Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Dial In - John 1:1-18 (Ep. 01)

Episode Date: March 29, 2020

Dial In is a devotional series with the intention of helping followers of Christ understand God’s word and love Him more. Jonny seeks to communicate the profound depth of scripture in a digestible and condensed format each weekday. The goal of the podcast is that our “minds would be renewed” as we behold who God is in His word. In this series, Jonny is walking sequentially through the Gospel of John. In this episode Jonny covers John 1:1-18 and highlights three truths that we need to understand about Jesus and how we are to live in light of those truths:1. Jesus is God (1:1)2. Jesus is Creator (1:3)3. Jesus became flesh (1:14)Enjoy! 

Hi, my name is Johnny Artavanis, and this is Dial In, a devotional series with the intention of helping followers of Christ understand God's Word and love Him more. Throughout the year, I have the opportunity to interact with thousands of students, young adults, and pastors, and my heart for them is that they would be able to comprehend Scripture in its context and develop a greater love for Jesus Christ. So over the next month or so, I'm going to be walking sequentially through the Gospel of John, not necessarily verse by verse, but with the goal of pulling out the main themes and ideas that we see in the text. And I say it often, whenever we open up God's Word, we need to view it as such and dial in. John chapter 1 verses 1 through 18 In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God He was in the beginning with God

All things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made In him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light which gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him. Yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood,

nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man flesh nor of the will of man but of God and the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us and we have seen his glory glory is of the only son from the father full of grace and truth John bore witness about him and cried out this was he of whom I said he who comes after me ranks before me because he was before me for from his fullness we have all Today we're going to talk about three different truths about who Jesus is in this passage and the obvious challenge that is revealed. But before we do so, let's get a little bit of context for the Gospel of John. three different truths about who Jesus is in this passage and the obvious challenge that is revealed. But before we do so, let's get a little bit of context for the Gospel of John. The other three Gospels, which would be Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are typically referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they give us a synopsis of Jesus' life and ministry. John seems to write

his Gospel with those other three in mind because two-thirds of the gospel of John are devoted to the last week of Jesus's life and ministry. John's gospel is also more theological than the other, and he clearly communicates the purpose for why he writes it in chapter 20, verse 31. He says, these things I write to you so that you may believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and in believing you may have life in his name. This word believe is going to be used many, many times throughout the Gospel of John. In fact, it's used a hundred times in the Gospel, which would be twice as much as the three other Gospels combined. So let's hop into verse one. But before we do so, one thing to note,

Matthew and Luke both start with the genealogy of Jesus. Matthew traces back to Abraham, and Luke traces back to Adam. John takes a different approach. The typical questions when you meet someone are, who are you, where are you from, and what do you do? John answers the question, who are you, not by Jesus' human lineage, but by going back to the preexistent Christ before time began. Verse 1 says, In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This Greek word for Word that you have in your English Bibles is logos. Now, logos is typically used in Greek culture, and ancient Greek philosophy was concerned with finding the power behind the universe and the meaning for life's existence. The logos became the term that was used to sum up all of the philosophies related to the power and purpose behind human life and typically the logos would have been associated with an impersonal and an abstract force now John says here that Jesus was not just born on Christmas Day 2,000 years ago. Jesus is the word.

He is the power, and he is the purpose behind life's existence. This would have been a shattering idea when John writes it, but it's essential for you and I to understand. The power and the meaning behind the universe is not abstract. It's not impersonal. He's a person, and his name is Jesus Christ. So number one, we see right away, who is Jesus? Jesus is God. It says, and the word was God. We see the same idea in Colossians 2, 9,

in him, Jesus Christ, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. But also we see number two, that Jesus is the creator of all things. In verse 3 it says, All things came into being through him and apart from him. Nothing came into being that has come into being. Jesus is the creator of the universe. It says in Colossians 1, verse 15 and 16, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. That word firstborn means that he has ruling authority over all creation. Why? It says in verse 16, because he created all things, whether thrones or rulers or dominions or authorities, they were made by him and for him.

And not only does he create things, I love the passage in Hebrews 1. It says he is the radiance of the glory of God and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. John wants you to have an exalted understanding of Jesus Christ. He wasn't just born in a manger 2,000 years ago. He existed before time began in the presence of God, and he creates all things, and he upholds all things, which makes point number three all the more staggering, which is Jesus becomes human flesh. In verse 14, it says, And the word became flesh and dwelt amongst us.

The power and the meaning and the significance behind the universe took on the form of a man and dwelt amongst us. This word for dwelt is the same idea we see in the Old Testament for tabernacle. That's what it literally means. God's presence in the Old Testament was typically associated with a tabernacle or a temple, but verse 14 tells us that God's presence now in the form of Jesus Christ took the form of man and dwelt amongst us. The infinite God becomes finite. The eternal God enters space and time here, and the omnipresent God who rules over all of creation takes the form of man.

And I love what John says next. He says, and we saw his glory. I love that he says, and we saw this. This is what he also says in 1 John 1, that which we have seen, that which we have heard, looked at, and touched with our hands concerning the word of life. Peter, the other disciple, says the same idea. I've seen this with my own eyes. It's an important thing to understand that from start to finish, scripture makes historical claims. It is vital for us to remember that the story of Jesus Christ in the gospel

is real history and takes place in space and time. I love what R.C. Sproul says. He says, God's word does not give us exhaustive history, but it gives us true history. John says, I saw this, and this is real. God who creates all things becomes flesh. And the question for you and I is why? Why would Jesus do this? And we see the answer in John 3, 16. You know it. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting

life. First Timothy 1, 15 says, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Jesus took on flesh to come and save sinners. And the method by which that is possible is revealed to us in verse 12 here in John 1. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name. Believing in who Jesus is and what he has done enables lost sinners like you and I to become, in verse 12, the children of God. So today what we covered, number one, Jesus is God. Number two, Jesus is the creator and Jesus took on flesh. And the challenge for you and I in response to these truths is to believe what the word of God is revealing to us. I hope you guys stay dialed in and we'll see you tomorrow.