Series: Full of Grace and Truth
Speaker: Daniel Sweet
The Glory of the Son: Full of Grace and Truth, John 1:1-18
The Logos as the Creator of the World
- Parallels between Genesis 1-3 and John 1:1-18
A. “In the beginning…” Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1
B. “God” and “the Word” Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1
C. “Let Us…” and “with God…” Genesis 1:26 and John 1:1-2
- “…created the heavens and the earth.” and “All things came into being through Him…”Genesis 1:1 and John 1:3
- “Let there be light…” and “…the life was the Light of men.” Genesis 1:3 and John 1:4-5
- Reflections on the Interactions within Trinity
A. Creation: The Father’s Plan, The Son’s Work, The Spirit’s Presence
B. Re-creation: The Father’s Plan, The Son’s Work, The Spirit’s Presence
- The Son of God, the Logos, as the Instrumental Cause for all Creation
- Isaiah 48:12-16
- John 1:3
- John 1:10
- Colossians 1:15-17
- Hebrews 1:1-3
- Hebrews 1:8-12
Conclusion: The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal and unique Son of God, truly God, of the same essence as God the Father. The Son of God is the greatest and primary revelation of God’s nature. The Son of God, the Logos, is the instrumental cause for all creation.
The Glory of the Word: Full of Grace and Truth
The Eternal Logos
- Background: we have had Scripture reading the last two weeks to highlight some of the parallels between the Old Testament and John 1 (header slide)
- Today I want to take a little time right at the beginning to highlight them
- This is just a sample from Genesis 1 and John 1:1-18
- There are many other examples from the Old Testament of what appears to me to be an intentional attempt by John to get us thinking in terms of the Old Testament with reference to Christ
- Parallels between Genesis 1-3 and John 1:1-18
A. “In the beginning…” Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 (Slide 2)
B. “God” and “the Word” Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1
C. “Let Us…” and “with God…” Genesis 1:26 and John 1:1-2 (Slide 3)
- “…created the heavens and the earth.” and “All things came into being through Him…”Genesis 1:1 and John 1:3 (Slide 4)
- “Let there be light…” and “…the life was the Light of men.” Genesis 1:3 and John 1:4-5 (Slide 5)
- Reflections on the Interactions within Trinity
- For today, our primary focus will be on John 1:3 (Slide 6)
- Last we discussed the simplicity and complexity of God, the Word was God, the Word was with God
- This week we focus on the instrumental cause of creation and the relationship within the Godhead with reference to creation and re-creation
A. Creation: The Father’s Plan, The Son’s Work, The Spirit’s Presence
- God created the heavens and the earth and then “the Spirit of God hovered over the deep…”
- And God spoke, “Let there be light…” the Logos, the Word of God creating
B. Re-creation: The Father’s Plan, The Son’s Work, The Spirit’s Presence
- The Father’s plan “Not my will but yours”
- The Son’s work in redemption
- The Spirit’s Presence in salvation
- The Son of God, the Logos, as the Instrumental Cause for all Creation
- This John 1:3 is not the only verse in the Bible to describe the Son of God, the LOGOS, as the instrumental means or the instrumental cause of creation
- John 1:3 is not the only verse to describe the Son of God as the One who calls creation into being
- There are other examples from Scripture of the Son of God as the primary actor in the creation of the universe
- Consider Isaiah 48
- Isaiah 48:12-16 (Slides 7-8)
- Incredible passage where in Isaiah 48 the instrumental cause, the One who called the heavens into order, He is the One sent by the Lord God along with the Spirit of God
- John goes on to say in His prologue that the Logos came to those He had made and here is what transpires
- John 1:10 (Slide 9)
- He came to His own…could mean He came to the Jewish people…His own people
- However, John seems to have a more universal worldview in his understanding of the work of Christ
- In John’s Gospel Jesus is a Jewish Messiah for all the world, John 3:16 and the woman at the well are just two examples of the broad understanding by John
- In addition, the context of this verse seems to be “everyone that He made…”
- In Colossians Paul uses this phrase
- Colossians 1:15-17 (Slide 10-11)
- “The firstborn…” here a Jehovah’s Witness will tell you that the Son of God was “born”
- But “firstborn” children primary is a title not about their birth but about their position in the family
- “Firstborn” sons inherited everything
- The next two verses tell us what is meant by “firstborn”, preeminence
- “All things were created by Him and for Him…”
- “He is before all things…”
- “In Him all things hold together…”
- Hebrews 1:1-3 (Slide 12)
- Hebrews 1:8-12 (Slide 13-14)
- John 1:3 (Slide 15)
- Conclusion (Blank Slide)
- The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal and unique Son of God, truly God, of the same essence as God the Father. The Son of God is the greatest and primary revelation of God’s nature and the instrumental cause of all that there is
- Apart from the eternal nature of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, the eternal LOGOS, there is no life; Apart from the eternal nature of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, the eternal LOGOS, there is no meaning or purpose to life
Eli: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Ana: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”
Eli: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Ana: “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
Eli: “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Ana: “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.”
Eli: “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”
Ana: “There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
Eli: “Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great; You are clothed with splendor and majesty, Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak, Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.”
Ana: “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Eli: “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”
Ana: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”