word. in the beginning. Now we studied
from Psalm 90 where we read from everlasting to everlasting thou
art God. Now when we think about eternity
and when we think about the beginning God has no beginning God has
no ending. Eternity Now you think with me,
eternity doesn't have, does everlasting have a beginning? Eternity has
no beginning. And eternity can have no end.
In eternity, time does not exist. It's just the eternal present.
I was watching, as I often do, the local news and the weatherman
was talking about all this nice warm weather we've been having.
And then he would look ahead a few days about the forecast,
and he made this statement. He said, all good things must
come to an end. Well, I guess when it's warm weather, at some
point it's going to get cold. And in that sense, that's probably
a good statement. But when we consider the gospel
and who God is, all good things will never have an end. All good
things in the gospel are eternal things. Now you think with me.
Everything about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm talking
about the gospel of God concerning Christ. Everything about the
gospel is eternal. Every aspect of our salvation
is eternal. When we talk about election,
when did He choose us? In eternity. We're going to see
that in just a minute. Everything about the gospel is
eternal. Our salvation that He accomplished for us is an eternal
salvation. Our redemption in which we enjoy,
it says in Hebrews 9, verse 12, that He obtained for us eternal
redemption. And the Lord Jesus Christ as
a good shepherd of the sheep, He laid down His life for us
that He might give us what kind of life? It's not a temporary
thing. He gives us everlasting life.
You see, everything connected with the gospel is connected
with God, who is eternal and everlasting, and all blessings
we have in Christ Jesus, are they temporary? Oh no, my friend. You think about it. The inheritance
we have in Christ Jesus, incorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away,
reserved for you in heaven. How long was that inheritance
going to last? It's an eternal inheritance.
Now let's look at this beginning in two aspects. In the beginning,
in the beginning was the Word. Now this beginning has a reference,
I think, to two things. This beginning has a reference
to the beginning of time, when God created all things, as we
read in Genesis chapter 1, in the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. In the beginning God said, let
there be light. And in the beginning God separated
the night and the day. He called the light day and the
night, He called darkness and He made a separation. So there
we see the beginning of time. But when time started, God's
purpose was already established, fixed, and settled when time
started. Now, there was a beginning, there
was a time, and I know this is probably not going to make much
sense, but there was a time when there was no time. And then there
was a time when God said, let there be day and let there be
night, and time started. But when time did start, God's
eternal purpose was Settled. Fixed. Unchanging. Unalterable. God does not change. Now listen to these Scriptures.
You'll remember they're from Isaiah 46. God declares the end from
the beginning. It was fixed and settled. You
remember in Acts chapter 15, James stood up at that council
that day in Jerusalem and said, No none to God are all his works
from the beginning. God has decreed the end from
the beginning. So there's a reference to time.
But also, secondly, and probably more importantly to me, we also
see the eternal beginning of God's purpose of salvation through
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word. In eternity, in the beginning
of eternity, God purposed to save a people in Christ Jesus. There is the eternal purpose
of God in Christ. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. Our Savior then, the Lord
Jesus Christ, is the eternal Savior. He is the eternal Redeemer. Come to save His people. Now
think with me. Before creation, before time,
Before the entrance of sin, God's purpose stood, didn't it? Because
His purpose, we read in Ephesians chapter 3, of the eternal purpose
which He purposed in Christ Jesus. Before creation, before time,
before the entrance of sin. Yes, I am. The Lord Jesus Christ
from all eternity has always been our justifier. He's always been our Savior. Because the Lord Jesus Christ
stood as the surety, the guarantor of the everlasting covenant of
grace. Now here's what I'm saying. Before
Adam fell, before sin entered in, the Lord Jesus Christ stood
as that surety, that guarantee of our salvation. Before there
was a sinner, in the eternal purpose of God, in the beginning
of that purpose. The Savior stood. Now listen to these Scriptures.
In the beginning the Lord chose His people unto salvation. Now
remember 2 Thessalonians 2 verse 13, We are bound to give thanks
to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God has
from the beginning chosen you unto salvation. In the beginning
the Lord Jesus Christ was called the Lamb that was slain, When? Before the foundation of the
world. That's the beginning of God's
eternal purpose to save a covenant people to the glory of His own
name's sake. In the beginning. In the beginning. Now, I want you to look at this
scripture with me. Find 1 Peter 1 in the beginning.
God created heaven and the earth. In the beginning, God purposed
to save a covenant people in Christ Jesus that he might receive
all the honor and glory. Look at 1 Peter 1, verse 18. Forasmuch, he said, as you know,
that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold from your
vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without
blemish and without spot, who was truly foreordained before
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last
times for you." So He's always been the Lamb slain in God's
eternal purpose to save His covenant people in the beginning. Now
look back at the text. In the beginning, in the beginning,
look at verse 1 again. In the beginning was the word. You see that? Was the word. Now notice I point this out.
