Behold the Lamb of God

 

Behold Him in His walk     John 1v35-39

As we ponder the intriguing title of the Lamb of God, we must see it in its broad treatment in the bible:

Genesis 22v7        The where of the Lamb

John 1v29             The work of the Lamb

John 1v36             The walk of the Lamb

Revelation 5v12    The worth of the Lamb

Revelation 6v16    The wrath of the Lamb

The symbolism is unique, for the Holy God chose to reconcile us to Himself not by force as in a strong lion, but in friendliness by a young lamb.  There is nothing so attractive as a frolicking young lamb in the freshness of spring after a long winter.  God reconciles people to Himself by wooing us in the symbol of the Lamb.  In gentleness, in loving friendship, in fun-filled happiness He approaches us to bring us the joys of spring.  The time will come when that gracious approach will change to unmitigated wrath, because of rejection, but in the present He offers mercy in the shape of the lamb our substitute.

John pointed two of his disciples to Jesus "Looking upon Jesus as He walked, he said "Behold the Lamb of God!"  He points them to the lovely walk of the Lamb who in majestic beauty walked a perfect life on this earth.  The Lamb to be slain for the world must be perfect in every way; "Without blemish..."Exodus 12v5, Leviticus 22v19-25; 1st Peter 1v19.  He was "Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners..."-Heb. 7v26; He "...offered Himself without spot to God"-Heb. 9v14.  From birth to His death He was flawless, perfect, spotless, pure. 

The demon spirit called Him "the Holy one of God"-Mark 1v24

Those sent out to trap Him said "Never man spake like this man"-John 7v46

Pilate the Roman governor said "I find no fault in Him"-John 19v6

The malefactor on the cross said "This man has done nothing amiss"-Luke 23v41

Jesus Himself said "Which of you convinceth me of sin?-John 8v46

Then there is the ultimate vindication "God raised Him from the dead..."-Acts 2v24.  

A perfect life, a perfect sacrifice, John pointed Him out to his disciples. He was not in the business of accumulating disciples for himself.  There are examples of the opposite in scripture, of those who use their God-given talent to draw away disciples after them.  Absalom drew people away from loyalty to king David, to himself when he “stole the hearts of the people of Israel”-2^nd Samuel 15v1-6.  Paul warned the leaders in the church at Ephesus about those “…of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them”-Acts 20v30.  How many are using their influence to draw people to themselves in the name of God?  John directed his followers to follow Jesus.  This was a gesture of honest meekness by John whose new found popularity did not go to his head; instead he pointed his followers to One greater.  In the service of God are we gathering followers to ourselves or to the Lord?  Would we be drawn, like the disciples of John, to the lovely walk of Jesus upon earth, who became the sacrifice for our sins?  As Wylie McCleod penned:

"A perfect path of purest grace, unblemished and complete; was thine thou spotless Nazarite pure even to the feet....The vow was on thee thou didst come to yield thyself to death; and consecration marked thy path and spoke in every breath....Morning by morning thou didst wake amidst this poisoned air; yet no contagion touched thy soul, no sin disturbed thy prayer."

Will we follow Him as Andrew did, and the other disciple of John?  There's enough recorded of Him in all the bible to fill our lifetime with wonder as we journey to glory.

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By the same author, books by Amazon

 

Behold the Lamb of God

 John 1v29-39

Behold Him in His work     1v29-34

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith “Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world”.

“Behold” is a word in the bible which encourages rapt attention…don’t miss this; drop whatever you are doing and occupy yourselves with this!  What an impact this must have had on those who heard it, such an impact that the writer John made the Lamb the predominant title in the Revelation, which he mentions 27 times.  What must this have conjured in the minds of Israelites who had sacrificed millions of lambs, over thousands of years, by way of approach to God, yet their nation was in subjection to their enemies!  Here is the Lamb of God who will not only cover for sins, but will take them away; also not only for the sins of Israel, but for the whole world!  Behind this awesome statement is the fact that Jewish ritual is no longer required, for in Christ the sin problem is solved. 

