MY SHORT REPORT JOHN 3-18
The link that brought you to this page and the page title are a bit of a misnomer, because this short report is not long enough to cover so many chapters of the Bible. What the link and the title do, however, is track where we are in our plan to read through the entire Bible in 1 year. May each report pique your interest and help you to draw near to God. The Bible, James 4:8, tells us if we do so God will draw near to us. Works cited are at the end of the report. Unless otherwise indicated Scripture is from the English Standard Version. Internal links are to Biblegateway showing Scripture, ESV and NKJV, in Parallel. Although not specified some internal links may show additional verses so you can see the passage in context.
BIBLE READING—WEEK 45—JOHN 3-18: Last week’s report looked at The Parable of the Rich Fool in light of the Law of God and some teaching from Jesus. While the foolish rich man thought his wealth and all he had belonged to him, everything—including man’s soul—belonged to God, our Creator, and his life and wealth should have been used to further the Kingdom of Heaven. This week’s Short Report looks at how John, in his opening statement, presents Jesus as the Creator, the Word or Logos of God, and the Light of the World.
I do not recall where I first heard or read this yet I remember having this thought many, many years ago that if you could only have one book of the Bible to use as a witnessing tool it would have to be the Gospel of John, because, among other things, right from the start of his Gospel John makes it clear that Jesus is God. The other Gospels also teach this, as does the whole Christ-centered Bible, but John does this in a conspicuously different way than the Synoptic Gospels.
John’s perspective of Jesus’ life was unique. Unlike the other Gospel writers John was a part of Jesus’ inner circle, along with Peter and James (Mark 5:37; 9:2; 14:32-33). He refers to himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 19:26; 21:7). As much as any one man could be a close companion to the Son of God, John was. With every step of Jesus’ three year ministry bringing Him closer to a lonely death on the cross, John was Jesus’ brother-in-arms during this time if ever there was one.
With that said, it makes sense that John’s material was unique, too. Michael Middeddorf tells his readers that “roughly ninety percent of this Gospel is without parallel in the” other three (Called By the Gospel, 344).
Gary P. Baumler, the author of John - People’s Bible Commentary, would agree with this pattern of thinking. He tells his readers, “Perhaps no other book of the Bible as had such a profound effect on so many people as the gospel of John. … It offers otherwise unrecorded details of Jesus’ teachings, miracles, and life. … [It] is the one often called ‘the spiritual gospel.’ This gospel offers a simple and clear statement of salvation” (p. 1).
Only John’s Gospel opens by declaring that Jesus is the Preincarnate Word of God, who was present at Creation. In John 1:1 we are told, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
I love how Baumler responds to the first three verses of John: “As you begin to read this book of God’s Scriptures, you feel you have entered a new level of God’s truth in Christ Jesus. John sounds a keynote to his gospel unlike any other of the gospels. He trumpets the Christ and the glory of God in him. He switches on the floodlights and opens the drama of God’s work of salvation” (p. 6).
In the NIV Bible Commentary, Merrill C. Tenney goes straight to work when he explains that the three Word statements in the first verse “bring out three different aspects of the nature of the Word. The first speaks of his preexistence, the second of his distinctiveness, and the third of his deity” (p. 296).
In the original language, the expressive word we translate from John is Logos, which is a title and description of our Lord and Savior, who is the Word of God. Tenney tells us logos has more than one meaning. “Ordinarily,” he says, “it refers to a spoken word, with emphasis on the meaning conveyed. Logos, therefore, is an expression of personality on communication. Scripture also tells us that it is creative in power: ‘By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth’ (Ps 33:6)” (p. 296).
Baumler reports that there are scholars out there that prefer not to translate the Greek Logos, which could work in an academic setting but would be awkward in most other situations. And in a world where “cool” can mean hot and “bad” can mean good who knows how the unbelieving world might corrupt a distinct word used to convey the thoughts of God. Baumler continues by helping to define the meaning of Logos. He says, “That term is Logos from which we get our English word logic. Logos or Word—we can only begin to plumb the depths of its meaning, because in doing so we are trying to penetrate the very essence of God himself. The “logic” of God comes to us by his Logos” (pp. 7-8).
John continues by further explaining the creation story saying, “He [Jesus] was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (vv. 2 and 3). It is only natural for Christians that are familiar with the Bible to immediately recall Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Here God is understood as the Triune God, because the word for God (El) in the original Hebrew is the plural form of God (Elohim). In addition, in Genesis 1:2 we are told the Holy Spirit was present. This becomes more clear in Genesis 1:26 where God (Elohim) says, “Let Us make man in Our image” (my emphasis).
In Genesis the Creation account is presented in seven days. We are told that on the first day the earth, not necessary the planet but more likely the material that was not water or space, was empty and unformed and engulfed in darkness. We also learn that water was present, and the Spirit of God was there too. Then God spoke light into existence and separated the light from the darkness. Because light and darkness are often used in the Bible symbolically of good and evil, it is easy to draw a parallel and suggest that during the creative act God already has free-will in mind and a plan to separate those that use their free-will to respond to their Maker in a positive way (light) from those that rebel (darkness).
