To know Him is to love Him.

John 1:1-18 Joining the challenge to read John in July

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. ⁵ The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

⁶ There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.

⁹ There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹ He came to His own, and those who were 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.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” ¹⁶ For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus says:  “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”  Have you ever heard the saying, to know him is to love him? That could not be more true than in how it applies to God the Father and Christ, His Son. The more we know them, the more we will love them. Of all the gospel accounts, the book of John perhaps gives us the clearest insight into the nature and character of God. John’s gospel account begins saying:  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  This establishes that God, Jesus and Scripture are unified and in agreement.   In Matthew 24:4-5, When Jesus was asked about the end times, He said:  “See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.”   Those who mislead many, are those who say that Jesus is the Christ, but that He no longer agrees with what God or scripture says. They say that Jesus today is different than He was when He was here on earth. They say that rather than dying for our sins, Jesus today would tolerate, condone and even embrace our sins. God, Jesus and Scripture do not change to appease or appeal to the whims of people.

This portion of scripture in John also establishes that God is eternal. If God was there in the beginning, it is referring to the beginning of time. If He was there at the beginning of time, then He was also there before time. God is not limited by or subject to finite time. In Revelation 1:8 God says:  “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”  John also affirms that God is creator. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.  No one was born as an accident. A person may not have been planned by their parents, but each one was ordained by God. Psalm 139:16 says:  Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

The text in John continues saying: There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 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, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.   Hebrews 1:1-3 says:  God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.  Jesus came to redeem us from sin, but His coming in the flesh was also that He might reveal the nature of God to us. We, with our natural minds cannot fully comprehend God who is Spirit. We, who are finite, cannot comprehend what is infinite and eternal. Through Jesus, we are enlightened. We see God’s grace revealed in Christ. We come to understand that we are children of God. We are created in His image and likeness. (Genesis 1:26-27)   In John 14:9 Jesus says:  “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.”  That’s the result we can expect as we journey through John in July, that as we read His word and the accounts of what Jesus said and did, we will see the Father, that we will know Him more.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for Your Word, which is life. May I know You more as I meditate on Your Word. As I know You more, may I love You more.  Amen.