Genesis chapter 22  A lamb for an individual

Exodus 12              A lamb for an household

Leviticus 16            A lamb for the nation

John chapter 1        A lamb for the world!

This theme of the Lamb pervades the whole of scripture!

Genesis 22            The Lamb prophesied

Isaiah 53               The Lamb sacrificed

John 1                   The Lamb identified

Revelation 5          The Lamb glorified!

Indeed if we take the progressive revelation of scripture;

1st Peter 1v20 The Lamb pre-ordained before time

Genesis 4 The death of another necessary for approach to God

Genesis 22 God alone would provide the lamb

Exodus 12  The lamb must be slain

Leviticus 22 The lamb must be perfect 

Isaiah 53  The lamb is a person

John 1  The lamb is identified

Acts 8   The lamb is the Messiah

Revelation  The lamb is enthroned and glorified.

John says "Behold Him, this is He, He has come!

All this took time to sink in, but as time went on the reality began to dawn, that Christ was the fulfilment of all the Old Testament sacrifices, and God’s purpose were now all in Him.

It's almost as if John is saying, you were asking who am I? you should be asking who is He?  Here is the Lamb identified, the One predicted from before even we were a nation.  The sacrificial Lamb for all mankind has come.  The complete removal of sin-the very root principle of sin, the degrading power within every human being, He will take away.  By His one sacrifice He will eradicate sin from existence.  In the language of scripture;  Psalm 103v12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us”; Hebrews 10v14 “By one sacrifice He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.”  Of old, sins were covered, in Him they will be removed, because He destroyed in His death the power of sin, the ruling principle that dominated all lives.  The expounding of this stupendous truth is unfolded in the rest of New Testament teaching, but John simply states it here. 

“This is He…”   He has come, the Messiah of Israel, and Saviour of the world.  He is the man who pre-existed me, who is greater than me.  My coming to baptize is to present Him to Israel.  Even I didn’t know Him but I was given indisputable evidence.  He that sent me to baptize with water said unto me, “Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptiseth with the Holy Spirit.”   John was Jesus cousin, and, by the age of 30, he obviously knew Him humanly speaking, he knew Him as a person, he knew Him as family.  What He didn’t know is who He was as the Word of God, co-equal with God, Creator of the world, Light of the world, Saviour of the world, Sacrifice for the sins of the world.  John bare record saying “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon Him.”   Now he understood the reality of the One who in meekness came to be baptised by him…”I saw, and bear record that this is the Son of God !”

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The testimony of John the Baptist, the last of the Old testament prophets

 

1v19-28      The testimony of John the Baptist

John had caused quite a stir in the nation as multitudes flocked to hear him down by the Jordan river.  No prophet had arisen in Israel for almost 400 years, and the expectation of Messiah coming was at fever pitch, especially because of Roman occupation, now for 60 years.  The land of Israel was sacred to them and it was a matter of disgrace, and evidence of Divine judgment on them for a foreign empire to occupy the land God had promised to them.  Such was the clamour that the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to question him.  The rulers viewed any radical preacher, particularly those not taught in their schools, to be a threat to their position.  The term “the Jews” occurs 65 times throughout the gospel, and mostly in a derogatory sense.  It appears to refer to the unseen rulers of the Jewish religion who zealously guarded the externals of their religion, and wanted to control the public. 

2v6 “After the manner of the purifying of the Jews”

2v13 “The Jews Passover was at hand.”

2v18 “The Jews asked…what sign shewest thou?” They questioned Jesus also in everything.

4v9 “The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans”.  Contrary to the mind of the Lord they had divided the twelve tribes and maintained a 400 year feud.

