Well, good morning, Church. Would you open with me to the Gospel of John? That's page 833 in the
Pew Bible. This Advent season, we're slowly unpacking the first 18 verses of John's Gospel,
this famous prologue that comes to its climax in verse 14 when John says,
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. That's what Christmas is all about. The Word,
the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ becoming flesh for us.
But just who is, who is this Word? That's what the opening verses of John's prologue try to show us.
Last week we saw that, in the first two verses, last week we saw the Word's relationship to God.
And what we saw was that from all eternity, the Word was with God, and indeed in the mystery of
God's triune nature, the Word was God. And that meant for us something very profound. It meant that,
you know, there's no God that we might try to find or know or discover behind or apart from the Word.
It's not as if we can sort of get behind the Word to find the real God. No, if we want to know God at
all, we must know Him through the Word, through Jesus, the One who became flesh on Christmas morning.
This Word, John said in verses 1 and 2, is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end,
the timeless One who enters time for us. But if that is the Word's relationship with God,
what about the Word's relationship with creation, with everything else? When we think of God,
we must think of the Word made flesh. But what about when we think of creation, of stars and oceans, of
forests and flowers, of sharks and sunsets? What about that? And what about when we think of us as humans?
What's the relationship of this Word to us? Well, let's take a look together. Let's read John chapter 1.
Now, we're going to focus on verses 3 through 5 this morning, but I'm going to pick up in verse 1. That
might not be on the slides, but you can see it in front of you in the pew Bible. John 1, 1 through 5.
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 anything 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. Let's pray together.
Oh, Father, as we come now into Your Word, we pray that You would come, Emmanuel, and reveal
Yourself to us. Oh, God, help us to see Your wonder and Your majesty and Your power,
and help us to know Your grace and love this morning in a more rich way as we behold You,
the incarnate Word. We pray this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
Amen. So these verses show us three things. They show us three things about the Word's relationship
to creation. First, John's going to say that all things exist because of the Word, and then all
things thrive because of the Word, and last, all things might hope because of the Word. So all things
exist, thrive, and can hope because of the Word. So let's start with verse 3. All things exist
because of this Word. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that
was made. Now, John here is sort of saying basically the same thing twice, isn't he? He sort of says it
positively at first. All things were made through Him, and then he sort of says, just in case you didn't
get that, I'm going to turn it around and say it negatively. Without Him was not anything made that
was made. Just as in Genesis, where everything came into being, everything that came into being did so
because of God's spoken Word, and remember in Proverbs 3 and 8, where wisdom is the personified
means by which all exists, so here God's Word, now revealed to be the person of the Son, created
everything. And you know, this is actually a pretty common theme in the New Testament. This isn't
something that's sort of an innovation by John, that the pre-existent Christ created all things
is found throughout the New Testament. Consider Colossians chapter 1 verse 16. For by Him, that is
Christ, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or
dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through Him and for Him. Or think about
1 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 6, where Paul brings out the Trinitarian work of creation. He says,
for us there's one God the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord,
again another name for the one true God, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through
whom we exist, Father and Son at one in the work of creation. Again, we saw the same thing in the book
of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 1 verse 2 that we read earlier, where the writer of Hebrews says,
in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things,
through whom also He created the world.
Now, you'll notice that John isn't interested so much here in telling us how the Word created all
things, or how long the Word took to create all things. Rather, John wants to drive home the point
that no matter your view of how or how long, whether it took the Word six days, or whether it took the
Word 13 and a half billion years, the Word, the pre-incarnate Son, is the One who made all things.
Now, what difference does this make?
Well, you know, if we believe that all things exist
because of the purposeful intention
of a personal God, if all things were made through the Word, the Son of the Father,
then that means the universe is not an accident, but a gift.
Think about it. You see, if matter simply is, if all things exist just because they do and are a product
of blind time and chance, then life is just an accident.
But that's a deeply unsatisfying view of the world, isn't it?
I mean, don't we start to ask a lot of questions in light of that? After all,
why is there something and not nothing?
And why is this something
seemingly perfectly calibrated to bring forth life?
