Discourse

editing

NT

John 1:1-18

esv

a In the beginning was b the Word,

and c the Word was with God,

and d the Word was God.

progression

He was in the beginning with God.

Summary

restate

Sum

e All things were made through him,

and without him was not any thing made that was made.

negativepositive

f In him was life, 1

and g the life was the light of men.

h The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it.

ideaexplanation

There was a man i sent from God,

whose name was j John.

He came as a k witness,

to bear witness about the light,

l that all might believe through him.

actionpurpose

m He was not the light,

but came to bear witness about the light.

n The true light , which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world .

He was in the world,

and the world was made through him,

series

yet o the world did not know him.

situationresponse

He came to p his own, 1

and q his own people 2 r did not receive him.

But to all who did receive him,

s who believed in his name,

t he gave the right u to become v children of God,

who w were born, x not of blood

y nor of the will of the flesh

nor of the will of man,

but of God.

conditional

alternative

And z the Word a became flesh

and b dwelt among us,

c and we have seen his glory,

glory as of the only Son from the Father,

full of d grace and e truth.

( f John bore witness about him,

and cried out,

“This was he of whom I said,

g ‘He who comes after me ranks before me,

because he was before me.’”)

ground

For from h his fullness we have all received, i grace upon grace. 1

For j the law was given through Moses;

k grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

l No one has ever seen God;

m the only God, 1 who is at the Father’s side, 2

n he has made him known.

Action-Origin

Ac

Or

discourse

Observations

#1 Christ is the Eternal Word (Verses 1-8) : Eternally Existing and Creating with the Father, Christ is God. The God who holds life, which is the only light of mankind, and conquers the darkness. John came to bear witness about the light that is the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ. And it's interesting to note that the author felt the need to (multiple times in the first few chapters) point out that John himself viewed his role as nothing more than to witness. #2 Christ is the Imminent Word (Verses 9-13): Christ is the Imminent Word: Part of the majesty of Christ (and the Trinity) can be found in the truth held within Revelation 1:8. He is not only the God who is, or the God who was but He is also the God who is to come . We see this in Redemption History. Though The Word existed eternally with the Father and the Spirit, and though He was present in the world (v10), even working and manifesting himself to the world (v11), there yet remind a kind of coming that the people of God long waited for. What we also need to understand about this section on the Imminent Word is that the fact that something new was unfolding in the history of redemption does not mean that the Word was dormant for all of human history before this moment. The pages of Scripture are stuffed with examples of the work of God, and Christ, not just in the new testament age, but also the old. I believe that when v9 says He was coming into the world , v10 says He was in the world , the author is not just jumping to the Incarnation. I believe He is saying that Christ has always been at work in the world, yet the world, and even his chosen people rejected Him, which is clearly witnessed in the history of Israel. Yet, for all of human history, God has received as children those who have received Him by faith (See Romans and Hebrews discussion on Abraham). This observation, I believe, is crucial to our understanding of the Scripture. The incarnation of Christ was not merely God changing tactics because his previous attempts to redeem humanity had failed. The incarnation of Christ was the culmination of God's singular and eternal plan of redeeming his people through His Word, the God-man, Jesus Christ. #3 Christ is the Incarnate Word (Verses 14-18) : The Word Became Flesh : all of creation and human history resounded in the moment where God himself became incarnate in human flesh. May we never miss the wonder and majesty of Immanuel, God with us. To Christ is to see the glory of God, to see truth which Sanctifies by Grace which heals the blind. Once again, John (who it seems the author knew was at best admired by the audience and at worst idolized) is referenced as a confirming and testifying witness to the reality of Christ's Divine Pre-Existence and Incarnation. Christ who is God made visible has made God forever invisible known. Only Christ. May we never forget this truth in an age of religious relativism, syncretism, and humanism. Only Christ. And the only way can serve the world as His followers is by, like John, being a faith filled, grace founded, truth sanctified witness, until the very end. (Ref: John 14:6)

notes