R220 Who Is Jesus?

God has an encouraging word for each and every one of us through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton as we go to the book of John together. John 1-1 is where we'll start today on a message called, Who is Jesus? And as we study, know that we're here for you. Love to pray with you at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. And now, Dr. Don Wilton. There could come a time in the fifth chapter, the sixth chapter, the tenth chapter, that God impresses upon my heart that we need to move in a different direction. And I want to assure you that that's exactly what we will do. My sole purpose and function as your pastor is to be obedient to God's Word and to be able to share with you that which the Lord has laid upon my heart as we find it recorded in God's Word. And so we're going to begin this morning with an incredible subject. Who is Jesus? Who is the Lord Jesus Christ?

In John chapter 1, and I will read in just a moment the first 18 verses. I wonder if you've ever had someone come up to you and meet you for the first time and perhaps a friend introduces you and says, I want you to meet my friend Don Wilton. And you put out your hand and they say, so you're Don Wilton, are you? And you say, uh-huh. And they say, ah, I've heard of you. And then they turn around and walk off. And you want to say to them, well, thank you very much.

This could speak volumes to all kinds of perplexing problems. Maybe there's something bad that they've heard about you. Maybe it's something awfully good that you really need to hear about. Maybe it's a commendation. Maybe it's a pat on the back. Maybe it's an exhortation.

Maybe it's smacks of discipline. But the fact of the matter is that an introduction has been made and there is no follow-up that takes place. I want you to notice here in John's gospel that in the first 18 verses we have probably one of the most dramatic introductions to who Jesus Christ is. But the wonderful thing about John's gospel is that in the prologue, in the first 18 verses of this unbelievable gospel, that what is said in the first 18 verses is elaborated upon for the rest of the gospel of John. What John is telling us in the first 18 verses is exactly that which is about to come. It's like going to a person's home for dinner and they get out their appetizer and you take a taste of it and you say, look, this is good.

I just cannot wait for the rest of the meal. And what John's gospel is, it is a development of everything that John shares with us by the power of the Holy Spirit here in the first 18 verses. It is one of the most fundamental statements that is ever made.

It is one of the most dramatic introductions that has ever been presented throughout the ages. And what John is dealing with here is the centre of everything that ever was and his name is the Lord Jesus Christ. And hence I have entitled our message this morning, Who is the Lord Jesus Christ? I'm going to submit to you today, my friends, that there are people all over our world who need and want to know about this person whose name is Jesus Christ. I want to submit to you today that there are people here in this worship service who are saying, preacher, I have people who have prayed for me. I have people who have loved me.

I have people who have taught me. I have people who have pointed me in the direction of the Lord Jesus Christ. But the time has come that I need to understand and appropriate and assimilate and apply and invite Jesus Christ to become a part of who I am.

Who is the Lord Jesus Christ? That's why in John's gospel, this is called the prologue. It is that which precedes that which is to follow.

It is the appetizer. It is just the beginning. And it has no end. And we're going to discover that as we read together. Well, let's read a few verses beginning at verse one. You will find your Bibles in front of you, by the way. If you'd like to take a copy of that, I'm going to be reading from the same version that is in the pew Bible.

That doesn't mean to say that you need to follow in the same version. But I want every single person who loves the Lord Jesus Christ to have a copy of God's Word in your hand. I also want to encourage you to have a pen, piece of paper, take down notes, write things in the margin. It's okay to write things in the Bible that are relevant. It's okay to have a study Bible.

I would encourage each one of you to have a study Bible where you can record things and write them down. I don't have anything written in this particular Bible of mine because this is my preaching Bible. And when I preach, I didn't say I don't have anything, did I? I have things occasionally that I write down in the margins, but this is the Bible that I preach from.

And so I try and keep the margins as uncluttered as I possibly can so that I can speak with the freedom of God's Spirit. Let's read together beginning at verse 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning, and through him all things were made.

Without him nothing was made that had been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light so that through him all men might believe. He himself, that is John, was not that light.

He came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man, the true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all those who did receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God.

Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or of a husband's will, but born of God. Now this Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, became flesh and made his dwelling place among us. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only who came from the Father full of grace and full of truth. Now John testifies concerning this same Jesus.

