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Studies in the Gospel of Christ according to John, 1

THE LIGHT SHINES

IN THE DARKNESS

Abd al-Masih and Colleagues

(John 1:1 - 2:12)

Waters-of-Life

055 – Version 16.2.2004

English Title: The Light Shines in the Darkness, 1 - John 1:1 - 2:12

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INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

Christ called his disciples to be his witnesses. He did not write the story of his life himself. And he did not send any letter to the churches. But his personality made a big impression on the hearts of his followers, whom the Holy Spirit led to glorify their Lord Jesus Christ. They saw in his love, humility, death and resurrection a glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. While the evangelists Matthew, Mark and Luke clarified the sayings and deeds of Jesus, and the kingdom of God as the aim of his coming, John set forth the innermost person of Jesus and his holy love. For this reason the gospel of John was called the main gospel, which is the crown of all the books of the holy Bible.

Who is the author of this Gospel?

The fathers of the church in the second century agreed that John, the disciple of Jesus, was the writer of this unique book. Now the evangelist John mentioned the names of many apostles, but he never came to mentioning either his brother James’ name or his own, because he did not consider himself worthy of being mentioned together with the name of his Lord and Savior. However, the Bishop Irenaeus of Lyon in France clearly wrote that John, the disciple of the Lord, who leaned on his breast during the Last Supper, was the one who produced this gospel, while he was serving in the Anatolian Ephesus during the reign of the Emperor Trajan (98-117 AD).

Some critics think that John, the writer of this gospel, was not the disciple who accompanied Jesus, but one of the elders of the church of Ephesus, who was a disciple of the apostle John, and that it was written later. These critics are dreamers and they do not know the Spirit of truth, which does not lie, because the apostle John wrote his gospel in the first person when he said, “And we beheld his glory.” Thus the writer of the gospel was one of the eye-witnesses to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. And the friends of John were the ones who added at the end of his gospel the saying, “This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true” (John 21:24). They emphasized the characteristics of John that set him apart from the other apostles, which are that Jesus used to love him and let him lean on his breast during the first holy communion. And he was the only one who dared to ask Jesus about his betrayer, asking, “Lord, who is it [who will deliver you]?” (John 13:25).

John was a young man when Jesus called him to follow him. He was the youngest in the circle of the twelve apostles. He was a fisherman. His father’s name was Zebedee and his mother’s name was Salome. He lived with his family in Bethsaida on the shores of Lake Tiberias. He joined Peter, Andrew and his own brother James, together with Philip and Nathaniel when they went down together to the Jordan Valley to John the Baptist, who was calling to repentance. People hurried to him and among them John, the son of Zebedee, who asked for forgiveness and baptism at the hands of the Baptist in the River Jordan. He was possibly a relative of the family of the high priest Annas because he was known to them and he had the right to enter the palace. Thus, he was close to a priestly family. Therefore he mentioned in his gospel what the other evangelists did not, what the Baptist said about Jesus, namely that he is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. In this way, the apostle John, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, became the disciple who perceived his Lord Jesus in his love more than all the others.

The relationship between John and the other three evangelists

When John wrote his gospel, the gospels according to Matthew, Mark and Luke had already been written and known in the church for quite some time. The three evangelists produced their books on the basis of an original Hebrew book in which the apostles gathered through the hands of Matthew the sayings of Jesus, so that they may not be lost, especially during the time when years had passed and the Lord had not returned yet. Most probably the deeds of Jesus and the events of his life were related in a separate collection. The evangelists took great care to pass on these writings with fidelity. Luke the physician depended on other sources since he met with Mary the mother of Jesus and different eye-witnesses.

John, however, in himself, is an important source in addition to the other sources mentioned above. He did not want to repeat the news and sayings that were known in the church, but he wanted to add to them. While the three first gospels declare the deeds of Jesus in the region of Galilee, pointing to only one trip to Jerusalem that Jesus undertook during his service, finding his death there, the fourth gospel shows us what Jesus did in Jerusalem before, during and after his ministry in the area of Galilee. John testifies to us that Jesus was present three times in his country’s capital, where the leaders of his nation repeatedly rejected him. And after an increasing opposition to him they handed him over to be crucified. Thus, the importance of John is that he showed the ministry of Jesus among the Jews in Jerusalem, the center of the Old Testament culture.

The fourth evangelist did not give importance to the miracles that Jesus performed, mentioning only six of them. What did John want to clarify with this? He declared the words of Jesus in the style of the One who says, “I AM” and this way he explained the personality of Jesus. The first three evangelists concentrated on mentioning the deeds and life of Jesus, but John concentrated more on sketching the person of Jesus in his glory before our eyes. But where did John get such words, which cannot be found with the others, and which Jesus said about himself? It was the Holy Spirit who reminded him of them after the first Pentecost. For John himself confessed at different times that the disciples did not understand the truth of some of the words that Jesus said until the time after his resurrection and the descent of the Holy Spirit on them. In this way, he perceived later the meaning of Jesus’ words, which he said about himself and which contained the phrase “I AM”. They are a distinguishing characteristic of this unique gospel.

John also mentions the words of Jesus, which he spoke by contrasting opposites, like light and darkness, spirit and body, truth and falsehood, life and death, as well as being from above and below. We hardly ever find these contrasts in the other gospels. But the Holy Spirit reminded John after a number of years, while living in the Greek area of influence, of the words that the Lord said. He clarified to the evangelist that Jesus did not only speak in a Semitic Hebrew way, but also using Greek phrases for the nations.

What is the aim of the Gospel of John?

John did not want to set forth Jesus in a literary philosophical or imaginative spiritual way, but he concentrated more than the others on his incarnation, his weakness and his thirst, while hanging on the cross. He also made clear that Jesus is the Savior of mankind and not only of the Jews, because he is the Lamb of God that took away the sin of the world. He declared to us how God loved all mankind.

These things which we mentioned are a method and evidences for reaching to the heart and core of this gospel, namely that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. His eternity appeared in his temporality, and his divinity in his humanity, and his authority in his weakness. Thus, in Jesus, God was present among mankind.

