Josh Benner

Category: Church

  • In the beginning was the word – 4 things we learn from the opening of John’s Gospel

    The gospel of John opens up with a profound theological affirmation about the nature and identity of Jesus.

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
    -John 1:1-3

    These three verses at the beginning of the Gospel of John give us four fundamental truths about Jesus. 

    I. Jesus is eternal 

    “In the beginning was the Word.” 

    John opens up by referring to Jesus as The Word. I take it almost as a title for Jesus in the beginning of John. In the Old Testament, it is through the word of the Lord that God creates, speaks to his people, makes his promises, and points people to truth. In Jesus, we see the ultimate disclosure of divine love, wisdom, truth and salvation, and so it is therefore fitting to refer to Jesus as the Word. 

    There was never a time when the Word was not. 

    And this is very important because right from the beginning of John, it confronts a common error that has existed in the church essentially since the time of Christ. 

    And that error is thinking Jesus is created. Or thinking that God made Jesus. Or thinking that he was a really good man who was given a promotion and became divine. 

    He has always existed. This is something that will continue to unfold throughout this passage, but Jesus is not a created being. 

    II. Jesus has fellowship with God. 

    The verse continues “and the Word was with God.” Another absolutely monumental and profound reality from this passage. Think about this for just a moment. The Old Testament is filled with lofty language of the majesty of God. Rightfully so. 

    Exodus 33, Moses wants to see the glory of God (Exodus 33:18). 

    God tells Moses in Exodus 33:20: you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live

    It’s because God is so vibrant and righteous and full of life that it is completely overwhelming for fallen and finite people. 

    But in that story, we see the glory of the Lord is revealed to Moses and Exodus 34 tells us that when Moses came down from the mountain, his skin was so radiant from beholding the glory of God that people were afraid (Exodus 34:29-30). 

    He shined so brightly that he had to wear a veil. 

    1 Kings 8, the Ark of the Covenant is brought into the Temple. And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord (1 Kings 8:10-11). 

    The glory of the Lord was so overwhelming that the priests could not stand to minister. 

    Isaiah 6, the prophet is given a vision of the throne room of God and he is terrified: 

    Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5)

    The presence of the Lord is completely awesome as you behold his glory and majesty and life. If you’ve ever stood at a great waterfall, as the hundreds of thousands of gallons of water crash over the edge every minute, you can feel the power and rush of the water. That’s awe inspiring in its own right, but it’s no comparison to encountering the eternal and almighty God of the universe. And yet, with Jesus, we’re told that the Word was with God. 

    Jesus can see God, he can behold the glory of God because he himself is glorious and righteous.

    In the beginning, there was fellowship with Jesus and God the Father. 

    III. Jesus is God

    The text continues “and the Word was God.” The central theme of John’s Gospel. The Lordship of Christ. 

    Something to consider…

    Borrowing from Wayne Grudem in his book Systematic Theology: Historical, Orthodox, Biblical Christianity believes the following. There is one God. God is three persons. Each person is fully God. 

    Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

    While you can’t build an entire theology of the Trinity from this passage alone. But this passage affirms that Jesus is God and also that there is distinction between Jesus and God. In his commentary on John, Leon Morris talks of Jesus and God the Father and says “the Word and God are not identical by they are one.” We don’t have to know exactly how it’s simultaneously true that we have one God, who is three persons, and each person is fully God. But the Bible affirms all three of those statements. 

    Theologically, this matters tremendously. And we have all of these affirmations right from the beginning of John’s gospel. 

     If Jesus were not God, then he would not be a worthy sacrifice for our sins. If he were just a great man, he would still be fallible. If he were just a great teacher, he could still be wrong . If he were just a great leader, he would still be finite. 

    But he is the perfect God of creation. He entered into a sinful creation to redeem humanity. 

     It also matters because if Jesus were less than God, then not only would he be unworthy of our worship, but the very act of worshipping him would be blasphemous. 

    From the beginning of the Ten Commandments. 

    Exodus 20:2-3: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

    We’re told elsewhere in the Bible that God is a jealous God. 

