P’s and Q’s : John 1

 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (verses 1 & 2)

 

 

• The “Word” in this chapter refers to Jesus. What do these verses tell you about Him? Why do you think God inspired the author to repeat the truth that “He [Jesus] was in the beginning with God”?

 

These verses tell us that Jesus was in the beginning of time, that He was with and was, in fact, God. The author was inspired by God to repeat this truth because it is the truth that all humans need to know. Not everyone will believe this, but this truth remains the same that Jesus is God and has always been in existence since the beginning of time.

 

“All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” (verse 3)

 

 

• This verse refers to the creation of the world. Why is it important to remind ourselves of God’s role in creation?

 

When we understand who our Creator is, we will worship and understand who our God is even more. The basis of the Christian’s faith is that God is our Creator. The basis of atheism is the belief / faith that there is no creator, but things came into existence out of nothing.

 

“In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (verses 4 & 5)

 

 

• What do you think it means that, “In Him [Jesus] was life”? Jesus is given the title, the “Light of men.” Describe the separation between darkness and light.

 

Jesus had both a full and abundant life on earth and also eternal life in Heaven. Jesus, because of his death and resurrection, is the only One who can give us true life. Darkness is the sin in the world. If we remain in the darkness, we will allow the enemy to attack us. If we give everything to Jesus, we are in the light and experience freedom in life.

 

How can you turn the darkness in your life into light?

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“There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.” (verses 6 -8)

 

 

• What was John the Baptist’s mission?

 

John the Baptist’s mission was to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. What this means is that John’s life was spent telling about the prophecies of the Old Testament so that when Jesus came, people would realize that Jesus is the Messiah / Savior of the world.

In your own life, describe three ways that you can “testify about The Light [Jesus]”.

 

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“There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” (verse 9)

 

 

• How is Christ the true light of every man? How does this make you feel about the different people you interact with?

 

Christ is the light of every man because He came to earth for every man, woman, and child – for the entire world (John 3:16).

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“He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. ” (verses 10 & 11)

 

 

• The Jews had been waiting for hundreds of years for the Messiah to come. Why did they not recognize Jesus?

 

The Jews did not recognize Jesus because their sin blinded them. Specifically, the Jews were proud and looked at Jesus and denied that His miracles and other actions proved Him to be Jesus.

Why don’t people recognize Jesus today?

Similarly, our sin gets in the way of recognizing Jesus. The enemy wants us to get distracted by things of the world and believe that they are better than a life lived for Jesus.

 

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (verses 12 & 13)

 

 

• How does someone receive Jesus? What does it mean to be a child of God?

 

Someone receives Jesus when the accept and believe in the Gospel – that Jesus died and resurrected for our sins (Rom. 10:9-10). To be a child of God means to be adopted into God’s family which allows the freedom, forgiveness, and love of being an actual child of God our Father, allowing us to spend eternity with Him.

Although we are saved by grace alone, why do you think you have difficulty receiving God’s grace?

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And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, ‘This was He of whom I said, “He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.” (verses 14 & 15)

 

 

• John would have used the Greek word logos (which is translated “Word”), and logos was the word by which God spoke the world into existence and by which He delivered His people. John’s use of that word would have definitely caught their attention! To the Jews, it was the same as saying, “God became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”  

 

 

Do you believe that God still dwells among us today? What does this say about your relationship with God?

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“For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.”  (verse 16)

 

 

• Grace in the Greek and Hebrew language means “undeserved favor”. To put it more simply, grace is God’s desire to give you gifts even though you have done nothing to deserve them. Describe your experience with God’s grace.

 

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Do you thank God often for His grace shed upon you? Why or why not? Take a moment to thank Him for ways He has shown grace today.

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Three Takeaways:

• Jesus is God.

• Jesus is Creator.

• Jesus is the Light of the World.