Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 3 Study # 2
October 30, 2022
Broadlands, Louisiana
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Thesis: John's record of the "reception" that was given to The Word, The Creator Of All Things, is a record of a few human beings who were given the status of "a child of God".
Introduction: In the weekly verse we all read aloud this morning, and in the extended text we heard as it was read aloud, one claim was very prominent: no one gets to "see" the Kingdom of God, nor does anyone get to "enter" it, who does not go through the process of being born again.
If it was possible for me to bring this "claim-proclaimed" up to the level of a "claim-believed" for all who are here today, I would be ecstatic. I would be ecstatic for one cause: everyone here today would have the high privilege of possessing the status of "child of God" by way of a new birth. The author of this Gospel also wrote three letters that are included in our Bibles. In the first of those three he wrote this: "Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God". This is an identity, he goes on to write, that we actually possess.
And what does it mean to possess the identity of "a child of God"? According to the texts of our weekly verse and the context which was read to us, it means that we will, some day, both "see" and "enter" into the Eternal Kingdom Of God, and participate in that Kingdom forever.
In the prologue of this Gospel, John introduces us to the process involved in being "born again". So, this morning we are going to look into what he said by way of introduction.
- I. The "Beginning" Of The Process.
- A. Identifying the identity of The Creator of All Things as "The Word" Who is God.
- B. Revealing the fact that "rejection" of The Word is the normal reality.
- C. Making sure his readers understand that the normal reality has a severe downline consequence because that "rejection of The Creator by creatures" leads to the "Eternal Rejection of the creatures by The Creator".
- D. Also, making sure that his readers understand that the bottom line issue is what a person believes.
- 1. In 1:7 he said that "John" was God's "agent of faith" for all men who do believe: making what a person "believes" the critical issue (NOT what he/she "does").
- 2. Now in 1:12 he says, "receiving The Creator" is the equivalent of "believing in His name".
- E. So, this "beginning" is all about "believing" what The Creator of All Things, as "The Word", has said.
- II. The "Particulars" Of The Process.
- A. The "Light" of "The Living Word" shines upon every man who comes into the world.
- 1. This shining Light makes people aware of The Issues: God has made every man, He has shined His light upon every man, and He has "forced" the issue of man's response to his Creator.
- 2. This "issue" will ultimately "boil down to" one factor: whether a man will "receive his Creator", or not.
- B. At the heart of this "reception" issue is a thing called "believing".
- 1. Those who reject the Light and what Its shining reveals are said to "believe not".
- 2. But those who "receive" the Light and what Its shining reveals are said to "believe into His name".
- a. The preposition that I have translated "into" is stronger than the normal "in": it means to move into a place, realm, or thing.
- 1) Thus, "believing into" is greater than "believing in".
- 2) And, "believing into" is presented as a continuing, and not temporary, condition where the one "believing" is "into" a new setting.
- b. The "new setting" is identified as "His Name".
- 1) This name will, ultimately, end up being "Jesus Christ" (1:17).
- 2) But, in the development of John's reasoning, that is not "The Name" to which he referred in 1:12.
- 3) In the beginning of this Gospel, John identified "The Name": "The Word".
- 4) In describing the process of "being born of God" (1:13), the issue is man's response to The Word as Creator.
- 5) It is still "The Word" in 1:14, and He is not identified as "Jesus Christ" until 1:17.
- 6) Thus, man's "new setting" into which he moved by "believing" is a setting wherein a man finds himself surrounded by the words of The Word and he is ready to believe them [Paul says it this way, we have been "rescued from the domain (old setting) of darkness (where delusional lies are the setting) and transferred ... into the Kingdom of His beloved Son": Colossians 1:13].
- 3. It is supremely logical for us to recognize that it is only by "believing into The Word" that we come to "believe into Jesus Christ" so that we are, forever after, "in Him" (1 John 5:20) because we moved "into" Him by believing His words.
