I would have you open your Bible
to John 9. John chapter 9. I'm going to
tell you a story. Our Lord restored sight to a
man who was born blind. And upon being questioned, the
man only knew when the religious crowd questioned him about whether
he was really blind, whether he had received his sight, and
who did it. He replied, a man that is called
Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes. And he said to me, go
to the pool of Siloam and wash. And I went. And I washed, and
I was blind, and now I see. And Scripture says these religious
Pharisees censored him. That is, they put him out of
the synagogue. They took away all of his religious
privileges and condemned him. Well, our Lord found him again. In John 9, verse 35, John 9,
verse 35, Jesus heard that they had cast him out, out of the
synagogue, took away all of his Jewish rights and privileges. And when he had found him, he
said to him, Do you believe on the Son of God? Do you believe on the Son of
God? And he answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might
believe? And Jesus said unto him, Thou
hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And
he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. That's
the question that I'm asking this morning. Who is he? Who is he? that I might believe.
And with the text, I believe the Spirit of God, if the Spirit
of God is pleased to bless the Word to our hearts, perhaps everyone
here and everyone who will hear this message on tape can reply
to that question. Do you believe on the Son of
God? Reply with the man who was blind. I believe, and worshiped
him. That's what Peter said. Our Lord
said, Whom do you say that I am? He said, You're the Christ, the
Son of God. Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona. Flesh and blood didn't reveal
that to you, but my Father revealed that to you, that I'm the Son
of God. You're blessed. That's what the eunuch said in
answer to Philip's question. He said, If you believe, With
all your heart, you can be baptized. He replied, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. That's what I believe. And he
went on his way rejoicing. And that's the promise of our
Lord in the scriptures. He says this plainly and clearly.
He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life. He that believeth on the Son
of God hath everlasting life, and shall never come into condemnation. But he's already passed from
death unto life. Do you believe on the Son of
God? Well, here's the request. Who
is he that I might believe? And here's the answer right here
in the first chapter of John. So let's go back to our text.
The first chapter of the Gospel of John. You know, it seems to
me, and to a lot of other folks who've written on the subject,
it seems to me that each of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John, each of them has a prominent particular theme. That's what it seems. Most people
agree with this. Matthew presents Jesus Christ
as the King of the Jews. Mark presents him as the servant
God talks about in Isaiah, my servant in whom my soul delighted,
mine elect. Luke presents him as the son
of man. Very careful to describe his
whole birth, announcement, process, all that. Luke presents him as
the son of man. But John, all the way through
this Gospel of John, from the opening words, he's the Son of
God. He's the Son of God. Jesus of
Nazareth, King of the Jews, servant of the Most High God, Son of
Man, the Son of God. Let's look at verse 1. And we
see our Lord's relation to time. In the beginning was the Word. It doesn't say Christ was from
the beginning. It says he was in the beginning.
Christ is not in time. Time is in Christ. The Bible
starts that way. In beginning, God. In the beginning,
God. And that's the way this revelation
of the Son of God begins. In beginning was the word. Having neither beginning of days
nor end of life. He said in that great prayer
of John 17, he said, Father, glorify me with the glory which
I had with thee before time was, before the world was, before
the heavens were created. Glorify me. Who is this Son of
God in relation to time in the beginning? He's not in time. Time's in him.
And it says here his relation to the Godhead and the Word was
with God. In beginning was the Word and
the Word was with God. Our God is one God, my friends,
but it's three persons. That's right. He said it so clear
in the scripture. There are three that bear record
in heaven, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these
three are one. When God created man, he said, let us make man.
To Isaiah, he said, who will go for us? When our Lord was
baptized in the river Jordan, the voice from heaven said, this
is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. Again, he said,
this is my son, hear him. And John said, I saw the spirit
of God descending from heaven and abode upon him, never to
leave him. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. And our Lord told his disciples
to go into all the world and make disciples and baptize them
in the name of Jesus Christ, yes, but in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. You can't have a father without
a son. He's not the heavenly Father
if you don't have a son. Yeah, but he has us. We weren't
heard of one time. He's the eternal father. He's
not father because a son came along. He's the eternal father.
You understand that? You can't have a son without
a father, a father without a son. I'll understand all that someday.
I just know it's so. I'm not explaining the gospel.
I'm proclaiming it. I don't understand God, do you? Comprehend God. I don't need
a God I can comprehend. He'd be like me. So our Lord's
relating, and the scripture says in Hebrews 1, unto the Son, the
Father said, listen, unto the Son, the Father said, thy throne,
O God, is forever. Paul's speaking to the elders
at Antioch, he said, you feed the church of God, which God
purchased with his own blood. God doesn't have any blood, God's
a spirit. The Son has blood. He was made
flesh and brought among us. The Son is God. In beginning
was Jesus Christ and he was with God. And listen to this. Listen
to this. He was with God and he was God. But he's called the Word. Well,
let me tell you something. Now listen carefully. What is
a Word? I just said four of them. What
does a word do? A word is an expression. A word
is an expression or revelation of a thought. I'm saying in words
what I'm thinking here and here. A word is a manifestation of
a thought. Christ is called the Word of
God because he's the expression, the express image of God, expression. He's a manifestation of God. The disciples said, show us God.