All this represents man’s religion without God.  Strange, isn’t it? we seem to have these unseen hierarchies in every generation.  You can’t name them, they remain invisible, yet they control the minds of the masses.  Where does all this come from?  Certainly not from God, since all His emissaries were named and known, and everything was above board and scriptural.

“Who are you?” they ask; John told them the truth, something that is often in short supply.  He sought no personal gain from his sudden popularity, and confessed He was not the Messiah.  When pressed further he said “I am not the Christ, nor Elijah nor that prophet(referring to Moses prediction that “a prophet like unto me shall the Lord our God raise”).  They knew he was special, and a significant threat to those who cared only for their own status.  The man sent from God will always have that effect on a rebellious people.

Instead he said, I am a nobody, I am just a voice crying in the wilderness, and the One whom I represent is greater than I.  “Why are you baptizing then?  What right have you to impose this rite on the people without the authority of the rulers of the temple?  John’s answer was simple-God sent me, but my message is of One coming greater than I.  “There standeth one among you whom ye know not, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose.”  This referred to the most menial task of slavery by the lowest ranked slave.  The great One is here and I only have a very humble part to play.  He has come, that is my message.  “These things were done in Bethabara, beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.”  This was about 70 miles from Jerusalem in days when there was little or no public transport.  Such was the effect of John on the nation, who, tired of the weary and outdated religion sought for some reality.  

The message of this is important, that we are not here to parade ourselves but the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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The Word became flesh

 

The Word became flesh    1v14-18

14  In verses 1-2 “He was…He was…He was…now in verse 14 The Word became flesh…He dwelt among us, we beheld Him.  The order in the Greek is that “the Word flesh became”.  The word for “was made” is ginomai which indicates a permanent change, never to be altered.  The Word who existed in spirit form in eternity became flesh in time, a real human being; He is flesh now, and He will be flesh for ever, His change of form is permanent.  He was God, and became man without ceasing to be God.

He dwelt among us(tabernacled-pitched His tent among us).  This is reminiscent of the tabernacle which was associated with the glory, the shekinah glory of God(Exodus 40).  This glory was not the physical glory of His presence, it was a moral glory that was outstanding from anything else they had witnessed.  The tabernacle symbolism pervades this gospel, as John continues the theme all the way through:

Chapter 1 the Ark, the shekinah glory/Chapter 6 the Table of shewbread, the bread of God/Chapter 8 the Lampstand, light of the world/Chapter 10 the Entrance door, one way to God/Chapter 12 the Altar of burnt offering/Chapter 13 the Laver/Chapter 17 the Golden Altar.

“We beheld His glory(the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth”  In short there was something uniquely different about Him.  He was a real man but more than that.  In theological terms He was the God-Man.  In taking on humanity He did not divest Himself of Deity.  He was perfect man, yet wholly God, in manhood possessing all the attributes of Deity.  This is illustrated in the tabernacle; the construction was of “…shittim wood… overlaid with pure gold”-Exodus 25v10-11; 37v1-2.  The shittim wood(Acacia thorn tree) was the only tree to grow in desert conditions, representing perfect Humanity; the pure gold represents absolute Deity.  That which prefigures Christ presents Him as God and Man at all times.  It was on that Ark the glory of God rested during the wilderness journeyings of Israel.  We saw His glory, says John, as we contemplated Him in His life on earth.  This was characterised by “grace and truth” in perfect harmony God the Father wherever He went-He was the fulness of grace, and the fulness of truth.  He had a moral and spiritual aura about Him they had never seen before. 

To be full of grace(divine favour) only, would be overmuch human sweetness; to be full of truth only, would be too much legality and confrontation.  He was gracious manward and loyal Godward in perfect balance.  Never did He shew grace at the expense of truth, nor did He dispense truth without grace.  He displayed on earth, in unique blend, the fulness of grace and truth.  The truth of God cannot be compromised, and sinful man requires Divine favour.  In Christ both were in evidence in abundance.

