This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "Jesus Is The Light Of The World", 12/23/2012

JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

 

John 1:1-5, Eph 5:1-2,6-14

 

WHO IS JESUS?

John 1:1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

 A. In the "Beginning" is before God's creative process begin or perhaps; eternity past.

     1. "Was the Word". The "Word" is from the Greek word "Logos", the name given

 

         to Christ.

       a. Through the Word is God's communication of His will to us.

 B. "And the Word was with God."

     1. The word "God" is the Greek word "theos" which is the supreme Divinity.

     2. The Word which is Christ was with Theos in the beginning.

 C. "And the Word was God"

    1. The Word and God are the same.

    2. Jesus , the Word and God the Father are one.

 

V:2. "The same was in the beginning with God."

   A. The Word and God existed before God's creative process.

        1. Jesus and the Father existed together before creation.

        2. Jesus and the Father are the first "cause".

 

V:3. "All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made."

 A. The word "him" refers to Jesus Christ, which is the Word.

     1. All things were made by Christ

     2. Without Christ nothing was made.

     3. Christ is the complete creative process.

 

V:4. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men."

 A. Life= zoe= living soul

    1. In Jesus, In God, In the Word was all living souls.

    2. Life was in Jesus and all living souls come from Jesus.

 

 B. Light= phos= luminousness, to shine, light reaching the mind.

    1. Man's ability to understand the Word, comes from Jesus, who is the Word.

    2. God gives all individuals a mind to understand the things of the world.

        a. He only gives those He elected the ability to understand Himself.

 

V:5. "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not."

  A. God's light shines on the whole world.

       1. Darkness= skotia= ruin, unhappiness, spiritual depravity

       2. The world is spiritually deprived.

  B. The world cannot understand God's Word because it is spiritually deprived.

      1. The God's Word which is the light is foolish to the world.

 

WHO WE ARE

Ephesians 5:1. "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children."

 A. A follower is an imitator.

     1. Believers are commanded to imitate the life of Christ.

        a. Be kind to others.

        b. Be considerate.

        c. Be forgiving.

        d. Love each other.

  B. "As dear children"

      1. As=hos= in that manner, according.

      2. Believers are to trust Jesus completely.

         a. Believers are to rely on Jesus as a child relies on his parents.

         b. Believers are commanded to be obedient to the Word.

 

OUR LIFE IN CHRIST

V:2. "And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour."

 A. "Walk in love."

     1. Love=agape= affection, a feast of charity, God's willful direction toward men

     2. Let us have an attitude of love.

     3. Everything we do should be out of love.

         a. When we work, it should be out of love.

         b. When we fellowship with others' it should be out of love.

         c. When we serve the Lord, it should be out of love.

 B. "As Christ also hath loved us."

     1. God the Father gave us His only Son out of His love for us.

         a. God is love.

     2. Jesus gave us the supreme sacrifice of His life so that we could have eternal life.

         a. God expects us to make a sacrifice for those in need because we love.

 C.  " A sweetsmelling savour"

      1. For something to be sweet, you have to get rid of any sour ingredients, then pour

 

         in spices.

      2. In order for any sacrifice we claim for love to be acceptable to the Father, we

 

         must get rid of anything that opposes love.

         a. Get rid of any hatred.

         b. Get rid of any envy.

         c. Get rid of any jealously.

         b. Get rid of the attitude that keeps us from forgiving.

 

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU HEAR

V:6. "Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience."

 A. Don't let anyone fool you that the vices of the world are acceptable to Christ.

     1. All unrighteousness is sin.

     2. The world has made legal many things that are unacceptable to God.

     3. The common practices of the world that violate God's commands cannot be

          practiced by the children of God.

 B. Every unclean thought will be judged by God.

 C. Unbelievers are the children of disobedience.

      1. They will face the wrath of God which is a burning hell.

 

V:7. "Be not ye therefore partakers with them."

 A.  Don't participate in unrighteous behavior.

     1. Stay away from individuals who do not follow the commands of God.

         a. Choose your friends wisely.

         b. It is easy to believe that someone's behavior is acceptable, when you see no

             immediate consequence.

 B. It is better to be right on the outside of a crowd than to be wrong in the crowd.

     1. If the crowd is enjoying a certain behavior, chances are it is wrong and against

 

         the commands of God.

     2. The Church is the only safe crowd for a believer.

 

DON'T FORGET THE GRACE OF GOD

V:8. "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light."

