John 1:1, Pt. 1

The following matter are notes from which I taught my adult Sunday School class. They are posted here primarily for the benefit of class members who were not in attendance for the lesson.

John 1:1-5  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  (2)  The same was in the beginning with God.  (3)  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.  (4)  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  (5)  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Verse 1: In the beginning

   To what does this refer?

Genesis 1:1 — In the beginning God created the heaven and the     earth.

       What does this imply?

            The second person of the Godhead is eternal.

He was in the beginning and pre-existed the beginning. V. 3 tells us he is the Creator of all things; therefore he has to pre-exist his creation.

John 17:5  — And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Hebrews 1:10 — And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

Micah 5:2 — But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Isaiah 9:6 — For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

“As the eternity of God is the ground of all religion, so the eternity of Christ is the ground of the Christian religion. Could our sins be perfectly expiated, had he not an eternal divinity to answer for the offences committed against an eternal God? Temporary sufferings had been of little validity, without an infinity and eternity in his person to add weight to his passion.”— Stehen Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God

            The second person of the Godhead is uncreated.

Colossians 1:16-17  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 powers: all things were created by him, and for him:  (17)  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

If “by him all things consist", he must be excluded as a created being because it is impossible to create oneself.

NOTICE: John wrote, “In the beginning”; not from the beginning.

In the beginning was the Word   

The Word was not a physical being (John 1:14 -And the Word was made flesh).

The Word was not Jesus. That name was given to him after his incarnation.

    The Word is the thing spoken

"Logos is common for reason as well as speech." — Robertson

"Hence λόγος (logos) is, first of all, a collecting or collection both of things in the mind, and of words by which they are expressed. It therefore signifies both the outward form by which the inward thought is expressed, and the inward thought itself….” — Vine

Jesus Christ, the Divine Logos, is the physical manifestation of all that God says to the human race.

“and the Word was with God”

“with” =  προς (pros); toward

speaks of

distinctness

    intimacy

    communication

“and the Word was God”

We will pick up with this clause next Sunday.

Introductory Matter – Gospel According to St. John

The following matter are notes from which I taught my adult Sunday School class. They are posted here primarily for the benefit of class members who were not in attendance for the lesson.

Preliminary remarks:

I believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible. [see this Theopedia article for explanation). This means that I have a high view of Scripture. I believe that when John used certain words it was the design and intent of the Holy Spirit that John used that particular word. It also means we must handle the Word of God reverently, carefully, and honestly.

This is to be an exhaustive study of the Gospel. I anticipate that we will be at it two years or more, should God give us time. We are not in a hurry. I hope to post the more salient portions of the lessons in my blog for those that are absent, so you will be able to keep up and not miss out on much.

During the course of our study I will be using vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to you. Do not let me get ahead of you. I will try and define terms, but if I don’t — or if you have a question — do not be afraid to interrupt me. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance can hurt you. So ask your question.

Some of you may have different translations than I have. You will forgive me, but I will be using the King James Version because I like it. It may not be the only translation and it may not be the best. But it’s the one I will be using.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author: John, the son of Zebedee and Salome

(Mark 1:16-19) Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.

(Matt. 27:56)  Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.

Cf. (cf. means “compare)

(Mark 16:1-2)  And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.  (2)  And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

John was uneducated, which means that he was not rabbinically trained. He did not have a seminary education.

The book is written in a simple style. The vocabulary is meager, with many words and expressions being often repeated.

(Act_4:13)  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

Close friend of Jesus

John was a cousin of Jesus. His mother and Jesus’ mother were sisters.

Only John, along with his brother James and Peter were present at the raising of Jairus’s daughter, the transfiguration, and witness to Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

John was “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” (John 19:26). It was John who leaned on Jesus’ chest at the Last Supper (John 13:23)

It was John who, at the foot of the cross, was entrusted with caring for his aunt and the mother of Jesus.

Ministry:

Supposedly lived in Jerusalem for 15 years after the ascension, until Mary died.

No record of him being in Jerusalem after A.D. 50.

Elder in Ephesus

Exiled to Patmos either during the reign of Nero or Trajan

Wrote three epistles: 1, 2, and 3 John

Wrote the Apocalypse (either before A. d. 70 (internal evidence) or around A.D. 90 – 95 (external evidence).

Died in the last decade of the first century, being in his nineties.

John’s Gospel is distinctly different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

John	Synoptics
Jesus often speaks of himself	Jesus seldom speaks of himself
Style is simple; vocabulary limited
Jesus’ birth not mentioned
Jesus’ baptism not recorded
Jesus’ divinity emphasized	Jesus’ humanity emphasized
No parables, except John 15	Parables common
No demons exorcised	Demons exorcised
Only one reference to scribes (John 8:3)	Many references to scribes
Ministry: 3 years	Ministry: 1 year
Locus of ministry: Judea & Jerusalem	Locus of ministry: Galilee
Includes miracles not mentioned in synoptics (Cana, Lazurus)
No Sermon on the Mount
No Olivet discourse

Purpose in writing: (John 20:31) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Exposition of John 1:1 to be posted shortly, Lord willing.

