Sermon: Names of Jesus: Word of God

I am gonna ask you to turn in your Bibles to John chapter one.

We are continuing our series on the names of Jesus in our evening service, and I appreciate that two of our pastors have given us kind of metaphors, ways to look at the names of Jesus. Pastor Nate said, it's kind of like different entryways into the person and work of Christ to come to know him better. And that's all important because Jesus himself said that to know him and to know the Father who sent him is the definition of eternal life.

Pastor Jason a few weeks ago talked about a diamond, a large diamond with many facets. And as we turn that diamond and the light shines on it, a different glory or beauty of Christ shines out for our adoration and transformation. So tonight we have the entry point, the facet of looking at Jesus as the word. And that brings us to John chapter one. So before we go any further, let's bow in prayer and ask God's blessing on His word.

Our heavenly Father, you truly are Lord of heaven and earth. Lord of the highest heavens, where even these massive cherubim and seraphim, these holy angels cover their eyes before your holiness. And Lord, you are have Lord of all that is on the earth, kings and princes and prime ministers and presidents and Congress and parliament over wars and rumors of war. You rule over the entire planet. But Lord, how can it be that you are also the Lord

of each one of our lives? You know us better than we know ourselves. You have called us out of darkness, into light and into the beauty and glory of the kingdom of your beloved son and Lord, tonight, in great mercy, you have called us together to end this Lord's day learning just a little bit more about you. So as we talk about Jesus the word tonight, we pray that you would give us hearts of flesh that are responsive and hungry and eager

to know Christ more and more. And Father, we pray that in our time you would glorify your name and we pray it all in Jesus' name. Amen. John chapter one, it's hard to describe the majesty and the beauty, and yet the simplicity of John's gospel I, I think of John's gospel like being in a, in a glass bottomed boat out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. And as you look down through the glass, you realize you can see all the way

to the bottom 35,000 feet down and all kinds of mysterious and wonderful sea creatures. Author James Hamilton says this, could there be a more profound opening to a book than the one in John's gospel? One could search the great ideas of mankind and probe the ponderings of the philosophers and the poetry of the artisan. Find no idea higher than God, nor a more concrete yet expressive statement about him than the one John makes at the beginning of his gospel.

So we're gonna read John one verses one through 18. I'm gonna make four points, some commentary on the verses with some implications as we go, and then we'll have a time of response at the end. So let's read together John one verses one through 18. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him. And without him was not anything made that was made

in him was life and the light, the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to bear witness about the light, the true light which enlightens everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him.

Yet the world did not know him. He came to his own and his own people did not receive him, but to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen His glory, glory as of the only son from the Father full of grace and truth.

John bore witnessed about him and cried out. This was he of whom I said, he who comes after me, ranks before me because he was before me. And from his fullness, we have all received grace upon grace for the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, the only God who is at the father's side. He has made him known. So four points tonight, point number one is in verses one

and two, and you'll notice John does not believe in gradual warmups. He just comes out with both barrels blazing. The first point he makes in the first sentence is the most important. Jesus, the word is fully and truly God. John's stunning opening sentence tells us that the word was with God at the beginning of all things and that the word was and is God. Now, I'm sure many of you know that the word for word in Greek is logos.

And that word has a long literary and philosophical and historical background. And if you read commentaries, they usually spend a fair amount of time talking about the logos and what it meant. Some believed that the logos was the rational directing principle of the universe. Others said it was the ideal world. But I think in John's case, his background is more the Hebrew scriptures in the Old Testament than the philosophical background from the Greek

word, the Hebrew background. And the Old Testament on the word of God, I think is informing him more. So for instance, in Psalm 33 verse six, it says, by the word of the Lord, the heavens were made and by the breath of his mouth, all their hosts, that's a short connection to John one. One, isn't it? In Proverbs 8 27 through 31, we have a different uh, idea of the Son of God. He's not called the word, he's called wisdom.

The wisdom who was with God at the beginning of all things he's personified. And in these verses, wisdom himself is speaking, and this is what wisdom says. When he, God established the heavens, I was there when he drew a circle on the face of the deep when he made firm the skies above when he established the fountains of the deep when he assigned to the sea its limit so that the waters might not transgress his command.

When he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him like a master workman. And I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him, always rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man. Notice Christ there, metaphorically speaking, is referred to as the wisdom who was there with the Father at the beginning. And notice words like the wisdom was God's delight. Wisdom was rejoicing at his inhabited world and rejoicing

and delighting in the children of man. So what does John mean when he refers to Jesus as the word drawing primarily from the Old Testament, but also from his own three years of spending a lot of time with Jesus? I think this is what he means. The word is God's perfect self-expression and revelation of his character, speech and activity. I'll say that again. The word is God's perfect self-expression and revelation of his character, speech and activity.

