December 24, 2004 - John 1:1-5, 10-13
Open It
What are some of the slang expressions you used growing up?
In what ways are words different from visual images?
Explore It
Who is the Word? (1:1)
What is the relationship between the Word and God? (1:1-2)
What was the Word's role in creation? (1:3)
How is the "life" the light of men? (1:4)
Why didn't the world recognize the light? (1:10)
What is the benefit of receiving or believing in the Word? (1:12)
How and why did the Word make His dwelling among us? (1:14)
Whose glory did the Word reveal? (1:14)
Get It
Why did the Word become flesh and live among us?
How does a person receive the Word?
What happens when we receive or believe in the Word?
What insights can you gain from seeing Jesus as God's Word?
How should being a child of God affect our lives?
How did Jesus reveal God's glory to us?
Apply It
What do you need to do to be certain of your relationship with God?
What will you do this week to better enjoy your status as a child of God?
How should the reality that God became a man affect your life today?
Notes
John 1:1ff: What does John mean by the Word? The Word was a term used by theologians and philosophers, both Jews and Greeks, in many different ways. In Hebrew Scripture, the Word was an agent of creation (Psalm 33:6), the source of God's message to his people through the prophets (Hosea 1:2), and God's law, his standard of holiness (Psalm 119:11). In Greek philosophy, the Word was the principle of reason that governed the world, or the thought still in the mind, while in Hebrew thought, the Word was another expression for God. John's description shows clearly that he is speaking of Jesus (see especially John 1:14)-a human being he knew and loved, but at the same time the Creator of the universe, the ultimate revelation of God, the living picture of God's holiness, the One in whom "all things hold together" (Col. 1:17).
John 1:4-5: "The darkness has not understood it" means the darkness of evil never has and never will overcome or extinguish God's light. Jesus Christ is the Creator of life, and his life brings light to mankind. In his light, we see ourselves as we really are (sinners in need of a Savior). When we follow Jesus, the true Light, we can avoid walking blindly and deliberately falling into sin. He lights the path ahead of us so we can see how to live. He makes it possible to remove the darkness of sin from our lives.
John 1:10-11: Although Christ created the world, the people he created didn't recognize him (John 1:10). Even the people chosen by God to prepare the rest of the world for the Messiah rejected him (John 1:11), although the entire Old Testament pointed to his coming.
John 1:12-13: All who welcome Jesus Christ into their lives are reborn spiritually, receiving new life from God. Through faith in Christ, this new birth changes us from the inside out-rearranging our attitudes, desires, and motives. Being born makes you physically alive and places you in your parents' family (John 1:13). Being born of God makes you spiritually alive and puts you in God's family (John 1:12).
John 1:14: "The Word became flesh" means becoming human. By doing so, Christ became (1) the perfect teacher-in Jesus' life we see how God thinks and therefore how we should think (Phil. 2:5-11); (2) the perfect example-as a model of what we are to become, he shows us how to live and gives us the power to live that way (1 Peter 2:21); (3) the perfect sacrifice-Jesus came as a sacrifice for all sins, and his death satisfied God's requirements for the removal of sin (Col. 1:15-23).
John 1:14: "The One and Only, who came from the Father" means Jesus is God's only and unique Son. The emphasis is on unique. Jesus is one of a kind and enjoys a relationship with God unlike all believers who are called "children" and said to be "born of God."