WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.000 So, John's Gospel is unique, isn't it? It's unique in its simplicity, it's unique in its sublimeness, the way that it presents the Christian truth. 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:26.000 ! So if you look at verse 18, it's really a summary verse, I think. No one has ever seen God, the only God, who is at the Father's side, He has made Him known. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:38.060 It's a great positive statement, but you'll see that it's preceded by a negative statement. And that's in many ways one of the most important things that we understand when we come to John's Gospel. 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:46.900 Very often it's not possible, is it, to say the positive without saying the negative. And John's Gospel is full of necessary negatives. 00:00:46.899 --> 00:00:59.339 It's no good saying, meet me under the clock at Waterloo Station, if there's two clocks there, if there's three clocks there. There's no point saying that. 00:00:59.719 --> 00:01:07.980 You have to say, meet me under the clock by platform 11, whatever it is. It's the clock at platform 11, not the clock at platform 24. 00:01:07.980 --> 00:01:17.040 And John uses this approach in a way that's in some ways unique to himself. He wants to define again and again what the Christian faith is. 00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:22.920 And so already towards the end of the New Testament era, rivals have come in. 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:30.400 Different Gospels have come into the Christian church, and the church is beginning to divide, and there's misunderstandings. 00:01:30.400 --> 00:01:38.600 So John, he's the most careful, he's the most exact. He wants to tell us that God has revealed himself by Jesus, and he makes that very plain. 00:01:39.420 --> 00:01:41.640 And he wants to say again and again, there's no other way. 00:01:42.620 --> 00:01:51.060 So let's start with the positive statement. He says, God, God's only son, who is at the father's side. 00:01:51.719 --> 00:01:55.820 What does that teach us? That teaches us, if he's at the father's side, he's very close to him. 00:01:55.819 --> 00:02:01.759 He's intimately connected with him. God's son has made the father known. 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:06.419 And so he begins the Gospel by saying that. God has been made known. 00:02:07.539 --> 00:02:09.120 The theological word is revelation. 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:14.419 The Lord Jesus has revealed what God the Father is like. 00:02:15.579 --> 00:02:17.639 It means unveiling, doesn't it? 00:02:17.639 --> 00:02:25.759 And so you go to a hospital, and as you go into the hospital, there's a plaque on the wall, and a little curtain by the side of it, 00:02:25.979 --> 00:02:29.939 and it will tell you on which day it was opened by some famous dignitary. 00:02:30.899 --> 00:02:35.679 And if you've been to one of those events, say, dignitary kind of pulls the curtain and unveils the plaque, 00:02:36.239 --> 00:02:37.679 and all is revealed. 00:02:38.679 --> 00:02:40.639 And you see what's been hidden. 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:45.439 And so this word unveiling, the word revelation, is one of the great themes of the New Testament. 00:02:45.439 --> 00:02:48.379 God is veiled. 00:02:49.740 --> 00:02:50.919 God is hidden. 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:53.759 We don't know what's going on, do we? 00:02:53.780 --> 00:02:55.560 We don't know what's going on beyond the grave. 00:02:56.259 --> 00:02:57.719 We don't know what's going on behind. 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:02.139 But God himself has opened the curtains. 00:03:02.259 --> 00:03:02.960 He's unveiled it. 00:03:03.900 --> 00:03:08.300 He's unveiled himself, and he's done that by his son, the Lord Jesus. 00:03:09.419 --> 00:03:11.319 I love the way the Gospel begins. 00:03:11.319 --> 00:03:12.139 Let me read this one. 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:14.240 In the beginning was the word. 