The aim of the clarifications of John are not to know Jesus in a philosophical or mystical way, but to know the Lord through the Holy Spirit on the basis of a devout faith. Thus he closed his gospel with the famous words, “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 20:31). The living faith in the divinity of Jesus is the aim of the gospel of John. This faith produces in us the divine, holy and eternal life.

To whom was the Gospel of John written?

This book, full of truthful declarations about Christ, was not written to evangelize unbelievers, but it was written to build up the church and to make it mature in the Spirit. Paul had already started various churches in Anatolia and when he was imprisoned in Rome, Peter traveled to the forsaken churches and encouraged them. When Peter and Paul died, most probably during the persecutions under Nero in Rome, John took their place and lived in Ephesus, the center of Christianity at the time. He shepherded the various churches that were scattered across Asia Minor. Whoever reads his letters and the second and third chapters of his Revelations understands the anxieties and objectives of this apostle, who clarified to us the love of God incarnate in Jesus Christ. He fought against the philosophizing believers that had permeated his flock like wolves and had corrupted his sheep with empty thoughts, rigid regulations and an unclean liberty because they mixed up truth with futile thoughts.

Disciples of John the Baptist also lived in Anatolia, who honored the one who called to repentance more than Jesus the Savior. They were still expecting the promised Messiah, thinking that he had not come yet. By describing the person of Jesus, John contradicted all these different currents that were opposing Christ. He raised his voice testifying against the opposing spirits saying, “And we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

It appears that most of the receivers of this gospel were Gentile believers because John spread out before them many details of Jewish life, which Jews did not need to have explained to them. Moreover, John did not depend in his gospel on words of Jesus written at that time in the Aramaic language, translating them into Greek like the rest of the evangelists. Rather, he used Greek phrases known in his church and filled them with the spirit of the Gospel and testified to the words of Jesus in a pure Greek language in all freedom and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Thus, his gospel speaks in simplicity and depth and with greater eloquence than all artistic rhetorical efforts. Therefore, the Holy Spirit presented us in this gospel the treasure of truth in simplicity, so that every youth can understand its lasting meanings.

When was this unique Gospel written?

We thank the Lord Jesus that he led the orientalistic archaeologists in Egypt several years ago to find a piece of papyrus dated to the year 100 AD, on which some of the phrases of the gospel of John are written in clear writing. With this discovery, the long discussion came to an end and the poisonous criticism was extinguished because the diggings proved that the gospel of John was known in the year 100 AD, not only in Asia Minor but also in North Africa. There is no doubt that it was also known in Rome. This truth strengthens our faith that the apostle John surely is the one who wrote his gospel, being filled with the Holy Spirit.

What is the content of this Gospel?

It is not easy for man to systematize inspired Scripture. And it is especially difficult to divide the gospel of John into distinct parts. Nevertheless, we suggest the following outline:

The shining of the divine light (1:1 – 4:54)

The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it (5:1 – 11:54)

The light shines in the circle of the apostles (11:55 – 17:26)

The light overcomes darkness (18:1 – 21:25)

The evangelist John ordered his thoughts in inter-linked rings, as in a spiritual chain, in which every ring is centered around one or two main concepts or words. The rings are not completely separated from each other, but their meanings sometimes intersect.

The Semitic Hebrew thinking of John, with its deep spiritual vision, harmonizes with the liveliness of the Greek language in a unique, glorious unity. The Holy Spirit clarifies for us the phrases of this gospel until today. It became for us the source of knowledge and wisdom without end. Whoever studies this book intensively will bow down before the Son of God and dedicate his life to him in gratitude and praise and eternal deliverance.

QUESTIONS

1. Who is the author of the fourth gospel?

2. What is the relationship between the fourth gospel and the first three gospels?

3. What is the aim of the gospel of John?

4. To whom was this unique gospel written?

5. How is it possible to sub-divide it, arranging its subject matter?

PART I

THE SHINING OF THE DIVINE LIGHT

(JOHN 1:1 – 4:54)

A - THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD OF GOD IN JESUS (JOHN 1:1-18)

1. The essence and work of the word before incarnation (John 1:1-5)

JOHN 1:1

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

Man expresses his thoughts and intentions through his words. You are what you say. And your words are a summary of your person and the manifestation of your spirit.

In a higher sense, the Word of God expresses the person of his divinity and all his powers are active in his sanctified Word. For in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth through his powerful Word. And when he said, “Be,” it was. Until today, the power of God is still active in his words. Did you realize that the gospel which is in your hands is full of the authority of God? This book is stronger than all hydrogen bombs because it eliminates the evil in you and builds you up in what is good.

The innermost secret in the expression “the word”, which occurs in the gospel of John, is that in the Greek language it has two meanings. The first is: the breath that carries the sound coming out of the mouth. The second is: a masculine, spiritual person. These two meanings appear in the Arabic language through the gender of the verb that follows the word, either feminine or masculine. In English they are distinguished by the two genders neuter and masculine, as shown in the pronouns used for the word. Thus if the evangelist John says, “In the beginning was the Word” and explains it in the second verse by saying “He was in the beginning”, then this shows you one of the secrets of the person of Christ. He proceeds from the Father as a normal word comes out of one’s mouth. Thus Christ is the sum of the will of God and of his thought. We also find this usage in other religions, namely that Christ is the Word of God and Spirit from him. No human being in the world possesses these heavenly characteristics, except he who was born from the virgin Mary.

The incarnation of Christ in Bethlehem was not the beginning of his being, because he proceeded from the Father before all ages and existed before the world came into being. Thus Christ is eternal, just as the Father is eternal and does not change and as the Word of God in no way ever changes.

John showed us a fundamental relationship between Christ and his Father. He did not become separated from him, as the uttered word distances itself from the lips and is lost in the air. But Christ stayed with God and remained in him. The expression “with God” means in the Greek language that the word was moving toward God, entering into God. Thus Christ was always directed toward God. This direction is the principle in all those born of the Holy Spirit, because he is the source of love. This love does not at all want independence, but it remains directed toward its source, and enters it.

