John
Lesson 2John 1:1-18
Over the course of this lesson, we will be looking at the eighteen incredible verses that begin the book of John, John 1:1-18. In particular, for this study, we will focus on one of the main tenets of our Christian faith: that Christ is a part of the triune Godhead, and that it was He that created us.
One of the many things that separates our faith from other religions is our belief that God created everything, and most of us believe that He did it in six literal days. We also believe that Christ existed prior to creation, and that it was He who created us. Finally, we believe that Christ came as man to die on the cross in order to pay the penalty for our sin, and that His resurrection assures us of an eternity with Him in heaven. If indeed Christ is whom we believe he is, and whom he says he is, what a magnificent hope we have, what a priceless gift we have been given, and what peace we have through Christ as our savior!
As we look at the total gospel according to John, we will note several things that distinguish it as unique within the New Testament. First, John focused not on the early life and historical aspects of Christ, but more on His Messiahship. The focus of John’s gospel is clearly evangelical and apologetic, and speaks to John’s evidence of why Jesus is the Christ. His gospel is unique in that it is built around several specific miracles that point to Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah. Also included are the seven "I am" sayings of Christ, Christ’s ministry in Jerusalem, the Jewish nation’s feasts, and Christ’s private conversations with individuals.
Christ tells us that if we believe in Him, we will know the truth; and the truth will set us free. One of the key areas of truth we will examine in this lesson is His preexistence, and the truth about creation. This will provide us an exciting look into how it all began and the key part that our Savior played in it.
There are many Christian Creation websites on the internet, as well as a ton of good books you may want to use for reference. I will pretty much stick to the Bible for our study, but you are of course welcome to seek out other sources as well. One of my students forwarded me a reference to one of these sites: Answers in Genesis - Creation, Evolution, Christian Apologetics (http://www.answersingenesis.org).
So grab your Bible, open your mind to God’s leading, and consider the following questions. The answers may surprise you.
- Read John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:15. What specific things about Christ can we discover from these two sets of verses?
- Related to the question above, what exactly does Colossians 1:15 mean when it says that Christ is the "image" of God?
- What does John 1:17-18 tell us about God and Christ?
- Is the above in agreement with John 3:16?
- Now read Colossians 1:16-17. What does verse 17 tells us about Christ and His relationship to His creation?
- From the verses in John and Colossians cited above, and Genesis 1:1, can we say with assurance the Christ and God are one? If so, what are you basing that on?
- Do these verses include the creation of the angels, Satan, and his demons?
- On what day of creation were the angels, Satan, and his demons created? (see Genesis 1:1-31 and Ezekiel 28:12-17)
- Now read Genesis 1:1-2 and 1 John 1:5. If God is light, and if before we were created only God existed, where did the darkness and void come from that is referenced in Genesis?
- Has God created each of us, or did He make Adam and Eve and leave the rest to nature? (see Jeremiah 1:5)
- Does God know how you will turn out before you are born?
- What does this say about God’s great love and mercy, and His eternal plan for us?
- Let’s look at the creation story for a moment. Consider again Genesis Chapter 1. Did anyone witness the creation as God, through Christ, created each of the six days? (See Job Chapter 38:7)
- Evolutionists, big bang theorists, and intelligent design experts would like you to believe that creation followed some process or set of events that fit logically, or resulted from a logical event. The problem is that they cannot explain many pieces of their faulty theology. Do you think that the creation of the earth followed a "logical" pattern? God tells us that His ways are not our ways. Let’s take another quick look at the order of God’s creation. Answer the following questions:
- What day was vegetation created?
- What day were the sun and the moon created?
- What day was light created?
- What day were the stars created?
- What were the three reasons given for creating "the lights in the sky"?
- Can you identify some things in the creation story that specifically fly in the face of the other creation theories?
- In addition to the Genesis story, do we have any other biblical insight into God’s role in creation, how the creation works, His power, and His holding all things together?
- When considering the creation story and other opposing views, two issues almost always surface: (1) extinction of the dinosaurs and (2) the date of creation (10,000 years ago vs. 10 million years ago). Let’s look at the dinosaurs first.
- Did they enter into the ark two by two, just as other species in the story of the flood? (see Genesis 6:19 - 7:16)
- Given their enormous size, how could they have fit on the ark?
- If they did fit on the ark, why aren’t they alive today?
- What happened to the relationship between man and animal after the flood? (see Genesis 9:2)
- Considering the second issue cited above, the age of the earth, do you think that it is millions of years old, or could it be younger? Consider the following passages: John 2:7-10, Matthew 14:16-21, and Exodus Chapter 16. What do these tell us about Christ’s ability to create something from nothing—in an instant, fully matured and aged?
- As a recap, review the first eighteen verses of John’s Gospel and summarize what we can learn from them.
- How is Ephesians 4:17-19 relevant to this lesson’s study?
I apologize for the length of this lesson. It takes two sessions to cover this material in a class setting. I hope that you find that discovering God’s role through Christ in the creation of earth, His plan for us, and His presence on the earth are sources of joy and comfort.
We are not an accident. Creation is not the result of some explosion or cosmic goo coming together on some distant shore and leading to nothing but chaos. Moreover, this creation is only temporary. There is a greater one coming, and we will be a part of it as well.
Let’s praise God this week for loving us so much that He created all of this for us; and that he then came down to take on our sin, shame and punishment so that we can live with Him in the coming new Heaven and new Earth. If our current creation is this amazing, imagine what the next one will be like!
Have a great week everyone, and thanks for studying with us.
In Christ,
Wes
[2018]