Lesson 1 - John 1:1-5, 9-14, 16-18 - IN THE BEGINNING
INTRODUCTION: This morning we commence a new quarter in the gospel of John, Chapters 1-11, which will be a survey of selected verses designed to provide us with a good general understanding of the first half of the Book. We know that the apostle John and his brother James were first cousins of Jesus through their mother Salome, who was Mary's sister. Unlike the three Synoptic Gospels, John's purpose is not to present a chronological history of Jesus' life but to display His deity. Bible scholars refer to the first 18 verses of Chapter 1 as the "Prologue"-a theological preface which summarizes how the "Word" which was with God in the very beginning came into the sphere of time, history, and physical form; in other words, how the Son of God was sent into the world to became the Jesus of history. In original form, the Book was written in the Aramaic language with poetic structure and later translated into Greek. Why poetic? Simply because it's easier to remember, like the lyrics of a hymn. So, how could the apostle John, the uneducated son of a Galilean fisherman, know how to do this?-through the direct inspiration of God. In writing this last of four gospels from Ephesus (ca. 85-90 A.D.), John's purpose was to strengthen the faith of second generation believers and encourage new faith in others by correcting the false teachings about Christ that had been circulating during the First Century. John's teachings emphasize Jesus Christ as the "son of God," who is fully God and fully man. Of great significance is the fact that John's Gospel introduces Jesus Christ, not from His birth, but from the "beginning," before creation.
Read John 1:1-5 - THE PREINCARNATE WORD
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
v. 1a1: "In the beginning" - Jewish people typically know their Books of Scripture by their first words. With "In the beginning," the Prologue models itself after the creation account in Gen. 1.
v. 1a2: "was the Word" - The "Word" (Gk. logos) confirms that Jesus Christ was the living, breathing, Word from God, sent to reveal God and God's kingdom to us.
v. 1b: "and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." - Here, John begins his gospel by locating Jesus before the beginning of His ministry, before even His birth, and even before Creation. He identified Jesus as co-existent with God the Father, and He was the Father's agent in providing both creation and salvation.
v. 2: "He was in the beginning with God." - This statement further clarifies that Jesus was with God before the creation of the universe. And it further asserts Jesus' deity: He did not come into existence; He always existed. Moreover, Jesus did not become deity but was always deity.
v. 3: "All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being." - Here, John explicitly declares what was implied by the OT use of the term "word"; specifically, that Jesus was God' agent in creating everything that has come into existence. Therefore, it was the second person of the Trinity who created the universe and all it contains. Even so, the Word did not act independently from the Father but created under the Father's authority.
v. 4: "In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men." - John now moves from creation in general to the creation of "life," the most significant part in the creation. Jesus was the source of all "life, and every living thing owes its life to its Creator, Jesus Christ. In the case of humankind, life constitutes "light." The light that Jesus offers humankind is more than physical existence; His light offers spiritual life-a relationship with God, in this sense, it equates to salvation.
v. 5: "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." - God's first creative act was light, the first step in bringing order to the formless void. As light shines-note it's present tense-in the darkness, Jesus brought the revelation and salvation of God to humanity in its fallen and lost condition. He did this in His incarnation-so, as the word of God brought light to chaos before creation, Jesus brought light to fallen humanity when He became a man. Moreover, the light that Jesus brought was superior to the darkness-spiritually-and the darkness was overcome (i.e., did not comprehend it). This gives mankind hope: The forces of light are stronger than the forces of darkness, and though darkness still exists in the world, the light can overcome it.
Read John 1:9-14 - THE WORD BECAME FLESH
9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
v. 9: "There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man." - The "true light" came "into the world" to enlighten everyone, not just Israel or any other subset of humanity. And the "coming into" clearly refers to Jesus' incarnation-his appearance in human form. His "light" illuminates the sinful condition and spiritual need of every single human being. While those who positively respond to this convicting revelation will be saved, those who reject it will experience eternal damnation, so the choice is abundantly clear, AMEN?
v. 10: "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him." - In His incarnation, Jesus entered the world (Gk. kosmos) that He had created so that His light could illuminate- or clarify at last-human understanding; however, in spite of this, the world did not recognize Him for He was because their minds were darkened by sin. Even so, this light continues to shine even though most don't see it. Importantly to us who know Him, It's still available.
v. 11: "He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him." - As the "Word," Jesus Christ came initially "to His own," the Israelites-God's chosen people. God had prepared them for centuries to receive Him into their midst, but they rejected Him-they crucified Him.
