Ultimately, Jesus was the message of God the Father sent not in a message, but in a package, in a person. He was like a clone of the Father in a person who could be approached. Jesus didn't just bring the word, Jesus was the word. And he represented all the power of the Godhead who spoke the cosmos into existence. After studying it to this point, this is why I believe John called Jesus the Word. We dealt with that extensively last week. Jesus was the Godhead's most powerful, accurate, effective, and understandable communication of himself to humanity. It's through this Word that we'll not only learn who God is, but will gain the possibility of truly knowing this God. We will gain all of this through himself, through Christ, through the word. So let's move on in this same passage. And the word was with God and the word was God. The word for God here is theos. It means deity or divinity. It's a broad word. It's not specific to the Old Testament or the Jewish people. There are so-called theologians out there who cast doubt on the deity of Christ, but they need to work really hard to do so, especially in a passage like this. This statement doesn't need any complicated interpretation to be understood at all. The word who we know was Jesus was God, deity. Now, I don't want to take a lot of time to prove that the Bible says Christ was God, because I think we're all in agreement with this, but I'm just going to make one big swipe at just some of the most obvious proof. Jesus claimed to be God. If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. Others claimed he was God and didn't deny it. For instance, Thomas said, my Lord and my God. Titles are given to Christ that are only given to God. The Eternal Judge, the Holy One, the First and the Last, the Lord of the Sabbath, the Savior, the Mighty God, the Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, the Lord of Glory, the Redeemer. Jesus did works that only God can do. Raising the dead, overpowering the kingdom of darkness, and forgiving sin are just three examples. Jesus received worship. Jesus received and answered prayer. So this Jesus was with God the Father, and this Jesus was God, God the Son. So Jesus was a member of the Godhead. John lays this out clearly in just a few words. And like I said before, the verb tenses mean that Jesus was already with the Father before all the other things began. We're gonna see some excellent theology laid out in John's typical fashion, which is short, concise sentences. Verse two, he was in the beginning with God. In this verse, John tells us that Jesus was preexistent. Jesus was preexistent. In the beginning of all things was the word already existing with the Father. The word was part of the plurality when God said, let us make. Pre-existent emphasizes Christ's eternality. In this verse, John also tells us that Jesus is co-existent. He was with God. The word Jesus was doing things that God does, like creating. Coexistence emphasized equality with God. So he emphasized eternality and equality. Also, the words with God, really, they don't do the concept justice. It's more like the picture of two personal beings facing one another and engaging in intelligent discourse. That is how the son was with the father. They were communing. They weren't just existing, they were communing. Face-to-face might be a better way of expressing this idea. In the beginning, the son was face-to-face with the father, communicating with him. Verse three, all things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made. The first thing to notice is that it says all things, all things. If all things were made through Christ, Christ cannot be one of the things that was made. If all things were created at one point in time, anything that existed prior to that point was not made. It was eternal. And again, this is proof to the preexistence Christ and Colossians 1 16 and 17 tells us this for by him 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 and he is before all things and in him all things hold together We need to keep in mind that it truly was Christ who created all things. He is not an inferior God who sits around watching his father do all the hard stuff. They were created by him, through him, and for him, and he is still holding them all together. Also, look at what all things consist of in Colossians here. visible that's the natural universe that we can see and the spiritual that we cannot see all the kingdoms and powers he made it all and he was before it all this all also carries with it the idea that everything except for God was made there was a beginning and there was a cause of everything in the beginning. No matter existed eternally. No matter existed eternally. If it exists, it was created by God. This information is coming fast and furious at us from these short, simple sentences from John. Verse four, in him was life and the life was the light of men. So Christ had life in himself. Theologians call that aseity or self-existence. Only God is self-existent. He did not receive life from outside of himself, but he has always had it. Now that sounds simple enough, doesn't it? But that is actually mind-blowing. We simply do not have the capacity to imagine an eternity of a being that has no beginning. God was always. How can that be? How can that be? See what I mean? That is the God we believe in. Everything in our surroundings has a beginning. We're beginning and ending people. That's the world that we live in. Everything is an effect of a cause in our world, except God. God is not an effect. God had no cause. God is a causer only. Now we might think that's unbelievable because we can't wrap our heads around it, but it's the only thing that makes sense when we look at all that there is. It had to come from somewhere and it had to come from something that existed prior to everything. It had to get there somehow and it couldn't get there by itself. So in him was life. Life is Zoe, use the word Zoe. This is the only word that John uses for life, and he is normally referring to spiritual or eternal life when he uses it. It's a life given to all who believe. This life, who Jesus is, imparts life into those who are dead in their trespasses and sin. The life gives us life. All of life comes from outside of the creation. All life comes from the creator. Now macroevolution would have