John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
In the beginning. It is significant that the Apostle John began his Gospel with the words: “In the beginning.” He obviously intended that his record should start with the same words as Genesis, that is, with creation. Since his explicit purpose in writing was to win his readers to Christ as Son of God and Savior (John 20:30,31), he realized the foundational importance of prior belief in special creation of all things by God. People need to know Jesus Christ as offended Creator before they can believe with understanding in Him as sin-bearing Savior and Redeemer. A foundation of true creationism as the only meaningful context for true evangelism is thus revealed through John under divine inspiration.
Word. The “Word” (Greek logos) is the first of at least a dozen titles given to Christ in this first chapter of John’s Gospel. Note the others:
“the Light” (John 1:7,8,9)
“only begotten Son” (John 1:14,18)
“Jesus Christ” (John 1:17)
“the Lord” (John 1:23)
“Lamb of God” (John 1:29,36)
“Master” (John 1:38)
“King of Israel” (John 1:49)
“Son of God” (John 1:34,49)
“Son of man” (John 1:51)
“Jesus of Nazareth” (John 1:45)
“Messiah” (John 1:41)
Probably, “the Word of God” (a phrase used 1200 times in the Old Testament) is the most meaningful (Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3, II Peter 3:5).
Word was God. This is a very strong assertion that Jesus is God. The eternal Word, who was made man (John 1:14), is God (not merely “a god” as some have alleged) and is the same God who created heaven and earth in the beginning. In fact, He is the only “true God” (1 John 5:20) who was there “in the beginning.”
John 1:2. The same was in the beginning with God.
beginning. The definite article has been supplied. The actual Greek is en arche – that is, “in beginning.” The “Word of God” thus was there before the creation of the space/mass/time universe, so that John’s “beginning” even antecedes the Genesis “beginning,” extending without an initial beginning into eternity past, before even time was created. Note also John 17:24, where Jesus, in His humanity, acknowledged that He was with the Father and loved by the Father, “before the foundation of the world.”
with God. The “Word of God” (Jesus Christ) was God yet also “with God.” Thus, God is both personal and plural (in the uni-plural sense only, a mysterious category that makes sense only in terms of the doctrine of the Trinity).
John 1:3. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
made by him. This is an emphatic statement declaring that Jesus Christ, before His incarnation, had made everything in the universe. He is the God of Genesis 1:1; the God of all creation. Furthermore, note that “all things were made.” They are not now being made, as the concept of evolution requires. The Creator rested from all His work of creating after the six days of the creation week (Genesis 2:1-3). Also, note the past tense in such passages as Colossians 1:16 and Hebrews 1:2,3.
John 1:4. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
life. The last part of John 1:3 and the first part of John 1:4 can also be read as follows: “That which was made was life in Him.” As Paul said: “In him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
John 1:5. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
comprehended. The darkened minds of sin-blinded men could not come to the light when it was offered to them because they would not. “Men loved darkness, rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19; note II Corinthians 4:6: Genesis 1:3).
John 1:9. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
lighteth every man. Even thought some people live and die without ever hearing of Jesus, the witness imprinted by Him on His creation is such conclusive evidence that there is a Creator who is omnipotent, omniscient, holy and loving, that those who reject or ignore it are “without excuse” (Romans 1:20; Psalm 19:1-6). He has also placed the light of conscience in each person (Romans 2:14,15), but that, too, is rejected in most instances.
John 1:10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
by him. Here is yet another assertion that “the world was made by him;” yet the men and women who were made by Him refused to recognize Him. “They did not like to retain God in their knowledge” (Romans 1:28). He was the true light physically as well as spiritually. He is the very energizer of the world (“upholding all things by the word of his power” – Hebrews 1:3), but the world preferred an evolutionary explanation.
John 1:11. He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
his own. “He came unto his own” things – the earth and its fullness (Psalm 24:1) – which He had created. But then “his own people” – even His chosen people – rejected Him. The people He made knew Him not, and the people whom He chose rejected Him when He came as one of them.
