The Gospel of John: John 1.1-13

Read and meditate on John 1.1-13.
We are focusing on the first part of John’s two-part prologue. John has set his gospel firmly in the eternal counsels and will of God, and introduced its relevance and importance for our lives here and now, but only in the most abstract of terms (light, life, children of God). Today we want to review the primary themes John has introduced in this section.

¹Before the world and everything began –
all space and time, the galaxies that span
the heavens, all creatures, particles, and powers,
all things on earth, all lands and seas, all flowers
and beasts, and even man – before these came
to be, He was, Whom we know by the Name,
The Word. ²The Word was with God when the world
began, and as all space and time unfurled
at His command. ³And through The Word were all
things made; apart from Him, no creature small
or great, in earth or heaven, in sky or sea,
no seen or unseen thing, has come to be.
⁴In Him was Light, to expose the darkness and
illuminate the truth for every man
and woman. ⁵And His Light in sin’s dark night
began to shine, and though with all its might
the darkness strives to overcome and kill
the Light, it cannot, and the Light shines still.

⁶A man named John was sent by God ⁷to be
a witness to the Light, that all might see
the Light and put their faith in Him. ⁸This John
was not the Light; but he was sent as one
from God to witness to the Light. ⁹The true
Light, by His coming to the world, brought to
the world the Light of Truth, and sheds His Light
in every place and person where the night
of sin prevails. ¹⁰The Light was in the world,
the world which He created, which He hurled
into the void by His command, and yet
it knew Him not at all, nor did it set
its heart on Him. ¹¹He came unto His own,
to those above all men who should have known
Him, but they did not. ¹²Yet to everyone
receiving Him, the right to be a son
or daughter of the living God is given,
to those believing that the Word from heaven
has come, and take His Name upon them. ¹³All
who will receive Him, who believe and call
upon His Name, are born again of God,
and not alone of flesh, or man, or blood.

-        John 1.1-13

Reflect
1.  How does John want us to think about time and God’s relationship to time? God is not in time, but He made time by His Word. Does time matter? Why? What should be our attitude toward time? What are we supposed to be doing with it (cf. Eph. 5.15-17)? Complete this prayer: Thank You, Lord, for the time I have today. Help me…

2.  John establishes several contrasts in these few verses: life/death, light/darkness, receive/not know, then and there/here and now. These contrasts suggest that the story John will tell us is fraught with tension. What is tension, and how does it affect us? How are these various contrasts meant to affect you as you think ahead to the rest of John’s gospel? To the rest of your life? Lord, You have called us to live in the tensions of the now and not yet. Help me today to…

3.  John treats as real the ideas of God, God creating all things by speaking, an uncreated and timeless realm, and God being able to communicate with human beings. These ideas would not have been strange or objectionable to most of John’s original readers. But what about today? How do people these days look upon such ideas? Does the fact that some people do not acknowledge such ideas make them no longer true or valid? Are they true and valid for you? Explain. Lord, help me make these unfamiliar ideas real and clear to…

4.  John 1.1-13 introduces the idea that God sends people to bear witness to the life which is to be found in His Word. Do you suppose John intends his gospel to help those who have been sent for this work? In what ways? Lord, today send me to…

5.  Verses 1-3 and 12 and 13 form what is called in literature an inclusio, a device used for structuring a passage and giving emphasis to certain ideas.Verses 1-3 start with God and His work of creating. Verses 12 and 13 deal with the same ideas, but with more specific focus, though both are clearly the work of God. So the passage circles back to its beginning, but with greater depth. What does this suggest about what matters most to God? What should matter most to us? Pray together your prayers from questions 1-4.

Summary
“The eternal Son of God who was in the world and through whom the world was made has come for a time into the world and for no other reason than our salvation, that is, that he give us the understanding to perceive the true God. For no one was able to come to life without perception of the divinity; no one was able to perceive God unless he himself taught us.” The Venerable Bede (672-735 AD)

It is impossible to appreciate the beauty, gravity, immensity, and profound spirituality of John 1.1-13 apart from the kind of slow, contemplative reading we are giving this passage, and we will give the entire gospel of John. Take a moment and jot down the main ideas, feelings, and conclusions you draw from reading and meditating on John 1.1-13. Talk with a Christian friend about your reading. Download a copy of the PDF for this week’s study, and invite your friend to join you for this contemplative passage through the gospel of John.

Closing Prayer
My lips shall utter praise,
For You teach me Your statutes.
My tongue shall speak of Your word,
For all Your commandments are righteousness.
Let Your hand become my help,
For I have chosen Your precepts.
I long for Your salvation, O LORD,
And Your law is my delight.
Let my soul live, and it shall praise You;
And let Your judgments help me.
I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
Seek Your servant,
For I do not forget Your commandments.

Psalm 119.171-176

Psalm 119.171-176 (Regent Square: Angels from the Realms of Glory)
With our lips we praise You, Jesus,
For You teach us, full and free.
Now Your Word will ever please us;
Your commandments true shall be.
Let Your hand come forth to ease us;
We Your Word choose gratefully.

For Your saving grace we plead, Lord,
And Your Law is our delight.
We to live and praise You need, Lord,
All Your help by day and night.
Straying sheep, we do not heed, Lord;
Come and seek us by Your might!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series IV a and b: John, edited by Joel C. Elowsky, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006. Verse translation of John by T. M. Moore.