Life of Christ: Jesus is God

A Study of the Person and Life of Jesus Christ

Lesson One: Jesus is God - John 1:1-18

Warning - You will need your Bible

Discover: Jesus is the Christ. He is the eternal God, Creator, Light of men, giver of Life, and the Savior.

Do: Realize who Jesus is, receive Him as Savior, and follow Him in awe.

The Word – Vs. 1:1-5, Realize who Jesus is

Vs. 1-2

These verse reminds me of creation. We realize by studying the whole passage that the Word (logos) is figurative for the person of Jesus (1:14, 17).  John is showing the preexistence and full Deity of Jesus. He did not come into existence at His birth and He did not begin along with the rest of creation. Jesus was in the beginning with the Father and has always existed with Him. He is also equal in Deity and unity with the Father. Not only was Jesus with God at creation, He was God. The past tense is referring to the time of creation; Jesus is, always has been (eternity past) and always will be (eternally future) God.

Nature of Jesus

Jesus is 100% divine and 100% human. Theologians refer to this as the Hypostatic Union (cf. Luke 1:30-35, 2:11-20), the miraculous bringing together of humanity and divinity in the same person, Jesus Christ, such that He is fully God and fully man. The divine nature and human nature concur in the person of Jesus Christ with no intermingling or mixing of the two natures.  The one person Jesus Christ exists with two natures in perfect unity yet without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.

Place in Trinity

This is an important lesson on the person of Christ and also to the doctrine of the Trinity. It’s important to understand as we consider the identity of Christ that God exists eternally as one in nature and being, yet as three distinct but equal and perfectly unified persons who even indwell one another yet without ever intermingling or confusing the distinct persons – The Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit. All three persons of the Trinity are God as they are divine and share the nature of God’s being, but they at not each other and exist as distinct and separate persons of the Godhead.

Jesus is eternally God.

 

Vs. 3

In the beginning is a reference to creation of earth and everything of it. Jesus was present and is the source of all things created.  Paul reaffirms this truth in Col. 1:15-20.

Jesus is Creator.

 

Vs. 4-5

As God and Creator we learn that In Jesus is Life. This is speaking to spiritual life in relationship with God, not physical life in the flesh. In the Bible, if you do not have a relationship with God through Christ, if you have not been born again, if you do not have the regenerate life of God, you are considered a dead person, even though you are living physically (John 17:3; Eph. 2:1-10; Titus 3:4-8). We will see this more clearly in the next section.

Jesus is the Light – revelation of spiritual life

Jesus is the giver of life – regenerate, born again spiritual life in a relationship with the Father

Jesus is the light of men and the giver of life

 

The Witness – Vs. 1:6-13, Receive Jesus as Savior

Vs. 6-9

We see the ministry of John the Baptist. He came to give a testimony about Jesus as the Christ, the Savior of men, and tell all that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but receive eternal life (3:16).

Christ or the Spirit of Christ, the Light, enlightens every man to the truth that Jesus is the Savior. We learn in John 16:8-11 that the Holy Spirit convicts man of their need of a Savior and their sin of unbelief, the sole think keeping one from being born again and to receive eternal life (3:17-19).  The acceptance or rejection of this revelation will be the basis of each mans judgment.

Similar to John, we are to be a witness to the Light that enlightens people to the truth that Jesus is the Christ and the Savior. Paul explains this in 2 Co. 5:18-20.

 

Vs. 10-13

The response required to the revelation of the Light is to receive Jesus as Savior by believing (being persuaded and convinced of this truth and to trust in or depend on) Him. We learned earlier that eternal life is defined by John as a life in relationship with God, to know Him. Here we have a deeper understanding of this relationship; it is a life lived as a “child of God.” Its not just knowing God but its being a very child of God and all its privileges of love, discipline, and security! Something we will see throughout our study.

Jesus is the Savior.

 

The Revelation – Vs. 1:14-18, Follow Jesus in awe

Since we have been enlightened to the truth and adopted as children of God we should live in light of this glory – in light of Jesus who came full of grace and truth, who came and poured out grace upon grace. We have been set free from the Law of Moses but are now bound to the person of Christ (see Ro. 3--4; Galatians3--5).

Christ, who is “the only begotten God,” has “explained” the Father to us through His life and teaching.

“Begotten” means to be of the same substance of the Father (Jn. 3:16). Jesus was begotten, not made (or created). Being begotten means Jesus shares the same Divine nature as the Father. He is of the same substance and essence of the Father.  That which the Father begets shares the same nature as the Father.  The Father is God and has a Divine nature; therefore, Jesus sharing the same nature with the Father, being begotten of Him, also has a Divine nature.  The term “begotten” affirms and clarifies that Jesus is God. He shares the same substance, essence, and nature as the Father.

Illustration

As a human begets a human and a dog begets a dog, one begets that which is of the same nature as them.  A human begets one with a human nature, they share the same human nature, a human cannot beget a dog.  In the same way God the Father begets God the Son.  God the Father begets that which has the same nature as Him.  The Father is a divine nature and begets the Son with the same divine nature as Him. 

What about the Holy Spirit?

As Light proceeds from a light bulb, the Holy Spirit proceeds from God.  The light is of the same essence as the light in the bulb, yet it is distinct from it. The Holy Spirit proceeds from God the Father and God the Son, all share the same essence and substance being God, yet they are distinct in person.

 WOW!

This was a heavy lesson. If you are still with me we are to the main challenge I see in the text. Christ “explained” God, John “testified” of Christ…

We should imitate Christ and testify about Him through who we are and what we do. Let us be people who testify of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ with our whole lives. Let us follow Him in awe!