    But the gospels show people worshipping Jesus. He never corrects them or deflects worship when that happens. That is either blasphemous or warranted. There’s no middle ground. It is either acceptable to worship Jesus or it is not. 

    There reason why it’s warranted, why it’s acceptable is because Jesus is God. 

    Part of the reason why I love John’s Gospel is that it constantly confronts us with absolute claims about Jesus. Chief among them is that Jesus is God. That’s an absolute claim. It’s either true or it’s not. If it’s true, the only response is to believe in him, to worship him, to trust in him. 

    If it’s not, the rest of this gospel is meaningless and blasphemous. 

    IV. Jesus made everything 

    Verse 3:  3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

    Again this is speaking to the divinity of Jesus. All things were made through him. All means all. 

    The ground, the trees, the sand of the beaches, the stars in the sky, the air we breathe, the materials we use to build things, all of it was made by Jesus. 

    He made every person. Each of us has billions of cells in our bodies. Incredible complexity and structure just within our own bodies. 

    He made the universe! 

    To put that in perspective, if you had an atlas of every galaxy in the entire universe and each page represented an entire galaxy, and if you spent just one second on every page and continually turned pages in the atlas, it would take you more than 31,000 years to flip all the way through the atlas. 

    The universe is incredibly, unfathomably big. There are more stars in the sky than there are grains of sand in all the beaches of the world. Yet there are more trees on earth than there are stars in our one galaxy. And that’s just looking at the amazing size of of our universe. 

    There is amazing creation within our world. New species of animals are still being discovered. 

    Did you know that? And they’re not all insects or really small animals. Since 2000, there have been new species of primates discovered. We don’t even yet know everything on our own planet. 

    Yet Jesus made it all. 

    There are other passages in the New Testament which speak to this fact. 

    Colossians 1:16

    16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

    We see this language as well in the opening chapter of the Book of Hebrews.

    Hebrews 1:10 referring to Jesus says: You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands;

    Jesus is the creator. He made everything. And John states it both ways. He made everything. And also there’s nothing that he didn’t make. 

    He’s a mighty God. It’s a lofty passage. It’s a confrontational passage. You affirm these truths or you don’t. Our society often likes to treat Jesus as something you can take or leave. 

    Gravity isn’t something that you can take or leave. Arithmetic isnt’ something that you can take or leave. Breathing isn’t something that you can take or leave. 

    Jesus isn’t something you can just take or leave. Jesus isn’t just a nice person or a nice idea. He’s the Lord of creation. 

    Many cherry pick certain teachings. Others treat him as a great teacher or a great religious leader. Jesus isn’t one good teacher among other great teachers. He’s God. 

    The sages of other major religious traditions were born. Buddha wasn’t there in the beginning. Mohammad wasn’t there in the beginning. 

    But in the beginning was the Word. 

    There have been great leaders in the world who have influenced nations and movements. Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Gandhi. Some like to just act like Jesus was a wise peace maker who came with a good message. 

    He’s so much more than that. 

    In the beginning was the Word. 

    And the Word created all things. 

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  • The Word became flesh: what it means when the creator enters creation

    In one of his stand-up specials, the comedian Jim Gaffigan talks about camping. In the monologue, Gaffigan mentions that his wife enjoys camping and says that it’s a tradition in her family. 

    During the bit, Gaffigan describes himself as being “indoorsie.” 

    But he points out that it used to be a tradition in everyone’s family before we invented the house. 

    He asks “If it’s so great outside, then why are all the bugs trying to get in my house?”

    Full disclosure. 

    I don’t enjoy camping. 

    I don’t understanding leaving the comfort of home, of a bed, of air conditioning, of indoor plumbing, of restful sleep. But it’s interesting to consider leaving my house to go into the woods. And I think about that and I think of what Jesus left to come into the world. Jesus left heaven to come into the world. 

    I like my home. 

    But that’s not heaven. 

    He left the most perfect and spectacular place in creation to come into our world. 