15 John, the forerunner, saw it and declared “This is He of whom I spake, “He that cometh after me is preferred before me.”  Preferred means He pre-existed John in terms of calling, He is senior to John in prophetic terms.  Long before John was called to be a Prophet of God, Christ was established as the One who would reveal God.  John’s role, though important, is secondary to Christ. 

16 “Of His fulness have all we received and grace for grace”.  He is the fulness of the grace of God and we receive our portion.  This suggests the supply of grace to meet every situation.  Not overwhelming grace, for we could not contain it, but grace enough, sufficient for every need.  We come to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need-Hebrews 4v16.  The Newberry margin suggests “seasonable grace”.  Christ is the fulness of grace, the fountainhead of the Divine supply, and He gives, just as we need it.  

17  He now comes to the change in dispensation(the change in God’s dealings with the world) at the coming of Jesus.  “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”   Firstly we note that Moses was the agent of law, he simply passed it down; Christ, however was the embodiment of grace and truth, He did not just transmit it, He was the living example of it.  Secondly Moses handed down the Law, which could only condemn people; Christ brought grace and truth, which can save people whilst not compromising Divine standards.  In Jesus Christ, the law is satisfied, and the recipients are freed from its penalty.  Moses was the propagator of law, Christ is the personification of grace.  His coming compromised nothing of truth, but adorned truth with the grace of God. 

18 Christ is in fact the sole revealer of God.  Without Him, God remains unknown.  “No one has seen God at any time…”; not angels-Isaiah 6, in the blaze of His presence they cover their faces; not Moses, he only saw the back parts as the glory of God moved by-Exodus 34; not Ezekiel, he only saw “the likeness” and from a distance-Ezekiel 1.  God remains unknown without Jesus Christ; in Him God is fully known-refer Matthew 11v27; 2^nd Corinthians 4v6; Colossians 2v2-3; 1^st Timothy 6v15-16.  “The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”  Declared is exegomai which is expounded, unfolded, revealed, told out.  He is the true light of God to the world, He is the revealer of the infinite, He is God with us, the invisible God in flesh.  He revealed God in deed, in word, in attitude, in demeanour, and this is the message of this book.  As always the hymnwriters express the thoughts:

Christ, the everlasting lord; Late in time behold Him come; Off-spring of a Virgin’s womb; Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail, the incarnate deity;; Pleased as Man with men to dwell; Jesus, our Emmanuel!

So he sets the tone for the rest of the book.  

The Gospel of John was the last written document of Holy Scripture around 100 A.D. and presents the highest view of Christ.  It is the most noble of all the gospel writings.  We could say last, but not least.  John views everything as having been done for the glory of God.  Those who refuse its message face dire consequences.  Essentially this is God’s word to mankind.  The closing words of Psalm 2 seem relevant “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little.  Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.”

John closes the Prologue by referring to the astonishing life of Christ on earth, and the effect it should have on us; “…the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.”   Mark, carefully what is said here!  He lived on earth, yet He lived in heaven!  In all His sojourn in this evil world, He dwelt at all times in the bosom of the Father.  In a tarnished world He maintained that close loving relationship with His Father.  In John 3v13, speaking in the context of His superior ability to explain heavenly things, by virtue of the fact He has lived there, and has come to earth from there, He said that even on earth He was living in heaven,”…even the Son of man which is in heaven.”  Using the present continuous tense, He indicates His constant communion with heaven.  As such, He has the ability and the authority to declare God, to expound Him, to make Him known.  Mankind has had the witness of Creation declaring His power; also the witness of the Commandments declaring His holiness; now the infallible witness of Christ, declaring His grace on the basis of righteousness.  What a summing up of the revelation of God and the responsibility of men to respond.  No wonder in the course of the book, John repeats “… believe…”-no less than 40 times is the call to believe and incidents of actual belief, the witness is true, and reception of Him is eternal life.  He also warns of the consequences of unbelief for we should not ignore such revelation from God.  He is the Word, the Revealer of God; when He speaks, God is speaking; when He performs miracles, it is by God’s power; when He moves God is moving; He is God in flesh, in every aspect of life, combining Deity with Humanity, bringing to us an infallible testimony than none should refuse.  Nothing else on earth comes close to this!

