Light of the World :1–5

INTRODUCTION Imagine for a moment that you had to live your entire life in darkness. Try to picture what your existence would be like if there were no sunshine - if there was no bright and warm glow from the sun. Imagine if there was no clear way of seeing what is and what isn’t. Sounds depressing, does it not? Perhaps some of you are thinking that I’m describing a Michigan winter! Imagine it to be far worse though. Not just gloomy and grey, but dark and devoid of light. Not only would your vitamin D levels plummet, but plants would cease to grow because without sunlight the process of photosynthesis doesn’t happen. If darkness were to overcome the world, from a physical standpoint, life would cease to exist.

From a spiritual standpoint, the has quite a bit to say about darkness. In fact, by my count there are at least 174 references to darkness. Let give you several examples…

• The Lord causes darkness as one of the plagues over Egypt (Exodus 10) • Job described God as setting darkness upon his path (Job 19:8) • David described his enemies as so draining him that it’s as if he is made to sit in darkness like those who are dead (Psalm 143:3) • John tells us that whoever hates his brother is someone walking in darkness (1 :11) • In reference to salvation, Peter tells us that God has called some out of darkness and into a marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9) • “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their words were evil” (:19)

So darkness is more than the absence of light. It’s not merely physical, but spiritual. Darkness represents evil, unbelief, and judgment. And the world we live in is one of pervasive darkness. It’s what C.S. Lewis called the “shadowlands.” What do I mean by that? Scripture uses the metaphors of both light and darkness quite frequently. The light, referring to God and his glory. The darkness referring to spiritual blindness. And it doesn’t take long for us to look around and see that our world is brimming with injustice, racial inequality, war, poverty, abuse — darkness. Oddly enough, the John says that some people — speaking of those who have rejected Him — love the darkness.

It’s not that the light of God is completely absent from creation. Rather, the reality of his glory has been dimmed by the effects of sin. So we now live in a world where our vision is darkened. We have trouble perceiving what is true and good. We live in a world where our wills are darkened. We choose to do the things we don’t want to do. We live in a world where our hearts are darkened. We don’t love like we should. We live in a world where our inclinations are darkened. We find ourselves gravitating towards what is selfish. We live in a darkened world, in desperate need of light.

But the good news of Christmas, the good news of the Christian faith, is that the light has come. If you would, turn with me to John 1:1-5, where we are reminded afresh the significance of ’s coming.

READ JOHN 1:1–5….

Today, and over the next three we are celebrating advent. We’re celebrating the truth that Christ is the light, who entered a world of darkness. It’s a time of deep reflection as we

behold the mystery that God became a man. You see, throughout history, God made himself knowing in one way or another. But with the incarnation — God taking on flesh — we have the greatest revelation of God one could ever see or experience. It’s almost as if someone walked into a dark room and turned the lights on.

My goal during these messages is to help you believe. In fact, John tells us in chapter 20, verse 30 that this is the reason he wrote his gospel – so that you would believe. And it would be a grave mistake for you to think that if you’re already a believer, then John’s gospel has nothing for you. Because that’s only true if you think he’s referring to a moment in time and not a continual believing. In :6, “If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.” To abide is to keep trusting, keep keep relying, keep believing the life giving gospel.

My hope today is that you would believe and keep believing that is the Light of the World. And darkness will not overcome the light. Christ came to overcome a world of darkness. That’s my main point today and I get it from verse 5. In verse 5 John tells us that Jesus is a light shining in the darkness. Darkness has and will try to overcome Jesus but will not. When Jesus was born, darkness tried to kill him (Herod’s decree). But no, darkness will not overcome light. Jesus was later tempted in the wilderness to bow down to darkness. But no, darkness will not overcome light. Jesus was betrayed, killed, and crucified. But no, darkness will not overcome light. He is the risen savior.

Jesus is the Light of the World, he is the Word, and as it so nicely puts in verse 14, “he became flesh and dwelt among us.” And in conjunction with verse 1 we know that Jesus is the incarnate word. As we prepare for Christmas we dwell and meditate on the incarnation. Don’t miss the magnificence of this - God became a man!

Trans: So darkness is simply put that which is evil and opposed to light. It is judgment but also it is sin and unbelief. And it’s attempting to overtake that which is not darkness. But God says through John, No! It will not overcome the Light. And how do we know? We have three reasons. The first is that…

The Light of the World is God (vv. 1-2) John makes clear that Jesus is eternal. You see, what makes the intro to John’s Gospel different than say, Matthew or Luke, is that he reaches farther back. Whereas Matthew and Luke begin with the birth of Jesus, John reaches back to eternity. These first two verses ….“In the beginning was the word…” they sound awfully familiar, don’t they? They sound like Genesis 1. Beginning does not mean that the Word had a beginning. The word implies pre-existence; eternal and infinite. There was never a time when Christ did not exist. He existed before the world began, before there was time. In fact, this was the testimony of Jesus himself: “Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed” (:5).

