John 1 Shatters the Lies: Jesus Is God, No Debate
One of the clearest declarations of Jesus’ divine nature is found in John 1:1–18. This passage doesn’t leave room for debate, it begins by stating, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This “Word” is clearly identified in verse 14: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” That is Jesus Christ. The same eternal Word who was with God in the beginning is God. He is not a created being, not a prophet elevated to divine status, and not a secondary figure, He is God in the flesh, full of grace and truth.
False teachers can’t stand this. They know the plain reading of this passage undermines their twisted doctrines, so they attempt to change it. They reword the text, diminish the clarity, or suggest alternate translations that fit their agenda. But no amount of tampering can erase what God has clearly revealed. Scripture warns us not to add to or take away from God’s Word (Deuteronomy 4:2, Revelation 22:18-19), and those who do so stand under judgment.
John 1 not only affirms the deity of Christ, it also reveals His role as Creator (“All things were made by him,” v.3), the source of life (“In him was life,” v.4), and the only way to truly know God (“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son… hath declared him,” v.18). This passage is a direct contradiction to every false religion and cult that tries to reduce Jesus to something less than God. They may claim to follow Scripture, but they show their true colors when they alter the very foundation of who Jesus is.
The Word became flesh. That’s not just theology, that’s the truth. And anyone who denies it is not speaking from God.
Read / Listen
Judges 11:1-12:15
John 1:1-28
Psalm 101:1-8
Proverbs 14:13-14
New Testament
John 1:1-28
Summary
The Word Became Flesh
The Testimony of John the Baptist
Overview: John 1-12 Click Here to Watch Video
Now, as I often do, I want to sort of press this positive point that John is going to make about the deity of Christ all through his book against the background of a negative perspective. I want to warn you a little bit that as rich and unmistakably clear as the gospel of John is – and the rest of the Bible on who Christ is – there has always been a lot of confusion about Jesus Christ. Why? Because it is the strategy of Satan to be anti-Christ, right? To be anti-Christ.
John says there are many antichrists in the world, many antichrists, it says in his epistle. There always have been, there always will be because that’s a ploy of Satan to assault Christ, to go against Christ. In fact, the closer we get to the end of the age, the more the pseudo-Christs, the false Christs, will appear, according to our Lord’s discourse. In every age, there are extensive and effective lies about the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are here to declare what John declared and what the true church has declared through all its history – the true Christ as revealed in Scripture. And there is no clearer, or more comprehensive or profound revelation of the nature of the true Christ than the gospel of John. Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell the story of His life; John focuses on His nature, who He is.
If you’re believing in a false Jesus, you’re damned. You preach any other Christ than the true Christ, you’re damned, that’s Galatians 1. If you fail to love the true Lord Jesus Christ, 1 Corinthians 16, you’re cursed. We have to be loving and believing in the true Christ, not a false Christ, not a Christ of our own imagination, not some sentimental Jesus, not the Jesus of liberalism, not the Jesus of liberation theology, not the Jesus of Mormonism, not the Jesus of Islam, not the Jesus of private invention.
Now, all false religions – listen – all false religions reject the true Jesus Christ of the Bible. They all do. That’s what constitutes them as false religions to start with. From Islam to Mormonism, if you want to go from something that is non-Christian to something that calls itself Christian, they all reject the true Christ. But they all honor a false Christ. Click here to listen to this entire message.
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