So John says, before anything existed, Jesus was with the Father as the eternal word. In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. So what are some implications of Jesus being the eternal Word, being God? Well, unlike many people who think they honor Jesus and like him, the word is not merely and especially holy man, the word is not merely a great religious teacher. He's not like the heretic area, set a demi God.

And he's not a myth. He is God as the nice creed says God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made. This sets Jesus the word apart from anyone else who has ever existed, the word simply has no rivals. So what should our response be to the word? Should it just be to sort of cower in fear or just admire him from afar? I think the end of Psalm 73 gives us words that express what our proper response of worship should be.

The writer of Psalm 73 says, whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth I desire besides you. That's the correct attitude and demeanor towards the word, because the word is unique and supreme over all things. Second point in John one, three, it says that all things were made through him and without him was not anything made that has been made. How do we understand that there are parallel passages in the New Testament.

One of them in Colossians one where in verse 16, Paul is talking about this same, the same dynamic about how the father and the Son work together to create the world. Here's how Paul says it. For by him, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. All things were created through him and for him. I like how Paul makes distinctions things in heaven. Christ created things on earth, things visible

things invisible. So what are some things visible that Christ created? Well, in on the macro level, all the planets and stars, nebula and constellations, billions upon billions of stars on the earth, mountain ranges and oceans, scenic wonders like the Grand Canyon in Niagara Falls closer to home in your backyard, the trees and flowering bushes that you can't wait to start blooming. He created those. He created your dog and your best friend.

How about things invisible? Well, Paul, in Colossians, one refers first of all to the whole and angelic, demonic spiritual realm. And he says he created the thrones and dominions and rulers and authorities, we might add the cherubim and seraphim that hide their eyes before the face of God. He created space and time, which you can't see, but are very, very real. He created love and justice. Again, you can't see them abstractly.

You can only see them in action. So Christ, the word is the creator and the sustainer and the ruler and the heir of all things. That means that everything you love, everything you desire, everything you long for points to Jesus. It has his signature on it. The signature of Jesus is on each and every created thing, visible and invisible. And that means all things from the sublime to the ridiculous. So what are some things visible and invisible?

Well, some of you're gonna not like this or come back at me. The Super Bowl points to Jesus a few weeks ago. Why? Because the Super Bowl is all about a victory. And Paul says, thanks be to God who gives us the victory. So when you see Patrick Mahomes or Travis Kelsey will leave uh, his girlfriend out of it for right now, it points to the victory that God has given us. How about falling in love or marital intimacy? They point to the marriage, supper

and eternal honeymoon that we will all enjoy with our bridegroom. A Broadway show or a world class concert or a cinematic masterpiece, all point to the ultimate spec spectacle of the return of the king. Here's the silliest one, but I had to put this one in Disney World. I'm putting this one in because our son just took his family down there a few weeks ago. How on earth does Disney world point to Jesus? Because it's about a kingdom, isn't it?

Not a magic kingdom, but a magnificent kingdom not ruled over by a large mouse, but ruled over by God's beloved son. And think about this, A Sunday morning or Sunday evening, worship service points us to Christ, a service where the fellowship is sweet, the singing heartfelt, the prayers stirring, the preaching, transforming all point to the unsearchable riches of grace in Christ that are coming to us in the coming ages.

So here's a question. Do you regularly see everything true, everything good and everything beautiful in this world as bearing the signature of Jesus? The word who created all things? If you do, you'll experience a lot of joy. Third point, verses four through 13, John tells us here that Jesus, the word who created all things and who gives life and light to human beings, actually came into the world that he had made. It's like an author writing himself into a

novel that he's writing. And in coming into this world, Christ, the word provoked very different responses from different people. So let's look at three. First of all, it mentions John the Baptist. John the Baptist, recognized Christ as the Messiah. And he courageously bore witness to him. He said, I'm not the Christ. This is the Christ. He's the Lamb of God. And ultimately, he lost his life. That's a response of faith.

But it says, many of Jesus' own countrymen failed to recognize him as the one who created the world and as the Messiah who had come to save them. And they ultimately rejected him even to the point of putting him to death. That's a second response of unbelief. But John says some, some in the first century, some in every generation since then did receive him and believed in him. And he says to those who believed in him,

Jesus gave the right the privilege, the greatest privilege of all to become children of God.

