truth – Alaska Bible Teacher

Deepen Your Repentance

Two Psalms followed David’s return to God after his sin with Bathsheba, and murdering Uriah. The sins of adultery and murder are terrible and yet David finds forgiveness from God for both. He responds properly to Nathan’s hard word. King David was a warrior of renown and a talented Psalm writer and he put together two Psalms that would guide others.

Many years ago I used an overhead projector in a class. I had two transparencies, the first projected a map on a screen showing boundaries–the second laid over the top showed the movements of an invading army. They complimented each other to show a point. One laid on top of the other to make it clear what happened. (I realized I just dated myself–I’m old.)

You might say that’s how I want to teach Psalm 51 and Psalm 32. Both are David’s serious remarks on his repentance. They’re the same incident, but incredibly different. They both explain his repentance in contrasting ways.

You see that one is a psalm; the other is a maskil.

A psalm is a guide for worship, something musical sung from the knees—an acclamation of a joyful song. The other type is different; it’s called a maskil, which is something wise and reflective, thoughtful and understanding. To write a maskil takes time to pull one’s thoughts together and share seasoned instruction.

I’ve chosen v.v. 1-2 (both due to obvious constraints of brevity.)

Psalm 51

Psalm 51, To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

“Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
²Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!“

__________

Psalm 32

Psalm 32, A Maskil of David.

“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
²Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.“

Reading the two Psalms together like this, laid on top of each other, or, like two sides of a coin, gives us an idea of David’s repentance–an clear understanding and a real depth. How did he respond to God’s message from the prophet? How can we answer others when the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin?

Both a “subjective” psalm, and an “objective” maskil is necessary I think. They both are to become the daily practice of a believer, both communicate what is needful. One sings–the other teaches, but both should be done carefully.

Perhaps another way is to see the art and the science of it all. But a caveat here. Psalm 32 blends with the autobiographical theme just like Psalm 53 does. (See 32:2-5). It even seems the objective takes on a tear or two! I guess that’s how truth in God’s kingdom works?

Our theology needs tears, and our tears need theology.

(I hope this isn’t confusing.)

I want to encourage you to take your repentance even deeper. I want to see you stir up this beautiful gift. I will want to hear your song, and then to understand your reasons for singing so beautifully.

“The Christian who has stopped repenting has stopped growing.”

A.W. Pink

Do You Really Love the Master?

How much do you love Jesus? This parable looks at the heart of the believer, the person who has been incredibly forgiven of everything–past, present and future. And it’s here we see a woman whose heart is broken by her sin, and she discovers Jesus’ grace, and tremendous mercy.

“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴²When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

⁴⁴“Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. ⁴⁶You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.”

⁴⁷“Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

Luke 7:40-47

Jesus has been invited to Simon’s home. He’s a Pharisee, and at this point they haven’t quite banded together to attack Jesus, it seems that there were still some Pharisees who were true seekers.

The text jumps right in and we see Jesus reclining at a table (the Jewish people didn’t use chairs–pillows were used instead.) At a feast like this people who weren’t officially invited could come in to stand in the back and listen in on the conversation. (That seems awkward.)

Suddenly a woman enters the room.

She’s described as “a woman of the city,” which is a code word for “a sinner, or a harlot.” (Let your imagination roll that one around.) She comes with a definite purpose, for she brings a jar of quite expensive perfume with her.

The passage reveals that she’s on her knees, weeping on Jesus’ feet, and rubbing her tears with her hair, and pouring out the perfume. She’s kissing his feet. She’s obviously a broken person—someone who knows who Jesus is, and who understands who she is, and how deep sin has destroyed her.

At this point Simon is deeply offended, and probably embarrassed by what’s happening. But he also assumes that Jesus isn’t who he’s saying he is. “How dare does this man let an unclean person even touch Him!” But Jesus understands everything. His parable is short (just two verses) and it’s directed at Simon; and it’s a no-brainer.

The interpretation is obvious: the man who owes the most will love the most.

