The Light Has Come – John 1:1-5

The Light has Come: Week 1- The Light Before Creation

John 1:1–5 (CSB)

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

² He was with God in the beginning.

³ All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.

⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

⁵ That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.

Intro:

• Christmas is here (for some it started on November 1^st)
• Or if you like my older sister, Renee
• Her Tree stays up all year round
• And whether you’re ready or not,
• It has a way of showing up fast.
• And Today I want to pause all
• The music,
• The shopping,
• The travel,
• The gatherings, and
• The noise of the season…
• And I want to invite you into
• Something deeper.
• Something quieter.
• Something richer.
• This year, as a church,
• We’re walking through a Christmas series called
• “The Light Has Come.”
• And over the next several weeks
• Leading up to Christmas Eve,
• We’re going to slow down long enough
• To look at who Jesus really is
• Not just through the lens of the manger scene,
• But through the powerful opening verses of the Gospel of John.
• John, Known as one of the closest Disciples
• Wrote in John 1:1–18 what is often called “
• The Christmas story without the nativity.”
• There are no shepherds,
• No wise men,
• No Bethlehem,
• No manger
• Only this Powerful world-shaking declaration:

The Light has come into the world.

• In a season filled with lights
• Hanging from houses,
• Wrapped around trees,
• Shining in windows,
• John tells us the story behind every light
• The story of the One, true Light entering human history.
• So, over the next four Sundays, we will see:
• The Light before creation
• The witness to the Light
• The Light rejected and received
• And on Christmas Eve
• The Light revealed in the Word made flesh
• And today, we begin where John begins:
• Before creation…
• With the eternal Light who was already shining.
• Let me connect this to something we all understand.
• If you’ve ever tried walking through a room in the dark,
• Everything slows down.
• You move carefully.
• You reach your hands out
• Because you can’t see what’s in front of you.
• You brace yourself for whatever you might run into.
• Darkness changes how you move.
• And for a lot of people,
• Life feels exactly like that.
• Uncertain.
• Confusing.
• Heavy.
• Directionless.
• Anxious.

The message of Christmas is this:

• God did not leave us stumbling in the dark.
• He brought Light to us.
• But John wants us to understand something important
• The manger only makes sense when you realize who laid in it.
• The cross only has power when you understand who hung on it.
• And the resurrection only matters
• When you see who walked out of that tomb.
• The Light didn’t start in a manger.
• He existed long before it.
• We cannot appreciate the humility of the manger
• Until we recognize the glory of the Christ who stepped into it.
• We cannot worship Him as Savior if we don’t know Him as Creator.
• And we cannot see the beauty of the light He brings
• Until we realize how dark the darkness really is.
• So today we begin the Christmas season
• Not with shepherds or angels…
• But with the eternal Light before creation.
• Christmas isn’t the origin of Jesus
• It’s the moment the eternal Son of God
• Stepped into the world He created
• So, John takes us all the way back
• Past the Old Testament,
• Past creation,
• All the way into eternity.

Let’s look at it verse by verse

• John begins with three words
• That deliberately echo Genesis 1:1:
  “In the beginning…”
• Genesis starts with creation.
• John starts before creation.
• John is not telling us how the world began
• He’s telling us who existed before the world began.

“In the beginning was the Word.”

• That word “Word” in Greek is Logos
• Meaning the full expression,
• The self-revelation,
• The spoken communication of God Himself.
• Jesus is God speaking to us
• Not just in sentences form a book but in a Person.
• John’s verb matters.
• He doesn’t say the Word began or came to be.
• He says the Word was.

Meaning:

Jesus already existed before time existed.

• Everything in the universe has a starting point
• Galaxies, animals, humans, planets, angels
• But not Jesus.
• He has no origin.
• No moment of creation.
• No beginning.
• Jesus didn’t begin at Christmas.
• Christmas marks His arrival,
• Not His beginning.

Then John says,
“The Word was with God.”

• This means Jesus has always existed
• In perfect relationship with God the Father
• Face to face,
• United in love, purpose, and glory.
• Jesus didn’t become God’s Son in Bethlehem.
• He has always been the Son.

But then John makes His boldest claim:
“The Word was God.”

• Not “godlike.”
• Not “close to God.”
• Not “a version of God.”

He is God.

Jesus shares the same:

• nature
• holiness
• power
• eternality
• authority
• glory
• As God the Father.

John repeats it:
“He was with God in the beginning”

• So no one can misunderstand who Jesus is.
• Then in verse 3,
• John shifts from eternity to creation:

“All things were created through Him.”

• Not some things.
• Not just spiritual things.
• All things!
• Jesus is not part of creation
• He is the Creator.

Colossians 1:16–17 says:

¹⁶ For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities
all things have been created through him and for him.
¹⁷ He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.

• Before Jesus was held by Mary,
• He held the universe together.

Then verse 4:

“In Him was life.”

• Not survival.
• Not mere breath.
• Life that forgives.
• Life that restores.
• Life that transforms.
• Life that brings dead hearts alive.

And that life becomes “the light of men.”

Meaning Jesus shows us:

• Who God is
• Who we are
• How to live
• Where to walk

Finally, verse 5:

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

• Darkness tries.
• Darkness fights.
• Darkness pushes.
• Darkness tempts.
• Darkness accuses.
• Darkness confuses.
• But darkness cannot overcome Jesus.
• It never has.
• It never will.

