THE GOSPEL OF
CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
(Chapters 1-5)
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Timothy Sparks and Ben Bailey.
Timothy Sparks:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn. 1:1). I’m Timothy Sparks.
Ben Bailey:
And I’m Ben Bailey. Welcome to our study of the Book of John. This broadcast is being brought to you by individuals and congregations of the churches of Christ. We hope you will visit the churches of Christ in your area, and let them know how much you appreciate their support of this broadcast. If you have a Bible question or a spiritual concern, they would be happy to help you with it. If you would like a Bible study, they also would be glad to assist you with that. We, too, would like to be of service. Visit us on our website at www.thegospelofchrist.com, where we have streaming audio and video lessons of our broadcasts. You may download these and use them to assist you in your study of God’s Word. We also are making available CDs of these broadcasts, as well as VHS and DVDs. We will be glad to send any of these to you completely free of charge.
As John begins his Gospel, he opens with a discussion of the deity of Christ—for a very important reason. Until we understand that Jesus is divine, we will not possess the full picture of Jesus’ mission and purpose.
Timothy Sparks:
John begins by saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Jn. 1:1). We learn from John 1:14 that “the Word became flesh.” Thus, John is connecting Jesus (“the Word”) with His message. To do that, John continually stresses throughout his book the deity of Christ. That is to say, Jesus is 100% divine. The Book of Matthew was written primarily to the Jews. The Book of Mark was written primarily to the Romans. The Book of Luke was written to Gentiles. But the Book of John is written to all humanity. Jesus was also 100% human. We often speak of “the Word of God,” referring to the Scriptures. But we also refer to Jesus as “the Word,” because He is the manifestation of God’s Word to us. From passages such as Hebrews 1:2, we learn that God speaks to us “through His Son.” Depending on the context, we can speak of “the Word of God” in reference to the Scriptures, or we can speak of “the Word,” in reference to Christ. Both are scriptural concepts.
Ben Bailey:
Jesus was the incarnate Word—God in a fleshly body. The Jews were able to see Jesus as a good man or great teacher, but they were unable to see Him as God. This was their problem. People today have the same problem. They are willing to acknowledge Jesus as a great prophet, or as a good teacher, but not as the Son of God. The Scriptures, however, make it clear that Jesus possessed equality with God. Paul wrote:
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:5-8).
Jesus gave up Heaven to come and serve us here on Earth. In John 1:1-4,
Jesus calls us into the light. Jesus is the One Who brings light
into our lives. In John 1:12, John explains, “But as many as received Him, to them He
gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” Please
note that belief itself did not make these people children of God. Rather, it
gave them the right or the power to become
children of God. Many people in religion
today teach that all a person must do to become a Christian is “believe.”
But we learn from John 1:12 that this is not true. Belief gives a person the
right to become a child of God. Belief alone does not make one a child of God.
Timothy Sparks:
God has
established certain conditions that must be met before one can become a child
of God. Yes, belief is one of those conditions—which is why John writes so much
on the topic of belief. But this belief is not mere mental assent. It is not
“just accepting” Jesus as Lord. In John
20:30-31, we find what might be called the “purpose statement” of the Book
of John.
“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
The term “belief” is a comprehensive term which means that a person must be fully compliant with all the conditions God has set forth to become a Christian. From the first few verses of the Book of John, we learn that Jesus is the light. “Darkness” (i.e., the world) may not have comprehended this fact, but the darkness hasn’t “put out” the light. Jesus Himself said, “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness” (Jn. 12:46). Jesus still shines today as a light—through His message. People still have the power to become sons of God. But this belief isn’t just mental acceptance of Christ. James said, “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” (Jas. 2:19). We may not deserve to become children of God, but we can do so if we believe and obey God’s will.
