Journey Through the Gospel of John: John 1:1-18

In this episode of the Defender Bible Study, Herbie Newell introduces a new study series on the Gospel of John, exploring the first 18 verses of John chapter 1.

 

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Creators & Guests

Host

Herbie Newell

Herbie Newell serves as the President & Executive Director of Lifeline Children’s Services, holds an MBA in Accounting from Samford University and brings years of experience from his work as an independent auditor at WAKM Companies, LLC. Serving as Lifeline's Executive Director since 2003, Herbie has significantly expanded international outreach, obtained licensure in 17 states, and led the establishment of the foster care arm. A passionate advocate, he co-founded (un)adopted in 2009, focusing on equipping orphaned children with life skills for community transformation. Herbie, also the author of "Image Bearers: Shifting from Pro-birth to Pro-Life," emphasizes that being pro-life extends beyond opposing abortion, urging a broader ethic that includes fighting for racial equality and embracing every individual with the love of Christ. Herbie and his wife, Ashley, reside in Birmingham, Alabama, and are the parents to three children.

What is The Defender Bible Study?

The Defender Bible Study is a weekly study of God’s Word as we seek to equip the Body of Christ to manifest the gospel to orphans and vulnerable children. This podcast is a ministry of Lifeline Children's Services.

Herbie Newell: 00:02

Welcome to the defender bible study. A weekly encouragement to equip the body of Christ through the study of scripture and prayer to manifest the gospel to orphans and vulnerable children around the world. This podcast is a ministry of Lifeline Children Services where we believe that defending the fatherless begins by being rooted in God's word. It's August 26, 2024, and I'm coming to you from Birmingham, Alabama. Well, today, we are starting a study on a new book of the Bible, the gospel of John, written by the apostle John.

Herbie Newell: 00:39

And so we're going to be starting in John chapter 1, looking at the first 18 verses, verses 1 through 18. And so we start this morning studying the book of John. John, as we see, starts in a very different place than the other gospel writers. Matthew, writing to a Jewish audience, wants to show how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophecy and begins with the genealogy of King David connecting Jesus to the kingly line through his birth. Similarly, Luke begins just before the birth of Jesus, giving a detailed eyewitness account of Jesus' life, ministry, death, and resurrection.

Herbie Newell: 01:18

Mark's gospel gets right to business and enters into the ministry of Christ and focuses on the 3 years of ministry, avoiding much setup or any things besides the life and ministry of Christ Jesus. But John, John starts in a very different place. He starts in the beginning to trace that Jesus was God and therefore is the creator, sustainer, and author of the universe. Jesus has no beginning and no end. John uses imagery of light and darkness, life and death, and so much more to illustrate the life of Jesus through his teaching and his attributes.

Herbie Newell: 01:53

John is a great book to study and read for any new believer. John wrote his gospel to convince us that Jesus is exactly who he says he is, the son of God, the promised rescuer to whom the whole Bible points. The Holy Spirit inspired John to write this book in a way that would lead us to believe in Jesus. And it's a great book for us as well as we enter into a culture with so many disparate worldviews. Every worldview, as we know, must answer 4 questions, and we see that John clearly answers these questions for the biblical gospel driven worldview in our passage this morning.

Herbie Newell: 02:33

The 4 questions every worldview must answer. Why is there something rather than nothing? Number 2, what is wrong with the world? Number 3, is there any hope? And number 4, where is history headed?

Herbie Newell: 02:49

And as we're going to see in these first 18 verses, John answers every last one of those questions. So beginning with verse 1 of John chapter 1, the Word of God 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.

Herbie Newell: 03:20

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from god whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

Herbie Newell: 03:41

He was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own and his own people did not receive him, but to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of god, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the word, it became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as the only son from the father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about him and cried out, this was he of whom I said, he who comes after me ranks before me because he was before me. For from the fullness we have all received grace upon grace.

Herbie Newell: 04:26

For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only God who is the father's side, he has made him known. So look at how John answers the questions on worldview in the first 18 verses of his gospel. First, why is there something rather than nothing?

Herbie Newell: 04:48

And the answer that we see in verse 3 is that all things were made through him, and the life was the light of man. Why was is there something rather than nothing for the glory of God? The world was made by God for God to echo on repeat the glory of God. Over and over and over, there's something rather than nothing for the glory of God. Our God is loving and kind, steadfast, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and passionate about making his glory known.

