The Authority of the Child of God (John 1:1-12)

Let us bless one another, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. The weather is hot all of a sudden. I think it just shows us that human life, as well as the planet earth itself, is on a repetitive cycle. However, there is something that does not change. You and I are the children and people of God, who hold onto and live for the thing that never changes. That’s what you call the main figure of life. If someone lives their lives holding onto things that are always changing, they cannot be the main figure of life because God Himself is working, centered upon Himself.

Today, we are starting with John 1, and through the book of John, I hope that your life will overflow with life. The four books of the gospel are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and they all talk about the same story of the gospel. The first three books are written from the same viewpoint; however, John is writing from a different viewpoint compared to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The book of John was written from a viewpoint to prove that Jesus Christ is God.

Main

1. God
   John is also related to the book of Genesis. Who is God? It doesn’t explain who God is; the Bible just says that God existed from the beginning and that God created this world with His Word. So, God is not someone you should question, “Who is God, anyway?” but He is the One who created the world in the beginning.
   
   1) Creator
   He is the Creator God. However, the Creator God did not create things with materials in His hands, but when He simply spoke words, things that did not exist are now in existence. Human words can also give influence, but when God speaks, creatures are formed.
   
   2) Mankind
   However, He created human beings differently from other animals. God did not create mankind with words, but He created them out of dirt in the shape of a human. God blew His breath of life into the shape of mankind, making Him in the image of God. So, human beings were created in the image of God to be with the Creator God in spirit. We were created so that we had to be with God, guided by God, and worked upon by God. The answers that come from that are abundance, ruling, and subduing this earth.

Every single human being in the history of the world, who tried to rule and subdue over the earth without the help of God, all ended in failure. Human beings are creatures, created to live with God, with God working upon them. We actually have no ability to rule and subdue on our own; we were created almost like representatives who will rule over and subdue the earth only when we are doing it on behalf of God.

There was a problem, however. What does the Bible tell us that our problem is? Human beings think they can rule over and subdue the earth by themselves. This is what we call sin and disobedience to God. That came to us directly from the devil. All sins begin with the devil.

What is sin? It is trying to be God. From the moment human beings were created, there was no way for us to become God. God designed us so that we could be with God, so that we would live for His will and His righteousness. The moment we try to become God ourselves, we actually become separated from God.

The Bible tells us that this is the most fundamental problem from which other problems come, but the devil will trick you into thinking that all these side effect problems are the real problems. Simply put, Satan tricks you into thinking that the problems you see with your eyes are the real problem.

For example, Satan tricks you into thinking that the coronavirus is the real problem. When human beings hear that, it sounds right, but according to God, those words lack God’s perspective. The real problem is that human beings are not with God, and I hope that you yourselves will not be deceived by Satan. Because you keep getting deceived by Satan, you keep telling lies to other people.

3) God’s Salvation
God has given human beings a way to receive salvation. That is the offspring of the woman in Genesis 3:15. God did not say it would be Jesus; He promised it would be the offspring of the woman. All human beings born from a man and woman are lost under sin, and that is why we need the offspring of a woman: not someone who is born by a man and a woman, but born through a virgin. That is how people will know that is the Messiah.

God Himself will work and come down onto earth in the shape of a man, through the woman, and what will He do? He will crush the head of Satan. Why must he crush the head of the serpent? Humans are separated from God, lost in sin, and trapped under the authority of Satan, and we need liberation from this.

In the New Testament, it’s expressed in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 where it says, Jesus Christ died on the cross and resurrected according to the scriptures. He needed to die on the cross for us, for our sins because the problem of sin can never be solved by human ability alone. Only someone who had no sin at all had to die on our behalf in order to save us.

Absolutely, without a doubt, He had to resurrect in 3 days, overcoming the authority of Satan and death. Only then will life begin. Only when that God comes to us through Immanuel can we be with God.