Jesus accentuates Simon’s breach of protocol. The Lord deftly explains the entire situation and Simon is busted. He’s put on the spot and Jesus has made his point. It’s all so obvious. The essence of the story is clear. How much do you love the Master?

Do you fully fathom how much sin Jesus has forgiven you?

(Or maybe you’re a Simonite?)

Perhaps you’re someone who doesn’t quite accept what’s real? The Bible tells us repeatedly that no one is righteous. No one. Scripture has a very low opinion of the righteousness of men. (That should shatter your thinking.)

“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Isaiah 64:6, KJV

The Hebrew word for “filthy rags” is extremely graphic–literally it means “a menstruating cloth.” It was something that a woman used before Tampax came along. How very descriptive. Do we even have the slightest idea what that means? Are our good deeds that bad?

Yes they are. Isaiah announces that’s exactly how God sees our best attempts to find acceptance apart from grace. It often seems we try to please Him by doing the best we can, but that isn’t sufficient. We always fall short and mess up.

How does understanding this change our discipleship? I’ll let you be the judge on this on this one.

“He loved us not because we are lovable, but because He is love.”

C.S. Lewis

Seeing in a Fresh New Way

“The sacred moments, the moments of miracle, are often the everyday moments, the moments which, if we do not look with more than our eyes or listen with more than our ears reveal only…a gardener, a stranger coming down the road behind us, a meal like any other meal. But if we look with our hearts, if we listen with all our being and imagination.. what we may see is Jesus himself.”

Frederick Buechner

Having a “Sanctified Imagination”

I need to be very clear. We’re not trying to shape reality or mold anything. We’re not supposed to be involved in creating an alternate world. We’re talking about using your imagination, and not creating the imaginative.

The New Testament is over 70% narrative. The dictionary definition is “a spoken or written account of connected events; a story.” That means that we’ll need to approach it, sometimes anyway, picturing it in the minds that God has given us. I suppose that this requires that we see and understand it, differently.

I like to call this—a ‘sanctified imagination.’

The parables of Jesus are heavenly stories that declare the truths of God’s Kingdom. When we read about the parable of the Prodigal Son, we must imagine the son partying away from his father’s money. We must see the husks, and fill our noses with the stench of the pig poop. We need to see the prodigal coming to his senses, and returning to the father who runs out to meet him.

Jesus’ parables are designed purposefully for you.

This is what I mean when I say we use our sanctified imagination. We engage these parables with our hearts and mind. God has given us this ability, it’s part of the way we communicate with him. I become that prodigal, it’s I who returns to the Father. I see it and understand it better that way. But it’s imagination–it’s never supposed to be imaginary.

Our imaginations can be used for evil as well. A man pictures a new type of machine gun and then makes and designs it. Another presses into pornography and engages his mind in lust over a picture. There are many dark ways we use to alter our worlds. We can use the images in our minds to commit sin.

God’s truths seem to go deeper if we press into using our minds to engage what the Father desires.

“With our imagination and reason, with our five bodily senses, and especially with our emotions, we become secondhand witnesses of the events of Scripture.” The idea is to place yourself in the biblical story, becoming a person in the crowd, a disciple following Jesus along dusty roads or the boy with the loaves and fish. Imagine the sights, sounds, smells, feels, and tastes of the biblical world. You step into the story and let it enter your mind—not just as a series of facts, but as a story with real, living people.”

© Phil Collins, Ph.D., 2014. This material was created in partnership with the Taylor University Center for Scripture Engagement.

