John 1:10 Bible Study

John 1:10 (English Standard Version)
10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.

Jesus was here, the One whom the world was made, and nobody recognized Him!

1 John 3

1See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

People don't believe us about Christ because they don't recognize Him at all.

John 16:3
3And they will do these things(A) because they have not known the Father, nor me.

People act the way they act because they have no clue who Jesus is and they can only naturally act the way they act.

John 8:39-40
They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

The One who is the Word, the Life, and the Light
The Creator, the Redeemer and the Way...
had come into the world.
God came down to earth and dwelt among us.

Jesus said in John 16:28,
I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.

He shined His light into the dark, sinful (sin-filled) world and remained sinless and Holy.

John 8:42-59
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.  Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.   And because I tell [you] the truth, ye believe me not.  Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?   He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear [them] not, because ye are not of God.  Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?   Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me.  And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth.  Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.  Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death.   Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?  Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:  Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw [it], and was glad.  Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.  Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Jesus was in the world, but they did not know Him.  Jesus was showing the Jews that they did not truly worship God, because if they did, they would recognize Jesus as having come from God.

Why did Jesus come down to our level?
John 12:44-50
Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me.  And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me.  I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.  And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.  And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.

John 3:16-21
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

John 16:33
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.  What a wonderful God we serve!

Jesus was in the world and overcame the world.  His light exposed the dark sinful world.

The world was made through Him and the world was made by Him.  Both ideas express the same idea of creation here.

Creation was effected by the Word, or the Son of God in Genesis 1:1,  it is said that the Being who created the heavens and the earth was God.

Psalm 102:25-28
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens [are] the work of thy hands.  They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:   But thou [art] the same, and thy years shall have no end.  The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.

This work is ascribed to Jehovah.  The Word or the Son of god, is therefore, appropriately called God.  The work of creation is uniformly ascribed in the Scriptures to the second person of the Trinity.

Colossians 1:16
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

Hebrews 1:2, 10
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

He was the agent( or cause) by which the universe was made.

Hebrews 11:3
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

It is through faith that we understand!

And the world knew Him not...
think about it...
While Jesus was in the world -- down here at our level -- He performed miracles, spoke as one having authority and the world did not know Him.
So, does the word "knew" mean they did not actually "know" Jesus?  NO!  They saw Him, they heard Him.  The word "knew" is used in the sense of "approving" or "loving."

Psalm 1:6
For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Matthew 7:21-23
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Jesus said, Depart from me, ye that work iniquity... I never knew you!
The world did not love or approve Him, but rejected Him and put Him to death.  They did not understand or know that He was the Messiah; for had they "known and believed" that He was the Messiah, they would not have put Him to death.

1 Corinthians 2:8
Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1 John 3:1
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Let us remember that the lesson today is not speaking of Him just as the Word -- who created everything there is.  This is speaking of His actual "being in the world when He took our nature upon Him, and dwelt among us."

The Son of the Highest was here in this lower world.  That light was in this dark world, that Holy One was in this sinful polluted world.  He left a world of bliss and glory, and was here in this melancholy miserable world.

Why did He come to this world?
He undertook to reconcile the world to God, and therefore was in the world, to treat about it, and settle that affair, to satisfy God's justice for the world, and discover God's favour to the world.

He was in the world but was not of the world.  He is able to speak triumphantly when He says in John 17:11
And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we [are].

The greatest honor we can know is that the Son of God, the God of the Universe was once "in the world."  He was in the world that He made.  We are currently in this world but we look forward to the day when we may be where Christ is!

The Great Maker, Ruler, and Redeemer of the world was in it, and yet, most of the inhabitants of the world were not aware of it.  the ox knows his owner, but the world did not.

They did not own Him, did not bid Him welcome, because they did not know Him, and they did not know Him because He did not make Himself known in a way that they expected in external glory and majesty.

When Jesus shall come as a Judge -- THE WORLD WILL KNOW HIM!

John 1:9 Bible Study

Before moving on to our study today, I wanted to do a little recap of what we have studied so far to help it sink in for the readers.

Who wrote the book of John?

it was John the Apostle, not John the Baptist and not even Johnny Carson.

When was it written?

30 A.D.

85-90 A.D.

200 A.D.

the answer is 85-90 A.D.

To whom is it written to?

it is written to both Christians and non-christians (Gentiles)

Why did John write it?

To prove conclusively that Jesus is the Son of God and that all who believe in Him will have eternal life.

Who are the key people so far?

John the Baptist and Jesus

The first five verses talk about the eternal existance of God. He already existed in the beginning, He created everything there is. He is the Word, He was with God and He was God.

Now, life is found in Jesus. It is eternal life that is found by Him and through Him.

When you have the promise of eternal life in Jesus -- by repenting and putting your faith and trust in Jesus, the light will shine to everyone. The light of God's Word exposes sin -- not just outward sin, but even the inward sin within our minds and within our hearts.

The darkness, the world, can never extinguish the light. God's Word will never fail or fall away (which Joseph Smith said happened!)

Verses 6-8 teaches us that John was a man, a mere man -- and yet, he was God's messenger. Prophecy spoke about him more than 500 years prior to him coming onto the scene.

What was John's job?

To prepare the way before Jesus, to point to the coming Messiah.

John came to tell everyone, he was a witness.

here's a question for you?

how could John be a witness to someone or something he had not seen yet?

it was through his testimony that everyone might believe.

What witness has God given prior to Jesus?

His Word and through Creation.

John had taught men to look through him to Jesus by repentance of sins and to faith in Jesus.

