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The One and
Only God
John 1:1 - 18
Introduction
We live in a very tolerant society. Anything goes. Whatever
you are in to. Whatever you believe in. Whatever. The one thing Americans will not tolerate is
intolerance. When someone stands up to say, "there is only one right
way," the hair on the back of my head stand up. People just can't put
up with exclusiveness.
This is something that many do not understand about Jesus.
Many think that Jesus was a nice guy, a kind man, a good teacher. No one
who knew Jesus thought that about him. People who knew him either loved him
or hated him. One of the main reasons was at this point of exclusiveness.
Jesus claimed to be the one and only way to the father. As C. S. Lewis
pointed out, he was either a diabolical liar, a raving lunatic on the level
of someone who thinks he is a poached egg, or he is who he claimed to be.
Teach this lesson with the edge that is there. Don't let your
group get away with nodding and saying, "uh-huh, uh-huh."
John
1:1 -- 18
OPEN
- Complete
this sentence: "To me the best word in the English language is .
. ."
DIG
- As we read this
passage, look for what is unique about Jesus. What is true of Jesus
that is not true of anyone else?
- Anyone
remember how the Bible begins back in Genesis? How does this passage
remind you of that one?
- How
is Jesus like a word?
- Let
me ask a question for the experts among us. How do the Jehovah's
Witnesses use this verse as a justification for the idea that Jesus
was a God not the God?
- Whose
job in the trinity was it to create the earth? See verse 3.
- How
is Jesus like a light bulb? What is meant when we say "God is
light"?
- How
do people in the darkness feel when they come into the light?
- What
was John's job description?
- What
was John to be careful not to do? How does this relate to us?
- Who
does, "His own" refer to in verse 11?
- What
happens to people who receive Jesus?
- What
does it mean to receive Jesus? Be specific.
- Does
believing that Jesus existed, was a good man or was God qualify as
receiving him?
- Repeat
this after me: "I am a child of God. I am a child
of God. I am a child of God." How does that feel? Do you
feel like a child of God?
- Read
verse 14 slowly. Read it aloud in several translations. God became a
baby. Have you seen a baby lately? Can you grasp the idea that the God
about whom it was said, "Through him all things were made;
without him nothing was made that has been made." became a baby? A baby who cannot feed himself, crawl, or lift his
head. A baby who will choke on his own
spit-up and die if not carefully attended to. A baby who is completely
vulnerable and helpless. God became a helpless, vulnerable baby. Can
you grasp that?
- Why
did God find it necessary to become a baby?
- Is
the verse 18 saying Jesus was God?
- How
do your pre-Christian friends feel about Jesus? Do they see him as God?
Be specific about specific friends.
- How
can we help them to see that Jesus was not just a good man, but was in
fact God?
- Suppose
Jesus was not who he said he was. Suppose he was just another great
prophet or teacher. Is it reasonable to conclude this?
- How
would you respond to someone who said, "I think there are many
good ways to God." Jesus is one way. If
that is what you are into, great. I am not. But, it is cool if you
are.
- As
we close, I would like all of you to respond to this question: What
does Jesus teach us about God? What do we learn about God from
watching the life of Jesus?
John
1:1-18 In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He
was with God in the beginning.
3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made
that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the
light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the
darkness has not understood it.
6There came a man who was sent from
God; his name was John. 7He came as a witness to testify
concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8He
himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9The
true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
10He was in the world, and though the world was made through
him, the world did not recognize him. 11He came to that which
was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12Yet to all who
received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God-- 13children born not of natural descent,
nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have
seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
15John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This
was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he
was before me.' " 16From the
fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17For
the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at
the Father's side, has made him known.
Sunday School is not just about imparting facts; it is also
about getting to know one another. I like to begin the lesson with a life
exposure question that is loosely related to the topic of today's study. This relates
in that Jesus is called the word.
In the Greek as in English, we have our rules of grammar. This
one, as it turns out works roughly the same in both languages. If I say,
"The bat and ball," you understand that to mean "The bat and
the ball." The second the is
implied and, because it is redundant is usually left out. The same thing in
Greek. This passage says, "The word was God." Because it does not
say "The word was the God, Jehovah's Witnesses have
decided this would be a great place to insert the indefinite article,
"a." (The Greek has no such animal; they just leave the article
out when they want to say a something or other.) Anyway, the bottom
line is that the translation you have is right to translate this with a big
G capital God. This is THE God.
I mean a double meaning here-both literal and spiritual
He said it later, "He must increase; I must
decrease." John had to be careful not to eclipse the light. So should
we.
It could refer to mankind in general. More likely, it refers
to the Jews.
No. The demons do that and shutter.
People will never live above the level of their self concept. If they do not feel like a child of God,
they will not act like one.
One answer is that so that we might "not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we
are--yet was without sin." Hebrews 4:15
I love that phrase.
No. He was liar, lunatic or Lord.
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