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October 22, 2021
Key verse 14: "And the Word became man (literally" flesh ") and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, a glory as the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth."
Who is Jesus and what did he do for us?
John, the author of this book, introduces Jesus to us so that we can believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God, so that through faith in his name we may have (true, eternal) life (see John 20, 30).
In this section, Apostle John explains to us who Jesus really is, why he came in the world, and what character he has.
We can summarize the idea of Jesus as follows:
(1) Jesus is God (2)
(2) He makes us children of God (3)
(3) He is full of grace and truth
May God help us today to get to know Jesus well and to welcome him warmly and to enjoy God's grace as God's children.
1. Jesus is God or God's Son
Who is Jesus? That is the first important question about Jesus.
Jesus once said before Pilate:
“I came into the world to bear witness to the truth. He who is of the truth hears my voice ”(John 18:37).
Pilate then asked back:
“What is truth?” (John 18:38).
We ask ourselves: "What did John mean by the truth?"
“The truth” generally means what is not wrong.
Of course, a scientific truth is also a truth. Examples of the truth are that the water flows downwards or one plus one is two.
But a scientific truth cannot be an eternal truth, because when Jesus Christ comes again, the water may flow from below upwards, or there may be no more water. And one plus one can be three, more, or one as appropriate.
By the truth, the author meant a fundamental truth or the first cause.
This fundamental truth is in verses 1-3: In the beginning was God's Word or God.
God is the first cause of all things.
Neither humans nor any creatures are the first cause, for they were all created from the first cause.
God is the first cause. He was never created. He was already there and will be there forever. And God is never changed. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebr. 13: 8).
In verse 14 John says that the Word or God became man named Jesus. So Jesus is God incarnate. He became a man to reveal God to us and to become the sacrificial lamb for our sin. So God became a man named Jesus in order to show us God and to carry away our guilt. We can come to God and also to the kingdom of heaven through faith in Jesus.
In this sense Jesus said in John 14: 6:
“I am the way and the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through me."
Only through Jesus can we know God correctly and be redeemed from sin and the power of death. That is why the Apostle John says in 20:31:
"These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."
Most Japanese are Buddhists or they worship shamanic gods. And only 0.4 percent of the Japanese are Christians. That is why you can hardly see the cross of the church in Japan.
In such a country, Ganzo Uzimura was highly esteemed by Christians as well as non-Christians in Japan 120 years ago and was elected by the Japanese government in 1886 as one of the 20 most famous Japanese.
His tombstone reads in Japanese and English:
I for Japan
Japan for the World
The World for the Christ
And all for the God
Ganzo Uzimura was looking for the truth. But he was not looking for a scientific truth, but for the fundamental truth.
Once he opened the Bible in a library and read the first verse:
“In the beginning God created heaven and earth.”
Then he discovered the truth he was looking for: All things in the world came from God. So he got to know God and God's purpose. This enabled him to find the meaning of his life.
It is important that we know where we came from and where we are going. We came from God or from Jesus. Almighty God is our first cause and our Creator. And we're going back to him. Almighty, dear God created everyone and gave everyone the meaning of life. Not a single person is made superfluous.
I was born in a poor farming family in Korea. At that time there were about 80 classmates in my 6th grade of elementary school, and out of financial reasons only about 15 of them were able to attend middle school.
For financial reasons I would have had to work as a wood chopper after graduating from primary school like most of my classmates. But I was injured on my right hip when I was 8 years old. God used my injury so that I had to study hard in order to attend middle and high school and university with a scholarship. That was the only way I could survive. He then led me to believe in Jesus during my university days. He used me to lead some people such as Inseop Lim to faith and blissful life. These people in turn led other people to believe, so that by now tens, hundreds or thousands of people have become believers.
And God led me to my marriage to Esther, who is like an angel to me, and led me to Germany as a missionary. In order to pass on the blessings of God, many missionaries have come to Germany and German students worked together with us. And Stephan, Timothee and Seungmi will raise physical and spiritual children and multiply greatly.
Jesus is the light of the world. Because Jesus reveals to us God and his world of grace and gives us a bright future. Without Jesus the world is dark. But when Jesus shines, the world becomes very bright, and people defeat the power of death and enjoy the glory of God.
2. Jesus makes us children of God (9-13)
What did Jesus come into the world for?
Let's look at verses 11-12.
It says:
“He, i.e. Jesus, came into his own; and his own did not receive him. But as many as welcomed him, he gave them power to become God's children who believe in his name."
Jesus came into the world to make people God's children. God gives power to all who believe in Jesus' name to become God's children.
To believe in Jesus' name means that we believe in Jesus as God's Son and as our Savior (cf. Mt. 1:21). Jesus, who was actually God, came into the world as a human being.
