Heralding the Word Part 4

if God’s people would take their
Bibles and turn back once again to the gospel of John. We have
entered into this great, great gospel. Not a blistering pace, mind you,
but we are in and we are just feasting on the deep truth of
God’s word. We find ourselves in Chapter
1, we’re looking at The greater section that we are in is called
the Prologue, verses 1 through 18, and we’re specifically in
that opening section, the first five verses of John’s Gospel. Jesus Christ, we have found,
has been heralded. He was heralded prior to His
birth. He was proclaimed. At His birth
to the shepherds and wise men, He was heralded at His baptism. He was heralded to Peter and
James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration. He was heralded
at the cross even to the unbelieving murderers who put Him on the
cross. He was heralded at the resurrection by angels. He was
heralded by others, but there is no proclamation of the Lord
Jesus Christ. so profound as this one. What
John does is ascend, if you will, to the highest place, to the
mountain, and proclaim in the most bold and clear words the
nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. He does this at the end of the
first century. This is the capstone Not the
last piece that was ever written, but the last clear gospel testimony
of who Christ was. This is the proclamation of the
Lord Jesus Christ. This is His heralding. And even
as we’ve begun to feast upon it, we realize that we haven’t
even begun to do it justice. I told you that there were seven
astounding representations in these first five verses, and
we’ve begun to just taste a few of them. If you would, return
again to chapter one, verse one, as we look at this proclamation,
this heralding of the Lord Jesus Christ. 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 came into being through
Him, and apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come
into being. In Him was life, and the life
was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it. I told you at the outset that
there were seven astounding representations of the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s
what John’s doing. He’s telling us at the very start
of his gospel the glorious nature of this person that he refers
to initially only as the Word. John starts where Moses starts
there in verse 1 and he tells us about the eternal nature of
Christ. He takes us back to the beginning
of creation. And whereas we saw Moses looked
forward, John looks backwards into eternity. At that very same
moment, the beginning of creation in the beginning, Jesus Christ,
the word was it was he was already existing. John just says the
word was. He wasn’t part of creation, he
didn’t come into existence, he simply was and we saw that John’s
selection of that term, the word, the Logos, was God-given. It
was the term that John could have used that would have drawn
in both Jews and Greeks to understand the nature of this concept, Logos. Both Jews and Greeks used it,
but they bandied it about. It was almost like a philosophy. John says, let me tell you about
the Logos. Let me tell you about the word.
Let me tell you about the Lord Jesus Christ. And the first thing
he says is he is eternal. But he was also in a relational
position. Look at the second sentence. The word was God. The word was with God rather.
Not only was Jesus Christ eternal, he was in relationship to the
father. He was in communion with him. and that from all eternity He
was with God in the most profound sense, not merely face to face
with God, but in deep and abiding communion with the Father. The
third thing that we noticed about this sentence is that Jesus Christ’s
divine identity, the Word was God, and now God declares plainly
to us through His servant John what we could have reasonably
concluded. We could have reasonably concluded
that this eternally existing being who was in communion with
the Father from all eternity was deity. But, John isn’t going
to miss anything and he tells us plainly here that the Word
was God. He was deity. That God’s nature
and Christ’s nature were one and the same. thing that we observe from this
passage was his distinct personality. It was dismaying to me to read
commentators that merely said that verse 2 was just a repetition
of everything that had gone before. He doesn’t say anything new.
