The World’s Most Important Word - Part A

In the beginning was the word word was with God and it says the Word was God. Such a simple statement such a profound truth. Jesus, the living word is God in a body all that God is is in the word Jesus. You could Skip weekend division but it's difficult to truly quantify there probably around 250,000 words in the English language that's cutting all the current dictionary entries around 50,000 words are now considered obsolete almost 10,000 words are considered derivatives or seven.

That's a lot of words but you're here and connect with Skip weekend division going to talk about just the most important word in the world.

Is it possible to even say there's one word that's more important than all the others well will find out in just a moment. But before we do that we have an excellent resource for you this month@connectwithskip.com. Some people find comfort in the status quo. Others just can't wait to challenge it.

If this were a recovery meeting, I would begin by saying my name is Skip and I'm a nonconformist depot with the flow swim against the current is going against the status quo can be difficult finally requires that Daniel showed one person's willingness to I like to think of it this way when the ways of life came crashing down.

Daniel decided to go surfing to write these waves if these waves are the will of God for my life to learn how to master these things to get propelled forward to soar above the status quo defined normal way of saying thanks for your gift of $35 and to help connect more for the God's part will also include the booklet 100 and I here for requiring these two resources will help you stand out from the crowd for God's glory connectwithskip.com/comfort to get online securely today or call 892 1888.

Today John chapter 1. So if you find that spot in your Bible skip.

I did get started today with helping us understand just how many words we use in our daily lives. I have a book in my library. I brought with me all the words you should know words you should know 1200 essential words and every educated every educated person should be able to use and define. This is given to me by a friend.

I guess he thought I needed help words you should know and I need all the help I can get the average first-person spends 1/5 of his or her life talking 1/5 of a person's total life.

You can fill at 50 page book every day. Now some do that more and some do that less and I'm not going to get into Who's Who but suffice it to say that at the end of an average lifetime. You could fill 3000 volumes or 1,500,000 pages of words that you use words, what is the most important word ever.

What is the most vital word ever. What are the most important words that a person can speak while some have suggested the words I love you are the world's most important words in Sweden. That's sentimental and there's something to that was her wonderful words to hear if you were to look to some of the success gurus. They would say that it goes like this. The six most important words in the world are. I admit I made a mistake. The five most important words are. You did a good job. The four most important words are. What is your opinion. The three most important words, if you please. The two most important words. Thank you and the most important word is the word you they say the word you today I want to talk to you about the world's most important word and it is not you. John's thesis, John's premise in these introductory verses of the Gospel of John. It could be said is the world's most important word and the word is Jesus. Jesus calls him the wording he begins very vague in this book to some of us very abstruse. He says in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. But if we keep reading a little further, the identity comes clear in verse 14 the Word became flesh, and even in verse two. The word is given a personal pronoun he was in the beginning with God. So as we follow John's thinking through the first chapter of the word and then he and then he became flesh, and finally down in verse 17, where Jesus Christ is mentioned, we get the idea that he's speaking about Jesus Christ and he calls him the word Jesus is the world's most important word even Noah Webster would agree. You know the dictionary guy Webster's dictionary. I have a copy with me this morning is a little bit different than most. It is the a copy of the original Webster's dictionary from 1828 at if you know this or not but I Noah Webster was a strong believer and defender of the gospel and you get that in this dictionary well I turned just for fun, to the term word in his dictionary and you know how there's several definitions and dictionaries of a single word deepening and how to use so he begins predictably word and articulate or vocal sound or combination of articulate and vocal sounds uttered by the human voice and by custom expressing an idea or ideas a single component of human speech or language. That's how we know the term to be but you keep following his definitions he Noah Webster says this as a definition of word Christ and then he says John chapter 1 even Noah Webster would say in the original dictionary. You won't find it in more modern ones that the world's most important word word is Christ know why is that why is Jesus, the world's most important word because he's the only guy that can fix the mess he's the only hope of all of humanity, of all of history that can fix the mess and the problems Peter said and accept before nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved and Paul will write to the Philippians that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that he is Lord. So let's meet him in these opening verses and let's see Jesus. The word in relation to God number one in relation to the universe.