But many people did not accept him as their or his Lord. Some people nailed him to the cross. But he showed through his resurrection that he is God's Son. He wants us to become children of God by believing in his name.
In order to become God's children - one needs divine power, because sin has to be redeemed and the power of death has to be overcome.
This power is called the Holy Spirit. So far there has not been a single person who has overcome the power of death. But Jesus overcame the power of death. Jesus' name is the only power with which we can overcome the power of death.
All people who believe in Jesus' name receive this power, i.e. the Holy Spirit. Because of this power, we are God's children and conquer the power of sin, death and hell. We have forgiveness, eternal life and the kingdom of heaven.
That's why we can be really happy. By believing in the name of Jesus, we must receive the power of God in order to become God's children. The new birth is a whole new work of creation by God. We know that every human being is physically born from his mother. To become a child of God, every human being must be born of the Holy Spirit. And by believing in the name of Jesus one can receive the Holy Spirit and be spiritually born.
Do we know what a privilege it is to become God's child?
Our God is the creator of all things. And he loves us so much that he sacrificed his only son for us. When we are children of God, we can safely count on his protection, guidance, and blessings.
Our earthly fathers cannot grant out all their children's wishes. But if Almighty God is our Father, we can ask him, and he will surely grant our request. Because we are God's children, we have Holy Spirit and a bright future. We will live and work on this earth as a blessing for countless people. And we will eventually come to the kingdom of heaven and reign with Christ forever.
Our God waits for us in his glorious kingdom. And we are his children and his heirs! We will inherit the glorious kingdom of God and rule there forever with Jesus Christ! That is the good news. That is grace for all people!
Is there anyone here who has not yet accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior? Just accept Jesus and believe in his name and you will receive the power to be God's child!
3. Jesus is full of grace and truth
If someone asked me which book has helped me the best, I would answer "Bible" without hesitation. The Bible, or more precisely the Gospel, has opened the gate of heaven wide for many people, just as the Brandenburg Gate between East Berlin and West Berlin was opened on November 9, 1989.
On November 9th 2009, ZDF showed a film called “The Miracle of Berlin”. Just as a young border soldier experienced the fateful year 1989, the day in the evening moves the whole republic. What many do not know, the story is true. She belongs to Tilo Koch from Chemnitz. As a punk, 18-year-old Marco Kaiser (Kostja Ullmann) is against the system on principle. But he owes it to his father, Jürgen Kaiser, a high-ranking officer in the State Security, that he was arrested after an illegal punk concert, but did not end up in court. The father proposes a deal to his son: Marco will do his military service in the NVA (The National People's Army of the GDR) and then study, then the Stasi will let him and his girlfriend Anja go; otherwise he faces jail. Marco reluctantly has to accept his father's suggestion and become an NVA soldier.
Meanwhile, Hanna and Anja, Marco's friend, begin to get involved in the group for more civil rights. Meanwhile, Marco and his unit are being prepared for a secret mission. It is November 9, 1989; the opening of the east-west border will set a whole country in motion. As a border soldier, Marco almost tried to prevent the flow of GDR citizens in West Berlin with armed force. But circumstances prevented him and other soldiers from doing so.
Although the film did not directly mention the story of divine guidance, God was the ruler of the fall of the wall. Because from the prayers for peace in the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig, God had already prepared for the fall of the Berlin Wall on October 8th of that year with the peaceful peace march of 70,000 people in Leipzig. And before this peace march, God had prepared for the fall of the Berlin Wall through various events in Eastern countries such as the labor movement in Poland, liberalization in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Moscow. And God carried out his gracious will for the peaceful unification of Germany step by step.
God is the sovereign Lord of history. The fall of the wall is a demonstration of God's grace. The fall of the Berlin Wall is only a small example of the demonstration of God's grace.
This gracious God let the wall between God and every man fall through Jesus Christ and opened his heavenly gate wide for every man. Although everyone is more or less burdened with guilt and mistakes, God welcomes us to his kingdom.
We are a bit like Marco, his mother or his father. But God gives us forgiveness, sonship of God and all God's blessings free of charge. He sent Jesus Christ to show his grace.
Jesus is full of grace and truth. Jesus is the Creator God, but became man to show us God and his grace. If we believe in this Jesus, we are God's children and have blessed, eternal life.
At the end of this book, John wrote what he wrote this book for:
This book is written so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God, and through this faith we may have blessed, eternal life (John 20, 31).
If we believe in Jesus Christ, God the Creator and our Savior, we are God's children. We are God's princesses and princes. We are God's heirs! We will enjoy all of God's blessings both on this earth and in the kingdom of heaven. We will rule with Jesus Christ forever!
Is there anyone here who cannot yet properly appreciate the blessings in Jesus?
Accept the truth and grace in Jesus and enjoy this blessing! You will taste paradise today.
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