This is the first of our Advent series. Advent simply means “coming”, and it is the period before Christmas where we remember and celebrate all that God does for us in sending Jesus Christ. It recalls how God’s people waited for Jesus’ first coming as they held onto his promises, and today we long for his second coming while looking back to his first.
This is the second season of Advent that we will celebrate since the pandemic. It has been a year of false starts for many of us as COVID restrictions have affected much of lives. But today, we still want to call your attention to this season of Advent, as we hope and long for our saviour Christ, remembering that his coming is our true hope even as the pandemic is one that never seems to go away.
(A) The Word is God, and with God in the Beginning (John 1:1-2)
Before we take a look at today’s passage, we need to understand the purpose of John’s gospel. At the end of the Gospel of John, John writes that the reader “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:30-31). Readers of John’s gospel are meant to believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah and Davidic King of the OT. John also wanted them to know that Jesus is the Son of God: He is fully God as we shall read in our passage today.
John also tells us that it is written for all for, “By believing you may have life in his name”. Trusting in the name of Jesus leads to life in his name (cf. John 3:16). Hence, the gospel of John is written to help people believe in Christ, and have eternal life. These matters are weighty matters of life and death that all of us must consider.
If you are a Christian today, then you might think that this book is for unbelievers. But the Bible tells us that faith in Christ is not a one-off affair. Rom 1:17 tells us that in the gospel, “the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written “The righteous shall live by faith”. In Gal 2:20: Paul says that he lives “by faith” as a believer in Christ. The life of the Christian is a life of faith. We do not believe once that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God but we keep believing daily, and we live out our faith.
Coming into Christmas, many people are excited about the coming season. Most of us could be excited about the lights, the sounds, the music, the food and drinks, the gatherings, the gifts, the coming of the new year with new beginnings, the holidays, etc. Maybe you see the lights on Orchard Road, you see the Christmas drinks at Starbucks or Toast Box, the Christmas trees at the malls, the Christmas sales at the shops, the Christmas music at the supermarkets, etc.
But Christmas is much more than these wonderful things we enjoy. If you are a Christian today, how are you living by faith daily? How have you grown in your faith this past year? When COVID began, we did a series in the Psalms called “Fortify Faith” as we studied God’s attributes to lean on him through difficult times. Have you trusted more and more in God through 2021, or have you fallen away as the pandemic drags out and you feel further than ever from God and His people. May this series in John help us to come anew to Christ this Advent season to worship and glorify Him. May it strengthen our trust in Christ this season
If you are a non-Christian today, thank you for joining us today. May you discover a bit more of who Christ is through God’s Word today. Either way, believing and trusting in Christ for life is John’s aim of writing, this is what we seek as we read from John 1:1-5 today.
John introduces “The Word” at the start of the gospel (Jn 1:1a). Spoiler Alert: We know from John 1:14 that “the Word” here refers to Jesus Christ. But, why does John call him so? In 1 John 1:1, John says that we have heard, seen, looked upon and touched with our hands this word of life. We can hear, see, look this word! This word of life is real, John has witnessed this “word of life”. The word is not far nor is it unrelatable. This apostle John also wrote Rev 19:13 where he described Jesus, John writes that he is called “The Word of God”.
In Heb 1:1-2, the writer of Hebrews makes it clear and compares the Son of God with the OT prophets. Before Christ’s first coming, God spoke to his people by the prophets. But in these last days, God has spoken to us by his Son. Jesus is the greatest revelation of God to Man.
Pastor John Piper puts it well: “John calls Jesus the Word because he had come to see the words of Jesus as the truth of God and the person of Jesus as the truth of God in such a unified way that Jesus himself - in his coming, and working, and teaching, and dying and rising - was the final and decisive message of God.” The term “Word” used here is the Greek term “logos”, from which we get “logy” of bio-logy or theo-logy or anthropo-logy. But be careful -- Logos is not a philosophy or an idea that the Greeks of the time would believe, but He is a person. Jesus is the Word, the Truth, the Meaning, the Message God has for us.