God did not create Christ from non-being through his word, like all creatures, but the Son is in himself the creating Word and carries the authority of his Father in himself. At the end of this first verse we find the strange decisive phrase that the Word was God in himself. In this way the evangelist John tells you in the first verse of his gospel that Christ is God from God, light from light, true God from true God, born and not created, of one essence with the Father, eternal, powerful, holy and merciful. Anyone who confesses that Christ is the Word of God will agree with this expression about his divinity.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, we bow down before you because you were with the Father before all ages, always directed towards him. Help us that we may not be independent from you, but that we always give ourselves to God and remain in his love. We thank you, Lord Jesus, because you come to us in your gospel with understandable words, so that your authority may appear in us by faith through your Word.

QUESTION 6: What is the word that is repeated in the first verse of John 1 and what is its meaning?

JOHN 1:2-4

2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Christ did not live for himself, but always for God. He did not become separated from his Father, but was always directed toward him, living with him, and remaining in him. This movement of Christ “toward his Father” was of such importance to the evangelist John that he repeated this meaning at the beginning of his gospel. This permanent unity between Christ and his Father is the secret of the Holy Trinity. We do not believe in three independent gods, separated from each other, but we believe in one God, full of love. Now the Eternal One does not live in seclusion and alone, but his Son was always with him, living with him in perfect harmony. If someone has not experienced the love of God through the pouring out of the Holy Spirit into his heart, he will not be able to perceive the truth of the essence of God. The divine love is what unifies the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as one God.

When God created the world in the beginning, he did not do this alone and silently, rather he brought it into existence through his Word. Since Christ was the Word of God, the world came into being through him. This means that Christ is not only the Savior and the intercessor and the Redeemer, but also the Creator. Since nothing exists without Christ having made it, he is almighty. Since nothing happens without him doing it, he controls all. Oh for the heart that could be wide enough to understand and to perceive who Christ is! All the modern scientific discoveries and all the elementary particles and stellar bodies are nothing but humble interpretations of the glory of Christ and of his power. Your voice, your muscles, your bodily form and your heartbeat together with more than that are all gifts of Christ to you. So when do you thank him?

All things were created, except God, his Word and his Spirit. He is in himself alive, eternal and holy. Just as God has life in himself, in the same way Christ is the source of true life, the faithful quickener, who raises us from the death of guilt and sin, and establishes us in his eternal life. This divine life in Christ overcame death. He left the grave by the power of his divine life. Christ is not only Creator, but he in himself, is the source of life. Inasmuch as he is holy, he will never die. No sin at all can be found in God or in his Son, thus he is alive forever. We find thoughts about the life of Christ repeatedly in the chapters of the gospel of John. This life is one of foundations of his principles.

The light of the sun gives life on our planet Earth. But as far as Christ is concerned, the opposite is true: His life is the cause for illumination and the revival we experience through him gives us hope. Our religion is not the religion of the law of death and of judgment, but the message of life and light and hope. The resurrection of Christ from the dead banished all despair. The dwelling of the Holy Spirit in us made us participants in the life of God.

The world is dark because of sin, but Christ is love in light. There is no darkness, no badness, and no evil in him. For this reason, Christ appears full of glory. He shines more than light. However, John the evangelist does not begin by mentioning the shining glory of Christ, rather he points out his strength and life. For knowledge of the holiness of Christ exposes us, judges us, and destroys us. But perception of his life makes us alive. Meditating on Christ comforts and refreshes us truly.

Jesus is the light of mankind. He does not shine for himself, and he does not magnify his own name. Rather, he shines for our sake. We are not sources of light, but sources of darkness. All mankind are evil, but Christ enlightens us so that we can perceive him and realize our dark situation. Through his Gospel, we rise from the dead and enter eternal life. Christ attracts us and calls us through the light of his life to leave our desperate state. We approach him with determination and confidence.

PRAYER: O Lord Jesus, we bow to you because you and the Father and the Holy Spirit are one. You created the world in harmony with the Father. You granted me life. Forgive me all the darkness in my life and enlighten me through your Holy Spirit that I may truly live and leave the night of my sins and approach the light of your eternal life.

QUESTION 7: What are the 6 characteristics of Christ that John exposes at the beginning of his gospel?

JOHN 1:5

5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

Everything with God is full of light and pure. It is open and _urifyful. In his sphere of influence nothing is dark. Everything is clear, upright, truthful and holy. Impurity can find no place in his vicinity. The Holy Spirit is pure and the light of the Lord does not shine harshly but gently. It comforts and heals.

The rays of Christ’s light are not confined to the heavens. They pierce into the darkness and effect redemption. It is a wonderful grace that Christ today shines in the midst of all darknesses. He does not forsake the lost, but liberates and enlightens them.

We have to acknowledge the existence of the world of darkness as opposed to the world of light. We do not know in detail how darkness came about. The evangelist John did not reveal to us this secret. He wanted us to get to know light and not let us look deeply into darkness. All men and creatures fell into darkness and the whole world has been put under the sway of the wicked one.

Maybe you ask: If Christ created the universe in harmony with God and as something good, how then could darkness find its way into it? God created mankind in his image, so how is it that we fall short of his glory today?

John does not mention Satan by name, that Satan which disobeyed his Lord and tried to extinguish his light. He always was against Christ. Therefore, he lost the light that was bestowed on him. Satan became proud and sought for greatness without God. He wanted to rise above him in order to overcome him. It is then that he became the prince of darkness.

Dear brother, what is the aim of your life? Do you seek greatness, fame and self-gratification without God? If this is so, then you belong to those who are in darkness, like the Evil One. For he did not remain alone, but drew millions of people to his darkness. Look at the faces of the people that pass by you in the streets. Do you read light or darkness in their eyes? Do their hearts reflect the joy of God or the sadness of Satan?

