When jesus appears on the scene, he starts to gather a nice little entourage of disciples. In john 1, john the baptist explains how jesus came to the world. In the first letter, the elder encourages the christians in his community to stay together. The next phrase, the life was the light of men, then either points. Study guide for john 1 by david guzik blue letter bible. Book of first john overview insight for living ministries. False teachers influenced by the beginnings of gnostic thought were threatening the church verse 7, compare 1 john 2. John 1 niv bible in the beginning was the word, and. A summary of the gospel according to john john in s bible. David guzik commentary on john1 gives a prologue to the gospel of john. John gives us that of the word, who existed in eternity before the world was. In this eyewitness account written by the disciple whom jesus loved, we find jesus using everyday items and events to teach deep spiritual truths, and everyoneincluding your. John 1 the word became flesh 1 in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god.
Watch our overview video on the letters of john, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and god was the word the same was in the beginning with god. The strategic difference is that while 1 john has no specific individual or church specified to whom it was addressed, 2 john has a local group or housechurch in mind verse 1. The book of genesis gives us the history of the world in time. John with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Book summary the gospel of john was written by the disciple john. The word is only used in johns gospel in verse 41 and by paul in 1 corinthians 1. One reason is to be able to hopefully better understand the bible. James white this information sheet is divided into two sections the first explores the meaning of john 1. A key verse for understanding the gospel of john is found at the end of the book.
These first five verses provide the frame of reference and the main components for the story to followsort of a. But these are written that you may believe that jesus is the christ, the son of god, and that believing you may have life in his name john 20. Since the letter identifies no specific church, location, or individual to whom it was sent, its classification is as a general epistle. It is the revelation of the eternal logos before all creation. Possibly, however, it rather points to the inner revelation by the word, which is the light of men. We can only have a real relationship with the god who is really there. John rightly closes with this warning, after having spent much of the book warning us against the dangers of the false jesus many were teaching in his day 1 john 3. The writer steps back into the background, behind the message of god. Major differences between john and the synoptic gospels. It is imperative that the serious student of the bible come to a basic understanding of logos, which is translated as word in john 1. John 1 in the beginning was the word, and the word was. Christ is the logos, the definition, the meaning, the word of god. Chapter 1 is just the introduction to these amazing events.
He then continues by saying that obeying god is not difficult, because by believing in jesus christ and having faith we are able to. Most trinitarians believe that the word logos refers directly to jesus christ, so in most versions of john logos is capitalized and translated word some. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, this was he. Trinitarians claim that this means that the word greek, ho lo.
Nothing more fully shows the darkness of mens minds, than that when the light had appeared, there needed a witness to call attention to it. Also, we only have 30 minutes for sunday school, so we usually divide the lessons into 2 parts. That the lord, as to his divine human principle, which is divine truth, existed from eternity, in undivided union with the divine good, which is jehovah. Commentary on the gospel of john chapter 1 by cooper abrams. The second half of john has been called the book of glory. Watch our overview video on the gospel of john, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought.
In future you may want to think about providing a plan. The first 18 verses of john form a prologue, setting the tone for the rest of the gospel. The apostle commends gaius for piety and hospitality. The gospel of john is the fourth section of what some call the fourfold gospel, with four voices giving different perspectives on the life of jesus of nazareth. An easyenglish bible version and commentary 2800 word vocabulary on the book of 1 john. It is the first and largest in a series of 3 epistles that bear the apostle johns name. It is certainly the mostmemorized piece of scripture. The gospel of john begins with a lovely little poem about jesus.
About one in every 50 words is a form of lovethat makes for about 52 mentions of love in just five short chapters. It is the first and largest in a series of 3 epistles that bear the apostle john s name. John 1 indepth versebyverse bible study and commentary of john chapter 1 in plain english. In a study of john 110, students have the opportunity to listen to the greatest teacher of alljesus, god himself in the fleshwhen he walked this earth. However, in this instance, it cannot just be assumed that the word god is meant to be indefinite, and therefore an indefinite article used in the english translation. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god. In the beginning namely, of the creation, for the evangelist evidently refers to the first word of the book of genesis. Here we have three different letters, written at different times, to different people. Yet theyre all loosely tied together by the same ideas. Thus, the bible is telling us that when god brought the creation into existence, the word was already existing. John uses life 36 times in his gospel, more than any other new testament book.
John was an eyewitness of the reported occurrences though, as he himself writes john 1. Johns gospel free bible commentary in easy english. Jesus is described using the greek word logos, meaning logic, word, order, or definition. Jesus is referred to as the word, from the greek word logos. But the separate book of john esv has helped our nonchurched youth get more comfortable with reading from the bible. May 14, 2016 lets read ahead a little and consider john 1. John 1, new american standard bible nasb the bible app. However, based on what john has already covered, it would also be important to use their behavior as an indicator of whether or not they are from god. John 1 niv bible in the beginning was the word, and the. In the beginning is an unmistakable reference to genesis 1. My name is bethany, and recently i have been trying to learn greek. Sep, 2016 watch our overview video on the gospel of john, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought.
It is the second in a series of 3 epistles that bear the apostle johns name. The book of 1 st john is a general epistle apostolic letter. We are at the outset of a story that will reveal to us the most profound mysteries of life. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to jesus, teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of god. The word is only used in john s gospel in verse 41 and by paul in 1 corinthians 1. The first verse of john establishes several important facts, and introduces an important term. An exegetical study of the prologue of john john 1. Carson the gospel according to john eerdmansapollos, p. John encourages believers that jesus was jehovah god who had come in the flesh, that god is light and he encourages christians to walk in the light by keeping his commandments, and the main commandment was to love god and love one another. Grammatically, the word cephas is future passive indicative which means that this nickname would be used in the future. On such a view, verses 1012b parallel the career of jesus e.
To answer your good question, lets begin by reading john 1. To determine the time frame i began by seeking to understand the meaning of the greek word translated as beginning i. Most trinitarians believe that the word logos refers directly to jesus christ, so in most versions of john logos is capitalized and translated word some versions even write jesus christ in john 1. All who receive christ, through faith, become children of god. Indeed, when he meets jesus, john testifies, he is the son of god 1. The parallelisms in 1 john are striking for their simplicity. In john, jesus becomes human as the incarnation of the creator god of. Summary of 1 john 4 warning again of antichrists, john speaks of determining if someone is of god by whether or not they confess that jesus is gods messiah and salvation. In the douayrheims, king james, new international, and other versions of the bible, the verse reads. In the beginning was the word that this is said not of the written word, but of the essential word of god, the lord jesus christ, is clear, from all that is said from hence, to john 1. John introduces the story of the revelation of the glory of god. No other book of the bible talks about love as often as first john.
In describing jesus, the prologue states that jesus has always existed john 1. John was using a term which, with various shades of meaning, was in. The key personalities are the apostles peter and paul. Summary of 1 john 5 for the love of god is this, that we obey his commandments. It is written by the discipleapostle john around 8595 a. He travels with them around judea bringing gods truth and racking up an. The name of the author of the gospel of john is not mentioned as is the case with the three synoptic gospels as well. This gospel therefore really begins before genesis. It is often translated into english as word but can also mean thought, speech, account, meaning, reason, proportion, principle, standard, or logic, among other.
1022 367 1416 961 973 1367 1377 780 25 1203 171 17 1152 944 832 384 66 936 482 391 606 610 333 1298 230 198 352 910 24 988 508 422 1411 332 370 446 144 785 1161 107