That’s true. But his whole point then here
in verse 2 is that we could possibly conclude that John is merely
talking about one person, God, in those first statements. This is not merely a summary
of what had already been said. The same one, literally the same
one, was eternal. He was in communion with the
Father. He himself was God, but he was absolutely distinct from
the Father. From all eternity, he was distinct
from the Father, even though he was equal in nature. And then
last, Lord’s Day, we learned a fifth thing. about this word,
the Lord Jesus Christ, as John heralds him and proclaims him,
we learned about his creational power. In verse three, John just
declares all things came into being through him and apart from
him, nothing came into being that has come into being. The
word Jesus Christ, eternally existing in communion with the
Father, is the co-creator of every created thing. He is the
creator of everything from the small to the great. From the
seemingly insignificant creatures that exist on earth, to the most
powerful forces in nature, Jesus Christ created it all. But we come this morning to the
sixth feature that John points to. The sixth out of these seven
astounding representations of the Lord Jesus Christ. The word,
the Lord Jesus Christ, is heralded not only in his eternal nature,
his relational position, his divine identity, his distinct
personality, his creational power, but also in his gift of illuminating
life. His gift of illuminating life. Look at verse 4. John says, in
Him was life, and the life was the light of men. Now we could
jump right in, presumptuously, and start rambling on and on
about what we think these verses mean, but we won’t. We can’t do that and honor God’s
Word, so we have to step back and answer some very basic questions
of these verses, verses 4 and 5. Glance down at them just as
we ponder a few things. First of all, what does John
mean by life? When he says, in him was life,
what is he referring to? And, related to that, in what
sense is this life in him that is in the word or in Christ. What does John mean when he says
in him was life? In that same verse, verse four,
what does John mean by light? And even more specifically, what
does John mean when he refers to the fact that this life was
the light of men? Moving into verse 5, we have
to ask, what is the darkness that he references? And how does
light go about shining in that darkness? And what does it mean
that the darkness did not comprehend the light? These are important,
even crucial questions that we have to answer before we can
even begin to understand and make sense of these statements. First of all, what is the life
to which John refers? What does it mean? You and I
would have an understanding of life. We would be able to come
up with a fairly easy definition. But what is John saying? What
is John referring to when he says, in him was life? Is he merely saying that Jesus
Christ was alive. Jesus Christ is alive. Jesus
Christ has been alive from all eternity. Is that all John is
saying? You’d have to note, if you glance
down at the passage, whatever life means here at the beginning
of verse 4, in him was life, you would have to say that it
has to mean the same thing in the second part of that verse.
The life was the light of men. Whatever this life is in the
first statement, John will go on to declare, is the light of
men. We can begin to gather and draw in a few clues about this
life that John introduces. This life is said to be in him,
that is in the word. To be clear, in the Lord Jesus
Christ. This life was in Christ. Life
was in the Lord Jesus Christ. But further, we go on to learn
that this life was, in some sense, a light to men. It was the light
of men. There are several suggestions
about the meaning of this statement. In him was life. As I already
alluded, some people say that it was simply alluding to the
fact, or John was pointing to the fact, that Jesus Christ was
alive. That he existed. Now since the
whole passage, as we’ve talked about, is an introduction, a
heralding of the word, the Lord Jesus Christ, we have to ask
ourselves, could that conclusion be said of Christ? That he was
alive, that he existed? Of course we would answer, of
course it could. In fact, it would also fit the
second statement that the life of Christ, the very fact that
he was alive, was a light to men. that Jesus Christ being
alive in existence is a testimony to the world. That is true, absolutely
true. But is that what John is saying
here? Is that what John intends here? I don’t think so. John
has already spoken of Christ as existing from all eternity,
verse 1. He is in a perpetual relationship
with the Father from all eternity. and that he was very God, distinct
from the Father, but maintaining all of the attributes of God. So while we could say here that
the statement could be said of Christ, that he is merely alive,
that he is existing, it hardly seems reasonable. That having
said all of those grand things about Christ already, that John
would reduce his argument now to the fact that Jesus merely
existed. It’s already declared his eternal
nature, his relational position, his divine identity, his distinct
personality. So there’s got to be a different
option. What does John mean by in him was life? Another option is to think that
John is merely talking about life as a principle, that in
Christ was the principle of life. I suppose that could be said
of Christ. In him was the principle of life. The problem is, I don’t
even know what that means. What is the principle of life?