Genesis 1:1 — In the beginning God ... Pt. 1

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1

This is the first verse of the Bible. It starts out be stating that God created the heaven and the earth. It assumes that the reader will recognize there is a God. There are no explanations associated with his existence, just that he created the heaven and the earth.

I have had people say to me, "Prove there is a God." To the person that does not want to recognize there is a God, proof will not satisfy. I could easily, and justifiably say, "Prove there is no God."

How do you prove there is a God? How do you prove there is no God? Some say that because there is an idea of a God there then must be a God. I do not know if that necessarily follows. What I do know that God has never attempted to prove that he exists. He does offer evidence to support his existence, evidence that is overwhelming. Those that want proof there is a God need only look at the evidence.

We accept many things without being given adequate proof. We accept many things in spite of the proof. Yet, when it comes to believing in God we shut our eyes and our hearts to that which is so clear.

Some argue: "No one has ever seen God." With this the Scriptures agree. I have never seen God. You have never seen God. No one has ever seen God (we'll leave Moses alone, for right now). Does that mean or even prove that he does not exist? We believe a lot of things without seeing them.

Not only has no one seen God, no one has ever seen the sun; yet we believe there is a sun. We see the glory of the sun and we feel the effects of the sun. Only a crazy person would deny there is a sun. Likewise, we see the glory of God and we feel the effects of God. Only a crazy person would deny there is no God.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Contrary to what evolutionists would have us believe, the universe and our solar system did not just happen. The driving force behind evolution is (beside Satan) is the desire to be autonomous, to be free of God, and to be free from judgment.

When dealing with those who consider themselves atheists or agnostics (a term invented by Thomas Huxley to camouflage his atheism) deal with them as people who really do believe in God. Atheism is a denial of the Truth, not a disbelief of the truth. God has implanted in every person the knowledge of his existence (Romans 1:19) and, while it may be suppressed, the knowledge is ever there. Additionally, God has revealed himself and given evidence of himself in his creation of the heaven and the earth.

Your Deceitful Heart

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

This is a verse that reveals man's true condition. Christians, who often quote this verse, have hearts that are just as deceitful and just as wicked as the worst of sinners. Getting them to admit that in a personal application is nigh unto impossible.

The immediate context of this verse starts at verse 5 and ends at verse 13. Look at what it says:

Thus says the LORD: “Cursed be the man that trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like the heat in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat comes, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. As the partridge sits on eggs, and hatches them not; so he that gets riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool. A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. (Jeremiah 17:5-13)

The historical context was the impending collapse of the Northern Kingdom of Judah. Jeremiah and others had prophesied of this imminent event but there were few in those days who believed this man of God. “We have the temple. God won't destroy us because we have the temple.” That's much like those who think God will not destroy the United States of America because we are a “Christian” nation.

I have talked with many people who claim to have been born again and who think they are on the path to heaven who exemplify what this verse is saying. My mind goes back to more than one who told me that even though they knew that it was contrary to God's will for them to divorce they were going to do it anyway and God would still bless them. One young women in particular comes to mind. She sued for divorce, it was granted, and within a year she was far, far from God. The last time I saw her, which was several years later, she was a chronic drunk and was sleeping with anyone who would have her. She had not been to church at all since she turned her back on God. Oh yes, God was blessing her, wasn't he?

Many boast that when persecution comes they will stand strong and firm and not deny their Lord. Years later you see them again and they have compromised their faith and their testimony not to escape persecution but to escape the inconvenience and discomfort of owning their Lord in front of their friends and family.

I know a man since the early 1970's who has been a missionary, a college professor, a seminary instructor, on the Bible translation committees of over 20 translation efforts, is a Greek textual scholar and who is now sitting in jail because he got caught with his hands doing things to little children that are unseemly and unacceptable. Well-meaning mature Christian leaders had talked to him in his youth about his attitudes and behaviors. Then, as in this case, his answer was, “I didn't do anything wrong.”

No one sets out to make a disaster of their life. It happens because of the deceitfulness of our hearts uniting with the deceitfulness of sin. The Apostle Paul gives a New Testament version of Jeremiah 17:9 when he says:

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7)

There it is again: “Be not deceived.” The worst deception is self-deception. Many who claim to be saved are not. They are deceived. Too often, they are self-deceived.