The Evil One hates God because his holy light judges him. He does not want light to uncover his ferocity. He therefore hides and covers himself and tries to overcome Christ and those who follow his light. This treacherous one cannot bear the light of the Lord, but hates it. He purposely covers his face and thus is not able to perceive the light. What is frightening is that millions of people do not see Christ’s sun as it shines in the night of their sins. We know what the sun is. It does not need to be explained. It is itself present, shining, clear, radiating. Every small child knows that it is the source of life.

But multitudes of people do not perceive the glory of Christ and his power, because they do not want to comprehend it. Deceiving ideologies cover their eyes as with a thick blanket, so they reject the true message about the divinity of Christ. In reality, they do not want to discover their own sins. They do not want to approach the light and prefer to remain in darkness. They do not deny themselves and do not confess their own sins. They become arrogant and proud. They remain blind to the grace of Christ’s light. Darkness competes against light, but light overcomes it by love. So who are you? Light from the Lord or darkness from the Evil One?

PRAYER: O Lord, you are the light of the world. We follow you in faith and in your love. We do not walk in darkness, but have received the light of life. We thank you because you did not leave us alone, afraid of the darkness of God’s anger, but that you have called us to your clear light. Enlighten millions of people around us who did not see you in spite of the fact that you shine around them. Have mercy on us and give us light, o Enlightener!

QUESTION 8: What is the difference between light and darkness in the spiritual sense of the word?

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,

upon them a light has shined.

(Isaiah 9:2)

2. The Baptist prepares the way of Christ (John 1:6-13)

JOHN 1:6-8

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

God sent John the Baptist into the dark world in order to call people to come to the rays of the divine light. Everyone knows that many sins are committed in the dark. But whoever confesses his guilt before God, repentant and broken-hearted, has come to the light. What about you? Have you come to the light or are you still hiding yourself in the darkness?

The Baptist explained to people the condition of their hearts. In relationship to the law of God, all of them are evil. They need repentance and a fundamental change so that they will not perish on the Day of the Lord. The call of the Baptist shook up the multitudes and people ran to the one who called to repentance in the desert. They confessed their sins openly and asked for baptism in the river Jordan, as a symbol of their purification from sin, the drowning of their selfishness, and their coming to new life from the currents of the river.

God chose John the Baptist. He enlightened him and commissioned him to move all people so that they would come to their senses, change their thinking and get prepared for the coming of Christ. The people of the Old Testament knew much about the one who comes in the name of the Lord. The prophet Isaiah said about him, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2). He also said in the name of the Lord, “Arise, shine; for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you” (Isaiah 60:1). The Baptist taught that the coming of light into darkness is not confined to the people of the Old Testament, but is open for everybody. Thus the message of the Baptist encompassed the whole world, so that people from Asia Minor and all other regions around the Mediterranean Sea followed him for years after his death.

Thousands followed him in spite of his testimony that he is not the light, but a herald sent before him. He did not point people to himself, but guided them to Christ. This is the clear sign of all true messengers of God, that they do not bind their followers to themselves, but to Christ alone.

The aim of the service of John was not repentance and baptism but faith in Christ. He knew that people hoped he would proclaim that he himself was the Christ. But he did not fall into temptation and prepared the way for the Lord. He knew that the coming Christ was the One who would baptize people with the Holy Spirit. John also knew that a psychological repentance in a human being is not enough at all, even if he gets baptized for the remission of sins. Rather, he knew that we all need a complete renewal of our inner being. God did not give him this authority to change hearts, just as he did not give it to any of the prophets in the Old testament. This privilege was reserved for the original light that creates, the life-giving word, which is able to renew a person with his authority when they believe in his name and open up to his light. In this way, John led the multitudes to faith in Christ, knowing that faith alone will carry them over into the new age.

Apollos was a fiery and diligent philosopher, following the teaching of John the Baptist. He preached for the sake of Christ _urifytively without truly experiencing the light of the new covenant. But when he delivered himself to Christ, light entered his heart and he became light in the Lord and a beacon in darkness. He enlightened many (Acts 18:24-28).

PRAYER: O Lord Christ, we magnify you and thank you because you are the light of the world and the hope of the wretched. You enlightened the darkness of our hearts, revealed our sins and forgave them. We thank you because you made us children of light and freed us to eternal life. We ask you that the rays of your light will reach our friends and our relatives that they will experience true repentance and by faith enter your great light.

QUESTION 9: What are the main aims in the service of John the Baptist?

JOHN 1:9-10

9 That was the true light which gives light to every man who comes into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him.

Christ is the true light in the world. The Holy Spirit had foretold his coming, hundreds of years before, through the prophets. The books of the Old Testament are full of references to the coming of Christ into our universe. Thus the prophet Isaiah said, “For behold darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and his glory will be seen upon you” (Isaiah 60:2).

In our verse, the word “world” is repeated four times. For the evangelist John the meaning of this word is close to the meaning of darkness, for he writes, “The whole world has been put under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19).

In the beginning the world was not evil, because God created it good. His beauty and goodness filled the universe. “And he beheld everything that he did, and indeed, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). God created man in his image and his glory was bestowed on the parents of mankind, who reflected the light of the Creator like a mirror.

But because of pride, all became evil and rebellious. They left God’s fellowship in their hearts, because they opened themselves to the spirit of darkness. Distancing oneself from God always makes one evil, as David confessed in Psalm 14:1, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.”

The evangelist John however, witnessed to the fact that Christ came into this evil world, just as the sun rises gradually, dispelling the darkness before it. The light of Christ did not enter our world like a blinding flash of lightning. But he entered it gently, enlightening all people. That is, the Lord did not come as a judge and executioner. But he came as a Savior and Redeemer. All people need to be enlightened by Christ. Without this enlightenment, they remain in the dark. Christ is the true Enlightener, and no one else. Whoever accepts his enlightenment through the Gospel will change his character and become good and enlighten others.