Christ the Light of the world John 1v6-13

 

Christ is the true light   

From the inescapable witness of the visible creation, bringing light to all mankind, we are introduced to a human witness, no less a person than John, whom Jesus described as among “the greatest born of women.” 

6 “There was a man sent from God whose name was John.  7 The same came for a witness to bear witness to the light, that all through Him may believe. 8 He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness to the light.”  All light of men is but reflected light from the One who is the Light.  Nevertheless it pleases God to send men as a witness.  John’s message was Christ, and Christ alone as the true light of God.  God is still sending men as a witness to Himself.  Attention is drawn to his name; John means “Jehovah is gracious”, and John was sent with a message of grace, as many are sent today with the same message, that God is prepared to forgive sins on repentance.  His mission was that all might believe, no one was left out, simple faith in Christ was all that was required.   Here is the picture; A world in darkness…a man sent…a message of grace!

Light from creation and light from the creature.  What grace!

9 “That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10  He was in the world, and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not. 11  He came unto his own and his own received him not, 12 but as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name; 13 which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

The light of the world(the knowledge of God) is not in a doctrine or creed or religion but in a glorious person.  Christ is the true light, the real thing, the genuine light(revelation) of God. 

EVERYTHING ELSE IS DARKNESS!

 

The bible defines what is true and what is false, and this is a major bible topic and a favourite with John.

Luke 16v11 the true riches; John 1v9 with 1^st John 2v8 the true light; John 4v23 the true worshippers; John 6v32 the true bread; John 15v1 the true vine;  John 17v3 with 1^st Thessalonians 1v9 and 1^st John 5v20 the true God; Hebrews 8v2 the true tabernacle; 1^st Peter 5v12 the true grace of God; Revelation 3v 14 the true witness.

Thayer’s Dictionary defines this important word alethinos as follows:

a)   The opposite to what is fictitious, counterfeit, imaginary, simulated, or pretended.

b)  The contrast between realities and semblances.

c)  The opposite to what is imperfect, defective, frail, and uncertain.

In Revelation 19v11, describing the Coming of Christ to the world, He is called Faithful and True.  In a world full of falsehood and deceit and fakery, Christ is The Truth.

EVERYTHING ELSE IS FALSE!

All other doctrines, philosophies, counsels, precepts, that do not have their origin in Christ, are just spiritual and moral darkness.  He alone is the truth, the light of all mankind.  People speak of THE REAL WORLD, using phrases like “Get real”, and the like.  The real world, as men call it, is fake, because it is transient, and will not last.  The real world is not the material world for “the things which are unseen are eternal”-2^nd Corinthians 4v18.

The construction of v9 is uncertain, scholars being divided between whether the “coming into the world” refers to the incarnation , or the birth of every man.  The reality is that both are true, and can be supported from scripture.  The former view is feasible from 1^st John 2v8, where in the context of the incarnation John says “…the true light now shineth”.  However the latter seems more likely from the volume of scriptures that say “He is a light to lighten the Gentiles”-Psalm 43v3 and Daniel 2v22 are accorded to Messiah as the light of God; other scriptures are Psalm 98v2-3, Isaiah 9v1-2, 42v6, 49v6, 52v10, 60v3.  There is no doubt that He is the light of the world, meaning of every one who is born.  Men may choose to ignore that light but He is nevertheless the true light.

10  He was in the world…this is historical fact.  All of human history is divided by BC and AD.  Denial of the historical Jesus is on a par with denial of the holocaust.

The world was made by Him…this is Divine revelation.  Paul in Colossians chapter 1 reveals that Christ is the designer, the builder, the sustainer, and the intention of all creation.

