Gospel of John, Pt. 5
Posted on December 15th, 2007 by joebib into the Scriptures, joebib writes category1:2: He was in the beginning with God. (NASB)
The Word was already with God when the beginning began. Again, whenever that was.
It’s somewhat interesting to see how when referring to the creation of the world, the Bible uses the terms “in the beginning” and “from the beginning.” “In the beginning” is usually used more in association with God, while “from the beginning” is used more in association with Satan. Compare Gen. 1:1, John 1:1-2, and Heb. 1:10, with John 8:44, and 1 John 3:8 to see this.
1:3: All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. (NASB)
The KJV and NIV translate this verse using the verb “made” instead of “came into being.” Not wanting to become overly laborious here, but it is important to try and understand what John is wanting us to know about this Word. The Greek verb he chose for what the NASB renders “came into being” is egeneto, and has the idea of “causing to, or bringing something into, existence.”
So, John is saying that the Word was behind creation, which is huge because creation, as we saw earlier, is one of the Works of God Himself.
Jesus being the Agent of creation can be seen in Hebrews 1:1-3,10, and also here:
16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created by Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:16-17, NASB)
1:4: In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (NASB)
In these first four verses of his Gospel, we see four titles which John attributes to the Person of Jesus: the Word, the Creator, the Life, and the Light.
John is here presenting further proof of Jesus’ Deity, in that He is the Source of Life (see also 1 John 5:11-13,20) and the Source of Light (see John 8:12 and Revelation 21:23). Jesus being “the Life” and “the Light” are themes which John repeats throughout this book (Life: see 3:36, 5:24, 8:51, 11:25, etc.; Light: see 1:8-9, 3:19-21, 9:5, 12:35-36, etc.)
Similarly, the Psalmist connects the Word of God and Light:
130 The unfolding of Thy words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple. (Psalm 119:130, NASB)
God as Life and Light is also seen expressed together by Moses in Genesis chapter 1, as well as by David in the Psalms:
9 For with Thee is the fountain of life; In Thy light we see light. (Psalm 36:9, NASB)
Man can’t know what it is to really live until He comes to Christ, and lives the life God intended for him to have. I suppose that’s the real reason why people fixate so on the shallow things of this world……booze, drugs, acquiring possessions, seeking attention/fame, building a personal empire, whatever.
Someone once said that within every person’s heart there is a "God-shaped hole," and they will never find contentment or peace until He fills it.
-joebib
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December 15th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
COVERT MISSION NEEDED!
When I was attending PBC, a friend who was working security and I broke into (with a key) the admissions section of the PBC Admin Building. You know, where Phyllis Brown works. We looked up Frank Damazio’s application for PBC and low and behold it was on file. What was even more interesting was that it had his middle name listed as “Delano” in his own writing. This is funny because we had heard him swear up and down that he had no middle name. Perhaps being name after one of the great Democrat’s of the twentieth century was not something he was proud of (Franklin Delano Roosevelt). Anyway it would be funny if any of you PBCers could get a copy of that. You have to do it this weekend though because when Monday morning rolls around and someone from CBC staff sees this post, that application is either going to be shredded or it’s going in a “special” file that will be much harder and probably impossible to locate. Don’t worry, your not stealing anything or even doing something against the PBC handbook. You just need to do a special security check in Phylis’s office and look in the sideways filing cabinet next to the North wall. Make a photo copy of it in the copying room and put the application right back where you found it. No harm, no foul. Let us know what you find. This weekend we be your only chance to ever do this so good luck.