2. Jesus Christ
   Who is Jesus Christ, then? In today’s scripture, John 1:2, it says He was with God in the beginning. “He” in this verse refers to Jesus. “Through Him all things were made,” this means that Jesus is the Creator God. If the Creator creates human beings, then the Creator knows humans, and that means the Creator God knows you more than your parents know you.

The Creator God knows all your lacking and weaknesses even more than your parents. God knows even better than your parents what you will be good at when you grow up. God knows what your greatest weakness is. That is why knowing God is to know yourself. Because God is the One who created the world, the best way to understand the world is to understand God.

1) In the beginning
John 1:1 explains about Jesus Christ saying, “In the beginning was the Word,” which means the Word existed from the beginning. “The Word was with God.” The Word was there, with God, and the Word was God. Simply put, Jesus Christ is the Word and Jesus Christ is God. When I was studying in Seminary, I was learning Greek and we use the word “God” with a capital “G” which is the proper Triune God, but Jehovah’s Witnesses worship god with a lower case “g,” so they’re talking about any god. That is a different god than we believe in. The Bible itself is different. The god written with a lowercase “g” is the Gentile god that the world talks about; it’s any god that the Gentiles serve. However, religions that come from Judeo-Christian roots talk about God with a capital “G.”

2) World
Then John 1:5 talks about the world, that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot understand it. This world is in darkness. If this entire country loses [electricity] all at once, we don’t need a president, we don’t need money, we don’t need power. All of that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme [of things]. But because people don’t understand the fact that they are in complete darkness to begin with, they think they need power, success, and all these things. But they’re in complete darkness! They cannot see.

So what if you have human power if you can’t see anything? All they’re trying to do is to live in the darkness with more power, but the greatest problem of mankind is that the world is lost in darkness. If you’re in this church at night, you can’t see anything and you’re bumping into things. It doesn’t matter how good of a school you graduated from; you still can’t see. No matter how successful your business is, it doesn’t really mean much when you can’t see anything. You can’t see what’s in front of you.

This world is in darkness. This world is completely trapped under the authority of Satan and darkness. No matter how much knowledge they amass and how good that knowledge is, they cannot escape from Satan. That is why fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. No matter how weak you are, if you acknowledge and fear the Lord, that is the beginning of wisdom. Why? Because the light comes upon you. No matter how weak you are, you need the light to see the correct path you must go.

3) Christ
Then in verse 10, “He was in the world, and although the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.” The fact is that Jesus Christ created this entire world and Jesus Christ came to this world, the world did not recognize Him. If the world is lost in darkness and without truth, how could they recognize Him? That is why the knowledge of knowing God is the greatest knowledge in the world.

What happens if you do not know God? Then you begin your life saying that God does not exist, and you’re living in a state of darkness. That darkness itself is the problem, but because you cannot recognize the darkness, you think all these small problems are the problems. But you solve one and another one comes up.

Verse 11, “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not recognize Him.” What is that? What does John 3:19 say? “Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of the light, because their deeds were evil.” People did not accept Jesus Christ because the loved other things more than they loved Jesus.

There are, perhaps, three types of love. There is a love between people, there is a love for knowledge, and there is a love for God. When we talk about love, we use three different types of love. Because they did not love God, they loved the world, and the fact that they loved the darkness means that they loved all the lies Satan planted in them, the ideology they place in their hearts. So we’re supposed to live our lives centered on Jesus Christ and the Triune God, but instead, we’re deceived, living centered on ourselves and loving the world. We love money more than we love Jesus.

The Bible also says we take up mentors and teachers for the sake of our own success. 2 Timothy 3 says that the end days will be filled with suffering like this. People will become lovers of self instead of lovers of God, that they will love money more than they love God. They will not follow the words of people, but instead, they will find teachers so that they can listen to their own desires. That is why they do not accept the words of Jesus.

