In the beginning. You recognize
those first three words? In the beginning. Where else are these three words
found? You know. Genesis chapter one. Would you turn with me there
for a moment? The beginning. is the time when
God created the universe in the beginning. Now, we see these
words in Genesis chapter one, verse one. In the beginning,
God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without
form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And
the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God
said, Let there be light. And there was light. And God
saw the light that it was good. And God divided the light from
the darkness. And God called the light day. And the darkness He called night. And the evening and the morning
was the first day. Now, this is when time began. I don't know how to say this,
but there was a time when there was no time. And really, that
statement in itself doesn't even make sense. There was a time
when there was no time. When there was no time, it wasn't
a time, was it? I don't know how else to say it, but there
was a time when all there was was God. There was no light. There was no darkness. There
was no day. There was no night. There was no physical creation.
There was no sun. There was no stars. All there
was was God. There was no time. All there
was was God. And then He created the heavens
and the earth. There was a time when there was
no time, but He created the heavens and the earth. The day and the
night signified the beginning of time. That's when time began.
There was no day. There was no night, and God began
time. He created the universe. Now, all this was what we call
the beginning. God created something from nothing. That's what creation is. Now,
only God can do that. You and I can't create. You know,
people talk about creative people. Really, there's no such thing.
Only God can create. There was nothing. And he created,
and there was something. Now that is the creation. And
you know, the Bible does not attempt to prove this. You know, I like that. The Bible
does not attempt to prove this. It is self-evident. It is a presupposition
that must be believed. And let me also say this, to
not believe this, To not believe that God created the universe
is foolishness. You'd have to be a fool to not
believe that God created the universe. The fool has said in
his heart, no God. Now people who are otherwise
very intelligent people say, well how could the universe be
created? How could God create? Well, I
don't know. But don't say it's hard to believe
that God created the universe because the alternative is much
harder to believe. It's a whole lot harder to believe
that God didn't create than it is that he did create. Now, again,
this is a presupposition. The Bible makes no attempt at
proving that God created the universe. But understand this,
the alternative to this has a whole lot more problems in receiving. Turn with me to Romans one for
a moment. The creation itself is its own
testimony, look in verse 20. For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood
by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead,
so that they are without excuse." Now, something must come from
something. It can't just, there it is. Creation
itself testifies that God created the heavens and the earth. I
mean, we're without excuse. Just the fact that what is here
must have had something to cause it. The cause and effect, if
something is, something caused it. God is the cause of all things. Creation itself is its own testimony
that God is. In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth. And I can say this to everybody
here, speaking to myself, speaking to you, your conscience, this
is what I'm appealing to, and I'm not asking you to say anything,
but your conscience appeals to you, I know this is so. Your conscience. You may have
all kinds of objections. But your conscience says, I know
this is so. Everybody is born with this light.
Look down in verse 8 of the same chapter, John 1. He was not that
light, but was sent to bear witness of that light that was the true
light which lighteth every man. No exception here. Every man
that comes into this world is born with this light. God is. Now, it's true, men suppress
that light. And through sin, through rebellion,
they bring it down and they lie to themselves. And this is one
of the amazing things about human nature. You can lie to yourself
and make yourself believe that lie. That's amazing, but we do
that. But everybody's born with this
light. God is in the beginning, in the
beginning, in the beginning. God created the heavens and the
earth. Now, back to our text. It says in verse 1, in the beginning,
that's when time began, when God created the universe, in
the beginning was the Word. Now, this does not mean that
the Word began to be in the beginning. In the beginning, when the creation
took place, in the beginning already was the Word. In the beginning, when God said,
like me and like was, in the beginning when the creation took
place, already was the Word. He had no beginning. In the beginning
was the Word. There never was a time when Jesus
Christ began to be. I love it in John chapter 8 when
he says to that group of people, The Pharisees, he said, Abraham.