John isn’t talking about theory here in John 1. John isn’t talking
about philosophy. And that’s what that mentality
shifts to. It shifts to this airy-fairy
idea of just ideas. The idea of life. The concept
of life. John is declaring the very nature
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It isn’t theoretical. Whatever
John is talking about here has meaning and significance. It’s
profound. He’s declaring the nature of
the Lord Jesus Christ, those seven astounding representations. Now what simply we will not do
to entertain the suggestion that John is talking about some obtuse
and undefined concept here. And he talks about life, the
mere idea or principle of life. Some suggested, third option,
was that John is talking about spiritual life and that he’s
talking about spiritual life exclusively. We’ll come back
to that one. That’s a good one. I like that. Others said that John is talking
about physical life exclusively. That because of Christ and because
of the creation, we could look to Christ as life being in Him
in a very real way. John had just said that in verse
3. Let’s look at the facts. The
term life is a very important one to John. As John is writing
this gospel, he will use that term life more than 30 times,
36 times to be specific. And he uses it over and over
again in the book of Revelation, 17 more times in the book of
Revelation when he writes that. In 1 John, he uses it 13 more
times. This was a very crucial concept
to John. When he began to talk about life,
he had something very specific in mind. Only the book of Romans
uses this term life so plentifully, 14 times in that particular epistle. Now when John uses this word,
he often uses it to refer to spiritual life, eternal life.
I don’t want you to turn because we don’t have time, but just
listen in your mind’s eye to the way that John uses this word,
zoe, life. John 5.40, you are unwilling
to come to me so that you may have life. Now he’s talking to
people who are obviously alive. He’s talking there about eternal
life. You are unwilling to come to
me so that you will have life and have eternal life is specifically
what he’s talking about. John 10.10 says it the same way. The thief comes only to steal
and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life
and have it abundantly. He’s talking to people. Talking
to people that already have physical life. So what he’s pointing to
can only be their spiritual life, eternal life. John 11, 25. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection
and the life. He who believes in me will live
even if he dies. He can’t say it any more plainly.
What he’s talking about there is eternal life. John 14, 6. You know these verses. Jesus
said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father but through me. He’s pointing there explicitly. to eternal life. So John does
use this word frequently to refer to eternal life, but we don’t
need to unnecessarily limit what John intends here in John 1. When John speaks of life here,
we don’t want to say that he’s speaking only of spiritual life
or only of physical life unless it’s absolutely clear that he’s
doing so. And it’s not so clear here. Here
are a few things to consider. As you glance down at that verse,
verse 4, in him was life, John uses a particular word there,
zoe, as I already mentioned. That word isn’t just used to
refer to eternal life. John, in those passages that
we just quoted, certainly uses it in that particular way. But
it isn’t just used. that way. In other words, to
use this word wasn’t just to say and to talk about eternal
life, spiritual life. When Paul used the word in Acts
17, he wasn’t referring to eternal life. Listen to that verse. He, that is God, gives to all
people life. and breath and all things. Now
you and I would absolutely conclude that God has not given eternal
life to all people. He has not given spiritual life. He has not saved all people. And so Paul there must be using
that word in a different sense. He’s talking about physical life
there. God has given to all people physical
life, breath, all things. Everything that we possess is
a gift of God. And he can’t be possibly saying
there that all people have been granted eternal life because
it isn’t true. Paul elsewhere uses this word
to distinguish between this present life and eternal life. 1 Timothy
4.8, just listen in your mind’s eye again. Bodily discipline
is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all
things since it holds promise for the present life And also
for the life to come, the interesting thing about that is the life
to come, the word Zoe isn’t used there at all. He just talks about
what comes after. He’s pointing to eternal life. He’s pointing to what happens
after death. But he’s using this contrast
here, present life, with that which takes place afterwards.
So the word can refer to eternal life. It can also refer to life
in general, physical life. Now here in verse 4, back to
John chapter 1 verse 4, it seems to me completely unnecessary
to limit life either to physical life or spiritual life. John
doesn’t do it and he could have. And so we have to understand,
John is speaking very broadly here, that all life, physical
and eternal spiritual life Not only creation brought into existence
through Christ, but eternal life that is secured ultimately by
Christ’s death on the cross. All life is in Christ. All life
is in Christ, as one said, life here has no limitation and is
to be understood in the widest sense, the life of the body,
even of organisms which we think of as inanimate. And so it’s
all of life, physical life, spiritual life is in Christ. It’s in the
sphere of Christ. But in what sense is it in Christ? We’ve already determined that
this life can’t reasonably be limited to one or the other.