The accounts of Jesus’ miracles are also meant for our imaginations. We see Jesus healing a leper, and we imagine him touching us as well. We encounter our own uncleanness before the Holy One. We must really understand that spiritual truth can never be generated without the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Sometimes I pray the old words of those who have gone before me: “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me.” Often this (or a close variation of this) was the cry of the desperately needy in the Gospel accounts. When I pray this I imagine I’m blind Bartimaeus sitting by the side of the road, or the woman with a sick child. I see myself standing and waiting for His touch. This is the power of sanctified imagination.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”

John 16:13-14

Some additional reading:

A good (and simple) can be found at Crossway.com. I would also suggest Focus on the Family and Christianity Today. Both are really clear and explain it much better than I can. Also, check out biblegateway.com for more info

Wonder

My thoughts…

There are some things that leave an indelible mark, deep down into our souls. For me, one instance I remember staying at Simpson College on Silver Ave. in San Francisco in June 1986. The dorms were empty and I had a whole floor to myself. The campus was gorgeous; the roses were in full bloom.

I found a little “mom and pop” corner market nearby which had an awesome deli. Here I could buy cold cuts, some excellent braunschweiger, and freshly baked sourdough bread. I returned to my room to build my sandwich.

I remember that the windows were open and there was a beautiful breeze. Food, warm sun, flowers in bloom and the Holy Spirit are just about ready to ‘intersect’ in my life. It would be a holy collision. I would come to Jesus in this bright new way.

It was simply a moment that I captured and savored. Everything seemed to coincide, it was magical in the best sense of the word. It was beautiful, that is all I can say. That time in that dorm room has become a crystalline moment that I will never forget. Right there, it seemed I fell in love, not with a girl, but with a moment in time and place.

That nostalgia lies incredibly thick on the shoulders of the writer of Psalm 84.

He remembers and savors those powerful memories of his visit to the temple. He was given something at that particular moment that would follow him for the rest of his life.

The beauty of that experience was inviolable and true and could never be duplicated. This treasure was his. As he aged he could tell his grandchildren, “I walked with God.” And he really meant it.

I personally believe God gives us these holy moments, wrapped in wonder and awe. When the Holy Spirit deeply touches in this way you will never, ever be the same.

The psalmist has the same hunger.

These moments in the temple which are so blessed have also ‘ruined’ him. Often special times of God’s presence will result in a ‘sanctified’ dissatisfaction with the present status quo.

But when we finally make our way to Jesus (or He draws us), life takes on a special and curious wonder. When the rain finally comes to the barren desert, an explosion of life bursts out. In much the same way, our lives are ‘watered’ by Jesus. Things get very green and lush as we live in the Spirit. All of this is in contrast to our dry and desperate life without His presence.

I want to become hungry for His presence.

I so want to be in the center of wherever He is at. I admit that His grace and love has spoiled me. But the love of Jesus does this. Normal life seems to be nothing more than a boring journey into ‘black & white,’ but somehow He turns it all into stunning color.

The psalmist practically begs to be returned to the temple. He wants to be there, more than anything else. It is now his true home and he is homeless without God. He will not be satisfied with anything less.

“My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.”

Psalm 84:2

I Couldn’t Follow Him

Mark 10:17-22

As he was starting out on a trip, a man came running to him and knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get to heaven?”

¹⁸“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good! ¹⁹But as for your question—you know the commandments: don’t kill, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t cheat, respect your father and mother.”

²⁰“Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve never once broken a single one of those laws.”

²¹Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. “You lack only one thing,” he told him; “go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor—and you shall have treasure in heaven—and come, follow me.”

²²Then the man’s face fell, and he went sadly away, for he was very rich.

My name is inconsequential. I suppose all you must know of me is I tried to keep God’s Law and that I was very wealthy. Many believed that being rich was evidence that God approved of me. Of that, I wasn’t too sure. I kept the Law out of fear I suppose, and at times I just knew it wasn’t quite enough.

As I studied I began to realize that riches weren’t going to make me righteous. There was enough Scripture in me to let me know that it wasn’t enough. The prophets, especially Isaiah spoke about the deadliness of wealth, but there was that one verse in Proverbs that really disturbed me:

“Your riches won’t help you on Judgment Day; only righteousness counts then.”

(Proverbs 11:4.)

This verse (and all of the others) were the cause of many a sleepless night.