v. 12: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name," - The contrast with rejection is "received" (or accepted, recognized, etc.). Not everyone rejected Jesus when He came; some accepted Him. To these, He gave as a gift the "right" (Gk. exousia, lit. spiritual authority) to become God's children, - i.e., to be a part of the family of God. Therefore, receiving Jesus consists of believing in "His name," and His name summarizes all that He is. Moreover, to believe in His name means we accept God's revelation of who Jesus is. Note: In John's Gospel, belief is viewed as a relationship with Jesus Christ, which begins with a decision to accept who Jesus claims to be.
v. 13: "who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." - The point John drives home here that the new life into which a Christian is "born" when he or she believes, happens as a result of God's action-His saving power, not because of their blood ancestry ("flesh"). Many Jews mistakenly believed that because they were Abraham's descendants, they were the spiritual children of God. However, under the New Covenant, physical lineage isn't important and is never a substitute for the spiritual regeneration offered in salvation by faith in Jesus Christ.
v. 14a: "And the Word became flesh," - This is a mind-boggling statement: that Jesus Christ-the pre-incarnate "Word" (v. 1)-became incarnate as the "flesh" (Gk. sarx, lit. in human form). To paraphrase, the Word, who existed equal with God before time began, came into the world as a human being. Yet, at the same time, He retained all of His deity-He remained fully God.
v. 14b: "and dwelt among us," - The word "dwelt" (Gk. eskēnōsen, lit. tabernacled). In practical terms, the Holy God effectively bridged the distance between Himself and sinful humanity using Jesus Christ as the bridge. The verse declares that the God who once dwelled among them in the Tabernacle now chooses to dwell among them as Jesus in the flesh. And by doing this, God also makes it clear that Jesus in the flesh supersedes the tabernacle and Temple. Furthermore, Jesus quite literally "dwelt among" His disciples, living and walking with them during His earthly ministry.
v. 14c: "and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father," - In the OT, God allowed Moses to see His goodness but not His "glory" (i.e., His face), lest he die (Ex. 33:20); however, under the NT, we are allowed to see Jesus' glory-and His face-and by this, the Father is fully revealed, because he who his seen the Son has also seen the Father (John 14:9).
v. 14d: "full of grace and truth." - The "grace" that God extends to us is beyond measure because it is sufficient to cover all of our sin, no matter how numerous or grievous, and we receive it as a free gift that cannot be earned; the "truth," free of any falsehood, is made known to us by the Holy Spirit.
Read John 1:16-18 - GRACE UPON GRACE
16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
v. 16a: "For of His fullness we have all received," - To understand "fullness." we must go back to v. 14, which tells us that Jesus Christ-the "Word" that became "flesh"-holds a never-ending supply of "grace and truth," which are both characteristics that the Son shares with the Father.
v. 16b: "and grace upon grace." - We might rephrase this as grace on top of more grace. It tells us that we draw grace from the total resources of God, an inexhaustible spiritual warehouse. Whatever our need for God's grace may be, the supply is always greater than anything we could possibly need.
v. 17: "For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ." - Note: Whereas, Moses was the individual through whom God gave His Law to His people, Jesus Christ is the One through whom God has revealed His abundant grace and truth. To help the people to understand God's purposes in their lives, God gave the Law to Moses and the people of Israel. But now, Jesus Christ takes the revelation of God's will to the next level, where all people (not just Israel), can experience the fullness of God's grace and truth. Note too, the identity of the "Word" in this Gospel has been a mystery, but here, for the first time, John mentions the name "Jesus Christ." Although John will use the Lord's human name "Jesus" 237 more times in this gospel, the compound name "Jesus Christ" will appear again only in John 17:3.
v. 18a: "No one has seen God at any time;" - While there are many passages of Scripture that record various individuals who encountered God (e.g., Ex. 3:1-27; Job 38:1; Isa. 6:1-15), they were visions or theophanies rather than the unveiled essence of God. When Moses asked to see God, God told him, "You cannot see my face; for no one shall see Me and live." (Ex. 33:19-20). Now, however, in the person of Jesus Christ, we can see God perfectly and clearly because Jesus is an exact representation of Him.
v. 18b1: "the only begotten God" - The term "the only begotten God" is an explicit declaration of Christ's deity in human form: He is simultaneously fully God and fully man.
v. 18b2: who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him." - The term "in the bosom" is the same as saying at the Father's side, which indicates the unique fellowship, love, and knowledge that the Father and the Son share. Therefore, Jesus is the accurate revelation of the Father.
APPLICATION: This is difficult because nearly every phrase of every verse in the Prologue contains some ingredient of spiritual truth, but I will make an attempt to boil them down.
BOTTOM LINE: Receiving Jesus consists of BELIEVING in His name. Because Jesus' name summarizes all that He is, to believe in His name means we accept all of God's revelation (OT and NT) of who Jesus is. In this gospel, belief is viewed as a relationship with Jesus Christ, which begins with a decision to accept who Jesus claims to be.
