John’s gospel begins with “In the beginning…”. It is like a Genesis and the start of creation. Jesus of course is the Creator.
John 1: The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.
8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 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.
15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'")
16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"
20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ."
21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No."
22 So they said to him, "Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
23 He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."
24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)
25 They asked him, "Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
26 John answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know,
27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie."
28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Behold, the Lamb of God
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
30 This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.'
31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."
32 And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.
33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'
34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples,
36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!"
37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "What are you seeking?" And they said to him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?"
39 He said to them, "Come and you will see." So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.
40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ).
42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
46 Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"
48 Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
49 Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
50 Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these."
51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
Things to think about…
1. John 1:1 starts with “In the beginning”. Like Genesis, John starts with the fact of “God”. Here though “God” is described as “the Word”. Jesus is the Word, the One who is life and gives life. This word is able to be known. This God is not distant, but near us and able to be known. This is John’s message. Gen 1:1 could have started with in the beginning Jesus, God’s Son, created the heavens and the earth. Because all things seen and unseen were made through Him, vs 3. The words ‘life, ‘light’ and ‘truth’ are all used consistently by John in all his letters. All three are used in the first 14 verses of his gospel.
2. In John 1:6 the Apostle John introduces John the Baptist by saying “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John”. Jesus would later say John was the Elijah to come, Mt 11:13, 14, the one who was foretold by Isaiah to make the paths straight. John himself however say he is not Elijah, Jn 1:21. But this John meant he was not reincarnated Elijah. Jesus meant that he comes as Elijah did and fulfils Isa 40:3, Mal 4:5. John brought the message of repentance, Jesus brings salvation. One can’t happen without the other. Salvation is observed in a believer due to repentance through a knowledge of sin.
3. John 1:13 is key to understanding our salvation. It is all of God, salvation has no earthly or fleshly origin. If it did, it would be corrupted. This should keep us all in a place of humility.
4. In Jn 1:14 it says Jesus came full of “grace and truth”. Jesus, imparts to us “grace and truth”, vs 16. Believers should be known by their grace and should always speak the truth. As we hear later from Jesus, “the truth will set you free”, Jn 8:32. Christ centred truth must be accompanied by grace.
5. It is interesting that John the Baptist testifies he did not know Him even though Jesus was his cousin, Jn 1:33 and he now accepted him as “the Son of God”, vs 34. He of course knew his cousin, but John didn’t realise Jesus was the Son of God. We know when John was in prison that he had doubts, Matt 11:2,3. Sometimes our physical surrounds impact our minds and hearts. Praise God when we are faithless our God remains faithful, 2Tim 2:13.
6. Jesus calls His disciples in Jn 1:35-51. These are all in the north – in Galilee. Hence they were called Galileans just like Jesus. These areas have been quite well preserved in Israel and the sites where they lived and worked are easily accessible to anyone who travels to the Holy land.
7. Jesus testifies that Nathanael was an “Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!”, vs 47. He is referred to as Bartholomew in the other gospels. Having no deceit doesn’t mean that we don’t have critical opinions of people or places. Before making this qualifier about Nathaniel, Nathaniel had just said of Nazareth “can anything good come from Nazareth”, vs 46. Nathaniel clearly had made observations about Nazareth that were not very flattering. Yet this is where the Lord and Savior of mankind grew up. Truth without malice can still be critical if we believe it to be true. Nathaniel was obviously about to have his understanding corrected. But his opinion was not to be held against him. Jesus was not offended and neither should we be when others make comments about us that may seem harsh. They might even be true.
8. Nathanael is the first disciple after John the Baptist to confess Jesus as “the Son of God”, Jn 1:48. This was based on the fact that Jesus saw him sitting under a fig tree through a vision. May we all have a simple faith and trust in Christ and not overcomplicate our belief in the Saviour. Like Philip, may we simply testify about Jesus and others will come to believe. Jesus will reveal Himself to them by His Spirit.
9. Jesus tells Nathanael that he would “see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man”, Jn 1:51. This is emblematic of the story of Jacob’s ladder in Gen 28:12-15. But Jesus is the One who creates the way to heaven. Rather than ascending and descending on a ladder, they would do so on Jesus. When would Nathanael see this event? Possible at His ascension recorded in Acts 1:9-11. The angels testifying they would see His return in the same way, Acts 1:11.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Prayer points
1. Pray Venezuela continues to know healing and grace over the coming weeks as they recover.
2. Nigeria must be delivered from Fulani jihadists. Pray for those poor Christians – the widows and orphans.
3. Pray for Iran the peace process is never going to be kept without a genuine desire for it to be maintained.
4. Pray for the Sacred Minds podcast and our online ministry
5. Pray for One for Israel and their witness in this time of challenge and conflict.
6. Pray for the church in Australia that it focuses on Christ, His Word and holiness.
7. Pray for our leaders in Australia that they press in closer to Christ.
8. The Royal Commission that the Jewish people will feel safe in Australia.
9. Pray for new people to step into ministries at CBC – eg worship, café, Kids@church, sound/technical, giving, podcast.
10. Reform and Revival over our city and country.
11. Finances to cover our needs
12. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for God’s grace as we heard again on Sunday morning.
2. Praise God for His word having an impact on Sunday, may we honour Him this week. Bring a testimony of grace next week.
3. Praise the Lord for children and grandchildren 😊.
4. Praise the Lord for Graham’s message on false prophets.
5. Praise the Lord for the encouragement the Word of God brought people over the weekend.
6. Praise God for ministries – Life Groups, Prayer meetings, Kids@Church
7. Café team every week. Thankyou to all those who serve and bring food. Especially Fiona, Maddie and Suzy and those who supply it every week Eg Ros - Milk.
8. Worship, Admin and Technical teams – Peter, Nita, Brendon, AJ, Suzy, Maddie, Mathys, Doug.
9. Kids Church teachers – Jacqueline, Maddie, Elise, Anastacia and Fiona
10. The Lord’s faithfulness this year to CBC and all who have served in ministries
11. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. No Prayer meeting on school holidays.
2. All Life Groups off over the school holidays
3. Dave Pellowe from Church and State preaching 26th July.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for June...
Q. 2. What else did God make? A. God made all things.