He cries out saying, this was he who comes after me and has surpassed me because he was before me. From the fullness of his grace, we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, and grace and truth came through the Lord Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God, the one and only who is at the Father's side, has made him known unto us.

May the Lord write his Word upon our hearts this morning. There is an incredible scamper in the world to try and find out who this Jesus is. David Koresh made an announcement. He said, I am the Messiah.

I'm the Lord Jesus Christ. He convinced a number of his followers. They gathered together in Waco, Texas. He announced that he could do anything he wanted to. He announced that he was indeed God's personal gift to mankind. They ended up in exceeding great tragedy in a fiery furnace.

Many years ago, Jim Jones did the same thing with the People's Church in the jungles of Guyana. He convinced them that he was the Messiah. He was the Lord Jesus Christ.

He was the one who had the answer to all the world's needs. And we know what happened there in that great tragedy, as many of them ended up sipping cyanide and dying of bloated bellies in the most horrible of circumstances. Charles Manson, an unbelievable Satanist, said of himself that he was a man who had been sent by God with a special mission for mankind.

Years later, as a result of that commune, Sharon Tate and many others were brutally murdered and even to this day, people are in prison. People still trying to proclaim that Charles Manson is the Messiah. I believe that what John's gospel does is lay this issue to rest once and for all. I believe that what John is doing here at this juncture, my friend, he is settling once and for all the issue about who Jesus Christ really is.

I believe that what John is doing here, he is saying to us, let there be no mistake whatsoever. You will never find the meaning of life outside of anybody or anything other than the Lord Jesus Christ. As I have traveled around the world and even here in Spartanburg, South Carolina, I have discovered people who are searching in everything possible to try and find meaning for life. People are trying to find it in relationships. People are trying to find it in sexual activity and promiscuity. People are trying to find it in families. People are trying to find it in a bank balance.

People are trying to find it in status and position. But what John is saying at the initial stage of this unbelievable gospel is that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. It is no wonder that by the time we get to John chapter 10 and verse 10 that the Lord Jesus made that unbelievable claim when he said, the thief has come to destroy. The thief has come to break down. The thief has come to disseminate and to blow apart.

The thief has come to fragment. But I have come that you might have life or that you might have it more abundantly. Jesus was with his disciples. They were mingling in the malls of society and he went up to those disciples and he said, gentlemen, who do people say that I the Son of Man am? Can you just imagine those disciples being asked a question like that by the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and they looked at Jesus and they said to him, well, sir, some people say that you're a good man. There are people here this morning who would say that Jesus Christ is a good man. Some people say that you are one of the prophets. There are people in society today who say that Jesus is one of the prophets.

Others say that you are this and others say you are that. And then Jesus said, but who do you say that I the Son of Man am? You see, my friends, what Jesus was doing, he was placing who he is in its correct context and that is right slap bang. In the heart of every man, every woman, every boy and every girl upon the face of the earth, what John is saying here in the prologue is that there is hope. What John is saying, my friend, is that every man, woman, boy and girl who has ever been born upon the face of the earth has the unbelievable opportunity to come to know Jesus Christ in a personal and in a remarkable way. What John is saying here, my friends, is that it doesn't matter where you've been, how you've lived, what manner of lifestyle, how deep you've fallen into sin, that this God who is the God of grace is the Lord Jesus Christ and he died in order that you might have life. I like that, don't you?

That's what it's all about. Please forgive the interruption. We'll be back with the rest of today's message with Dr. Don Wilton in just a moment. But Dr. Don wants me to remind you, we're here for you. We're connecting on our phone at 866-899-WORD.

Again, jot that number down, store it in your cell. It's available 24 hours a day for prayer at 866-899-9673. But we're also available on our website. If you haven't dropped by lately, it's brand new. That's T-E-W online dot O-R-G. T-E-W online dot O-R-G.