I was tormented by the reality of standing before God with nothing but my money to cover me. Coming under God’s righteous judgment haunted me. I thought of it day and night. I was terrified of being damned. My own righteousness wasn’t enough, and I knew it.

I heard about Jesus (and who hasn’t), and some were boldly claiming that he was the Messiah. He was at least a wonderful teacher and many said he worked powerful miracles, and perhaps he had answers for me. I hoped so, but I needed to know. It was my questions that drove me to find him.

And finding him was easy–I just followed the crowd.

I got ahead of everybody. I knelt in his path and waited. I must know what he thought I should do. When he stood before me I asked the question that had haunted me my whole life–“Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?”

Jesus looked right at me. I knew deep down that he loved me.

But oh those words, his words really disturbed me. He told me that I only lacked one thing, that I must sell everything and distribute the money to the poor. Only by doing that would I discover riches in heaven. And only then could I truly follow him.

But that was the thing I couldn’t do.

It was my idol, my golden calf, and it was a sacrifice that I could never make.

I’ve come to realize now, over my many years, that when I do finally stand before God, I will have nothing to save me. Jesus invited me to follow, and I couldn’t and I didn’t. I won’t.

And that my friend, means I will die unforgiven.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

Mark 8:36, KJV

Real Life Humility

When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: ⁸“When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited?

The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. ¹¹For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Luke 14:7-11

Choose your seat carefully. In Jesus’ day, there was a definite seating order to a wedding feast. It wasn’t first come, first served. There was a strict protocol, where one’s importance mattered. Honored people got honorable seats–close to the front as possible. Average people got average spots; but no one wanted be at the bottom, having to sit at the “kids table.”

Jesus was watching, and he what he saw was a spiritual principle of his Kingdom.

Jesus often teaches out of the things we encounter–real life events. Spiritual truth often hits us from those things we actually see. If you want to know what God is doing in your life, all you need to do is look around at the “practical” things, and start to see the spiritual lessons inside them. We learn from real-life. That’s how he often teaches us, he combines the Word with what we’re experiencing.

Our natural inclination is to move higher up. We often think that we’re deserving, and so we take our “rightful” positions. That’s the way humans think. We all want to sit in the best possible place, and so we end up wheedling our way up front. We can fall into the subtle trap of self-promotion. But that’s not how discipleship works.

Jesus corrects, advising us to take the lowest place. I think verse 11 is the key to figuring out this seating arrangement. We’re starting to see a physical situation become a spiritual lesson. There’s much to learn. Here’s verse 11 in the Amplified version:

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled [before others], and he who habitually humbles himself (keeps a realistic self-view) will be exalted.”

This translation injects some realism into our lives, especially in how we see ourselves. It’s something quite foundational. It lays down a principle that is always true in his Kingdom (1 Peter 5:6). If we don’t accept and implement this, we’ll suffer a definite deficiency in our discipleship. It stunts the growth of many believers. And that is tragic.

The whole scene lays out how life in the spirit really works, and it seems terribly paradoxical.

Our human logic asserts that deliberately choosing the lesser is foolish, things really don’t work that way. We think, (falsely,) that we’ll only advance by asserting ourselves. But Jesus, quite aptly, clarifies the ways of the Kingdom–true maturity will only come if we decide to take the lowest place.

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”

James 4:10

A Glowing Witness

“The more I have read the Bible and studied the life of Jesus, the more I have become convinced that Christianity spreads best not through force but through fascination.“

Shane Claiborne

I believe in evangelism. Right after Bible college I joined SOS Ministries as a full-time evangelist. I was there for three years living in a ministry house in the Mission district. We did high-visibility street work, preaching and leading teams to various parts of the City. This was in the 1980s and the City was pretty challenging.

I was primarily a street preacher and a team leader.

San Francisco is a city of 800,000 people. The work was intense. I remember once I was leading a Church team on Haight-Ashbury, and I was punched in the face by a backslidden Christian who strenuously objected to the Gospel being preached. I tried to respond in humility and kindness, even though I thought my nose was broken. (It wasn’t.)