us believe that a natural miracle occurred. We're to believe that the beginning of life is natural and that natural things caused it. But logically, it has to be a miracle because natural things are incapable of causing life. It requires a supernatural natural. Macro evolutionists have that difficulty, but we don't have such a difficulty. We have a creator and in our creator was life. and the life was the light of men. Just as John said that the word was God, so he says the life was the light of men. So it's the same sentence structure. So the life that is in Christ is the light of men. They're tied together in such a way that one is the other. Now, that doesn't make them exactly the same. Life emphasizes one thing, light emphasizes another. But the central quality is the same. Life and light cannot be separated. They are of the same essence. Jesus referred to himself as both the life and the light. Now, most of the time, John refers to light and life in regard to salvation. Think about this, Christ came to give us life and to give us light. How do we separate them? Well, how do we respond to Christ? First, we have to see. Christ opens our eyes, he is our light. He is the light of the world. The only way we know about God is by his light. He is the Word of God that lights the way. 2 Corinthians 4 through 6 says, in their case, the God of this world has blinded their minds of the unbelievers. So they are in sheer darkness, no light. to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God who said, let light shine out of the darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So we see here the light of Jesus shining in a heart that could not see light before he did so. And here we see life and light together in John 8, 12. Again, Jesus spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. The light of life. Jesus is the light. He didn't just provide the light. He is the light. And this light is life-giving. In other words, when you have the light, you also have the life. When you have the light, you also have the life. Here's another reference, John 11, 25 and 26. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live. And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? Notice that Jesus does not just say, I am only the life giver. He says that I am it. When you have me, you have life. When you believe in me, you have life because you have me. You know, I find it difficult to really hone down on what John was getting at when he says the life was the light of men. The concepts are a bit vague in my mind, but that's how the Holy Spirit through John's personality revealed things. It's much easier to explain how Jesus displays that light than how he is that light. But clearly John is focused on who Jesus is. And if a man is ever to get either light or life, he must go to Christ to get it. And when he gets one, he gets the other. They're in a package. They can't come separated because what a person is really getting is the person of Christ. You're getting the light, you're getting the life, you're getting everything that Christ is. The light that Christ shines, Christ is. The light that Christ gives, Christ is. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it, our next verse. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Now, this word that John tells us about, he appears, and he portrays both light and life in this world. He's the perfect representation of the Father. He is God in flesh. He hits the scene, and what's the outcome when the word becomes flesh? What is the outcome when the light comes to this world? First John 2.8, the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. The light shines. When the word comes, the light shines. Christ could not help but shine due to the nature of who he is. He is light. You can't not light up when you are light. He doesn't try to shine, he is light. Light shines. What he did and what he said revealed God. That is light. That's why the word of God is often associated with the light. Like Psalms 119, 105, it says, your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. And the gospel is associated with light. God's truth is associated with light. 2 Corinthians 4, 4, in their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers. to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. Anything that conveys who God is, in the manner that God is, is a light bearer. Christ is the light originator. The gospel shines a light. The gospel that we spread shines a light. The Word of God shines a light. It reveals both the truth of God and the truth of us. The truth of God is glorious. The truth of us, not so much all the time. And people will either be moved by this light to love it, or they will be moved by their sinful condition to hate it. So Christ comes. Well, he comes into the darkness. What is the darkness? What's he talking about when he says, you know, I mean, we know, yeah, no light, but what else can we learn? Romans 1 18 through 21 says this, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them. They can see there's enough light because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So they're without excuse, for although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened." The darkness that John's referring to is a world in rebellion against God. Ungodliness and unrighteousness are the traits that drive them to suppress truth, to close their eyes to light. They don't want to know it. So the more they're true to themselves and their own nature, the darker and darker they become. Darkness is a world that will not see God in a favorable light. It's a determined absence of light. It is darkness that wants to be dark, wants to stay dark. The light shines in the darkness, but you know what? The darkness doesn't overcome it. The darkness has not overcome it. The darkness never will overcome it. Christ came as light to this planet, Matthew 4, 16. The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light. For those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned. Now, how does darkness respond to that light? John 3, 19 says, and this is the judgment. The light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. This is the natural response to the human being. Sometimes we refer to a human as seeking God. Well, if they are, we know God's already been seeking him