John 1:1-53
We are now starting our fourth journey through the life of Christ. John promises to be an interesting study with several new perspectives and insights. This first chapter is so poetic, it really is a beautiful picture of Christ and His coming into the world. We start out with three divisions at the start of His ministry.
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST: Jesus is God, He always has been God and He was with the Father who created the world and all that is in it through Him. But something drastic and delightful happened. God in the person of Jesus became a man. He took on flesh and came to live on this earth that He might pay the price for our sin. He came to reveal God to this earth and shine the light of the glory of God into the hearts of men. Unfortunately, the world did not understand Him, believe Him or receive Him. God came as a man to tho those He had created and they didn't recognize Him, rather, they rejected Him. We too have been given amazing revelation of Christ through His Word, and we, like the people of Christ's day, are responsible to respond correctly to the revelation we have been given.
THE INDICATION OF JOHN: As the Old Testament foretold, the coming of Christ was preceded by the ministry of John who came to prepare the way. His job was to warm the hearts of the people so that when Christ came he would be able to point these followers to Him. John attracted a large following and many people thought that he might be Christ, but John would have none of the many designations people tried to put on him. He had one job and that was to point men to the Messiah and that is exactly what he did. He indicated that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah so that all would hear and follow Him. God calls us to be like John in that we are not to attract our own followers but are to point all me to Christ. Our job is to exalt the name of Jesus that men might know and be saved by Him.
THE INVITATION OF DISCIPLES: John gives us some unique insights into the calling of the disciples. The other Gospels depict the calling of Peter as having happened on the sea shore, and that is true. However, prior to the encounter on the beach, Peter's brother Andrew has spent a day with Jesus and then Andrew went and got Peter to meat Jesus. These were men who had been with John the Baptist and had seen his indication of Jesus and the Messiah. Christ's invitation to follow Him was extended to men who had been with John and seen him make his declaration about Christ. This was not the case with all of the disciples, but it was with some of them. Christ's ministry started with choosing men in whom to invest His life. These men would be the focus of His work. Christ has called us to be His followers and if our lives and ministries are going to reflect the work of Christ, we too must invest our lives in the lives of men.
THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST: Jesus is God, He always has been God and He was with the Father who created the world and all that is in it through Him. But something drastic and delightful happened. God in the person of Jesus became a man. He took on flesh and came to live on this earth that He might pay the price for our sin. He came to reveal God to this earth and shine the light of the glory of God into the hearts of men. Unfortunately, the world did not understand Him, believe Him or receive Him. God came as a man to tho those He had created and they didn't recognize Him, rather, they rejected Him. We too have been given amazing revelation of Christ through His Word, and we, like the people of Christ's day, are responsible to respond correctly to the revelation we have been given.
THE INDICATION OF JOHN: As the Old Testament foretold, the coming of Christ was preceded by the ministry of John who came to prepare the way. His job was to warm the hearts of the people so that when Christ came he would be able to point these followers to Him. John attracted a large following and many people thought that he might be Christ, but John would have none of the many designations people tried to put on him. He had one job and that was to point men to the Messiah and that is exactly what he did. He indicated that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah so that all would hear and follow Him. God calls us to be like John in that we are not to attract our own followers but are to point all me to Christ. Our job is to exalt the name of Jesus that men might know and be saved by Him.
THE INVITATION OF DISCIPLES: John gives us some unique insights into the calling of the disciples. The other Gospels depict the calling of Peter as having happened on the sea shore, and that is true. However, prior to the encounter on the beach, Peter's brother Andrew has spent a day with Jesus and then Andrew went and got Peter to meat Jesus. These were men who had been with John the Baptist and had seen his indication of Jesus and the Messiah. Christ's invitation to follow Him was extended to men who had been with John and seen him make his declaration about Christ. This was not the case with all of the disciples, but it was with some of them. Christ's ministry started with choosing men in whom to invest His life. These men would be the focus of His work. Christ has called us to be His followers and if our lives and ministries are going to reflect the work of Christ, we too must invest our lives in the lives of men.
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