Speaker 1: 0:09

In this episode of the Takeaway, pastor Harry invites us to reflect on one of the most profound truths in Scripture Jesus is not just the giver of life, he is life. Drawing from John, chapter 1, verses 4 and 5, we'll explore what it means that in him was life and the life was the light of men. This is more than a poetic phrase. It is the declaration that Jesus holds the very essence of spiritual life and that his light breaks through even the deepest spiritual darkness. The message calls us to see our condition not as merely broken or lost, but spiritually dead. Condition not as merely broken or lost, but spiritually dead, and to recognize Christ as the one who gives new birth, new breath and new purpose. In a world that feels dimmed by chaos and confusion, this passage offers an unshakable hope. The light still shines and the darkness has not overcome it. Join Pastor Harry as he unpacks the power and promise of Jesus the light of life.

Speaker 2: 1:15

Hello, welcome again to the Takeaway. I'm your host, pastor Harry Behrens, and in today's episode we're continuing our journey through the Gospel of John, chapter 1, verses 4 through5, exploring Jesus as life. In our last episode, we opened season 3 of the Takeaway by looking at the first three verses of John's Gospel, where we encounter Jesus as the eternal Word. We saw that John doesn't begin with Bethlehem or the Jordan River. He begins with eternity. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God. But is God himself eternal, uncreated and divine? He is the very word through whom all things were made and in whom all things hold together. We saw that this isn't just a theological concept, it's the foundation of our faith. If Jesus is not God, he cannot save, if he is not eternal, he cannot create, and if he is not the word, we are still waiting for God to speak, but John tells us that God has spoken and his name is Jesus. Now, as we continue in John, chapter 1, we come to verses 4 and 5, where John makes a bold and beautiful statement in him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. In the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Today we'll explore what it means that Jesus is not only the eternal word but also the source of life and light. What kind of life does he give? What does his light reveal, and how does that light still shine in a world so often filled with darkness? Let's turn to John 1, verses 4 and 5, and discover together the hope, power and promise of the life-giver and light-bearer, jesus Christ.

Speaker 2: 3:16

Let's begin where life itself begins, with a breath. Think about your own breathing for a moment, something so natural we rarely notice it. Scientists tell us it's one of the most intricate systems in the human body your brainstem, lungs, diaphragm, oxygen sensors, nerves all working in harmony to keep you alive. Now, if just one of those parts stops working, everything stops. That's not a random accident, that's design. Genesis 2, verse 7 says Then the Lord, god, formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. That breath wasn't just air, it was a divine spark. And Acts, chapter 17, verse 25, tells us that God gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. So every breath you take right now is a gift. It belongs to the one who breathed it into you. But life is more than breath Deep within.

Speaker 2: 4:25

Let me ask you something have you ever seen a sentence write itself or a book appear without an author? Dna, like all language, points to a mind, a creator. And that creator, john tells us, is the word Jesus. John writes in him was life, not from him. In him he doesn't just hand out life like a distributor, he is the life.

Speaker 2: 5:00

John, chapter 14, verse 6. I am the way and the truth and the life. Let's take that a step further. In John 1, in him was life. The Greek word here for life is zoe. It's not physical life, bios, but spiritual, eternal life. This is echoed in Ezekiel 37 when God says behold, I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live. And again in Ezekiel 36, I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you.

Speaker 2: 5:40

So this isn't about lung capacity or heartbeats, it's about new birth, which brings us to the second half of verse 4, and the life was the light of men. This light isn't just insight, it's resurrection, it's God awakening dead hearts. Paul makes it clear in Ephesians, chapter 2, and you were dead in the trespasses and sins, but God made us alive together with Christ. And Colossians 2.13 says you who were dead in your trespasses, god made alive. And Jesus tells Nicodemus in John chapter 3, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Jesus didn't come to enhance your life, he came to give you life. We are not sick in sin, we are dead. And Jesus raises the dead.

Speaker 2: 6:35

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. In John, chapter 1, verse 5. That word shines is present tense. That means it's still happening. Jesus still shines. And the darkness? Well, that's not just bad times, it's rebellion, blindness, sin. Now this Greek word, katalambano, overcome, has a double meaning. It can mean to grasp or comprehend, and it can also mean to overpower. So the darkness doesn't understand, grasp or comprehend the light and it also can't defeat or overpower it.

Speaker 2: 7:15

Isaiah, chapter 9, verse 2, says the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Jesus himself said in John chapter 8, verse 12, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. And in 2 Corinthians 4, 6, paul says For God has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Listen carefully.

Speaker 2: 7:48

Technically speaking, light doesn't shine into darkness or into light. I'm sorry. Light doesn't shine into existing light, it shines into darkness. When you walk into a dark room and turn the light on, you are shining a light into darkness and darkness flees. There was a light source and it just needed to be energized for that to take place. But let's look at what God does. In Genesis, chapter 1, God said let there be light. And there was light. That was a creative act. There was no light before that moment. God calls light to shine out of darkness.

Speaker 2: 8:26

Paul echoes this in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 6. He says God doesn't enhance the light in us. He speaks where there is none and light is born. He doesn't inform dead hearts, he transforms them. He doesn't use leftover light, he creates it. Matthew Henry writes this light is not of man's kindling, it is a divine work and gift. The same almighty power that made the world must make the heart a new creation. And John Calvin says darkness.

Speaker 2: 9:34

To be clear, what's being said here is that you were dead in sin, full of darkness, and you and I had no light or light source in us. There was nothing that could be turned on and there was no way to add it. In fact, the reality is we didn't want it. As Paul said in Ephesians 2.3,. We all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath. Like the rest of mankind, we didn't look for light, we didn't want the light, we didn't even realize there was a light.

