1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
C o m m e n t s
3 - 5. In Christ we have life and light. Genesis 1 speaks of God creating light and life; here the emphasis seems to be on spiritual life especially. We know this by noting how John uses "life" and light" in this Gospel. "Has not understood it" in verse 5 could also be translated "couldn't overpower it". The Greek has a double meaning. The powers of Hell could not overpower Christ or His church (Matthew 16:18). Neither could they understand Christ or His mission (see 1st Corinthians 2:8).
6 - 9. The eternal Word used a voice to announce His coming. That voice was John the Baptist (see verse 23 also). Unlike many other preachers of then or now, John did not preach himself, but Christ only, the Light of the world.
10 - 14. The creator of the world is not acknowledged by most of His creatures. He was the promised Messiah (Anointed One) of Israel, but his own people (verse 11) did not receive Him. But those who do receive Him, Jews or whoever, to them He gives the authority to become part of God's family. But this is not by the person's choice. Even as we respond to Him, He is the one who draws us to believe in Him. It is a wonderful truth that can hardly be comprehended that the Creator of the world enters into His own world and took the form of the people He made.
15 - 18. John the Baptist says that Christ was before him. He is in fact eternal. Verse 16 is apparently from John the writer, saying that we receive "blessing after blessing" through God's grace. The name "John" means "God is gracious"! Some people misunderstand verse 17 so as to say that there was no truth or grace in the time of Moses. This verse only shows what gifts came through whom. Moses was given the Law to give to Israel, but even then Jesus Christ existed. For instance, in Genesis 6:8, Noah found favor ("grace") in the eyes of the Lord. Even in times of the Old Testament God was gracious to those whose faith looked toward the sacrifice of His Son. Verse 18 shows that Jesus Christ showed what God is in the flesh. His action and reaction to the pressures of this age are more than an example to us. By believing in Him we are able to have Him live through us and we can be overcomers because of the Holy Spirit He gives to us.
Verse 13 teach us that we cannot just "decide for Christ" in our own will or strength. It is the Holy Spirit who draws us to believe in what Jesus Christ did and to repent.
The Incarnation is one of the truths that set Christianity apart from all other religions. Though other religions have "gods" assuming human appearance (like Zeus did), none have a deity spending a whole life in that form and giving life for the sins of the world. His words and his perfect life showed us God and that he came from the Father.
The Incarnation is one of the clearest proofs of God's love for us. It is as if a writer of a novel didn't like how the characters were turning out and went into his own novel, becoming a character of imagination and ink and changed the outcome of the plot by his self-sacrificial death. Christ did this! He left His home in glory to live in this physical world to change the outcome of our lives. The comparison breaks down pretty quickly and in many ways. God's work is more than a novel. And he gave his characters self-will, not a plot.
Q u e s t i o n s
2. He was with God in the beginning.
3. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
4. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
6. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.
7. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.
8. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
10. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
11. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
12. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God �
13. children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband�s will, but born of God.
14. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15. John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, �This was he of whom I said, �He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.��
16. From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.
17. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father�s side, has made him known."
1 - 2. Christ is the Eternal Creator."In the beginning" means just that. In the beginning of time Jesus Christ was already there. There was no time where He wasn't around. Everything was created through Him. This verse along with others in the Bible shows that each Person of the Trinity had a part in the creation. This first verse reminds us of Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created...".
There are a number of religions, like Jehovah's Witnesses for instance, that react strongly against the phrase "the Word was God", changing it to "the word was a god". But this is adding to Scripture. These first 3 verses of John are one of the best proofs of the deity of Jesus Christ and are well-worth memorizing for just that reason.
Can you find the 7 names of Jesus in this chapter?
Can you find the promises from God here with their conditions?
Why was the Book of John written? (This was mentioned in the previous article)
Do a search of this Gospel for the words "life" and "light". How does this describe our new walk with Christ?
What are some of the Old Testament passages that promised the coming of Christ and/or the Incarnation?
According to verse 17, what were the respective gifts to mankind from Moses and Christ?