Thru the Gospel of John Загвар

What really happened “in the beginning”?

The Gospel of John is one of the easiest books to read, yet one of the most profound Gospels to understand. We might get the surface meaning easily enough. But to understand the deep truths, we need Jesus to be our teacher. 

The purpose of the Gospel of John is to explain that Jesus is fully God and fully man—and to help us “believe” that. “Believe” means you willingly recognize Jesus died for your sins. Then you trust Him as your Savior who died to pay the price for your sins. 

Now, let’s dive into this amazing book at the beginning. 

The first couple verses of the Gospel of John (John 1:1-3) sound like something from Genesis 1:1, the first book of the Bible. 

The beginning in Genesis goes back to the creation of the physical universe. But even then, “the Word” (another name for Jesus) was already past tense. Go back a billion more years, put down your stakes, and out of eternity the Lord Jesus walks out to meet you. Jesus never began. He was already there at the beginning. 

From the beginning, Jesus was God. “And the Word was God.” He made all things—He is the Creator. He’s life itself. And His life brought light to humanity. 

Tragically, John tells us next that Jesus came to the world, yet His own world chose to live in darkness. They wanted nothing to do with Jesus (see: John 1:10).

But not everyone. There is good news: Some do believe in Him by faith. When you do, you’re given a new beginning. Your new life doesn’t come through your own effort or by anything you do to earn it. It doesn’t even come by studying the Bible. Your new life in Jesus comes through God. 

Here’s more wonderful news about Jesus: John 1:14 says, “And the Word [Jesus] became flesh and lived among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Have you ever noticed that John’s Gospel doesn’t mention Jesus’ birth? It’s because the One he’s talking about is too big for Bethlehem. A little child was born in Bethlehem, but the Son walks out of eternity. That’s the Christmas story in John’s Gospel. 

Jesus “lived with us.” Literally, He moved into our neighborhood. 

Though it’s true that no one can see God the Father, when you see Jesus, His Son, you understand who God is. But to do that He had to become one of us and bring God to where we are.

Next, we’ll meet the first people to follow Jesus.

Question: What does it look like “to believe” in God?

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