APR 16 2023 | The Gospel of John S1E1

Sea Change Church · The Gospel of John S1E1 · "The Gospel of John" · April 16, 2023
Automated transcript. Not reviewed for accuracy.

Good morning church. My name is Beth Pico and I serve with Christian Surfers. We're going to be meeting tomorrow night six o'clock at turmo Surf's two to three. Hopefully offshore wind. So come on out. Today's scripture reading is from John 1 verses 1 through 5. In the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning through him. All things were made without him.

Nothing was made that has been made in him was life. And the life was the light of men the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it the word of the Lord. Hey, good morning. Church good to have you on this. It's Orthodox Easter. So if any of you are Orthodox, happy Easter to you, otherwise it was last week.

So again all black giant hat in the back. Open your Bibles to John 1:1-5. We're in season. One of the Gospel of John gonna be in this a few years with different seasons. We're in episode two. We started on Easter. And in verse one John starts with a concept. Concept that he Blends into reality it says this in the beginning was the word circle the word word in the beginning was the word.

And the Word was with God Circle word. And the Word was God Circle word. words words word words John uses this term word. What is John on about? Who is he talking about as word become anthropomorphic? It's just this this this word that is just out this free flowing in space or as John talking about something else and there is the power of words, right? We think about how powerful words are and as a practical when we get done kind of unpacking some of the cosmological and Theological thoughts that John is espousing in John 1. I want to get to something that's practical and the Practical of this takeaway today is what do you do with your words and the importance and the Power of Words and why God uses words English author Edward. Well, you're lit and said this the pen it's mightier than the sword.

It's actually true. One could argue that the defeat of the Nazis was as much about the rhetoric of Winston Churchill in his rhetorical speeches as the military might as he galvanized a beleaguered Nation through words during the blitz of the bombing. Maybe you'll argue that his words is at what actually saved Britain without his oratory. They might have collapse.

Solomon Proverbs 18:21 says this the power the tongue has the power of life and death and those who love it will eat its fruit that your tongue has the power of life and death and I remember John three times word word word. What does John on about the founding fathers deemed words? So important that they added a caveat to the Constitution embedding the ability to speak freely at the heart of their newly created Republic.

In defining the term word up the Urban Dictionary says this means I comprehend what you were saying and verify that your statement is true my good brother. So when I was in the eighties people would say word up. What did that mean? Let me Give an example in the urban dictionary it says Donkey Kong is the best video game ever made the answer being word up word word words. So what was John out about When he cloaks the identity of Jesus, what is John on about he just writing a story about Jesus he hung out with Jesus, right? But all of a sudden he's like all mythical.

He's all ontological he's all theological. He's cosmological and all of a sudden Jesus. He cloaks the identity of Jesus in the word word. Let's go back to the beginning in the beginning verse 1 was the word and the Word was God and the Word was God. What do you saying? Let me just spoiler alert. You could put Jesus there in the beginning was Jesus and Jesus was with God and Jesus was God that is what he is saying and he opens up the gospel like no other gospel is open.

That's why it's not called one of the synoptic goth gospels, Matthew Mark Luke. Those are syncratic. Maybe they say there's a queue document that they were all written upon and they all kind of went off this one document but not John John hits different John does things a little bit different. So what is he on about want to say understanding the gospel? There's two things. You'll see in your notes understanding in the Gospel of John if you go down a little bit. I'll backtrack here in a second. There's two things that he's doing one.

He's harking his readers back to the creation narrative. In the hopes of espousing a new creation. That's a big move. That's a big deal. What John's doing. Here. He is. Hearkening his readers back to the creation narrative. He is going okay. I'm going back to the beginning of the Torah. I'm going back to Genesis 1 and I'm going to take this story of Jesus and I am going to enshroud it within the mystery of creation. That is a big deal. He is decompart not excuse me. He's deconstructing.

Genesis 1 in order to rebuild it with Jesus in the framework that is massive. That's a massive story of what he is doing and the second thing. Is he introduces Jesus into that narrative in the form of an all-inclusive word? Who was God who was with God and is God understanding as we move into this new series. Just a couple quick sentences on who John was we've been talking about him.