Now this took place, what, twelve, fifteen hundred years before,
two, I don't know, thousands, hundreds and hundreds of years
before the Lord was born. He said, Abraham rejoiced to
see my day. And he saw it and he was glad.
Oh, he was happy. And the Pharisees replied to
him and said, Thou art not yet fifty years old. And have you
seen Abraham? Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Before Abraham was, I am. Only God can say that. Before Abraham was, I am. He is always, I am. Now, Christ
is called the Word. I love this name of our Lord
in John chapter 1. In the beginning was the Word. Now, what's going on in my mind
right now? Can you see into my mind? No, there's not one person
in this room that can see in my mind. You can't see what's
going on in my mind and my heart, and I can't see what's going
on in your mind and your heart. And the only way you can know
what's going on in my mind and my heart is by the words that
come out of my mouth. The words. The articulation,
the words, what is in the concepts, the thoughts that are in my mind
come out in words, don't they? And the only way you can know
what's in my mind and in my heart is by the words that come out
of my mouth. The only way I can know what
is in the mind of God. God is a spirit. I can't see
him physically. The only way I can know what's in the mind
of God, what's in the heart of God, the only way I can know
the concept of God, what He thinks, what He's like, is by the words
that come out of His mouth. Christ Jesus the Lord is the
Word that comes out of the Father's mouth. Now, words are coming
out of my mouth right now. Concepts, ideas, the things that
I'm thinking, it's coming out in words. Who God is, Comes out
in words or the Word. Christ Jesus is the Word of God. When God speaks, what does He
say? What are His words? His words
are His Word. Christ Jesus is the Word of God. He's the embodiment of God. You want to know what God looks
like? You want to know what He's like? Christ Jesus is the Word. He's
what God has to say. God's making Himself known through
His Word. In the beginning was the Word. God, who at sundry times, Hebrews
1, 1 says, and in diverse manners spake in times past unto the
fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken to
us by His Son. This is what God has to say to
me and you. Christ. That's it. This is God's Word. Christ. This is my beloved Son. Ye Him. That's what God has to say. In
the beginning was the Word. Would you turn with me for a
moment to Revelation 19? I love this description of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Revelation 19. Beginning in verse 11. Now, this language is typical.
You know that. Was he sitting on a literal white
horse? I don't know, but I know that it's glorious, this language. And a lot of the language of
the Scripture is just given to accommodate our weakness. I mean,
we can only see certain things. Paul, one time, he said, I heard
unspeakable words. which are not lawful for a man
to utter. And the language of scripture is given to accommodate
our weakness as creatures of time, creatures of flesh. But
listen to this description. John says in Revelation 19, verse
11, And I saw heaven opened, and 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 he is. The Word of Now, what does the
Bible mean by the Word of God? You all have heard the term,
the Word of God. You're holding a book in your
hand that is called the Word of God. What does the Bible really
mean by this term, the Word of God? Well, three things are meant
by this, all of which are the same and can't be separated.
First, when the Bible speaks of the Word of God, the Bible
is speaking of the Holy Scriptures. All Scripture, the Scripture
claims, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. That's what 2 Timothy chapter
3 verse 16 says, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Now this book, don't look at
it as a book of beautiful poetry or beautiful ancient literature.
This book is either a bunch of foolishness that ought to be
burned and got rid of, or it is the divinely inspired Word
of God. This book claims to be the Word
of God. Now, can I prove to you that
it's the Word of God? Can I prove it? I can't prove
it. Do I feel a need to prove it?
I feel no need whatsoever to prove it. I know this book is
the Word of God. You know, you don't have to prove
something you already know, do you? I know this book is the Word of God.