Herbie Newell: 05:22

But the second question is what is wrong with the world? And John's gospel goes right on to answer this as well. And it's darkness and sin. Pride and rebellion have led men to darkness. This dark darkness brings murder and hostility, slander, and all matter of vile wrongs.

Herbie Newell: 05:44

Verses 4 through 5 tells us the light shines in the darkness. What's wrong with the world's sin? Darkness, pride. But then the third question is, is there any hope? And again, what is the hope we see in verse 5 is that the darkness has not overcome the light.

Herbie Newell: 06:02

There is abundant hope. Verse 12-thirteen tells us, But to all who did receive Him, being Jesus the Word, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become, what, children of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but born of God. The biblical worldview that John so aptly describes is the only worldview that can truly paint not only what's wrong with the world, but that there is true and abundant hope. And where is history headed? Verse 13 says, the Word became flesh and what dwelt among us.

Herbie Newell: 06:37

And we have seen his glory, glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace. In truth, one day, those who are in Christ will dwell forever with him. We will see his glory and worship him in harmony for eternity. Beloved, the very first 18 verses of John show why this gospel is so important to our faith, to our ministry, and to the world. We must know it, study it, and allow it to shine in and through us as we disciple orphans, vulnerable children, women, and families.

Herbie Newell: 07:07

The first words of John are so vitally important because they tell us who Jesus is and why he came to earth. Jesus is given the unique title, word. Jesus is the word of God, and God's word is powerful. Psalm 30 3 6, by the word of the lord, the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth, all their hosts. Genesis 1:3, god said it.

Herbie Newell: 07:33

His word was spoken. Let there be light. And what happened? There was light. God's word brings creation out of nothing.

Herbie Newell: 07:43

And then Psalm 10720 says, he sent out his, what, word, and he healed them and delivered them from their destruction. Creation and salvation come from the word of God. Jesus, therefore, reveals God's mind. He expresses God's will. He displays God's perfection, and he exposes God's heart.

Herbie Newell: 08:10

John begins in the beginning. Jesus existed before creation and before the world began. In John 17:5, Jesus prays, father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. Everything that can be said about god can be said about Jesus. John MacArthur says confusion about the deity of Christ is inexcusable because the biblical teaching regarding it is clear and unmistakable.

Herbie Newell: 08:42

Jesus Christ is the preexistent word who enjoys full face to face communion and divine life with the father and is himself God. Beloved, Jesus was not only present at creation, he was active in creation, and he is active today making all things new. The scene in Revelation 4 verse 11 captures for us as the the saints are gathered around the throne, and they're saying, worthy are you, oh lord and god, to receive glory and honor and power for what you created all things, and by your will, they existed and were created. You see, beloved, without Jesus, we are all dead in our sin, and death is is fundamentally separation. Physical death is the separation of the soul from the body.

Herbie Newell: 09:35

But even more terrifying, spiritual death, therefore, is the separation of the soul from God. And Jesus came to give us life to reconcile us with God, changing both our present condition and our future destination. We will no longer be separated from God and cut off as an enemy, but welcomed as a son or daughter. Jesus came to earth to call people from death to life. Jesus brought life to the spiritually dead and light to the spiritually darkened.

Herbie Newell: 10:08

Isaiah 9 verse 2 says, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. Then 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. Throughout John's gospel, we will find this ongoing struggle between light and darkness.

Herbie Newell: 10:40

But we can take heart because Jesus, the light, has overcome the darkness. And because he has overcome the darkness, he has shown light in our hearts so that we may reflect his light and his gospel to the world. Verse 5 tells us the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Shines is a present tense. The light is shining in the darkness.

Herbie Newell: 11:04

But then the darkness has not overcome it. That is past completed. Jesus, the light, has once and for all conquered the darkness. John, the apostle and author, who never refers to himself by name, instead by the moniker the disciple Jesus loved. Whenever he speaks of John in this gospel, it's of JTB, John the Baptist.

Herbie Newell: 11:27

John speaks of JTB as the witness who was bearing the witness and reflecting the light. AW Pink says this about JTB. He says, when the sun is shining in all its beauty, who are the ones unconscious of the fact? Who need to be told it is shining? The blind.

Herbie Newell: 11:47

How tragic then when we read that god sent John to bear witness of the light. How pathetic that there should be any that need this. How solemn the statement that men have to be told the light is now in their midst. What revelation of man's fallen condition, but yet they are blind, and they need a witness. They need someone to reflect the light.