The world knew Him not…this is human ignorance.  Because He was indistinguishable from other humans, externally, He was considered to be just another man, if a good man.  His claims evoked public rejection of Him, as was predicted-Isaiah 53v2-3; Psalm 22v6

11 “He came unto His own(things)-the Jewish nation, the Land given to them by Divine providence, the Priesthood, the Temple worship, the future Kingdom of the world, all of which were His own things…  “His own(people) received Him not…this is Jewish rejection, a fact which, in the main, persists until the present day.  There was minimal acknowledgment at His birth; there was large scale scepticism in His life; there was clamour for His untimely death, one of their own, Peter, charging them with “…ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain”-Acts 2v23; again in Acts 3v13-15 “…Jesus, whom ye delivered up and denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.  But ye denied the Holy one and  the Just, and desired the murderer to be granted unto you, and killed the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised from the dead whereof we are witnesses.”

12 But…in scripture the “buts” are very important.  Despite rejection by the chosen people at large, and the consequent ignorance of the world at large, God offers blessing to those who do receive Him.  Interesting that God does not impose himself on the human race, even upon the chosen race, but offers to all who will freely receive Him the ultimate blessing. God is not in the business of coercion, but of persuasion, and offers a priceless status for simple faith in Him. 

“…as many as received Him…individual responsibility.  In the main, He was rejected, but for the few who accepted Him, the rewards are great.  Entry into the family of God, he uses the diminutive term children, rather than sons.  John classes all believers as children, little ones in the family of God, with God as their Father, under His tender care and protection and provision.  In his 1^st epistle, John uses this term when writing to believers no less than 7 times-2v1; 2v12; 2v28; 3v7; 3v18; 4v4; 5v21.  The particular word is “dear children”, and could be rendered “little darlings”, speaking of God’s tender compassion and care for all His own.  This bestowal of affection comes to all who simply “believe in His name”, not by any personal merit.

13  These have been the recipients of new birth, of new life, directly from God.  This came, not of any status, or achievement or association, as is the case in the fallen world.  People are accorded honour by one or other of these things.  Says John:

Not of blood(plural) meaning bloodlines, not because of what family tree you belong to, nor of any particular nation, nor of any association with those of status.  People speak of good blood, blue blood, bad blood-the bible speaks of ONE BLOOD, Acts 17v26.  Under God all men are from the same source, there is no respecter of persons(faces) with God; He sees us all the same needing new life, and gives it freely on believing faith in Him.

Nor of the will of the flesh  This new life cannot be gained by your own effort, it cannot be bought(it is priceless); it cannot be earned(it is out of reach of humankind-as 4000 years of history has proved).  This free and gracious bestowal of God is beyond all human attainment.

Nor of the will of man   No one else can do it for you, will it for you, pray it for you.  Not your father, or mother, or siblings, or doctor, or preacher, or priest, or bishop, or pope, or church.  The bible is clear “None(referring to those who have the multitude of riches) can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for Him(for the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever)”-Psalm 49v7. 

But of God   The only source of new life is God, and is given directly to the believer from Him.  We cannot save ourselves, no one else can save us, only God.  New birth is the life of God in a human soul.  We must have direct dealings with God! The initiative was God’s and we responded.  “Of his own will He begat us that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures-James 1v18;  “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever”- 1^st Peter 1v23.  All of God, nothing of man involved.  Receiving Jesus, believing on his name (and all that he is) involves a supernatural, Divine act, implanting new life within us, eternal life, true life that will never end.

There is no need for anyone to go on living in darkness!  Just embrace the light and it will flood you with understanding.

