John 1:1-18

Read John 1:1-18

John 1:1-18 is referred to as the prologue of the Gospel of John. There are two characters that are introduced, the most important being the eternal word of God, Jesus the Christ. The other character introduced in this prologue is John the Baptist. This is a unique element of the Gospel of John as it focuses on these two characters in the opening words. There is Jesus, the Word, and there is John the Baptist, the witness. This is a key component of John’s Gospel, it is primarily a revelation of God to people. The purpose of this revelation is for people to trust in Jesus and to have life in him.

The Word is a description of Christ that is unique to John. By calling Jesus the Word of God, with God, and God, John is highlighting the pre-existence of Jesus as the eternal Son of God. Turning to Genesis 1:1-3 and reading those first three verses of the Bible with this description from John, we are able to perceive the work of the Trinity in creation in a fuller way because of John’s Gospel. We see God existing as hovering Spirit, as Speaker, and as the spoken creative Word. The Word that God speaks to create is God. The act of creation serves as a “proof” that Jesus is life, and gives life. His very nature is life-giver. The life that Jesus gives serves as light that shines in the darkness and is resilient to all attempts of the darkness to quench it.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”. This is one of the most magnificent sentences in human language. The Creator of the cosmos, infinite, omniscient, omnipotent, perfect, took on the nature of a human. The word that we translate as “dwelt” also means “tabernacle”. This is intentional on John’s part to make a comparison between the tabernacle and temple of the Old Testament and the living and breathing presence of God that arrives in Christ. God is present in a better way in Christ than he was in the Tabernacle. “There is a place where God does still meet with man and hold fellowship with him. That place is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, ‘in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.’ The manhood of Christ is become to us the anti-type of that tent in the center of the camp! God is in Christ Jesus! Christ Jesus is God! And in his blessed Person, God dwells in the midst of us as in a tent.” (Spurgeon, Sermon #1862, Volume 31).

John finishes the prologue by showing us the implications of the reality of Jesus as the Eternal Son of God in flesh. He tells us that the invisible God has been made visible! When we look on Jesus we see God, and we see the very purpose of God living in creation. He has come to give us life and to give it abundantly. It is through this revelation Jesus the God-Man Messiah that all Old Testament prophecy is fulfilled, and God’s purposes of redemption and restoration begin to unfold in time.

Questions

  1. Is believing that Jesus is God an essential part of Christianity? Why?

  2. How does the story of Israel in the Old Testament help us to understand why Jesus’ arrival was so anticipated?

  3. What stands out to you about John’s description of Jesus in the prologue?

  4. What does Jesus “dwelling” among us tell us about God’s heart?

  5. How does reading John 1:1-18 make you want to respond?