John 1:1-18
ICE BREAKER
Have you ever asked your parents for something you doubted they would want to give to you? What was your strategy as a child to influence your parent’s decision? Perhaps you considered which parent would likely say yes.
Kids learn at a young age how to divide and conquer.
Share a story about when you tried to pressure your parents to get what you wanted.
Or, think of one of your own children trying to do this with you.
John in writing the gospel of John understands our desire to divide and conquer in our relationship with God.
So, John doubles down on the truth that the Father and the Son are one in John 1:1 when he states that Jesus is the Word and that the Word was with God and the Word was God.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Discuss the following quotes:
“If we lessen or distort Jesus we will live like we want to live.”
“When we distort Jesus in any direction Jesus is no longer God in our heart.”
- Review the notes below on the limited views of God. Which limited view of Jesus do you tend to adopt?Take some time to think about what energizes this pull in your life.How can you live as though Jesus is truly God? What does this mean and what does it look like in my life?Next, take some time as a group to brainstorm a few passages that help to define Jesus biblically. Consider making one of these passages your main focus in your devotions for the coming week.
- In the trinity we have unselfish love or what is called “biblical hospitality”.This separates christianity from any other religion in the world.Our trinitatrian God is filled with relational love within the trinity and it overflows with a rich invitation to all to join the laughter of the trinity.The love that exists within the trinity has life changing implications for your relationship with Him. It begins to be clear that God delights in loving you.
This is His nature.
This is what comes naturally to Him at all times with you. Take some time for personal reflection on these truths and jot down your thoughts if possible. Then share your thoughts with the group.
- Our culture insists on tolerance. This view tends to push believers into silence.We abandon our mission if we go silent.How have you or how has your family been pushed toward silence?Share how you have been helped to speak in this culture.
NOTES AND QUOTES
John understands our desire to divide and conquer so he doubles down on the truth that the Father and the Son are one.
John tells us that Jesus is the Word and the Word is God.
Two big questions of life are: Is there a God? Who is He?
How we live reveals whether we believe there is a God as well as what this God is like.
In John 20:31 John tells us that the purpose of writing his gospel is that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ and that we can have life in him.
The “Word” in our English Bible is the word “logos” in Greek.
Why does John replace Jesus’ name with “Logos”?
The answer is that the Greeks wrote philosophy about the concept of logos.
Greek philosophers all drive toward a similar idea:
They want to understand the central essence of all reality.
Whatever that central reality is, it would be called “logos”.
So, John picks up on this thinking and he says that Jesus is the essence of all reality. Jesus is “Logos” with a capital “L”.
It’s a strong declaration.
We live in a postmodernist society that claims our words are subjective and ultimately meaningless and therefore reality cannot be known.
So, our culture settles for “our own reality”.
In John 1:2 “Jesus with God” means he stands in a face to face relationship with God the Father. It is an intimate relationship
So, God is a relational God–the Father and the Son are face to face.
As a relational God He wants a relationship with us.
This is the deepest core reality of life: God is trinity.
He is relational and He invites us up into a relationship with him.
With our trinitarian God we now have three persons.
Each one in the trinity makes room for the other two to enjoy each other.
Only unselfishness will allow this relationship of three to thrive.
The enemy and humanity seek to distort who Jesus is so we can have our own way.
In Genesis 3:4-5 Satan lies about God and tells Eve that God lied and that God is afraid of Adam and Eve.
When we distort Jesus in any direction Jesus is no longer God in our heart.
So, what are the common ways that we distort who Jesus is?
First is the “one option Jesus”.
There are many ways to eternal life and Jesus is one of those options.
Our culture today has a false belief seen in the following statement:
It is important that you are able to speak your truth. You are your own “logos”.
The second option is that Jesus is a moral teacher.
Jesus is admired for how He lived His life because he is moral. In this view His morality is admired and His claim to be the only way to eternal life is rejected.
Note the contradiction in this option: one sees Christ as a moral teacher and yet He lies about who He is.
A third distortion is that Jesus is a social warrior Jesus.
Jesus does care about many many social issues.
But, we distort Jesus when we attach Jesus to a cause and then we then feel superior toward others.
Jesus’ mission is to die for our sin and to put sin to death.
With this accomplished mission all social woes are able to be conquered in the end.
The fourth option is the plush toy Jesus.
We make him a soft Hallmark flavor of love.
We want love while we reject Christ’s clear judgment of our sin.
We can pick Jesus up and squeeze Him and He will make us happy.
The fifth version is the political Jesus.
Jesus cares about the stuff that consumes the political world, but it is not His central mission.
Jesus does not run for office.
Think about Christ living on earth– He and the Jewish nation were in bondage to the Romans. When he ascended into heaven the Romans still ruled the Jews.
His mission was to die for sin and to put sin to death which then in turn solves every political issue in the end.
We must think well and be active in regard to politics.
The final distortion is suburban Jesus.
We make Jesus fit into what we are already doing.
Jesus does not care what we are doing with our money.
Jesus cares about our convenience.
He understands that our busyness makes us forget Jesus and Jesus is okay with that.
If something causes you not to worship a lot, no worries, just do it and be happy.
Jesus is so distorted that He is no longer Lord of our lives.
Jesus is a real man and a real God. We must embrace this in order to fully join His mission.
If we lessen Jesus we will live like we want to live.
