T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
473
December, 1936
I N T E R N A T I O N A L L E S SO N Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Children’s Division Golden Text Illustration Object Lesson B y B. B. S utcliffe B y G retchen S ibley B y H elen G ailey B y A lan S. P earce B y E lmer L, W ilder Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain , Dean, Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio
JANUARY 3, 1937 THE SON OF GOD BECOMES MAN J ohn 1:1-51
ren of the Man, Christ Jesus. The answer to three prevalent false teachings is found in verse 13. Children of God are born “ not of blood,” or human ancestry ; not by the “ will of the flesh,” or self-effort, and not by the “ will of man,” or efforts of organ ized society. They are born “ of God.” The error in these human conceptions is the belief that there remains some good in man after the fall of the human race, and that that good can be cultivated until it is fit for the presence of God. There is no Scriptural basis for the idea of the univer sal Fatherhood of God and its correlative, the universal brotherhood of man. III. T he M anhood of J esus (14-18) “ The W ord was made [or, “ became,” R. V.] flesh, and dwelt among us” (v. 14). “ And we beheld his glory,” the glory com ing from His diety, not His humanity, and therefore a manifestation of God Himself. This event is absolutely unique in the his tory of the universe. No other human being ever “ became” as the result of personal volition and decision. It was not the crea tion of a new personality, but a Personality already existing taking upon Himself a new mode of existence and expression. John the Baptist bears record that this One who became flesh came after him in point of time of human birth, was preferred before him in honor, and was before him in existence (vs. 15-17). There can be no misunderstanding of the fact that John the Baptist was thoroughly assured of the pre existence of his cousin according to the flesh. And in this One who; “ became,” all fullness of the Godhead dwells. The Son came to reveal God (v. 18). Apart from Him, God’s character cannot be seen. In nature God is above us; in law He is against us. But in Christ Jesus, God is for, with, and in us. Points and Problems 1. The words of John 1:1, 2, take us back immeasurably beyond even the first verse of Genesis. The opening verse in Genesis deals with the creation of the world, while in John the portion dealing with the creation begins in verse 3. The first two verses take us back into eternity, there to behold the ever-existent God who antedates all things. “ Go back,” says John, in effect, “ as far as the human mind can think, and there you will find God existing, the eternal W ord with Him, sharing with Him all the honors and glories that belong to deity— “ The W ord was God.” 2. W e should be careful how we read, “ The Word was God.’’ Certainly the pas sage should not be read as ordinarily, “ The W ord was God,” but rather with the em phasis , strongly on the last word, “The
Lesson Text: John 1:1-18. Golden Text: “ The Word \yas made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). Outline and Exposition I. T he D eity of J esus (1-10) I N the beginning” (v. 1) refers neither to the beginning of material creation (Gen. 1:1) nor to the beginning of the gospel (1 John 1:1), but it has reference to the dateless and timeless existence of God. The eternity of the Word, His separate per sonality, and His essential unity with God are here clearly announced. The W ord is coeternal with God, and therefore the Word always was, always existed (v. 2). The Son is the uncreated One who in habits eternity, and He is the One to whom is credited creatorship (v. 3). “Without him was not any thing made that was made” ; the whole universe exists because of Him. In passing, it is well to note that this verse forever silences any question con cerning the eternity of matter, at least for those who accept the Bible as truth. Matter came into existence because of the Son’s fiat. The Word through nature speaks to all people, but through the Scriptures He speaks to a “ new” people, the children of God. The W ord is God. The Word is the only source of life (vs. 4, 5). The living God spoke and called the universe into being, and God who so spake was none other than the W ord who “ became flesh, and dwelt among us, . . . full of grace and truth” (v. 14, R. V .). Further more, the Word is the only source of light. “ There was a man sent from God” (vs. 6-9). A man was sent from God in the person of John the Baptist. God was sent to man in the person of Jesus Christ. No one has light apart from Him and no one can obtain light apart from Him. The world lies in eternal darkness except for the Word who is life and light. This One, who was and is God, “ became flesh, and dwelt among us” (v. 14). This is a revelation which must be accepted in simple faith; it is a revelation without which we would remain in ignorance con cerning God. Because man is a finite being, and God is infinite, it is impossible for God to answer the rationalist’s demand, “ Let God explain himself and I will believe.” Attempts to dissect the Son and explain His being are attempts to analyze the eternal [ These lessons are developed from out-': lines prepared by the Committee on Im proved Uniform Lessons of the International Council. The outlines are copyrighted. 1934-, by the International Council of Reli gious Education and used by permission .— E ditor .]
I SEEK THY PRECEPTS
UNIVERSAL BIBLE SUNDAY DECEMBER 6 , 1936 AMERICAN BIBLE" SOCIETY ", ' < NEW YORK-CITY
God, and they lead to nothing but unsettled convictions giving birth to error in thought and heresy in belief. “ The world knew him not” (v. 10). II. T he B rethren of J esus (11-13), In verse 11, the first “ own” is in the neuter, and the second appears in the mas culine. The Son of God who became flesh came unto His own possessions, and His own people received Him not. His people rejected His claims, and with them, His person. But there were individuals who acknowledged His claims and received Him for what He claimed to be, their Messiah and Saviour (v. 12). They believed “ on” Him. Merely to believe that He tells the truth does not save the soul. T o believe “ on” Him means to receive Him for what He claims to be, to trust Him for what He promises to do, to commit unto Him what He claims He will preserve, and then to act on what is thus believed. T o those who believe in this manner is given the right to become the children of God, breth- BLACKBOARD LESSON Vs/w tue ujocld mi mm tlt / h TTO DWELTomono u/ jiortv w B f l DECODED VW y mm TO B TUO) GftUE TICDOWER.TO btcomc tue m r or a»Äm
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