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Jesus Christ, God’s Only Son, Our Lord

Text: John 1:1–18
Preacher: Pastor Alex
Date: October 11, 2026

Sermon Summary

Who is Jesus? The early church hid the answer inside a fish: The five letters of the Greek word ichthus spell Iēsous Christos, Theou Huios, Sōtēr––Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Saviour. It reminded believers of who they belonged to. This is almost exactly the same answer we find in the Creed. And it is also the answer John gives as he begins his gospel. John takes us to the very beginning--Genesis 1:1, the beginning of everything--to show us that Jesus is the eternal Son of God.

John’s favourite word for Jesus is monogenēs: the only Son, the unique one, begotten but not made. He is clear: the Son is eternal--he did not become in the beginning, he already was, before time began. The Son is equal with the Father--he “with God” or toward God, as if they are face to face, in fellowship and equality. There was never a day when the Son was not the Son. He is declared Son at his baptism, at the transfiguration, at the cross, in the resurrection, in his ascension, and at his return — so when did he become it? Never. When Psalm 2 says “today I have begotten you,” the answer to “when is today?” is always: now.

Finding the language to describe this was a struggle. Arius was a well-loved pastor whose error began by trying to condemn modalism (the idea that God merely changes modes like masks.) But he could not see how an eternal Son avoided making two gods, and then three, and then a pantheon. Through a catchy song he taught that "there was a time when the Son was not." In Nicaea, the church answered his song with these words that our passage from John support: Jesus is begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of the same essence as the Father. They did not make this up: Christ’s deity is not hanging on one verse. John calls him outright “God, the only Son” (John 1:18), and John the Baptist’s claim to prepare the way of “the Lord” (John 1:23) quotes Isaiah, where that Lord is Yahweh.

This is not an academic point. It comes with two promises. Because the only Son is God, he can show us God and all of God's grace, truth, and glory. And because the only Son is God, he can save us. Jesus accomplishes God's will. What God wills, the Son fulfills. So in creation, when God said “let there be,” the Word that was spoken was the only Son himself. And in salvation, God's will was to redeem us. So the entire Old Testament and all its anointed figures––prophets, priests, and kings––all pointed to the true Son--the Christ--who would embody every promise and make our salvation a reality. The Father has given the Son all things as his inheritance; and the Son shares his inheritance with us. There is nothing of his that he withholds from us. And finally at the end, the Father will send the Son once more to make all things new.

When Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do you say I am?" Peter replied: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” These are the same words that John taught us, and Christians everywhere have confessed in creeds. This truth, this shared confession is the rock on which all the church is built. It defines who we are together as his people. A fish on the bumper is a fine thing. This confession means something more: I belong to Jesus.

Ice Breaker

Light: Have you ever worn or displayed something--a hat, a pin, a bumper sticker--that told people something about you? What was it?

Deeper: When you were a child, what did you picture when you pictured God? Were you a "little heretic"? What has changed since?

Doctrine

1. Remember the Truth: Option A: The early church packed a whole confession into a fish: the letters of ichthus spelled “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Saviour”--nearly the exact words we confess in the Creed. Now that you know what that symbol is actually saying, what struck you about it?

1. Remember the Truth: Option B: Arius was a beloved pastor whose error started in a right instinct, protecting the oneness of God, but he ended up teaching Jesus wasn't God through a catchy song.  What was new to you in how the church answered him at Nicaea?

2. Understand the Truth: Look closely at John 1:1–3. John says the Word was in the beginning, not that he became, and that nothing made was made apart from him. Using just those two details, how would you explain to a friend why Christians say Jesus is God?

3. Test the Truth: A common view is that Jesus was a great teacher, perhaps the best man who ever lived, and that calling him God is something the church added later. Where in John 1 do we find evidence that this has been the message from the beginning?

4. Be Changed. Option A: The true Son shares his inheritance with us completely; there is nothing of his that he withholds. What would be different in you this week if you lived as an heir rather than as a guest who hopes he’s still welcome?

4. Be Changed. Option B: The honest answer to the mystery was not to solve it but to come and ask, “Who are you, Jesus?” and hear him answer, “I am God the Son — walk with me, live with me.” Where are you waiting to understand something before you’ll trust him with it?

5. Be Changed Together: Alex said he now looks at the church congregation differently--seeing every Christian as called by God, chosen in the only Son, and heirs together with Christ. If that is what the person beside you actually is, what changes in how we speak to each other and about each other?

6. Be Sent: Believers coming to Christ out of Islam mark their day of salvation with three words that cost them everything: Jesus is God. What does saying that out loud cost you where you live and work, and who needs to hear you say it?

The Apostles' Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord;

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell;

the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,

and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty;

from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead;
And in the Holy Spirit;

the holy universal church, the communion of saints;

the forgiveness of sins;

the resurrection of the body;

and life everlasting.
Amen.

Supporting Scriptures

  1. Genesis 1:1–3: The beginning John reaches back to, where God speaks and it is so — and the Word he speaks is the Son.
  2. Psalm 2:7–8: “You are my Son; today I have begotten you,” with the nations given to him as his inheritance, the inheritance he shares with us.
  3. Isaiah 40:3–5: The voice prepares the way of Yahweh — the prophecy John the Baptist applies to his work of preparing for Jesus.
  4. Matthew 16:15–18: Peter’s confession in nearly the Creed’s own words, revealed by the Father, and named by Jesus as the rock.
  5. John 8:58: Jesus takes the divine name onto his own lips: before Abraham was, I am.
  6. Romans 10:9–13: Paul applies Joel’s promise about calling on the name of Yahweh to calling on Jesus as Lord.
  7. Ephesians 1:4–5: The Father chose us and predestined us for adoption in Christ, so the Son is where the Father’s will becomes real.
  8. Colossians 1:15–17: All things were created through him and for him, and in him all things hold together.
  9. Hebrews 1:1–3: The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact imprint of his nature, heir of all things.
  10. Revelation 21:1–5: The Son is sent once more to wipe away every tear and make all things new.
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