Light in the Darkness – John 1: 1-5

Red Village Church Podcast

Audio Transcript

Well, good morning. My name is Wes, and I’m a pastoral assistant here at Red Village Church. It’s really good to see each and every one of you this morning after just a long and hard week. It is good just to come together and worship the Lord and hear from His Word. So, if you have a Bible, go ahead and open up to John 1, verses 1 through 5. If you don’t have a Bible, there are Bibles in the seats that you can grab. Go ahead and just keep those open as we work through this text.

Just so you all know, down in the basement, we have the sermon live streaming right now. So, we have all the kids up here with us, and if my preaching makes them a little stir crazy, then you can feel free to go down below to the basement, where there are some crafts and some things ready down there. So, keep that in mind.

John 1, verses 1 through 5. I’m going to read the passage and then pray and ask that the Lord would use this for speaking to us this morning.

So, John 1, verses 1 through 5: this is what the Word of the Lord says. “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.”

Please pray with me.

Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You that God, You speak through the folly of preaching. So please, Lord, help me to be a good communicator of Your Word, and God, would You open our hearts and our ears to hear Your voice this morning? I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

These five verses at the beginning of John’s Gospel are very simple. They only take about 25 seconds to read, maybe 12 seconds if you’re reading fast. But the implications of these five verses have the ability to change everything about our very existence here on planet Earth. That is, if we hear what they are saying and believe what they are telling us.

The Christmas season often brings a sense of wonder and awe as people slow down to appreciate the gift of life and love. But if we’re not careful, we can get distracted by all the worldly messages and idols and miss what makes Christmas truly wonderful and amazing. And it’s found right here in these five verses that John begins his Gospel with.

So, I ask you, look at this passage with me this morning with fresh eyes and ponder anew what these verses are saying and the incredible truths that these verses give us, as if you were hearing them for the very first time.

The Gospel of John was, of course, written by a man named John. John was a simple fisherman who fished the sea with his brothers in a rather uneventful town called Galilee. John is described in the Bible as an ordinary guy. He wasn’t super smart or wealthy or special. But when Jesus came and called him and his brothers to leave everything behind to follow Him, John did so. John was one of Jesus’ 12 disciples and was called the disciple whom Jesus loved.

The reason John wrote his Gospel account is actually given at the end of John’s Gospel in chapter 20, verses 30 through 31. This is what it says: “Now, Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His name.”

It’s helpful to understand that John wrote this book so that every single person who reads it, including you and me today, would know who Jesus is and believe that He is the Christ, the Son of God. So that by believing, whoever reads this book may have life in the name of Jesus.

John not only saw Jesus, but he also walked with Him. He talked with Him, ate meals with Him, laughed with Him, and wept with Him. John experienced firsthand what Jesus was, and then he wrote about Jesus in this book so that others could read about Him and believe in Him, just as John did.

Keeping that in mind, look back with me at verse one of John’s Gospel. John begins his eyewitness account by saying, “In the beginning was the Word.” Now, two things we need to understand: number one, what beginning is John talking about? And number two, what is the Word?

To a Jew, the phrase “in the beginning” would have immediately made them think of the first book of the Torah, that is, Genesis. Genesis 1:1 says this: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” This is significant because Genesis 1:1 introduces its reader to the God of the Old Testament, who created all things that are in existence. He did it in only six days, and then He rested on the seventh.

The God of the Bible, who is named the Lord or Yahweh, is introduced in Genesis as the Creator of the heavens and the earth. This means that in the beginning of time, before creation existed, God existed, and then He created. Genesis 1:1 provides revelation of who God is, namely the Creator and the author of life. Since God is not part of creation but is outside of it, He is self-existent; He does not depend on anything to exist. God is not dependent on creation in order to exist because, in the beginning, He was already there, and He always has been, which speaks of His eternality.

This is an incredible introduction to the Bible, if not the most incredible introduction found in all of the Old Testament. It is this introduction that John calls to mind as he begins his book: “In the beginning was the Word.”

Now, what is the Word that John is referring to? And why is the Word at the beginning? There are a few different ways to look at what John means when he writes the Word.

The first interpretation comes by looking closer at the Greek definition of the Word. The root meaning for “word” in Greek is “Logos,” which means logic or reason. To the Greeks, Logos could be defined as the rational principle by which everything exists as a product of the human rational soul, which is a lot of words in that definition. So, in other words, Logos was the human-derived explanation for reason and understanding in the world.