What else can we learn about “the Word”? Firstly, we see that “in the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1a). The Word was in the beginning. This verse echoes Gen 1:1 and John wants us to know that what he is about to say is hugely significant. It is as significant as the creation of heaven and earth, and this Word was “from the beginning” (1 John 1:1). Col 1:17 also speaks of the the Word that is before all things, that existed in eternity past, before time began, before time or anything else was created. The Word is eternal, there was not a time whereby the Word did not exist.
Next, we see that “the Word was with God” (John 1:1b). The Word was with God as a distinct person and indicates that the Word has an interpersonal relationship with God. 1 John 1:2: describes the Word as “the eternal life, which was with the Father…”
Thirdly, John also tells us that “the Word was God” (John 1:1c). The Word was and is God. Thus, the Word is divine, deity. He is fully God. Jesus was not blaspheming when the Jews accused him of “mak[ing] yourself God” (John 10:33). In Jesus, “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col 2:9).
These verses form the foundation of our knowledge of God; they form the building blocks of our understanding that God exists as a Trinity. This is the reason why we believe in a Triune God, that God is one God who exists eternally as 3 distinct persons. He is relational and exists in perfect relationship in himself. These verses together with Gen 1:2, show us the Triune God. Gen 1:2 tells us the “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters”. Therefore, we have God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit. Three in One.
But, what is the point of the doctrine of the Trinity? Why do we need that? How can we worship and love God fully and rightly unless we know Him? Knowing Him as who He is is one way we can worship and honour God. God has chosen to reveal Himself in this way, so we cannot ignore it!
The doctrine of the Trinity also helps us in our prayers as we relate to God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We recognise the work of each Person of the Trinity, and it grants us a fuller view of all that God does for us in our salvation.
If you are tempted to brush aside the doctrine of the Trinity, we are worshipping God not in truth but our own version of God. It is like saying that you love and care for someone and yet do not know anything about him or her. God is so unlike us in his holiness. He alone is God, and he is triune. Right now, each person of the Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is thinking about us, loving us, in relationship with us, sustaining us by grace, and preserving our faith. How can we praise, honour and glorify God more fully as we learn more about Him? Do we care about Him and want to know Him as He has chosen to reveal Himself? Or are we content to cultivate a relationship with an idea of Him that we have made? This is not just about getting the right answers but is about knowing God, loving and respecting Him and having a deeper relationship with Him.
Hence, we know that the Word is from the beginning, with God and is God. Therefore, John tells us right at the start of his gospel, that the Word is eternal, with God, and is God. This is the Word that John will speak about in the rest of his gospel so that you may believe in him and have life. When we look to Jesus Christ, we are looking to God himself, that is the first thing John wants us to know
(B) The Word is the Creator and the Life (John 1:3-4a)
John also wants us to know that all things were made through Him and without Him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:3). All things were made through the Word. If you think that God created the Word first, and then all things, the second half of John 1:3 makes it clear that the Word is not created (without him was not any thing made that was made). The Word is the agent through which God created. God created through the Word, but the Word is God. The Word is Creator.
This means that everything in the category of “made” was made with the Word. The Word is not “made” and is not a creature. Every other thing besides God is created, and did not exist eternally. From Gen 1 and Ps 33:6, we know that God spoke the world into being. He is a God that created by speaking, and “by him all things were created” (Col 1:16). Therefore, the Word has ultimate authority over our lives. He is our Creator and God!
Not only is the Word our Creator, He is also necessary and crucial for life (John 1:4a). The footnote in the ESV states, “That which has been made was life in him”. Everything in the category of “made” has life through him. Thus, John was telling us that the Word is the very essence or principle of life. The Word didn’t get life from someone or something else. Nobody gave him life (c.f. John 5:26). All of life is in Him and nothing has life apart from him. He is the giver of life. In Jn 5:26, we are told that just as the Father has life in Himself, so too, He has granted the Son the same privilege. And later in the gospel, John records for us how Jesus calls himself “the resurrection and the life” (Jn 11:25). When one believes in Jesus, though he dies, yet shall he live. John writes something similar in 1 John 5:11: “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son”. We obtain eternal life by having the Son, by having faith in the Son of God. Hence, to say that the Word is life means that true and eternal life is found in the Word, in Christ.