I once had the occasion to talk with a woman who was suicidal and committed to a mental hospital under constant guard. She told me that she had unsuccessfully tried to kill herself. In fact, the last time had been just a few days previous. As we talked she said, “The wrath of God is on me.” With that I would agree. Then she told me she was being punished because she had murdered her unborn child by having an abortion. I then tried to point her to Jesus Christ who forgives all that will come to him. “Oh,” she said, “I'm a Christian. I made a decision for Christ when I was twelve years old.”

That woman was deceived. If she was a Christian she was not under the wrath of God. If she was under the wrath of God she was not a Christian. But her deceitful heart had told her that because she had made a decision (a term and idea found nowhere in the Bible) she was saved. Decisions do not save you. She was trusting in a decision, a bruised reed, a false hope: she should have been trusting in Christ, the Solid Rock.

Do not be deceived. This is a biblical exhortation repeated and addressed to Christians. Paul, after telling us to not be deceived, goes on to say:

For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (Galatians 6:8)

There are no weasel-words there. If you live like the devil you will find your lot with the devil. If you live like God you will find your lot with God.

Do not be deceived: you, too, have a deceitful heart. Don't let it fool you.

How Much Do You Love God?

But whoever has this world's good, and sees his brother have need,
and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him,
how dwells the love of God in him?
1 John 3:17

A person's generosity towards the less-fortunate is a clear indication of his or her devotion to God. Generosity toward one's unfortunate brother or sister in Christ is a reflection and an accurate measure of one's love for God. Stingy, miserly Christians are miserable miscreants. "Stingy,miserly Christian" is an oxymoron, for "how dwells the love of God in him?"

In the immediate context of verses 16-18, we see that God demonstrated his love for us by laying down his life for us and we are required to do the same (v. 17). Then verse 18 commands us to love not in word, but in deed.

So many who claim to know Christ as their Savior keep a tight clamp on their wallets. We sing:

All to Jesus, I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

But as we sing that we are lying through our teeth unless we also surrender our finances and our worldly possessions.

We have many poor people in our churches. We are willing to spend thousands of dollars to send the Bible to people we have never nor shall ever meet this side of heaven yet we refuse to spend $20.00 to buy groceries for an indigent family. This is sheer hypocrisy and ought not to be.

I know of a family that loves to sing "Freely, Freely." You know the words: "He said, 'Freely, freely you have received — Freely, freely give." Yet when it comes to giving they don't know what it means, their tight-fisted hearts and hands will not allow them to give freely.

What was the one sin that condemned the rich young ruler? Was it not covetousness. Will we, who refuse to share the wealth that God gave us, get off with any lighter condemnation? The command to assist the needy with our material blessings is not to the rich only, but to all. If we have what another needs in excess of what we need, we are under obligation to help out.

God will take note of your generosity and you will eventually get back that which you have given. God stakes his honor on that, for he tells us:

He that has pity upon the poor lends unto the LORD; and that which he has given will he pay him again. (Proverbs 19:17)

God is no man's debtor. He will repay you and you will be doubly blessed.

How much do you love God? Prove it!

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Jesus must be Lord of all or …

One of the clichés bandied about in Christian circles is “Jesus must be Lord of all or he can’t be Lord at all.” As with many other trite sayings that are in wide circulation, this one has passed into the warp and woof of modern evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity without nary a critical thought or a moment’s contemplation. The statement is not true. It is false. It is a lie. All lies have as their source Satan himself. This cliché is meant to encourage people to live all-out for Jesus Christ, but in some cases it has the opposite effect of comforting people who are presuming they are Christians and on their way to heaven but who are, in fact, spurious believers destined for the Lake of Fire.

Now, I’ve been so brazen as to declare this a false statement. I’ve contradicted what more learned men than I have said. The late Adrian Rogers, an iconic figure among many Southern Baptists, has written on his blog, “There is no middle ground for the Christian: Jesus must be Lord of all, or He can't be Lord at all.” Interestingly enough, he in that same blog, takes my position. I’ll show you that a little bit later. The pastor of a church in Houston similarly states, “Jesus must either be Lord of all or of nothing. The choice is yours.” This idea is prevalent in modern churchianity, as a search in Google will show. That it is echoed by so many does not, however, give it legitimacy. Follow me to the Court of the First and Last Resort.

Let us be “more noble than those in Thessalonica” and search the scriptures to see whether those things are so.

The first thing I would like to point out is that we do not “make Jesus Lord” of our lives or anything else any more than a British subject makes Elizabeth II the Queen. Jesus is Lord. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. That is one of his titles. It means something. It is not a mere sentiment. This is how Paul and Silas referred to the Savior when they addressed the Philippian jailor and said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house (Acts 16:31). It is God that made (past tense, completed action) Jesus Christ to be the Lord: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ,” (Acts 2:36).