Capital W-O-R-D. Talking about a person. talking
about the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Now notice it doesn't say that
the Lord Jesus Christ had a beginning. It just says in the beginning,
He's already there. Was the Word. It plainly says
that in the beginning the Lord Jesus Christ was already the
self-existent Jehovah, eternal God. As God the Son, as God,
He has no beginning, does he? He certainly has no end. Listen
to this scripture in Malachi chapter 5. Malachi chapter 5. It says, this may be Micah chapter
5. But thou, Bethlehem, though thou
be little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of thee shall
come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel, whose going
forth hath been from old, from everlasting." Everlasting. Now turn to John 17. We see the
eternality of the Lord Jesus Christ. Before he took to himself
a real body, and was manifest in the flesh. We're going to
see that in John chapter 1 verse 14. The Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us. But before that blessed incarnation,
the Lord Jesus Christ eternally dwelt with God the Father. Look what it says here in his
priestly prayer in John 17 verse 4 and verse 5. Let's read verse
3. John 17 verse 3 and following.
And this is eternal life. that they might know thee, the
only true God." The only true God? Who is the only true God? Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. And then our Lord prayed this
way, verse 4, I glorified thee on the earth, I finished the
work you gave me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou
me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was." Before time. He dwelt one with the Father
eternally. Now, in the same chapter, John
17, notice verse 24. Father, He said, I will, that
they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that
they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me. For thou
lovest me before the foundation of the world. In the beginning
was our Lord. Was the Word. Now, let's look
at that. Was the Word. The Word. Capital W-O-R-D. Now, why is he called the Word?
Why is he called the Word? Now, the Lord Jesus has many
names in Scripture. I brought a series of messages
one time. Started with the letter A. Went all the way through the
alphabet. of all the names the Lord uses throughout all Scripture. But one of the names He uses
is the Word of God. In Revelation 19, don't turn.
We've read this recently so many times. It says in Revelation
19, 13, He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and His name
is called the Word of God. He is the Word. The Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, what is a Word? Now, I can
think thoughts and not say a word, and you'll never know what I'm
thinking, will you? You can't read my mind. Now,
if I just stood up here and preached this sermon to myself, I never said a word. You would
never have a clue as to what I'm thinking or about to say.
A word, when I speak a word or when you speak a word, it's a
vehicle of communication, isn't it? I'm revealing unto you what
is in my heart, what is on my mind when I speak a word to you. You might say to your husband
or your wife or to your child, I love you. That's a word you
speak. Because it's on your heart. I
love you. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Word of God. He's all the revelation and communication
of God the Father unto us. You want to know what God the
Father thinks? Listen to the Word of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He is the revealed, the Lord
Jesus Christ speaks unto us the revealed will of God in the purpose
of His grace and salvation. He's the communication of God
unto us. He is the very revelation of
God unto us. God who commanded the light to
shine in the darkness has shined in our hearts to give us the
light of the knowledge of the glory of God that's seen in A
person, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's seen in the face of Christ.
A person, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, then,
is the final spokesman of God. He's the revealed will of God
unto His covenant people. Now, find Hebrew chapter 1. Hebrew
chapter 1. You say, well, these things are
deep. They are, but they're so. They're so. These things are
so. By faith, we believe them. By faith, we receive them. Hebrews
chapter 1, look at verse 1. Hebrews 1.1, God who in sundry
times, different times, different manners, spake in times past
unto the fathers by the prophets, He hath in these last days spoken
unto us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things,
by whom also He made the world, who being the brightness of His
glory, the express image of His person, upholding all things
by the word of His power, when He by Himself purged our sin,
He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." You
want to know anything about redemption? Look at the Lord Jesus Christ.
You want to know anything about salvation? Listen to the Word
of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
final spokesman of God. Now look back at John chapter
1 verse 18. John chapter 1 verse 18. No man
has seen God at any time. See verse 18? God is Spirit. Every revelation
of God in the Bible is the Lord Jesus Christ. Even before His
incarnation is Christ. Who met Adam in the garden? The Lord Jesus Christ. Look what
it says in verse 18, No man has seen God at any time. The only
begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath
declared Him. He had declared Him. Now, a word,
as I said, is a means of manifestation and communication, revelation.