Because of the words he spoke many questioned whether he was the Messiah -- he was not the light, he was only a witness of the light.

When you honor God, you will be used by God for His glory!

We are to bear witness which is to affirm that one has seen or heard (or experienced) something or that he knows it because taught by divine revelation or inspiration.

This brings us to John 1:9

"The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was going to come into the world."

1 John 2:7-8

"Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment, for it is an old one you have always had, right from the beginning. This commandment -- to love one another -- is the same message you heard before. Yet, it is also new. This commandment is true in Christ and is true among you, because the darkness is disappearing and the true light is already shining."

We must remember that the Commandments are fulfilled "through" Christ -- to love one another.

As we go "through" John the Baptist to Jesus, we hear and believe because of his testimony. We are able to love one another by going "through" Christ. The Law points us to Christ and Christ points us back to the Law.

Jesus is the true light.

Romans 13:8-14
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.  For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying,  namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does not harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.  And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand.  Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.  Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Ephesians 5:1-13
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.  And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.  But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for the saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thankis.  For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of  Christ and God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.  therefore do not be partakers with them.  For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.  Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.  And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.  For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.  But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manisfest is light.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.  For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.   And the shall not escape.  But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.  You are all sons of light and sons of the day.  We are not of the night nor of darkness.  Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.  For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night.  But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.  For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.  Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

You see, Jesus is much more than just a lightbulb!  It is through Jesus that sin is exposed.  It is a light that exposes the darkness of sin.  Believers will not experience the Day of Wrath, but unbelievers will.  People who "profess" to be Christians will also fall into this judgment. If they profess Jesus and yet still live in their sinsm they are considered to be living in the darkness, engulfed in mental, moral, and spiritual darkness because of sin and unbelief.  All these people are children of Satan who is called "the power of darkness" luke 22:53.  The Day of the Lord will overtake them suddenly and with deadly results.

Salvation is Through Jesus Christ!

How does Christ enlighten every man?
1. by the light of reason -- everything created is His, all discoveries and directions of reason, all the comfort it gives us, are from Christ.
2. by the Word being spread to all nations -- John enlightened only Jerusalem and Judea and the region around Jordan (much like a candle lights one room). Christ is the True Light for He enlightens the Gentiles too.
As a light to the darkened world, we are to preach the proper message.

Revelation 14:6-7
Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlastint gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth -- to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people -- saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.

Psalm 19 (the Perfect Revelation of the Lord)
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.  there is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.  Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run its race.  Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end; and there is nothing hidden from its heat.  
The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.  
More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.  Who can understan his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not havfe dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression.  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

3. he enlightens all those that are enlightened to salvation. Those not enlightened will perish in darkness.  Whatever light any man has, he is indebted to Christ for it, whether it be natural or supernatural!

Joh 1:9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the
world.

So John, a man testified of in scripture as he who will make way for
the Lord, is not the light. But this light, which John witnesses of, is
not only the light, but the true light.

Now, what does this light do? It enlightens everyone, and was coming
into the world. So this light teaches us the things of God, and He
does so by coming to us, being in the world but not of the world. (17:14-16)
Indeed He came into the world so that we might believe in Him, and thus
in the Father, and by this not remain in darkness. (12:46)

Bible Study John 1:8 Who do you follow? Part 2 with audio sermon

John 1:8
He was not that Light, but [was sent] to bear witness of that Light. (click on link to listen to audio sermon)

John 1:20
And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

John 3:28
Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.

Acts 19:4
Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

We are here cautioned not to mistake him for the light who only came to bear witness to it (v. 8): He was not that light that was expected and promised, but only was sent to bear witness of that great and ruling light. He was a star, like that which guided the wise men to Christ, a morning star; but he was not the Sun; not the Bridegroom, but a friend of the Bridegroom; not the Prince, but his harbinger.

There were those who rested in John’s baptism, and looked no further, as those Ephesians, Acts 19:3. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.

To rectify this mistake, the evangelist here, when he speaks very honourably of him, yet shows that he must give place to Christ. He was great as the prophet of the Highest, but not the Highest himself. Note, We must take heed of over-valuing ministers, as well as of under-valuing them; they are not our lords, nor have they dominion over our faith, but ministers by whom we believe, stewards of our Lord’s house. We must not give up ourselves by an implicit faith to their conduct, for they are not that light; but we must attend to, and receive, their testimony; for they are sent to bear witness of that light; so then let us esteem them, and not otherwise. Had John pretended to be that light he had not been so much as a faithful witness of that light. Those who usurp the honour of Christ forfeit the honour of being the servants of Christ; yet John was very serviceable as a witness to the light, though he was not that light. Those may be of great use to us who yet shine with a borrowed light.

Before he goes on with John’s testimony, he returns to give us a further account of this Jesus to whom John bore record. Having shown in the beginning of the chapter the glories of his Godhead, he here comes to show the graces of his incarnation, and his favours to man as Mediator. (Matthew Henry commentary)

Are you following your pastor? Or are you following Jesus?
John was not the Light, but he came to bear witness of the Light!
When was the last time you came to bear witness of the Light? Think about it!

When was the last time you came to bear witness of the Light?
Make today the day that you start! Start by pointing the way to Christ.
When pointing the way to Christ be sure to point them to the cross, the blood stained cross of Jesus. For He came to save a lost and dying world. And those who put their faith and trust in Him and repent of their sins will share in His glory!

Will people be able to look through you to see Christ? What needs to change?
If sin is still an acceptable part of your life, then Christ will not be seen through you!
Repent and be cleansed by the blood of Jesus so that you can bear witness of the Light that shines within you!