God's a spirit. No man's seen God at any time.
You can't show them God. I can't show you God. But he
that has seen me, Christ, says he's seen God. He's the Word. He's the expression of God. He's
the revelation of God. He's the manifestation of God.
He's the whole alphabet. You ever thought about this?
He said, I am Alpha. That's the first letter in the
Greek alphabet. I'm omega. What's that? The last. I'm all
in between. He's God's whole alphabet. This
is where our country's in the mess it's in. Politically, socially,
economically, religiously, matrimonially, authority, every way. We've left
the Word of God. We've left the alphabet. We're
talking another language. Christ is God's whole alphabet.
He's the Word. He's the Word. In the beginning,
with God, Father, Son, Spirit, was God. His name is Wonderful
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father. Verse 2,
His relation, the same was in the beginning with God. Verse
3, His relation now to creation. Now listen. His relation to time? Time's in Him. To God? With God was God. All things
were made by Him. All things. Everything. Principalities, powers,
rulers. Things visible, things invisible.
All things were made by Him. Without Him was not anything
made. We're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. That's right. We're talking about the Lord
Jesus Christ. Turn, if you will, with me to Colossians 1. Colossians
1, verse 15-17. We're talking about the Son,
the Word of God. By the Word of God, the heavens
were of old. By the Word of God, the world
was framed. God created it by His Word, by
His Son. Colossians 1, verse 14. Look at it. In whom we have redemption
through his blood, even the forgiveness of sin. Now who's that? who is
the image of the invisible God, he's the revelation of the invisible
God, he's the firstborn of every creature. For by him were all
things made, created, that are in heaven, that are in earth,
visible, invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities
or powers, all things were created by him, for him, he's before
all things, and by him all things are held together, they consist.
Is that clear? He's the Creator. You don't believe
He's the Creator? Watch Him turn six pots of water
into wine at creation. Watch Him take five loaves and
two fishes and feed five thousand people and gather up twelve baskets
full of leftovers. Watch Him stand at the bow of
a boat and raise His hand and tell the wind to cease and the
waves to calm down. The disciples, when they saw
that, they said, what manner of man is this that even the
waves obey his voice? Everybody obeys his voice in
creation except man. That's right. Everything obeys
him. That's the chief end of creation
is to glorify Christ. Look at verse 4, in him was life. In Christ Jesus was life. L-I-F-E,
life. Now the word here is used in
the widest sense. Life. L-I-F-E, life. All life is in him. He's the
fountain of life. As the father hath life in himself,
so hath he given to the son to have life in himself. He's the
life giver. Animal life? Lives because of
Him. Plant life, because of Him. Human life, because of Him. In
Him is life. Now let me show you that in Job
chapter 12. Now turn to Job chapter 12. In
Him is life, all life. This is life in the widest application. The widest sense. Job 12. I love
this scripture. You'll want to mark it in your
Bible. Verse 7, Job 12, 7. But ask now of the beast, they'll
teach you. The fowls of the air, they'll
tell you. Speak to the earth, it'll teach
you. Fish of the sea, they'll declare it to you. Who knoweth
not in all these things that the hand of the Lord hath wrought
this? Anybody here that doesn't believe the hand of the Lord
wrought this? Who's so dumb he doesn't know that? in whose hand
is the soul of every living creature and thing, and the breath of
all mankind. I'm talking about life in the
widest sense. In him, life. There's a heart. It's beating. What makes it beat? Life. A man's not living because his
heart's beating. His heart's beating because he's living.
That's right. There's a seed. There's a seed,
and in that seed is life that makes the plant to grow. Ask
the beast, they'll tell you. Ask the birds. Ask the fish.
Ask the plant. Who gives the little seed life?
I plow and I plant and I water. Who makes it live? He does. What's
the source of all life? It's our Lord Jesus Christ. That's
who he is. Lazarus, come forth. And he who was dead came forth. And one day he'll cry for all
of his people to come forth in his name, through his blood,
by his grace, and they will come forth. But the next line of verse
4 says something else. In him was all life, beasts,
birds, flowers, fish, men. And the life was the light of
men. The word light here speaks of
a relation to men which is different from that of the animals and the birds and the fish and
the plants. This light is knowledge in him
and the light in him is the light of men. Man is the only one who
has the knowledge of God. Animals don't have that, fish
don't have that, birds don't have that. Every rational man
is mildly enlightened with some knowledge of God to some degree.