He really does sustain all life and creation. Col 1:17 tells us that “in him all things hold together” and this is really everything in our world. And this is not something that is entirely foreign to us. Often, we hear people speaking about “wow, that’s the life”. We use the phrase to describe mostly what we deem to be fun things to do. What is “the life” to you today?
Not having to work, and thus living “the life”
Going to nice places on holiday, and thus living “the life”
Being about the buy nice things or a nice home, and thus living “the life”
Being healthy, thus living “the life”
Having enough money, thus living “the life”
Being in a relationship/marriage, thus living “the life”
Having kids, thus living “the life”
Being successful in our ministry, thus living “the life”
Getting nice gifts this Christmas, thus living “the life”
Getting a promotion/bonus, thus living “the life”
Eating good food, thus living “the life”
Whatever you deem to be “the life”, John 1:4a tells us that in the Word is life. Jesus is the life. Nothing has life apart from him, and nothing is truly alive apart from him. He sustains all of creation, and all who believes in him will obtain life, not just as we know it, but eternal life or true life as it was meant to be
(C) The Word is Light who Overcomes Darkness (John 1:4b-5)
In John 1:4b, John tells us that the life is the light of men. Now, what are some things that we associate with “light”? Some of us think of purity and moral uprightness or goodness and clarity. Others may think of clarity, or direction (like a light at the end of the tunnel). Light could also symbolise new beginnings or hope, like what the dawn signifies. It could point to revelation.
This light shines in darkness thus, it is important for us to understand what darkness is. On the other hand, darkness is associated with evil, death and hopelessness. It could symbolise death, brokenness and sin. Isa 8:21-22 gives us a picture of living in darkness, where those who reject God will be greatly distressed and hungry, and there will only be the “gloom of anguish”. They will be thrust into thick darkness, and in this darkness, they are far from God, devoid of life and hope.
As we’ve seen in the preceding verses, John is intentionally connecting these verses with Gen 1. He is thinking of creation and we’ve seen that in the opening verses. He is calling us to go back to the beginning where things began and where purpose, hope began with clarity and order, as God intended for it to be.
This passage thus tells us two things about the light: the light shines in darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 3:19-20 picks up on the idea that the light shines in darkness. We read that the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works are evil. People knew of their wickedness and evil that they didn’t want to come into the light, to be exposed. But here is the hope for us today. On our own we are in darkness, and we love it. We love living apart from God on our own terms for our own desires and passions.
But just as we read in Isa 9:2, where “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light”. The darkness doesn’t persist and the light pierces the darkness! John 1:1-5 declares that the Word, the Son of God is the light who shines in darkness. He is the great light. In John 12:46, Jesus promises us that those who believe in him will not remain in darkness. In the Word, in Jesus Christ, we have been called out of darkness and into his marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9).
What’s more, we are told that the darkness has not overcome it. The darkness cannot quench nor put out the light. The light will not lose to darkness, the light will surely win. Jesus Christ will triumph over all evil, sin and death. He is victorious, and as we trust in him, we too share in his triumph.
This is a hope when we feel like darkness is prevailing and there is no light. The hope at Christmas is that God sent us this Word to us and promises that darkness cannot defeat this light! If you find yourself in a darkness that seems to be overwhelming, read this and take heart! Darkness doesn't have the last word. We who trust in Him know that He is the Light and has overcome the darkness. We have a true and living hope.
Our appropriate response is one of joy this Christmas as we remember what God does for us in Christ Even as we go into the season of Advent, may we be awestruck at what God does for us through the Word who is from the beginning, with God, is God, our creator, the life and the light. He calls us that we might not remain in darkness and have life and light through him
How can you find joy in the Word this Advent? What is the hope that he offers you in your current situation?