We can’t limit life here and so we certainly
can’t limit life to suggest merely the phrase that in him was life
points merely to the fact that Jesus Christ was eternally existent
and alive John already made that point as we saw John is pointing
to the fact that all of life whatever sort of life ever came
into being because of the creative forces that existed in him as
the word the second person of the Trinity, generated from the
Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the source of life.
Christ is the source of all physical life. Christ is the source of
all spiritual life. As one said, Jesus Christ, the
Son and the Word, is the life, the living one. It is through
this life of His that all created things hold together and cohere. In the spiritual order, the Son
Having life in Himself gives life to whomever He wishes. You see, when God in His eternal
counsels decided that Christ, Christ would
be the one through whom all life generated. Christ was appointed,
as it were, to be the source. Christ was appointed to be the
very origin of all life. From Him, all life would come. One commentator said it this
way, if Christ created all things, he must be the fountain of life.
He is the life giver. And we understand life here to
be used in its widest sense. Creature life is found in God,
for in him we live and move and have our being. Spiritual life
or eternal life are also found in him. That power which creates
life and maintains all else in existence. was in Christ. So it’s all of life. Everything,
every kind of life, physical and spiritual, is found emanating
and proceeding through the Lord Jesus Christ. We come to the
second part of that statement. The second part of that statement
is no less difficult than the first. In him was life, and the
life was the light of men. We’ve already posed a few questions.
What kind of light is John referring to here? And as you might imagine,
there were some dramatically different ideas suggested here
as to the nature of this light. Here are a few. It’s the light of God’s glory,
or spiritual light. And what he’s pointing to, this
particular commentator, he’s pointing to what we would refer
to as the Shekinah glory of God. You know, those bright emanations
of light that oriented from God himself. Here’s how he said it. The scriptures teach that such
light is not only spiritual, there is a physical attribute
to it. Shekinah glory is what he’s pointing
to. John is not talking about Christ’s
physical light, but his spiritual light, but it has that physical
property, he says. Life-giving light seeks out a
world lost in darkness. He begins to muddy it so much
that you don’t even know what he’s talking about at the end.
And I don’t believe that John here in any way is pointing to
any kind of physical light like which Paul saw on the road
to Damascus. He’s not saying That Jesus Christ
shines physically wherever he goes. He’s not saying that. That divine presence which Moses
was caused to avert his eyes. Theophanies like the pillar of
fire. The divine presence on the Mount
of Transfiguration. Those bright emanations of God. That is not what John’s talking
about here. It’s just not his purpose. It’s not his reference
here. To say that the life was the light of men and to talk
about that as a physical light, that’s not John’s purpose. Another said that it was the
light of revelation. And that’s not completely inaccurate.
He said it this way. All the light of Old Testament
prophecy and instruction, if not all the religious light that
came through the Word, There is a lot of truth to that. There’s
something to that idea, that of revelation, that what John
means by the light is that illuminating property of truth, that Jesus
Christ produced that. And in that sense, the Old Testament,
any revelation is intended to be enlightening. Any New Testament
revelation was intended to be enlightening and to point people
to the living God. As I said, there’s some truth
to this one. It’s not a physical light, as we’ve seen, but there
is some understanding to be gained from this idea of revelation
that we can be enlightened, as it were. Another pointed to the creation
of God, the revelation specifically that we see in God’s creation,
and there’s truth to this, too. He said it this way, the first
movement of the divine word in the beginning of creation was
light. But he goes on to say this was
the first manifestation of light in the world, but he’s talking,
whereas Moses there is unfolding in creation literal light, greater
bodies of light, day and night. What he says is that this was
divine revelation and that too is a light to mankind. Psalm 36 9 speaks of this kind
of light for with you is the fountain of light life rather
in your light. We see light. Those are just
deep and almost overwhelming concepts to begin to grasp. And
again, this isn’t off the mark. Creation is a witness of God,
as we’ll see in a moment. Psalm 19 Romans 1. Creation is
a testimony of God. There’s a fourth that I think
really sums it up. What kind of light is he talking
about here? When John says, in him was life,
and the life was the light of men, what he’s pointing to is
the light of conscience and reason, such as results from merely being
alive. That merely being born alive,
being in existence here on the earth as a human being, because
as you note, he says it is the light of men. This isn’t bestowed
on every creature ever created. One commentator described it.
