Book Of John Unpacked John 1:1-3,14

About this Episode

Book Of John Unpacked John 1:1-3,14 is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast.

Today we get to start to unpack the book of John, we will do a brief overview of the first 12 chapters and dig into John 1:1-3. The big idea that runs through the first 12 chapters of John’s gospel is dedicated to presenting Jesus as the divine Son of God.

John’s gospel is different from the other 3 synoptic Gospels in that there is no genealogy, no account of Christ’s birth, nothing about His temptation in the wilderness, no mention of the transfiguration, no mention of how Jesus went about appointing His disciples, no parables, no account of His ascension, and no reference to the Great Commission.

Instead, John emphasizes that Jesus is the Creator, the only begotten of the Father, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and even the “I Am” of Exodus 3:14. John emphasizes more than any of the other gospel writers that Jesus is the divine Son of God. And John makes it very clear that any person who does not believe in Jesus as the divine Son of God is condemned.

John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

What is the most important thing here on earth that you will not be able to do in heaven?

The book of John talks about some pretty crazy things, like in John chapter 6 when Jesus talks about eating His flesh and drinking His blood. We have to always keep in mind that when Jesus was talking with the people, He was always talking from a spiritual perspective but many during that time were never able to understand that. John 6:66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. Today is no different, people either believe in Him or think He is a lunatic.

C.S Lewis said it best
“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg–or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

The gospel of John is simple enough for a child to understand and is deep enough for a scholar and most seasoned saint to swim in. What we will study over the next year is not just a book John wrote but a painting of exciting pictures. They are filled with images such as the Lamb, the Door, the Shepherd, the new birth, the light and darkness, the Water of life, bread of life, blind that see, seeds that are planted, and much more.

We are not just studying a book, we are seeing a person come alive before us. John 1:14 And we beheld his glory… full of grace and truth.

What we will read today showcases a marvelous thing that happens. The glory of God comes to His people again, in the person of His son Jesus. The writers of the four gospels give us snapshots of our Lord’s life on earth. Mathew wrote with his fellow Jews in mind and emphasized that Jesus had fulfilled the Old Testament prophesies. Mark wrote for the busy Romans. Whereas Mathew emphasized the King, Mark presented a servant ministering to needy people. Luke wrote for the Greeks and introduced them to the sympathetic Son of Man.

But it was given to John, to write a book for both Jews and Gentiles. Presenting Jesus as the Son of God, we know this because he often gives an interpretation of a Jewish word. The first three gospels major in describing events whereas John emphasizes the meaning of these events. For example, all the gospels talk about the feeding of the 5000 but only John records Jesus sermon on the Bread of life.

In the first chapter John, he records 7 names and titles of Jesus that identify Him as the eternal God. Let’s try to cover and talk about 3 of those this week.

John 1:1-3, In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was at the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son[a] from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Much of our words reveal to others our hearts and minds, so Jesus is God’s “Word” to reveal His heart and mind to us. John 14:9 says He that sees me has seen the Father. A word is composed of letters, and Jesus as it says in Rev 1:11 He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet.

What we see in verse 1-2 is Jesus as the eternal Word. He existed in the beginning, not because He had a beginning as a creature, but because He is eternal. He is God and He was with God. John 8:58 says Before Abraham was, I am”

In verse 3 we see Jesus as the Creative Word. We see a parallel here with Genesis 1:1 the new Creation and the old creation. God created the world through His word. And God said let there be. For when God spoke it was done. Col 1:16 says God created all things through Jesus Christ. Jesus is and always was eternal, all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.

The verb made here is perfect tense in Greek, which means a completed act. Creation is finished, it is not a process, it is a finished product.

The last thing we will cover today is verse 14 we see Jesus as the incarnate word. He was not a phantom or a spirit when He ministered on earth, nor was His body a mere illusion. John is making it clear to his readers, he touched Jesus in the flesh and that everything he said was true and it brought with him the fullness of grace and truth.