John 1:12. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.
power. “Power” here is the word for “authority” or “right.”
sons of God. “Sons of God” is “children of God.” By regeneration they become new creatures “born of…God” (John 1:13). Note the connection between creation (John 1:10 – “made by him”) and regeneration (John 1:13 – “born of God”).
believe. Note also that “received him” is here defined as “believing on His name” with all that the latter implies (John 1:1).
Isaiah 9:6,7. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
child is born. This is truly one of the most amazing prophecies ever given, no doubt referring back to the promised virgin-born Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14). The child born is the human Jesus, born as a babe, while the Son given is the eternally begotten Second Person of the Godhead united in the glorious hypostatic union – God with us!
Wonderful, Counsellor. It is probable that the first name of His fourfold Name, paralleling the adjective/noun structure of the other three, is “Wonderful Counsellor.” The testimony, even of His enemies was that “never man spake like this man” (John 7:46).
mighty God. This is a marvelous paradox. The helpless infant in the manger is God Almighty. He has “all power…in heaven and earth” (Matthew 28:18).
everlasting father. How can the “everlasting Father” also be the “Son given?” Only by the unfathomable, yet glorious mystery of the Trinity. “I and my Father are one,” said Jesus (John 10:30).
Prince of peace. “Prince of peace” indicates He is the very first leader who will bring true peace to the world. Melchizedek (who was either the preincarnate Christ or a type of Christ) is called “King of Salem,” which means “King of Peace” (Genesis 14:18; Hebrews 7:2). He is the great Peacemaker (Matthew 5:9), who “made peace through the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20).
increase. Reigning eternally, Christ and His glorified saints will forever continue to extend His domain by exploration, development and utilization throughout His infinite creation.
throne of David. Although His kingdom will be of unlimited extent, its center will be in the New Jerusalem, on the throne of David, as promised to Mary before He was born (Luke 1:32,33; Ezekiel 37:25).
zeal of the Lord. This magnificent kingdom can never be achieved by human effort, but only by the “zeal of the Lord of hosts.”
John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
only begotten son. Jesus calls Himself “Son of man” in John 3:13,14, and “Son of God” in John 3:16-18. As Son of man, He is the “heir” of God’s promises to man (Hebrews 1:2), man as God had intended man to be, the perfect man. As Son of God, He is the unique, beloved, only begotten, eternally begotten, Son of the Father, “very God.”
John 10:10,11. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
more abundantly. The “abundant life” does not consist of an abundance of possessions (Luke 12:5). Rather, it consists of:
An “abundance of grace” (Romans 5:17,20)
An abundance of “every good work” (II Corinthians 9:8)
An abundance of “consolation” (II Corinthians 1:5)
An abounding “love” (1 Thessalonians 3:12)
An “abounding…work of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58)
An “abounding” and thankful “faith” (Colossians 2:7)
good shepherd. This is the fourth of the Lord’s “I am” claims in the Gospel of John. This also is another foreshadow of His coming substitutionary death – not only guiding His sheep but also dying for them.
Romans 5:8. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
1 Corinthians 15:3-6. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
according to the scriptures. Although the central focus of the gospel is certainly on the death and resurrection of Christ for our sins and salvation, the phrase “according to the Scriptures” is interjected twice in this passage, indicating that the other 104 Scriptures on the gospel are also important. The first occurrence of the word is in Matthew 4:23 (“the gospel of the kingdom”), looking forward to the coming kingdom, when Christ shall be acknowledged as King of kings. The last occurrence is in Revelation 14:6,7, where it is called “the everlasting gospel,” calling on men to worship Him as Creator of all things. Thus the gospel embraces the person and work of Christ in its entirety, from creation to consummation, eternity to eternity. Its foundation is the Creation; its consummation is His eternal kingdom; its centrality and power is His substitutionary death and bodily resurrection. To reject or neglect any component of this is to leave us with “another gospel, which is not another,” but one which ‘would pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6,7). Only the true gospel of Christ is “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).
