John 1:1–5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

How wonderfully important the gospel of John is. It doesn’t begin with a baby in a manger or even with a pregnancy; it begins in eternity. John’s perspective is different. Praise God that we have this more complete picture of the Christ. How impoverished our faith would be without this grand description!

In John 1:1–18, which we will cover in this lesson plus the next three, John focuses on apologetics and abstract theology. It might be the most important section in the Bible; it’s certainly the most densely packed. Much of the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity comes from this section.

John begins by telling us that Jesus is the Word. In Genesis, words are the agent of creation.

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. — Genesis 1:3

The Word is the agent of creation. All things were made through Him. The Greek here is unambiguous. Everything was made through Him, not by Him. Yet John’s inspired writing includes a clarification—and without Him nothing was made that was made.

This shows creation as an action of the whole Godhead, with Jesus playing a critical role best described by the word through. Thus, this passage precludes an error we sometimes don’t think about—Christ’s existence didn’t begin in Bethlehem.

Then John moves on to describing Him as the life and light. The life is the light.

Note that this is about eternal life (zoh-ay), not biological life (bee-os). Jesus is the source of eternal life—not just its restoration through His death and resurrection.

Why? He is where life came from to begin with.

This eternal life is much more than just avoiding hell. It illuminates. Darkness is powerless to resist light. Everywhere that light shines, darkness vanishes.

The New King James translation says, “and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Other translations say “overcome” instead of “comprehend.” The Greek word (kah-teh-la-ben) has many meanings, even overtake, but it simply fits what we know about the relationship between light and darkness. Light wins.

But what does John mean by darkness? Is it simply the absence of the light needed to keep us from bumping into things? No, it is the absence of perception, especially spiritual.

Eternal life allows us to see eternal things.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/community

The weekly study guides, which include the Monday–Friday devotionals plus related questions for discussion or meditation, are available for download here:

https://www.ailbe.org/resources/itemlist/category/91-deep-studies

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.