Did you understand the meaning of this saying, “The Creator came into his world”? The owner entered his possession, and the king drew near to his people. Who will wake up and prepare for his coming? Who will study the truth about his coming, his constitution and his aims? Who is it that leaves his worldly and vain goals behind and approaches and welcomes the God who comes? Who is it that perceives this revolutionary and unique hour of time, in which God will come?

Thus, the Lord suddenly was present among sinners. He came without being noticed, small and quiet. He did not want to enlighten the world with his greatness, his power and his glory. But he revealed his humility, love and truth. Since the beginning of creation, being proud was the reason for the fall of mankind. So the Almighty presented himself as the Humble One. Even Satan wanted to be strong, glorious and clever, like God. But Christ appeared as a weak baby, lying in a disgusting manger. Thus, with his humility, his gentleness, and his obedience he won. He went down to the lowest levels of mankind in order to lift everyone up and save them altogether.

Listen, all you people! After this good news, we read a frightening and shattering word, which is that the world does not know the light and does not perceive it. It did not realize that the Son of God has come near and was present among them. People remained blind and foolish, in spite of their philosophies, their sciences, and their worldly genius. They did not recognize that God himself stood before them. They did not know their Creator and did not accept their judging Savior.

From this painful truth, we can deduce an important principle in the kingdom of God. It is that we cannot understand God with our brains and our human capacities alone. Every knowledge about the love of Christ is true grace and a gift from God. For it is the Holy Spirit that calls us through the Gospel, enlightens us with his gifts and keeps us in the true faith. So we must repent and not depend on the cleverness of our minds, or on the emotions of our souls. All of us need to open ourselves towards the true light, just as the flowers open up to the rays of the sun. In this way, faith in Christ creates true knowledge. This beginning faith is not from us, but it is the work of the Spirit of the Lord in all those who obey him.

PRAYER: We thank you, o Lord Christ, that you came into the world. You did not come for judgment and revenge, but for the enlightenment of all people, and for their salvation. But we are blind and foolish. Forgive us our iniquities and grant us an obedient heart. Open our eyes so we can see you, and open our souls to the rays of your gentle light, so that we can live in the power of your Holy Spirit.

QUESTION 10: What is the relationship between Christ the Light and the dark world?

JOHN 1:11-13

11 He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. 12 But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

The people of the Old Testament belonged to God because the Lord had bound himself to these sinners through a covenant after having purified them. He guided them for hundreds of years. He ploughed their hearts with the plough of the law and prepared them for the sowing of the Gospel. In this way, the history of the descendants of Abraham was directed towards the coming of Christ. His appearance was the goal and meaning of the Old Testament.

It is a strange fact that those who were chosen to welcome the Lord Jesus rejected him and did not receive his light. They preferred to live in the darkness of the law, hurrying towards judgment. So they missed grace completely and loved their own works more than the salvation in Christ. They did not repent, but hardened themselves against the spirit of truth.

Not only the people of the Old Testament were the property of God, but also all humanity because the Almighty created stones, plants, animals and even all mankind. For this reason, the peoples of the world carry the same responsibility as the people of the Old Testament. Our Creator and Owner wants to enter our hearts and homes, so who will welcome him? You belong to God. Did you put yourself at your Lord’s disposal? Unfortunately, today the majority of nations are not ready to open up to the light of Christ. They do not want the friendliness of his rays to overcome the hardness of their darkness. This way they refuse the Son of God once more in our age.

Whoever of the descendants of Abraham or of mankind in general opens his heart to Christ and commits himself into the hands of the mighty Savior, that person will experience a great miracle. For the heavenly Light will enlighten him with divine light and overcome the darkness that resides in his heart. Also, the power of God will enter his heart and renew his innermost being. Christ delivers you from the slavery to sin. He will transfer you into the freedom of the children of God. If you love Christ, then the holy Spirit will reside in you and begin his work of salvation in your life.

Now the evangelist John does not say that we will be or that we have become children of God, but that we become his children by spiritual growth. We find big differences in the midst of these words, for the one who believes in Christ will enter a new existence. At the same time he will be in a state of development and growth towards perfection in his spiritual life. The power of the Lord created us as a new creation and it will sanctify and also perfect us.

We did not become children of God only by adoption, but we became children by spiritual birth. The descent of the Spirit of Christ into our hearts means that we become full of the authority of the Lord. The outpouring of this divine authority into believers points to the fact that no power in this world and at the end of time is able to hinder their becoming full of divine moral attributes. Christ is the author of faith and its perfector.

The children of God and the children of the world cannot be compared with each other. We were born from two parents who begot us by their natural drives or by their deliberate plan. Maybe they prayed together, obeying the guidance of the Spirit. But all spiritual, psychological or physical inheritance from our parents has no relationship to our new birth from God. For spiritual renewal is holy from the beginning and comes from God, from whom every Christian is born directly. For he is our true spiritual Father.

No child is able to give birth to itself. It is born. In this way, our spiritual birth is pure grace. Christ lays the seeds of his Gospel in our hearts. Whoever loves these seeds, accepts them and keeps them. In him the eternal life of God will grow. Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.

Birth into a Christian family and association with Christians does not make us children of God, but only faith in the name of Christ. This faith means coming close to him, immersing oneself into his qualities, understanding his gentleness and growing in dependence on his power. This growth happens until we commit ourselves into his hands, believing that he saves us and transforms us into his likeness. Faith in Christ is a heart-felt relationship between ourselves and him, and an eternal covenant. The spiritual birth will not be accomplished in us except through this faith, so that we can say that being born anew is not greater or more difficult than faith, just as faith is not less or easier than renewal. They are the same.

The evangelist John did not mention in his gospel the name Jesus Christ before coming to this passage. Instead he described his personality to believers from the nations, using words close to their way of thinking. Did you understand the six meanings from these qualities of Christ that the evangelist put forward to his church? Did you open your heart to the power of these attributes and bow down to them? Then you will truly become a child of God!

PRAYER: O Lord Jesus Christ, I bow down to you and love you and open up my heart to you. You come to me in spite of my sins, you cleanse me from all my iniquity, and you take up residence in me through your Holy Spirit. O Lord, I have opened wide the doors of my heart to you.