It claims to be the Word of God. Now, I know this, if it's not
the Word of God, burn it. Get rid of it. But if it is the
Word of God, God's revelation of Himself, listen to what it
says. So when we speak of the Word
of God, we're talking about this book, the Holy Scriptures. Thy
Word is thou magnified above all thy name. But not only does
the Word mean the Holy Scriptures, you know this, the Word is the
living Word. In the beginning was the Word,
the living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word of God is quick,
the writer of the Hebrews said, or living and powerful and sharper
than any two-edged sword. In the beginning was the living
Word, the expression of God, the Word of God. He is the Word
that comes out of God's mouth. Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." He
is the Word that proceeds from God's mouth. The Living Word,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, how would you know that
He is the Living Word? How would we even know He is
the Word of God if the written Word didn't tell us? You know, what you and I really
think about Jesus Christ, the living Word, is seen in how we
respond to the written Word. Everything we know of Christ,
the living Word, is found in the written Word. And without
the written Word, we wouldn't know a thing regarding the living
Word. So the Word of God is the Holy
Scriptures. The holy word of God, the word
of God is the living word, the Lord Jesus Christ in the beginning
was the word, the word was with God and the word was God. And
the word of God is the gospel message. Now, let me show you
that in scripture, would you turn with me to first Peter,
chapter one. Now, while you're turning there, let me let me
say this. Did you know that you can say things about the living
word? From the written word. You can
even say true things about the living word from the written
word and never preach the word. The word is the gospel message. Now, look here in First Peter,
Chapter one. Verse twenty three. Being born again, Not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. The written word, the living
word, the gospel message. And here's the word of God. Here's
the gospel message. All flesh is as grass and all
the glory of the man is the flower of grass. The grass withers,
the flower thereof falls away. But the word of the Lord endures
forever. And this is the word This is
the gospel message. This is the divine Word which
by the gospel is preached to you, is declared to you. So the
Word of God is the written Word. It's the living Word, the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself. It's the gospel message. And
these three cannot be separated. They always go together. Now,
I want to give you a few scriptures that Describe the word, and I'm
not going to comment much on these, but let me let me give
you these descriptions in the Bible of the word of God. John
said in 1st John 1.1 our hands have handled of the word of life. The Word is called the Word of
Life. There is no life without this
Word. There's no spiritual life. He
is the Word of Life. John says, our hands are handled
of the Word of Life. He's talking about the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he calls Him the Word of
Life. And you know, the Word said concerning
His words, the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ said concerning
His words, the words that I speak unto you, they're spirit and
they are life. That's the words of the Word,
their spirit and their life. We read in James 1.18 of the
Word of Truth, of His own will. Begat He us through the Word
of Truth. He is the Word of Truth. He's
the truth concerning God. He's the truth concerning man.
He's the truth concerning salvation. He is the Word of Truth. Listen
to this scripture. We read in Hebrews chapter 5,
verse 13 of the Word of Righteousness. The Word of Righteousness. Now,
listen to me. There is only one righteousness. David said in Psalm 71, verse
16, I've made mention of thy righteousness, even of thine
only. There is only one righteousness,
and that is the righteousness. That's the perfect obedience.
That's the law keeping of Jesus Christ, the Lord. That righteousness
charged to the believers and count that righteousness imputed.
That righteousness imparted is the same righteousness that's
given to the believer at the new birth. One righteousness,
and he is called the word of righteousness, and then we read
in 2 Corinthians 5 19 of the word of reconciliation. What is reconciliation? Well,
it's to take two contending parties that are opposed to each other
and bring them together. Now, Christ Jesus is the word of reconciliation. He's how God can be at peace
with me. You know, God's not mad at me. I can think of all kinds of reasons
He'd have to be mad at me, but God's not mad at the believer.
He's reconciled to the believer. How is that? Christ Jesus is
my reconciliation. God's at peace with me. I'm perfect
in God's sight through my Redeemer. God's reconciled. And you know
what else? Not only is God reconciled to me, I'm reconciled to Him.
I love Him as He is. And I wouldn't change Him if
I could. I love His Gospel. I love His Word. I'm reconciled
to Him. He's called the Word of Reconciliation.
And then we read in Romans 9, 9 of the word of promise. This is the word of promise.