He said it is not a light, but the light, the one true light,
the absolute truth, both intellectual and moral, free from ignorance,
from sin and stain, The source of life is the source of light.
He gives power to know what is morally good and shares life
with all creatures. Light or revelation is from Him
alone. There’s truth to that. That’s
the direction that we need to understand John’s going here,
is that He has given to all men, all people ever born, the light
of conscience and the light of reason. This particular passage, this
light, is granted to us simply by virtue of the life that God
has given to us. I want to take you to two particular
passages that echo this very thing. First turn to Ecclesiastes
3. Ecclesiastes 3. We don’t turn
here often. This ought to be clean in your
Bibles, not marked up a whole lot. When you get to Ecclesiastes
3, look at verse 11. Remember, we’re talking about
a conscience. We’re talking about an awareness
of God as a holy being. We’re talking about a conscience
that seems to almost stand in the backdrop of all that man
is and does. Look at verse 11. He that is
God has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set
eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out
the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
There’s something there. We just can’t put our finger
on it. It is as that great theologian once said, it is that God-shaped
vacuum. We know that something else is
out there. We can sense it and perceive
it. We know it. We know the difference between
right and wrong. We know that there’s a holy God. But we just, we can’t know everything. There is eternity in our hearts
and we have a conscience that pierces our soul when we do wrong. Because it’s God given. It’s
God given. Turn if you would to the book
of Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8. This one ought
to be marked up. In Romans chapter 8, one little
verse, just verse 20. Actually, let’s go. Start at verse 18. For I consider
that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
to the glory that is to be revealed to us. That’s the whole testimony
of chapter 8, that longing for Christ and his glory. For the
anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing
of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected
to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected
it in hope that the creation itself will also be set free
from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory
of the children of God. What he says here is that all
creation was subjected to this futility so that they might look
up. That there is an awareness. There’s a conscience there that
knows that there’s a God. And the futility that it’s subjected
there to is supposed to drive the creature to Christ, supposed
to drive the creature to God. So back in John one, when he
talks about this life being the light of men, It’s this being
alive merely as human beings that with that we’ve been given
conscience, with that we’ve been given an awareness that God is
in existence and that he’s a holy God. We know that. So how do
we know all that? How do the people in Papua New
Guinea know that? Turn back to Romans 1. You know
the passage. This is the truth. All of creation
is testifying of Christ. All of creation is testifying
of the nature of God Himself. And in Romans 1, we see it. Look at verse 20. We’ll just
limit ourselves to that verse. Since the creation of the world,
His invisible attributes, I mean, that’s what God is. God is invisible. And yet, Paul begins to tell
us here that we know what God is like. Just by virtue of the
fact that we’ve been born, we know what He’s like. We know
that He’s a holy God. We know that He’s righteous.
How do we know all that? Look at verse 20. since the creation
of the world. His invisible attributes, His
eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen. What, did we all go to seminary? Did
we all read a book? How did we know this? How was
this all clearly seen? Being understood through what
has been made so that they are without excuse. Every day is
a testimony of God. Every day is a testimony of God
and His power. And just the mere fact that we
have been born and that we are alive is a testimony. It’s light. It’s a revelation
to the heart of every person that God is God and that He’s
almighty and that He is powerful. That He’s holy. This life, this life that is
imparted by the Lord Jesus Christ to man becomes to us the light
of conscience and reason. As one said, it is the light
that is possessed by men alone over and above mere animal nature
by which men have eternal and divine conceptions. So what does
it all mean? What does it mean when John says
here, in him was life and the life was the light of men? that in some way this life, this
life was a witness, an illuminating element, something that enlightens
and points to something greater still. It points to God. So we
need to be very clear here. We can veer away from the truth
of this passage so very easily. Here’s how one said it, and he
veered in doing it. The word himself is the light
of men. Indeed, The man who follows him
shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.
