Introduction to the Gospel of John

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 50:1-6
• Hymn — The Mighty God, the Lord
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Nicene Creed
• Scripture Reading — Acts 25:13–26:1
• Hymn — On Jordan's Stormy Banks
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Prayer of Dedication
• Hymn — In Christ Alone
• Sermon
• Hymn — Holy, Holy, Holy
• Benediction

---

Sermon Title: Introduction to the Gospel of John

Scripture: John 20:30-31

I. The Distinctive Use of Signs

A. John's Gospel uniquely organizes Jesus's miracles as seven signs in the first eleven chapters (the "Book of Signs")

1. Turning water into wine — John 2
2. Healing the nobleman's son — John 4
3. Healing the man at the pool — John 5
4. Feeding the five thousand — John 6
5. Walking on water — John 6
6. Healing the man born blind — John 9
7. Raising Lazarus from the dead — John 11

B. Signs are not ends in themselves; they function as arrows pointing beyond the miracle to Christ

1. In John 6:26, Jesus rebukes the crowd for seeking him because they ate bread, not because they saw signs pointing to a deeper reality

C. The seven signs are interwoven with the seven "I Am" statements of Jesus

1. I am the bread of life
2. I am the light of the world
3. I am the door
4. I am the Good Shepherd
5. I am the resurrection and the life
6. I am the way, the truth, and the life
7. I am the True Vine
8. The absolute "I Am" without predicate — John 8:58 — echoes Exodus 3 and the divine name Yahweh

D. God's aseity (from the Latin a se, "of himself") — God is pure, self-existent being; all creation is derivative and points beyond itself to him

1. The Incarnation means that this absolute, self-existent God has come to earth in Jesus Christ
2. Every created thing declares, "I am the creation of the Great I Am"

II. The Distinctive Use of Eternal Life

A. The Greek word pistis (faith/belief) appears 98 times in John — more than in all three Synoptic Gospels combined

B. John presents a "vertical" contrast (heavenly sphere vs. worldly sphere) rather than the Synoptics' "horizontal" contrast (present age vs. age to come)

1. The Greek word kosmos (world) in John refers to the worldly sphere marked by sin and passing away
2. John 18 — Jesus says his kingdom is not of this world
3. John 8:23 — "You are from below; I am from above"

C. Eternal life in John is a present reality received through faith, not only a future hope

1. John 11:23-26 — Martha expects resurrection "on the last day"; Jesus declares, "I am the resurrection and the life" (present tense)
2. Ephesians 2:4-6 — believers have already been raised and seated with Christ in the heavenly places

D. The "already and not yet" — John emphasizes the "already" of the Kingdom; the Synoptics emphasize the "not yet"

1. Believers are united to Christ by faith and are therefore no longer defined by their earthly, creaturely condition
2. The believer's true identity is bound up in the eternal Son seated in the heavenly places, not in dust and frailty

III. The Distinctive Use of the Trinity

A. No other biblical book provides as robust and clear a picture of the Trinity as John does

B. The Synoptics emphasize Jesus's role in redemptive history (son of David, last Adam, promised Messiah); John emphasizes his eternal divine identity — John 1:1, John 1:18

C. John holds together both the unity and distinction of the persons

1. The Son is one with the Father — John 14:9
2. Yet the Son prays to the Father, showing two distinct persons
3. The Holy Spirit is a distinct person referred to with the masculine pronoun "he" — John 14

D. The doctrine of perichoresis — the mutual indwelling of the three persons of the Trinity

1. John 14:10-11 — "I am in the Father and the Father is in me"
2. When one person acts, the one God acts — Father, Son, and Spirit mutually indwell one another
3. Combats modalism (God wearing different masks) and tritheism (three separate gods)

E. Believers are invited into the Triune communion through the Spirit

1. John 14:20 — "I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you"
2. Genesis 1:26 — humanity was always designed for intimate union with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
3. What was lost in Adam, Christ restores by his Spirit — uniting believers to the Son who is in the Father