Saturday, January 16, 2016

Light of the World in the Light of the Word - Bite-Sized Pieces

The Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ
(1 John 1:5, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, January 17, 2016)

(5a) The source of the apostolic message
[5a]  This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, …

Jesus came to us as the perfect ambassador from the Father. His teaching was a message to us, but then so was His entire life. John writes as one who heard that message and passed it on.

John 20:21 “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
1 Corinthians 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

John does not invent an original message. Neither should we. We proclaim the Word of God to those who have ears to hear. There is nothing lacking in God's message that requires any new idea. The coming of Christ was a perfect message. So was His suffering. So too His miracles. His compassion told an important story that reached its culmination in the events of His death. The entirety of what God has to say to mankind finds its greatest expression in Jesus.

(5b) The essence of the apostolic message
[5b]  ... that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

What then is this message that Jesus displayed to us? John summarizes it in this verse with the word “light”—not partial light, but perfect light—the kind of radiance that has “no darkness at all.” God is perfect light. What does that mean? Consider these biblical properties of divine light:
  1. Perfect light is physical (Matthew 17:2)
  2. Perfect light is morally upright (John 3:19-21)
  3. Perfect light takes what is hidden or obscured and reveals the truth (Luke 2:32)

So then, 2 Corinthians 4:6 “God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Perhaps we can understand more about what John is saying about the divine light here if we consider the history of the light of the Lord that is encapsulated in 2 Corinthians 4:6.
  1. God is and always has been the eternal physical, moral, and revelatory light (James 1:17).
  2. As the Father of lights, He created light when He said “Let there be light,” in Genesis 1.
  3. The divine light in the world has been obscured through sin, which is darkness. After sin entered into the world, sinful mankind could not stand direct contact with the glory of God. Moses had to wear a veil over his face after He met with God lest the Israelites be undone by even the reflected glory of God in the face of Moses (Exodus 34:29-35).
  4. Jesus came into the world as the Light of the world. He has lived as the divine light and has “shone in our hearts” giving us the light of “the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Through Jesus, the light of God's glory is more and more for us.
  5. One day we will live well in a world of perfect divine glory (Revelation 21:23, 22:5).
How can we live in the light of the Lord? His Word reveals His light in bite-sized pieces, aiding us in a progressive work of increasing Christlikeness. Example: OT Wisdom books and “exile.”

Old Testament Reading—Exodus 40:34-38 – The Glory of God in the Wilderness
Gospel Reading—Luke 3:23-38 – Genealogy of Jesus Christ

Happiness Under Exile—Lessons from the Old Testament Wisdom Literature

Resources:
  1. Happiness, Randy Alcorn, (Tyndale, 2015)
  2. John Piper's Lecture on C. S. Lewis and Joy,

Bible Survey Class on Home and Exile
  1. Law                         5. Gospels
  2. History                    6. Acts and Epistles
  3. Wisdom                  7. Revelation
  4. Prophets
What can we learn from the books of Old Testament wisdom that would help us to honor God and live well in a time when we may be a despised minority group within an ungodly world?

Psalm 137 – The Bitterness of Exile
Where do we find wisdom for survival?
Is it possible to flourish under conditions of exile?
What are we to do with our longings for vengeance?
What about the teachings of Jesus concerning enemies?

Job: 19:23-27 – Resurrection hope
29 – What once was
30 – What now is
37:5 – Redirection toward the Almighty
42 – Job's repentance and restoration

Psalms:
1 – The righteous and the wicked: The way things are and the way things ought to be
22 – The suffering and glory of the coming Messiah and King
150 – The worship of the Almighty

Proverbs:
3:1-12 – The wisdom of God's discipline
16:4 – Why the wicked?

Ecclesiastes:
1:2, 12:8 – Hevel
6:1-2 – Rise and fall, the disappointment of losing everything to the unrighteous
7:2 – The universal experience of mankind—losing it all
9:7-10 – Enjoy what you can.
11:1-2 – Be generous, even to enemies.
12:13-14 – Fear God. He will judge.

Song of Solomon:

8:13-14 – The best imagination - true myth

posted by Pastor Magee at 5:21 PM