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:16.479 In the beginning, God spoke. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:19.840 God has always wanted to speak. 00:03:22.099 --> 00:03:24.060 We don't live in a silent universe. 00:03:25.199 --> 00:03:29.020 We're often told, aren't we, that the universe is cold and empty and vast. 00:03:31.079 --> 00:03:34.780 And maybe so scientifically and technically, but never to a Christian. 00:03:34.780 --> 00:03:41.120 John 1 verse 1 stands against the idea that this world is a cold, meaningless universe. 00:03:41.539 --> 00:03:43.500 In the beginning, there is a word. 00:03:43.920 --> 00:03:46.060 And the word was with God. 00:03:46.979 --> 00:03:48.199 And the word was God. 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:49.300 And then look at verse 14. 00:03:51.020 --> 00:03:56.240 The word became flesh and lived among us. 00:03:58.060 --> 00:03:59.000 God has spoken. 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:00.259 So why are you here today? 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:05.560 Well, you are here to listen, aren't you? 00:04:06.280 --> 00:04:08.180 You are here for speaking and listening. 00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:14.840 So if I was to stand up here on a Tuesday lunchtime, however impressive my gestures might be, 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:20.620 however nice my shirt and jumper might be, or however comfortable your seat is, 00:04:20.620 --> 00:04:24.660 if I was to stand here for 20 minutes without saying a thing, 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:27.720 you would leave saying that was a complete waste of time. 00:04:28.699 --> 00:04:29.780 A total waste of time. 00:04:32.180 --> 00:04:36.519 And so after I finish speaking, because the COVID police aren't here, 00:04:36.620 --> 00:04:39.379 you can turn to one another and you can speak to one another 00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:41.639 and you can make yourself known to one another. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:44.360 You open your lips and you say, what is your name? 00:04:44.620 --> 00:04:45.319 What do you do? 00:04:45.420 --> 00:04:46.319 How are you? 00:04:46.899 --> 00:04:47.699 Where do you come from? 00:04:47.779 --> 00:04:48.439 Civil questions. 00:04:49.459 --> 00:04:50.439 That's how we communicate. 00:04:50.639 --> 00:04:53.040 We speak to each other and we hear. 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:56.139 We introduce one another. 00:04:57.540 --> 00:05:01.079 And so John is saying right at the beginning of his gospel that God speaks. 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:05.199 And God desires to introduce himself to you. 00:05:06.420 --> 00:05:09.920 He sent his word into the world and he's going to reveal himself. 00:05:10.039 --> 00:05:13.459 And that is tremendously important because it distinguishes Christianity 00:05:13.459 --> 00:05:16.039 and the message of the Lord Jesus from every other religion. 00:05:16.319 --> 00:05:20.300 Religion speaks, doesn't it, of man's efforts to get to God. 00:05:20.379 --> 00:05:21.939 You do this and you might get into heaven. 00:05:22.040 --> 00:05:24.439 You do this and you might get to know God. 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:28.600 So I've told you this before, isn't it? 00:05:29.060 --> 00:05:31.620 The bane of my life is signing passports and references. 00:05:31.779 --> 00:05:34.759 And somebody comes to me with a passport and I have to fill in my title. 00:05:35.319 --> 00:05:39.139 And my title is officially a minister of religion. 00:05:41.060 --> 00:05:41.899 But it's not that. 00:05:42.039 --> 00:05:42.839 I don't want to do that. 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:44.159 Christianity is not religion. 00:05:44.279 --> 00:05:45.279 It is a revelation. 00:05:46.939 --> 00:05:49.639 It's not man's ladder getting up to God. 00:05:49.779 --> 00:05:52.240 It is God coming down and speaking to man. 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:57.659 So I always want to sign the reference, APDV, Minister of Revelation. 