John 1: 1-14 Birth and Preparation of Jesus, the Son of God God Became a Human In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn---not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds. This is the one I was talking about when I said, “Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me. 1:1- What Jesus taught and what he did are tied inseparably to who his is. John shows Jesus as fully human and fully God. Although Jesus took upon himself full humanity and lived as a man, he never ceased to be the eternal God who has always existed, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and the source of eternal life. This is the truth about Jesus, and the foundation of all truth. If we can’t or do not believe this basic truth, we will not have enough faith to trust our eternal destiny to him. That is why John wrote this Gospel---to build faith and confidence in Jesus Christ so that we may believe that he truly was and it the Son of God. (20: 30-31) 1:1 John wrote to believers everywhere, both Jews and non-Jews (Gentiles). As one of Jesus’ 12 disciples, John writes with credibility and the details of an eyewitness. His book is not a biography (like the book of Luke); it is a thematic presentation of Jesus’ life. Many in John’s original audience had a Greek background. Greek culture encouraged worship of many mythological gods, whose supernatural characteristics were as important to Greeks as genealogies were to Jews. John shows that Jesus is not only different from but superior to these gods of mythology. 1:1- What does John mean by “the Word?” The Word was a term used by theologians and philosophers, both Jews and Greeks, in many different ways. In Hebrew Scripture, the Word was an agent of creation (Psalm 33:6), the source of God’s message to his people through the prophets (Hosea 4:1) and God’s law, his standard of holiness (Psalm 119:11). In Greek philosophy, the Word was the principle of reason that governed the world, or the thought still in the mind, while in Hebrew thought, the Word was another expression for God. John’s description shows clearly that he is speaking of Jesus--- a human being he knew and loved, but at the same time, the Creator of the universe, the ultimate revelation of God, the living picture of God’s holiness, the one who “holds all creation together” (Colossians 1:17). To Jewish readers, to say this man Jesus “was God” was blasphemous. To Greek readers, the Word became human was unthinkable. To John, this new understanding of the Word was the Good News of Jesus Christ. 1:3- When God created, he made something from nothing. Because we are created beings, we have no basis for pride. Remember that you exist only because God made you, and you have special gifts only because God gave them to you. With God, you are something valuable and unique; apart from God you are nothing, and if you try to live without him, you will be abandoning the purpose for which you were made. 1: 3-5- Do you ever feel that you life is too complex for God to understand? Remember, God created the entire universe, and nothing is too difficult for him. God created you, he is alive today, and his love is bigger than any problem you may face. 1:4-5 “The darkness can never extinguish it” means the darkness of evil never has and never will overcome God’s light. Jesus Christ is the Creator of life, and his life brings light to humankind. In his light, we see ourselves as we really are (sinners in need of a Savior). When we follow Jesus, the true Light, we can avoid walking blindly and falling into sin. He lights the path ahead of us so we can see how to live. He removes the darkness of sin from our lives. In what ways have you allowed the light of Christ to shine into your life? Let Christ guide your life, and you’ll never need to stumble in darkness. 1:8- We, like John the Baptist, are not the source of God’s light; we merely reflect that light,. Jesus Christ is the true Light; he helps us see our way to God and shows us how to walk along that way. But Christ has chosen to reflect his light through his followers to an unbelieving world, perhaps because unbelievers are not able to bear the full blazing glory of his light firsthand. The word “witness” indicates our role as reflectors of Christ’s light. We are never to present ourselves as the light to others, but are always to point them to Christ, the Light. 1: 10-11 Although Christ created the world, the people he created didn’t recognize him (1:10). Even the people chosen by God to prepare the rest of the world for the Messiah rejected him (1:11), although the entire Old Testament pointed to his coming. 1: 12-13 All who welcome Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives are reborn spiritually, receiving new life from God. Through faith in Christ, this new birth changes us from the inside out---rearranging our attitudes, desires, and motives. Being born makes you physically alive and places you in your parents’ family (1:13). Being born of God makes you spiritually alive and puts you in God’s family (1:12). Have you asked Christ to make you a new person? This fresh start in life is available to all who believe in Christ. 1:14- “The Word became human” By doing so, Christ became (1) the perfect teacher—in Jesus’ life we see how God thinks and therefore how we should think (Philippines 2: 5-11); (2) the perfect example---as a model of what we are to become, he shows us how to live and gives us the power to live that way (1 Peter 2:21) (3) the perfect sacrifice---Jesus came as a sacrifice for all sins, and his death satisfied God’s requirement for the removal of sin (Colossians 1:15-23) 1:14- “The Father’s one and only Son” means Jesus is God’s only and unique Son. The emphasis is on unique. Jesus is one of a kind and enjoys a relationship with God. He is unlike all believers, who are called “children of God.” 1:14- When Jesus was conceived, God became a man. He was not part man and part God; he was completely human and completely divine (Colossians 2:9). Before Christ came, people could know God partially. After Christ came, people could know God fully because he became visible and tangible in Christ. Christ is the perfect expression of God in human form. The two most common errors people make about Jesus are to minimize his humanity or to minimize his divinity. Jesus is both God and man.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 14:00:25 +0000
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