QUESTION 11: What happens to those who accept Christ?

3. The fullness of God appeared in the incarnation of (John 1:14-18)

JOHN 1:14

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Who is Jesus Christ? He is true God and true man. The evangelist John shows us this great secret as the motto of his gospel. When he mentions the incarnation of the word of God, he shows us the foundation of his message. Verse 14 is the key to all the following news. If you perceived this spiritual pearl in all its meanings, you will obtain deep insight into the knowledge of the following chapters.

The incarnation of Christ is fundamentally different from our spiritual renewal. We all have bodies, and were born of a father and a mother. Afterwards, the word of the Gospel reached us and generated eternal life in us. Christ, however, was not born of a worldly father. Rather, the word of God came to Mary through the angel, who told her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, also, that holy one who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35). When the virgin accepted this wonderful message by faith, she found the unique embryo in her womb, in which the Holy Spirit united with human blood. That is how God became man.

Our thinking stops before this reality. Biology cannot clarify this secret. Human experience is unable to understand it. Some theologians try to ease the impossibility of the birth of Christ for a scientific mind by saying that he only appeared in a body without truly having a material body that feels pain and sorrow. We, however, confess that Christ was completely human and completely divine at the same time.

The incarnation of Christ is the best interpretation for this wonderful birth. The eternal Son of God, who proceeded from the Father before all ages, took part in our physical nature without sin, for the Holy Spirit in him overcame all inclination towards sin. Thus Jesus remained the only human being that lived in innocence and purity, without blemish.

The Son of God mixed with rebellious, uncaring and evil humans, who all pass away. He however is eternal, unable to die due to his divinity. In spite of his exaltation he loved us and left his _urifynal glory and lived among us in humility. He became one with our kind, and understood our situation perfectly. In his pain he learned complete obedience. This way he became compassionate indeed. He did not refuse us, the evil ones. Christ became man to draw near to us, in order to bring us close to God.

The body of Christ resembles the tabernacle in the Old Testament, where God met people. God was in Christ and declared himself to people in the form of a man. All divinity was present in Christ, touchable. According to the Greek text, John actually said that he “tabernacled among us”. This means that he did not build a durable castle, to remain with us always on earth, but that he dwelt as Bedouins dwell in their tents for a short period of time. Thereafter he takes his tent down and moves it to another place. In the same way, Christ was among us for a short period before going back to his heaven.

The apostles testify together that they saw the glory of Christ. Their testimony is an acclamation and a rejoicing. They are eye-witnesses to the presence of the Son of God in the flesh. Their faith opened their eyes to understand the love, the patience, the humility, the loyalty and divinity of Jesus. In his purity they saw God himself. The expression, “his glory” in the Old Testament signifies the summary of all divine attributes. The apostle John courageously laid down in his testimony all these attributes of Jesus. He perceived his hidden majesty as well as his beauty and greatness.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, John called God Father and Jesus Son. There is no escaping these terms. The Spirit’s inspiration tears down the veil that hides God’s name, assuring us that the eternal Holy One, the mighty Creator is Father and has a Son likewise holy, glorious and everlasting, full of love. God is not simply a vanquishing judge destroying and avenging with might. He is compassionate, tender and patient, and so is His Son. By understanding the Father and the Son we reach the core of the New Testament. He who sees the Son sees the Father. This revelation transformed the image of God found in other religions and opened our eyes for the age of love.

Do you want to know God? Then study the life of Christ! What did the disciples see in Jesus? What is the summary of their testimony? They saw God’s love interwoven with grace and truth. Think about these three meanings as you pray and you will feel the fullness of God’s glory present in Christ. He comes to us in healing grace undeserved by us. We are all guilty; none of us is good. His coming to us, corrupt as we are, spells grace. Not ashamed to call us his brethren, he has cleansed us, sanctified us and renewed us, and he has filled us with his spirit. Are not these saving acts “grace upon grace”? And even more than that: we have obtained a new right, for Christ planted us into his grace to have the right to become children of God. The message of grace is not deception or imagination but a new right. The incarnation is proof of the reality of God’s working, which perfects us in his salvation. Grace is the basis of our faith.

PRAYER: We bow to you Babe of the manger, as did shepherds and Magi in Bethlehem. You are God in the flesh come to us, not ashamed to call us brethren. Your light shines in darkness. Purify my unclean heart, so that it may be fit to become an eternal manger for you. With all believers I magnify you, because your glory has become a humble body. We beseech you that many of the wretched folk in our area may perceive their new right and receive you.

QUESTION 12: What does the incarnation of Christ mean?

JOHN 1:15-16

15 John bore witness to him and cried “This was he of whom I spoke, ‘He who comes after me was before me.’ 16. Of his fullness we have received grace upon grace”.

The Baptist announced in a loud voice that the Christ who arrived after him, existed before him, thus surpassing temporal genealogies. By proclaiming this, the Baptist asserted Christ’s eternity. He gave testimony to the truth that He is above space, time and perdition, an infinite and incorruptible god.

In the wilderness the Baptist grieved to see the gravity of men’s sins. He taught them about repentance for the remission of sins. But on seeing Jesus his heart leapt for joy, because Christ was born as eternal man, full of truth, so that death cannot find power over him. The joy of incarnation and of Christmas has its source in the appearance of God’s eternal life in a human body. With this began the victory of life over death, because in him sin was eliminated, which is the cause of death.

Realizing the depth of this grace, the Baptist exulted and magnified God’s fullness that was present in Christ. Paul had confessed, “In him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in him.” John sums up these truths in his great statement, “From his fullness have we received grace upon grace”.

What is this fullness of Christ and what have we received from him? If you remember John’s explanation of Christ’s person in the past 14 verses, you will know the greatness of his personality and perceive how the ocean of his grace reaches us daily:

Christ is the Word of God proceeding from the Father, as words proceed from men’s mouths. He is the innermost heart of God and his will, essence and delight. As the word of the Gospel reaches us, entering our minds and changing our wills, Christ also comes into our hearts and changes us according to his excellence. Is this not superb grace?

