A Real Relationship

Think of some examples from the media of relationships that work and relationships that don’t. What are some reasons they work, and some reasons that they fail (be mature with your answers)?

Check out John 1:6-13.

Here comes John the Baptist. Do you think he was called this because he was Baptist like us? Do you think the focus of the writer John is on John the Baptist here? Why or why not?

The focus is on the Light, as the writer makes it clear that JTB was not the Light. Even verse 6 is like “God sent this dude, and oh yeah, his name was John.” The emphasis is on God sending, not on John.

Just real quick, should we seek to gain attention, or should we point it all to God? What is our tendency to do?

Verse 8-9: He is bearing witness to the TRUE Light. Give some shots at why you think he might call Him the TRUE Light.

This follows a common theme in the OT about the Messiah being Light.

Look up Numbers 24:17, Isaiah 9:2, Malachi 4:2, and Luke1:78-79. What is a common theme in all of these passages? – Light. The emphasis is that the Jesus, the one that we will study in the book of John, is the promised Messiah. There is not another, and He is the only one. That means that what claims are made about Jesus or the Messiah are only true for Him, such as being the One that we must believe on for salvation. There is no other way.

Verse 10: He was in the world that was made by Him, and yet, it didn’t even recognize Him. What you remember about depravity from a study or two ago.

If the OT is about the coming Messiah, like we talked about just a moment ago, then why didn’t people recognize Jesus for who He was?

Many people were, in fact, looking for a Messiah. However, others were not. The question is why was the Law given?

To help us out in this question, when was the Law given? Was it at the very beginning of the Bible? Was it after the fall of Adam and Eve? What about after Noah and the flood, when the whole world was previously wicked?

You would think that God would get to the point and say here are the rules that I expect. But instead, the Law is given much later, not until redemption from Egyptian slavery and Moses are the Ten Commandments given. Instead, the point is Jesus making us right in our relationship with God. Some people were looking for this.

The Law was meant to be a tutor to bring us to Jesus so that we can place our faith in Him. It was never the point.

Verse 12: Have you ever heard anyone say "We’re all the children of God."? How true is that statement? How does one become a true child of God? What is so big about being a Child of God?

This again shows the relational quality of the incarnation, of God becoming a man and living and dying and living again on this earth. We talked about relationships to start out with. Is it something that we all long for? Who doesn’t want a good relationship…with friends…with family? It’s just a part of who we are. We are created for relationship. But my challenge is that you not try to fill this longing with someone other than who was intended to fill it…Jesus. The thing that is missing in life is Him. Sure, God will allow you to experience other healthy relationships, but when all of those fail, He will still be faithful, and when you fail Him, He will still be faithful. He has adopted us into His family. The relationship you long for...is provided by Christ.