Over the years I have come to see that the most powerful witness is a joyful and loving character that’s submitted to Christ.

Walking through the dusty roads and journeying into the small villages of Judea we read of the incredible hold that Jesus had on the hearts of men. They were fascinated by Him. People came face to face with God’s presence and it grabbed them. They traveled great distances to meet Him.

“And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”

Matthew 12:23; see also Luke 5:26

As we submit to His Spirit we begin to understand this same amazing dynamic. It’s not us, it’s Him. And it will always be Him. The fruits of His presence are becoming very visible. Jesus is living inside of us!

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

I remember visiting a Christian commune in the early 70s. I was a young believer with a ton of questions. I recall the peace, humility, and joy I saw on the faces of these brothers and sisters. I instinctively knew that I was encountering Jesus. And it shook me in a good way, a deeply supernatural way.

Please do not remove the presence of Jesus from your evangelism.

If you ask me, I will tell you. Jesus is still fascinates, and it’s His residence in you that still touches people. Evangelism is far more than the ability to recite facts and good arguments. It’s something far more.

And yet I still believe in high visibility evangelism. God’s word must be proclaimed openly and without compromise. But 40 years have passed now,and I have come to see that our faith spreads best through our example.

Perhaps He must be seen as well as to be heard?

“Soon we shall be up there with Christ. God did not mean us to be happy without Him; but God would first have us to be witnesses for Him down here, to hold out as much light as we can.”

G.V. Wigram

What Jesus Wants Us to Know About God

¹⁴After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. ¹⁵Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶He longed to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one would give him anything. ¹⁷When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! ¹⁸I’ll get up, go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. ¹⁹I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers.”’

²⁰So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. ²¹The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²²“But the father told his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a feast, ²⁴because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

Luke 15:14-24

Sometimes, when reading this we diminish this parable to a really nice story, but nothing more. It comforts us. It’s so evocative after all, but somehow it never enters our spiritual hearts like it’s meant to. We may mentally assent but we do not absorb what it really says.

Luke 15 is magnificent in the deepest sense of the word.

Now if the Bible was a mountain range, then this would be Mt. Everest.

Our Father runs to us because He sees our desperate hearts. His joy can’t be explained but only received. It’s just the way He is.

Just perhaps it will take an eternity to understand this simple parable? If so, we should get started now.

There are just three characters here in Luke 15:14-24: there’s the Father, the son, and the elder brother–and each plays an integral part. The prodigal is the main character, yet the father is the main focus. The son is a wastrel, a good-for-nothing rascal who blows his father’s inheritance on parties, booze, and prostitutes. He lives for the moment, he seeks pleasure in those things which will come very close to destroying him.

But haven’t we all done that?

The father represents God, who represents the loving patriarch of the parable. He’s the one who has turned over the prodigal’s portion of the inheritance. To a degree I suppose he has funded the prodigal’s descent into depravity, and yet it was the son who decided to go crazy. The father is certainly not to blame.

But nevertheless, in this story, the father is the main character. Not the prodigal.

His actions are very difficult to grasp. God behaves outrageously, and His character is difficult to understand or fathom. (After all, who acts this way?) Granted we think our earthly fathers might do this for us–but even that may be a stretch for some. Yet this parable describes how God feels about sinners.

He is passionately in love with sinners.

The mysteries of this parable explain who God is, and His love for nasty varmints like us. We are His Church, and yet we still need to come home. Again.

And we serve a running God.w

“Jesus wants to make it clear that the God of whom he speaks is a God of compassion who joyously welcomes repentant sinners into his house.”

Henri J.M. Nouwen, Return of the Prodigal Son

(My favorite painting. Rembrandt’s painted this in 1669. I know that that was done long ago, but I enjoy seeing and reacting to what he did. I’m always blessed.)

When God Became a Man

“The central miracle asserted by Christians is the incarnation. They say that God became man.”

C.S. Lewis

Incarnation, the central Christian doctrine that God became flesh, that God assumed a human nature and became a man in the form of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the second person of the Trinity.

