John Chapter 1
The first three gospel writers of the New Testament focused on the life of Jesus, His teachings and what He did. John focused His writing more on who Jesus is. With this purpose John had one main reason for writing – that we might believe.
John 20:31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
The most important doctrinal truth in all of scripture is in the book of John and it is contained in the very first verse of the book. If a man, woman, or child wants to know who God is, they need only to look at the Word (Jesus) and they will know God, because Jesus is God. As John so eloquently wrote – Jesus, or the Word, existed with God the Father before the beginning. Jesus, like the Father and the Holy Spirit, is a part of the eternal Godhead. Jesus is a person of the trinity
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“And the Word was God: Everything that can be said about God the Father can be said about God the Son. In Jesus dwells all the wisdom, glory, power, love, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth of the Father. In Him, God the Father is known.” [Boice]
Let's Reflect
1. Was Jesus the creator of our life?
2. The author of the book of John was a brother to James, and together they were known as the sons of thunder. The author John wrote about another John, John the Baptist. John says of him that he was not the light, but he was a person whose life’s purpose was to introduce us to the one who was sent to bring light to a dark world. He is of course speaking of Jesus, who is called what in verse 9?
3. What happened to the one who came as light to the world?
4. What is promised to all those who do receive him (Jesus)?
5. When a person places their belief in Jesus it is called a new birth. John taught us that our new birth is not of any human flesh, and it is not obtained by human will; it is all the work of God. The new birth brings change to a person’s life. As a new believer in Jesus we are placed into the family of God and we are called what?
6. Verse 14 teaches us that the Word (Jesus) became flesh. Because Jesus took on human form, we humans got to see and experience what?
7. John the Baptist was quick to answer the religious leaders, “the Jews”, who thought that he might be the Messiah, or Elijah or the Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-19). John said he was none of these. Who did he say he was?
8. In verse 29, John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him. What did he declare about Jesus?
9. John the Baptist had been told by God that he would see a sign that would tell him what man, is the Messiah. This sign was given during the baptism of Jesus. What was the sign?
10. In verse 35 we learn of two disciples who met Jesus when John the Baptist called out as Jesus came to them “Behold the Lamb of God.” One of the two disciples was Andrew as seen in verse 40 and it is believed that the other disciple was John, the author of the book. He records the moment he first met Jesus. He even remembered the time of day it occurred, “it was about the tenth hour.” What did Jesus ask these two disciples to do?
11. What did Andrew say about Jesus?
12. What are the names of the other disciples who were willing and wanting to follow after the Messiah?
Devotionals
