Читать книгу Portraits of Jesus in the Gospel of John - Robert P. Lightner - Страница 5

Portrait 1

John 1:1–18

How wonderful it is that the true and living God is not mute. Suppose for a moment that God had not made Himself known, had not revealed Himself at all, ever. That’s hard to even imagine, isn’t it? How would we know right from wrong? How would we know how to get to heaven or even if there is a heaven or a hell, for that matter? We would not know what God expects of us if He had not revealed Himself. The fact of the matter is we would not even know if God exists or not if He had not spoken. We would not know how we got here either or what the chief end of man is.

But, thankfully, God has made Himself known; He has revealed Himself. He has done this in His Written Word and in His Living Word as well as in His world around us. The Bible, the Written Word of God, claims to be His message to mankind. In God’s Written Word He has said that the heavens declare, they tell of, God’s glory and their expanse declares His work (Psalm 19:1). To all, God has given evidence of the reality of His existence (Romans. 1:19).

The personal revelation of God was made when Jesus was born of Mary. He is both the personal Revelation of God and He gave God’s revelation to mankind as He taught. He made God known to us both by who He was and by what He said. Nobody has ever seen God fully; but Jesus Himself explained God the Father who is Spirit (John 4:4). Jesus laid Him bare, as it were, to the scrutiny of mankind. Only Jesus could do this because He alone is “the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father” (1:18). He was sent, was given, by God the Father to the world so that no human need ever perish (3:16).

When Jesus was here on earth, He claimed many times to be God’s Revelation, God’s Messenger. He also while here on planet earth gave many messages, many revelations, about God the Father and how humans can have personal relationships with Him. Jesus revealed God to individuals, small groups, large multitudes, the rich, the poor, the young, the older, the rulers, and the common people.

The first portrait of Jesus we want to see and stand back and admire from John’s brush is Jesus as God’s Revelation of Himself (vv. 1–18). Jesus as God’s Revelation is portrayed in a rather unusual way. He is described as “the Word” who existed before He was born of Mary. His birth had nothing to do with His origin, His beginning. Do you know of any one else of whom this is true? First, then, we might call Him the eternal Word or the Pre-Incarnate Word of God (vv. 1–13) which describes His existence before He was miraculously conceived in Mary’s womb. In the same chapter John then presents Jesus as the incarnate Word of God (vv. 14–18). In both cases He is God’s Revelation to man.

Let’s step up a little closer now and observe some specifics about both of these poses of Jesus as God’s Revelation to us.

Jesus, the Eternal, Pre-Incarnate Word of God (vv. 1–13)

How can we be sure the “Word” John writes about here is in fact a reference to Jesus? The answer to this important question is in verse 14 where we read, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Jesus of Nazareth, though fully human, is unlike all other humans who ever lived or ever will live. In addition to being fully human He is also fully divine and therefore is the God-Man. It is the divine side, the God side, that John stresses in all his portraits of Jesus.

The “beginning” John wrote about in which Jesus was already present (v. 1) refers to an eternal beginning. This “beginning” is in striking contrast to the “beginning” of Genesis 1:1 which was a point in time when God created the heavens and the earth. The “beginning” in John 1:1 is also in contrast to the “beginning” in 1 John 1:1 which refers to the “beginning” of the Christian era. John makes his point very clear. Jesus as the Word, the Son of God, existed eternally. He was with God. He was God and, of course, still is God.

As God, Jesus created all things. The world was made by Him (vv. 3, 10). Neither unbelieving scientists nor biologists have a verifiable answer to the question, “Where did life come from?” The Bible’s answer to the question is that life has its source in Jesus. “In Him was life” (v. 4). “Just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself” (5:26). Jesus claimed the same for Himself when He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (14:6).

Jesus, God’s personal Revelation, came to His own people, the Jews. He loved them as He loves all mankind. But His own did not accept His love and therefore did not accept Him. They, as a nation, did not receive Him except for a small believing remnant. They rejected God’s Revelation to them. What a horrible offense unbelief was and always is.

The rejected personal Revelation of God welcomed all who did receive Him then as He does now. In fact, He exercised His divine power, His authority, and made them “children of God” (v. 12) because they believed in His name.

Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God (vv. 14–18)

Three statements of fact are recorded by John in verse 14. First, “The Word became flesh.” Second, this eternal word who became flesh “dwelt among us.” Third, the apostle wrote, “we beheld His glory.”

The fact that Jesus became flesh makes clear that He did not possess flesh in His pre-incarnate state. No, He was born, He tabernacled among the people He came to redeem. The glory Jesus displayed was not just seen by John the apostle. We know that because John said, “We beheld it.” This very likely refers to the time when Peter, John, and James, the three on the inner circle of the apostles whom Jesus chose, beheld Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17).

We might ask, What was it John and those with him beheld? What did they see? What is meant by “His glory”? The glory of God as used in the Bible refers to the visible manifestation of all that God is. John and his friends were given a glimpse of this as they gazed upon Jesus. The fullness of His grace and truth as God’s personal Revealer and Revelation must have nearly blinded them.

John the Baptist gave testimony about Jesus as the very Revelation of God (vv. 14–17). This man was the one who introduced Jesus to the people. He was Jesus’ forerunner. He prepared the way for Jesus. He too, along with his friends, witnessed the grace and truth through Jesus Christ. They were given the same revelation of Jesus as was given to John the apostle and those with him.

There are two additional statements of fact in verse18. One, no human has ever seen God in all His fulness. He is Spirit and therefore not visible with the human eye. The real essence of God is invisible. He did appear at times, however, in visible form in Old Testament times, but never in all His fullness. Two, the only begotten God, the Lord Jesus Christ, did explain Him. Jesus, as the Son of God, exposed God to mankind. He did this while here on earth, especially during the three years of His public ministry. Truly, He is the personal Revealer and Revelation of God. Thus, verse 18 is the key that unlocks the door of this portrait of Jesus.

Personal Application

How does this portrait of Jesus as God’s personal Revelation of Himself relate to you and me? What differences should this portrait of Jesus make in our lives? There are at least three ways: first, we need to accept and remember the fact that Jesus is God’s personal Revelation to us. He is this through what He said and did which is recorded in the New Testament.

Second, God would have us be personal revelations of Him to others. That is His will for all His children. We are told we are His ambassadors. The question is, “How well are we representing Him?”

Third, the only revelation about God that some will ever see or hear will come from us. Those of us who profess to be Christians, God’s children, are the only Bible some will ever read. What message are you giving them? We need to think seriously and often about that question.

Study Questions

1. What is the difference between Jesus in His pre-incarnate state and His incarnate state?

2. Can you think of several examples of Jesus giving revelation or messages to the people of His day?

3. How was Jesus as the personal Revelation of God received?

4. How do you suppose you could be God’s revelation of Jesus to your children, to your fellow workers, to your friends, and to your neighbors?

5. Are there any ways you can improve as God’s personal revelation of Him?