John 20:31

John 1:1-14

1. WHO IS JESUS?

John 1:1-5

John calls Jesus "the Word." In Greek, that's Logos.

Now, if you were a Greco/Roman listener hearing this, your ears would perk up. Logos was a big deal in Greek philosophy—it meant the rational principle that ordered the universe, the divine reason behind everything.

If you were a Jewish listener, you'd think of how God SPOKE creation into existence. "And God SAID, 'Let there be light.'" The Word of God was God's creative, powerful self-expression.

John takes both ideas and says, "That Logos? That Word? He's not an 'it.' He's a 'He.' And His name is Jesus."

So who is Jesus according to these first five verses?

• Eternal ("In the beginning was")

"In the beginning WAS the Word."

Not "in the beginning, the Word came into being." Not "in the beginning, the Word was created."

WAS. Already existing. Already there.

You know how when you show up late to a party and everyone's already having a good time? Jesus showed up to creation and said, "Oh, this? I was here before the party started. Actually, I planned the party. I AM the party."

Jesus is the eternal Word who has always existed, but He entered time so you could enter eternity.

Divine ("was God")

"The Word was WITH God, and the Word WAS God."

This is one of the clearest statements of the deity of Christ in all of Scripture. John is saying two things simultaneously:

• The Word was WITH God (distinction—two persons)

• The Word WAS God (unity—one essence)

This is the Trinity in seed form. One God, existing eternally in three persons. Father, Son, and Spirit.

Now, I know the Trinity can feel like theological gymnastics. Three in one? How does that work? And honestly, if you fully understood it, it probably wouldn't be God. The finite can't fully 

John Lennox: Consciousness, Energy cant be defined but you believe in them?

• Creative ("all things were made through Him")

"All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made."

John is emphatic here. ALL things. Not some things. Not most things. EVERYTHING that exists was made through Jesus.
The mountains? Jesus. The oceans? Jesus. Giraffes? Jesus. (And honestly, giraffes alone prove God has a sense of humor. "Let's make a horse... but give it a six-foot neck and a purple tongue." Divine creativity right there.)

The Word who spoke creation into existence became part of creation to save it.

The same voice that said "Let there be light" would one day say "Lazarus, come forth." The same hands that flung stars into space would be nailed to a Roman cross.

• Life-giving ("in Him was life")

"In him was life, and the life was the light of men."

This is important: Jesus doesn't just HAVE life. He IS life. Life isn't something He possesses; it's something He IS.

And that life brings light. In a world full of darkness—moral darkness, spiritual darkness, the darkness of not knowing why you're here or where you're going—Jesus shows up as light.

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

I love that. The darkness TRIED. It's been trying since Genesis 3. And it's still trying today. But it hasn't won. It CAN'T win. Because light always defeats darkness. Always.

You don't walk into a dark room and watch the darkness push the light out. You flip the switch, and darkness flees. That's what Jesus does.

So who is Jesus? He's eternal, divine, creative, and life-giving. He's not a good teacher. He's not a moral example. He's GOD in the flesh.

2. WHAT DID JESUS DO? (vv. 6-14)

John 1:12-13

Jesus doesn't just offer forgiveness (though He does). He doesn't just offer a ticket to heaven (though that's included). He offers FAMILY.

Jesus didn't come to give you religion. He came to make you family.

You cant earn your way in to God’s family, you recive your way in.

You don't become a child of God by birth, bloodline, or willpower. You become a child of God by believing.

You receive. You believe. And God does the rest.