Four Takeaways From John 1:1-4
For the past two months I have been beginning my pursuit of a Bachelor’s Degree in Biblical Studies at The Master’s University. I thought it could be fun to post some of my essays from school on here and see what people have to say (if anything) about what I’ve been writing. This essay is from my Biblical Interpretation class in which I spent eight weeks researching John 1:1-4.
In all of Scripture there are an infinite number of applications one could apply to their own life and situations (this is why I am not much a fan of applications at the end of sermons because they tend to limit the action points one could make rather than support the Holy Spirit's working in individuals towards different ends). This is true about John 1:1-4 as well as every other word and sentence in the rest of the Bible. The Bible is the Word of God - it's as infinite as He is and is the sole source of all truth in this world, thus, all Scripture can be applied to an infinite number of situations in an infinite number of times to an infinite amount of people - praise God! That said, I will do my best to give four applications, two upward facing (toward God) and two outward facing (toward others/action) that are derived from John 1:1-4.
Let's begin first with an upward facing application - an application focused on our own personal fellowship with God. As we've seen, John's prologue sets a Biblical foundation and framework for how Christians ought to conceptualize the person of Jesus Christ, that is, He is the Word become flesh (v.14), He was there before creation (v.2), and He is God (v.1). These points are essential to orthodox Christian belief and living. But what sorts of thoughts, emotions, and responses should Christians have toward this information? The idea that Jesus is the Word and is God is certainly interesting, but Bible reading is not just for academic scholarship and research. As my favorite theologian of the past century, J.I. Packer says, "the purpose of theology is doxology", that is, praise and worship of God. The truths presented in John 1:1-4 should elicit an emotion of awe and wonder as we attempt to comprehend the mystery of the incarnation - the Word becoming flesh. This awe and wonder ought to remind us of our finite and imperfect understanding of God. He is much bigger and more unfathomable than we can imagine. And this leads to application number one: the mystery of the nature of the Trinity must lead Christians toward humility and submission to God. Our smallness is obvious in reading the introduction to John's gospel. Christ is on full display and that must bring us to a place of humble submission, not arrogant pride.
A second application is related to the actual Word or Logos. Jesus is the Logos (John 1:1) and this point has ramifications seen all throughout Scripture. Scripture is made up of words and words, put together, create sentences, and then paragraphs. Words and languages are important - they are one of the differentiating factors between human beings and animals. Language is the reason humans have the ability to create anything at all. And, I would argue, human beings’ ability to use language is directly tied to being made in the image of God. This point is important because once we understand that the words we speak are either destructive or redemptive, we can begin to quicken the sanctification process in our own lives. The Bible is clear on the dangers of the tongue (see James) and the power of the Word of God spoken through humans (see the Prophets, epistles, Bible). This leads to the second application: Jesus Christ is who he says he is - what Jesus Christ says about Himself is essential to Christian orthodoxy. We cannot detach Jesus' actions from His words as so many liberal theologians have aimed at doing. A detachment of Christs words and actions is not Christianity - it is an arbitrary and ambiguous version of Jesus that one will end up molding into an image of himself. Christians have to follow the specific teaching of Jesus according to what He says, not our own interpretation. The Word is essential.
Now, some outward facing applications. Finding action focused applications for a passage like John 1:1-4 can seem difficult at first because of the abstract and complex nature of this passage. But, all Scripture is calling us toward true Christian living and John 1:1-4 is no different. This first outward facing application can be connected to our first upward application. God is big, we are small and therefore, we must have a humble and submissive response to this truth. That response cannot be merely conceptual and inward, but it has to be practical and outward. When reading John 1:1-4 a Christian needs to ask God to impose His Word on their own life. How can God's Word enforce on our soul a relentless pursuit of holiness? This is the question a Christian should be asking themselves. John 1:1-4 is a call to action; it can be paralleled with the twelve times Jesus called regular and insignificant men to follow Him at the beginning of His ministry. Come, follow Me. I am the way, the truth, the life, and the light. This call has been impressed upon the hearts of millions of sinners throughout history and John is asking the same question: will you follow Jesus Christ, the Word?
A second outward facing application is found in the defense of the Word of God. In an age of political turmoil and theological cowardice, when many pastors, theologians, and Christians are bowing the head to the god of this world and worshiping the god of passivity and self-pity, the call of John 1:1-4 should ultimately be heard as a battle cry for all Christians everywhere. If the first three applications are correct, then this final one will be the call to the fight of every Christians life. The fight to uphold and maintain the Word of God. We, as Christians, are no longer afforded the luxury of comfortable living in a Christ-haunted nation. We are surrounded by many pastoral sycophants who would much rather uphold the word of the world than preach the truth of Jesus and we are surrounded by many pew sitting nominal Christians who consciously choose to live as if the Bible and sin are in accord with one another rather than reject objective sins such as homosexuality, abortion, transgenderism, and psychological self-love (idolatry, pride). This tangled up and dysfunctional mess we see in the American Church is heartbreaking and should lead Christians toward lament and righteous anger. The call from John to know who Jesus Christ is and to follow Him is a call to war with the flesh, the world, and sin. Christians cannot read John 1:1-4 and sit by idly while their brothers and sisters in the faith are being slaughtered by the enemy - we must stand for the Word of God and defend the person of Jesus Christ forever.