00:05:58.600 --> 00:05:59.480 But they never do. 00:05:59.579 --> 00:06:00.360 You get a call, don't you? 00:06:02.740 --> 00:06:04.000 Open your Bible dictionary. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:11.399 And religion of a good Bible dictionary is a very short article because the Bible isn't really interested in religion. 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:17.279 And this is how it summarizes it in 18 or 19 lines. 00:06:17.279 --> 00:06:22.399 It kind of gives you a little picture of religion. 00:06:22.599 --> 00:06:24.979 But Christianity is not really interested in religion. 00:06:24.980 --> 00:06:34.259 The faith of the Lord Jesus Christ isn't presented as one of the religions of the world, but it is unique and final truth. 00:06:35.740 --> 00:06:37.960 The New Testament knows nothing of comparative religion. 00:06:37.959 --> 00:06:42.579 But it speaks about the revelation of God through Jesus Christ. 00:06:43.779 --> 00:06:45.579 It's not man struggling to God. 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:47.560 It's God coming to man. 00:06:47.560 --> 00:06:54.220 And so he makes a great negative statement at the beginning of verse 18. 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:57.780 He says, no one has ever seen God. 00:06:57.779 --> 00:07:02.500 It's very, very simple, isn't it? 00:07:02.579 --> 00:07:03.959 No one has ever seen God. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:07.259 I don't think you can come to me after this talk and say, well, that depends on your interpretation. 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:11.899 You can't misinterpret that, can you? 00:07:13.459 --> 00:07:16.839 If you can think of anything else that these words might mean, come and tell me. 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:21.979 Words in John's Gospel typically are no longer than one syllable. 00:07:21.979 --> 00:07:23.359 So look at verse 18. 00:07:23.599 --> 00:07:26.759 No one has ever seen God. 00:07:27.779 --> 00:07:30.439 It's as clear as Christophe. 00:07:32.059 --> 00:07:35.579 No man, no woman, no boy, no girl, no man has ever seen God. 00:07:35.719 --> 00:07:37.859 No man has ever seen God. 00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:38.459 Got it? 00:07:39.899 --> 00:07:40.759 What does this mean? 00:07:41.219 --> 00:07:42.159 Well, it means three things. 00:07:42.500 --> 00:07:43.799 It means graceful that God is unknown. 00:07:45.379 --> 00:07:47.259 If you can't see anything, you can't measure it. 00:07:48.539 --> 00:07:51.259 There can be no knowledge of it, no scientific knowledge of it. 00:07:51.259 --> 00:07:53.899 And if there's no scientific knowledge of it, we can't know it. 00:07:53.899 --> 00:07:59.219 So we can't know God in any real way because he is invisible. 00:07:59.899 --> 00:08:00.879 He is out of our reach. 00:08:01.699 --> 00:08:03.379 He's what theologians call transcendent. 00:08:05.339 --> 00:08:07.099 God is simply beyond us. 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:09.000 And not only that, we are sinful. 00:08:10.500 --> 00:08:16.459 And the New Testament tells us that because we're sinful, our ideas about God are all over the place. 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:17.199 It's the skew-iff. 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:22.539 And even if God was a noble, we actually wouldn't be able to know him. 00:08:24.739 --> 00:08:30.399 So I don't know what grades you've got at school, what A-levels or A-stars you've got. 00:08:31.620 --> 00:08:32.679 But it doesn't matter, does it? 00:08:32.740 --> 00:08:33.600 It's the start of verse 18. 00:08:33.759 --> 00:08:35.039 It doesn't matter how many A-levels you've got. 00:08:35.079 --> 00:08:37.019 You cannot know God because we are sinful. 00:08:37.019 --> 00:08:40.120 And we can't understand him. 00:08:40.179 --> 00:08:43.500 And if we could see something of him, we'd misinterpret it. 00:08:48.019 --> 00:08:49.360 And so we don't know God. 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:53.720 You know I go to the rugby club. 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:56.480 There's a boy at the rugby club, Elliot Miller Mills. 