The word is the source of light. All the light that men have they
owe to the word. Now, everything that he says
is true. It’s absolutely true. That sounds good. There isn’t
very much there from a biblical perspective with which we would
disagree. That if we follow the Lord Jesus Christ, we will be
found in the light of truth and not walking in darkness. That’s
true. But John doesn’t say that here. He doesn’t say that the
word, the Lord Jesus Christ, was equal to the light. Rather,
he points out that the life was the light. Doesn’t say that the word was
the light, but the life was the light. It isn’t the word that
is said to be the light, but the life, the gift of life that
Jesus Christ bestows as God, the co-creator of the universe,
functions as a spiritual light. The principle of life is illuminating. The mere fact that you’re here,
that you’re aware, and that you’re alive, and that you have a conscience
that is pierced by the Spirit alone, that’s the life. And that’s the
light that we gain from that life. As one said it, the word
is not spoken of here as the light of men. He is the light
through the medium of life. In part, according to the divine
constitution of things, he has made known and makes himself
known in and through the vital processes of creation. What he’s
saying is if you just stand back and experience life itself, that
is a testimony, that is revelation, that is light. to the creature. Jesus Christ
is the source of all life, physical and spiritual, and in fact, John
just said it in verse three, didn’t he? But he goes beyond
that here. Jesus Christ is the origin, the
creator of all life, and that very life, once bestowed, becomes
a testimony to all who possess it. That’s why Paul can say in
Romans 1 that if you can conclude that there is no God, After being
born and existing on the face of this earth, you are without
excuse. J.C. Ryle said it clearly when
he said, the life which was in Christ was intended before the
fall to be the guide of man’s soul to heaven. Did he hear that? Did you hear that? The life which was in Christ,
the life that you’ve been given, born onto the face of this earth,
was intended before the fall to be the guide of man’s soul
to heaven. Now it’s not a perfect guide. this
conscience. We can know that we did wrong.
We can know that there is a holy God. We can know that there’s
some being, we may not know his name, but we know he’s powerful.
We know that he’s almighty. We know that he’s holy. And we
know that we have displeased him greatly. J.C. Ryle continues, it was intended
before the fall to be the guide of man’s soul to heaven. and
the supply of man’s heart and conscience. We know. We know because Jesus Christ
made it so. Jesus Christ gave us life. What kind of life? One pastor said it this way,
life everywhere. Super abundant life, life infinite,
mysterious, but in In man, life became light. Man, as distinguished
from everything beneath him in the earthly creation, has the
element of light. Man is the first and the only
one who, being created, understands, who can look back into the face
of God and commune with Him. What he says here of Christ is
absolutely astounding. That just by being born into
this world, by being given this gift of life by the Word, the
Lord Jesus Christ, we have an entry into the potential of spiritual
life. We have an entry into the potential
of eternal life. That we stand before Him as real,
rational beings with life and conscience. John heralds that principle of
Christ. John heralds that element of
the Lord Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ stands here in verse four
in his gift of illuminating life. What a privilege we have. What a tragedy that so many born
into this life just meander aimlessly, ignoring conscience, ignoring
the fact that they have offended a holy God, ignoring the fact
that God has provided a Savior who has already secured eternal
life. It doesn’t need to be that way. Let’s humble ourselves in His
presence. Our merciful King, we thank you
for this life that you have given us. And Lord God, as we walked
in here this morning, we might have just thought that Jesus
was talking here about mere creation. But Lord, you’re talking about
us. That you have given to us life,
that we are alive, that we’re rational, thinking, breathing
human beings. And we are such with a conscience.
And that we stand before You, a holy God. And that if we have
not placed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are in a desperate
position. Lord God, we thank You that this life means
light. That this life points us to some
kind of revelation outside of ourselves. some meaning, some
significance. And that significance ultimately
presented itself in the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, if there
are any in our midst this morning, that has been our solemn prayer
throughout. That each time as we come to this gospel, that
the gospel would come forth from your word and that it would touch
any who do not know you in our midst. Father God, we know that
you have given life. We know that each of these lives
have reason and conscience. And we pray that you would impress
upon them their desperate need of placing their faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ, the only hope for sinners, the only hope. We thank you and we praise you
in Jesus’ name.