Gospel of John

Introduction

 

The Gospel of John was penned by the Apostle John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. John also penned the three Epistles bearing his name and was privileged to pen the book of Revelation. The dating of this book is not certain but has been placed approximately between 75-90 A.D. Early church fathers have definitely agreed that this book was written by John. This Gospel exalts the Lord Jesus Christ as being the Son of God and brings to light His deity. This Gospel gives a much more in depth revealing of Himself and God the Father. There are teachings in this Gospel which are not within the other three Gospels.

 

Please Note

As in my other commentaries, whenever I say “John says” or a statement like that, I am not reducing the divine origin of Scripture, it is only for the sake of brevity I use those phrases. The Scriptures were given by inspiration of God in the original writings and preserved by God for subsequent generations. What we have in the King James Bible is the preserved Word of God.

John 1:1 (KJB)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 

Beginning - Origin

 

Since the Lord Jesus is God and never had a beginning like humans do such as birth, the beginning here would refer to the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven at the time of and the time before creation. (Col 1:16 KJV) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: Colossians 1:16 states that by Christ were all things created in both Heaven and Earth. This would tell us that in the beginning of creation, the Lord Jesus Christ was there. Not only was He present, but the verse states that He was with God. (Gen 1:26 KJV) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Here we have in Genesis 1:26, God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ speaking about the creation of man. It states “let us” which means both had a part in the creation. Then the third part of this verse teaches us plainly that the “Word” was God. Now let me mention here about the word “was.” This does not mean that Jesus is no longer God but this verse is placing the Lord Jesus Christ at the beginning which would necessitate a word like “was” meaning He was there in the past which does not take away from who He is now. The word “was” is used three times in this verse and all three times the word is in the active voice which means the Lord Jesus Christ had a definite part in creation.

 

John 1:2 (KJB)

The same was in the beginning with God.

 

(Gen 1:26 KJV) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

 

(Gen 3:22 KJV) And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

 

Here we have a verse which basically reaffirms what verse one is stating. We read in Genesis 1:26 and 3:22 that the Lord Jesus Christ was present at the creation of man and at the fall of man. This verse continues to confirm the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and the relationship He has with His Father.

 

John 1:3 (KJB)

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

 

(Col 1:16-17 KJV) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: {17} And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. The Lord Jesus Christ was a strategic part of the creation of every living thing in this world and all the non-living parts of this world and universe such as rocks, stars, asteroids, planets, etc. As the creator of the world and universe, He would be the one who would sustain the entire creation by His power. So this verse is stating that “all things” were created by Him and that means that nothing was created that he did not create. Think of how intricate the creation is. One point is this. Take the human eye. It has the ability to see and discern over 7,000 different colors, shades, and hues in a matter of nanoseconds. That is just one design within the creation of man.

 

John 1:4 (KJB)

In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

 

The first type of life that man was given in the beginning was the light of physical life. (Gen 2:7 KJV) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. When man was created God had placed into him the breath of life and with that, he became a living soul. This means that the source of life was the Lord Jesus Christ. The second and most important life which the Lord Jesus Christ gave was spiritual light, that is eternal life through Himself. (1 John 1:7 KJV) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. The light is the light of salvation given to the Elect. The light who is the Lord Jesus Christ takes a person from spiritual darkness into the light of eternal life.

 

John 1:5 (KJB)

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

 

Comprehended - Apprehended, grasp, or understand

Shineth - Appear or to be seen

 

When the Lord Jesus Christ had come on the scene, the world was in total darkness concerning the Gospel truth. Truth was just about extinguished in Israel as all the leaders had gone apostate. Spiritual darkness had overtaken Israel just as spiritual darkness had overtaken Europe in the Dark Ages. The Lord Jesus Christ was rejected by the leaders in Israel because they had so perverted the teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures, they were living and teaching their commentaries instead of the true Scriptures. This why they did not know that Jesus was the Messiah. They were in spiritual darkness. (1 Cor 2:14 KJV) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. The unsaved man does not have the ability to see spiritual things because only one who is indwelled by the Holy Spirit is empowered to understand spiritual things. Darkness can never comprehend light unless it is removed. Darkness is the absence of light and spiritual darkness is the absence of Christ.

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