00:08:57.259 --> 00:09:00.439 His nickname is Killer, which is a nice nickname, isn't it? 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:04.179 And Killer often says to me, of course, I'm agnostic. 00:09:04.179 --> 00:09:10.459 And I use the Dick Lucas line where you say to him, agnostic. 00:09:10.599 --> 00:09:11.459 Do you know the Latin equivalent? 00:09:12.019 --> 00:09:13.179 The Latin equivalent is ignoramus. 00:09:15.859 --> 00:09:19.019 And no one has ever come up to see me and said, Paul, I'm not a believer. 00:09:19.459 --> 00:09:20.599 Actually, I'm an ignoramus. 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:24.099 And yet many people say, I'm not a believer. 00:09:24.379 --> 00:09:25.219 I'm agnostic. 00:09:26.819 --> 00:09:28.099 They don't realize what they're saying. 00:09:28.579 --> 00:09:30.059 Killer doesn't know what he's saying when he says that. 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:31.979 He's saying, I'm ignorant. 00:09:31.980 --> 00:09:34.820 And we want to say, well, yeah, you are, actually. 00:09:35.340 --> 00:09:35.860 And so am I. 00:09:38.680 --> 00:09:40.379 We cannot know God. 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:43.060 No one has ever seen God. 00:09:43.159 --> 00:09:43.740 We can't know him. 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:47.940 The second thing is it tells us about the religions of the world. 00:09:48.300 --> 00:09:50.740 The religions of the world are a testimony to man's ignorance. 00:09:52.379 --> 00:09:53.139 So we know that, don't we? 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:56.560 We know that those who have been around on Sunday mornings from Acts 17. 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:00.719 Do you remember as Paul walks around Athens? 00:10:01.959 --> 00:10:04.319 He talks to supremely intelligent men and women. 00:10:05.479 --> 00:10:08.019 Athenian culture is very intelligent. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:12.899 And he says, I see that you are supremely ignorant. 00:10:13.779 --> 00:10:15.819 He says, I see you've got a shrine. 00:10:15.939 --> 00:10:18.000 You've got an altar to the unknown God. 00:10:19.459 --> 00:10:20.339 Let me tell you about it. 00:10:20.340 --> 00:10:22.879 And he tells them about God. 00:10:24.120 --> 00:10:26.340 And he finishes his sermon in this way, doesn't he? 00:10:26.379 --> 00:10:28.240 He says to these great brains, these great thinkers. 00:10:29.860 --> 00:10:33.100 He says, you ought not to think of God as you do. 00:10:34.040 --> 00:10:35.960 With all these temples of ideology. 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:39.800 But your ignorance, God is willing to overlook. 00:10:39.940 --> 00:10:41.580 Because now he has sent the gospel to you. 00:10:41.680 --> 00:10:42.620 Now you can know. 00:10:43.620 --> 00:10:45.720 The unknowable God has made himself known. 00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:49.940 That's wonderful. 00:10:52.340 --> 00:10:55.660 It's almost as if it's me getting all Ealing Council leaders together. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:57.060 And government leaders together. 00:10:57.200 --> 00:10:58.980 And saying, listen, men and women. 00:10:59.080 --> 00:11:00.519 You don't know how to run the council. 00:11:00.700 --> 00:11:01.440 You might want to do that. 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:03.920 Or you don't know how to run the government. 00:11:05.740 --> 00:11:08.800 And so here is Paul standing in front of intelligent men and women. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:10.279 Saying you don't know anything about God. 00:11:11.340 --> 00:11:12.300 You've searched for him. 00:11:12.440 --> 00:11:13.259 You've thought about him. 00:11:13.259 --> 00:11:16.360 And you know absolutely nothing about God. 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:20.120 If no man has ever seen God. 00:11:20.220 --> 00:11:21.759 Then religion must be futile. 00:11:23.879 --> 00:11:25.100 Unless God gives us a clue. 00:11:26.659 --> 00:11:27.939 So God is unknowable. 