Right now, so many friends are taking that wonderful book from Laura's story and seeing that as a wonderful way to launch into 2021. Again, take a peek right now on our website at T-E-W online dot O-R-G. You'll be glad you did. Now back to today's message, Who is Jesus?

with Dr. Don Wilton. Well, let's have a look at what John was trying to say about the Lord Jesus Christ. We're going to look at it very briefly. Number one, he was reminding us in verses one and two that Jesus Christ is God. Look with me at verses one and two. People have come to me from time to time and they've said to me, preacher, there are no such things as absolutes. Well, I'm going to beg to differ with you because I believe that the Bible is filled with absolutes. In fact, I'm making an absolute statement by making that statement.

That's right. You go back into Genesis chapter one and verse one. We begin with the greatest absolute statement that was ever made in the beginning God, in the beginning God. We're going to notice here that what John says about who Jesus Christ is is inextricably intertwined, my friend, with what God stated in the beginning, in the beginning God, because what God is trying to say to us, my friend, is that Jesus Christ is God. You see, friends, when John points out in the first verse here that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God and he was with God in the beginning. What he was saying is that Jesus Christ didn't claim to be God. He is God. What John was saying here at this juncture, my friend, was that Jesus Christ did not think he was God, he was God. Jesus Christ did not imagine that he was God. He was God.

What John is saying, my friend, is that what Jesus Christ was was that he is God. He always is God. He always was God. He was not God's advisor. He's not God's top attorney general. He's not God's chief counselor. He's not God's lieutenant. He's not God's right hand man. He is God.

He is God. The Bible says very clearly, my friend, that the Lord Jesus Christ wasn't the representation of God. He didn't represent God. He didn't bring God into a court of law. He didn't speak for God. He is God.

In the beginning, God, in the beginning, God, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God with all of thy heart and with all of thy soul and with all of thy strength. Who, who, who, who is Jesus? Who is this Jesus?

John just settles this right up front. He's God, brother. He's God, sister. He's God, my friend. He's God, neighbor. He's God. He is God. He always was God. That's who Jesus is. But there's a second thing John tells us about him. Not only is Jesus God, but Jesus created everything.

Look with me at verse three. He created everything. The Bible says through him all things were made and without him was nothing made that has or ever was made. He created everything. You see, friends, when Jesus Christ becomes my Lord and my Savior, he occupies his rightful place in that which he already owns. The Bible says that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth or we've got everything from scientists to skeptics to humanists to educators to philosophers to professors to preachers and theologians who are trying to discriminate the fact that God is God and that everything that we have is as a result of God. I want you to know that the word of God says that Jesus is not only God, but he created everything. Oh, that's a wonderful thing.

You know what that means? That means that he knows all about me because he made me. Bible says he made me. He created me in his own image. You know, because he created me, he knows me so well and friend, he knows that I've messed up. He knows that I've fallen short. He knows that I've become proud. He knows that I've gone off the beaten trail.

He knows all these things about me. He created me and he not only created me, but he created everything that I've got. Not only is Jesus God, not only has Jesus created everything, but there's a third thing John tells us about him. Here's what he says. Jesus is the one about whom everybody has been talking. Let me run that by again in case you had a rough night.

Here it is. Jesus, according to John's gospel, is the one about whom everybody has been talking. And it begins right there in verse six. He is the one who has been talked about from the moment he came, from the very beginning of the foundation of the world.

There is nobody who compares to the chatter that has gone up with regard to the person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Right there in verse six, we find an unbelievable account. There came a man who was sent from God.

His name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light. Then you can go down to verse 19. Now this was John's testimony. You can go down into verse 29 of chapter one. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

You can go into verse 35 and following. And the next day John was there and when he saw Jesus coming he said, Look, there comes the Lamb of God. His disciples turned around and said, Come and see for yourself because we have found the one about whom everybody is talking. There's a buzz going on in our community.

There's talk as you mingle in the malls of society. There are people all over America today who are scrambling and talking and wondering and debating and denigrating and trying to rule out and erase the very name of Jesus. But I want to say to you my friend that at the instigation and the initial stages of this prologue, the unbelievable gospel of John, John settles that issue. He says not only is Jesus God, not only did Jesus create everything, he said, but let it just be known right now. There's no more argument, no more debate, it's settled.

He is the one about whom everybody has been talking. Jesus put it like this. He said, The gates of hell will not prevail against my church.