Christ is God’s Life: Scientists can produce houses, bridges and huge bombs, but no one can create life. Parents are entrusted with transmitting to their offspring the life that God grants them. Is this not grace? And since earthly life passes away, Christ bestows on believers his own Spirit, who is life eternal. All Christians share God’s life and will never ever die. Is this not grace?

Christ is the Light of the world. He is the victor over darkness and creator of light in pitch-dark night. He gives hope to a world in gloom, sends power to a world groaning in weakness. The light of Christ is capable of flooding the murk of our world with its brightness. He gives truth and fidelity in politics and factories, in families and churches, if men believe in him. Is this not grace upon grace?

Jesus is the Creator of the universe. In him resides the fullness of the power of God. His miracles were signs pointing to his authority. His resurrection from the dead proved the power of his life over death. In his body he defeated the force of gravity and walked on water. He broke the little bread he had to feed five thousand men until they were satisfied. He also knows the number of hairs on your head. When will you bow to his caring grace?

Do you still want to know more about the fullness of Christ? He is the Owner of the worlds. All goods and wealth, every minute of your life and even you yourself belong to him. He made you and it is he who keeps you. Christ possesses all. He entrusted his benefits into your hands for you to administrate them for him. Your muscles, your thoughts and your parents are the gift of your Lord that he bestowed on you. When will you thank him for his grace?

The amazing thing about the incarnation and about Christmas is that the fullness of the Godhead was made flesh in an infant. This exact miracle was prophesied by Isaiah 700 years before it happened by inspiration from the Holy Spirit, saying, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given and the government shall be on his shoulder. His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Sadly, men’s minds are slow to grasp that God in Christ has restored to man His pure image that man had at the beginning of creation. Jesus is the glorious One who is wise, he is the illuminating counselor, the powerful eternal God. All the attributes and gifts of God were present in the babe of the manger. Have you realized the marvelous grace that God came to us in Jesus? Now we can say: God is with us!

Christ does not want to keep his virtues to himself, or else he would have stayed in heaven. He has come to our world, has put on our flesh and has taken our lowly likeness to open for us the way to heaven, to restore us to his Father and to fill us with his fullness. Similarly Paul witnesses that God’s purpose is the presence of His fullness in the Church. Read Ephesians 1:23; 4:10 and Colossians 2:10, then you will be swept into the current of God’s praises and lead to magnify the grace of your Lord. Do not stay miserable in your sins, but open your heart to Christ’s fullness. Come to the babe of the manger and manifold blessings will flow to you. He will make you a source of grace for those around you.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, you are God’s son. All love, power and truth is present in you. We bow before you and rejoice, because you do not remain far away from us but you have lived among us. You love us. You became man and redeemed us. We thank you for granting us grace upon grace.

QUESTION 13: What is meant by Christ’s fullness?

JOHN 1:17-18

17 For the Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 18 No man has seen God at any time: the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared Him.

The difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament can be boiled down to the difference between righteousness by Law and righteousness by Grace. God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, the laws concerning blood sacrifices and the law for bringing order into life. He who kept these precepts merited life. But whoever transgressed against one of them deserved death. In this way the law was a judgment unto death, because no human is perfect. The best of pious folk were broken in repentance and remorse in the face of the impossible task of keeping all the rules of the Law. Superficial folk, however, regarded themselves as good, as though their life pleased God. This led them into egoism, and fanatical legalism. They forgot love and boasted in the righteousness of their selfish works. Surely, the Law as such is holy because it reflects the holiness of God. But in front of it every man looks evil. In this way the Law leads us to misery and death.

In this atmosphere that reeks with death the evangelist John mentions Jesus Christ for the first time in his Gospel as the rescuer from misery and the Savior from God’s wrath. The man Jesus from Nazareth is the promised Messiah anointed with the fullness of the Holy Spirit. He is the King of kings, the Word of God and the High Priest. He is the summary of all possibilities for hope and salvation.

Christ did not come to us with a new legal system, rather he redeemed us from the curse of the Law. With his excelling love he fulfilled all legal demands in our stead. He bore our sins and the judgment against the world on his shoulders, thus reconciling us to God. God is no longer our enemy because of our sins, but we have obtained peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord. The man Jesus ascended to his heavenly Father and poured out his Holy Spirit on us. He impressed the Law on our hearts, filling our innermost feelings with pure, truthful and honorable thoughts. We no longer live under the Law, but He is in us. In this way God has given us the power to fulfill the demands of his love.

With Christ’s coming, the age of grace has begun and we live in it. God does not ask from us offerings, services or sacrifices to bolster our self-righteousness, but he sent his Son to bestow on us divine righteousness. He who believes in him is completely justified. Because of this we love and thank him and offer our living sacrifice unto him, for he sanctified us.

Christ does not leave us as orphans but remains with us, and pours out his gifts on us. We do not deserve the forgiveness of our sins, or the fellowship of the Spirit of God. Nor do we merit any other gift or blessing from him. Everything is grace from him. Indeed, we deserve nothing but wrath and perdition. But on account of our bonding with Christ by faith, we have become the sons of God on whom he bestows his grace. Have you realized the difference between the slaves of sin and the children of grace?

This grace is not a mere emotional feeling in the heart of the Holy One. Rather, it is a love based on judicial rights. God cannot forgive whomever he wills, because the sinner’s sin requires his immediate death. However, Christ’s substitutionary crucifixion in our place has fulfilled all righteousness. Thus grace has become a right for us and the mercy of God a reality that cannot be shaken. Grace in Christ is the legal basis for our life with God.

You ask: Who is this God, free to act, yet bound to his justice? We answer you: Many religions have seriously and arduously attempted to understand God. But they are like ladders set on earth that cannot reach heaven. But Christ is like a divine ladder descending from heaven, fixed on earth. Our meeting with God through him leaves no one in despair.

