John Chapter 1, BEFORE ANYTHING EXISTED, THERE IS GOD part 1

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New to “God’s Heart Beats For You? Visit the Introduction at     https://ajl-heart.blogspot.com/2019/11/intro-to-what-makes-jesus-tick.html

Man’s finite brain cannot grasp “In the beginning.” It refers to eternity past, a time before,

Genesis 1:1   In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2   The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Before there was a universe there was GOD, the WORD. 

John 1:1-3   In the beginning was the Word, 

and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 

He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, 

and without Him nothing was made that was made.

We like to imagine eternity future and the Bible offers some glimpses of heaven, but also consider eternity past. Before Satan existed, before there were angels or demons, or anything, before there was land, before there was man, there is GOD.

John 1:4   In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5   And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

The BORN AGAIN experience is a transition from death to life; it’s a new beginning for the person accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. The context of verses 1-3 tied to 4 and 5 demonstrate that God lives outside of time. The jump from eternity past to the here and now further short circuits our finite brain. It also shows us the reality of the eternal life available to those walking in this light. Just as we can see light from stars that are hundreds and thousands of light years away in the darkness of space, so the light of the life of Jesus should shine through His people in the darkness of a sinful world. Darkness can’t understand the light of life so it flees away. It’s hard for us to fathom one light year, the distance one would travel if going at the speed of light for a year. How far the Gospel would spread if the body of Christ reflected that light.

2 Corinthians 4:6   For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

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Back in the late 1990’s I had a vision of our church in Charlotte, NC. I saw a very large conduit and the end of it was stuffed with stones. The mortar holding these stones together was engraved with the names of various sins. The light, the river, the Revival that was to be experienced was blocked. We sought the Lord in prayer and repentance for many months until I saw that mortar begin to break up, trickles of water were coming through. The blocked water increased in force and we saw this dam burst. There was a great revival happening in Toronto Canada which sparked a great outpouring of the Spirit in Brownsville, FL at that time. When this conduit burst open we saw that revival hit our church too. The darkness flees as God’s people repent.

PRAYER – OH! that all who name the name of Jesus would walk in this light for then the darkness would flee and multitudes will come to the light and find this eternal life. We live in a time that the future of America depends on this happening from coast to coast. How urgent it is that we be about the Father’s business, reflecting that light and making the disciples who will do likewise.

https://bigvalleygrace.org/word-became-flesh/

The reality of Jesus being this light that shines out of the darkness is wonderfully profound and important to every believer. Look at the following versus that describe John the Baptist’s reason for being. Ours is similar.

John 1:7   This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe.

8   He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9   That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

Now the drama of John 1 gets really exciting. We begin to see Jesus and His primary goal for mankind.

11   He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.

12   But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

13   who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Here is the goal: Jesus desires that people receive Him so that they become part of the family. This was God’s intent when He put Adam and Eve in the garden 4,000 years before Jesus was born.

This is followed up with the ultimate climax of history, without which there would be no hope of the rapture, the Millennium, or eternity in Heaven.

14   And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

If you love the Christmas story, if you say you love Jesus, then THE FIRST PART OF this verse should light a fire in your gut, of fire of love for the Word of God, the Bible. 

SELAH - Stop reading for a minute and let this sink into your heart.

14   And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Have you ever been in a place where you can’t see the sky for much of the day, or week or years? Ever been in prison or a hospital room with no windows? How about all you cube dwellers and windowless factory workers like I was for 43 years? For much of the year we drive to work before sunrise and drive home after sunset. How wonderful it is to get out and look up to see sun. I will never forget that day I went back to my apartment after spending 5 weeks in the hospital at the end of 2009. I got out of the car and just stood there for awhile, just looking at the sunshine and clear blue sky on that cold December day. It was a personal celebration, like a renewal of life after almost dying. Now let me paraphrase the highlighted phrase below.

Hey you, all y’all, check this out!!! The brilliant light, brighter than the sun, is all over Jesus, God’s only son. Are you ready to fall in love? Are you ready for a great change in your life? Just a quick glance will fill your heart with joy and wonder and renew your soul. Take all the time you want to just look and let that light enter the deepest places of your heart and soul.

14   And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

16   And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

The reality of the Word becoming flesh takes on greater meaning when we realize what Jesus said about Himself a few chapters later, and we apply it to ourselves.

John 6:35   Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Meditate on the Word, let it get from your head down into your heart and the hunger and thirst of your soul will be satisfied. Make this a daily habit so that you experience the , “will never be.”

Before getting into the fact that grace is far more than unmerited favor, we need to understand that Jesus is the truth:

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus stir our hearts to become the cleanest, shiniest mirrors of your light. May we be so full of the “bread of life” that we can feed the masses the unbounded love of Jesus every day. Cleanse our hearts so that we, like you, are full of grace and truth

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