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:31.139 And secondly, religion is no way to find him. 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:35.879 And thirdly, no claim to know God. 00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:37.840 Is acceptable. 00:11:39.639 --> 00:11:42.480 Unless it comes through knowledge of the Lord Jesus. 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:43.740 That's what this verse is saying. 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:48.060 No claim to know God can be acceptable. 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:50.860 Unless it is through knowledge of the Lord Jesus. 00:11:52.399 --> 00:11:54.240 Can you see what he's saying in verse 14 to 18? 00:11:55.740 --> 00:11:56.720 He's saying there, isn't he? 00:11:56.779 --> 00:11:58.920 God has been made known to us. 00:11:59.820 --> 00:12:00.680 Through his only son. 00:12:02.340 --> 00:12:04.980 And his only son became flesh. 00:12:04.980 --> 00:12:05.860 Through flesh. 00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:11.539 But I think it's really important to understand that Christian revelation. 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:14.860 We know God through the life and teaching of Jesus. 00:12:15.980 --> 00:12:16.960 Through the incarnation. 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:19.399 Through the body, the words, the wisdom of Christ. 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:20.279 That's really where we know. 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:25.879 And Christians do not believe that revelation comes in any other way. 00:12:26.220 --> 00:12:28.240 That means we're not mystics. 00:12:29.699 --> 00:12:31.899 John lived in a kind of mystery religion. 00:12:32.860 --> 00:12:34.879 Lots of people try to offer knowledge of God. 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:37.740 To those who kind of were in the know religiously. 00:12:38.360 --> 00:12:41.059 And John is saying there's no knowledge of God that way. 00:12:41.059 --> 00:12:44.099 There's no knowledge of God. 00:12:44.199 --> 00:12:46.579 Even though he may stand up in a Christian church. 00:12:46.659 --> 00:12:48.119 And say that God has spoken to him. 00:12:48.619 --> 00:12:50.219 God does not speak to us. 00:12:52.239 --> 00:12:53.859 The word of God. 00:12:55.139 --> 00:12:56.579 Does not come to preachers. 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:00.259 The preacher goes to the word of God. 00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:06.859 So I can't get up on a Tuesday or on a Sunday. 00:13:07.359 --> 00:13:08.479 And speak to you. 00:13:08.599 --> 00:13:10.119 Unless I've opened the word of God. 00:13:11.399 --> 00:13:13.099 And turned to the word made flesh. 00:13:14.119 --> 00:13:17.159 And studied what the word says to me. 00:13:18.779 --> 00:13:20.859 The word of God does not come to me. 00:13:21.219 --> 00:13:22.479 I go to the word. 00:13:25.059 --> 00:13:27.059 And so I think that's really important isn't it? 00:13:27.119 --> 00:13:28.919 That there are lots of crackpots today. 00:13:29.019 --> 00:13:30.959 That say they've got a special word for the church. 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:34.179 Because God has spoken to them. 00:13:34.359 --> 00:13:35.479 Personally and individually. 00:13:35.979 --> 00:13:37.500 I think John would say that's nonsense. 00:13:39.339 --> 00:13:40.959 He would say no man has ever seen. 00:13:41.059 --> 00:13:43.979 Don't listen to anyone who says he has. 00:13:44.119 --> 00:13:46.419 God reveals himself out through his son. 00:13:47.219 --> 00:13:48.839 Who was made flesh. 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:51.299 And that is given to us. 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:52.659 In his testimony. 00:13:52.899 --> 00:13:53.679 In his word. 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:58.219 The idea that we search for God. 00:13:59.839 --> 00:14:02.339 And you put all the world's religions. 00:14:02.739 --> 00:14:04.379 And man's tremendous effort. 00:14:04.459 --> 00:14:06.919 To try and find some meaning to the universe. 