And as Spurgeon beautifully put it:

“Christ’s light may be despised, rejected, hated—but it shines on. It shone when He hung upon the cross; it shone when the tomb was sealed; it shines still in this dark world.”

• This is John’s Christmas story
• The eternal God
• Stepping into creation to bring life and light into our darkness.
• Why does all of this matter?
• Why does John spend so much time
• Talking about eternity and creation and light?
• Because what John describes here
• Is exactly what our souls long for.
• Every person here knows what darkness feels like.
• And the Bible isn’t shy about addressing it.
• “People loved darkness rather than the light” (John 3:19).
• “You were once darkness” (Ephesians 5:8).
• “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 4:4).
• Darkness isn’t just a force into the world around us
• It is a condition of our heart.
• And it shows up in many forms:

Darkness of Fear

Fear of the unknown, failure, rejection, loss.

Darkness of Guilt and Shame

The thing you wish you could undo.

Darkness of Grief

Loss, heartbreak, sorrow.

Darkness of Confusion

When you don’t know the next step.

Darkness of Temptation

The cycle you feel trapped in.

Darkness of Uncertainty

When the future feels foggy.

• And here’s the good news of John 1:

Your darkness is not stronger than His Light.

Spurgeon said it memorably:

“There is not enough darkness in hell to put out the faintest spark of God’s Light.”

• Not your fear.
• Not your past.
• Not your wounds.
• Not your doubt.
• Not your sin.
• Not your shame.

Jesus said later through John in

John 8:12

¹² … “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”

Paul also said in

Colossians 1:13

¹³ He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

• The Light doesn’t just shine in the world
• He shines in you.
• This is not just a bunch of information
• It is hope.
• Living hope.
• Healing hope.
• Saving hope.
• Now that we’ve heard who Jesus is
• And why it matters,
• How do we actually respond this week?

Here are four ways to walk in the Light Jesus brings:

1. Welcome His Light

• Be honest with Jesus.
• Bring Him your hidden places.

1 John 1:5–7
“God is light… if we walk in the light… the blood of Jesus cleanses us.”

• Darkness grows in secrecy.
• Light brings freedom.
• Tell Jesus exactly where you need Him to shine.

2. Walk in His Light

• Walking in the Light is not about perfection
• It’s about direction.

John 8:12
“Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness.”

Psalm 119:105
“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.

• Let the Word and not emotions guide you

3. Trust His Light When You Can’t See Ahead

• Life is full of moments where the next step is unclear.

Proverbs 3:5–6
“Trust in the Lord… and He will make your paths straight.”

Psalm 27:1
“The Lord is my light and my salvation — whom shall I fear?”

• Give Jesus the unclear places.
• Trust Him with the unknown.

4. Reflect His Light to Others

• The Light didn’t just shine for you
• It shines through you.

Matthew 5:14–16
“You are the light of the world… let your light shine.”

Philippians 2:15
“You shine like stars in the world.”

• Look for someone to encourage, pray for, or serve this week.
• I want us to take what we’ve heard today
• And actually practice it.
• We are going to do that by taking communion in a signific way

We talked just now about:

• Welcoming the Light,
• Walking in the Light,
• Trusting the Light,
• Reflecting the Light.
• Communion is where all of that comes together.
• Because communion
• Is not just remembering something Jesus did
• It’s meeting with the Jesus who is here now.

The bread and the cup remind us:

• Jesus came close,
• Jesus gave Himself,
• Jesus is present,
• Jesus shines,
• Jesus heals,
• Jesus forgives.
• So today, we are going to take communion in groups,
• Praying for one another as we take the elements.

Let me guide you through this moment.

• After you grab the elements
• I want you to get in groups of three or four.
• Then Hold the bread and the cup in your hands as we pray.
• And I will walk us through what I want us to do

THE BREAD: “JESUS, BE PRESENT IN OUR BROKEN PLACES”

• This bread represents Christ’s body
• God coming close in human flesh.

Go around your group and share ONE place where you need Jesus to be present:

• “Pray for Jesus to be near me in my anxiety.”
• “Pray for His presence in my marriage.”
• “Pray for His light in this painful part of my story.”
• “Pray for Jesus to be in this decision I’m facing.”
• After you have prayed for each other
• Eat the bread together.

THE CUP: “JESUS, SHINE INTO OUR DARKNESS”

• Now hold the cup.
• This cup represents Jesus’ blood
• The cleansing of sin,
• The healing of shame,
• And the breaking of darkness.

Go around your group again and share ONE area where you need Jesus to shine His light:

• “Pray for Jesus to shine into my fear.”
• “Pray for His forgiveness in my struggle.”
• “Pray for His light in my present circumstances.”
• “Pray for His strength in my doubt.”
• After you have prayed for one another.
• Drink the cup together.
• Communion is not only a symbol
• It is an encounter.
• The Light before creation
• Is the Light in this room
• Is the Light in your heart
• Is the Light that brings life.

The Light has come — and the Light still shines.

ADVENT WEEK TWO READING — THE CANDLE OF FAITH

• Last week we lit the Candle of Hope,
• Remembering that the Light has come.
• Today we light the Candle of Faith,
• Remembering John the Baptist
• The one who prepared the way for Jesus.

John 1:6–8 (CSB)

“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.”

• Like John, we are called to point others to Jesus — the true Light
• As we light this candle, we pray:
• “Lord, strengthen our faith and help us reflect the light of Christ.”