Temple Baptist Church - 6-1-2022
John 1:1-2
Introduction:
A. When speaking of the eternality and deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Bible refers to Him as the "Word" or Logos: something said! This speaks of our Lord as One who communicates. He is not a "silent" god as the "gods" of this world, but One who speaks.
B. The word "Logos" is also used when referring to the inscribed or preserved Word of God.
C. This is important because God does not speak in verbal inspiration in our day as we have the completed canon of Scripture but now have the preserved Word of God in written form. When referring to the preserved Word of God, "Logos" means that God still speaks through the Word. That is not the essence of this message so I will deal with this later.
D. The First Mention of speaking in the Bible is consistent with John 1:1. Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (Said – Amar (aw-mar) – to speak or to communicate.) The words "God said" are found 11x in the first two chapters of Genesis. The Latin phrase "Ex Nihilo" is often used when speaking of creation by the Word which means "from or out of nothing." It simply means that God spoke everything into existence. This is recorded in John 1:3: "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made." In this verse, the Bible clarifies that the Creator of all things was "him!" The antecedent of the word "him" is the "the Word" found twice in John 1:1.
E. When speaking of the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, John refers to Him as the Word. This is important in Theology. The Holy Ghost calls Jehovah God and the Lord Jesus Christ (they are one and the same) the word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God."
F. I want to look at the references to the Lord Jesus Christ found in the Bible to show both His eternality and continued existence as the "Word."
1. In Creation, He was the Eternal Word. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Genesis 1:1,3 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (3) And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
2. In the Garden, He was the Audible Word walking. Genesis 3:8-10 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. (9) And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? (10) And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. (Throughout history without a completed, that which is perfect, Word, God spoke audibly to men.)
3. On Mount Sinai, The Audible Word Inscribed the Word. Exodus 24:12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. (On Mt. Sinai, the Audible Word spoke and wrote the Inscribed Word. From that time until the completion of the canon of the Word, the Holy Ghost inspired men to record the Inscribed Word.)
4. In His birth, He was the Incarnate Word. John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (In the dispensation of the fullness of time, God sent the Eternal Word in the form of the Incarnate Word to live, die, and resurrect as final payment or propitiation for the sin of the world. The Word of God became flesh.)
5. In Heaven, He is the Witnessing Word. 1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (After the ascension of the Word, Jesus Christ, the Word gives witness to the Gospel's saving power to all who believe. The Word is our Propitiation, Advocate, and High Priest.)
6. On Earth, the Eternal Word is found in the Inscribed Word which brings the new birth to the believer.
2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
1 Peter 1:23-25 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (24) For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: (25) But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
7. In the Second Coming, He is the Coming Word. Revelation 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. (When Christ comes back to this earth in the Second Advent, He will come as the Word of God.)
8. After Time expires and all things are accomplished, He continues to be the For ever Settled Word. Psalms 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.
9. The Word has always been, always is, and always be the Word!
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