00:14:09.059 --> 00:14:10.679 John says all that's a waste of time. 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:11.979 He says there's no such journey. 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:13.639 Man isn't looking for God. 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:15.279 Man is running from God. 00:14:15.379 --> 00:14:16.159 Flying away from him. 00:14:16.239 --> 00:14:16.979 Man is a rebel. 00:14:16.980 --> 00:14:17.039 Man is a rebel. 00:14:18.920 --> 00:14:20.379 And because man is a rebel. 00:14:20.460 --> 00:14:21.720 He's not trying to please God. 00:14:21.899 --> 00:14:22.680 It's complete nonsense. 00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:25.539 But he brings us the marvellous news. 00:14:25.720 --> 00:14:26.659 That at Christmas time. 00:14:26.740 --> 00:14:28.420 What has happened is that God has come down. 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:31.500 He's come down to a level. 00:14:31.659 --> 00:14:32.560 In a person. 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:33.740 Who could be seen. 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:34.240 Untouched. 00:14:34.379 --> 00:14:34.940 Unhandled. 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:38.860 So let's look at this person. 00:14:39.500 --> 00:14:40.400 Look at the relationship. 00:14:40.560 --> 00:14:41.580 Between this person and God. 00:14:41.680 --> 00:14:42.360 In verses 1 and 2. 00:14:42.620 --> 00:14:43.920 He was with God in the beginning. 00:14:44.460 --> 00:14:45.780 Well he must know something about God. 00:14:45.880 --> 00:14:46.180 Wasn't he? 00:14:48.560 --> 00:14:49.280 And look at him. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:50.900 In relationship to creation. 00:14:51.100 --> 00:14:52.280 In verse 3 and 4. 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:55.200 Through this person. 00:14:56.400 --> 00:14:57.340 All things are made. 00:14:58.900 --> 00:14:59.800 And without him. 00:14:59.880 --> 00:15:00.580 Nothing was made. 00:15:00.660 --> 00:15:01.060 That was made. 00:15:01.100 --> 00:15:02.280 Do you see the necessary negative? 00:15:02.460 --> 00:15:03.160 You can go through John. 00:15:03.220 --> 00:15:03.900 And underline them. 00:15:03.980 --> 00:15:04.440 They're brilliant. 00:15:04.940 --> 00:15:05.760 So this son. 00:15:05.860 --> 00:15:06.480 This Christ. 00:15:07.420 --> 00:15:08.300 This word. 00:15:08.420 --> 00:15:09.100 Made flesh. 00:15:10.100 --> 00:15:10.460 He. 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:11.720 Made you. 00:15:13.260 --> 00:15:14.080 And he made me. 00:15:16.220 --> 00:15:17.000 And through him. 00:15:17.080 --> 00:15:18.060 All things were made. 00:15:20.100 --> 00:15:20.980 And without him. 00:15:21.020 --> 00:15:21.740 Nothing was made. 00:15:23.880 --> 00:15:24.500 And you see. 00:15:24.620 --> 00:15:25.180 It ties in. 00:15:25.400 --> 00:15:26.340 The revelation of Christ. 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:26.960 All of life. 00:15:27.020 --> 00:15:27.880 It refuses to say. 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:28.260 Doesn't it? 00:15:28.500 --> 00:15:29.320 That religion. 00:15:30.140 --> 00:15:30.920 Is a kind of little. 00:15:31.040 --> 00:15:31.640 Tiny pocket. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:32.960 For those who are interested. 00:15:33.080 --> 00:15:33.600 In such things. 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:35.899 It refuses to say. 00:15:35.960 --> 00:15:36.320 Well Christianity. 00:15:36.620 --> 00:15:37.500 That's what you do on Sunday. 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:38.480 But it's got no application. 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:39.360 For the rest of your life. 00:15:39.420 --> 00:15:39.700 As if. 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:40.759 Some people are into DIY. 00:15:42.820 --> 00:15:43.720 Some people are into. 00:15:44.379 --> 00:15:44.700 Golf. 00:15:45.820 --> 00:15:46.480 Some people are into. 00:15:46.600 --> 00:15:46.960 Gardening. 00:15:47.139 --> 00:15:47.800 And some kind of. 00:15:48.300 --> 00:15:48.639 Weirdos. 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:49.399 They're into religion. 