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CHRIST THE LIFE

 

Christ the life, Creator of all things    John 1v3-5

3 “All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5  And the light shineth in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.”  John now moves in thought from the eternal to the temporal and defines the material universe which is our habitation.  All things is ta panta which is all things without exception, all the planets, including earth, all human beings, all animals, all fish, all birds, all vegetation, all lands, all natural forces-even the invisible atoms that make up everything; they were all made by Him.  Macroscopically and microscopically, He made it all.  Made is ginomai which means “caused to be”, which infers creation, actual creation of something out of nothing, which is confirmed by Genesis 1v1.  All of the material universe is His by design, by construction, by subsistence, and by intention.  Without Him nothing exists, He is the essence of all life, the life source, nothing lives apart from Him.  He is also the light source, for the visible things of creation are a testimony to Him.  We know He exists, we know He is powerful, we know He is colourful, we know He is beautiful, for we see the evidence before our very eyes.  Paul writes this in Romans 1v19-20 “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them: for God hath shown it to them.  For the invisible things of Him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seeing, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”  The visible things of creation (the Life) were to act as an understanding to men(the Light), so that God is fully known, as to His existence and nature.  In essence Christ is the life source and the light source of all existence.

In v5 he moves in thought from the past, was…was…was…was to the continuous present, the light shineth, and goes on shining, no matter the darkness does not comprehend it.  Comprehend is literally “take eagerly” and those in moral darkness don’t readily respond.  Jesus makes it clear in chapter 3v19 “This is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.”  Clearly this is moral darkness, and the light of God in Christ will go on shining, will dispel the darkness for those who respond to it.  The light goes on shining but men don’t want it, they love the darkness of evil deeds.  It is well to understand the origin of the earth in which we are all tenants.  The wonder of Creation, all around us is the permanent testimony to the glory of God who made it all.  As the Psalmist beautifully put it "The heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament shows His handiwork.  Day unto day utters speech, night unto night shows knowledge.  There is no speech, nor language, where their voice is not heard"-Psalm 19v1-3.  The silent voice of creation proclaims loudly in the ears of all, the glory of the God who made it all.  As one anonymous poet has put it:

"What though in solemn silence all

Move round the dark terrestrial ball

What though no real voice or sound

Amidst the radiant orbs be found

In reason's ear they all rejoice

And utter forth a glorious voice

Forever singing as they shine

The hand that made us is Divine!

Says it all!

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CHRIST IS GOD ...in essence, in attributes, in sovereignty

 

Christ is God      “And the Word was God.”  John 1v1

He is God in essence, in attributes, in action-in the language of the scholars He is very God of very God.  In chapter 1v12-13 those who receive Him have His authority to be called the children of God; chapter 1v14, the disciples “beheld(looked intently on) His glory as of the only begotten of the Father”-no ordinary human being was like this; chapter 1v34 John the Baptist “I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God.”; chapter 20v28 the sceptic Thomas, having considered all things, and having been discouraged because of His death and burial, bowed in worship saying “My Lord and my God.”  He is the supreme ruler of the universe, who commands the worship of all His creatures.  He is Jehovah-Elohim, the eternal One, who will ultimately receive the homage of all.

Further New Testament statements emphasise this awesome truth:

Romans 9v5 "...and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever."

2nd Corinthians 4v4  "...Christ who is the image of God..."

Philippians 2v6 "Who being in the form of God..."

Colossians 1v15 "Who is the image of the invisible God..."

1st Timothy3v16  "And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory."

Hebrews 1v3 "Wo being the brightness of His glory, the express image of His person..."

Revelation 5v13  "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea and all that is in them, heard I saying "Blessing and honour and glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever."

There is no doubt, that Jesus Christ is God, contrary to the false teachings of many religions, and many of the churches and evangelical cults that profess to honour Him.  He is very God of very God at all times and forever, and soon all creation will know it and acknowledge it.

2  “The same was in the beginning with God.” This is repeated. To ensure we understand exactly who He is. The revealer of God Himself, in essence God yet distinct from God and in harmony. with God, and equal with God at all times.  He will expand on this thought later in the gospel.