What does John mean by the term “Word” used in these opening verses? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Well, I think it’s clear that John intends more than simply the language we use to communicate. But in a sense, it depends on who you’re talking to. If a Greek were to hear the term Word or (Greek), they might have thought about the philosophical discussions of that time which tried to explain the order in the world. You see, the Greeks observed the intricacies of the world, the orderly balance, and attributed this all to someone or to an impersonal force. In fact, what made it difficult is that they didn’t believe in one God. Therefore, it was with a stroke of divine genius that John seized upon

this word, because it was a meaningful one. He’s saying this: “Listen, the very thing that has most occupied your philosophical thought and about which you have all been writing for centuries—the Logos of God, this word, this controlling power of the universe—this has come to earth as a man and we have seen him.”

But to the Jew, the “Word” communicated something else. His Jewish audience would have connected “Word” with divine thought and action. It was divine thought in that it paralleled the wisdom of God and the word given by the prophets. It was divine action in that God’s Word accomplishes the purpose for which He sends it (Isa 55:11). In other words, the Jews knew this: when God speaks, things happen. In Genesis 1 the world is dark, formless, and void. And by the Word of God he flipped the light switch. He created. It wouldn’t have been hard for them to understand the term “Word” as God’s creative activity. But what they were probably not ready for, was the truth that the “Word” is a person. They were not ready for John’s ultimate aim, to show that the Word became flesh—God Incarnate. Before he could get to that point in verse 14, he had to show the deity of the Word. That’s what he does in vv. 1-5.

But John says, in the second clause of verse 1, that Jesus was with God. In other words, he’s saying that Jesus is a distinct person. That preposition “with” indicates fellowship or communion. But you would only talk about being “with” someone if there were more than one person. “I ate dinner with my wife, or I watched a movie with my wife.” Thus, Jesus is distinct in his personhood and role. This is part of the great mystery of the Trinity because we believe in one God who exists in three persons. But I think beyond that, John is trying to teach us something. He’s trying to teach us that in the nature of God there was loving communion, creativity, and eternal fellowship. Even though they were distinct, there is a oneness. So it’s not that God redeemed us so that he wouldn’t be lonely. No! Of course not, seeing that God has always had perfect fellowship in the Godhead. And what Christ invites us to - the invitation he gives is into that the fellowship.

There’s more. John says that the Word was God. The Word, who is defined as Christ, is God. That’s what so beautiful and mind boggling about the incarnation. It’s not that another God came and dwelt among us, but the only God came and dwelt among us. God the Son became a man! You see, Jesus shares his nature and being with God—“ the Word was God.” He is of the same character and quality as God (v. 1). Everything that can be said about God can be said about Jesus Christ. We call this the Trinity—the understanding that there is one God but that the one God exists as three persons: God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In verse 1 we find a precisely worded statement about Jesus that leads us to only one conclusion: Jesus Christ is God.

This phrase proves critical in distinguishing the Christian faith from other expressions of religion. When Jehovah’s Witnesses meet to discuss their religion, they pick up a translation of Scripture called The New World Translation. If you opened that book, turned it to the , found verse 1, and looked at the last phrase, you would read, “and the Word was a god.” That’s with a lower case “g.” And while that small change may seem insignificant, by adding that little word a, they are making a statement that Jesus is something less than fully God. He may be a god in some sense. He may be one of many “gods,” but he is not the true God. From the beginning of his Gospel, John argues that Christ is not one of many gods but is God himself.

Why does this matter? Well it matters on a number of levels. Because without these truths, God cannot be known personally. God is not silent, nor is he hidden, but he is fully revealed in the person of Jesus. And it is this person who will not be overcome by the darkness. Jesus the incarnate Word, the , the Light of the World, is God! And God by his very nature

cannot be overcome by darkness. The Epistle of John, 1 John 1:5, reminds us that there is no darkness in him!

Trans: The Light of the World is God and God will not be overcome by darkness. Christ, God in the flesh, came into the world for the expressed purpose of overcoming the darkness. And we can be sure of this because he is God. But also…

The Light of the World is the Creator of All Things (v. 3) Jesus is the creative Word of God (1 Cor 8:6; Col 1:16; Heb 1:2) – Verse 3 tells us that Jesus is the Word through which all things were created. But this isn’t the only place in Scripture we see this. Let me read you three other passages:

[6] yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. (1 Cor 8:6)

[16] For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. (Col 1:16)

[2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. (Hebrews 1:2)

As God, Jesus was not only present at creation, but he also was active in creation. He created “all things” (v. 3). John chose the specific term all things and used it to focus on each individual thing Jesus created. John could have phrased it in such a way that our eyes were drawn to the whole universe collectively—sort of like throwing open the warehouse and simply saying, “He made all of this.” However, John chose a word that looks at each created thing individually. Like opening the warehouse and taking us around on a tour and saying, “Look at this here. Check out that detail there.” Jesus Christ made everything from the largest whale to the smallest amoeba. From the sunflower seed to the redwood tree, from the beautiful sunset to the tiny lightning bug, Jesus Christ designed and created all of it (cf. Col 1: 16). One day Jesus will be worshiped in heaven with the words, “Our Lord and God, you are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because you have created all things, and by your will they exist and were created” (Rev 4:11).