00:15:50.740 --> 00:15:51.639 Do you see what it says? 00:15:51.700 --> 00:15:52.000 It says. 00:15:52.680 --> 00:15:53.800 The one who made flesh. 00:15:53.940 --> 00:15:55.060 Made everything in the world. 00:15:55.220 --> 00:15:56.000 Everything in the world. 00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:57.480 Can only find its meaning. 00:15:57.480 --> 00:15:58.740 Through the word made flesh. 00:15:58.740 --> 00:16:00.399 You can't understand anything. 00:16:00.539 --> 00:16:00.879 In this world. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:01.620 Without it properly. 00:16:02.899 --> 00:16:03.500 Look at the next verse. 00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:04.460 Look at the verse 9 and 10. 00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:06.539 It says. 00:16:06.659 --> 00:16:07.200 The true light. 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:08.379 Which gives light. 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:09.039 To everyone. 00:16:09.159 --> 00:16:10.080 Who's coming into the world. 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:12.680 He was in the world. 00:16:12.779 --> 00:16:13.240 And the world. 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:13.899 Was made. 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:14.700 Through him. 00:16:17.419 --> 00:16:18.080 He's the light. 00:16:18.139 --> 00:16:18.759 For the whole world. 00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:22.440 And for every people group. 00:16:22.440 --> 00:16:26.020 For Hindus. 00:16:26.180 --> 00:16:26.520 For Buddhists. 00:16:26.600 --> 00:16:27.000 For Muslims. 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:28.380 For council workers. 00:16:28.640 --> 00:16:29.540 For the agnostics. 00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:30.560 For the unbelievers. 00:16:30.760 --> 00:16:31.200 For the minister. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:31.700 Everybody. 00:16:33.820 --> 00:16:34.480 All people. 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:37.100 He came into this world. 00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:38.160 And yet the end of verse 10. 00:16:38.220 --> 00:16:39.300 Yet the world did not know him. 00:16:41.400 --> 00:16:42.220 And verse 11. 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:43.100 He came to his own. 00:16:44.440 --> 00:16:45.220 And his own people. 00:16:45.220 --> 00:16:45.980 Did not receive him. 00:16:48.800 --> 00:16:50.060 And the world is foolish. 00:16:50.560 --> 00:16:50.880 Foolish. 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:53.120 Enough to turn away from him. 00:16:54.580 --> 00:16:55.559 Look at the word. 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:57.059 In relation to the prophets. 00:16:58.580 --> 00:16:59.460 In verse 6. 00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:00.080 In the Old Testament. 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:01.299 This is what is said of him. 00:17:01.340 --> 00:17:01.879 There was a man. 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:02.480 Sent from God. 00:17:02.539 --> 00:17:03.379 His name was John. 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:05.200 He came. 00:17:05.859 --> 00:17:06.500 As a witness. 00:17:06.619 --> 00:17:07.099 To bear witness. 00:17:07.180 --> 00:17:07.680 About the light. 00:17:07.779 --> 00:17:08.619 So that all might believe. 00:17:08.740 --> 00:17:09.039 Through him. 00:17:09.339 --> 00:17:10.839 He was not the light. 00:17:10.920 --> 00:17:11.480 But came. 00:17:11.740 --> 00:17:12.480 To bear witness. 00:17:12.619 --> 00:17:13.160 About the light. 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:15.740 See the necessary negatives. 00:17:17.079 --> 00:17:17.640 Verse 8. 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:19.960 He was not the light. 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:23.120 In verse 15. 00:17:23.660 --> 00:17:24.640 John bears testimony. 