The Revealing
Jamie Hart   -  

John 1:1-13

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God. — John 1:1-13 (CSB)

Divinity Revealed

John 1:1-2

In the beginning…

LOGOS

Duration. Distinct. Divine.

Mission Revealed

John 1:3-5

All things were created through him…

Colossians 1:15-17

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities —all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.

Hebrews 1:2-3

In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son. God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Think about this. If the distance between the earth and the sun, 93 million miles, was the thickness of a sheet of paper, then the distance between the earth and the nearest star would be a stack of paper 70 feet high. The distance across the galaxy, the diameter of our galaxy, would be a stack of paper 310 miles high. Our galaxy is just one little speck of dust in the universe as it is. If there is a person who holds all that together with the word of his power, his pinky, as it were, is this the kind of person you ask into your life to be your personal assistant?

– Tim Keller

from CREATION to NEW CREATION

LIFE & LIGHT

That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it. 

– John 1:5

Witness Revealed

John 1:6-9

Are you bearing WITNESS?

How can you live with the terrifying thought that the hurricane has become human, that fire has become flesh, that life itself came to life and walked into our midst? Christianity either means that, or it means nothing. It is either the most devastating disclosure of the deepest reality in the world, or it’s a sham, a nonsense, a bit of deceitful play-acting. Most of us, unable to cope with saying either of those things, condemn ourselves to live in the shallow world in between.

– N.T. Wright

Responses Revealed

John 1:10-13

Rejection

The word’s deepest problem is not badness as opposed to goodness; it is sin, the incurable human tendency to put self first, to trust number one and no one else…when I crippled my children emotionally (or when my parents crippled me) it was not done out of meanness or spite, it was done out of love: genuine, deeply felt, endlessly pondered human love — flawed, alas, by a self-regard so profound that none of us ever noticed it. 

– Robert Farrar Capon

Reception

from bloodlines to belief

1 John 3:1

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

HOW WILL YOU RESPOND?

Repent.

Receive.

Rejoice.

A Prayer for Salvation

“Heavenly Father, I admit that I am weaker and more sinful than I ever before believed, but through your Son Jesus I can be more loved and accepted than I ever dared hope. I thank you that he lived the life I should have lived and paid the debt and punishment I owed. Receive me now for his sake. I turn from my sins and receive him as Savior. Amen.”