That's why they have so many different religions. They have a perverted... They know God, but when they
know God, they glorify Him not as God. They have some understanding. That's right. Look at verse 9.
This knowledge, this light, this is the true light that lighteth
every man that cometh into the world. Every man. Everybody knows,
to some degree, to some extent, there's God. That's right. No matter where you find Him,
the heathen, hoppin' tops, wherever He is. But he has a light that
lighteth every man. In him was life in the wildest
sense, but this life is a light of men, the knowledge of men.
That's right. Now I want you to turn to Romans
1. Listen to this. Romans 1. Romans 1 verse 18. Romans 1 verse 18. For the wrath
of God is revealed from heaven. against all ungodliness and unrighteousness
of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness." They hold some
truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known
of God is manifested in them, to them. God has showed it to
them. There's a light that lighteth
every man morally. Every rational human being has
some knowledge. There's a God. There's a law. There's a conscience. It's right
and wrong, it's truth and error. The birds and the animals don't
know this, but men do. Verse 19, Because that which
may be known of God is manifested in them, God showed it to them.
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 in Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
Because when they knew God, when they had some understanding,
some concept, some even irrational knowledge of God. They didn't
glorify Him as God. Neither were they thankful. They
became vain in their imagination. Their foolish heart was darkened,
professing themselves to be wise. They became fools, and they changed
the glory of the incorruptible God into an image. One writer said this, men by
the light of nature and the remains of it, of the original creation,
cannot come to a clear knowledge of heavenly truth and a clear
knowledge of God's way of salvation because they're in spiritual
death and spiritual darkness. That's what verse 5 says, listen,
John 1 verse 5, and the light shineth in the darkness But the
darkness comprehended it not. Eye hath not seen, ear hath not
heard, neither hath it entered the heart of men, the things
God has prepared for them that love him. But he has revealed
them to us by Spirit." That's what this verse is saying. In
Christ is all life. And the life was the light of
men. But the light shines in our darkness. How do we get darkness?
Adam's fall. When Adam fell, death passed
upon all men. And man, they have eyes, but
they can't see. They have eyes that the animals
don't have. They can read, they can reason, but their reason
is messed up. They have ears, and they can
hear, but they don't hear. And they have minds and understanding,
and they can understand all these things that They can figure out
computers, science, and all these things, but they can't understand
God. They must be born again. Here came Nicodemus into the
presence of our Lord Jesus. Brilliant ruler of the Jews. Educated in the best schools. Sat at the feet of Gamaliel.
High as you could go in Jewish religion, man of morals and principles
and qualities and law. He said, I kept the law. But
here he stands and our Lord said, you can't even see the kingdom
of God unless you're born again. You can't enter the kingdom of
God unless you're born again. He said, I'm going to be born
again. Go back to my mother's womb. He said, if I told you
earthly things you don't understand, how are you going to understand,
I tell you, heavenly things? You messed up. That's just so. In him is life. In him is the
light of men, and the light shines in darkness, and the darkness
comprehends it not. But now look, here's the good
news, listen. And there was a man. sent from
God, whose name was John. The Lord is so good, so merciful
to us. He doesn't owe us anything. He's
not obligated to us. God doesn't have to show mercy.
God must be just. He may be merciful. God must
punish sin. He may forgive it. God must condemn. unrighteousness. God may grant
righteousness. But he sent a man, one of us,
one of our own, filled him with the Holy Spirit from his mother's
womb, sent him as a forerunner, as a witness of his coming Redeemer,
of Christ Jesus. For there were other witnesses
that went before John, oh, plenty of them. God's never left himself
without witnesses. Abel was a witness. His blood
cries from the ground now. Abraham was a witness. Moses
was a witness. Job was a witness. He said, I
know my Redeemer liveth. David was a witness. Isaiah was
a witness. John was a witness. Witnesses
don't speak of themselves. They speak of Christ. Look at
verse 7. And the same came for a witness, John, to bear witness
of the light. that all men through him might
believe. What's the preacher's office? He's a witness. A witness tells what he knows,
what he's seen, what he's heard. What's the preacher's theme?
It's Christ, the light. What's the preacher's purpose
that all men through Christ might believe? That's why John came. John's not that light. Look at
verse 8. He's not that light. He was sent
to bear witness of that light. There's no light in us. It's
in Christ. John wasn't the issue. We preach
not ourselves. We preach Christ. He came to
tell about Christ. Verse 9, Christ is the true light
that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. That's
what I told you a while ago. There's a sense. It's like those
Russian astronauts years ago. I remember way back then. We
didn't say God up here. Well, maybe you didn't think
of it. Nobody called him up and asked him if he saw God. That
came out of his own mind. He was bothered. We didn't say
God when we were up here. Well, why mention it? You didn't say Snoopy either,
but you didn't think of it. You didn't see Superman either,
but you didn't think of him. You thought of God. Why didn't
you think of God? There's a larger light in every man that comes
into this world. I don't care where you find him.