The Greeks believed that Logos was what made sense of the world around them, based on their own thinking and their own experience. It was a principle that was highly important to Greek culture, and it was a means of understanding why humans exist. Although it’s possible that John could have had this understanding of Logos in mind when he wrote this, it doesn’t make sense that this is what John is referring to when he writes, “In the beginning was the Word,” because in the beginning there was God, not human-based logic and reasoning that the Greeks had in mind.

So, John was likely using the Greek word Logos to point the Greeks to a better Word that is beyond human logic and reasoning, one that derives its meaning from the Scriptures found in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the Word of the Lord was the spoken expression of God’s divine power and wisdom to all who heard it.

In other words, the Word of God in the Old Testament revealed to mankind who God is. In Genesis, when God speaks creation into existence out of nothing, God is revealing to mankind who He is. When God’s Word speaks to the patriarchs, including Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Joseph, and Moses, God is revealing to mankind who He is. When God’s Word speaks to the prophets, Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, God is revealing to mankind who He is. And when God’s Word speaks to King David, to King Hezekiah, or King Josiah, God is revealing to mankind who He is.

In the beginning, God was speaking and therefore revealing to mankind who He is. But this definition still doesn’t help us fully understand what John is saying, since John says not only was the Word at the beginning, but, as we see in verse 1, the Word was with God.

The Greek word for “with” is almost always used in the New Testament to describe a relationship between one person and another. And John doesn’t stop there. Not only is the Word with God, but the Word was actually God. Clearly, John is referring to something beyond just God’s spoken Word in the Old Testament. For how could God’s Word also be in relationship with God and also be God?

So, the Word that John is referring to here in his Gospel is not what, but it is who. The “who” that he is referring to is revealed in verse 14 of John’s introduction. If you look there, it says this: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen His glory, glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Then, in verse 17, we read, “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Here, we find the answer to the mysterious Word that John is introducing us to. It is He, Jesus Christ, the only Son from the Father. Just as God’s Word is a revelation of who God is, Jesus is an even greater revelation of who God is.

The author of Hebrews writes, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets. But 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. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. He upholds the universe by the word of His power.”

Jesus is the fullest expression of who God is to mankind. He is the literal personification of God’s Word, the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. That being said, let’s reread verses 1 through 3 and insert Jesus where John is referring to the Word.

In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God. He, Jesus, was in the beginning with God, and all things were made through Him. Without Him was not anything made that was made.

Now, just stop and think about what John is saying here. In the beginning, before time or matter or space or anything existed, Jesus existed. He is self-existent. Jesus was with God at the beginning in relationship with God. Jesus wasn’t created by God. There wasn’t a time when Jesus did not exist. No, at the beginning, there was Jesus.

We know this for certain because John tells us that the Word, Jesus, was God. In other words, Jesus is God. This simple statement—only four words in English and in Greek—is perhaps the clearest and most direct declaration of the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ to be found anywhere else in Scripture. Simple, but glorious and vitally important for us to understand.

It is clear truths in Scripture like this that form the doctrine of the Trinity that faithful churches have held for generations. In summary, the Trinity declares that God is one substance, one deity, one glory, one eternality, but reveals Himself in three persons. Although the doctrine of the Trinity is difficult for us to grasp, it is very clearly laid out all throughout Scripture. As John tells us, the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Now, looking at verse three, God’s Word tells us that all things were made through Him, namely Jesus. If you look around you, nothing that you see would be here without Jesus creating it. The coffee you drank this morning or have in your hand, this building that we meet in, the snow outside, the birds, the sky, the sun, the air that you are breathing, the heart beating in your chest, music, laughter, sports, friendship, marriage—every single thing was made through Jesus. Without Him, at the beginning, none of it would be here.

Before we move on from here, we have to ponder and understand—this is the person who showed up in a manger on Christmas Day. Jesus, the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present, all-eternal God who created everything that is in existence, everything that we can see, taste, touch, smell, and hear. Jesus created it, and He showed up in a manger through the miraculous conception of Mary from the Holy Spirit—the God who formed and made mankind. He took on flesh and dwelled among His creation as fully God and fully man.

Jesus is the only person to have done this, and He did so by coming as a meek and humble baby born in a feeding trough. This is truly incredible, amazing, unthinkable—that the Lord and King and Creator of the universe would come to His creation in this way.

