Sermon Notes - John 1:1-8 - Littleby Baptist Church - August 14, 2022

1.     Each of the Gospels start by setting the stage, by pointing out where Jesus came from.

a.      Matthew – lists the genealogy.

b.     Mark – The preaching of John the Baptist.

c.      Luke – The telling of the prophecy of John the Baptist’s birth.

d.     John – began by jumping into the theology of the Gospel.

                                                    i.     He laid out who Jesus is.

                                                  ii.     Where He really came from.

                                                iii.     Which is the foundation needed to understand what Jesus has done for us.

e.      It is believed that John wanted the Gospel message to spread like wildfire.

f.      But for that to happen people need to know that Jesus is more than a man, that He is God manifest in human form.

g.     The words and deeds of Jesus are amazing, but they are the things that were said and done, they were the actions and teachings of Jesus.

h.     Attributing them to the man Jesus in a way can sell them short.

i.       To truly understand Jesus and His teachings, we must know that He was the one and only person who was fully God and fully man.

j.       The one and only God incarnate.

k.     The only and only person who could have done all that He did.

2.     John 1:1

a.      ‘In the beginning’ – As far back as mankind can remember and even farther back.

b.     Before what we understand as time.

c.      Before time even existed.

d.     Before the creation of day and night.

e.      Before any of existed…

f.      ‘Was the Word’ – Word translated from Logos, which here Logos/Word is used as a title for the one and only Jesus.

g.     The ‘Word’, Jesus, was there in the beginning, before time began.

h.     The Word was with God.

                                                    i.     With God, meaning in fellowship with God the Father.

i.       The Word was God, Jesus who came to earth to live and die as a man would – Is God.

j.       John makes some strong statements about Jesus in the first sentence of his gospel.

                                                    i.     Jesus has existed forever.

                                                  ii.     Jesus has always been in fellowship, in a relationship, with God the Father.

k.     Laying a solid foundation for who Jesus is.

3.     John 1:2

a.      The Father and Son were in fellowship from the very beginning.

b.     Their relationship has always existed.

c.      If we were to look back in the past for an eternity, they were in fellowship.

d.     If we look forward, they will continue to be in fellowship for an eternity more. 

e.      They have been, are in, and will always be in communion with each other.

f.      They are united as Father and Son, but so much closer than those words can convey to us.

4.     John 1:3

a.      All things were created by Him.

b.     Since He is with the Father, all things were created in relation with the Father and while this verse does not state it, the Holy Spirit.

c.      John’s emphasis on Jesus mirrors what Paul taught in Colossians.

d.     Colossians 1:16

e.      Jesus made all things.

f.      The things we can see and touch.

g.     Those that will serve Him until the end of eternity, not that there is an end to it.

h.     Those that have been corrupted.

i.       Jesus is the creator of all things.

j.       Romans 1:19-20

k.     Jesus being the instrument of creation, speaks to His greatness.

l.       His Power.

m.   His Nature.

n.     We can see our God in all the magnificence around us.

5.     John 1:4

a.      The one thing we have for the rest of eternity is life.

b.     Some will have life with the awesome Jesus, and some will have life without Him.

c.      All life, all existence comes from Jesus.

d.     He is the source of life.

e.      And He is the source of Light.

f.      He created us and He is the one with the power to give us an eternity with Him.

g.     Jesus being the light of men, points to how He and only He can wipe away the sin of those who follow Him.

h.     He gives all people life, but the Light is given to those who repent of their sins and choose to follow Him.

6.     John 1:5

a.      The nature of The Light, Jesus, is to shine in the darkness.

b.     When we turn on a light in the church or at home, the darkness fades away.

c.      When Jesus is the light of our lives.

d.     He lights our way.

e.      As we draw near to Him, the darkness is pushed away.

f.      As Jesus becomes the focus of our lives, our sinful ways begin to fall away.

g.     We may question if that is true, we may wonder if God is really at work in us.

h.     If you look back over time, thinking about who we were before Jesus and compared to today, we can see that God is at work in us.

i.       Hard to see the change sometimes, but if we continue to seek Jesus, He is faithful to continue to work in us.

j.       Jesus is the giver of Light to His followers and is the light of the world.

k.     Satan and his minions will do what ever they can to spread the darkness.

l.       The darkness of confusion, anxiety, fear, and hate.

m.   Jesus is the King Peace not of anxiety and confusion.

n.     Our Jesus does not want us to be afraid but wants to depend on His Power.

o.     Our Savior is the one who told us to Love God with all that we have and to Love Others as we would ourselves.

                                                    i.     He has told us to Love our enemies not hate them.

p.     Our Lord’s light shines brightly, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

q.     Every time someone turns from a life of sin to following Jesus… that is proof that His light is stronger than the darkness of this world.

r.      His light is more powerful than the sin that it is us.

s.      The Bible tells us that the Light will push the Darkness down once and for all during the end of days.

t.       The Light of Jesus will be victorious.

7.     John 1:6

a.      The John here is not the author of this Gospel or Revelation.

b.     This John who was sent by God is John the Baptist.

c.      As odd as John the Baptist may have seemed in his day while eating his locust and honey for breakfast, He was a messenger sent by God.

8.      John 1:7

a.      John the Baptist is just like the prophets of the Old Testament.

b.     They were sent to testify about God and what He was doing.

c.      John the Baptist was sent to do the same thing.

d.     He came to testify about the coming of the Light, the Word, about our Jesus.

e.      His job was to point people to the coming of our Lord.

f.      He tried to get the Jewish people to see that the Messiah was about to show up.

g.     John was needed to point people to the light, because sin had ensnared their hearts.

                                                    i.     Instead of watching for Jesus’ coming, they were wrapped up in sin.

h.     John was sent to call people to repent so that they would understand that they needed The Light.

i.       John the Baptist lived in hope that people would see Jesus for who He is, fully man and fully God, the Messiah.  

9.     John 1:8

a.      John had his part.

b.     He stood out as different, it got peoples attention.

c.      He had disciples, a ministry, and he baptized people.

d.     But he was not the light.

e.      John the Baptist was a man who told people about our Jesus.

f.      A great example for us.

10.  So here is the challenge for each of us.

a.      If we believe what the Word of God tells us, and that Jesus has existed from before time began and came to this earth as fully God and fully Man.

b.     If we believe that He, as Creator gave us life and as Savior is the giver of Light.

c.      We need to testify about Jesus to people in our lives.

d.     We don’t need to be the weird one eating locust, but we are to make sure we are not taken by the philosophy of this world… we are to be transformed by the Word of God.

e.      As God works in us, we need to Testify about Him.  

f.      Showing grace, like Jesus has shown us grace.  

g.     Speaking in truth.

11.  Let the creator of the universe transform you and share what He has done with everyone you can.