Christ Jesus is the promise of God. And I want you to look at
this one with me. First Corinthians chapter one. Would you turn with
me there? First Corinthians chapter one. Verse 18. For the preaching. Now, you see
that word preaching? That's the same word that is
translated word for the preaching, for the word of the cross. The preaching of the cross, the
word of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. Now,
somebody can hear this message and say, well, this is foolishness.
This is stupidity. I don't believe this. Well, to
them that perish, it is foolishness. But unto them which are being
saved, the word, the doctrine, The word of the cross. And this
is this is God's word. This is the whole counsel of
God to cross. This is how God can be just and justify the cross.
The word of the cross is to them that are saved the very power
of God unto salvation. Now back to our text. In the
beginning was the word. The word was with God. And the Word was God. Now, as the second person of
the Blessed Trinity, he was, is, and always will be with God. But that does not in any way
imply inferiority. The Word was God. Jesus Christ. Now listen to me.
That One who walked upon this earth. Jesus Christ the Lord.
That One who walked here on this earth is nobody less than God
Almighty. Thomas said to Him, My Lord and
my God. Jesus Christ is God. I love the way that sounds. I
love saying it. I'm going to say it again. Jesus Christ is
God. The Word was with God and the
Word was God. The same. The same was. You know, Jesus Christ is the
only one who's the same. Jesus Christ, the same. The Scripture
says yesterday, today and forever. How much have you changed in
the last 24 hours? You're up here, then you're down
there. Then you're here, and then you're over here. Then you
move over here. So changing. Jesus Christ the same. What He was is what He is. And what He is is what He will
be. There's no change at all in Him. I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore, ye sons of Jacob,
are not concerned. He never changes. He is the same. And He's the
only one of whom this can be said. Jesus Christ the same.
And I find such comfort and joy in this because I look at myself. My standing was in Him. The same
was. The same was. What He was, He
is. What He is, He will be. He said,
I'm the Alpha and the Omega. I'm the beginning and the end. I'm He which was, which is, and
which is to come. The Almighty. That's who He is. The same was in the beginning
with God. Look what it says next in verse
3. All things were made by him. And without him was not anything
made that was made. This one who was before the beginning
is the one who made all things in the beginning. All things
were made by him. Now, we've already talked some
about this. There was a time when there wasn't anything but
Him. Who can understand that? Nobody can. There was a time
when all there was was Him, and He spake this world into existence. The Scripture says, by faith
we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God. I love the picture of Him framing
the world simply as an act of His will. That's His power as
God. He's the Creator. All things were made by Him. Turn with me to Colossians 1
16 for a moment. Colossians 1 16. Now, when we're talking about
him making all things, that's more than just the physical creation.
Look in Colossians 1 16, for by him were all things made,
for by him were all things created. that are in heaven and that are
in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or power, all things were created by Him and
for Him. Now, what's created? Everything but Him. Whatever
it is, He created it. I form the light, He said. I
create darkness. God said that. I make peace,
I create evil, I, the Lord, do all these things. Proverbs 16,
4 says, The Lord hath made all things for himself, yea, even
the wicked, for the day of evil. You know, everybody's going to
glorify Him. Everybody. I find such comfort in this.
The Lord's made all things for Himself, even the wicked, for
the day of evil. I'm not going to glorify Him. Oh, you will. You've got no choice. He's going
to use everybody and everything for His own glory. He's in absolute
control. The Lord hath made all things.
Now, I'm a Christian. How'd I get that way? He made
me that way. Without Him was not anything
made that was made. I'm righteous before God. How'd
I get that way? He made me that way. It's not like He had anything
to work with, with me. It's not like He took something
in me and just kind of, no, He made me, just as He created the
universe, He made me righteous. I'm accepted before God. How
did I get that way? He made me that way. If the Son
shall make you free, you're free indeed. Without Him was not anything
made that was made. If you're a believer, He made
you that way. And you know that, don't you?