For a while we started with the end of the story last week. It was kind of like one of those Netflix series where they start with the end and then they go rebuild it. We know that John was there with Jesus mother. We know that John was at the cross and Jesus actually said to John. Take this woman as your mother and care for her. John was jesus' best friend. I put John was a disciple known as the one who Jesus loved and part of the big three closest to Jesus as Peter James and John.

He was also the author of Revelation. And the only Apostle not to be martyred. Now if something bothered John I would imagine it's not being martyred for Jesus. He wanted to die for Jesus because Jesus died for him. So that was a big deal and the second one. Is this John's gospel includes 21 chapters. And begins with a carefully designed theological prologue which places Jesus within a cosmic context.

We can't get away from that in this in this gospel. It is so different than the other gospels and what John is doing in this first chapter is one of the most important scripture New Testament scriptures in all of the Bible. In order to tie together the Old Testament in the New Testament and it is used to prove that Jesus was God. It proves the Trinity. It is one of the most important text and you need to know this text. Now I said that about Isaiah 53 back in the fall.

Important text if you had a top 10 text in my opinion this masterpiece along with Romans chapter 8 along with Isaiah chapter 3, excuse me, Isaiah chapter 53 would be one of these texts that would create the Corpus of our understanding dive into it this week dive into it. Google it look at the words go deeper beyond what I'm preaching.

I put John's gospel as chiseled out of the rock of Genesis creation narrative and his dramatic opening John attempts to do the following and I said this we're going to dive into these in just a second hearken his readers back to the creation narrative in hopes of espousing a new creation what John is doing in this passage is resetting the ball on the T.

He's taking everything that has happened before and he's blending Jesus into the mix and you're gonna see that the spirit of God is mixed in this as well. Number two. He introduces Jesus in a narrative of form of an all-inclusive word. That was with God and is god, let's go to the first one Harkins his readers back to the creation narrative in the beginning was the word. What have you heard that before in the beginning? Well, we've heard that in Genesis chapter 1 the entire Bible starts of that. If you have your Bible, it's also in the notes. You can go back to Genesis chapter 1 you're going to see some similarities. You're gonna see them running parallel when I was a runner. I had a friend we would run five days a week and he was always faster than me and sometimes I would just draft off him because it almost everyone's faster than me, but I would try to run side by side.

And we had our best conversations when we ran side by side what John is doing is he is taking the story of jesus' Life putting in a cosmological creation narrative and beginning to pull alongside from drafting behind to pulling alongside chapter one of Genesis and resetting a new creation in Jesus Christ. Everything starts again have I made the point clear that this is important chapter?

John Harkins back in the beginning it says in Genesis 1 God created the heavens and the earth. Now the Earth was formless and empty Darkness was over the surface of the deep and the spirit circuit Circle spirit. Because when John Blends this together, we see a trinity together. Now you see God you see Jesus and you see the spirit. It's one of the key passages for our understanding of the Trinity and it says in the spirit of God was moving over the waters. And God said God said circle the word said that's a word god using words using words for for a reason.

He's espousing his nature words are creative words. Bring things into order words are important. Let's go back to the practical application that I'm going to put at the end of this message your words matter what you say matters what you say creates, they brings life and death. It can create order. It can create disorder. It can create unity and it brings things together and it brings light and truth. That's what we see in regard to words. God said let there be light.

And there was light God saw that the light was good and then he separated the light from the darkness. I love that talk about that in a second. His words had the ability to separate light from Darkness words matter words words. Jesus was not only a spoken word. But Jesus embodied what was being spoken in our words and body what we speak and our words have the ability to separate light and darkness to show evil from good right from wrong. That's why words are so important and the ability to speak the truth matters. Let's look at a few key words here that are in both of these passages now, we read the first one a second ago. We just read Genesis. Let's go back through John 1 these first five verses and see and circle on your own anything. You see that like, hey, I just saw that in Genesis.

Says this in the beginning. Was the word the Word was God and the Word was word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning through him all things were made. Without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life and that life was what the light? Of men that light shines in the darkness, but the darkness is not understood it. It cannot comprehend it Darkness always succeeds. Excuse me, and I succeed succeeds in a successive way.

