Aug 29, 2020
John 1:1 and Hebrews 1:1-3
By Matthew Butler
A few months ago, after one of our worship gatherings at Grace Point Church, I spotted an old acquaintance who used to attend our church. He had been a part of Grace Point and was in fact an elder candidate shortly before we arrived in Las Vegas. Our time together had been just a matter of months before he was re-assigned with the Air Force.
Well, having seen him during the gathering, I tracked him down in the lobby and said, “Hey Jonathan! It’s so good to see you! How are you?” He was noticeably hesitant in his response…a little look of confusion on his face, but he answered politely, talked about his wife and kids. Then he asked, “What have you been up to? What are you doing for work?”
This time, I was confused. I had literally introduced myself in the gathering as the Pastor of Liturgy here at Grace Point Church, I led most of the songs that day, and thought it was kind of obvious what I had been up to. But I told him I was a pastor here and still serving in the Reserves…he smiled and nodded, then we shook hands and parted ways.
I thought, “That was odd.”
I mingled with a few more people then walked over to our Family Center. There, in the entryway was Jonathan with a whole new attitude. He started off by apologizing and said that he had me totally confused with another guy he knew from Grace Point—a pilot in the Air Force whom he interviewed and ended up NOT hiring for a position in his squadron. He was thinking the whole time, “This is the guy I turned down for a job!”
No wonder he was awkward…
It was a classic case of mistaken identity.
Well, when the focus of this Bible Study (and really all of LIFE) is “fixing our eyes on Jesus,” it’s certainly important to know which Jesus we’re to fix our eyes upon.
We need to know His true identity.
This session is about—Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus as God.
Maybe you’re thinking, “Yeah, of course Matt, there’s only ONE Jesus.” And I’d say, “Right, there’s only ONE TRUE Jesus. But there are also a lot of counterfeit Jesuses out there…”
When the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Corinth, in 2 Corinthians 11:4, he warns the church against “people proclaiming another Jesus.” This makes sense; think about it. If you were to ask a Muslim, “Who is Jesus?” they’d tell you he was a prophet like Muhammed, but definitely not God. If you were to ask a Mormon or someone from the LDS community, they don’t believe that Jesus was God who became man, but rather a man who became God. He was created. He was Lucifer’s brother. He’s a separate God from Heavenly Father. A Jehovah’s Witness would say Jesus is NOT Jehovah, but he was also created, as the archangel Michael.
As you can see, there are several “Jesuses” out there, but what I want us to see from Scripture today is that when we’re Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus, we’re Fixing Our Eyes on GOD.
We are to Fix Our Eyes on Jesus AS God.
Our primary texts today are John 1 and Hebrews 1. Let’s look at John first. As a reminder, I’ll be using the ESV translation. As we open up the Gospel of John, we have this beautiful passage (verses 1-18) that’s like a poem that reveals to us the eternal, divine and historical Jesus. I want you to hear this, just verse 1 to start.
“In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.”
We hear in this first verse, echoes of Genesis 1, “In the
beginning God… created the heavens and the earth.”
John 1:1—“In the beginning was the Word…”
Genesis 1:1—“In the beginning God…”
You can hear this “harmony” between these two verses. But, instead of saying “God,” John uses the title “the Word.”
To see how these fit together, I’m going to borrow the words of Dr. Tim Mackie, “A person’s words are distinct from that person, but they’re also the embodiment of that person’s mind and will. So John says that God’s Word was ‘WITH God’ (that is, distinct), AND YET the Word ‘WAS God’ (that is, divine).” And we hear later on in verse 14 that this distinct and divine Word became man in Jesus.
It says this, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
So this same Word who existed “in the beginning”…
This same Word who was WITH God…
This same Word who WAS God…
This same Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us to be seen, heard and touched—the embodiment of God Himself.
In 1995, Disney released an American Western adventure movie called, “Tall Tale.” It’s a story about Daniel Hackett, a young boy who was dissatisfied with life on the farm. So his father begins to tell him stories of folk heroes like Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan and John Henry—these “larger than life” heroes with extraordinary abilities.
In the course of the movie, Daniel not only had these stories to fill his imagination, but these characters came to life and he got to meet them in person. They helped him out in a series of events, and the story ends “happily ever after” (as most Disney movies do).
Imagine yourself some 2,000 years ago…You’re hearing about this God who loves you, cares for you; a God who is righteous and just. This God who created all things & rules over all things.
BUT THEN… you SEE Him, you FEEL Him, you HEAR Him.
You’re meeting with the God of the Universe!
I want us to look over at Hebrews 1. Verses 1-3 put it this way: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets.”
God had used these men and women to speak to His people—to teach, warn and point to God Himself. We’ve got the picture of Him in our heads.
BUT God didn’t stop there.
God had revealed Himself through creation (Romans 1:20).
God had revealed Himself through the Scriptures, His spoken word through the prophets…
BUT in these last days He has spoken to us BY HIS SON,
God Himself was here to speak FOR God Himself.
It says that the “SON” is the One “whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”
“All things are FOR Him and all things were created BY Him.”
Then, if that’s not enough, the writer of Hebrews makes it very clear and takes it another step further with verse 3: “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.”
He’s the One who CREATED all things.
He’s the One who UPHOLDS all things.
He’s the One to Whom all things will be given.
He holds the very nature of “God in a bod.”
Jesus IS God.
Accordingly, we should Fix Our Eyes on Jesus AS God.
If we see Jesus as anything less…We are NOT SEEING Jesus clearly.
Is Jesus a Historical Person? Yes.
Is Jesus a Prophet? Yes.
Is Jesus a Teacher? Yes.
Is Jesus a Perfect Example? Yes.
All of these things are good and right.
But is Jesus GOD? Yes. And Amen.
May we Fix Our Eyes on Jesus AS God.