Number two, and in relation to mankind. Number three. Verse one John one in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the word was God. All things were made through him and without him nothing was made that was made in him was life and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend. Know this morning I'm going to beg your attention because word and talk about a few of the nuances and particulars about this sentence construction. It's very simple language. If you've ever studied Greek in seminary. They always take you first to the writings of John because he's the easiest guy to understand, though he writes in simple language is trues are very deep and very profound. The first two verses tell us about the word in relation to God and tell us plainly that he existed always in the beginning those three words transport us all the way back to what Genesis Genesis 1 verse book in the Bible. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, but John takes us back before Genesis 1 in the beginning was the word not in the beginning, the word began, but in the beginning, the word was the means was already continuing.

So way back in the beginning before there was ever a beginning. Christ was existing, you say I don't quite understand that you're in good company.

Neither do I neither does any intellect I've read a lot of books on the subject and this is one of the imponderables, let me just say that though the truth is plain to understand. It is humans is very difficult nigh unto impossible or impossible and if you try to approach the gospel of John, merely with your intellect. It will be crucified.

You have to approach this with faith in your heart because some of these statements that he makes simple as they may sound are very profound and very deep. Now he calls Jesus. The word in the beginning was the word and find out that that is Jesus.

That seems like an odd way to introduce a person than it call him the word of sound so impersonal what what is this title referred to, because when when you and I hear the term. The word we think like Noah Webster and his first definition. It's a little unit of language, but if you and I live 2000 years ago and read these words, we would get it immediately. Whether you are secular or you were religious in the Jewish world the term word was pregnant with significance because you see the Jews explained everything God did by his word, his word is responsible for everything. Everything was made through his word, how often in the Old Testament does it say, and the word of the Lord came to so to the Jewish mind anytime God touches man. He does it through his word and they gave it the term word or the member, and EM RA.

That's an Aramaic word.

I know if you've heard of the targums but the targums are Jewish writings in the Targum is where you take a portion of the Old Testament in Hebrew and translated into Aramaic Aramaic. I was the language of the captivity. If you ever saw the passion of the Christ. The language in that movie was Aramaic. Now it's a dead language. Back then, that's what people spoke in his room. Aramaic will in the targums was this term member and EM RA which means word and it was the self-expression of God just like an author would use a word to express himself.

God expresses himself through his member but in the targums. These Jewish writings.

They would often take the word of God out of the sentence and put in the term member or word for the name of God itself because they didn't want to break the third commandment and under the name of God in any foolish capacity. So to a Jewish person when you say the word, they would think of not only the expression of God but God himself. The very name of God and then the turn to the Greeks was also significant word in Greek is log costs or as many Saturday logos but it's logon us word and the Greeks noticed that the universe was pretty ordered and regular that the reset orbits and there were schedules that the sun rose predictably every day, so to speak, and set every day that the stars seem to move in a pattern, a set pattern that seasons would regularly come and go, and so the Greeks would say why. What is the reason for this regular movement and their explanation was the logon us. The word of this nondescript, impersonal force, or ordering principle called the logon. Us philosophers like Heraclitus in the 500 BC said it is the omnipresent wisdom by which all things are steered so he talked about it. Is this something floating around out there, as were his words floating around out there that is reason and mind and intelligence and justice and I was called the logon us. Philo, the Jewish philosopher used the term 1300 times in his writings to describe divine intelligence so by using the term John is taking a secular and religious people and embracing them all putting the whole world in his arm so to speak, and presenting Jesus to them.

All you Greeks talk about the word of the ordering principle you Jews speak about the expression of God in the name of God. I want you both to know that that is in one body, and his name is Jesus. He is the word he is what you guys are talking about.

I notice it says in the word was with God and then it says in the Word was God is very interesting.

The word that says with God, it actually means face-to-face. It's process time thing on and it means that Jesus and the father were intimately associated with each other.

They were face-to-face in their relationship. It's a speaks of the continuing intimacy with the word was with God, yet understand something that grammatically this is the only way John could express what he's expressing about Jesus because he wants to say that Jesus is separate from the father. The word was with God, then he says the Word was God. And I'll show you how that works there not the same person there both God or in the Godhead, but they are individual and their separate so Jesus was with God face-to-face with the father in eternity past.