There are even some members of the church who have still received Jesus Christ, but they are still holding something else as a priority in their hearts. Your life will change depending on where you put your love. Jesus Christ, the Creator God, is living within us, but if your interest is not in this, if your interest is in something else, your life will follow that path.

John 1:4, “In Him was life.” We’re emphasizing the word, “life,” today. There are two types of life. There is a life you got when you were born to your parents. That’s just biological life, and then there is a spiritual life you receive from God. That is “Zoe.” Everyone has received a biological life when they are born to their parents, but because they do not have a spiritual life, they are dying and withering away.

People move and live their lives based on the incredible knowledge they gained, but they have no knowledge of God. The fact that something has life means that it is active. No matter how small a seed may be, when you plant it and wait for spring, it will sprout green leaves, but if you look at a dead tree, it is withered. In the same way, if the spiritual life of Christ is not within us, we are spiritually dying and withering away.

Because we don’t have a spiritual life, we are in a spiritual death, so we have mental suffering. Our spiritual life also needs to bleed into our emotions and thoughts, but because this isn’t happening, we see all the mental problems going on in the world. That’s the problem going on in America right now; there’s no other problem.

It is a fact that people are created so that they can only live when the Spirit of Christ is within them, but because they don’t have the Spirit of Christ within them, no matter how much knowledge they have, the result is mental disorder. The fact is that celebrities commit suicide because of depression.

Why would a successful celebrity commit suicide while they are popular and have money? Because they have no life within them, they are withering and dying away, and they die because of the mental burden. Because of that immense suffering, people do crazy things like shooting people on campuses. Because people don’t have the life within them, they try to do drugs to try to get a taste of life if they can. This is the world.

That life was within Christ, and that light is the life of the world. If that light does not come upon this earth, then this earth is in a state of darkness. In other words, it is formless. If you have a mental disorder, you can’t organize your thoughts. Because you have a mental disorder, you can’t think properly. That’s why you end up shooting people, and you don’t know if it’s right or wrong.

Gambling should be fun and give you money, but because you are completely lost in it as a mental problem, you’re losing money to gambling. In fact, the very fact that we’re trying to live in this world without God is itself a mental problem.

In says in verse 14, “The Word became flesh,” and came to this earth as Jesus. The Word is God and the Word became flesh and came to this earth, that is Jesus Christ. Why did He come? In John 3:17, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” The word, “save,” implies a physical salvation and a spiritual salvation. There is academic “saving,” but the “save” that the Bible talks about is spiritual.

The verse before it, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” This means that anyone who does not believe in Jesus Christ will die. Even though they receive all this physical success, they will still die. Even though they have all this physical health, they will still be destroyed in eternal hell. That means that they are living a life of suffering on earth and they will eternally suffer in hell.

3. Child of God
   What is a child of God? You call someone a “child of God” when they accept that Jesus Christ, whom God sent, is the master of their life. Before that point, they didn’t accept Jesus. Before that point, they lived their lives thinking that they themselves were God. They thought, “If I have money and success, that’s all I need,” but now they realized that the true God has come to earth.
   
   1) Receive
   To receive Jesus Christ is to accept Jesus Christ into the center of my heart. You’re accepting Him as the king of your individual life. “Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave them the right to become children of God.” If you look in the Greek, the word “received” is in past tense, but “being a child of God” is in the present tense. That means that first, you receive Him, and then you believe in His name. Only the one who is able to receive Jesus Christ is able to believe and follow Jesus Christ.

That Jesus Christ is the One who finished all problems of mankind in John 19:30. The incident of Jesus Christ dying on the cross is the incident that has solved all problems of mankind. It is all finished. What is finished? Did Jesus Christ come to finish all my debts and loans? No, but that’s not a problem when you go to God Who has all the money in the world.

Even your mental problem is not a problem when you go to God who can cure that, no problem. Even if you have no knowledge, if you go to the God who is the source of all knowledge in the world, that’s not a problem for you. The real problem is the fact that we’re in a state where we cannot go to God because of Satan and our separation from God. That’s the problem He solved.