Christ, therefore, manifests unto us the invisible God, and
communicates the love and mercy of God unto us, reveals the attributes
of God, the perfections of God, and most importantly, He shows
us the way of salvation. He said, I am the way, the life,
The truth, no one comes to the Father, but by me, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the Word. Now look back at John chapter
1, verse 1 again. In the beginning was the Word,
and it says the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Verse 2, the same was in the
beginning with God. The Word was with God, and the
Word was God. The same was in the beginning,
with God. Now, no clear statement in Scripture
declaring unto us the eternality and deity of our blessed redeemer. Turn over here to John chapter
8. We see this again in John chapter 8. John chapter 8, verse
56. The eternality of the Lord Jesus
Christ. John 8, 56. He said, Your father,
Abraham, rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad. Well,
the Jews said to him in verse 57 of John 8, Then said the Jews
unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old. Abraham lived thousands
of years ago. How do you say that Abraham saw
your day? Verse 58, And the Lord said to
them, Verily, verily, before I say unto you, Before Abraham
was, I am God." Before Abraham, I am God. No clearer statement
then, here, as we see the eternality of the Lord Jesus Christ. Something else we see, no clearer
statement to the distinct person of God the Son. He was with God,
and He was God. He was with God. The Lord our
God is one Lord. It says that in Scripture. The
Lord our God is one Lord. Yet He is pleased to manifest
Himself in three distinct characters. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. With the same nature, holy. With the same purpose, His glory. With the same sovereign power,
Complete dominion over all things. He is the same. Our God does
not change. He is the same. Look at verse
2. The same was in the beginning with our God. We read in Hebrews 13 verse 8. Concerning the Lord Jesus Christ,
He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Also can be said
of Him, I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob,
you are not consumed. What He was in eternity, God
Almighty, when He took humanity and married it to His deity,
He was in time. Did He stop being God when He
was manifest in the flesh? Look at verse 14 of John 1. The Word was made flesh. and
brought among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." We can say
this, and I said it in the Bible study this morning, he remained
what he was, eternal holy God, and yet became what he was not.
But He did not change in His character, or His purpose, or
His glory. What He was in eternity, He is
forever. When He is forever, He took humanity
to His deity, just not through time, but think of it, forever. Forever. There's a God-man mediator,
there's a man in glory sitting on the throne of glory, and there's
none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. But when He came forth
from the tomb, He didn't come forth with a... He said, a spirit
doesn't have flesh and bones as you see me have. He came forth
with a real body, glorified body. This life we'll have someday
in that glorious resurrection. Now look at John chapter 1. Verse
3, we see that He is not only eternal God, eternal surety,
but we see that He is the eternal Creator. Look what it says in
verse 3, all things were made by Him, and without Him was not
anything made that was made. That's a pretty comprehensive
statement. Without Him was not anything made that was made. The Lord, our Redeemer, is the
Creator of all things. He is Originator, the Originator
and Creator of all things. Man has never created anything. Man has never created anything.
We'll say, wait a minute, we created the Internet. We created
this. No, you didn't. You just took things that were
already created and moved them around and put things together.
We've never created anything. There's just one Creator. That's
God Almighty. He's the Originator. He's the
Creator of all things. And He is the Sustainer. He's
the Sustainer of all things. The Sovereign of all things.
The Upholder of all things. We read in Hebrews 1 just a moment
ago, He upholds all things by the word of His power. In the original creation, turn
to Colossians chapter 1. Believers don't believe in evolution. They believe in creation. God created all things as it
pleased Him. Colossians chapter 1. He's the
creator of all things. Colossians chapter 1, look at
verse 14. It says, "...in whom we have
redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sin."
Colossians chapter 1. "...who is the image of the invisible
God, the firstborn Lord of every creature. For by Him are all
things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible, invisible,
whether it be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created by Him, and all things were created for
Him." Now look at verse 17, He's before all things, and by Him
all things consist. Now that word there, consist,
means held together. He governs all the physics in
this universe. He governs and controls all things
in this universe. In the original creation, He's
the creator of all things. And in the new creation, This
old, this creation as we know it, is going to be destroyed
by fire. And he's going to make a new
heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Now who's
going to create that? He's the creator of the original
creation, and he's the creator of the new creation. And think about this. He's the
creator of all things. in making us new creatures in
Christ Jesus. Now, who did that? Who made us
new creatures in Christ? Who created that? We didn't. Turn over here to Ephesians chapter
4. Look what it says right here
in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 24. Ephesians 4, 24. He said,
Put ye on the new man, which after God is created, created
in righteousness and true holiness. The new birth, making us new
creatures in Christ Jesus, is a work of God alone. We were
born again, not of the will of flesh, not of the will of man,
but were born and begotten of God. Christ is the creator of
our salvation, is He not? Christ is the creator of our
righteousness, is He not? He's a creator of every spiritual
blessing we enjoy. He created it, He purposed it,
He sustains it, and He freely gives it unto us. Now look at
verse 4. In our text, John chapter 1,
verse 1, 2, 3, and verse 4, in Him was life. In Him is life. Now whatever salvation is, and
I think I know what it is, But whatever it is, it's in Him.