No man has seen the eternal Creator, because our sins separate us from the Holy One. All statements about God are no more than vague speculations. But Christ was his Son, with God from eternity, one of the constituents of the divine Trinity. Thus the Son knew who the Father is. All Previous revelation is inadequate. But Christ is God’s perfect Word, and the summary of all truth.

What is the pivot of Christ’s message?

He taught us to address God in prayer like this, “Our Father who art in heaven”. With this manner of addressing God he declared to us that the essence of God is his fatherhood. God is not a dictator, a conqueror or a destroyer. Nor is he apathetic and indifferent. He cares for us as a father thinks of his child. Should this child fall in the mud, he pulls him out, cleans him up and does not leave him to get lost in the world of guilt. Since we have come to know that God is our Father, our distress caused by our worries and our sins has been lifted. For in returning to our Father we obtained cleansing and a welcome. We live with God for ever. The religious revolution that broke into our world in the name of the Father is the new Christian thought that Christ brought. This paternal name holds the summary of Christ’s words and works.

Before his incarnation Christ was with his Father. This tender image clarifies the loving relation between Christ and God. After dying and rising the Son returned to the Father. He did not only sit on God’s right hand but also is in the bosom of the Father. This means that he, one with him, he is him. Thus all the sayings of Christ about God are true. In Christ we see who God is. As the Son is, so is the Father, and as the Father is, so is the Son.

PRAYER: Our Father who art in heaven we praise and thank you, because you sent us Christ your beloved Son. We bow down to you for you freed us from the nightmare of the Law and planted us in your divine righteousness. We thank you for every spiritual gift, and magnify you because of the privileges we possess in your fatherly Name.

QUESTION 14: What new thought did Christ bring into the world?

B – CHRIST LEADS HIS DISCIPLES FROM THE SPHERE OF REPENTANCE TO THE JOY OF THE WEDDING

(JOHN 1:19 – 2:12)

1. A delegation from the Sanhedrin questions the Baptist (John 1:19-28)

JOHN 1:19-21

19 This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed and did not deny, asserting, “I am not the Christ.” 21 They asked him, “What then, are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.”

A revival took place in the Jordan valley, focused on the Baptist. Thousands were undeterred by the wild roads from the high mountains to the deep and torrid gorge. They came down to the Baptist in order to hear the voice of this new prophet, and be baptized by him for the remission of their sins. The crowds are usually not ignorant, as the haughty often think, but they have a hunger and longing for divine guidance. Quickly they can discern the power and authority in those who possess it. They did not want to hear about rituals and rules, but longed to encounter God.

The members of the Sanhedrin, the highest religious court of the Jews, were aware of this revival. They sent a delegation of priests and tough helpers, who were used to slaughter sacrificial offerings. They were to question the Baptist, so that if he appeared to be blaspheming they could eliminate him.

So this meeting between the Baptist and the delegates from the Sanhedrin was formal and dangerous. The evangelist John calls these men coming from Jerusalem Jews. With this name he discloses one of the themes of his gospel. For at that time Jewish thought was rigidly literalist as regards the Law, full of fanaticism and envy, so that Jerusalem was to become the center of opposition to the Spirit of Christ. Not the people of the Old Testament as a whole but the band of priests, especially the Pharisees, were the watchful enemies of every religious development swerving away from their plans and control. This is why they decided to trap the Baptist with their questions.

“Who are you?” was the first question they addressed to John, who was surrounded by a penitent crowd listening to him attentively. “Who authorized you to speak? Have you studied the Law and Theology? Do you consider yourself commissioned by God, or do you even see yourself as the Messiah?”

John the Baptist saw the deceit that was behind these queries and he did not lie. If he would say, “I am the Messiah”, they would condemn him and he would be stoned; and if he would say, “I’m not the Messiah”, people would leave him and no longer regard him as important. Abraham’s descendants at that time were suffering under the shame of being colonized by the Romans. They longed for a Savior, who would deliver them from the yoke of the Romans.

The Baptist confessed openly that he was not the Christ neither the son of God. He did not accept a title that went against the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He chose to remain meek and faithful to his calling, trusting in God that He would in time confirm his message.

After their first stab the delegation went on to ask him, “Are you Elijah?” This name refers to the promise in Malachi 4:5, where Scripture says that before the coming of the Messiah, a prophet would appear in the spirit and power of the famed prophet Elijah, who brought down fire from heaven on his foes, and raised a dead person with God’s permission. Everybody regarded this outstanding hero as a leader of their nation. But John humbled himself, even though in truth he was that promised prophet, as Christ later on witnessed concerning him (Matthew 11:14).

Then the priests asked him if he was that specific promised prophet, concerning whom Moses had foretold that he would, like himself, grant a new and great covenant (Deuteronomy 18:15). Behind this question was their desire to know who had sent him to speak like a prophet. So they persisted in asking who he was and what authority he had, and whether he spoke by revelation or for himself.

The Baptist declined to take on himself the role and rank of Moses. He did not want to set up a new covenant with God without being commissioned to do so. Nor did he want to lead his people to military victory. He remained faithful in the temptation and did not become conceited or proud. At the same time he was wise and did not answer his enemies with more than the necessary words. It is important that we apply these principles in our lives.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we thank you for sending John the Baptist to our world, a man who never became proud. Forgive us our pride of thinking that we are greater and more important than others. Teach us to understand that we are unworthy servants and that you alone are great.

QUESTION 15: What were the aims of the questions posed by the delegates from the highest Jewish court?

JOHN 1:22-24

22 They said to him, “Who are you, that we may answer them who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord!’, as Isaiah the prophet said.” 24 Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees.

The delegates fired their questions like pointed arrows at the Baptist. These questions were related to heresies that they expected to emerge before the Messiah’s true coming. But after John denied being the Messiah or Elijah or the prophet foretold by Moses, he lost his significance and danger in their view. Yet they persisted in asking who he was, and who entrusted him his message. Their aim was not to return to the Sanhedrin without fully assessing his situation.