So here's a a a point. It's not the main point of the passage, but I think it's a point worth making, a genuine encounter with the real Jesus and I underlying genuine encounter and real Jesus, the word always provokes a strong response either for him or against him. So we need to be prepared as believers for both negative responses and positive responses to the word. At times, we will encounter overt more obvious resistance, sometimes more covert

or hidden resistance to the word. And that that leads us to an A, a huge question. Why would anyone resist and reject the word of God? The Word of God that created everything that gives life and light to us that actually came into this world who died to save us? Why would anyone stiff harm him or reject him or resist him or ignore him? Well, it's the mystery of sin, isn't it? The sin we are born with is an inborn, perverse

allergy to the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. And if you know yourself, you've seen it in yourself, we will see this allergy more obviously in unbelievers and more subtly in believers. You may encounter this resistance when you faithfully seek to live for Jesus Christ alone against the tide, against the tide, maybe of your family or your school or your workplace. You might encounter this resistance when you try to gently point out someone's sin out of love

and concern for them. And they may turn against you in anger, or you might encounter this resistance when you seek to verbally stand up for what is true and sane in this twisted generation. So be prepared for resistance and rejection to the word. However, at other times, you will see good come from your faithfulness and your witness to Christ. You'll have a ringside seat to do God, to see God do what he delights to do

and only he can do, which is to turn hearts, to make hearts soft and to turn them to Christ and to move them to stop resisting and to receive and embrace him and to believe in his name. And you'll see people start to experience the joy of being his children. So also be prepared to rejoice. The fourth point, John one 14 through 18, we see that Jesus, the word became flesh and revealed the glory of his grace in order to save us.

Jesus, the word of God who created all things, who gives life and light to all people, and who actually visited this planet, the word in unimaginable humility and overflowing love did the unthinkable. He actually took on human flesh and was made just like you in every way except sin. In that means he embraced all of our limitations as human beings and all our weaknesses. He willingly accepted our liability to suffering and even death.

One of my favorite passages in the New Testament is Hebrews two verses 14 through 18, which fleshes out for us what it means that the word became flesh. Listen to what the writer says. Since the children share in flesh and blood, that's us, he himself likewise partook of the same things, so that through death he might destroy him who holds the power of death that is the devil. And to deliver all those who through fear of death

were subject to lifelong slavery. Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every way so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God and to make propitiation for the sins of the people because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being temple to attempted. So Christ took on our own humanity, full humanity. But it says he also dwelt among us.

Literally, it says he tabernacled among us. And that reminds us of how God had Moses build the tabernacle and how he dwelt in the midst of his sinful people in the wilderness, one writer said, it's as if Jesus moved into our neighborhood. That's how near he's come to us. Jesus has become your closest neighbor. Just think what it would be like to have Jesus living next door. Jesus in his humble and holy life revealed the greatness

and the goodness, the majesty and the might of his heavenly Father in a way that we could handle without being completely undone by God's holiness. The word who was with God in the beginning. The word who made all things the word, who is the perfect revelation of the blinding glory of God is also safe and welcoming. Remember, the word became flesh. And how did he do that? And a baby in a manger. And Jesus himself said, you can come to me for I'm gentle

and lowly, but it's even more than that. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. And then it says in, in verse 16 that from the overflowing fullness of his divine life, we have all received grace upon grace. What does that mean? Well, again, a lot of ink spilled about what grace upon grace means. Several things we could say about it, but at least it means this. We have received the grace of his incarnation and the grace of his sinless life

and the grace of his atoning death and the grace of his glorious resurrection. Here's here's how we could sum up the whole life of Jesus. You might wanna memorize this. It's a two line couplet that I think captures the whole glory of the gospel. He took my flesh and lived my life and died my death upon the tree. So by his blessed sacrifice, this guilty sinner could go free. I'm gonna read it one more time. He took my flesh and lived my life

and died my death upon the tree. So by his blessed sacrifice, this guilty sinner could go free. That is grace upon grace. Notice finally in verse 17, that John makes a contrast between Moses and Jesus. Moses, the great giver of the law. The law was a great grace, but it couldn't save us through Jesus comes the gospel, grace and truth, which saves us to the uttermost. So let me summarize those four points. Jesus is the word of God. That's the first point.

Jesus, the word is God. Second point, Jesus, the word created all things. Third, Jesus, the word provokes either resistance and rebellion or submission and service. And finally, Jesus, the word became like us in every way and came near to us to save us by the glory of His grace.

As we close, I want to read verses 11 through 14 again, because I think this is the heart of John one. And then I wanna make, just give you a few thoughts. John one 11 through 14, he, the word came into his own and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen His glory, glory as of the only son from the Father full of grace and truth. I wanna share a short testimony. It actually covers 50 years very quickly, okay? Um, I wanna tell you about something that happened 50 years ago and how I recently realized that it's all about John one 14, the word becoming flesh in the early seventies. I was a early in my early twenties, I was lost.

