John 1 – On Identity

John 1

2 Sam 7:11-13 The Lord declares to you that the Lord Himself will establish a house for you: when your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (& NIV text notes)

It’s God’s house, He establishes it or it will not be established

Without Him nothing has been made that has been made.

Ps 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, it’s labourers labour in vain

Heb 11:10 Looking forward to a city with foundations, whose architect and builder was God

Heb 11:3 by faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that What is seen was not made out of what is visible

Rom 4:17 The God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were

John 1:3 Through Him all things were made, without Him nothing was made that has been made

V4 In Him was life

He is the life

Give Him our life

What are you doing?

Not me taking the responsibility of the outcome of what I do – of striving in the natural for worldly success, or trying not to fail, and judging my life on the criteria of the worldly view of success and failure. To not judge the seed I sow in terms of that, but to be a true sower, sowing abundant handfuls here, and there, wheresoever it falls, and leave the results to God.

Not trying to build the building in my own success

Eccl 11:1-6

The Life was the light of men

Darkness has not overcome it (the light)

Be that light in my darkness

V10,11

V12,13 Yet to all who recd Him, to those who believed on His Name, He gave the right to become children of God. Children not born of natural descent, but born of God

There is always part of the Father in a child, and part of the mother in the child

It is in the genes, in the DNA. It is written there, and cannot be removed

So by receiving Him, by believing in Him, God’s DNA is written into our DNA, when we are born again. We become a child of God. Unchangeable. It becomes written into who we are.

The incorruptible seed. Not able to be touched We are born of the Spirit.

It is not up to us, but He has given us the right to become children of God.

He called it as though it were … Done

V14 He made His dwelling among us

V16&17

From Moses came the law

From Jesus came grace and truth

From the fullness of that grace comes one blessing after another

—> we are blessed people

In the desert make straight the way for the Lord

V20 he did not fail to confess, but confessed, this is not who I am

(I am not)

V21 Not your assumptions

V22 … So who are you?

V23 “I am the voice of one…”

V24 … with what authority then do you do what you do?

V26 ”… this is what I do … but another comes with that authority. (This is who I am, and this is what I do … but this, this is God)

v29-

He existed before the world was created. I did not know Him. I did not recognise Him, but I did what I do, so He could be revealed to you

v33 I would not have recognised Him if the Holy Spirit had not shown (told) me who He was & what He will do

V34 Now I can testify

Heb 11:3 What is seen?

– but what is God doing?

V37 Pursued, followed, looked for the truth. Because of that found Jesus

V41&45 Testimony given

—> Bring him to Jesus

V47 Jesus told him – this is who you are

V48 I saw you – that is who you were

but this (v47) this is who you are

—> but ,

But there is more

More you will see, more you will know, more you will receive

You will see heaven open and the Son of Man revealed

Disciples saw heavens testimony to Jesus

As clearly as if they had heard an announcement from heaven concerning Him

As in Jacob’s dream

Thus marking Jesus as God’s elect one through whom redemption comes to the world – identifying Jesus

God identified Jesus

Rom 4:17

What is not – our weaknesses, failures and messing up

Called as though it were – Woman of God

It’s not about where He sees us (under the fig tree)

But about who He has said we are (called as though it were)

He has called it, what has He said it is?

 

In the beginning