Gospel of John

[Alan C]

I do not really know where this will lead. I felt I should start a Bible discussion but did not know where to begin, however as I looked at my Bible as John starts "In the begining...." i thought this would a good subject to look at.

The Word was there in the begining.
The Word was with God.
The Word was God.
Creation was made by God.
Life was in God.
The life is the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness.
The darkness did not comprehend it.

Just some statements int he first 5 verses of John.
As the Word was God, the Word also created the creation. Life was in God. We live because God put His breath in us. This is humbling because there is no life away from God. Light represents truth, darkness the oposite. Light dispells darkness. (Darkness can also represent ignorance.) Jesus later in John's Gospel says "I am the way the life and the truth......" Jesus' mission was to show sinful men and women who God is. (Immanual, God with us or revealed to us).

The Christian's joy is in knowing that light is not only greater than darkness but will also outlive darkness.

I would love some fed back on this, your thoughts about these verses. I love this chapter and am pleased to discuss this with anyone.

 

[PhoenixRising]

I hesitate to participate in discussions like this because I'm an advocate of the KJV and I can't always follow the various translations out there.

I hope you find people who can join this study. It's sounds wonderful.

 

[Alan C]

King James Bible

I use mainly the New King James translation which follows the King James version closely.

 

[Alan C]

Today I am going to jump away from John's Gospel because I found a link to 1 John 5 v 11 refering to "life".
"And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and that life is in His Son." [New King James Vesion]

In my study of John 1, I have not yet connected with the Word being Jesus Christ, that comes in verse 14 which I have not reached yet. So at the moment I am still refering to 'The Word' but I am also refering to Jesus.

In The Word is life and the life is the light of men. John 1 v 4

Jesus the Word, as God, was born a man, in Him was everything that may reveal God to us. He is our Light, He lights up the truth about God. He is God. His light gives us life. This light dispels our ignorance [darkness] about who God is.

I will leave this study till tommorrow now. I use the New King James Version of the Bible mainly, If I refer to another version this will be stated.
SMILE JESUS LOVES YOU

 

[Boanerges]

red emphasis mine


Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.




Rev 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

 

[Alan C]

The Witness

I am aware that ther is more than one thread of thought in these 5 verses. So I don't confuse my self I am just for now consentrating on The Word.

Going on to verses 6 - 13 of John's gospel. The witness of John the Baptist.

John the Baptist was sent by God as a witness to the Light, which of course is The Word.

I am not a greek schoolar but my Bible has the greek word 'martureo'for the word 'witness' . It means - giving evidence, attesting,confirming, bearing record, speaking well of,giving a good report, testifying, affirming that which one has seen, heard, or experienced something. [Spiritfilled Life Bible. NKJV].

John pointed to the Word in order that people may believe that Jesus Christ was The Word of God and through believing may receive Life.

 

[Boanerges]

Fair enough, I thought you were talking about Jesus in general and your second post was not about the "Word" specifically. Have a blessed day.

 

[Alan C]

The Word became flesh

At last i have got to v14 of John's Gospel. (When I became Christian I found these words a bit confusing but now they have become clear)

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt amonst us, and we beheld His glory as of the Father, full of Grace and truth." John 1 v 14 (NKJV)
The Word was with God and the Word was God (v1) links with v14. and makes it clear Jesus Christ was that Word that in the begining spoke the universe into being. There Jesus is shown as having both His humanity (He was born into this world as a man) and His divinity He was God as well.
As I read this I see alot of threads forming, it is almost impossable to know where to start.
I am now going to v 17 because here is what Jesus came to do on earth. I am going to split this in two parts

1. "For the law was given through Mosses,"
   The law was given to protect God's people from God's Judgement falling upon them and destroying them. Without the law they could not know that they were sinning when they broke it. The law was a school master that made it's pupils see what they were doing was wrong. It could not save a person from judgement only tell them they were going wrong.It offered no solution excext to make a sacrifice every year to obtain mercy from God, but the issue of sin had not been dealt with here and so would have to be repeated over and over. I will deal with Grace tomorrow.

 

[hx8]

May your study of the Word be blessed in Jesus' name.

John10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
John10:36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

Luke3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Through the lineage of Adam by the flesh and through the lineage of Christ by faith, we are the children of God, and as Jesus testified, the law does say we are gods, (to whom the word of God came).

 

[Alan C]

Grace

2. ........grace and truth came through Jesus Christ...... John 1 v 17 New King james Version.

God's plan of creation is not flawed by Adam sinning. God planed redemption for man's rebellion or sin before its begining. Jesus Christ was willing to be the perfect sacrifice for sin paving the way for man to be redeemed back to God. (The word redeemed means 'to buy back'.) I don't know who said this but I read it somewhere that,God found it easy to create heaven and earth, all He had to do was speak the Word and it was finished, but the redemption of man kind cost Him His Son.

Grace means there is a holding back of Judgement or mercy upon someone who does not deserve this mercy.

God gave His chosen people fathered by Abraham and given to Mosses a law, this was a school teacher to show them the righteous standard that was required it could not stop them sinning so a yearly sacrifice had to be made.

Jesus brought in something better, He did not come to replace the law but to compleate it by His sacrifice. Thus satisfying this law and finishing the old repeative sacrifices.

Next time I am looking at John Chapter 1 verse 12

 

[shipwrecksoul]

I hope this helps

Joh 17:24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
God knew that we would be unjust, our conscious proving this. So it was already set in his heart that his Son would come down and satisfy his justice for us. The free gift. Behold the Savior as we hear Linus from the Charlie brown cartoon echoes each year, Which is Christ the Lord, God is with us.

Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

 

[Alan C]

children of God

John Chapter 1 v 12 & 13 New King James Version

12 But as many received Him to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
13. who were born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

In my rush to get to verse 14 I missed 12 & 13.

I want to imagine a single track railway. In order to prevent accidents, only one train could move on one section of line at a time.
The driver had to have authority to move in the form of a tablet which he gave to the signal box. The signalman would then unlock the signal for that stretch of line and the train would proceed. whilst the train was in this section the tablet was locked to prevent mistakes happening. No other train could move in that section. The signal would also be locked at red protecting the train in the section.

What has this to do with my study?

Well, Jesus is our authority to become the children of God. If we have faith in Him then we receive the power to be 'born again'. This is not through our own works or the works of the old law which has no authority but by the grace of God giving us new life. Our salvation is a gift we do not have to work for it and be a better person. All that is required is faith in the Word.

How do we know this for certain?
Answer: It is written in the Bible and it is the truth.

It is by faith that we are saved. my words.

I am not going to quote that verse but it is in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 & 9

 

[Alan C]

The signpost

John 1 verse 23 New King James version.

He said [John the Baptist]
"I am
The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Make straight the way of the Lord."

John was the witness that Jesus was the Christ. The words he quote were from Isaiah chapter 40 v 3.

A witness is someone who has been present and seen events unfold and is able to recount these events as the truth.

Verse 32 & 34. John was present at Jesus' Baptism, he baptised Him and saw the Holy Spirit decend on Jesus and heard the voice of God proclaiming Jesus to be His Son.

His job was to proclaim Jesus to the other people around him. He pointed out Jesus to his disiples Verse 35. They went and followed Jesus.

John was a signpost pointing the way to Jesus being the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Two of John's follows became close disiples of Jesus