I was confused. I was broken and very sinful. At that point, I had tried two ways of living. You know, in, in Proverbs it says there's a way that seems right to a man, but the end, it leads to death. And I had tried the classic two ways as a, as a young teenager, I had tried to be a happy Pharisee. In other words, I got real serious about my religious life. And I tried really, really hard to be good and stop sinning. And I tried to get rid of all my past sins.

It was a miserable failure. It was full of fear, full of guilt. And then as if it were a seamless robe, I I I went fairly quickly into trying to be a happy pagan. I had a conversion of sorts, but it wasn't to Christ. It was to the Beatles as a young man. And that galvanized me. It captivated me. And I, I thought there was a glory there. I wouldn't have used that word. I didn't know that word, but there was something that seemed alive and strong and bright and beautiful,

and I wanted to be a part of that. And so I did, I embraced it. And, and then gradually the whole lifestyle that goes along with that. And both of those ways, uh, were miserable ultimately. And I, I deserved death and I was headed towards death. And then on, in a spring day in 1972, I, I walked from my home uptown and, uh, I walked into a bookstore. I was not a reader. Rolling Stone Magazine was about the extent of my reading in those days.

And I was kind of in a searching mode. And I went into a bookstore and I went to the religious section, which was sort of strange. And I bought three books. Two of them were by a man named CS Lewis. I didn't know anything about him. The third book was by a guy that I realized later was a Zen Buddhist. Okay? I didn't know the difference.

Fortunately by God's grace, I read CS Lewis first, or I might have ended up wearing a saffron colored robe with my head shaped selling flowers at O'Hare Airport. I read mere Christianity, which again is just strange because that's, that's not a super easy book. In that book, I began to encounter Christ. And I realize now, 50 years later, that what I was looking for in those days as a, as a young person, I was craving two things.

I was craving glory, like I said, not just to be famous, although I, I wouldn't have minded that, but glory in the sense of being part of something bigger than myself. Something bright and beautiful and strong. And of course, rock and roll music was not it that was full of sin, but Jesus was. And he became more captivating to me than what had captivated me earlier. And the other thing I was craving was grace. I had tried being religious, tried saving myself.

And again, it, it was awful. It was terrible. And in Christ, I began to see the glory as of the only son from the Father. And I began to taste what, what grace was. Mercy, kindness, forgiveness, a changing of my desires to know God and follow him. And so not long ago I realized that that's what that book had given me a glimpse of. And so I love John one 14. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen His glory, glory as

of the only son from the Father full of grace and truth. Now, our response to this word is written right in the text. He came to his own and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. So as we close in prayer,

will you receive him tonight? Maybe there's someone here who you just haven't really considered this and maybe something we talked about. Just give you a little glimmer or a little facet of glory. And maybe your heart is saying, yeah, I need that. Or maybe you too have tried to live as a happy pharisee or a happy pagan and realized it doesn't work. And you know you need grace. So will you receive him? And, and I know most of us, if not all of us,

have already received him, but we can, anytime we want him, anytime we want, we can embrace him anew in repentance and faith. We can stop step arming him or ignoring him. I mean, that's really what we do every time we have communion, isn't it? We receive him again through faith. So I'm gonna lead us in prayer right now. I'm going to use a prayer that I wrote back in October when I'm having my devotion. Sometimes if I feel moved, I, I just, I just write a prayer.

So this is just ripped outta my notebook. It's completely unedited. And I'm, I'm praying that maybe something in the sermon or something in this prayer might stir or nudge you toward Jesus. Maybe a glimpse of his glory or a taste of his grace. And then let it just move you to talk to him now and later in your own words, to acknowledge Him, to receive Him, to embrace him. So I'm gonna lead us in prayer and then we will close with a final song.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, precious Lord Jesus, I receive you anew as my wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. All the goodness and greatness, holiness and truth and beauty of God, the Father is in you. You are my treasured Lord and Savior, my brother and friend, the lover of my soul, my glory and joy. You are my all in all Jesus. I have no longings for another. You have captured my heart and life forever. Your incarnation and sinless life and suffering and death

and resurrection are the center of history and the meaning of life and the consummation of all joy and glory. Indeed, something greater than Solomon is here. All praise to the lion and the lamb, who along with the glorious Father and the gracious spirit, is worthy of all praise and honor and glory forever. Lord, as we close tonight, we acknowledge that you are the word of the Father, that you did create all things, but yet you left the glory of heaven and suffered

and died to forgive us and make us new. So Lord, our desire is that tonight and tomorrow, we would receive you. We would embrace you, we would look to you, we would abide in you, we would love you, and we would turn that love for you into love for others. We pray all this in Christ's name. Amen.