The best example of light representing good is when our Lord declares He is the Light of the World. In John 8:12 Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
On the sixth day of creation God created mankind in His own image (Genesis 1:26). However, the holy image of God, in mankind, was lost when we fell into sin (Romans 1:23). John continues at chapter 1:4-5 saying, “In him [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” This, in part, is why God’s own Son had to come in the flesh—“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), to return mankind to the image of God. Through faith in Christ we “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:10). Because of sin we were spiritually dead and lived in darkness, but the darkness cannot overcome Christ Jesus—the Logos used to bring light into existence—because we are now new creatures in Him, so by grace through faith His light shines through us (Ephesians 2:1-10).
That Jesus is the Light of the World is one of the “I Am” statements in John’s Gospel that is unique to his account of Jesus’ life story. They are often called the seven “I Am” statements of Christ, which brings us to an area of discussion that goes beyond the scope of this small paper, but are listed here for completeness: 1) “I Am the Bread of Life” (John 6:35). 2) “I Am the Light of the World” (8:12). 3) “I Am the Door of the Sheep” (10:7). 4) “I Am the Good Shepherd (10:11). 5) “I Am the Resurrection and the Life” (11:25). 6) “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (14:6). And 7) “I Am the True Vine” (15:1).
All seven sayings from Christ are claims of Divinity that illuminate the way to Salvation, which is Christ Himself. But we will only, briefly, look at Jesus’ saying, “I Am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” from John 8:12.
In short Jesus is telling all that hear Him that He is both God and the Promised One of God, and the fulfillment of the Scriptures. In Exodus 3:14, for example, God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” Thus Jesus was telling His listeners that day that He is the God of Moses.
The Jewish nation was longing for the Promised One of God, but focused on the Victorious King they found in the Word of God rather than letting the whole counsel of God open their hearts to other possibilities also found in God’s Holy Word. For instance, Isaiah told that the Messiah would be both of a Conquering Hero and a Suffering Servant, but the Jews were looking for the Hero while the Suffering Servant was standing in front of them.
Isaiah also spoke of a Great Light. Isaiah 30:26 says, “Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.” In the NIV Bible Commentary, Geoffrey W. Grogan tells his readers that the number 7 is not an arbitrary number. “It is as if the fullness of the divine creative energies is channeled to secure the greater radiance of the sun. The people had known severe chastisement of God through the Assyrians (cf. 1:5-9). Now his powers will secure healing” (p. 1101). Isaiah 60:19 also speaks of God being Israel’s Everlasting Light. And in Isaiah 9:2 we are told, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”
The book of Revelation closes the Bible and a verse from it this Short Report. Revelation 21:23, speaking about the City of God says, “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”
In concluding, this week’s report concentrated on John’s opening statement, especially on three aspects of John’s opening verse: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” and drew a connection to the opening statement of the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” We noted that John was focusing our attention on Jesus as the Creator in Genesis, the Word or Logos of God by which everything was spoken into existence, and He is the Light of the World that represents the Father’s order and goodness and calls all to salvation through faith in Him.
I do not recall where I first heard or read this yet I remember having this thought many, many years ago that if you could only have one book of the Bible to use as a witnessing tool it would have to be the Gospel of John, because, among other things, right from the start of his Gospel John makes it clear that Jesus is God. The other Gospels also teach this, as does the whole Christ-centered Bible, but John does this in a conspicuously different way than the Synoptic Gospels.
John’s perspective of Jesus’ life was unique. Unlike the other Gospel writers John was a part of Jesus’ inner circle, along with Peter and James (Mark 5:37; 9:2; 14:32-33). He refers to himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 19:26; 21:7). As much as any one man could be a close companion to the Son of God, John was. With every step of Jesus’ three year ministry bringing Him closer to a lonely death on the cross, John was Jesus’ brother-in-arms during this time if ever there was one.
With that said, it makes sense that John’s material was unique, too. Michael Middeddorf tells his readers that “roughly ninety percent of this Gospel is without parallel in the” other three (Called By the Gospel, 344).
Gary P. Baumler, the author of John - People’s Bible Commentary, would agree with this pattern of thinking. He tells his readers, “Perhaps no other book of the Bible as had such a profound effect on so many people as the gospel of John. … It offers otherwise unrecorded details of Jesus’ teachings, miracles, and life. … [It] is the one often called ‘the spiritual gospel.’ This gospel offers a simple and clear statement of salvation” (p. 1).
Only John’s Gospel opens by declaring that Jesus is the Preincarnate Word of God, who was present at Creation. In John 1:1 we are told, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
I love how Baumler responds to the first three verses of John: “As you begin to read this book of God’s Scriptures, you feel you have entered a new level of God’s truth in Christ Jesus. John sounds a keynote to his gospel unlike any other of the gospels. He trumpets the Christ and the glory of God in him. He switches on the floodlights and opens the drama of God’s work of salvation” (p. 6).
In the NIV Bible Commentary, Merrill C. Tenney goes straight to work when he explains that the three Word statements in the first verse “bring out three different aspects of the nature of the Word. The first speaks of his preexistence, the second of his distinctiveness, and the third of his deity” (p. 296).