    He left a sinless place to come into a fallen world. He left a place of perfect beauty for a world that has gray skies and thunderstorms. He left a place of adoration for a world where he faced condemnation. 

    John 1:14 says: 
    And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

    Old Testament background

    In the Old Testament, people originally exist in perfect fellowship with God. Because of sin, fellowship with God was tarnished. The unencumbered closeness to God was lost due to sin. 

    We were no longer holy. But the story doesn’t end there. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God bringing redemption to his people. God makes a covenant with Abraham. We see God’s continued faithfulness to his covenant. 

    Fast forward. 

    The Israelites were held in captivity in Egypt. After God had miraculously freed them, and while the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God gave them instructions for a structure called the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a tent that the Israelites were to travel with and it was a symbol for God’s presence with his people. 

    It was a piece of what they had lost.

    Sometimes it’s called the tabernacle. Sometimes it’s called the tent of meeting. 

    Exodus 40:34-35: Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.

    Exodus spells out very specific instructions on how the tabernacle was to be built, what types of items would be placed inside the tabernacle, etc. The instructions are so specific because it is a sacred and holy place. 

    Again, it represented the very presence of God in the world.  But this was pointing forward to something greater. 

    The temple. 

    When the Israelites entered the land, part of their purpose was in constructing the temple. As the tabernacle had been portable, the temple was meant to be permanent. The overarching purposes were still the same. Most notably, it was where God met his people in the word. It was his presence in the world.  The temple was the place where sacrifices were made. 

    For the priests, there were specific instructions on what they had to do to prepare to enter into the Temple It was a sacred place. As with the tabernacle, not just anyone could go into the temple. The priest couldn’t just go into the temple any arbitrary way they wanted. 

    It was a holy place. The temple was completed during the reign of Solomon 

    1 Kings 8:10-11: And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

    In both places, when the presence of the Lord comes into the temple, people can’t even stand in it because the presence is so glorious. The temple is hugely important in the Old Testament. Building the temple is important. The specific instructions for the temple are important. 

    But this points forward to an even greater temple. To an even greater example of God’s presence with his people. 

    Meaning of John 1:14

    “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory.”

    The word translated as “dwelt” more literally means that Jesus tabernacled among us, that Jesus pitched a tent among us. It’s the same word for tabernacle that was used centuries before Christ when the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek. 

    Jesus is the tabernacle. He is the greater temple. He is the presence of God with his people because Jesus IS God with his people. So it’s not simply saying that Jesus dwelt among us. But rather: in Jesus, we see God became flesh and tabernacled with his people.  

    Instead of a tent or a building, we have a person, we have God himself. 

    The greater tabernacle, the greater temple. And he’s greater because he’s everything these places were meant to represent. It was only the priests who could go into the tabernacle and the temple. A priest serves as a mediator between man and God. 

    Jesus is the greater priest. It is he who restores our relationship with God. These man made structures were where sacrifices were offered. Jesus himself is the sacrifice. And as I’ve said, the tabernacle and the temple represent the presence of God with his people. 

    In Jesus, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. 

    The Word made his dwelling among us. He pitched a tent among us. He tabernacled among us. The God who created the world came into the world to save the world. 

    There was no other way for a sinful people to be reconciled to the Lord than through God himself coming into the world. But because of his love for us. Because of his goodness. Because of his grace.

    The creator entered creation. In his commentary on John, the late New Testament Grant Osborne says of this verse “In my opinion, this is the single greatest sentence ever written in the history of human language, the deepest theological statement ever written. No finite human being could ever enter the realm of God and join his family. It could only come to pass if God himself were to enter the realm of humanity.”

    How do you make yourself right before a Holy God? How do you earn standing before a perfect God? How do you deserve blessings before an all powerful God? You don’t and you can’t. 

    Our world likes to have a very casual and cavalier attitude that we can just walk into the throne room of heaven, that we can just walk into the presence of God on our own terms, just because we feel like it. We like to believe that we’re special, we’re good, we’re worthy on our own. 

    Jesus has shown us that he is the way but we want to go our own way. Imperfect people are not worthy of a perfect and holy God. But the word became flesh and dwelt among us. That’s not our goodness. 

