LET GOD BE GOD! - by Rev Gilbert Wong
Text:    John 1:1-14
24 December 2005

VERSES 1-18: THE PROLOGUE TO THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

These 18 verses "supremely, summarizes how the 'Word' which was with God in the very beginning came into the sphere of time, history, tangibility -- in other words, how the Son of God was sent into the world to become the Jesus of history, so that the glory and grace of God might be uniquely and perfectly disclosed.  The rest of the book is nothing other than an expansion of this theme" (Carson, 111).

Jesus alone reveals God with perfect clarity, because he alone has shared an intimacy with God in which there were no secrets or disagreements.  Moses heard God on Mount Sinai, but could not see God.  He read the words engraved on tablets of stone, but did not produce them.  The Word, on the other hand, was present with God from the beginning, and participated fully in every stage of the creation. (v. 3)

Let us examine these 14 verses in four parts:

VERSES  1-5:   GOD IS AN UNCREATED GOD

"In the beginning" (v. 1).  The Jewish people know the books of their scriptures by their first words -- in the same way that we know hymns by their first lines.  "In the beginning" is their title for the book that we call Genesis.  This Gospel begins with those exact words by design, because the Prologue models itself after the creation account.  In other words, John tells us that life is bring recreated by the coming of Christ.

The Gospel of John traces the Word back to the very beginning -- before time -- before the creation of the world.  The Word is not part of the creation -- was not created -- but stood with God before the creation.  This is important, because it is contrary to the prevailing Jewish thought of God working alone in creation.  God wants to speak to in ways that can be understood.  We find John carefully chooses words that his hearers could understand.

"was the Word (logos)" (v. 1).  Logos is a brilliant choice of words to bridge the gap between the Jewish and Greek worlds.  The first Christians were Jewish, but the Gospel spread quickly to Greeks, who know nothing of the messiah or the fulfilment of prophecy.  John's task is to couch this Gospel in language that they can understand and appreciate.  Logos is a common word in Greek philosophy.  Greeks believe that the world is highly volatile, but is under the control of Logos.  John is saying to the Greek world, "You believe in Logos.  Jesus is Logos come to earth.  Jesus is the mind of God in human form" (Barclay, 13-14).

Jews also understand logos ("the Word"): 

Out of respect, Jews prefer not to use God's name, so they sometimes use the phrase, "the Word" as a substitute for God's name.  The Jewish concept of the Word (logos) of God is rooted in the OT.  "The creation accounts of Genesis are governed by God's spoken word; God spoke through the law at Sinai and through the prophets. 

-- "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth" (Psalm 33:6).

"and the Word was with God", "and the Word was God" (v. 1).  The Prologue distinguishes between God and the Word while, at the same time, emphasizing their unity.  If those opposing ideas -- individuality and unity -- seem incompatible, consider the relationship between husband and wife. In marriage, two people who retain their individual identities, become, in some sense, one.  (As one wag put it, after the wedding they learn which one.)

John's emphasis on the creative role of the Word counters Gnostic heresy. Gnosticism is dualistic, saying that matter is evil and, therefore, could not be created by God.  Gnostics believe that the OT God of creation is evil and must therefore be different from the NT Father of Jesus, who is good.  John directly counters that line of thought, saying, "All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being." (v. 3)  (Barclay, 19).  In our time, it is the other way round, hedonism has replaced Gnosticism.  We enjoy more and care less about morality and life after death.  We certainly care more for knowledge but care less about wisdom

Verses 4-5 introduce the themes of life and light shining in the darkness -- important themes in the Gen. 1 creation story -- and important throughout this Gospel.  More than one-quarter of all the references to life in the New Testament are found in this Gospel, and usually refer to eternal life (Morris, 73) (see 3:15-16, 36; 4:14, 36; 5:21-29, 39-40; 6:47, 51-54, 63, 68; 8:12; 10:1-28; 11:25; 12:25, 50; 14:6; 17:2; 20:31).  The life that Jesus offers is more than mere physical existence -- it is life in relationship with God. 

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it" (v. 5).  God's first creative act was light (Gen. 1).  The light of creation was the first step in bringing order to the formless void, and the light brought by the Word is the first step toward bringing order into the chaos of our lives. 

"The darkness stands for the state of mind in which mankind fails to welcome the light" (Howard, 466).  The promise is that the darkness did not -- and, by extension, will not -- overcome the light.  "Because, says the New Testament, this fight is not our fight, but God's; and he is in it with us..  And unless the Almighty fail, goodness cannot be conquered; and must win in the end" (Gossip, 468).

We have seen that even a small light can dispel even a great darkness.  "Light and darkness are opposites, but they are not opposites of equal power.  Light is stronger than darkness; darkness cannot prevail against it....  Similarly darkness cannot overcome... those who walk in the light (John 12:35)" (Bruce, 34).
VERSES  6-8:   GOD IS A SENDING GOD

"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John" (v. 6).  Note the contrast between Jesus (v. 1) and John (v. 6).  "Jesus 'was' in the beginning; John 'came into existence.'  The contrast is continued when John is described as 'a man,' for Jesus has already been spoken of as 'the Word.' But though John's place was subordinate, it was an important one....  His mission was not of human but of divine origin" (Morris, 79).  Jesus, therefore is not just greater than an ordinary man, but is greater than a great man -- a man sent by God.

This Gospel says that John was sent from God (v. 6).  In this Gospel, only John and Jesus are sent from God, but John is clearly subordinate to Jesus.  John "came as a witness, to testify to the light" (v. 7a).  There are many witnesses to Jesus in this Gospel.  The Father (5:32, 37; 8:18) -- the Son (8:14, 18) -- the Spirit (15:26) -- the works of Jesus (5:36; 10:25) -- scripture (5:39) -- the disciples (15:27) -- the Samaritan woman (4:39) -- and the crowd (12:17). 