And why are there some living things in this universe, namely you and me,
who seem to have such an indelible sense
of transcendence, of right and wrong,
of beauty and goodness, of reason and truth?
That no matter how hard we tell ourselves
we're just the matter, we're just the product
of time and matter and chance, that sort of sense
of the transcendent, it never goes away.
We go on loving,
and we go on reasoning, and we go
we go on caring about justice all the same,
even though if we were just the product
of time and matter and chance, all those things
would be an illusion.
You know, it's funny, it's easy to say
that all of life is just an accident.
It's much, much harder to actually live that way.
But what Christianity holds forth
is that creation is not an accident,
but a gift.
Think about it.
The triune God did not have to
create the world.
God, Father, Son, and Spirit
existed from all eternity
in perfect love and glory.
If you want to see a little glimpse
of that glory and love
that existed
before creation and eternity,
read the first five or six verses
of John chapter 17.
God needed nothing
to be utterly perfect,
utterly happy.
God was all that in himself
and will be forevermore.
So the act of creation
wasn't coming from a place of need
or dependence
or loneliness in God.
The act of creation
was not necessary at all.
It didn't have to happen.
It was a sheer gift of God.
Sheer grace.
Now, if the universe is an accident,
it puts us in a posture of despair,
doesn't it?
Perhaps at times,
defiant despair,
shaking our fist against
the nihilistic nothing
that we've thought we are.
But it's despair nonetheless.
But if the universe is a gift,
it puts us in a posture of gratitude.
gratitude.
We did not have to be,
but God in his infinite love
willed it to be so.
And because of that,
we can live not in despair,
but in thanksgiving
and gratitude.
And you know,
here's the beautiful thing.
As Christians,
the object of our gratitude
has a face.
I mean,
look,
you can go on your smartphone
and look for 101 different
gratitude apps,
right?
Matthew McConaughey
can read you a nice story
to put you to bed
and tell you to be thankful
for the universe.
But as Christians,
we actually know the one
that we ought to thank.
The giver of this great gift
of all that we see
of creation of ourselves
is God the Son,
the Word,
who became flesh
and dwelled among us.
He made it all.
And so the proper response
to verse 3
isn't just praise
of the Son's mighty power
and majesty
that he's able
to create all things.
The proper response
is also personal,
heartfelt gratitude
that he has.
That he has created
all things,
including you.
Your life is not an accident.
It's a gift.
But John doesn't
just want us to see
that all things exist
because of the Word.
He goes on to say
that all things thrive
because of the Word.
Look again at verse 4.
In him was life
and the life
was the light
of men.
You know,
part of what John's saying here
is that
the universe
is not a sort of
cosmic crockpot.
You know?
Anyone here
like to use crockpots
for holiday cooking?
Yes.
Well,
what's the beauty
of a crockpot?
You just fix it
and forget it.
You throw in the ingredients,
you turn it on,
and you walk away.
And the thing
just makes itself.
But is that creation?
Is that God's relationship
to the world?
No.
Verse 5 tells us
that the Word
has remained
intimately involved
with all he has made.
Not just creating things,
but sustaining
and enlivening things.
The Word,
because he
is one with God,
shares the self-generating
life of God,
dependent on no one.
And he sustains
all things.
Remember what we read
earlier in Hebrews 1?
Hebrews 1.3,
he's the radiance
of the glory of God
and the exact imprint
of his nature.
And he upholds
the universe
by the Word
of his power.
That is his powerful
Word.
Or again,
in Colossians chapter 1,
verse 17,
he's before all things,
and in him
all things
hold together.
He spoke the universe
into existence,
and then he goes on
enlivening this creation
in all of its manifold beauty.
In him was life,
John says.
Do you remember
the creation account
in Genesis 1?
How on each successive
day of creation,
especially days 4
and 5 and 6,
creation through God's Word
just teems with life.
Plants and birds
and fish
and animals
and not just one or two,
but there are all kinds
thriving and flourishing
in their vast array,
and God delights
in the diversity of it all
and calls it good.
But the Word
doesn't just enliven,
the Word
enlightens.