Falls back from light light always conquers darkness no matter how dark a room is the smallest spark will light that room light will always overcome darkness and God's light can overcome any darkness in your life. So here's a few words that are key. Circle beginning that word in the beginning is in both of those passages. We see the word created in the Genesis passage in the John passage. We see the word made. So we see a creative making and so everything that was made was made through Jesus and this is important in this passage when God created he used words to do something. What did he uses words to do his words are like him scooping out the interior of who he is.

Forming them into a breath forming them into a word and then speaking his Essence his power in a form of a word. What words do is we'll see in a moment we break that down is words are the essence of who is speaking them. And so why do words have the power for God to create like it did here in this passage? Because God is taking who he is. He's actually taking himself and he's speaking himself through a word and when you speak, What you speak comes from within who you are be very be very aware of the words people use be very aware of the words you use for out of your heart. Jesus said the mouth will speak. So we see that we see Darkness.

We see light and we see the spirit and we don't see the spirit in in the John passage. But when you blend these together, you see all three look at the beginning in the beginning John devil straights The Immortal cosmological Eternal nature of Jesus. God was was creating by using words. And so I guess the question that you have the question is to you. What are you creating with your words?

I want to make this passage not just cosmological we could do a fun theological day and there's about 12 of you in here. That would just love that. I could just go straight theology cosmology. Right Elliot. You would just love that we would just be yeah. Yes you would you be for front row for Elliot and a few others. But what does that say to us?

I think when you speak you create, I know that when I coach kids I coach a lot of kids in basketball and things like this the words I use matter. Are you what are you creating with your mouth in your relationship with your partner your wife your your business partners. Whoever it is. What you speak is what you are creating. And as Michael's going to speak about the dream conference. What you speak creates a culture in your home. God is creating a culture and in this you see the essence of Jesus who is God all things were made through him speaking his culture into the world. And as we speak as Believers one of the most powerful things that you have besides your actions.

The Jews would say that the actions are more important than the words and I think we have to have both I think the Bible says that as well. But one of the most important superpowers you have as your words. Are you a person who's critical? And encourage you at the end of this message, you're going to criticism fast. Are you critical? Are you encouraging don't you love that encouraging person? My daughter has this girl named Janna on her basketball team. It's a little spark plug. She's about this tall. She's great. She's got great handles as a basketball player always encouraging make a mistake. You'll get it next time. Let's do it. You know, you're just To be with her. You just want to hear.

That are you that person do you know that person is in the beginning Jesus created and when God speaks he releases the essence of himself, whatever you say releases your essence. God uses words then as I said a moment ago in verse 4 go to verse 4 to separate the light from the darkness verse 4 in him was life. And that life was the light of men and so it says the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness had not understood it. That's John's passage and he shows the importance of when God speaks. He's bringing light into the world.

when he brings light it separates Darkness the Practical point the easy practical takeaway then is for this as as God is doing this in this cosmological understanding the takeaway. Is this what are you creating? Are you speaking light and life into the world? Do you speak light and life into your spouse? Do you speak light and life when you're in the line at Starbucks or the flower pot Cafe up the street or some place like that? Are you that person we see that God separates it now. Let's go back to the Genesis passage and see the exact thing happening, but it's happening before man has been created.

The Genesis passage. If you go back to it, it says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the Earth was what it was empty formless. Darkness was over the surface of the deep. stop Is there anything in your life that is empty? It is formless. It's void. Maybe it's an idea. Maybe it's a dream. Maybe something has become more shallow and depth. Maybe it's your marriage or your relationship. Something has become shallow has become formless. It's void. It doesn't look like it used to look like is there a way to come back from that how to create into that?

Here's the hope it says this and the spirit of God was moving over hovering over the waters. I love that that in the midst of the darkness. Now we saw last week right that Jesus didn't rise at sunrise. He rose in the darkness he rose what was still dark before anybody got there? And in the midst of any Brokenness in your life in the midst of anything, that is formless. Maybe it's just an idea that you're working on in the midst of that. I believe that the spirit of God is hovering.

He's waiting for you in a Ephesians 3:20 way to say I want to give you more than you can hope dream or imagine. Which means you need to Hope dream or imagine? Okay, that's the caveat there. Because the spirit of God is hovering and waiting to unite with those ideas to speak life into the world. God is not just giving a theological Treatise. He is it's masterful. I mean, it's like Romans eight masterful. It's one it's it's one of the most masterful treaties in all of religious texts.

