The Witness to the Revelation of Jesus Christ

Jesus the light of men: The second witness of John the Apostle

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

(1:9-13) Introduction:the world is in a desperate straits.It is full of darkness,the darkness of sin and despair,of sickness and death,of corruption and hell.The darkness looms over the whole world.This is the problem dealt with in the present passage.There is hope in Jesus Christ,for Christ is the true Light, and light dispels darkness.

1)Christ is the light(vs9)
2)Christ was tragically rejected by the world(vss 10-11)
3)Christ was wonderfully received by some(vss12-13)

1)-(1:9) Jesus Christ,Light; Mission: Christ was the true light."other men may claim to be lights, claiming they can lead men to the truth.Some may claim they can reveal God and his truths to men. They may claim to be able to show the nature,meaning,and destinity of other things.To guide men out of darkness of sin,shame, doubt,despair,to be able to eliminate the darkness entirely.

However,such are false lights.Their claims are only ideas in their minds,fictitus ideas,and counterfit claims.The true light is Jesus Christ,Christ alone is the light of the world.The misson of Christ is to give light to men.There is the light of the gospel,Christ has now come a light into this dark world,that whosoever believeth on him should not abide in darkness.There is the light of the spirit, both the guiding and convicting power of the spirit.Then there is the light of Christ himself; he is the savior of the world,now every man can see truth;you can reject it but you can see it.

2) (1:10-11) Jesus Christ-Rejection:Christ was tragically rejected by the world.Christ was in the world,he had made the world, and He loved and cared deeply for the world;therefore, He was actively working to help the world and its people from the very beginning.Christ gave the light of order,and purpose,he gave the light of living to a dark world yet the world would not receive the light.Even those of us who profess to be his often time reject the light as we choose to walk and live in darkness.We reject Him in our daily lives,with our actions, thoughts, words, deeds and how we often treat one another.Jesus died to unite all man and to reconcile him to God,yet many still because of rejection walk in darkness.

3) (1:12-13) Jesus Christ,Accepted;Salvation:Christ was wonderfully received by some persons.Not everyone rejected Christ,most did,but few received Him.How men receive Christ,"they believe on His name".The result of receiving Christ, A person is given the power to become a son of God.When a person receives Christ as Lord,Christ gives that person the power to become something he is not,A child of God.This is a result of a new birth,not of flesh and blood or the will of man,but a spiritual birth that can only come from God.

³Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

 ⁵Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

   ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

The Witness to the Revelation of Jesus Christ

Jesus the Light of the World :The special witness of John the Baptist (John 1:6-8)
   
   ⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
   ⁷The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
   ⁸He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

Introduction:

 There was one person who was a very special witness to Christ,John the Baptist. John's sole purpose on earth was to witness and to bear testimony to the Light of the world.His purpose stands as a dynamic example for every believer,The purpose of every believer is to bear the same witness as John: Jesus Christ is the light of the world.

1) John was a man sent from God (vs.6)
2) John was a man sent on a very special mission (vs.7)
3) John was a great man but he was not the Light (vs.8)

[1]
(1:6) John the Baptist-commission:a man sent from God.(note 3 points)

    a) The man "was a man" and only a man who was born like any other man.
    b) The man ,however,was "sent from God",and he was sent on a very special mission.We to who have been called of God out of the darkness into his marvelous light,are also sent on a special mission. We too are to bear witness to the light.We were saved to go tell others about the saving power of Jesus Christ.
     c) The man was named John.His name means gracious.He was sent forth with a message that match His message.God's grace is now to enter the scene of world history. prepare ye the way of the Lord, who is the embodiment of God's glorious grace.

[2]
(1:7)Mission-Witnessing: a man with a mission(2 points)

   a) The man came to bear witness of the Light.He was sent with a very specific message,and that message was to proclaim the Light,Christ Himself.The servant of God is not left to come up with his/her own message.He does not depend on his own reasoning,thoughts or ideals.His message is Christ the light of the world. God's only message to a dying world.
   b) The purpose of the man's message is clearly stated:that all men,through Christ,might believe.His purpose was not to start a movement, his purpose was to lead men to believe in the Light.He witnessed and proclaimed the Light that all man might believe.He was sent to focus on people and to lead them to believe in Christ Jesus.
***The servant of God has one primary purpose: to lead men to believe in Christ Jesus,the Light of the world.His purpose is to lead men to believe in Christ Jesus.Everything else is method not purpose.Men have too often confused purpose with method,and the result has been that millions haven't been reached, and thousands are being decieved by confusing methods of religion with the purpose of God:which is the salvation of man through the belief in his Son.