Just think about that for a moment in eternity past Jesus Christ. Jesus is the son in intimate face-to-face on broken unparalleled unmatched fellowship with the father until Jesus decided to give it up to give it up and cooperating with the father's plan. Jesus, in the incarnation stepped into our world and he gave up that face-to-face intimacy and fellowship for a time. It says in Philippians Jesus, though he didn't consider equality with God something to be grasped because he was God. He emptied himself, he became a Amanda human being and if you you want to understand the magnitude of the love of Jesus Christ and coming to this world. You just gotta read a little bit further and John in the 17th chapter and verse five Jesus prays to the father's will. He says the glory that I had with you before the world was I want that restored father we pray that the glory that we had restored to me the glory that we had before this world was that glory that wonderful fellowship that intimacy of me and you and you and I want that back Jesus gave it up temporarily so in the beginning was the word the word was with God, then it says the word was God. Such a simple statement such a profound deep truth.

Jesus is the living word is God in a body all that God is is in the word Jesus not in six weeks you and I'll be singing that truth in a famous Christmas Carol, one of the verses sounds like this veiled in flesh the Godhead see hail incarnate deity. Hark the Herald Angels Sing glory to the newborn King. This is the truth that is expressed here is the word he was with God, close, intimate, and he was God. Now the Jehovah witnesses have a little bit of trouble with this. In fact, they deny they have a translation called the New World translation where it is translated in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the word was God. God and that's because they say well you know in the Greek John left out the definite article which must mean that Jesus is a sub God so they translated in the beginning was the word word is with God the Word was God. While that's a poor translation John when he writes this leaves out the definite article the is the article for the God see a lot of times, in Greek, you would say ha séance the God.

John left out the, the, the article, here's what if John were to say Jesus was half séance he would contradict what he just said when he said the word was with God, because by using the article he would be saying Jesus and the father are the selfsame person. So in Greek you leave out the definite article and you transpose the words to show essence or nature, and so literally it reads please follow me. Still, literally reads and God was the word Faye us and how logon snow. Years ago I had a Jehovah witness knock at my door and the two of them actually an older one, and training. The younger one I settled is to be fun and is the younger one is always looking to build want to know how to answer evangelical Christians came to the door and we're talking and as a matter of minutes. Were we dealt with Jesus being God and I just said to them what the Bible says Jesus is God and that disorders ruffled his feathers as it never does the New Testament declare Jesus is God I so well. It's so apparent it's all over the place so he said okay John chapter 1 verse one and he starts quoting this in the Greek. He said it says the word is a God. I said you sure about that you want to go there because now you just now you have more problems because now you have two gods.

If Jesus is a God neighbor to God, you have bigger problems than before you came to this door no-no in the Greek it's got a set okay. Just a minute and I went to my study got my Greek New Testament and opened up and I said okay so show that too many things that I can't leave that I said okay, here's what it says and RK and how logon sky how logon same process time thing on Kai Faye us analog so there is no God. And I said, you will notice that those two words article subject and object are transposed because John wants us to know that Jesus is the word, though separate from the father has the exact same nature as God séance ane homologue. I spent a wonderful conversation didn't last that long. Now look at verse two. Verse two is in here again. John is so simple in his terms. It's profound but it's just that the simplest terms, he restates verse one he he. It's a person, the word he was in the beginning with God brothers and sisters because Jesus Christ is God. That's what the Scripture declares him to be in no uncertain terms to say he is anything less than God is blasphemy. It's it's not to be messed with backyard and noticed that the cults and religions will ascribe everything else to Jesus other than detail.

He's a nice guy, good man is a wonderful example on and on and on everything but being God. Because of that you need to know when I need to know this. Words are effective in so many different ways but none of that had the same kind of impact is the word made flesh. Jesus Christ, that word has it impacted your life you perhaps now is the time to let it do so if you'd like a copy of today's study. It's available on CD for just four dollars for shipping when you call us at 1-800-922-1880 when you visit connect to skip.com will continue with our study of what the most important word is and why it's so important next so I hope you enjoy right here and connect was to division a presentation of connection