Secondly, we do not “accept” Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. (By the way, the idea of “accepting” Jesus was totally foreign to the apostles). The admonition that Paul gave the Philippian jailor says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” We cannot pick those elements of Jesus that we like while disregarding the rest. We must believe on “the Lord.” What does that mean? It means when we come to Christ we come with the recognition that not only is he the only Savior, the only way to God, but that he is also the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe and of ourselves in particular. His being Lord gives him the right to order us around, to send us where we do not want to go, to do the things that we do not want to do. It means we submit to him much as General Robert E. Lee submitted to General Ulysses S. Grant — unconditionally!

That brings me to the original thesis of this posting: The saying, “Jesus must be Lord of all or he is not Lord at all” is false. This bromide is, as I said above, supposed to encourage spurious saints to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Whether it is effective or not, I do not know. But God did not call us to be pragmatic. He called us to be truthful.

In Acts 10:36 we find these words: “The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:).” Notice the words in parentheses: “He is Lord of all.” That is a present tense statement. He is Lord of all. Note again, that he is Lord of all. There is nothing not subject to his dominion, his lordship. He is Lord of all!

Adrian Rogers agrees with me (not that it makes what I have written truth) and says in the same blog from which I quoted above,

In the dictionary, the definition of the word lord is one with absolute power, absolute authority. We often speak of commitment, but the real question is surrender. When you're committed, you're in control; when you surrender, you relinquish control. If a robber puts a gun to your head, you don't commit your wallet; you surrender it!

To understand that truth is the beginning of kingdom authority. He is called Lord no less than 747 times in the New Testament. You can't make Him Lord; He has already claimed the title. Your questions are, first, will you recognize His Lordship, and second, will you submit to it? He is Lord of all you have and all you do. Do you live by that Lordship?"

The quality of our new converts suffers because of our misuse of terminology. How much different do you suppose a new believer would be if he was told that he needed to demonstrate repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ? Our superficial evangelism does not allow for this, of course. Sinners are in rebellion against the Almighty. They are avowed enemies. When one comes to Christ one must abandon his self-centered and egocentric thinking and living and surrender to the rule of a new master, the Lord Jesus Christ. He (or she) must be told that when they come to Christ their life is no longer their own (1 Corinthians 6:15-20). Then, their conversion will give proof to their confession that “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,” (Philippians 2:11).

Where there is no vision....

Where there is no vision, the people perish:
but he that keeps the law, happy is he.
Proverbs 29:18

This is a favorite verse of those in the success-motivation field. "Where there is no vision, the people perish" — and that is where they end the quotation, divorcing it from the significant clause that follows. At any rate, the idea in their heads is that you have to have an idea of what you want, where you are going, and how you are going to get there. All that is true, but none of that is intended by the wise Preacher.

What the writer actually intends to tell us is that when the Word of God fails to be communicated through the mouths of his prophets, things are in a bad strait. It is the prophetic vision that is the subject of this verse, not some grandiose idea of success.

We have come to a day in which "there is no vision." Preachers preach everything but a word from the Lord. Some preach others sermons. Plagiarizing another's sermon and calling it a word from God? How ludicrous. To steal another's words or to steal his authorship and present it as coming from God through your heart? We need to hear a word from the Lord, not a word from Rick Warren.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish." Some preach their own ideas. Some preach how-to sermons. Some even preach from magazines. Others resort to gimmicks like drama, dance, and puppet shows, none of which have been ordained by God. And so it is: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

"Where there is no vision, the people perish." We need to hear a word from the Lord. We are not interested in nor benefited by your ideas, Rick Warren's ideas, nor the Reader's Digest. We want to know what God is saying through you. We need to know what God is saying through you.

There is a connection between the two clauses of this verse. On the one hand people perish. On the other they find blessing. The connection is the Word of God. When the Word of God is clearly, boldly, and unabashedly preached from a heart that has been exercised by the Savior who has redeemed us, that same word then passes into the hearts of the hearers and becomes a tool for the Holy Spirit to use to work sanctifying change in us. As we obey that word we shall find ourselves happy, or blessed.

Too many believers sit under preachers who have not the foggiest idea of what they are talking about. They can conjugate verbs, parse and diagram sentences, and give the history of the text but do not know how to make it applicable to the man and women — and the children — in the pew.

Today, in these United States, we find ourselves living out the truth of this verse. There is no vision, and the people perish. There is little difference between the average professing Christian and the person who makes no claim of knowing Christ. The world has invaded and conquered the Church and we wring our hands and wonder what went wrong. Doctrine after doctrine has been watered down or ignored and our people no longer know what it is to be a Christian: and all because there is no vision, no word from God.