    It’s his goodness. 

    He made a way for us to be with him, even though we do not deserve it. The Word became flesh. God became one of us so we could be with him. He is a personal God. It doesn’t get more personal than Jesus entering his creation. 

    Sometimes it can be tempting to doubt if God really knows what we’re going through when we’re struggling. It can be tempting to wonder if God really cares.  

    He knows. 

    He knows what it’s like to live in a sinful world. He knows what it’s like to have people oppose him and not like him. He knows what it’s like to be hated for no reason. He knows what it’s like to be slandered. He knows what it’s like to cry. He knows what it’s like to be let down. He knows what it’s like to be betrayed. He knows what it’s like to suffer and feel pain. He knows what it’s like to face injustice. 

    It can be easy to focus on Christ’s glory and divinity to the point where we forget his humanity. But we see his humanity in this passage. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. It’s often said of people in politics who have opinions on public policies. We feel like they can’t relate to the average person. 

    There’s the old saying not to judge a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Jesus lived a lifetime in our shoes. Sometimes God can seem distant. He’s a personal God who invites us to know him. He joined us in our humanity. He came to earth so that we could have heaven. He died so that we could have life. He was forsaken so we could be children of God. 

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  • You’re (probably) misquoting Philippians 4:13 – and why it matters

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    I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
    -Philippians 4:13

    According to Bible Gateway, Philippians 4:13 is the second most popular verse in the New Testament, only behind John 3:16. It’s a verse memorized and beloved by many.

    But for as popular as this verse is, it’s also often misunderstood and taken out of context. The context of the passage must always influence how we interpret it.

    And what’s the context?

    Paul has just said, in verse 12 that he knows the secret of how to be content in both good and bad circumstances. And it is in the light of that that he says these glorious words. The secret to being content: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

    I did some searches online of people quoting this verse. Instagram, popular photo sharing sight, people have quoted this verse over 56,000 times. The most common references I saw were people quoting it in regards to some sort of exercise or fitness goal. I saw others quote Philippians 4:13 after winning beauty pageants or graduating from college.

    Some people, to my surprise, used it in reference to their diet: “Pre workout meal coming up. Healthy creamy chicken with mushroom and sundries tomatoes + brown rice” Philippians 4:13.

    I think this verse almost always gets quoted in conversation with some sort of goal.

    “This is what I want to do. And it’s me and Jesus.” I’m going to win that pageant, I’m going to run that marathon, I’m going to get that promotion because I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

    And certainly, Jesus is the God of everything in our lives. It’s GOOD to look at everything we do through the lens of walking with Christ.

    But Philippians 4:13 has nothing to do with accomplishing your personal goals. Philippians 4:13 is a verse that’s not about us. It’s about Jesus. The verse is not about the power of positive thinking, that you can accomplish your goals with Jesus. It’s not saying that you can overcome hurdles because of Jesus. It’s not telling you that you can do anything you set your mind to because of Jesus.

    Those things might all be true also.

    But that’s not what this verse is saying. The verse isn’t saying you can accomplish your dreams, it’s saying that you can survive your nightmares.

    And again, I know that goes against the popular keychain, coffee mug, t-shirt, poster interpretation of this verse.

    My point isn’t to ruin a verse for you that you might love. It’s to point you to the glorious Lord Jesus. Because our life is more than personal goals. It’s that when we have been run over, conquered, defeated, everything is going against us, that we can be content and walking in joy because of knowing Jesus.

    And that’s something else I notice when I look at people quoting Philippians 4:13. It’s always when something really good is happening in someone’s life.

    I don’t see people saying “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” when they’ve just lost a job. When they can’t afford to pay utilities. Philippians 4:13 is just as true in the bad times as it is in the good times.

    Because our contentment and joy and satisfaction need to always be found in Christ.

    This verse isn’t just calling us to be cheerleaders for God when we’ve finally gotten to the top of the mountain. But to always be praising the glorious God who invites us into life when we are at the bottom of the valley. But how do we do at embracing the reality of it?