[3]
(1:8) Humility-Ministers:a man who was great,but he was not the Light.John the Baptist was great, Jesus Himself said "Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist".But he was not the Light,he was to bear witness to the Light.We are not the Light,it is not important that the world knows we are saved,what is important is that the world believes there is a Savior.John's humility is and example to be followed by all servants of God.For we must decrease while Christ increase.It is not about us and in our witness we must get out of the way so others can see Christ,so they can see the light to which we bear witness.

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We must realize that we all were saved for one purpose,to lead others to Jesus Christ.Some lead through the preaching of the word,some by teaching and even others through pastoring.But we all are suppose to lead the lost by walking in a manner worthy of the name by which we bear.

The Witness to the Revelation of Jesus Christ , John 1:1-51 (got jesus bible study lesson)

John 1
   1)In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
   2)The same was in the beginning with God.
   3)All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
   4)In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
   5)And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.



 A) Jesus the Living Word: The first witness of John the Apostle, 1:1-5

• (John 1:1-5) Introduction: this passage is one of the summits of scripture.In fact, it probably reaches the highest of human thought.What is the thought that reaches the height of human concepts? It is this Jesus Christ, the son of God is..........

             1) The word of God
             2) The creator of Life
             3) The very Being and Essence of Life

  These three truths have to be deeply thought about to understand their meaning.A quick reading of this passage leaves a person disinterested, not even close to understanding what is being said.However, the importance of the truth lie at the very foundation of life.They cannot be overstated, for they determine a man's destiny.If Jesus Christ is the word of God, then men must hear and understand that word or else be lost forever in ignorance of God himself.


Through the scriptures we will see that:   1) Christ is eternal (vs.1-2)  2) Christ is the creator(vs.3)  3)Christ is life (vs.4-5)

[1]  (1:1-2) Jesus Christ,Son of God-Eternal-Preexistent-Revelation:Christ is eternal.Note three profound statements made about Christ, the Word.
         a. Christ was preexistent.This means He was there before creation.He always existed.
              1)" In the beginning" does not mean from the beginning.Jesus Christ was already there.He did not become;He was not created;He never had a beginning.He "was in the beginning with God"( see John17:5,8:58)
         

                          The testimony of John was that Jesus Christ was the word, the one who always existed. He is the Son of the living God.
           b. Christ was coexistent.He was and is face-to -face with God forever.Jesus Christ (the Word) was both with God and acting with God. He was "with God" : by God's side, acting, living,and moving in the closest of relationships.Christ had the ideal and perfect relationship with God the Father.Their life together-their relationship, communion, fellowship, and connection- was the perfect eternal bond.This is exacttly what is said:"The same was in the beginning with God"(vs.2)

           c. John did not say that "the Word"was the God. He says "the Word" was God. John was saying that "the Word,"  Jesus Christ.......Is the very nature and character of God the Father; is a distinct person from God the Father, but he is the very being essence(perfection) of God the Father.

 [2] (1:3) Jesus Christ, Creator:Christ is the creator.
         a)All things, means every detail of creation- not creation as a whole,but every single detail.Each element and thing,each being and person-whether material or spiritual,angelic or human,has come into being by Christ.
         b) The words were made, came into being.Nothing was existing, no substance, no matter whatsoever.Matter is not eternal.God did not take something outside of himself,something less than perfect(evil) and create the world. Christ, the word, took nothing but his will and power; and He spoke the Word and created every single thing out of nothing.
         c) Christ was the one who created all things- one by one.Among the God head, He was the active Agent,the person who made all things.Creation was his function and work.(see col.1:16)

  [3] (1:4-5) Jesus Christ, Life-Light :Christ is life
         a) Christ is the source of light. "The Life [Christ] was the light of men" From the very beginning man was to know that life,to know God personally and intimately.The knowledge of the life of Christ was to be the light of men, the beam that was to give real life to man, both abundant and eternal, and infuse energy and motivation into man so that he might walk and live as he should.The life [Christ] was to be the light of man's purpose,meaning and significance upon earth.

         b) Christ is the answer to darkness.Christ life did shine in the darkness.Since man had brought darkness into the world(by sin)the life of Christ was the light of man,the beam that showed man the way ,truth, and the life.He show man the way God intended for him to live. He showed man the truth of life, that is the truth about God and man and the truth about the world of man.Christ showed man the life, that is how to save his life and avoid the things that can cause him to stumble and lose his life.Christ's life (the light) cannot be over come.