Key Passage: John 1:1-5; 14-18

“The Bible is Perfect because Jesus is the Word”

“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those who speak it” George Orwell

Here’s a baffler: 67% of Born-again Christians believe God is “the all-knowing, all-powerful and perfect Creator of the universe who still rules the world today” (which, in and of itself, is baffling); however, only 38% believe “the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches.” (Barna reference) It’s important to understand here that all spirituality flows from a correct perspective of God, and all heresy begins with a misunderstanding of who God is. Listen, if you take nothing else away from today’s lesson, I hope you’ll embrace this thought: just as Jesus took away the option of “many paths to Heaven” when he declared He is the only way in John 14:6, so He takes away the notion that the bible is a book of great principles but flawed truth because it’s written by men, in John 1:1. If Jesus is the Word, then the Word is inerrant from cover to cover. Either we believe Jesus is who he says he is and He IS the embodiment of the Word, or we don’t. We can’t believe in Jesus but then pick and choose what we’ll trust to believe in His word. It’s either “all in” regarding Jesus and His Word, or it’s all out. We can’t have it both ways…

John 1:1-5 Jesus is God; He is the Creator of all things; He sustains our very existence

• Jesus is God (John 1:1) 
• Ever heard someone say, “I’d believe if God showed up in front of me and told me what to do!”? Uhmmm … He did – through his Son and his Word. 
• Never forget, when Jesus was a man among us he expressed what was going on in the mind of God. 
• Jesus is the Creator of all things, and He sustains our very existence (John 1:2-3) 
• Jesus spoke into existence what the Father had designed; as such, he is able to direct it, guard it, and guide it. 
• Jesus is simply the Force that keeps the universe and our existence going and holds it together. Paul tells us that “Jesus holds all things together,” (Colossians 1:17) and Hebrews says “He is upholding the universe by the word of his power.” That’s why we don’t simply fall apart or blast into chaos – Jesus is holding all things together. 

John 1:14-18 … The Message says, “The Word became flesh, and moved into the neighborhood.”

• Incarnation 
• Think about this – The almightiness of God now moved in human hands; the love of God now beat in a human heart; the wisdom of God now spoke from human lips. If Jesus is God, if Jesus is the Word, how can the bible be a bunch of men’s stories and thoughts? 
• Habitation 
• Literally, this means Jesus “pitched his tent” and lived with us. In the bible, 3 kinds of people lived in tents – shepherds, sojourners, and soldiers. That pretty much describes Jesus – our Shepherd, God’s temporary presence in human form, and God’s commander. 
• Manifestation 
• Ever heard the phrase “like Father, like son?” There you have it. “We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son.” (The Message) 

Q: Why is it important to our eternal destiny to be crystal clear on who Jesus is?
Q: As well, why is it critical to understand that if Jesus is the Word, the bible is Truth from start to finish?

Bottom Line: It’s obvious we live in a world of chaos and crisis – whether it’s the diagnosis of a life-threatening disease, the loss of a job, or the wayward acts of a child or friend – we live in a state of continual crisis. The truth is this: every human being sooner or later must deal with Jesus. He is the ultimate crisis at the center of every human life …