Ben Bailey:
A good example of that can be seen in John 1:29. As Jesus approaches John, John says, “Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!” John saw Christ through the proper “lenses.” He saw Christ as the Lamb of God—the One Who was going to make the necessary sacrifice to pay the debt for our sins. Until we see Christ in that light—as the precious, spotless Lamb of God Who gave His blood for our sins and paid the price to redeem our souls—we will not have come to a full understanding of Who Jesus really is. Yes, He is deity. But there is more to it than that. Paul wrote, “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:8). Jesus came in the form of God incarnate to die for His own creation! Imagine the type and depth of love that God had for us—that He would give His only, His unique, Son to die for us so that we could have the hope of eternal life. We need to see and understand Jesus’ sacrifice. He was crucified between two thieves. He died on the cross for you and for me. Peter said that Christ “bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24). Just as the scapegoat used in the Old Testament to carry the people’s sins to a far-away place (Lev. 16), Jesus takes away our sins. Here in John 1, we see a beautiful picture of Christ that sets the stage for what the rest of John’s message in the remainder of his Gospel.
Timothy Sparks:
From John 1:17, we find a vital message. John wrote, “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” In the Greek text of the New Testament, we find the definite article (“the”) before the words “grace” and “truth.” Thus, “the grace” and “the truth” came through Jesus Christ. Jesus thus came to fullfill all that God had promised and planned for humankind. We know from passages such as Ephesians 3:11 that God always had the church in mind. Jesus came to bring God’s grace and truth. In fact, in John 14:6, Jesus referred to Himself as “the truth.” John 1 also contains an important lesson on personal evangelism. When Andrew (Simon Peter’s brother) heard Christ, he immediately went and found his brother to tell him “we have found the Messiah.” Andrew involved himself in personal evangelism. Notice the terminology that is used: “He first found his own brother Simon” (vs. 41). We today need to be concerned about our own relatives as well, and tell them about Jesus. When we consider the important role that Peter played in the first-century church, it should remind us that we, like Andrew, might be able to teach someone who then becomes a Christian and ends up accomplishing great things (like Peter did) for the church.
Ben Bailey:
Esther was asked, “Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14). We never know what impact we might have on others. You may never end up baptizing 1,000 people. You may never preach a powerful sermon. But you may impact someone who will! Or, you might impact someone who would become one of the greatest personal workers imaginable. We, like Andrew, should want to share the good news about Christ with our families.
As we enter into the second chapter of the Book of John, Christ’s deity is on display once more as we witness Him perform His first miracle at the wedding feast in Cana. Jesus and His mother have been invited to a wedding. At first, the host has enough drink for everyone. Eventually, however, they ran out. Mary asked Jesus to help them get more. Initially, Jesus is hesitant to do this, but finally He relents. In John 2:5, we find Mary saying to the servants: “Whatever He says to you, do it.” This should be the motto of every Christian. Whatever Christ says to me, I’m going to do it! If Jesus tells me to go live a faithful life, I’m going to do that. If Jesus commands me to assemble with the saints on the first day of every week, then I’m going to be there. If Jesus tells me that I must be baptized for the remission of my sins in order to be saved (Mk. 16:16), then I am going to be baptized.
The text in John 2 indicates that Jesus turned water to water. Some people come to this text to try to find support such things as social drinking or imbibing alcoholic beverages. But wouldn’t this concept violate such passages as Habakkuk 2:15 and others?
Timothy Sparks:
Problems arise if we take the position that Jesus made an alcoholic beverage in John 2. The text indicates that the people had already drunk sufficiently. But we are asked to believe that Jesus then turned water into more alcoholic wine? Habakkuk 2:15 states, “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor.” [Some translations say “strong drink.”] If Jesus had made alcoholic wine on this occasion, He would have been guilty of having violated Old Testament law. We know, of course, that Christ did not violate the Law, because Hebrews 4:15 indicates that He never sinned. Thus, Jesus must have turned the water into grape juice, not alcoholic wine. Some, of course, object to this, and suggest that the text says that “the best” had been saved until last—an indication that it must have been alcoholic wine. But we need to ask this question: Is there a difference in quality in grape juice itself? Yes, there is. If Jesus was going to make grape juice, doesn’t it stand to reason that He would make the very best grape juice? Suggesting that Christ created an alcoholic beverage for the people at the wedding feast to drink creates inconsistencies within the biblical text, and robs Jesus of His perfection by making him a violator of the Old Covenant.
