Tag: new testament commentary

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John 1:1-5 In the Beginning

  • Book: Gospel of John
  • Author: John, a disciple of Jesus
  • Date written: approx 85-95 A.D.
  • Purpose: To show that Jesus is the Son of God and that all who believe in Him will receive eternal life.

 

 

John 1:1-5  1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  2He was in the beginning with God.  3All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (NAS)

Observations 

v1-3   At first glance, John  seems to describe the “Word” as an object, but as he continues, the “Word” expands to include personhood when John adds the  pronoun “He”.  For a fuller understanding of what John means by “Word”, it helps to look at the Greek.  The Greek word used here for “word” is logos and means universal or divine reason.  To a Greek philosopher, logos meant the divine reason or essence which gives order and meaning to the universe.  The Jews had a similar concept. Word (dabar) was often referred to as an agent of creation (Gen 1:3, Ps 33:6), but also as God’s message through the prophets to Israel, and as God’s perfect and holy standard (Ps 18:30, Ps 119:9,11,130). John (God) chose the word logos, which contains this idea of divinity that both Greeks and Jews alike would understand.

John begins to describe who this “Word” is.  In verse 1, he uses location and person – “the Word was with God in the beginning and the Word was God”. John equates the “Word” with God, and the “Word” immediately takes on identity or personhood. In verse 3, the “Word” broadens even further to include Creator. Anything that has ever been made was created by God.

We can reasonably deduce the following from verses 1-3:

  • The Word/God existed before any thing was created
  • There seems to be 2 entities,  when John says “the Word was with God”
  • Both entities are called God
  • God created everything that exists
  • God is not a created thing (self-existing)

Throughout scripture, God reveals that He is eternal. God has no beginning and no end. God is infinite–a difficult concept to fully wrap one’s mind around.   In Exodus 3, God told Moses that His name is “I AM WHO I AM”. This phrase translated in Hebrew, ehyeh asher ehyeh, and is the first person common singular of the verb to be. In essence, God is saying that He simply is, containing past, present and future, similar to Revelation 4:8 when God  is referred to as the Almighty, the One who is, who was, and who is to come. 

v4,5  John continues to describe the Word, saying that in Him was life. Since God is eternal, He is the source of eternal life.  John then equates “life” with “light” of men.  What is this “light of men”?  The Greek word for light is phōs and means light, but also means truth, knowledge,  reason, power of understanding, especially as it relates to moral and spiritual truth.  Therefore, God is the source of all truth and imparts this truth to mankind.   We will see later, in verse 14, that the Word is God in human flesh, Jesus Christ.

What does John mean when he says that this light shined in the darkness but the darkness did not comprehend it? We know that Jesus referred to Himself as “the Truth”, that He came to earth to bring moral and spiritual truth and was rejected. The Jews could not accept or understand that Jesus was the Messiah.  Those that lack understanding are said to be in darkness.   The Greek word used in this verse for darkness is skotia, meaning a lack of moral and spiritual clarity or understanding.  Therefore, those who reject Jesus, reject God’s eternal life and eternal truth, remaining in a state of moral and spiritual darkness.

NOTE:  When John wrote this gospel, gnosticism was prevalent.  Gnosticism was a system of thought that held all matter is evil, all that is non-material or spiritual is good, and that God is unknowable. The fact that God created all material things would have been shocking and unthinkable to a gnostic as well as to a Greek.  To a Jew, it would have been blasphemous for a human to call Himself God.  It was startling and offensive to many cultures and people of this time period…and still today.

Application

1.) One of the most incredible things about the bible is that not only does it teach us how to live, but the bible teaches us who we are.  These verses tell us that we, and all things, have been created by God.    If this is so, He is a being of great power, intellect and beauty.  Psalm 19:1 tells us, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”  Just as the heavens reflect who God is, we also reflect our Creator.  Our gifts of music, intellect, mathematics, philosophy, art, etc. all contain the fingerprints of God. This should immediately shrink our pride, for everything that we are has been given to us.  What we do with it, is our gift to Him.

2.) If God created the entire universe, then nothing is too difficult for him, including all of our questions, doubts, complexities, and trials.  He is far bigger than any problem we face.  2,000+ years ago He came to show us what the truth is and the pathway to eternal life.  His desire then is the same now.  He wants to know you, to impart truth to you, and to give you eternal life.  

3.) The metaphor of Jesus being light is a beautiful one.  To anyone who has ever planted a garden, knows light is essential for life.  Without light, there is no life, no growth, only death. Jesus brings life and light (truth) into our lives.  One of light’s characteristics is revelation.  Light reveals what is really there.  When you walk through a darkened room, you do not walk with confidence and trip over unseen obstacles.  But when light floods the room, you walk with confidence avoiding the obstacles.  So it is with Jesus.  When we know and follow Jesus, his truth is like a light that shines ahead of us, helping us find our way.

