John 1:1–18: The Word Made Flesh (three sessions)
In the beginning was the Word
See what John says about the Word before and at creation: the Word was with God, the Word was God, all things came into being through him, and his light shines in a darkness that has not overcome it. Notice how John 1:1–5 deliberately echoes Gen 1.
Outline
- The Word with God, and the Word was GodJohn 1:1–2
- All things came into being through himJohn 1:3
- Life and light; the darkness has not overcome itJohn 1:4–5
observation · 3
John 1:1 opens with the words “In the beginning.” Which book of the Bible opens the same way? Read Gen 1:1–5 next to John 1:1–5 and list the words and ideas the two passages share.
Count how many times John 1:1–2 says the Word “was.” Then look at what “was made” (came into being) in 1:3. What difference do you notice between what is said about the Word and what is said about “all things”?
Two statements in 1:1 can seem to pull in different directions: “the Word was with God” and “the Word was God.” Write each one down. What does each one say about the Word?
interpretation · 5
How can the Word be both “with God” and “God”? Why does the way John words the second statement matter?
The end of 1:3 and the start of 1:4 can be divided in two ways: “…without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life” (BSB), or “…without him not one thing was made. What has been made was life in him.” Does either division change what the passage teaches about the Word and creation?
What does “the darkness has not overcome it” (1:5) mean? Compare John 12:35. Why do some older translations say “comprehended” instead?
If time allows. The Old Testament already speaks of God's word and wisdom at creation (Ps 33:6; Prov 3:19; 8:27–30), and Jewish writers in John's day developed those themes. How is John's Word like these, and how is he different?
application · 2
John begins his Gospel by taking us back to Gen 1. Since the Word through whom all things were made is the Jesus the rest of the Gospel describes, how should that shape the way you read the rest of John, and the way you look at the world around you?
John 1:5 says the light keeps shining and the darkness has not overcome it. Where do you see darkness in the world or in your own life today? How can this verse give hope without pretending the darkness is not real?
Grounding: Says The light shines (present tense), and the darkness has not overcome it. Implies The darkness did not and cannot defeat the light, and in John that darkness is moral and spiritual (3:19). Do not build application on the possible double sense of “comprehend,” which is Uncertain.
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Quotations from Diog. Laert. (Hicks) are used under CC BY-SA 3.0 · Credits