JOHN SERIES
Notes
Transcript
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life,, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
John 1:1–5 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.”
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
Jewish rabbis often referred to God (especially in His more personal aspects) in terms of His word. They spoke of God Himself as “the word of God.” For example, ancient Hebrew editions of the Old Testament change Exodus 19:17 (Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God) to “Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet the word of God.” In the mind of the ancient Jews, the phrase “the word of God” could be used to refer to God Himself. The Greek philosophers saw the logos as the power that puts sense into the world, making the world orderly instead of chaotic. The logos was the power that set the world in perfect order and kept it going in perfect order. They saw the logos as the “Ultimate Reason” that controlled all things. So Jesus was a new and controversial person to both the Jews and the greeks. John is telling the Jews who Jesus is so they can understand why they needed to leave Judaism and follow Jesus and John was telling the greeks they needed to leave the false gods they serve and sacrifice too for the only true God the Word.
From before the creation of the world, God the Son shared an eternal, intimate father-son relationship with God the Father. Starting in Genesis 1:3, God spoke his word, and the universe came into existence. According to the New Testament, the Father made the world through the divine Word, his Son
, Col 1:16 -17 15 He is the image of the invisible God
16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through him and for him.
17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.
the firstborn over all creation.
16 For everything was created by him,
in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through him and for him.
17 He is before all things,
and by him all things hold together. [1]
Jesus is dominant in his power.Everything was created by him(1:16). Genesis 1:1 says, “God created the heavens and the earth.” Yet Jesus is the uncreated Creator of all things and there is only one uncreated, eternal being. By him all things hold together(1:17). The planets stay in their orbits because Jesus holds them there. If he can do that, you can be confident that he can hold you too. If things are falling apart in your life, it might just be because Jesus doesn’t hold the top position in your heart
In light of the Spirit’s involvement as well (see Gen 1:2), we see that each person of the triune God was unified in the work of creation.
And the Word was with God, and the Word was God: With this brilliant statement, John 1:1 sets forth one of the most basic foundations of our faith – the Trinity. We can follow John’s logic:
· There is a Being known as the Word.
· This Being is God, because He is eternal (In the beginning).
· This Being is God, because He is plainly called God (the Word was God).
· At the same time, this Being does not encompass all that God is. God the Father is a distinct Person from the Word (the Word was with God).
John 1:3-5 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life,, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it. [2]
All things were created through the Word (1:3), a truth taught elsewhere in the New Testament . Nothing in creation exists outside of the sovereign power of Jesus. Not one thing was made apart from him (1:3). He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, including life. Since in him there is divine life, he is able to create life—both physical and spiritual (see 3:16). The existence of life in creation is proof that the created order is not the result of impersonal chance events, as atheistic evolutionists assert.
Jesus gives life that provides light to men (1:4). Light is needed because darkness exists (1:5). Because of the temptation of Satan, humankind has fallen into the darkness of sin He has blinded the minds of people to keep them from seeing the glory of Christ
2 Cor 4:4 4 In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,,who is the image of God[3]
4 In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
But Jesus has come to bring illumination so that people can see things as they truly are. John’s Gospel shows us how Jesus was continually rejected; nevertheless, the darkness did not overcome his light (1:5). Though his enemies crucified him, he was actually glorified in his death on the cross and victorious in his resurrection, resulting in the delivery of salvation for all people!!
.”The light cannot lose against the darkness; the darkness will never overcome it. “In the first creation, ‘darkness was upon the face of the deep’ (Genesis 1:2) until God called light into being, so the new creation involves the banishing of spiritual darkness by the light which shines in the Word.”