Herbie Newell: 12:13

But, beloved, blindness is a serial condition of the world, and we have also been commissioned as witnesses to bear truth about Jesus, the light of the world. And so we must equip the body of Christ to manifest this beautiful gospel to the weak, the hurting, the sick, the vulnerable, the orphan, and the vulnerable woman. And as we reflect that light, we bear the truth that those who are dead in their trespasses and sin are now brought into the family of God. We need not fear the future because we are headed to the father's house. We need not worry about the needs of this world because our father gives good gifts to his children.

Herbie Newell: 12:55

We don't need to be anxious about tomorrow because our father holds the future. Our hope and expectation is not in this world, but in our father's kingdom. And this leads us to John 114, when it says, Jesus, the word, became flesh. Some will say that the Word came to dwell in a man and that Jesus himself did not become a man, but John says the Word did become flesh, so we know that's not true. Others will say Jesus just appeared like a man and therefore didn't really take on human flesh.

Herbie Newell: 13:33

But then again, John didn't say that. He said the Word became flesh. Still others have said God chose a man and made that man his son. But this flies in the face of the Word being in the beginning and that Jesus was the creator. The Word became flesh, became a man, and was in the beginning.

Herbie Newell: 13:53

If Jesus did not become a man, he could not be tempted. But God did become man so he could sympathize with our weakness and so that we could assure and so that he could assure us that victory over sin and temptation is possible through his strength. When Jesus didn't become a man, he could not have been an example. But because Jesus was a man and was tempted and dealt with the fallen world, he gives us the perfect example to follow as we walk in obedience to him. If Jesus did not become a man, then he could not have died.

Herbie Newell: 14:30

But the incarnation is amazing because of why God became man. He became man so that he could die for our sin. He renounced the glory due him, becoming poor so that through his poverty, we might become rich. The second part of verse 14 is majestic and holy. It said he dwelt among us.

Herbie Newell: 14:55

The word dwelt is the word tabernacle, literally meaning he pitched his tent. The tabernacle in the old testament was the most holy place where god came to meet man. It was where his glory came down as fire and enveloped his holiness and presence before his people. Now God has sent forth his word to become flesh in order to meet us in person. It is only through Jesus that man can be brought from death to life and brought to God.

Herbie Newell: 15:26

So in closing, as we begin this study on the gospel of John, remember, first, the gospel story is a rescue story and Jesus is the rescuer. But second, the gospel is a promise and Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise. And then 3rd, the gospel story is all about Jesus Christ and the grace that he has made available to all. Mark Dever has said the old testament could be called promises made. The new testament in the gospel of John explicably can be called promises kept.

Herbie Newell: 16:09

Aren't we grateful to God that he was in the beginning? Aren't we grateful that he became man incarnate so that he could take our place, could take our punishment so that he would become poor, so that through his poverty, we might be rich, be brought into the kingdom of God. Thank you for joining us for the Defender Bible Study. This week, we are praying for our birth mother ministry and specifically for the birth mothers that we are ministering to. Let's go before the Lord and pray for these women.

Herbie Newell: 16:43

Father God, we pray for the birth mothers that Lifeline is serving, that they will come to know you and they will come to know your redeeming love. I I pray for their freedom from addiction and trauma and mental health concerns. I pray that you would help these women to be committed to choosing life and to know that the life in their womb, no matter how the act was made to for it to get there, that that life is sacred, that that life is made and knit together by you. Father, I pray for these women and for their grief that they are feeling, the grief journey that they are on. I pray that that they will reach out to our pregnancy counselors for support when they need it.

Herbie Newell: 17:23

I pray that our worthy program through local churches would be able to meet the needs of women and would put women in contact with other women who can show them hope and point them to the gospel. They can be like JTB that we saw in John chapter 1 and will will lead them to the light, will be a witness of the light, will reflect your light to these women. And I just ask and pray for smooth, gospel centered relationships between birth families and adoptive parents. For those women that are choosing adoption, I pray that they would have beautiful, godly relationships with their child's adoptive parents. And, lord, would you give adoptive families a heart, a heart to love on these women, to care for them, and to show them your hope, and to show them your gospel.

Herbie Newell: 18:10

Oh, god, we love you. We praise you. We ask all these things in your great name, in the name of Jesus. Amen. Thanks again for joining us for the Defender Bible Study.

Herbie Newell: 18:23

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