In him was life,
and the life
was the light of men.
humanity arrives
on the scene
at the end of day 6
in the creation week
of Genesis 1,
and humanity
shares not just
the life
of this creative Word,
but upon them
shines his light.
They are God's image bearers,
set apart from creation
to resemble God,
to represent God
in the midst of creation,
and also to reflect
the praises of creation
back to God.
So the Word
is creation's life
and light.
He enlivens all things,
and he enlightens
all things.
All things thrive
because of the Word.
Now we can apply this
in many, many ways,
but consider maybe
two things this morning
that this means
for us as Christians.
First, it means
that the pursuit,
the pursuit of the arts
and the sciences
is a properly Christian
thing to do.
As we consider creation
teeming with life,
wonderful in its complexity
and beauty,
and as we feel
as humans drawn
to understand its depths
and unfold its beauties
to discover meaning
and to make meaning,
in all of this,
we're not pursuing something
apart from God in Christ.
Indeed, in faith,
we're drawing near
to God in Christ.
For He is the one
in whom this life
and light
find their source.
Whether it's delving
into the intricacies
of molecular biology
or composing a symphony,
the pursuit of the sciences
and the arts
are for the Christian
means of worshiping
the incarnate Word,
in whom is the life
of creation
and the light
of humanity.
these need not be
God-less pursuits,
but God-saturated pursuits.
So if we believe
that all things
don't just exist
but thrive
because of the Word,
then as Christians,
we will pursue
the arts and the sciences
as a properly
worshipful thing to do.
But second,
if all things
not only exist
but thrive
because of the Word,
then that means
we must pursue Christ.
in all our pursuits.
If He is life
and light,
if Christ is not just
the enlivener
but also the enlightener,
then ultimately
we must seek
to know and understand
not just the gift
of creation
but the giver,
the Creator Himself.
If we desire life
and light,
if we desire enlivening
and enlightenment,
then knowing Him
must be our highest aim.
And when anything else
takes His place,
we've fallen
into idolatry.
You know,
it's very interesting
when you look at
just the history
in the West anyway
of the last few hundred years,
you see that so much
has been driven
by these twin pursuits.
A desire for life.
So you have
the romantic movement
that's seeking life
and creativity
and emotion
and depth
and yet doing it
in a way
that's without God.
and then,
of course,
you have the enlightenment
which is seeking
understanding
and reasoning
and trying to throw off
the shackles of tradition
and religion,
seeking light
and yet doing it
apart from Christ.
You know,
if art is only
for art's sake,
if science
is only
for science's sake,
then both become
an endless labyrinth,
an empty echo chamber.
But if these are pursued
for Christ's sake,
then they can be swept up
into the worship
of our Creator
and God can then
use these human pursuits
to advance
His healing of the world.
And that brings us
to our last point.
All things exist
because of the Word.
All things thrive
because of the Word.
But lastly,
all things may hope
because of the Word.
In verse 5,
John writes,
the light shines
in the darkness
and the darkness
has not overcome it.
Of course,
at first,
this seems to be
simply an allusion
to Genesis 1, right?
And God said,
let there be light
and there was light.
But in the context
of the entire prologue
and in the context
of John's whole gospel,
we realize that John
has more in mind.
The light shining
in the darkness
is not just an allusion
to the Word's work
in creation,
but to the Word's work
in redemption.
After all,
all things
are not the way
they're supposed to be.
Are they?
The triune God
created all things
in love
to participate
in His life
and light.
But is that
what we see
in the world?
That's not how
things are now.
Instead of a world
filled with gratitude
and generosity,
we see a world
filled with grasping
and taking.
Whole economies
driven by profit
and greed
and consumption.
Instead of a world
filled with life
and light,
we see darkness
and decay,
senseless violence,
human arrogance,
and little,
if any,
hope.
It seems like creation
is simply winding down
like a top,
spinning its last few
rotations,
ready to topple.
Now,
for many in the ancient world,
this was just
the way of things.
Good and evil,
light and darkness,
they were just two
equal opposite forces,
eternally at war,
neither one bound to win.
It was a pretty bleak view.