Put more simply, John is saying, if it doesn’t exist its because Jesus didn’t make it. Jesus is divine because he is the agent of creation. The Word that brought everything into existence became incarnate in the person of Jesus! And this brings up two very important points:

#1: Jesus and God are not created beings – If God created all things, and Jesus is the agent of creation, that means that God, and Jesus, are not created beings. You and I are created. We have a beginning and an end. We were formed and fashioned. God came up with the idea to create you. But no one created God. No one created Jesus. There was never a time when the triune God did not exist. And if that doesn’t put you in awe, it should.

#2: Jesus has power over that which he created – Why does this matter? Why do this ensure that Christ will overcome darkness? Simply put, everything is subject to him. He created all that exists – including those who walk in darkness. Maybe another way is to say, he brought them into this world, he can also take them out. That’s why when Jesus encounters the demons in the gospels, they shutter. They become afraid. They know they can’t overcome him and destruction awaits!

Trans: Christ came to overcome a world of darkness. Jesus is the Light of the World, who is God. He is the creator of all things. But also…

The Light of the World is Life Giving (v. 4) Jesus is the source of Life (:12) – In John 8:12 Jesus identifies himself as both the light and the source of life. Nobody gave it to him. In Him is Life. Not just life as you see it, but spiritual life. That’s why Jesus would later go on to say, “ the way, the truth, and the life” (:6). That’s also why he said in :25, “I am the resurrection…” Do you believe this? Jesus is living light. And in him is life.

Light is the revelation of God. Spiritual enlightenment. And John makes this parallel statement about Jesus being the light of Men. In other words, there is an intimate connection between light and life. This is why Jesus came. This is why he became flesh. He came to be light of men. Now, we all know that light is revealing. It helps us see clearly. It reveals beauty as well as imperfections. So what is Jesus, the light, revealing? God. He is the revelation of God. He reveals knowledge, and truth, and divinity. You can’t come to a passage like this and ignore it. Do you believe?

Believing in the light will make you sons of light (:36) – Why does this matter? How does this ensure that Christ came to overcome darkness? John12:36 says, “While you have the light, believe in the lights, that you may become sons of light.” Did you hear that? Paul tells the Christians in Ephesians to walk as children of the light. In Colossians Paul gives thanks for those who share in the saints of light. In 1 Thess Paul tells them you are children of the light and not darkness. Do you live in darkness? There’s a way out. Believe in the light.

CONCLUSION I want to ask you to step back for a moment and put all of this into the big picture. Humanity’s story actually begins in a placed free from pain, sorrow, suffering, and sin. The kingdom of God and the dwelling place of humankind existed in a real place - the Garden of Eden. In a sense, Eden was heaven on earth.

But with the rebellion of Adam and Eve, all of humanity was plunged into a place of darkness and death. The perfection of the created order was now stained by the sin of God’s people. And where there was once unhindered fellowship between God and man, now became a separation and alienation. And yet, the rest of the Bible is about God’s plan to bring us back to the garden - except better. Ever since Genesis 3, God has been unfolding his purposes to bring about a new heaven and a new earth, populated by a redeemed people. And everything we’ve longed for— the world we’re waiting for is coming.

And we can be sure of it because Jesus overcame the darkness by entering it himself. Fast forward to the night before his death. After Jesus washes Judas’s feet and shares a meal with him, Judas leaves to betray Jesus for some money. “So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night” (:30).

On the same night Jesus is betrayed with a kiss, the rest of his friends abandon him (Matt 26:56). Although he knew they were about to let him down, Jesus offered them words of comfort: “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (:33).

The next day, Jesus was nailed to a cross, consumed by physical and spiritual darkness (Matt. 27:45-46). But it is there—in midday darkness, suffering the greatest injustice of all time—that Jesus was actually defeating the darkness of this world. This is why he could call the cross—the very tool used to shame and punish criminals—his glory. Jesus bore our darkness in his body and faced the wrath of God on our behalf. On that third day he rose in victory over our sin, death, Satan—all the darkness. Jesus overcame the darkness. And he did so, by letting the darkness overcome him on the cross. So what does this mean for us? • The Light exposes every bit of darkness • The Light is life giving • The Light enables us to walk in victory • The Light makes joy in the midst of sorrow possible

God came and dwelt among us. He came to overcome the darkness. Yes, the world is dark. The world is full of unbelief, and evil. But the good news is that Christ has come. He is the creative Word, God himself in the flesh. He is the Light of the World that. He is the revelation of God. Would you believe that today? These five verses before us make a bold a simple claim. It demands either our wholehearted acceptance or our rejection. But I can promise you, if you believe He will make you a son or daughter of the light. He is the very source of life. And there will be a day when darkness will no longer be able to fight. In the book of Revelation we’re reminded:

“And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk” (Rev 21:23).

“And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Rev 22:5).