Sep. 13, 2026

Background:

• John states the author's purpose (John 20:31)
• Purpose: These things were written that we may believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that we may have life in His name
• It aligns human speak with divine truth
• The doctrine of the Trinity is crucial for Christians
• He is our Father, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and our Savior
• His is loving, kind, merciful, full of grace, omnipresent, and eternal
• He works through divine actions, prayers, and praise...and works in mysterious ways
• Mysterious means that He works in ways that are too big for humans to comprehend
• His ways are not our ways
• The deity of Jesus Christ has been debated, but is wrapped up in the understanding of the Trinity
• John is unique amongst the Gospel
• The 1st three books follow the similar context, structure of Jesus's life
• John doesn't include Jesus' divine birth, the casting out of demons, the complete list of the 12 apostles, the temptation of Jesus, in the garden, on the mount of transfiguration, His baptism, His ascension to heaven

Key Sermon Points:

1. The Eternal Word

• John reaches back past Jesus' birth to eternity when Jesus was already in existence when the Heaven and Earth were created
• Jesus was not created; He already existed in the beginning
• Since time began with the creation of the physical universe...anything before that is eternal
• Jesus is before eternity
• The Word was with God - Jesus (as the Word and the 2nd person of the Trinity) was in deep fellowship with the Father
• Jesus shared the same exact divine nature as God the Father (Psalm 23; John 10:14; Phil. 2:5-7; 1 John 1:1-3; John 20:28-29)
• The concept of the Trinity is in the Scripture (1 John 5:6-7)
• Jesus is the eternal pre-existing Word who enjoys full face to face communion with the Father

2.  The Creative Power of the Word

• ALL things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made (v. 3)
• Everything that was created had a purpose
• Jesus created everything that came into being (Colossians 1:16)
• Nothing was created outside of His sovereign power
• He is the Creator and Sustainer of ALL things, including life
• He can create life, both physically and spiritually
• Jesus existed before everything and keeps everything on its axis
• He created everything to bring glory and honor to His name
• He has so much power that he can provide whatever we need!

3. The Self-Existence of the Word

• In Him was life
• Jesus embodied life and light
• The theme of Life and Light is common in the book of John
• Life is about spiritual life
• Only God is self-existent (Genesis 1:1)
• To get rid of the creation is to get rid of the Creator (e.g. the big bang theory gets rid of the Creator)
• Spiritual, eternal Life is only by God's grace
• Jesus is the Light of the world and the Life of many
• When we except Jesus, we come into the marvelous Light
• When we involve ourselves in the darkness (sin), there is conflict...nothing good comes out of sin
• There are always consequences of sin...even though God forgives us
• We have to confess our sins to God and repent because God is holy and righteous and sin separates us from Him
• We are made clean by Jesus and His work on the cross
• When we sin after accepting Jesus, we must also confess our sin to our heavenly Father
• We can be in Christ and yet not have the joy and fellowship with God because of sin
• When the Bible talks about darkness, it is talking about sin
• When the Bible talks about Light, it is talking about Jesus
• Darkness cannot overcome the Light
• When we are in darkness, we can't see...but when we embrace Jesus our eyes are open because of His Light
• We are to bring glory and honor to His name and not shame