John 1:1-5 ESV
“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 any thing 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.”
Now, as we get further on down in this chapter we discover
that “the Word” is Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. He existed
always with God because he is God, the second person of our triune God –
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And he is our creator God. For in Genesis 1:26
God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” When he said “our”
he was speaking of our triune God – one God yet in three distinct persons.
Jesus is also the light. He is truth, righteousness,
holiness, and godliness. Even when he walked this earth as fully God and fully
man he was without sin. And the darkness is sin, evil, and wickedness, which
stand in opposition to the light. And Jesus came to shine his light of truth
and righteousness into the darkness, to expose evil and sin for what they are
and then to call the people to repentance and to God-persuaded faith in Jesus
Christ.
John 1:9-14 ESV
“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, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
When God created Adam and Eve and he placed them in the
garden, he instructed them as to what they could and could not do. But then the
serpent (Satan) tempted Eve, and she sinned, and then Adam also sinned against
God. And since that time all of humanity has been born in sin, with sin
natures, in the image of Adam. So all of us have sinned, and in and of
ourselves we can do nothing to be acceptable to and to be approved by God.
[Rom 3:9-26; Rom
5:12-19; 1 Co 15:21-22,42-49; Eph 2:8-10]
And God had planned
even before he laid the foundations of the earth how he was going to save us
from our sins. So, he sent his Son (God the Son) to the earth to be born as a
baby to a human mother, but with God as his birth father, for he was conceived
of the Holy Spirit. And that is why Jesus was fully God and fully man when he
walked the earth. And while he was here he ministered God’s love and grace to
the people of the earth.
He healed the sick
and afflicted, and raised the dead, and delivered people from demons, and miraculously
fed thousands of people, all at once, and he performed many miracles. And he
preached repentance for forgiveness of sins and for salvation from sin, and he
preached obedience to him and the forsaking of our sins as required of him for
us to have genuine salvation from sin and eternal life with God (Luke 9:23-26;
Matthew 7:21-23).
But, although the world was made by him, the world did not
know him, and his own people did not receive him. And to receive Jesus Christ
is much more than just words. It means to accept him, to take him as our own,
and to welcome him into our lives. But it isn’t just the name we are receiving,
and it isn’t just forgiveness of sins, but it is all who Jesus is, and it is all
that he taught, so it means death to sin and living to God and his
righteousness.
But it is even more than that. For Jesus is God. He is Lord.
And Lord means Owner-Master. So we are taking him into our lives and we are
making him now the owner of our lives, and the one who now rules our lives. And
so that also means that our lives are now surrendered to him to do his will,
and we now serve him with our lives. And this is around the clock every day of
the week that he now is in charge and we are to submit to him as Lord.
And belief in Jesus Christ is not some words we say, but this
faith is of God and it comes from God and it is persuaded by God as to his righteousness
and holiness and of our sinfulness, and of our need to turn away from our sins
to now follow Jesus in obedience in surrender to his will in walks of holiness
and righteousness, no longer living in sin. So, we must now walk (in conduct,
in practice) according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.
Therefore, receiving and believing in Jesus means inviting
into our lives all that Jesus stands for and all of his design, purpose, and
will for our lives. And so that involves the forsaking of our sins, the
surrender of our lives to his will, and walks of obedience to his commands (New
Covenant). And we are those who then become children of God, born of God, of
the will of God, and not of our flesh, and not according to our own will and
purpose.
An Original Work / December 18, 2013
“About
midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other
prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84
Lord, I praise You forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.
I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!
Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!
I rejoice in His love for me.
I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!
Lord, I thank You for giving me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender mercies now flow within.
Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!
No comments:
Post a Comment