1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind. 5 And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not grasp it.
John 1:1-5 (NASB)
John, the book
We’re starting John today. What do we know about this gospel account of Jesus’ life? “It’s clear from the first paragraphs of this Gospel that the disciple John broke sharply from the styles of the other Gospel writers—Matthew, Mark, and Luke. They focused on events, following Jesus through the bustling marketplaces and villages. Unlike them, John assumed that readers knew the basic facts about Jesus. Instead, he mulled over the profound meaning of what Jesus had said and done.” (Biblegateway.com, Intro to John)
We’re going to take a few days to get through these first 4 verses. In general, we’ll move a bit slowly through John at times. But getting to know Jesus better is worth it all. Personal story – John is the first book I read as a Christian. I had been reading the OT for many years before trusting Christ. When I started reading John the day I got saved, the Bible became the living Word; it was speaking to me! My life completely changed.
In tHe beginning
John starts with Genesis starts – in the beginning. Why did I write the title as tHe beginning? Because He, the Word, Jesus, was in the beginning. He is God so He has always existed and will always exist. You might say, He IS the beginning. He’s also the end, the Alpha and Omega (Rev 22:13).
There is such an obvious tie between John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning, God created…” – that we have to look at it. We know from Genesis, God created all things. How? By speaking His word. Here we read the Word was with God and was God. It was through this Word that all things were created. The Word is a being; the Word is God, part of the trinity.
Jesus is the Word
Though this passage doesn’t explicitly connect the Word to Jesus, verse 14 does (John 1:14) – the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. How much clearer statement do we need about Jesus’ deity? What was not created by this Word? Everything was. Full stop (as the Brits would say).