Don't you? I can speak to every believer here. And I have no
doubt that I get complete agreement with every believer. If you're
a believer, He made you one, didn't He? You didn't make yourself
that way, did you? You know that. I don't have to
convince you of that. You're sure of it. He made you
that way. Without Him was not anything
made That was made. Verse four says in him was life. In the Lord Jesus Christ was
life independently. You and I. Are so weak. And fragile. And the Lord can
take away our life. Just like that. Your last breath may be today. You're in God's hand, and we're
so weak. Our life is so fragile. It can be taken away so easily.
But in Him was life. You think about how dependent
we are. You're dependent on oxygen. You're dependent on air. You're
dependent upon food. You're dependent upon water.
Is He dependent upon anything? Absolutely not. He's absolutely
independent. In Him was life. Somebody says, Jesus is alive
and doing well. No, no. He's not alive. He is life. In Him was life. And the only way I have life
is in Him. I love that Scripture where He
says, because I live, you shall live also. You know, He is my
life before God. Literally. My life is Him. My life is that one who is seated
at the right hand of the Father, even right now. He is my life
before God. In Him was life. And the life,
only life, the life was the light of men. The light I have is Him. The light I have concerning who
I am. You know, when I was driving to Indiana, Friday, I was thinking
about this thing of the confession of sin, and I was having a hard
time confessing my sin. Sometimes it's easy to confess
sin. Sometimes you feel like such
a wretched dog that you can't see anything but wounds and bruises
and putrefaction. Sometimes you don't feel much
one way or the other. And I was sitting there trying to confess
my sin because I know I should. And it just didn't mean anything.
I thought, you know, I'm not even being honest when I'm doing
this. Lord, I confess my sins. You don't even know which ones
you're confessing. You're just giving this kind of general confession. And then where I came was this. Lord, all I can do... My confession
is no good. All I can do is agree with what
You say and understand that You're my life. Not me. You're my life
before God. In Him was life. You're one of
the things I love about the Lord. One of the many things I love
about the Lord. The scripture says even when he died, now he
laid down his life voluntarily. He said, no man takes my life
from me. I lay it down. I have the power
to lay it down. I have the power to take it up. And death itself
couldn't even come and take him until he gave it permission.
The scripture says he yielded up the ghost. He gave death.
Death couldn't take him because he said, OK, you can come take
me now. And that's what it took him. That's how powerful in him was life
and the life. That's the light of who God is,
who man is, salvation. Now, Lord, allow us to depart
in peace. My eyes have seen Thy salvation.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And here's
where we'll close with verse 5. And the light shineth in darkness. What was the first thing that
happened in the physical creation? Light. Light. First thing that happened.
Light. Let there be light. Now, when
you go into a dark room, Totally dark, pitch black. And you turn
on the light. What happens to the darkness? Can it fight off the light? No,
when the light shines, the darkness flees. It can't stop the light. There's no darkness that's so
thick that it can stop the light from shining. Now, when it says
the light shined in the darkness and the darkness comprehended
it not, what that means is it overtook it not. That's what
the word means. It couldn't stop it. And this is a reference to
the irresistible, invincible grace of God. When He shines
His light in you, it can't be stopped. It can't be thwarted. It cannot be defeated. who commanded
the light to shine out of the darkness, has shined in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. In the beginning was the Word.
Now, would you turn with me to John chapter 8? I know not everybody
will hear the Word. Look what verse 37 says of John
chapter 8. I know that you're Abraham's
seed, but you seek to kill me because my word hath no place
in you. I know not everybody will hear
the word. And I also know that those who do not hear the word
cannot hear the word. Look what the Lord said in verse
43. Why do you not understand My
speech? Even because you cannot hear My Word. You lack the ability
to hear My Word. But also know this, there are
some who will hear the Word. And this is our confidence. Look
in verse 46. Which of you convinces Me of
sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe Me? He
that is of God heareth God's words. You therefore hear them
not, because you're not of God. Somebody's going to hear the
Word of God. The Lord's going to make sure
that takes place. Let's pray together.