Jesus Christ has finished all problems in the world, and in Matthew 16:18, He talks about the rock. The fact that we are rocks means that we are not shaken. Even if we meet the coronavirus, we do not shake. Even in the face of war, we do not shake because the Creator God is within me. That’s what it means to accept Him, that’s what it means to become a child of God.

The fact that you’re now a child of God means that, before this point, you lived as a sinner. Then, the moment you accepted the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as the Master of your life, your identity has now changed to become a child of God. However, if you think that you yourselves are a free agent, then you yourselves are deceived. I have now become a child of God. We received this freely; we did not have to employ our own efforts.

God has also given us authority. You don’t just receive authority or rights by paying money or taking tests. You have received a right from the heavens to become children of God. You need to restore that truth first. If you haven’t restored that fact and you’re trying to study, you may study well, but you’re going into darkness.

If you have not understood this but you are trying to go into a business, you may be successful but you’re going into darkness. Why? Because you will not be able to overcome darkness. Why did God give us this authority? God made us so that when we are with God, the power and authority of God would go out through us. We have been given an incredible blessing.

2) Holy Spirit
When we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, it says in John 14:16 that the Holy Spirit, the Counselor, will be with us. The Holy Spirit is a Counselor who will be with us forever. The Counselor, Holy Spirit, is one aspect of the Triune God: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is also the Creator God, so why do we express Him as the Counselor, then? Because we live on this earth physically, we are weak and lacking. That is why God needs to counsel us, and He counsels us in every aspect, but because you do not know that, you look for mentors and teachers to follow. I’m sure you need mentors for intellect and knowledge; you need mentors to gain worldly knowledge, but as you live your life, you need God as your Counselor.

John 14:26-27, “He guides us and will teach us of all things and will remind you of everything [Jesus Christ] has told us,” because Jesus Christ is the One who teaches us everything. Because we are lacking, the Holy Spirit allows us to remember the words of God. That’s the reason why young kids should read the Bible, memorize scripture, and write the verses, so that when they get older, those words of God will help them. That Holy Spirit gives you peace, “My peace I give you.” It is a peace that God gives to me.

This is not a peace you can gain by having a lot of money. You might be content with money, but a person can only become normal if they have this peace. If you don’t have peace, a person is always going to be anxious. Even if they prepare a lot, they’re still anxious. Even if they have all the power in the world, they are still anxious. They have no choice but to worry because they have no peace. Because there is no peace within them, there is a war inside of them.

It’s not that someone did something wrong; it’s just that we lack peace, so the “peace of God” comes to us. Don’t try to be like Buddha, but when you receive this peace from God, you will naturally be in that state. Stop trying to transcend through meditation, but if you are with God, it naturally will take place. That only comes when you are within God.

That Holy Spirit dwelling within us works every time we pray. People who don’t know about prayer are quite sad because it means they are living their lives with their own abilities, but they aren’t even that smart, and they can’t overcome Satan, and they can’t overcome people who are smarter than them. When they get old, they’ll even lose their physical strength as well, and they’ll be taken in by people who are more intelligent than they. However, the Triune God will work upon the people who pray.

When God originally created us, He created us so that we could receive His power and authority, so that is why we must set aside a time to pray. For all of you who are praying, the work of the Holy Spirit will be different. This is not a college lecture. You guys are listening and taking notes as if it is a college lecture, but it’s not. I hope that you will believe that, when you pray, the Holy Spirit will teach you things and remind you.

God knows what a slave-like situation you’re in, so He gave you the Holy Spirit to teach you and to guide you, but because that doesn’t take place, our lives are always so insecure. That’s why you need to attach yourself to someone stronger than you, and that’s why you have to use humanism. How sad of a life is that? The Triune God is within us and He works upon us every time we pray, and He is within us, fulfilling His will.