 A. Before we (believers) came to Christ, we were in the world.

     1. We were born in darkness and practice the things of a dark world.

     2. We have an understanding of the darkness because we have been there.

     3. Don't be afraid to admit that your past was filled with darkness.

 B. But, now we are in the light of the Lord.

     1. It is by the Grace of God, the divine favor of God that we are in the light.

     2. Thank God that Jesus made us part of His divine plan of redemption.

         a. Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, but only the elect of God will be

             redeemed.

         b. We cannot boast of our salvation because we were saved by Grace through

        

             Faith.

         c. It is the Amazing Gift Of God that saved us.

  C. We must walk as children of the light.

      1. Our walk is our attitude, our behavior and our lifestyle.

      2. Our walk should imitate the life of Jesus.

      3. The walk of a believer is a narrow way. That way is the way of righteousness.

      4. The foundation of our attitude and behavior is love.

          a. Because we love the Lord, there are certain things we will not do.

          b. Those in the dark are drawn to the light they see in us.

          c. You never know how many people you are influencing with your godly

             

              behavior.

 

OUR WORK IN THE LORD

V:9. "For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth."

  A. Every believer has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  Eph 4:30

       1. Jesus equipped every believer with gifts to produce fruit.

       2. The most important fruit of the Spirit is love.

           a. Love of the Lord is first.

           b. Love of the brethren is second.

       3. All other fruits flow from love. 

  B.  Goodness and righteousness flow from our love for Jesus.

       1. If we love God, we will give our time to Him in service.

       2. If we love Jesus, we will find ways to help our brothers and sisters in need.

       3. If we love the Lord, we will always be careful to do what is right.

  C. Because we are in the light, we know that the only truth is the Word of God.

      1. Because we know the truth, our response should be to act on the truth with full

          confidence in the Lord.

 

V:10. "Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord."

 A.  What is acceptable to the Lord is our obedience to His commands.

     1. Love for one another in Christ Jesus is acceptable to the Lord.

     2. Those who love the Lord will serve Him with joy.

     3. Those who love the Lord know that serving the Lord involve serving others.

     4. Those who love the Lord will find peace and joy in their lives.

 B. Those who love the Lord know that we are owned by Jesus Christ and under His

      guidance and directions.  

     1. Those who love the Lord know that they are a role models for Christ.

     2. Because we are role models, we are lights for others to be drawn to Christ.

     3. Our actions are acceptable to the Lord when we imitate the Son.

 

OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE WORLD

V:11. "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."

 A. We have a responsibility to those who are working in the dark.

      1. We can't keep company with those who's intent is evil.

      2. We have a responsibility to tell them the truth.

          a. We have a responsibility to tell those in the dark what is right.

          b. The truth hurts, but it is always in season.

 B. There are several types of people in the dark.

     1. There are those in the dark who have no interest in being in the light.

         a. They know about the light, but they hate the light.

         b. They will not change.

     2. There are those in the dark that don't know that they are in the dark.

         a. They have not been exposed to the light.

         b. These people need to see the light in us.

         c. We are their first Church.

         b. We have a responsibility to preach Jesus to them.

    3. There are those in the dark who are stuck and don't know how to get out.

        a. They may have heard about the light but just can't get to the light.

        b. For some reason, they are frozen in their position of darkness.

        c. These people need our help in the form of time, education and resources. Eph 2:10

        d. God has equipped us to help and will provide the resources to be effective.

 

V:12. "For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret."

  A. There are some immoral actions that defile the soul that should not be shared.

      1. We have to be careful when we talk about immoral thing of darkness because we

           never know who's tender ears will be affected.

      2. Our own hearts can be affected when our ears are constantly exposed to the evil of

          the world.

  B. We should choose our fellowship with other Christians who worship the Lord in

       spirit and truth.

       1. Corrupt company can corrupt our minds.

       2. A little leaven, leavens the whole dough.  1 Cor 5:6

 

V:13. "But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light."

 A. All things are made known by the truth which is the light.

     1. When you know the truth, a lie is self evident.

     2. When you know the truth, you can't deny it or be satisfied with a lie.

 B. When you know what is right, what is wrong is self evident.

     1. When you know what is right, you want be satisfied with wrong.

 C. The Word of God convicts you so you can't do wrong and be satisfied.

 

A COMMAND TO SERVE

V:14. "Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."

 A. An inactive Christian is one who is sleep in the Lord.

     1. An inactive Christian can produce no fruit.

     2. An inactive Christian is of no use to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

     3. An inactive Christian is like salt that has lost it's power to be salt.

 B. When we get active serving the Lord, the world can see our light.

     1. We may be the only Church some will come close too.

     2. We are vessels that God uses to shed light on the world.

 C. God will not increase the effectiveness of your gifts if you are not using them.

    1. God will not inspire you in the Word if you are not studying the Word.

    2. You can't help sitting on the side lines.

    3. The moment you get active serving the Lord is the moment your gifts become

        effective and the light of the Lord shines through you.