Salvation is in a person, that's what I'm saying. Salvation is
in Christ Jesus. In Him was life. Remember what
we read in John 17, verse 3? This is eternal life, that they
might know Thee, the only true God, the only true God. Did you notice I left out a word
when I read that? I left it out on purpose. The only true God, Jesus Christ. He is eternal life. Salvation
in a person in Christ. Now I've often said salvation
is not in a profession. It's not in a persuasion. It's
not in a position. It's not in a pool. Salvation
is in a person. Isn't that what that says? In Him with life. Life. Life is in a person. Find 1 John
5. 1 John 5. 1 John 5. Let's see if I can make good
on that. 1 John 5. Verse 11. This is the record
that God has given to us eternal life. And this life is in His
Son. Now that's pretty clear, isn't
it? He that hath the Son hath life, salvation, and all that's
involved with having Christ. You found in Him, you have all
things that God purposed in salvation. He that hath not the Son of God
does not have life. Now whatever else you may have,
you may have popularity, you may have a lot of money, you
may have morality, but if you're not found in Christ Jesus, you
do not have salvation. Preacher, how do you get in Christ
Jesus? Do you want to know the scriptural
answer of how a sinner is found in Christ Jesus? Here's the scripture,
it's one of many, 1 Corinthians 1.30, but of Him, of God, are
you in Christ? Who of God is made on us? Wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Our salvation
being put in Him is the work of God alone. It's God who saved
us and called us. He is life. Look what it says
in verse 4 back at our text. And the life, the life was the
light of men. Christ is our light. He said that in John 8. Turn
over there. John 8. John 8, verse 12. I am the light of the world.
We're going to see this statement many times in the book of John.
I think seven times. I am the door. I am the way.
I am the truth. I am the bread. I am the light
of the world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The revelation
of life in Christ Jesus. You see, when it comes to salvation,
the Lord Jesus Christ is not something. He's everything. When we talk about salvation,
He's not something. He's everything. In Him dwells
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and in Christ we stand
complete. Now look at John 1.16. Of His fullness have all we received
grace. For grace. Grace because of grace. We have life and light and salvation
in Christ Jesus. Now in closing, let's look at
verse 5. Give me just a few minutes. Now watch this. Two things we
see in verse 5. Light shineth in darkness, and
the darkness comprehends it not. Now, two things here. First thing
is this, the natural fleshly carnal mind is so totally in
the dark, the darkness of death, the darkness of sin and depravity,
it cannot in itself comprehend the light, understand or discern
that the Lord Jesus Christ is the light. It says in John 3.19
that men love darkness rather than the light. The carnal mind,
Romans 8, is enmity against God. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, 1 Corinthians 2.14. Darkness. We're so totally depraved
and so sinful. That if God doesn't dispel the
darkness by the command of His light, we'll never see Christ. Now here's the second thing.
In the call of the gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ delivers us
from the power of darkness. He dispels the darkness by shining
the light of His person in our heart. He commands the light
to shine in us. And this light, where it says
here in our text, "...and the darkness comprehended it not."
This word here, comprehended, has the sense and the meaning
of cannot be stopped. That is, the darkness cannot
stop the light. The darkness cannot say to the
light, no. And here we see the effectual
call of God. When God Almighty turns on the
light in your heart, through the power of the Word, by the
power of God the Holy Spirit, revealing Christ the light unto
us, what happens? The darkness is dispelled. So here's what we see. Turn to
Colossians chapter 1 again, I'll let you go home. Colossians chapter
1. We'll turn you loose with this.
Look at this, Colossians chapter 1. Now here's, when He shines
that light in our heart, I tell you what, the darkness of our
sin and depravity cannot stop the penetrating light of God
the Holy Spirit. Look what it says, and therefore
when He shines that light and commands the light to shine,
Colossians chapter 1 verse 12. We give thanks unto the Father,
who hath made us meet fit to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light, in Christ." Now watch it, verse 13, "...who
hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of God's dear Son." He did that. He commanded
the light to shine in our heart. And then you know what that causes?
It causes thanksgiving and praise unto our heart, that we should
show forth the praises of him who called us out of darkness
into his marvelous light. In the beginning God created
all things. Now isn't that an amazing scripture? An amazing truth that God