00:17:24.840 --> 00:17:25.060 About him. 00:17:25.160 --> 00:17:25.660 And cries out. 00:17:25.760 --> 00:17:26.560 This was he. 00:17:26.660 --> 00:17:27.620 Of whom I said. 00:17:27.880 --> 00:17:28.740 He who comes after me. 00:17:28.780 --> 00:17:29.580 Raps before me. 00:17:29.620 --> 00:17:30.880 Because he was before me. 00:17:33.960 --> 00:17:34.660 John the Baptist. 00:17:34.780 --> 00:17:35.380 He summarizes. 00:17:35.460 --> 00:17:36.360 The whole of the Old Testament. 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:38.720 And he says. 00:17:39.260 --> 00:17:40.160 This is the one. 00:17:40.300 --> 00:17:41.440 Who is to come. 00:17:41.940 --> 00:17:42.700 Who surpasses me. 00:17:42.700 --> 00:17:43.700 In verse 17. 00:17:43.700 --> 00:17:46.299 For the law. 00:17:46.380 --> 00:17:46.860 Was given. 00:17:47.080 --> 00:17:47.500 Through Moses. 00:17:47.720 --> 00:17:48.519 Grace and truth. 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:49.580 Came through Jesus Christ. 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:50.240 John picks up. 00:17:50.299 --> 00:17:51.059 The whole of the Old Testament. 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:51.720 Moses. 00:17:52.360 --> 00:17:52.759 Elijah. 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:53.900 The law. 00:17:54.200 --> 00:17:54.779 The prophets. 00:17:55.220 --> 00:17:55.759 John the Baptist. 00:17:55.940 --> 00:17:57.140 And he folds them up. 00:17:58.140 --> 00:17:58.740 And he says. 00:17:58.819 --> 00:17:59.920 This was the foundation. 00:18:01.420 --> 00:18:01.900 Of the one. 00:18:01.980 --> 00:18:02.620 Who has come to speak. 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:04.680 He's the one. 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:05.920 Who has come to fulfill it all. 00:18:06.460 --> 00:18:07.200 So listen to him. 00:18:08.400 --> 00:18:09.000 And that leads me. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:09.640 To my final thing. 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:11.200 No one has ever seen God. 00:18:11.320 --> 00:18:11.960 Verse 18. 00:18:13.360 --> 00:18:14.560 But many people saw Jesus. 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:18.840 And John. 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:20.060 Particularly shows us. 00:18:20.100 --> 00:18:21.040 As you go through his gospel. 00:18:21.320 --> 00:18:22.060 That seeing. 00:18:22.420 --> 00:18:22.980 Is believing. 00:18:25.880 --> 00:18:27.640 And John is a great enemy. 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:28.560 To the kind of preaching. 00:18:28.680 --> 00:18:29.000 That says. 00:18:29.120 --> 00:18:30.480 Faith is a leap in the dark. 00:18:33.020 --> 00:18:34.080 So the only thing you get. 00:18:34.120 --> 00:18:34.840 From a leap in the dark. 00:18:34.980 --> 00:18:35.940 Is a broken enclosure. 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:38.800 And John is not inviting you. 00:18:38.820 --> 00:18:39.280 To do that. 00:18:39.640 --> 00:18:41.580 John is saying. 00:18:41.700 --> 00:18:42.200 We saw. 00:18:42.320 --> 00:18:43.240 We saw our eyes. 00:18:44.580 --> 00:18:45.240 We heard. 00:18:45.340 --> 00:18:45.740 We handled. 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:46.800 We touched. 00:18:48.140 --> 00:18:48.660 And John says. 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:49.160 Come with me. 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:50.220 Because I will show you. 00:18:50.220 --> 00:18:51.080 What I saw. 00:18:52.940 --> 00:18:53.980 God unseen. 00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:55.180 You can never see him. 00:18:56.380 --> 00:18:56.980 Jesus says. 00:18:57.060 --> 00:18:57.900 Yes you can see him. 00:18:59.420 --> 00:18:59.900 And therefore. 00:19:00.060 --> 00:19:00.820 Because Jesus. 00:19:00.960 --> 00:19:02.220 Is the perfect revelation. 00:19:02.460 --> 00:19:03.000 Of God. 00:19:03.500 --> 00:19:04.759 As you see him. 00:19:04.980 --> 00:19:05.740 You can know him. 00:19:07.520 --> 00:19:09.000 And as you know him. 00:19:09.579 --> 00:19:09.440 You can know him. 00:19:09.440 --> 00:19:11.579 You can know the unseen God. 00:19:13.619 --> 00:19:14.200 Let's practice. 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:44.180 Thank you.