Speaker 2: 10:06

But Paul doesn't stop here. He says something profound to follow up this statement. In Ephesians, chapter 2, verses 4 and 5, he says but God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses, he God. He made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. Deadness and darkness are the same thing here.

Speaker 2: 10:34

But god, looking at us, just as he did the world in genesis 1, and saw the darkness, he said let there be light. And there was light. The light came from seemingly nowhere. There was no tangible source or point from which it was shown. It was just there, instantly and power, and it caused the darkness to disperse immediately. It was a creative act that God spoke into existence prior to creating the light sources, the sun and the moon. That is exactly what happened to you and me when we were born again. God saw us and loved us by saying let there be light in this one, because he or she is my chosen vessel that I chose before the foundation of the world. Before God even created the foundation of the world where darkness could dwell, he already had you and me in mind and desired to shine his light into us.

Speaker 2: 11:33

This is important and a theological fact that believers get messed up and taught wrong all the time. We think that God's grace allowed us to choose him or, another way to say it, that he wired the house and sent power into it and all we had to do was choose to turn the lights on, to see and live for him. But that's a concept that has to be worked into scripture. It's based on the idea that we are made in the image of God and have the same or similar freedoms to choose as he does. But that's not at all what it says. The reality is we lived in a house that had no wiring, no lamp, no source of power, and God walked in and said let there be light. Then there was light. We came alive, not of anything we did, but completely by what he did.

Speaker 2: 12:24

To understand this, you only need to understand God's motive for doing all he has done. If asked right now, why do you think God made the world the way he did? Why did he put the tree in the garden? Why did he create Satan? Why does he allow evil if he is all-powerful and all-loving? This is the question people ask all the time and so many don't know how to answer it. The most likely answer, you hear, is God loves us so much he gave us free will to choose to love him. But if that were the case, don't you think there would be scripture that clearly defines this and removes the argument?

Speaker 2: 13:02

Instead, we find scripture like Ephesians, chapter 1 and 2, where Paul clarifies God's motive as well as the process. He did all that he did for his glory. That's his motive All throughout scripture. You see this, for example, isaiah, chapter 43, 7, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. And in Romans, chapter 11, verse 36,. For from that, the process God chose to glorify himself was to choose us and make us alive in Christ to the praise of his glorious grace in Ephesians, chapter 1. Then to further clarify, he says in chapter 2 of Ephesians that we were dead. He used the words that should remove any doubt about what he is saying. You were dead, but God chose you and made you alive, to the praise of his glorious grace. He's shown his light out of darkness that was in you to glorify himself.

Speaker 2: 14:11

The problem people have with this is that it makes God sound narcissistic, like he is all about himself. The truth is, he is all about himself because there is nothing better than himself. But this is not narcissistic, because God is perfect and without sin. This is where his love comes in. Back in Ephesians 2, verses 4 to 7,. But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us.

Speaker 2: 14:53

In Christ Jesus. He revealed and poured out his perfect love on us by choosing us, raising us up and then seating us with Christ in the heavenly places, so that we can eternally experience the grace of God which flows from the love of God. That perfectly glorifies God. He is eternally sharing himself with us because there's nothing better he can offer. And you did nothing to earn this, nor did you choose it. You wanted to live for yourself, but God wanted you for him.

Speaker 2: 15:28

Then, to put the nail in the coffin, if you will, paul goes on in verses eight and nine to say For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. You were created to be and do what God created you for, which is to glorify him. So how do we glorify him? We praise him by proclaiming how great he is for making us alive and allowing us to partake in him. And this is only possible because he's shown his light out of the darkness of our hearts 2 Corinthians 4.6 again. Out of the darkness of our hearts 2 Corinthians 4, 6 again. For God has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. If that's not clear, I don't know what is. All you need to understand is that you were made for His glory, and all the things you are looking for in this world that don't satisfy you are all found in him, because that's your purpose to glorify him and not yourself. We're going to see how all this plays out in greater detail as we walk through John's gospel.

Speaker 2: 16:44

But remember this Jesus didn't come to improve your situation. He came to bring you from death to life. Without him, we are spiritually dead, but in him we are fully alive. So let me ask are you alive in Christ today, or are you still walking in darkness, waiting for the light? Only he can shine.

Speaker 2: 17:06

Let's pray, father, god, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the clarity of your word, that we don't have to redefine your word, that you make it clear that our position was dead and dark, that we were not alive, that we were under wrath, and that you walked into the darkness and you said let there be light, and you brought us to life and you made us alive in Jesus, who is the light, all for your glory. Not that we would be slaves under an oppressor, but that we would be set free and made alive to praise you and in that praise of your glorious grace that you so freely pour out on us, it gives us the fullness of joy that Jesus promised we could have. I pray that you would open our eyes and our ears to hear and to see these truths, that we would not live as oppressed, but that we would live as free, rejoicing in who you are and the glory that you've shown into our lives and into the darkness of this world. Father, we love you and we thank you and praise you in Jesus name. Amen.

Speaker 2: 18:14

Now as always, I want to thank you for joining us today and I hope I really hope this episode has helped you take a step closer in your relationship with Jesus and that you now have a deeper understanding of just how much God loves you and wants you to know him. Before we go, I want to encourage you to send us any questions or comments you may have using the Text Us link in the episode description. Your input helps us shape future episodes that speak directly to your needs and help you grow in your faith. It's our desire that this ministry be a tool to reach the lost and equip the saints for a life that brings glory to God. Now, in our next episode, we'll turn to John, chapter 1, verses 6 to 13, where we see how the word Jesus is made known to the world. What does it mean to truly receive him, and why do so many reject the light? Join me as we explore the mystery of belief, identity and the power to become children of God. God bless, and we'll see you next time on the Takeaway.