But the biblical view
is much,
much different.
Creation's not the product
of two equal
but opposite forces,
battling it out.
God is God
and he has no rival.
Evil is not some
eternal principle
but the deprivation,
the twisting
of God's good creation.
It's a rebellion
against God.
And so,
what does the creator do?
He created everything.
He would certainly
be within his rights
to uncreate it,
right?
In judgment
to simply let
the top
spin and fall.
God
but instead,
the creator
chooses again
to say,
let there be light.
When the world
was yet uncreated,
God spoke
and there was light.
Now,
when the world
has fallen
and headed back
to darkness,
God speaks again
and says,
let there be light.
light.
But this time
when the light
shines
in the darkness,
when the light
comes,
that light
that shines
in the darkness
wouldn't be a
created light
from sun and moon
and stars.
But it would be
the uncreated light,
the word,
God the sun,
the creator
entering creation
to redeem it.
the one who made
all things
becoming one
with a thing
to redeem us.
You see,
if God has created
the world
through his sun,
through the word,
then all things
may have hope.
Why?
Because God
has sent
this same sun
into the world
to save it.
He did not
leave the world
to collapse
into its own darkness
but rather went
himself into the darkness.
And because he
is the creator,
the darkness
cannot overcome him.
But you know,
as we'll see
in the following verses
of John's prologue
next week,
you know,
this hope
that the creator brings,
that the word brings,
this hope doesn't come
into our lives
automatically.
Tragically,
you can choose
to close your eyes
to the light.
You can choose
to stay
in despair
and darkness.
But you don't
have to.
The word
became flesh
and dwelt among us.
The light
shined in the darkness
so we don't have
to remain
in darkness.
So we can come
into the light.
But how do you
make that move?
How do you step
out of darkness
into light?
How do you enter
into this hope?
Well,
first you have
to admit
that the darkness
isn't just a problem
out there,
sort of out there
in the world,
but it's a problem
in here
as well.
Later in John's
gospel,
Jesus says,
this is the verdict.
Light has come
into the world,
but people loved
darkness instead
of light.
Because their deeds
were evil.
If you're going
to come into
the light,
you first have
to admit the darkness
of your own selfishness
and pride.
But second,
you have to see
what this word,
what Jesus has done
for you.
Specifically,
you have to see
that there was
a moment actually
in Jesus' life
when he allowed
the darkness
to overcome.
As Jesus hung
on the cross
in Mark's gospel,
it says,
darkness came
over the whole land
until three
in the afternoon.
The light
of the world
in that moment
was covered
by darkness
and the light
was extinguished.
You have to see,
friend,
that Jesus died
in darkness
to pay for your sins
so you could be forgiven.
If you're going
to come into
the light of hope,
you need to see
that Jesus loved you
that much
and died for you.
But third,
you need to see
that ultimately
the darkness
did not overcome him.
All the gospel
witnesses proclaim
that Jesus rose again
on the third day
and as the light
of a new day broke,
so the light
of a new age dawned.
Jesus says in John 12,
I've come into
the world as light
so that no one
who believes in me
should stay in darkness.
And if you believe
that God raised Jesus
from the dead
and you put your trust
in him,
then you can be sure
that your sins
are forgiven
and your hope
is secure.
The light shines
in the darkness
and the darkness
has not overcome it.
And the darkness
will not overcome you
because you're united
to him,
the incarnate word,
the creator,
the risen son of God.
So when we say
that the word
became flesh
and dwelt among us,
we're saying nothing less
than that the creator
entered creation
for our sake.
All things exist
because of him.
All things thrive
because of him.
But now,
because of his incarnation,
all things may hope
because of him.
let's pray.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus,
we praise and thank you
this morning
for making us.
And we ask for your forgiveness
this morning
that there have been many ways
in which we have not thanked you
as we ought.
but Jesus,
we thank you
that despite
our ingratitude
and despite our sin,
you came nonetheless
and shone your light
into the darkness.
The darkness
has not overcome it.
You are the victor,
Jesus.
And we praise you.
Help us to praise you
this Advent season
as our life
and as our light.
Amen.