4.) When Jesus’ light penetrates the darkness in our hearts,  it reveals who we really are.  We are sinners.  But He doesn’t want us to remain there. He then beckons us to turn from the darkness to Him.  He wants to give us a relationship with Himself.  He points us to the truth, which will set us free.  What is the truth?  That we are sinners,  in need of a savior.  We cannot pay the debt we owe to God.  But Jesus came to die on a cross, thereby paying our debt in full.  That is what He meant by His last words, “It is finished.”  The debt has been paid.  

If you have specific questions or wish to further research topics related to the eternal nature of God, creation, the Trinity, etc., please feel free to contact me and/or visit the website, www.gotquestions.org.  This site is an excellent resource for questions and further research.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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John 3:31-36 John the Baptist’s last testimony

31 “He who comes from above is above all; the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony. 33 The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 For He whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly. 35 The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand. 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

Observations

John reminds his disciples where Jesus comes from.  He says that Jesus comes from above.  The Greek word for above is anothen, which can mean the heavens but also can mean from the beginning, which would underscore Christ’s divinity.  Adding emphasis, John then says Jesus came from heaven.  The word used for heaven is ouranos which means the heavens, either visible or spiritual.  John is asserting Jesus’ supremacy and authority over all.

32 What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony. 33 The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true.

John then reminds his disciples of what Jesus has said.  Throughout scripture Jesus repeatedly tells us that He can only do what He sees the Father doing.  What Jesus has seen and heard refers to the intimate communication He has with the Father, predating time and the incarnation.  But very few people believe Jesus.  Because the Father and Jesus are so intimately connected, if you reject Jesus you also reject God.  You cannot have one without the other since Jesus and the Father are one (see John 10:30).

34 For He whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly. 35 The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand. 

It follows that if Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit are truly one, then each of them represents one another perfectly in thought, word and deed.  In the Old Testament, the prophets were given the Spirit only in part, or temporarily.  However, this verse says that God gives the Holy Spirit to His Son unsparingly, meaning without measure, continuously.  If Jesus has the permanent presence of the Spirit, this is yet another proof that Jesus is God incarnate.

36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

When you place your trust in Jesus, when you believe in His claims, then at that point you receive eternal life, for you become one of the redeemed, your sins are forgiven, covered by Christ’s sacrifice.  However, if you do not believe in the Son, you reject the only way for your sins to be forgiven.  Hence, you are unprotected from the righteous judgment of God.  Jesus sacrifice is like a bullet proof vest, protecting us from God’s wrath.

Application

Faith Alone vs. Works

There are physical laws in this universe, if you defy them, no matter how much you believe they are false, physical laws will prevail.  If you jump off a 12 story building, no matter how much you believe that you can fly, gravity will pull you to your death.  Similarly, when one dies, there are spiritual laws and realities that will act upon your soul, no matter how fervently you believe otherwise.  Just as we cannot escape gravity, we cannot escape the judgement of God, unless we are protected by the blood of Jesus.

So when it comes to eternal life, what are you placing your trust in?  Are you trusting in grace alone or are you also trusting in your good works?  We love to control own own destiny and our pride blinds us to how sinful we are compared to a holy and perfect God.  Scripture says that if we stumble in keeping even one small part of God’s laws, we are as guilty as if we had broken every one of them (James 2:10). Therefore, we could never possibly be saved by our works.

The good things we do can be driven by a works oriented  mindset.  Doing good things does not make you more worthy of salvation or of God’s love. Take a moment to reflect on ways that you might be trying to earn your salvation.

  1.  Becoming disciplined in daily bible reading.
  2. Tithing regularly or generously giving to charities.
  3.  Serving regularly in church or community.
  4.  Spending a large amount of time in prayer.
  5. Attending church every week.
  6. Memorizing a large number of scriptures.
  7. Evangelizing with fervor, keeping track of the number of people “you” have won to Christ.

Be on guard.  Human pride has a way of blinding us to the real motives that lie in our hearts.  We love to boast in the things we accomplish.  Accomplishing good things does not make God love you any more or less.  Nor are we rewarded for the good things we have done with salvation.  It is a gift.  If salvation can be earned, then Jesus’ death on the cross was not sufficient. (Ephesians 2:8,9)

We All Fall Short

You may be thinking, “But the verse says that if you do not obey, you will not inherit eternal life.  You must have to “do” something to get to heaven”.  The Greek word used for the phrase ‘not obey’ is apeitheó, meaning to rebel or to refuse to conform.  Therefore, this verse is saying that if you rebel against or refuse to conform to the message of the gospel that Jesus proclaimed, then you there is no other solution for your sin.  There is no other way for you to receive eternal life.  The way to eternal life is through Jesus.   The gospel is good news as it is God’s eternal solution to the human problem of sin.  All of us are in the same predicament. We are all a mess  without Christ.  All of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

For more information on why salvation by works is the predominantly held viewpoint, click here.

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