But if we cannot unearth if we can't find the diamond of what that matters and means to you in your life, then we're missing out and what God is saying and would think John is saying that can be interpreted? Is that he wants you to speak life into the world? He wants you to separate the light from the darkness and he wants you not to partner with darkness in what you say in what you do and to separate that we see that there that it is hovering over the dark. The spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Go to verse 3 of The Genesis passage. And God said let there be light which you can do.

And there was light. God saw the light was good and he separated it from the darkness. All right. So that's the first thing that he is blending this creative narrative and there is a practical application and a takeaway to that. What's the second thing that he does John is introducing Jesus into the narrative as an anthropomorphic form of an all-inclusive word. Who was with God and is God now if you remember the Old Testament where Moses is like what's your name? And God's all elusive, right? Could you God can't have a name because a name to find you if your name's Tony and I say Tony I have control over you right? I'm like Tony all the sudden you'll look God doesn't have a name. He gives us a name. He gives us a name Jesus which is above all names but God doesn't have a name because a name is defining and God can't be defined because he is all he is all knowing. He is all powerful. He is bigger than any word. But in order for us to understand it he has to give us a word and a name and so Remember in the passage when Moses says, what's your name? What does God say?

I am what does that mean? It's like the answer to Abraham Abraham's like hey, where am I going? He says go to the place and I'll show you it's like to step go out and I'll show you where you're gonna get to God's elusive like that sometimes because he holds all the power and that ability. But in this word, this is what he means when John says word, John means that it is every word that could ever be spoken.

Parts in the Bible. It says when God speaks it sounds like like waves crashing like water like a thousand Waters following and and Niagara Falls if you were going to understand what God sounds like when he speaks you probably have to stand underneath Niagara Falls and listen to it as it falls. That's what God speaks because when God speaks he is everything he is totality. And so when it speaks about Jesus remember Jesus is cloaked in the term word that Greek word logos means that it is all encompassing word.

That's what I put the Greek word logos means this a word uttered by a living voice. But that embodies a conception or an idea. That's really important. Not only understanding that it is a word and Jesus is being spoken because God has to limit himself into words so that we can understand. If you were to ask God tell me about yourself. You would probably just hear silence.

It would just be silent because it would that you can't there's no word that can speak about God. That's why silence sometimes is so important in our walk and it says that a word this logo's word is a word that utters in an embodies a concept or an idea. What does that concept? It is the essence of God. When you speak Jesus is clear about this. We'll see in just a second as we come in for a landing when you speak the essence of you comes out of your mouth.

If you want to know what a person is, like go on a road trip with them. my old Pastor said in interviews I did most of I just ask questions just to listen. He said things will come and get any goes. I would like to go to lunch and get people out of the office interview so I could just hear what you have to say. Are you bringing people down?

Are you you speak? You know, what are you speaking about? It is your essence and when God speaks this is why the word of God the Bible is so important because they're not your words. They're God's words and they come from the essence of who God is in a way. They capture a little piece of God the word of God the scriptures. They capture a little piece of the attorney that has got and they give them to you to plant into your life to plant into other people. Jesus was the word and in the beginning was the word and the Word was God was with God and the Word was God words are important words.

words John also, which is interesting introduces this idea of the Trinity. I just want to say this quickly because this passage and I know this is a lot of theology today. Okay. I've got some great stories next week doing a lot of theology. So just get your take a breath put your butt seat belt on but he introduces the understanding of the Trinity and it's perhaps one of the most crucial New Testament texts in regarding an understanding the absolute deity in the trinitarian deity of Jesus.

I want to say what this is saying is if you go back to John 1:1. This is saying this in the beginning was the word. This is Jesus all-encompassing God the cosmological power of God and he means Jesus. And the Word was with God not just beside him was with him. And this is the key part. And the Word was God. Now, this is where we differ from Latter-Day Saint teaching or Mormon teaching and Jehovah Witness teaching. I want to read you the translation the Joseph Smith translation. I was just in Salt Lake City great snow bad theology.

and is what it is. Joseph Smith has his own translation. I think that's rough when you do your own translation on your own, but he says this this is how you would read this in the Joseph Smith translation. You can Google this. in the beginning Was the Gospel he means the the Bible the word of God not the Bible, but the word of God, but it was preached through the sun. He separates.