because this is what happens in the human heart apart from God's supernatural regeneration. Darkness loves darkness and hates light. Now, what does light stir up in human beings and demons? The devil and the human heart both want to rid this world of Christ. They want rid of Christ. How many times do we see that even in our world? How quickly hatred is aroused when someone begins telling pertinent truth about God. So the darkness tries to silence the truth. Think about all the times that evil men under the control of the devil tried to destroy God's people. Over and over again, the nation of Israel was attacked by enemies. And then Herod did everything he could think of to destroy the Jewish Messiah. He had a mass execution of all the young males in a certain area. And then Satan tried to stop Jesus by tempting him with everything in his treasure box. And when that failed, he even had Peter to do his bidding once by trying to dissuade Jesus from going to the cross. Even the crucifixion was the devil's attempt to eliminate the Messiah. God used the devil's hatred of the light to ultimately destroy the devil's hold on human beings. No human rights books like that. We should not be alarmed when we see in this society and what we see in this society, it's easy to stir up hatred in many circles. Just shine the light, just speak the word. Darkness loves darkness. Light hurts their eyes. It hurts their sensibilities. It threatens how they want to see their reality. Now praise God, he reaches into our lives. Praise God that he has chosen his people and he will show them himself in such a light that they cannot deny it and they see the beauty of it. But have you ever been in bed in the dark and someone shines a flashlight in your eyes? That's how our world feels about the gospel until God draws them to himself. Then they begin to love the light, no matter what it shows them. Do you sometimes fear the darkness? When you look at our world and you see some of the very dark trends, when you see the hatred that seems to be growing toward Christians and toward Christ, do you fear it? There's no point pretending that human hatred of light is not real. It is real. Scripture tells us that it is, but it also tells us this. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Our text this morning tells us many important things. First, the light is the same one who not only created all things and all spiritual beings and all people, he's the one who sustains all things. In other words, everything, every created thing is reliant upon the word, the light, the life for its very existence. This puts everything in perspective, doesn't it? All those fierce enemies of truth would be laying on the sidewalk if Jesus for one minute removed his sustaining hand. They're completely reliant upon Him sustaining them, sustaining their life. This Word who became flesh is never at the whim of the wicked unless He wants to be for a purpose of His own. This is true for His people as well. The Word has everything well under control. There's no reason to fret. Second, the light is shining and will continue to shine. And we have the glorious privilege of being part of that light. We are the light of the world. Matthew 5, 14 through 16 says, you are the light of the world. And I mean, he's pointing to some people that you might not have gauged at that moment that they were all that lighty. But you are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. You and I are given the glorious opportunity to reflect the light of Christ into a very dark world. Our lives are not to be lived cowering in a corner because of the great darkness. No, we can count for something in the darkness. We get to let our light shine before others. We get to live up to the identity that Christ has given us in the presence of others. We get to do good works in this dark place. And we get to tell people that good works are due to good God. Our good works are due to a good God. We ascribe the source of the positive changes in our lives to the word that became flesh. And they then have no alternative but to ascribe that goodness to what God is doing, whether they like it or not. And third, the darkness is never winning. While it may be growing, it is never winning. The darkness never overcomes the light. Have you ever lit a match in a dark room? That match does not give out a whole lot of light, but where it does give light, there isn't any darkness. That is the nature of light. Darkness never overcomes light. Light by its very nature always overcomes darkness. People can run from the light, and they do by nature, but they cannot make the light any less bright. They can lie about what the light reveals, but they can't turn the light off. They can only remove themselves from it. They can close their eyes to it. They can't affect the light. As I was preparing this sermon, I have that feeling again that from time to time, I get with some texts. It was interesting that Brad used this illustration in his prayer. I feel like I'm standing next to an ocean and dipping out a bucket of water. This text is so rich with implications that it's like we could study it for months. We're scratching the very surface, but so it is. Our God became flesh in Jesus Christ. We have received the ultimate communication from God by having God sent to us. He entered our world. He entered into the environment of the darkness of this world's depravity and rebellion. He walked into darkness. He came into the world that we must live in and he shone a bright light into it. And he continues to shine it through his word and through his people. God didn't just tell us how it's done. He showed us how it's done. He really leaves us with no excuse. What love our God must have for his children to do such a thing. What rich provision he has given us. He entered our world and lit it up in a way that will affect all of his children for an eternity. He'll always be our heavenly hero for the price he was willing to pay for all of us. To close, I just want to read the text one more time. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was face-to-face with God and communing with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him, not anything was 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 close in prayer. Lord, we thank you for your word. We thank you for.