John 1:1-2 NIV

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.”

John’s gospel, often called “the spiritual gospel”, is one of the richest sources on earth of both information and insight into the person of Jesus, the God-man. It is understood that John wrote his story years after the other three “synoptic” gospels which focus primarily on who He was and what He did on earth as a man. To Matthew…He was the king of the Jews, to Mark…the Servant of Yahweh, and to Luke…the Son of Man, but to John…Jesus is the Son of God. 

Even a superficial reading of John’s writing will show us that his record of Jesus’ life is different from the others. John must have taken time to ponder, and had experience of Jesus through the Holy Spirit that gave him much clearer insight than the earlier writers.

Jesus had promised…

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John’s theme was Jesus, the Son of God. Perhaps, during his exile on Patmos, he had gained the deeper insights of Jesus’ words and works through meditation, revelation, and prayer, which he used in his gospel to give us greater understanding of the divine nature of Jesus than we gain from the other gospels. 

So, John reaches back into the book of Genesis to explain the deity of the human Jesus. Jesus was much more than an unusual man who said and did amazing things. He was God! He was there with God before and when creation happened. Much more than that…He was the Father’s agent to make creation happen. 

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How did John know this? How could he have written these words  as fact with such confidence? Revelation! 

The book of Genesis tells us that the Holy Spirit was at work, brooding, like a hen incubating eggs, over the planet earth, bringing order out of chaos as God spoke. John adds that Jesus, the divine Son, was part of that creation event. He was and is the very Word in person that God uttered to bring the universe into being. 

All of this is a mystery to our finite minds. Since God’s Word is truth, we must receive this revelation by faith as the authoritative explanation of the holy Trinity’s combined involvement in creation.  

“By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To the unbeliever, none of this makes sense so, he chooses to believe a theory more nonsensical than the Biblical record, that the entire universe, with all its beauty, intricacy, and complexity, came into being by chance!

The rest of John’s story can only make sense to us if it rests firmly on the foundation that Jesus’ interlude on earth was just that… It was a period in time in which Jesus set aside the privileges of His divine nature, was veiled and clothed in a human body, and lived among His people on earth to reveal the true nature of Father. 

Jesus was the bridge between heaven and earth. He said to Nicodemus…

“Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.”

‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭NIV‬

As John’s story unfolds, his aim becomes clear. This man, Jesus, who had no beginning in time, no birth record, came into the earthly scene for one purpose. He came to redeem a broken humanity and to restore the Father’s alienated children to fellowship Him and to His predetermined purpose to be His forever family. 

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John’s gospel was aimed at presenting all the evidence humans need to put our trust in Jesus and to live under His authority. Why? …Because He is who He said He is, He did what He came to do, and He rescues all who trust in Him, forgives their sin and allows them to enter the realm of His kingdom. 

John admitted that his record was incomplete but what he had written was sufficient to convince his readers that Jesus is God’s Son and that faith in Him gives them eternal life. 

“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

‭‭John‬ ‭20‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, God momentarily left heaven, came to earth as one of us, and revealed the majesty of the Father    and the power of the Spirit in His coming. 

To be continued…