Ben Bailey:
The Bible says: “Be not drunk with wine” (Eph. 5:18). If these people had already “drunk well,” it would make no sense for Christ to give them additional wine that could cause them to become drunk. Rather, Jesus, in His very first miracle, turned the water into the very best grape juice imaginable, and the wedding feast continues. Jesus—because He is God—was able to turn one substance (water) into another (grape juice). This provided evidence of His deity, since He was in control of nature.
Timothy Sparks:
In John 2, we also find Jesus cleansing the temple by running out the moneychangers. The temple was not supposed to be a den of thieves; rather, it was supposed to be a house of worship.
“And
He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers
doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the
sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the
tables. And He said to those who sold doves, ‘Take these things away! Do not
make My Father's house a house of merchandise!’ Then His disciples remembered
that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your
house has eaten Me up’” (vss. 14-17; the quote from the Old Testament is from Psalm 69:9).
Jesus then uses this occasion to discuss another temple—His body. The text continues, “Jesus said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ Then the Jews said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking of the temple of His body” (vss. 19-21). Jesus’ comment about the “temple” being destroyed and rebuilt in only three days caused the Jews serious problems.
Ben Bailey:
Later, the Jews tried to use Christ’s words on this occasion as proof of His blasphemy. John makes it clear, however, that Jesus wasn’t blaspheming the temple (which, in fact, He had just cleansed!). Rather, He was using the temple as a figure of speech to refer to His own body, which would die but be raised from the grave three days later. Therefore, in John 2, we get an “advanced picture” of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. John 2 therefore impresses upon us two important points. First, Jesus, as the Creator, has power over nature (as the miracle at the wedding feast showed). Second, Jesus, as God, insisted upon pure worship (as His cleansing of the temple showed). These things made quite an impression on those people who witnessed them. One of those individuals was a man by the name of Nicodemus, who comes to Lord to ask Him some questions. And how does the Lord answer Nicodemus?
Timothy Sparks:
Jesus says to Nicodemus, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the
Ben Bailey:
Sadly, many people skip the first five verses of John 3 and move straight to verse 16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Frequently, we are told that this verse teaches that all a person has to do to be saved is to believe. But if we study the context well, we will find that is not the case. Look at verses 14 and 15. Jesus says, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” Then He follows that up with, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. The context in the Book of Numbers helps us understand Jesus’ point. The Israelites had snakes come among them because of some of the problems that had arisen in their camp. The people had grumbled and complained, so God sent snakes among them as punishment. The snakes began to bite them, and people began to die. The people went to Moses, and begged him to ask for God’s help. God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it up in the middle of the camp. Whoever looked at it would be saved. Thus, they had to believe, they had to go to the serpent, they had to look at it, and then they were saved. The parallel to the serpent is Christ. Christ has been lifted up for us. If we believe in Him, we, too, will be saved. Imagine a person in the Israelites’ camp who had been bitten by a snake. This person never got up, and never went to look upon the bronze serpent. Yet they “believed” that the serpent would save them. Would “belief only” save them? Absolutely not. They had to literally, physically, get up, find where the serpent was in the camp, look at it, and then they would be saved. The same principle holds true for us today. Faith only has never saved anyone. James 2:24 points out that man is not saved by faith only. We must understand that when God raises up a sacrifice for us, we must do what God says to access that gift. A proper understanding of the context surrounding John 3:16 would alleviate a great deal of misunderstanding regarding the part that belief plays in the salvation process.