If I’m telling you this and you’re thinking to yourself, “Ah, I’ve heard this before. It sounds pretty basic or boring or normal,” it’s really not. This is truly one of the most extravagant things that our minds could ever ponder or perceive. God stepped down from heaven into our reality.

The author of life. He showed up on planet Earth. In John Piper’s *Good News of Great Joy* Christmas Devotional, he says this: “You can read every fairy tale that was ever written, every mystery, thriller, every ghost story. And you will never find anything so shocking, so strange, so weird and spellbinding as the story of the incarnation of the Son of God.”

These things are written—the whole Bible is written—that we might believe, that we might be stunned and awakened to the wonder that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came into the world. That is the Word that John is describing for us here in these verses.

And there’s more that John is seeking to tell us. Look with me at verse four. John gives us another incredible truth about the Word: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” The life that John is referring to is spiritual life, eternal life. The Word is the source of all life, and John comes back to this theme over and over throughout his Gospel.

Perhaps one of the most notable references is John 14:6 when Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” When John says, “The life was the light of men,” he is making life and light one and the same thing. The light is the manifestation of Christ’s divine spiritual life. The life that Christ is and offers is represented as light. It is good, pleasing, righteous, and holy.

In the beginning, when the earth was without form or void and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over, God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. Just as God spoke in the beginning and brought light into existence to shine through the void of darkness, so Christ came, and He is the light and hope for all mankind in the midst of darkness.

It is Christ’s very life that serves as a beacon of salvation to all who look to Him by faith. He is the light of men. His light is that truth and holiness manifest against all darkness of lies and sin.

Regarding this verse, John MacArthur says, “Christ, the embodiment of life and the glorious eternal light of heaven, entered the sin-darkened world of men, and that world has reacted to Him in various ways.”

Our text ends with verse five that says, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” As I prayed at the beginning of this week, asking what God would have me to say to His people, this verse is what continued to come to mind: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Many of us in this room have felt the weight and grief of sin’s wicked and evil darkness this week. We can too easily assume that life is full of light and full of goodness. But the reality is our world is full of darkness and sin.

This morning, God’s Word gives us a very precious and glorious truth that we must cement in our hearts and believe with all of our being: the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Darkness has not and will not overcome the light of God. The whole reason Jesus came into this world as the life and light of men was to provide freedom and salvation from the darkness of sin that this world is full of.

Jesus is no stranger to the darkness. He lived a human life just like you and me. He experienced rejection, pain, deep sorrow, loss, and death. He experienced the darkness of humanity that we live in. He willingly endured everything that you and I experience in this dark world.

When the God of the universe shined His light by loving those whom the darkness had affected the most, His own people rejected Him and crucified Him on a tree. Nails pierced His hands and feet, and a crown of thorns was pressed upon His head. Darkness veiled over the earth, and the Word of life breathed His last. It appeared that the light of God had been stopped and the darkness had won.

But as John tells us here at the beginning of his Gospel, the darkness has not overcome it. Three days later, in the light of morning, Jesus rose again out of the grave, showing that death’s cold grip cannot hold Him, and darkness has to flee. Jesus conquered darkness, and today He is very much alive and stands victorious, providing light and life to all who look to Him and believe in Him as the Word who was with God and who was God in the beginning.

John says this in verse 12 of chapter one: “But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave them the right to become children of God.” Isaiah 9:2 says this concerning Jesus: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. A light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.”

The Gospel is the dawning light of God’s holy light upon all mankind, that anyone who believes in Jesus, His life, burial, and resurrection will be given new life. Just as Jesus rose again from the dead to live victoriously for all of eternity, so will those who believe in Him.

This is the Word that John is introducing us to, so that you may believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is He, and that by believing, you may have life in His name.

As I close our time studying this wonderful passage of Scripture, I want to give you five applications in relation to Jesus’ light in a dark world, since I believe this is the primary truth that God wants us to hear this morning.

Number one: Believe that the Word is the life and light of men. As I said before, John wrote this testimony of Jesus so that all who read it would believe that Jesus is the one who has long awaited to bring salvation to mankind. If you’re here and you’ve not placed your faith in Jesus as Lord, understand that His offer of salvation remains available to you today. If you will repent and believe in your heart that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again from the dead, you can begin to know God today. Today is the day of salvation.

