Let me start out by saying that I am not a biblical scholar by any stretch of the imagination. We have been preaching through the Gospel of John over the past several weeks and I thought it would be a good idea to supplement the Sunday morning messages with a follow-up summary of the text that was studied.

The purpose for this post (and future posts) is to explore the Gospel of John and discover more fully the person of Christ. I will refer to many commentaries and other scholarly material that has been written on this subject. In addition, I will humbly insert my observations and suggest possible applications to the life of the believer.

Can I Get An Intro!

Let’s start with the preliminaries. The Gospel of John was written by the disciple whom Jesus loved, John the son of Zebedee, around 90 C.E. or if you prefer AD. It seems that the purpose of John’s Gospel is to make an argument for the divinity and humanity of Christ and against any claims that Jesus was anything otherwise. More importantly, John is arguing that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah and Savior.

As we begin to sift through the text, I believe that it will become clear that Jesus will be portrayed as the Son of God who stepped out of heaven, became flesh and voluntarily laid down his life in order to reconcile sinful humanity back to God.

The first 18 verses of John’s Gospel is commonly referred to as The Prologue. It is here that we are introduced to the truth of the Eternal Christ that becomes a man.

John 1:1-5 (ESV)
¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
² He was in the beginning with God.
³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

In the first 5 verses, John begins to outline the nature of Christ and his relationship to humanity. John describes Jesus as the Word, with God, God, Creator, Life, and Light. When I look over this list of attributes I quickly realize that Jesus is the creator of all things, He is the giver of all life, and He is the light that shines through all darkness. If I were to apply these truths to my life, I would see that Jesus (the source of life) gave me life and has caused me to overcome the darkness by filling me with His light.

This is important especially when we consider that humanity is flawed and separated from God because of our depraved nature. Throughout the Gospel of John we will see Jesus as our redeemer and savior. John wants the reader to understand that Jesus is God in the flesh, our Messiah. More on the Prologue next time. Feel free to add your thoughts.

I saw this video several months ago. These guys do a great job explaining the Missional mindset.

Here is a quick update about the progress of Hope Church. We officially launched on Sept. 12th 2010 with 120 in attendance. We have started a small group that consists of 20 to 30 people on Wednesday nights.

We continue to reach out to our community through the donut. We give out donuts every Thursday to Johnson County Juvenile Services, Johnson County Sheriff Department, Johnson County Jail, Cleburne Police Department, Texas DPS, and Adult Probation. This outreach has allowed us to connect with and pray for many people who are in great need of the love of Christ.

Holiday Outreach Opportunities:

• This past Halloween, Hope Church partnered with the Cleburne Terrace Apartments to host a community Halloween Party. Hope Church provided pumpkins for kids to paint. The night involved, hot dogs, a bounce house and a costume contest. It was a great opportunity to serve and build relationships.

• We are cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the families that are staying at The Johnson County Lodge. We will cook a meal for 40 people the day after Thanksgiving. The lodge provides temporary housing for families that have been displaced by various events.

• We are adopting two families through the Department of Family & Protective Services. This involves purchasing gifts, a Christmas tree, and dinner for theses families.

What We Need:

As we continue to reach out into our community we are asking you to consider two things. Would you consistently pray for our efforts and would you prayerfully consider supporting our efforts financially.

Hope Church is a 501c3 and all of your donations to this ministry are tax deductible. Thank you for your prayer and consideration in Supporting the ministry of Hope Church. May God Richly Bless you and your family.

You may send your contributions to:
Hope Church
P.O. Box 1566
Cleburne, Texas 76033

The gospel of Luke begins with a dedication to a man named Theophilus, which means “Lover of God”. There is some speculation as to whether or not Theophilus was an actual individual or a general name used to address all believers. At any rate, in the first chapter, Luke discloses his reason to Theophilus for writing an account of the life of Christ and the subsequent acts of the apostles, ⁴ that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.

Luke’s account begins with the birth narrative of John the Baptist and is followed by the birth of Christ. It is at this point we are introduced to the mysterious incarnation. The word incarnation means “in the flesh”. Jesus, the son of God, steps out of heaven and into humanity and becomes flesh through the womb of the virgin Mary.

It is important to note the difficulty of explaining and understanding this mystery of the nature of Christ. Orthodox Christianity does not waver from the truth of Jesus being both man and God. Paul E. Little points out that the question of the two natures of Christ is obviously complex, with numerous subtleties. The Chalcedon Council summed up the orthodox view succinctly, making four helpful points.

In the one person, Jesus Christ,

1. There are two natures, a human nature and a divine nature,

2. Each has its completeness and integrity, and

3. These two natures are organically and indissolubly united, so no third nature is formed thereby.

4. In brief, orthodox doctrine forbids us either to divide the person or confound the natures.

Many heresies developed as a result of men and women attempting to define the nature of Christ. Here is a list of the most common heresies taken from Paul E. Little’s Know What You Believe: Connecting Faith and Truth:

• The Ebionites, early in the second century, denied the deity of Christ. They maintained He was merely a man, though supernaturally conceived and having a peculiar relationship to God.

• The Docetists, later in the same century, denied Jesus. true humanity, rejecting the reality of His human body as merely a phantom appearing to be human. Jesus’ life on earth, they held, was largely an illusion. They even implied the divine Christ was not hungry or thirsty; nor did He suffer and die.

• The Arians, forerunners of today’s Unitarians (accepting the moral teachings but rejecting the divinity of Jesus), mistook the biblical statements about Christ’s subordination to the Father as reaching His inferiority. Christ was somehow created by the Father as the first and highest being, but not as God. This belief is current today in several major cults.

• The Apollinarians were condemned at the Council of Constantinople in a.d. 381. Heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, Apollinarius taught that Christ had a true body and soul but the human mind was replaced by His divine being. This view implied that Jesus was not fully human and therefore not tempted in every respect as we are.

• Nestorius, in the fifth century, emphasized the distinctness of Christ’s two natures and denied a real union between the divine and human Jesus. He made this union a moral one rather than an organic one. Nestorians virtually believed in two natures and two persons instead of two natures in one person.

• The Eutychians, at the opposite extreme, denied two distinctive natures. They said the divine and the human natures in Christ were absorbed or “merged” into a third sort of nature, particular to Christ. This group was condemned as heretical at the Council of Chalcedon in a.d. 451.

Luke’s account describes in great detail the birth of Jesus to a young virgin named Mary. Luke forces Theophilus and anyone else who reads his historical record to deal with this man Jesus who claims to be God.

In the church world, the central message is found in words such as, Salvation, Sin, Repentance, Messiah, King, Lord, Savior, Jesus, The Christ, freedom, evil, flesh, Spirit, Regeneration, etc. Unfortunately for many, the meaning of these words eludes their understanding. This post will discuss humanity’s condition and need for salvation.

What does it mean to be saved? What is sin and evil? What is grace? What is repentance? Does good works equal salvation?

It is important to understand some basic theology regarding sin and humanity. Many of us have an erroneous understanding of humanity’s nature where it involves the issue of sin. In my experience, many people believe that man is basically good and learns to sin from the environment in which they are reared. This is a mistaken view that is derived from a non-biblical perspective.

Original Sin or inherited sin is a term that was coined by Augustine of Hippo. This doctrine states that as a result of Adam and Eve’s sin in the Garden of Eden, all of humanity is corrupted and defiled; basically, humanity has inherited the sin of our fore fathers all the way back to Adam and Eve. Listen to the account in Genesis 3

Genesis 3:1-13 (TEV)
¹ Now the snake was the most cunning animal that the Lord God had made. The snake asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”
² “We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden,” the woman answered,
³ “except the tree in the middle of it. God told us not to eat the fruit of that tree or even touch it; if we do, we will die.”
⁴ The snake replied, “That’s not true; you will not die.
⁵ God said that because he knows that when you eat it, you will be like God and know what is good and what is bad.”
⁶ The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good its fruit would be to eat, and she thought how wonderful it would be to become wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it.
⁷ As soon as they had eaten it, they were given understanding and realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and covered themselves.
⁸ That evening they heard the Lord God walking in the garden, and they hid from him among the trees.
⁹ But the Lord God called out to the man, “Where are you?”
¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden; I was afraid and hid from you, because I was naked.”
¹¹ “Who told you that you were naked?” God asked. “Did you eat the fruit that I told you not to eat?”
¹² The man answered, “The woman you put here with me gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”
¹³ The Lord God asked the woman, “Why did you do this?” She replied, “The snake tricked me into eating it.”

Genesis 3:21 (TEV)
²¹ And the Lord God made clothes out of animal skins for Adam and his wife, and he clothed them.

Notice that the Lord God killed (sacrificed) an animal to cover the sin of Adam and Eve. This is significant because it leads into the O.T. sacrificial system which eventually leads to the sacrifice of Christ for the sins of humnaity. Following this event in Genesis, Adam and Eve have children and the effect of sin becomes painfully obvious.

Genesis 4:1-8 (TEV)
¹ Then Adam had intercourse with his wife, and she became pregnant. She bore a son and said, “By the Lord’s help I have gotten a son.” So she named him Cain.
² Later she gave birth to another son, Abel. Abel became a shepherd, but Cain was a farmer.
³ After some time Cain brought some of his harvest and gave it as an offering to the Lord.
⁴ Then Abel brought the first lamb born to one of his sheep, killed it, and gave the best parts of it as an offering. The Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering,
⁵ but he rejected Cain and his offering. Cain became furious, and he scowled in anger.
⁶ Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why that scowl on your face?
⁷ If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling; but because you have done evil, sin is crouching at your door. It wants to rule you, but you must overcome it.”
⁸ Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out in the fields.” When they were out in the fields, Cain turned on his brother and killed him.

The consequence of sin continues in Genesis 6:

Genesis 6:5-7 (TEV)
⁵ When the Lord saw how wicked everyone on earth was and how evil their thoughts were all the time,
⁶ he was sorry that he had ever made them and put them on the earth. He was so filled with regret
⁷ that he said, “I will wipe out these people I have created, and also the animals and the birds, because I am sorry that I made any of them.”

It is evident from the passages found in Genesis that humanity is wicked and evil. The reason for this is found in the inherited sin or the sin nature. Simply put man is born into sin, we are all sinners from birth.

Take a look at Paul’s letter to the Romans:

Romans 3:9-18 (NASB)
⁹ What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin;
¹⁰ as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; (righteous simply means to be in right standing with God. To be innocent before God.)
¹¹ There is none who understands , There is none who seeks for God;
¹² All have turned aside , together they have become useless ; There is none who does good , There is not even one.”
¹³ “Their throat is an open grave , With their tongues they keep deceiving ,” “The poison of asps is under their lips”;
¹⁴ “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
¹⁶ Destruction and misery are in their paths,
¹⁷ And the path of peace they have not known.”
¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Listen to the Prophet Isaiah as he describes man’s condition:

Isaiah 64:6 (AMP)
⁶ For we have all become like one who is unclean [ceremonially, like a leper], and all our righteousness (our best deeds of rightness and justice) is like filthy rags or a polluted garment; we all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away [far from God’s favor, hurrying us toward destruction].

What is sin? Many of us have been taught that sin involves the things in which we do, such as, lying, stealing, killing, etc. This viewpoint of sin is in incorrect. What we need to know is that sinful behavior is a result of a sinful nature. Sin is who we are and as a result of who we are sinful behavior is produced. For example, many people forget that animals can be dangerous and when we lose respect for the animal and decide to make pets something they are not, it can lead to tragedy. Note the story of the chimp that went crazy and ripped off the hand of the neighbor.

Charla Nash, 55, had just arrived at her friend Sandra Herold’s house when the chimp, named Travis, jumped on her and began biting and mauling her, causing serious injuries to her face, neck and hands, according to Stamford Police Capt. Rich Conklin, who said the attack was unprovoked.

Herold had called Nash to her house to help get 14-year-old Travis back inside after he used a key to escape.

While her friend was being attacked, Herold tried to pull the primate off her, but was unsuccessful.

She then called 911 before stabbing the chimp with butcher knife and hitting him with a shovel. Neither fazed Travis, who police said was like a child to Herold.

Stamford police later shot the chimp multiple times after he attacked an officer inside a police cruiser, Conklin said.

Travis returned to the house, where police later found him dead. Conklin estimated that Travis weighed close to 200 pounds.

The issue involves the core, the essence of our being. Just because a man dresses as a woman, doesn’t change the fact that the man is still a man in the core of his being.

Being good or doing good works doesn’t make you a good person. Listen to the words of Christ as He rebukes the religious leaders of His day:

Matthew 23:25-28 (NASB)
²⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
²⁶ “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.
²⁸ “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

The truth is we are all sinners at the very core of our nature. We are all spiritually dead. Without the grace of God, we are without hope. Unless this truth is revealed to us, then we will not see a need for salvation.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T’was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

The author of the words was John Newton, the self-proclaimed wretch who once was lost but then was found, saved by amazing grace.

Newton was born in London July 24, 1725, the son of a commander of a merchant ship which sailed the Mediterranean. When John was eleven, he went to sea with his father and made six voyages with him before the elder Newton retired. In 1744 John was impressed into service on a man-of-war, the H. M. S. Harwich. Finding conditions on board intolerable, he deserted but was soon recaptured and publicly flogged and demoted from midshipman to common seaman.

Finally at his own request he was exchanged into service on a slave ship, which took him to the coast of Sierra Leone. He then became the servant of a slave trader and was brutally abused. Early in 1748 he was rescued by a sea captain who had known John’s father. John Newton ultimately became captain of his own ship, one which plied the slave trade.

Although he had had some early religious instruction from his mother, who had died when he was a child, he had long since given up any religious convictions. However, on a homeward voyage, while he was attempting to steer the ship through a violent storm, he experienced what he was to refer to later as his “great deliverance.” He recorded in his journal that when all seemed lost and the ship would surely sink, he exclaimed, “Lord, have mercy upon us.” Later in his cabin he reflected on what he had said and began to believe that God had addressed him through the storm and that grace had begun to work for him.

Regeneration- is the act of God’s grace through the Holy Spirit in which the dead heart and soul of man is made alive through the redemptive salvific act of Christ. A passing from death to new life. A transformation occurs in our nature, attitude, thoughts, behavior.

Titus 3:3-6 (AMP)
³ For we also were once thoughtless and senseless, obstinate and disobedient, deluded and misled; [we too were once] slaves to all sorts of cravings and pleasures, wasting our days in malice and jealousy and envy, hateful (hated, detestable) and hating one another.
⁴ But when the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Savior to man [as man] appeared,
⁵ He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but because of His own pity and mercy, by [the] cleansing [bath] of the new birth (regeneration) and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ⁶ Which He poured out [so] richly upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.

John 3:3 (TEV)
³ Jesus answered, “I am telling you the truth: no one can see the Kingdom of God without being born again.”

Romans 7:18 (TEV)
¹⁸ I know that good does not live in me—that is, in my human nature. For even though the desire to do good is in me, I am not able to do it.

Romans 8:7 (TEV)
⁷ And so people become enemies of God when they are controlled by their human nature; for they do not obey God’s law, and in fact they cannot obey it.

1 Corinthians 2:14 (TEV)
¹⁴ Whoever does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God’s Spirit. Such a person really does not understand them, and they seem to be nonsense, because their value can be judged only on a spiritual basis.

Ephesians 2:1-5 (TEV)
¹ In the past you were spiritually dead because of your disobedience and sins.
² At that time you followed the world’s evil way; you obeyed the ruler of the spiritual powers in space, the spirit who now controls the people who disobey God.
³ Actually all of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires, doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds. In our natural condition we, like everyone else, were destined to suffer God’s anger.
⁴ But God’s mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great,
⁵ that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God’s grace that you have been saved.

Ephesians 4:21-24 (TEV)
²¹ You certainly heard about him, and as his followers you were taught the truth that is in Jesus.
²² So get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to—the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires.
²³ Your hearts and minds must be made completely new,
²⁴ and you must put on the new self, which is created in God’s likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy.

Salvation is available to everyone through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. We are saved by GRACE through FAITH.

Romans 10:9-13 (TEV)
⁹ If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved.
¹⁰ For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved.
¹¹ The scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.”
¹² This includes everyone, because there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles; God is the same Lord of all and richly blesses all who call to him.
¹³ As the scripture says, “Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.”

Hope Church is a missional church that purposes to impact the community of Cleburne with the love of Christ. The purpose of Hope Church is to build the Kingdom of God one person at a time. We will pastor people and not programs. We will intentionally invest into the lives of everyone in which we connect. Hope Church will partner with the community of Johnson County and Cleburne in order to impact the lives of the hurting, disconnected and those that have been marginalized.

The overarching mission of HC is found in all three of the synoptic gospels. You shall love the Lord your God with every part of your being (heart, soul, mind, strength) and you shall love your neighbor as you love yourself. (Matthew 22:37-40, Mark 12:29-31, Luke 10:27-37) Simply put Love God | Love Others. Hope Church is and will be dedicated to this simple truth.