Christ was completely God and fully man at the same time. This teaching is clear and I honestly can’t wrap my mind around it. Becoming man did not diminish God–if anything it was an addition and not a subtraction.

Now it’s true that Jesus voluntary set aside all of the prerogative of being God–He chose to lay His deity aside. Please think these verses through–let them sink deeply into your hearts. It really is an awesome passage.

Though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Philippians 2:6-8, ESV

Have a blessed Christmas. Know deep down that He has come for you, He holds you and cares for you. He will never, ever leave you!

Never, ever.

He Came for Us!

by Pastor David Taylor

“The central miracle asserted by Christians is the incarnation. They say that God became man.”

CS Lewis

John 1:1-5

One of my favorite places to fish in Alaska is Kodiak Island, where I tried to catch silver salmon with some friends. Just as we were setting up camp, the sun disappeared, and the temperature dropped quickly. While we struggled with our tents, the wind joined in. Then, it started pouring rain—like someone dumped a bucket of water on us! I woke up at midnight to strong winds flattening my tent, making me wonder if fishing Kodiak was really worth it. 😁

But in the morning, the storm had moved on. The sky transformed into something gold! The sun shone brightly, making the world come alive. The night gracefully stepped aside, allowing the darkness to fade away and make room for a new, vibrant day.

I realized then that’s the way of Christmas.

We have an Advent hope. The light doesn’t negotiate with darkness; there’s no struggle. The darkness retreats when the light arrives. Plain and simple.

Advent hope seems slow, but honestly, it’s unstoppable.

When Jesus came into the world, nothing could stop Him. His birth is recognized during Advent. His arrival was predicted in the scriptures. Jesus came to take away our sins and offer us eternal life.

The Bible teaches us that Jesus is God in the flesh, fully divine and fully man, who came to save us from our sin. This is basic Christianity.

One: The Word Who Always Was, (vv. 1-2)

“In the beginning” reminds us of Genesis, where God created everything (Genesis 1:1). Through the Spirit, he shows that he has taken an important step towards us with the arrival of Jesus. He is dedicated to saving us.

God created us to know and enjoy him (Gen 3:8). We must understand that sin entered the world and screwed everything up. Jesus came to sacrifice Himself to secure our salvation, restoring his image in those who trust him.

Jesus Christ restores all that we lost because of our sin.

In the beginning was the Word. The Word did not come into existence in Mary’s womb but He always was. The Word is eternal. Before it all began, he was there, and he was coming for us.

The phrase “the word was also with God” indicates that the Word is from God but is closely connected to Him (Mk 6:3; 11:4; 2 Cor 5:8; 1 John 1:2). The Word is also God and represents the eternal Son of God, who is both with God and is God. He is the Word and the Son, distinct yet unified with God.

Two: The Word Who is the Creator, (v. 3)

Everything we see was made through Jesus, and nothing exists without him (see Col 1:16-17). The Old Testament says that God created the heavens and the earth, while the New Testament shows that the Word is the true Creator. This highlights Christ’s key role in creation and his divine nature. Both Testaments emphasize the relationship between God the Father and Jesus, confirming that all existence is intentional and meaningful.

Recognizing Jesus as the Creator enhances our understanding of his authority, showing us that all things were created through him and find their purpose in him.

Three: The Word Who is the Light, (vs. 4-5).

We must understand that we’re born spiritually dead and blind. But that can change.

Jesus is the light and every one of us is spiritually blind to truth and beauty and glory (John 17:24). Jesus overcomes our darkness and now gives life. Jesus does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. His love is seeking us.

The word, the gospel, brings forth life and light so that we are born again, literally born from above, and so we see (John 3:3). The light shines into our darkness and the darkness leaves us.

From a sermon given at Community Christian Church, December 7, 2025

David Taylor has been a follower of Christ since 1983 and a pastor since 1988. He moved from Los Angeles to Homer, Alaska in 2004.