It's twisted, it's warped, it's perverted, it's not on Christ.
He doesn't believe the gospel, but he believes something. Everybody
you work with believes something. Every one of them are religious. But here's the way they treated
Christ when He came. Listen. It says He was in the
world. The world was made by Him. We've
been going over that. And they didn't know Him. They
knew Him not. He's that light. Without Him,
men are in darkness. But they didn't know Him. He's
life. Without Him, men die eternally. But they didn't know Him. He's
truth. Without Him, a man can't know
God. But they didn't know Him. He's the way, without Him men
are hopelessly lost. They didn't know Him. He's Jehovah,
a revelation of all that God Almighty gave us in the Old Testament.
They didn't know Him. Paul said if they'd have known
Him, they wouldn't have crucified Him. They didn't know Him. Do you
know who crucified Christ? Religious people. Pilate did
everything he could to set Him loose. Didn't he? Turned Him
loose. Finally, the old pilot just called for a pan of water
and washed his hands. He said, I want all you religious
people to know I didn't do this. I got nothing to do with this
righteous man. And they screamed out and said, let his blood be
on us and our children. Religion, that's right. But here's the good news. The bad news, he was in the world,
and the world, with all the light and so forth, they didn't know
him. He came to his own, his own religion, his own people,
his own nation, his own temple, his own priesthood, and they
wouldn't receive him. But I'll tell you this, how glorious
is the good news in the midst of darkness, death, and judgment. The kingdom of the Son of God
shall be fulfilled. Heaven will be populated, the
new earth and the new heaven. The covenant of God's grace shall
be accomplished. He said, have I not spoken, shall
I not do it? Have I not purposed it, shall
I not bring it to pass? The Son of God is going to have
a bride. There's going to be a marriage supper of the Lamb
someday. The sheep of Christ will all be redeemed. The new
heaven and the new earth will resound with the song of the
redeemed unto him who loved us, who loved us and washed us from
our sins in his own blood. There will be a people who will
forever praise and exalt the King of kings and the Lord of
lords. Who are they? Here they are, verse 12, as many
as, as many as, did what? They received it. The
Son of God. That blind man, the Lord Jesus
said, Do you believe on the Son of God? He said, Lord, who is
he that I might believe? Here he is. He said, I believe. And worshipped
him. And as many as receive him, believe him. To them gave he the right, the
privilege, the power to become sons of God. Let me tell you
something. It took the power of God to make the Son of God
into a man. It took the power of God to take
the divine nature of God and put in oneness with a human body,
a divine nature and a human nature. Christ was both Son of Man and
Son of God. I took the power of God. You can't do that. Nobody
else can. God can. That's impossible with
me. That's possible with God. It
takes that same power to take a child of Adam, son of man,
transform him, beget him, give him divine life, make him a son
of God who cannot die. He that believeth
on the Son cannot die. He that liveth and believeth
on me will never die, because he's a son of God. But that takes
the power of God. And that's not done by singing
ten verses of Just As I Am and pleading with people to come
down here and do something for Jesus. It's somebody finding
out who he is and saying with that leper, Lord, if you will,
you can make me clean. If you will, you can make me
whole. If you will, you can make me a son of God. I'm a blind
beggar. I need light and I need life. But he's never turned one away
yet. But you just can't find anybody doing that. To as many
as received him, to them gave he the power. Not by might, but by spirit,
saith the Lord. to become the sons of God. Now
watch verse 13. These people were born. Christ,
the Son of God, was born in the flesh, made in the flesh, born
of a woman. And we who are sons of men are
born of God, become sons of God. We are begotten of His own will,
begat He us. We are born of the Word, born
of the Spirit, born of God. They were born. Not of flesh. We're born that way the first
time, and all it did for us is mess us up. We're not born of
the will of our own flesh. Our flesh, you will not come
to me, Christ said, that you might have life. You will not.
We're not born of our own will. Our will is in bondage to sin. I'll tell you what we will do.
We will do wrong. You can count on that. And we're
not born of the will of the preacher, or the will of mama, or the will
of some man. We're not born of the will of
man. It's not of him that will it, it's of God that shows mercy.
But these people are born of God. The Son of God came, and
they didn't know him. The Son of God came, they wouldn't
have him. But as many as received him and believed him, to them
gave he the power to become sons of God, which were born. not of natural genealogy and
blood, not of the will of the flesh, not of the will of some
preacher, but born of God. And that 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 full of truth. And we're going to take up the
Lord willing, right there tonight, and talk about this man that
God sent, this witness.