Do you know what that means? It means, my friends, it doesn't matter what catastrophe we find ourselves in. It doesn't matter what legislation has passed. It doesn't matter how atheistic a nation becomes. It matters not how rebellious a people become. It matters not how many years we wander around in the wilderness as a consequence of our sin.

It matters not the extent of our sin. Jesus Christ is the one about whom everybody is talking and there's a reason for it. Here it is because in Jesus Christ there's hope.

There is always hope, that hope never diminishes, that hope never goes away, that hope is always there. Jesus Christ will never leave us nor forsake us. He is the God of forgiveness. He's the one about whom we can speak. He's the one that we can shout from the rooftops. He's the one we can share with our friends and neighbors. He's the one that we can reach out to in the very depths of the sinfulness of our community and our society.

John settles this issue in the prologue. What does he say? Who is this Jesus? Yes sir, he is God. He didn't claim to be God, he is God. He didn't represent God, he is God. But he's not only God, he created everything.

He not only created everything, it's claiming and establishing his total 100% ownership of everything that ever was, is or ever will be. But he's the one about whom everybody has been speaking. I want you to notice in the fourth place, sadly to say, there is a fourth thing that John tells us about this Jesus. He is the one who has been rejected by many people.

He is the one who has been rejected by many, many people. Look with me at verse 11, it's very clear. The Bible says he came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Seems to me rather interesting that John would have made that statement. Did you notice that? That he came unto his own.

What in the world does that mean? You see, there's your direct link between the creation of man as recorded in Genesis and our position as man in Christ in 1994. You see what John is endeavoring to establish here and we're going to find this right throughout the gospel, my friend. It is a biblical fact that there are many, many, many people who have and will continue to reject Jesus Christ.

You say to me, wait a minute, Dr. Wilton, I don't understand that. I'll tell you why people reject Jesus Christ, because of sin. Because sin has severed their relationship, their refusal to say, Lord, you love me, you died for me, I want to be clean, I want to be new, I want to have new hope and new life, I want to have eternal life.

No way, I don't want that. That's what happened at the cross. Oh, yes, sir, those mingling masses of society stepped out of their holes and they came and they stood and the chief priests and the elders said, here you have Jesus, King of the Jews, the spotless, Lamb of God, here you have Barabbas convicted of crimes against humanity.

Who do you want us to set free? And the crowd in a whipped up frenzy began to chant, give us Barabbas, give us Barabbas, give us Barabbas. And John records, he came unto his own and he said, Lord, give us Barabbas, and John records, he came unto his own and his own received him not. The greatest tragedy in life are the people who say no to Jesus Christ because there's a fifth point that he gives us about Jesus.

Not only is he God, not only did he create everything, not only is he the one who's talked about, not only is he the one who's been rejected by many, but the Bible tells us, my friends, that Jesus Christ is the one who has been accepted and received by many. What a powerful message from the pastor in the pulpit today and as he's been teaching and preaching, I pray that you've not only heard him, but you've heard the Spirit of God speaking through our pastor, God's servant, our teacher, to let you know that there is great truth in these scriptures in John 1, but there's also great opportunity, an opportunity to see your life changed forever. Before we get away, please open your heart to these closing thoughts from our pastor, Dr. Don Wilton. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today, I repent of my sin and by faith, I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God. This is exciting news.

If you just prayed to give your life to Jesus Christ, we are so excited to see what God's gonna do next and we'd love to be a part of it. If you'd like, we'd love to send some resources to you that Dr. Don's prepared absolutely free. Just call us at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 and we'll get these resources to you quickly and we're excited about what God is continuing to allow us to provide in resources and if you haven't seen the new website, it's kind of the nucleus for all this new stuff. We are excited to announce that we have a new updated website.

On our new website, you can find current and past broadcasts. Order the current monthly offer, post prayer requests or praise reports, sign up for the daily encouraging word, see our current broadcast. Schedule and donate to the encouraging word. Find us at www.tewonline.org. Our time's gone for today, but let's stay connected online at that www.tewonline.org anytime and know that we're ready to pray with you as well at 866-899-9673. The Encouraging Word The Encouraging Word The Encouraging Word The Encouraging Word The Encouraging Word