Timothy Sparks:
If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God, then we are
going to act on that belief in the manner that Jesus has
prescribed. John 4:24 tells us, “God is
Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” A correct belief
in Jesus requires much more than for us to just believe that He is Who
He claims to be. We first must do what He has asked—we must believe in Him, confess Him as the Son of
God, repent of our sins, and be baptized for the remission of our sins. Then, we must
worship properly, too—as He has defined worship within the New
Testament. John 17:17 teaches us that God’s Word is truth. John 8:32 teaches
us that it is the truth that will set us free. Psalm 119:160 teaches us that
the sum of God’s Word is truth. Paul wrote, “Let God be true but every man a
liar” (
Ben Bailey:
In John 5:28-29, Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” The reason we must follow Christ’s commands on such things as salvation and worship has to do with eternity. There’s a great day coming for those who have lived their lives in obedience to God’s will. But there’s a sad day coming for those who have not done what God said to do. On the Day of Judgment, all people will rise forth from their graves and be judged. John 12:48 explained what will do the judging. Jesus said, “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” At the Day of Judgment, it will be the contents of God’s Word‑the Bible—that will judge all of us. If we live according to its precepts, if we follow the commands found within its pages, there is absolutely no way we can go wrong. But if we add a little here and there, take away a little here and there, and decide to do things our own way, then we will not make it to Heaven. The importance of the things that Jesus was teaching in John 4 and 5 becomes apparent when viewed in light of both His deity and eternity.
Timothy Sparks:
Will you share in the resurrection of life, or in the resurrection of condemnation? There’s an eternity of difference between the two. Will you live right—in accordance with God’s will —and thus die right? Or will you live wrong—and die wrong? As you live, so shall you die; as you die, so shall you stand before God in Judgment; and as you stand before God in Judgment, so shall you be for all eternity. Live wrong. Die wrong. Stand before God wrong. Be wrong for all eternity. But if you live right, you’ll die right, you’ll stand before God right, and you’ll be right for all eternity. While we must do more than “just believe” in Jesus as God’s Son, belief is the beginning point. In Luke 13:3, Jesus said, “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” We must confess that Christ is the Son of God, just as the Ethiopian nobleman did in Acts 8:37. Then we must be baptized for the remission of our sins (Acts 2:38), and be faithful, even unto death (Rev. 2:10).
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Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
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1. John not only opens his Gospel with this point, but continually stresses it throughout the book. What is the point?
2. What does it mean to say that Jesus was the “incarnate Word”?
3. In John 1:12, John explains, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” Explain
this verse.
4. What does it mean to say that belief in Christ as the Son of God is “not mere mental assent”?
5. In this lesson, the comments were made, “Yes, Christ is deity. But there is more to it than that.” What is the “more”? Incorporate Philippians 2:8 into your response.
6. This lesson teaches that “belief” is a comprehensive term. What does it include?
7. According to Ephesians 3:11, how long had God had in mind a specific plan to establish Christ’s church?
8. What is the message for us contained in John 1:41?
9. What was Jesus’ first miracle?
10 In John 2, we see Jesus driving moneychangers out of the temple. Why did He do such a thing?
11. When Jesus said in John 2:19-21 that the temple would be destroyed and then rebuilt in three days, what did He have in mind?
12. Explain the correlation between John 3:5 and Titus 3:5.
13. In the Old Testament, there is an account of the Israelites having to look at a bronze serpent in order to be saved. What does that account have to do with obeying the will of God in the New Testament?
14. How does a person who is not a Christian get rid of his or her sin?
15. Explain the relationship between John 3:16 and James 2:24.
16. Explain the importance, from God’s viewpoint, of worshiping Him correctly. Incorporate into your answer John 4:24.
17. How does Romans 3:4 factor in to your answer to question #16 above?
18. What did Jesus say would judge us on the Day of Judgment?
19. What, according to John 17:17, is truth?
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST,