Few passages in Scripture lift our hearts into the heights of eternal truth like the opening verses of the Gospel of John. Here, in just eighteen verses, we are invited into the mystery of eternity past, the wonder of God’s self-revelation, and the majesty of Christ’s incarnation. John doesn’t begin his Gospel with Bethlehem or shepherds or stars. He begins with God Himself, with the Word. He reaches back beyond creation, beyond time, beyond human thought, and introduces us to the One who has always been.

Not just a teacher.
Not just a miracle worker.
Not merely an extraordinary man.
But the eternal Word of God, who became flesh.

Today we stand on holy ground. We study a passage that reveals who Jesus truly is, why He came, and what His coming means for us.

In order to do this I wish to make 6 points from our Scripture reading.

1. The Word is Eternal
2. The Word is the Creator
3. The Word is the Source of Life and Light
4. The Word Was Sent and Rejected
5. The Word Became Flesh
6. The Word Reveals the Father

1. The Word is Eternal (John 1:1–2)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

When Solomon dedicated the temple in 1 Kings 8:27 he asked a very good question. Solomon asked, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth?” The glory of God dwelt in the tabernacle and the temple, but the glory departed from Israel because of disobedience. Then a glorious thing happened: the glory of God visited His people once again in the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The words, “In the beginning” are not only found in the opening verse of John’s Gospel. John echoes Genesis 1:1 intentionally. “In the beginning”, before creation, before history, the Word already was. He did not come into being; He simply was. Christ did not start at Bethlehem. He has existed eternally.

God, the Son was with God, the Father in the Days of Creation in Genesis 1. We make a great mistake if we think that the Lord Jesus Christ only came into existence at His conception and birth at Bethlehem.

The Bible tells us that God took on human flesh and was born as a man and was subject to everything that a body is subject to, apart from sin. The Lord Jesus knew what it was like to be hungry, to be thirsty, to be tired, to be happy, to feel disappointed and certainly He knew what it was like to feel hurt, rejected and hated.

John tells us three crucial facts:

1. The Word was in the beginning – He is preexistent.
2. The Word was with God – distinct in person, in fellowship, face-to-face with the Father.
3. The Word was God – fully divine, of the same essence as the Father.

There is no clearer proclamation in all of Holy Scripture: Jesus is God. Not a lesser deity. Not one of many gods. Not a created being. He is the eternal Word.

2. The Word is the Creator (John 1:3)

“All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

Through Christ, everything was made, the world, the stars, the oceans, the mountains, the rivers, the atoms, the galaxies, and yes, your heartbeat. Creation is not merely a stage He later entered, it is His workmanship. We worship a Saviour who spoke creation into existence and upholds it by His power. Every sunrise, every breath, every moment exists because Jesus willed it.

Psalm 33:9 tells us, “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Let us just consider for a moment the power and authority that God has in His spoken word. In Genesis 1 we read “And God said..” and it was done. “Let there be light, and there was light.” Without delay light came into being. God spoke and it was done.

We see this power and authority in the ministry of Christ in the Gospels. For example, when a sick person was brought to Christ a word was spoken and immediately the person was healed. When a person was distressed and tormented with demons, the Lord Jesus commanded such to leave the person and immediately they left. When the Lord Jesus spoke to the sea and said, “Peace, be still” immediately the sea obeyed Him. The words of Christ have great power.

What about the written Word of God. We have looked at the spoken words of God and now let us look at the written Word of God, the Holy Bible.

It’s impossible to know the exact number of Bible copies, but estimates suggest there are between 5 and 7 billion copies in print. The Bible is the best-selling publication of all time. Every year, about 100 million copies are printed. The Word of God is not a dead, out-dated, old-fashioned and irrelevant document. In fact it is more up-to-date than tomorrow’s newspaper. Yes, it was penned by 40 different human authors spanning roughly 1,500 years, but it has something to say to us today. The Word of God is active, powerful, transformative and the source of all spiritual wisdom and truth.

This is why men have tried time and time again to destroy it, to ban it, to censor it and even burn copies of it.

There are 52 countries were the Bible is banned and being found in procession of one will get you into a whole lot of trouble in these 52 nations.

In fact, there was a time in our nation’s history when the Bible in English was against the law.

I do not want to digress to much from the topic at hand, but I will briefly say this. In the 16^th century the common people of England were forbidden from having a copy of God’s word in English. The Bible was kept and locked in a language known only to a select few. The Bible was in Latin and the common people had to go to a priest to have the Bible read to them. The problem with that is the common people could not read nor understand Latin. Thanks be to God for men such as William Tyndale who risked his life and liberty to translate the Holy Scriptures into English.

1 Peter 1:25 says, “BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER.” And this is the word which was preached to you.”

Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

The Lord Jesus Christ is the creator of our salvation. He purchased salvation for every soul of man with His own blood on the cross. At the moment a soul is converted to Christ a new creation occurs. A new spiritual life is made. A new hope, a new destiny, a new path and a new way of living.

When we come to Christ for salvation and take Him as our own, we are made new. We turn our back on our old way of life and walk in faith and obedience to our Lord and Saviour.

Christ, the word made flesh truly is the creator of all that is holy, just and good.

3. The Word is the Source of Life and Light (John 1:4–5)

“In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

Life is not just something Jesus gives, it is who He is. Jesus is life. He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

Apart from Him, there is no life, no spiritual vitality, no true meaning. And this life is the Light of men, shining into a dark world broken by sin. Darkness may resist. It may oppose. But it cannot overcome the Light. Darkness is the absence of light. Darkness reigns where there is no light.

Listen carefully to the words of our Lord in John 3:19-21, “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

The reason why the world hates the Light is because the Light exposes the evil, the wickedness, the sinfulness of its deeds. Evil likes to hide in the darkness where it cannot be seen. The thief comes in the darkness, to not be seen. Sin often operates under the cover of darkness to maximise its damage and control.

Light is a common theme in John’s Gospel; it is used 36 times. John tells us that Jesus is the Light of life and the Light of the World. John also tells us in 1 John 1:5, “God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” While Satan is “the power of darkness” found in Luke 22:53.

People either love light or darkness and this love will control their actions. Those who believe in Christ are the “sons of light.”

The world tried to extinguish Christ, in Nazareth, in Gethsemane, and at Calvary. Yet He reigns. Darkness may press against us, but it will never have the final word, if we are in Christ. Christ is the Light that darkness cannot defeat.

The Light is still shining brightly in this world of sin. Have you personally received the Light and become a child of God?

4. The Word Was Sent and Rejected (John 1:9–13)

The true Light came into the world He made. Yet Scripture says:

“He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.” (v. 11)

The Creator walked among His creation, and they didn’t recognize Him. They refused Him. Christ came into the world for His own. He was born a Jew and lived as a Jew. Yet the nation of Israel rejected Him. Yet the rejection of the many opened the door for the believing few:

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God…” (v. 12)

Although many rejected Him, some received Him such where called disciples.

You see, when Christ came into the world as a babe in Bethlehem He was not what the nation expected. The children of Israel where expecting their Messiah to be something of a political or military leader to free them from Roman rule and usher in the Kingdom of God.

Even John the Baptist did not know Him until after the Lord was baptised and the Spirit descended upon him. John 1:33 says, “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.”

Another fact that perplexed the people of Israel was that the Lord Jesus did not come exclusively for them. You see, they thought that the Messiah was sent only for the physical descendants of Abraham. Yet, the Lord Jesus Christ came for the whole world. He is the Saviour of the whole world, all who trust in Him.

Salvation is not inherited, earned, or achieved. It is a gift granted to those who believe. When you receive Christ, you are born, not of flesh, not of effort, but of God. You become His child.

What grace! What mercy! What love!

5. The Word Became Flesh (John 1:14)

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us…”

This is the last time that the title “the Word” appears in John’s Gospel.

Here lies the heart of Christianity, the eternal God stepped into humanity. He did not send an angel or a prophet alone. He came Himself.

He dwelt among us.
He walked our roads.
He felt our pain.
He carried our sorrow.

And John says:

“we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Not a distant deity, but a God who is near.
Not a cold judge, but One full of grace and truth.

Grace to forgive.
Truth to transform.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The words of the prophets and their prophecies about the coming Messiah became flesh, and not only that, but dwelt among us. There are many titles and names attributed to the Lord Jesus in Scripture such as “good shepherd”, “the door”, “bread of life” and “alpha and omega. One such name is, Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” In Jesus Christ the fulness of God is with us.

In this single, powerful verse, we see the heartbeat of the gospel, God did not remain distant. He stepped into our world, in flesh and blood. Jesus came near. He walked roads like ours, felt emotions like ours, faced temptation like ours, yet without sin. He was not content to love us from afar; He chose to move into the world of humanity.

The presence of Christ among us means we are not alone in our weakness, pain, or questions. The God who came in flesh understands us entirely. He didn’t come just to observe, but to redeem. To bring light into darkness. To offer grace upon grace.

Today, take comfort in the God who draws close. Invite Him into your ordinary moments. Let His nearness change how you walk, speak, think, and love. The Word became flesh, so that we could know Him, and through knowing Him, become more like Him.

6. The Word Reveals the Father (John 1:18)

“No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

Jesus doesn’t just talk about God, He reveals Him. He is the perfect image of the invisible God. If you want to know the Father’s heart, look at the Son. In Jesus, we behold God’s glory, God’s compassion, God’s justice, God’s love.

He has explained Him, made Him known, in a way no one else ever could.

In a world filled with questions about who God is, what He is like, and how He feels about us, John 1:18 gives us a beautiful and steadying truth: God has made Himself known through Jesus.

We could never climb high enough in our understanding to comprehend God on our own. No amount of effort, intellect, or spiritual striving could reveal Him fully. But God, in His love, came down to us. In Christ, the invisible became visible, the distant became near, and the unknown was made known. Jesus is not simply a messenger about God, He is God revealed, God in flesh, the heart of the Father walking among us.

When we look at Jesus, His compassion, His gentleness, His righteousness, His sacrifice, we are seeing the very character of God. If we ever wonder whether God cares, we need only look to Christ. If we ever question God’s heart toward sinners and seekers, look to the cross. If we want to know how God speaks, loves, forgives, and restores, we look to Jesus.

Conclusion: A Call to Worship and Response

John 1:1–18 is more than theology, it is an invitation to a personal and real relationship with the living God.

The eternal Word has spoken.
The Creator has come near.
The Light shines still.
Grace is offered freely.

The question is not simply Do we know these verses? The question is Do we know Him?

Have you received Him?

Do you walk in His light?

Do you behold His glory?

May we respond like John intended with worship, with reverence, with faith.

Let us pray

Lord Jesus,

Eternal Word made flesh, Light that triumphs over darkness, we behold Your glory today. Open our hearts to receive You more fully, to love You more deeply, to walk in Your grace and truth. May Your Word dwell in us richly, and may we reflect Your light to a world in need. We ask this in the most blessed and precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.