The word that was being said from Jesus, okay. Theology of the church for the last two thousand years doesn't do that we incorporated together. He says in the beginning was the Gospel preached through the son. And the gospel was the word. So he says the message that God was saying was the word is what he says. And the Word was with the son.

So he says there's this word this message this story and it's kind of like, you know, Jesus has a holster, right and he's got the word beside him. He doesn't inculcate the two together. This is so important for Theology and why Christianity sets itself apart from so many other traditions because Jesus claimed that he was God Jesus claimed that he was God and this is a heresy that goes back to the first century. Actually. The one that Joseph Smith is a spousing people just can't wrap their heads around.

That God would become a human. Like it's think of the late. How can God become like some people would say, how can this dirty body? Like in a human body? How could he have? You know, what a bad breath or whatever it is. You know, like that's God they can't wrap their head around it. That's what makes the gospel. So powerful and so counter-cultural from any other narrative. Let me finish what else he says, he says the word was with the Son and the sun was with God.

And the son was of God. not God Of God now, this is where Jehovah Witness and LDS will have a disagreement with us and why this is so foundational. I'm going to close now with the theological portion to give you a couple practical takeaways that hopefully you can be using by Wednesday as well to kind of change your life, but One of the things that's most important to us is that Jesus is not just the Son of God who is separate.

Jesus Christ is God. This is this is a Cornerstone foundational understanding that he was with God in the beginning. He was God. He was of the nature of God and God that is the difference and it sets this text alone. Sets apart the message of the Gospel. It is one of the most important pieces of the gospel and when you share the gospel with other people.

Immerse yourself in this and pull this scripture out and show them who God was in this context. Okay. Let me give you a couple practical takeaways. Take a big breath. We're done with the classroom setting get your coffee. And I'm going to give you just a couple practical takeaways. Okay, one of the one of the struggles during the week is like do I just get under the hood here and just like change the carburetor or how much you know story do you bring into this and I wanted to give you guys a few things to take away.

I want to say the first one is this here's the Practical takeaways. When you speak you speak of your essence? The way to change your essence is to do the work werk spend time with the father spend time with Jesus. If you want to be changed spend time with God, like I said at the beginning put yourself in front of the holyness of God. There's nothing better for a claim. Everyone does a cleanse.

Very few people do a cleanse of their tongue or a cleanse of the emotional things that they need or something like that. We're all cleanse in our liver or cleanse and detox in drinking kombucha stuff like that. Sometimes we just need to cleanse our inner being. Let's say when you speak you speak of your essence. Let me give a couple verses that go with that. Jesus said in Matthew 15:18.

But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart. And these defile them? Wow. That the things you speak come out of your heart. And if you say things that are negative critical, you know, foul debaucherous when you say that you defile yourself. Jesus said that I mean that's what Jesus said words are so important words separate, right?

When you speak are you bringing speaking Darkness? Do you speak light? That's the first one next one John 8:44 when speaking about Satan. Jesus says to the Pharisees you belong to your father the devil. You want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and doesn't know the truth. So here's your your takeaway for the week that I want to give you. This is your your prescription if I can.

Want to encourage you to go on a a criticism fast? What I encourage you to do go on a tongue cleanse. To say nothing critical even if deserved. Right, sometimes it's important to say something. Just for a week the world will survive without your opinion. Okay? one week nothing critical Okay, try to try your best to not be critical and then the second part is this.

Speak Life over people one of the most powerful things you do when you just walk away after you tip somebody they're 48% that they want now when you go to the counter Why does it start at 52% when I it's a lot? It's just bless them. Bless people bless your children speak blessing of your children. When you drop your children off at school put your hands on them speak blessing over them.

Bless your wife bless your mother bless your neighbor bless people. Speak life, it will separate the darkness. That's your prescription this week a criticism fast. go into this scripture see all the things that it does take the words of God the powerful words of God and create life throw seed out into your life and see what Blossom see what blooms because we are starting a new creation with John am