You need to know God well. Because you don’t know God, you’re praying to fulfill your own will, but no matter how much you pray for that, it will not be fulfilled. That’s why your walk of faith fails. Why do religious leaders create religions? Because they want to fulfill their own will. Why do religious people not have any strength? It is because they are trying to live their life for their own will. But God is within us, so we pray so that we can live to fulfill His will, and we live according to His will. “Allow me to act according to Your will, God,” but because we are moving according to our own will, God is not working upon us.

What is God’s will? John 6:40, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” How do we pray in the Lord’s prayer? “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.” The will of human beings come from this earth, it’s all about physical things, but it’s actually all from the devil. Only if we are living for God’s will can we enter into God’s direction to reign and subdue.

You need to completely fold all your plans, and if you pray holding onto only God’s will, then God will guide you according to His perfect plan. Stop trying to strategize your own plan with your limited brain, but be led into God’s perfect plan. Your IQ isn’t even 150; what will you do, plan out your life? It’s not going to work out.

One person came up to me and said, “My IQ is 150,” but your IQ isn’t 200. If you think you know more than God Who created and is controlling the entire universe, that is the ultimate arrogance. That is the exact reason why fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom as long as you live on this earth.

3) Church – Field Church
What is the Church? The Church is a gathering of people who are being controlled and live for the Triune God, and that’s why the Church is established with one heart. If your blood circulation doesn’t go down to your toe, then your toe will rot and you’ll have to cut it off. It’s the same with the church. The life of Christ must reach every member of the congregation so that even the toe can play the role it needs to play.

Not only is God with me, but it says that God is with us, He is with the people of the church. God is among us, in our midst. That is why in the Old Testament, the Tabernacle which contained the Ark of the Covenant, where God would rest, was always in the center of the Israelite camp. You need to understand the church well in order to understand the world, because that’s how God created it.

If you live your walk of faith with American individualism, then you can never overcome the world. You can only do regional evangelism when you unify and move as one. That is why God gave us a calling and mission. In John 21, after Jesus Christ resurrects, He goes to find Peter and asks, “Do you love me?” three times. Peter says, “Yes,” and Jesus says, “Feed my lambs.” That’s the condition.

No matter how powerless I am or anything, if I love Jesus Christ, this will take place. Go give people new life and save them. Whenever you talk to someone and have a conversation with them, your words cannot save them. Those are just words you need to run a business, or you’re just making small talk with other people. However, if the words of Jesus Christ are proclaimed, the forces of darkness are broken down and the life movement takes place.

If our entire life is used to only proclaim the name of Jesus Christ, then our entire life will be blessed. We think that if we just talk about Jesus Christ, it’s just words, but because Jesus Christ is the light and the life, when we proclaim Jesus Christ, the forces of darkness are broken down and the dead are revived. That is why I hope you will speak of Jesus Christ a lot.

Even when you’re alone, Jesus Christ needs to be in your center. God will work upon people like that with the power of the Triune God, and that person’s thoughts will be revived. It doesn’t matter how old they are or how sick they are. God is holding them and God is with them. Whether they are sick or not, God is with them. Whether the problem is there or not, God is with me and will fulfill His Word through me.

John 20:31, the reason He has given us this gospel is so that we can hear it and receive eternal life, so that we can believe in Jesus Christ and enjoy eternal life by believing in His name.

Conclusion

1. God Saves Lives
   Not only gaining life for ourselves, but giving life to other people to save them. If every single thing you do, including your business and academics, is related to proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ which is life, then I believe that God will work upon you.
   
2. God Guides and Works Within Me
   I hope that while you’re here, while you’re worshiping and concentrating on God’s Word, you may enjoy this life. When you go out into the field, have the 24 hours that allows you to enjoy that life there because the world will continue to make you forget this and lose hold of this.
   
3. To Save the World (Life)
   For people who have that in their field, I believe that many lives will be saved through them and blessed through them.