    The secret of contentment in good times and in bad is knowing that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. When things really do get tough, when there is total upheaval and uncertainty, are you still able to walk confidently in faith knowing “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me?”

    In America, things are so comfortable for us, you have people living their lives thinking that they don’t need God. That they’re fine on their own. But what about when you’ve lost everything? What about you’re at your lowest?

    What about when you’re going through the worst experience of your life? In those moments, do you turn your back on God. Do you get mad at God? “Why would he do this to me?” Or do you walk with God? Do you rely on God more fully? Do you trust in Him more deeply?

    I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

    Are you still able to say that when the going gets tough?

    Originally published April 26, 2018

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  • American Gospel documentary contrasts Biblical Christianity with prosperity theology

    American Gospel documentary contrasts Biblical Christianity with prosperity theology

    I came across a Netflix documentary this weekend called American Gospel: Christ Alone. The film’s website asks the question: Is Christianity Christ + the American dream? American Gospel examines how the prosperity gospel (the Word of Faith movement) has distorted the gospel message.

    The film was made in 2018 and is part of a two part series. The documentary features interviews with John MacArthur, Mark Dever, Bryan Chappell, Steve Lawson, the late Nabeel Qureshi, and a host of others. I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw something on a streaming service (or television) which was straight up preaching the gospel and bringing Biblical truths. It was refreshing. 

    The first 40 or so minutes of the documentary is talking about the gospel message and what it is. Humanity is sinful, unable to live up to God’s mortal holiness, but the good news is that God has made a way for sinful people to be redeemed. God saves people not because we’re good but because he’s good, and for his own glory. The scholars talking about the Bible and the centrality of the gospel was very encouraging and edifying. 

    In the documentary we also meet a woman named Katherine Berger who became a Christian as an adult and talks of her joy in Christ, in spite of several severe health issues, including a rare genetic disorder. We meet Costi Hinn, the nephew of famed prosperity preacher and claimed faith-healer Benny Hinn who used to work in his uncle’s ministry before realizing the false claims that were being made. 

    (more…)

  • Bests-Selling author of “Girl, stop apologizing” announces divorce, faces online backlash

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    Rachel Hollis has amassed a larger online following as a writer, conference speaker, and social medial influencer. Her books such as “Girl, stop apologizing” and “Girl, wash your face” are published by the Christian publishing house: Thomas Nelson. Her books make references to the Christian Faith and Bible verses. She’s very popular. Critics of Hollis argue that her writing is shallow and that the basis of her message is a non-Biblical message where life ultimately bows down at the alter of self.

    Today, Hollis announced on social media that she is divorcing her husband. In the post, she talks of the long relationship she’s had with her husband going back 20 years, how they’ve worked on restoring their marriage for three years, and how they’re still going to be friends and business partners. Certainly, that’s all very unfortunate. While I think her theology is destructive, I can appreciate the tragedy that this divorce is.

    One of the things that has been interesting on social media is the backlash that Hollis and her husband (David) have faced. In her social media announcement, Hollis mentions that she’s been “an open book” in her online community but asks for people to respect her family’s privacy. Critics argue that she and her husband were hiding that they were in a failing marriage while acting as if they weren’t and taking that to the bank. They even led marriage conferences which reportedly cost upwards of $1,500 to attend.

    The issue with her fans isn’t that she was having marriage problems. The issue is that her and her husband were having marriage problems while acting like experts. Online, I’ve seen people accuse her of “toxic positivity” and espousing a philosophy that’s harmful to marriages. Others said they felt betrayed and accused them of putting up a front. 

    Again. It’s unfortunate. But I think it’s also illustrative of an important point for Christians. Your influences matter. You can be taught by someone who has the same philosophy as the rest of the world and tells you what you want to hear. Or you can listen to someone who’s going to teach Biblical truth (which is good, and wise, and edifying, but is not always what a person wants to hear).

    It’s also illustrative of a point that our own theology that we believe matters. She taught a gospel that revolved around self. the Bible has a theology which revolves around dying to self.