John

Lesson 2 w/AnswersJohn 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.

Bible

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.

  1. Read John 1:1-3 and Colossians 1:15. What specific things about Christ can we discover from these two sets of verses?
    1. ANSWER 1: Christ was with God before creation;
    2. ANSWER 2: Christ is the "image" of God in human form;
    3. ANSWER 3: Christ is God.
  2. Related to the question above, what exactly does Colossians 1:15 mean when it says that Christ is the "image" of God?
    1. ANSWER: He is God in human form. Since we cannot see God (or we will die), Christ came to show us God in human form and he came to die in our place so that we can have an eternal relationship with Him.
  3. What does John 1:17-18 tell us about God and Christ?
    1. ANSWER: Again, that Christ is God in human form and that through Him we can obtain His great mercy and eternal life.
  4. Is the above in agreement with John 3:16?
    1. ANSWER: Absolutely! You can also better understand it when you see Christ as our creator and savior.
  5. Now read Colossians 1:16-17. What does verse 17 tells us about Christ and His relationship to His creation?
    1. ANSWER: That he created everything, and it is he who keeps it all together, i.e., it would literally disintegrate without him.
  6. 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?
    1. ANSWER 1: John 1:1 specifically says the Word was God.
    2. ANSWER 2: Genesis 1:1 says God created the Heavens and the Earth.
    3. ANSWER 3: Colossians 1:16 says Christ created the Heavens and the Earth.
  7. Do these verses include the creation of the angels, Satan, and his demons?
    1. ANSWER: Yes, because they were also created beings.
  8. On what day of creation were the angels, Satan, and his demons created? (see Genesis 1:1-31 and Ezekiel 28:12-17)
    1. ANSWER: They were created before the creation of earth.
  9. 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?
    1. ANSWER: The speculation is that it occurred as a result of the fall of Satan who wanted to destroy God’s plans and place himself higher than God.
  10. Has God created each of us, or did He make Adam and Eve and leave the rest to nature? (see Jeremiah 1:5)
    1. ANSWER: He made each one of us, and continues to do so with every human being on earth (including the unborn).
  11. Does God know how you will turn out before you are born?
    1. ANSWER: Absolutely; Jeremiah 1:5 is only one example.
  12. What does this say about God’s great love and mercy, and His eternal plan for us?
    1. ANSWER: It is almost indescribable. He planned all of this in advance as a part of His grander plan, which was to create a people that would live and fellowship with Him forever!
  13. 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)
    1. ANSWER: The angels witnessed it.
  14. 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:
    1. What day was vegetation created?
      1. ANSWER: Day 3 (Gen. 1:11-13)
    2. What day were the sun and the moon created?
      1. ANSWER: Day 4 (Gen. 1:14-19)
    3. What day was light created?
      1. ANSWER: Day 1 (Gen. 1:3)
    4. What day were the stars created?
      1. ANSWER: Day 4 (Gen. 1:14-19)
    5. What were the three reasons given for creating "the lights in the sky"?
      1. ANSWER 1: To separate day from night;
      2. ANSWER 2: For signs;
      3. ANSWER 3: For measuring the passing of time (seasons, days and years).
  15. Can you identify some things in the creation story that specifically fly in the face of the other creation theories?
    1. ANSWER 1: Vegetation was created before the sun. This indicates that it was put on the earth already mature;
    2. ANSWER 2: The overall order of events does not agree with evolutionary order;
    3. ANSWER 3: The "big bang" theory does not happen in this order; and the stars were "placed" in the heavens. They didn’t get there as a result of some cataclysmic explosion.
  16. 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?
    1. ANSWER: See Job Chapters 38 and 39. They provide an awesome insight into God’s thinking, His plans, the creation event itself, and how it all works together. It is really an awesome window into the creation story!
  17. 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.
    1. 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)
      1. ANSWER: Absolutely.
    2. Given their enormous size, how could they have fit on the ark?
      1. ANSWER: Isn’t it possible that instead of mature animals, to ensure the best survival chances, Noah took two of everything that were young in age? Couldn’t this explain how so many animals were accommodated on the ark, including all the large ones?
    3. If they did fit on the ark, why aren’t they alive today?
      1. ANSWER: Isn’t it also possible that destruction of most of their food supply during the flood made it difficult for some species to survive for very long after the flood, and that this is what caused the extinction of so many?
  18. What happened to the relationship between man and animal after the flood? (see Genesis 9:2)
    1. ANSWER: Man and animal became enemies in a sense. The relationship that existed prior to the flood allowed Noah to bring them all on the ark. After the flood, that relationship vanished.
  19. 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?
    1. ANSWER: Certainly a God that turned water into wine instantly, fed 5,000 people with two fish and five loaves of bread, and rained manna from heaven to feed the Israelite nation could accomplish his purposes with creation in a literal six-day time period. He could create fossils; he is not constrained by the physical laws that man is.
  20. As a recap, review the first eighteen verses of John’s Gospel and summarize what we can learn from them.
    1. ANSWER 1: Christ and God are one;
    2. ANSWER 2: Christ is God in the flesh;
    3. ANSWER 3: Christ is our creator and our savior;
    4. ANSWER 4: Creation was literal;
    5. ANSWER 5: All of creation is held together by Christ;
    6. ANSWER 6: The invitation of salvation and the gift of eternal life is open to all;
    7. ANSWER 7: The world is rejecting the very person who created it;
    8. ANSWER 8: God has a plan, He has had it from before the beginning, it includes the saved; and a new heaven and earth are coming.
  21. How is Ephesians 4:17-19 relevant to this lesson’s study?
    1. ANSWER: Given that man rejects Christ as creator and savior, it is no surprise that he embraces evolution, big bang, intelligent design, cults, deviant lifestyles, abortion, bad morality, and a wide selection of world religions and world views.

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]

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