In the original language, the expressive word we translate from John is Logos, which is a title and description of our Lord and Savior, who is the Word of God. Tenney tells us logos has more than one meaning. “Ordinarily,” he says, “it refers to a spoken word, with emphasis on the meaning conveyed. Logos, therefore, is an expression of personality on communication. Scripture also tells us that it is creative in power: ‘By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth’ (Ps 33:6)” (p. 296).
Baumler reports that there are scholars out there that prefer not to translate the Greek Logos, which could work in an academic setting but would be awkward in most other situations. And in a world where “cool” can mean hot and “bad” can mean good who knows how the unbelieving world might corrupt a distinct word used to convey the thoughts of God. Baumler continues by helping to define the meaning of Logos. He says, “That term is Logos from which we get our English word logic. Logos or Word—we can only begin to plumb the depths of its meaning, because in doing so we are trying to penetrate the very essence of God himself. The “logic” of God comes to us by his Logos” (pp. 7-8).
John continues by further explaining the creation story saying, “He [Jesus] was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (vv. 2 and 3). It is only natural for Christians that are familiar with the Bible to immediately recall Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Here God is understood as the Triune God, because the word for God (El) in the original Hebrew is the plural form of God (Elohim). In addition, in Genesis 1:2 we are told the Holy Spirit was present. This becomes more clear in Genesis 1:26 where God (Elohim) says, “Let Us make man in Our image” (my emphasis).
In Genesis the Creation account is presented in seven days. We are told that on the first day the earth, not necessary the planet but more likely the material that was not water or space, was empty and unformed and engulfed in darkness. We also learn that water was present, and the Spirit of God was there too. Then God spoke light into existence and separated the light from the darkness. Because light and darkness are often used in the Bible symbolically of good and evil, it is easy to draw a parallel and suggest that during the creative act God already has free-will in mind and a plan to separate those that use their free-will to respond to their Maker in a positive way (light) from those that rebel (darkness).
The best example of light representing good is when our Lord declares He is the Light of the World. In John 8:12 Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
On the sixth day of creation God created mankind in His own image (Genesis 1:26). However, the holy image of God, in mankind, was lost when we fell into sin (Romans 1:23). John continues at chapter 1:4-5 saying, “In him [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” This, in part, is why God’s own Son had to come in the flesh—“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), to return mankind to the image of God. Through faith in Christ we “have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:10). Because of sin we were spiritually dead and lived in darkness, but the darkness cannot overcome Christ Jesus—the Logos used to bring light into existence—because we are now new creatures in Him, so by grace through faith His light shines through us (Ephesians 2:1-10).
That Jesus is the Light of the World is one of the “I Am” statements in John’s Gospel that is unique to his account of Jesus’ life story. They are often called the seven “I Am” statements of Christ, which brings us to an area of discussion that goes beyond the scope of this small paper, but are listed here for completeness: 1) “I Am the Bread of Life” (John 6:35). 2) “I Am the Light of the World” (8:12). 3) “I Am the Door of the Sheep” (10:7). 4) “I Am the Good Shepherd (10:11). 5) “I Am the Resurrection and the Life” (11:25). 6) “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (14:6). And 7) “I Am the True Vine” (15:1).
All seven sayings from Christ are claims of Divinity that illuminate the way to Salvation, which is Christ Himself. But we will only, briefly, look at Jesus’ saying, “I Am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” from John 8:12.
In short Jesus is telling all that hear Him that He is both God and the Promised One of God, and the fulfillment of the Scriptures. In Exodus 3:14, for example, God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” Thus Jesus was telling His listeners that day that He is the God of Moses.
The Jewish nation was longing for the Promised One of God, but focused on the Victorious King they found in the Word of God rather than letting the whole counsel of God open their hearts to other possibilities also found in God’s Holy Word. For instance, Isaiah told that the Messiah would be both of a Conquering Hero and a Suffering Servant, but the Jews were looking for the Hero while the Suffering Servant was standing in front of them.
Isaiah also spoke of a Great Light. Isaiah 30:26 says, “Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the Lord binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow.” In the NIV Bible Commentary, Geoffrey W. Grogan tells his readers that the number 7 is not an arbitrary number. “It is as if the fullness of the divine creative energies is channeled to secure the greater radiance of the sun. The people had known severe chastisement of God through the Assyrians (cf. 1:5-9). Now his powers will secure healing” (p. 1101). Isaiah 60:19 also speaks of God being Israel’s Everlasting Light. And in Isaiah 9:2 we are told, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”
The book of Revelation closes the Bible and a verse from it this Short Report. Revelation 21:23, speaking about the City of God says, “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.”
In concluding, this week’s report concentrated on John’s opening statement, especially on three aspects of John’s opening verse: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” and drew a connection to the opening statement of the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” We noted that John was focusing our attention on Jesus as the Creator in Genesis, the Word or Logos of God by which everything was spoken into existence, and He is the Light of the World that represents the Father’s order and goodness and calls all to salvation through faith in Him.