buried. The bodily burial of Christ is included as a part of the gospel, or “good news” concerning Christ, no doubt in order to emphasize that His resurrection was a bodily resurrection (Romans 10:9).
five hundred brethren. The remarkable parade of eye-witnesses of the resurrected Christ, (most of whom were still living when Paul wrote and could have denied the story if it were not true) is part of the overwhelming body of evidence (“many infallible proofs” – Acts 1:3) that makes this the greatest event in history since the creation and the most certain fact of biblical history. Jesus Christ has, indeed, conquered death itself, thereby demonstrating that He was the Creator of life and the only possible Savior from sin and death.
John 14:6. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
I am the way. This is the sixth of Jesus’ great “I am” assertions and, no less than the others, is a clear claim of deity.
the life. He did not come to show us the way, teach us the truth, and give us the life, though He does all of this, because He is the Way to God, the Truth of God, and the Life in God.
unto the Father. The exclusiveness of this claim is a stumbling block to those who are supposedly searching for truth, or a different kind of life and prefer some other way. It is probably the main reason why Christians are persecuted by others. Nevertheless, one cannot be a Christian and believe otherwise, for “there is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Christians are not being unloving when they try to win others to Christ, for they know that those others are eternally lost without Him.
I Peter 3:22. Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
right hand of God. This is the last of the sixteen New Testament references to Christ now being at the right hand of the Father.
Philippians 2:10,11. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
name of Jesus. Not the name “Jesus” in and of itself, but the name given to Him, that of “Lord” (Philippians 2:11). “God hath made that same Jesus…both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). He is now the Lord Jesus Christ.
confess. Those who make this confession now will be saved (Romans 10:9,10; Acts 16:31), but all created beings, men and angels, must make it eventually, for He is Lord of all (Ephesians 1:20,21; I Peter 3:22).
John 21:25. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
the books. This apparently hyperbolic statement is actually quite realistic. The four Gospels only record what Jesus began both to do and teach (Acts 1:1). These works and words have been continued throughout the world for 2000 years by all those in whom Christ dwells by the Holy Spirit. If every such person could write a complete autobiography about all that the indwelling Spirit of Christ has done in and through him, the number of books would indeed be astronomical. And this will continue throughout eternity.
John 14:2,3. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
my Father’s house. The Father’s “house” is where we shall dwell forever (Psalm 23:6). It is also “the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19) and corresponds to the “holy city” (Revelation 21:2) which will be placed on the new earth as our eternal home. Its dimensions are given (see Revelation 21:15), and it is amply large to provide many “mansions.” This word is used only one other time, in John 14:23, referring to the “abode” where the Father and the Son will dwell with the believer.
a place. Thus, heaven is a “place,” not merely a state of mind or some sort of fourth dimension. It is a physical place in God’s eternal cosmos.
I will come again. Although Christ had discussed His second coming on several previous occasions, this was the first time He had applied it personally to His disciples. He Himself would come to receive them.
there ye may be also. Then we shall “ever be with the Lord” (I Thessalonians 4:17).
Commentary by Dr. Henry M. Morris
A 71-year-old man, who has known the Lord for less than two years, was asked this question: Who is Jesus to you?
“I’m looking at the world through a different lens. It’s like a prism with beautiful colors. Every day I see His plan and it’s evident to me what path I should be following. When I walk it, I have validation that I’m on the right path. And, when I’m not on the right path I have validation that I’m not.
If I stay on my path, I’m rewarded and good things happen; if I stray from my path, then life is difficult.
It’s so easy to see the evil and the bad in the world because we’re bombarded by it everyday. But, when you stop and look at the good in the world you have to stop and realize it’s from Him.
The more I understand and think about the miracles that surround us, the beauty of the world, I see that He has put them there on purpose.” – Jeff Price