If you do not receive God’s offer of salvation through Christ, you are turning away from the only light that can pull you out of the darkness of sin. Repent and believe that the Word is the life and light of men.

Number two: Recognize darkness exists, but Christ has overcome the darkness. We do not want to pretend that evil will not happen and that it doesn’t exist. Our world is full of evil and wickedness that happens from the darkness of sin. This world is not our home, and Satan is this world’s ruler, and he is out to kill, steal, and destroy all that he can.

Scripture tells us we are in a spiritual battle where, every day, evil forces are at work seeking to stop the light of God that shines from Christ. Even today, Satan is still trying to overcome the light of Christ, but he cannot. Despite Satan’s frantic, furious assaults on the light, the darkness did not and cannot overcome it.

The glorious light of the Lord Jesus Christ will utterly destroy Satan’s realm of darkness once and for all. One of the greatest verses for understanding how we are to live in a world full of darkness and difficulty is John 16:33, where Jesus says, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Jesus does not ignore the fact that we have to live in a dark world, but rather He tells us that we will have to go through trials and tribulation in this life. But we are to take heart, for Christ has overcome all the darkness in this world.

We are to recognize darkness exists, but in response, we are also to be of great courage. For darkness cannot change what Christ has accomplished on the cross, and for even in death, Christ is victorious.

This leads me to my next application: Number three. Do not be afraid of the darkness of this world. John 8:12 says this: “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.'”

If you’ve placed your faith in Christ, God will never leave you nor forsake you. Jesus will always be with you, no matter what happens in this world. He will hold you fast to the very end, and you will never walk in total darkness, for the light of life will be with you and He goes before you.

We do not need to fear tomorrow, for Jesus, the great shepherd of sheep, is with us every step of the way, and He has already gone before us. There is shelter and peace that passes all understanding available for God’s people as we rest in His sovereignty over evil. So take heart and do not be afraid of the darkness in this world.

Number four: Believe light always prevails. As we read in our text, the darkness has not overcome the light, and indeed it cannot. For where there is light, darkness must flee. 1 John 2:8 says this: “The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.”

Darkness and light are not opposites; rather, darkness is the absence of light. One day, the light of Christ will prevail, and darkness will be no more. Set your eyes on Jesus’ coming kingdom where death and pain will be no more and where the light of Christ will be all that we know and see for all of our days. Restoration is coming.

The resurrection of the dead is real, and God’s people who die in this life will be resurrected with Jesus for eternity. It will happen, and it’s only a matter of time. The light will prevail. Just as in the beginning, the hope and light of Christ await us in the end. So, do not give up; believe light always prevails in the end, and one day, by faith, you will see it last.

Application number five: When it’s hard to see the light, raise your voice to the praises of our God and King. Singing isn’t just something we do. We sing to lift our hearts in song, to worship the Lord. Ephesians tells us to sing and make melody to the Lord with your whole heart.

In doing so, we set our eyes upon God and put words to our faith in song that is fitting and right and true. Psalm 42:11 says this: “Why are you downcast, O my soul? And why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God.”

Sometimes it’s hard to see where God’s light is, and the difficulties of darkness seem to be the only thing that we can see, resulting in internal turmoil. When we feel this way, we must look to the promises and truths of God and recognize that God remains on the throne and He is still worthy of our praise.

We must say with David, “O my soul, hope in God, for I shall again praise Him.” If that is how you felt walking in here this morning, then I encourage you, as we end our time together, to worship in song. Sing to the Lord with all of your heart and sing His praises again and again.

Worship the Lord in song, knowing that the light of God that has dawned on Christmas Day will one day be the only thing that we see for all of eternity. Jesus, the God of all creation, the life and light of mankind, has come into this world’s darkness to lay down His life for you, that you may not live in darkness but live in His glorious light.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Please pray with me.

Lord God, we thank You for these very great and precious truths that in the beginning Christ was there and that Your light far surpasses the darkness of this world that we experience. Lord, I pray, help us to believe these truths, to walk out of here not being afraid of the darkness, but rather knowing, God, that Your light goes before us and is with us and will never leave us, and that one day the light will prevail, and we will see it face to face.

God, fill our hearts with hope in Christ this week, this Christmas. God, help us to trust in You by faith, and may You lift our weary hearts as we finish out our time in song. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray these things. Amen.

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