"so that all might believe through him" (v. 7b).  This is the purpose of John's testimony -- and the testimony of others in this Gospel.  Belief is the purpose, not only for John's testimony, but also for this Gospel itself.  In its closing verses it says, "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:30-31).

"He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light" (v. 8).  Jesus is the light (1:4; 3:19; 8:12; 9:5; 11:9; 12:35, 46).

"In the Fourth Gospel, every reference to John is a reference of depreciation" (Barclay, 30).  John "was not the light, but came to testify to the light" (v. 8).  He confesses, "I am not the Messiah" (v. 20).  He is not Elijah or the prophet (v. 21).  He cries in the wilderness, "Make straight the way of the Lord" (v. 23).  He is "not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal" (v. 27). 

"He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light" (v. 8).  One of the purposes of this Gospel is to make it clear what John is not.  He is not the light -- not the Messiah -- not Elijah -- not the prophet -- not worthy to untie the thong of the Messiah's sandal.  The author is taking no chance on being misunderstood.  "His technique is to make the Baptist a witness to (Jesus), that and nothing more" (Sloyan, 13).  Jesus is the main character.  John has only a supporting role.

VERSES  9-13:   GOD IS A PERSISTENT GOD

"The true light...was coming into the world" (v. 9).  This is quite a statement, because it is a world in rebellion against God -- a dark world.  The fact that the light comes into the world or that God loves the world (3:16) is no endorsement of the world, but instead bears testimony to God's capacity for love. 
"He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him" (v. 11).  "We might translate (these) words, 'he came home.'  ...The Word did not go where he could not have expected to be known.  He came home, where the people should have known him.  And it was the home folk, 'his own,' who 'did not receive him' " (Morris, 85-86).  He came to the Israelites, God's chosen people.  God prepared them for centuries to receive him into their midst, but they rejected him. 

However, we should be careful not to judge.  "The rejection of the Word by Jesus' own people is restricted neither to the time of Jesus nor to that of the Fourth Gospel" (O'Day, 525).  Much of the world today is still in rebellion -- still prefers darkness to light, because its deeds are evil (3:19-20).  That is true of all of us at certain points in our lives.

"But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God" (v. 12).   In this Gospel, Jesus is the Son of God.  This Son is empowered to bring those who receive him and believe in his name into the family of God as children of God -- adopted into the family, but full heirs -- entitled to all the rights and privileges of family members. 

"born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man" (v. 13).  The Jewish people trace their ancestry to Abraham, thus establishing themselves as heirs to the covenant between God and Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3).  However, it is not this physical lineage -- this bloodline -- that is important.  "It is spiritually irrelevant to be descended from Abraham in the natural order if one is not a child of Abraham in the only sense that matters before God -- by reproducing Abraham's faith" (Bruce, 40).

"but of God" (v. 13).  God's children are brought into God's family by God's action.  Jesus says, "No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.... without being born of water and Spirit" (3:3, 5). 

VERSE  14:   GOD IS A HUMAN GOD

Verse 14 is the centrepiece-- "the sentence for the sake of which John wrote the Fourth Gospel" (Barclay, 44).

"And the Word became flesh (sarx)" (v. 14a).  This is a startling statement -- expressed in bold, nearly vulgar, language.  Sarx is an ugly-sounding word that depicts an often ugly reality.  For dualistic Greeks, who believe that all matter is evil, the thought of God becoming sarx is unimaginable -- the equivalent of God becoming a pornographer or a prostitute.  Paul uses sarx to speak of the sins of the flesh, but then he also says that God "by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful sarx, ...he condemned sin in the sarx" (Rom. 8:3).  It is as if God has climbed into our sewer to deliver us from our sewage.  John may have used this stark language, in part, to counter Gnostic or Docetic heresies that would deny Jesus' humanity because of their dualistic philosophy.

"and lived among us" (v. 14b).  "Verse 14b. should be read alongside v. 1..  The Word who dwelt with God now dwells with 'us,' human beings like himself" (O'Day, 522) -- again, a startling statement referencing two very different worlds -- God's world and our world.  Between these two worlds lies a great chasm, apparently unbridgeable (Luke 16:26).  However, God, in love, bridges these worlds, using himself as bridge-building material.

"and we have seen his glory" (v. 14c).  "To see the glory is to see Jesus for who he truly is, God's emissary, God's Son" (Smith, 59).  In the OT, Moses asked to see God's glory, and was allowed to see God's goodness, but not his face -- "for no one shall see me and live" (Exod. 33:20).  Now, however, we are allowed to see Jesus' glory -- and his face -- and thus the Father is fully revealed to us, because "Whoever has seen (the Son) has seen the Father" (14:9). 

Jesus enjoyed glory with the Father from the beginning, even before the creation (17:5).  His works on earth reveal the glory of the Father and the Son (2:11; 11:4, 40).  He will speak of his death as his glorification (12:23; see also 7:39; 13:31; 14:13; 17:4, 10). 

"The other Gospels depict the glory of God coming upon Jesus at the transfiguration.  John does not relate this, for he sees the glory of God in all Jesus says and does; supremely the hour for Jesus to be glorified is the crucifixion (12:23; 13:32; 17:1)" (Burridge, 475).

"the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth" (v. 14d).  "That God the Father's only Son is full of grace and truth is another way of asserting his close relationship to God. For God is ultimately the source of grace, as outgoing beneficent love, and the ground of truth, as what is real and reliable as opposed to all that is false" (Smith, 59).

 

Let us pray