Gospel of John Bible Study - Lesson 1

Gospel of John Bible Study - Lesson 1

Read the passage below using the 2 different Bible translations:

John 1:1-5 New International Version (NIV)

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:1-5 Living Bible (TLB)

1 ^1-2 Before anything else existed, there was Christ,* with God. He has always been alive and is himself God. ³ He created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make. ⁴ Eternal life is in him, and this life gives light to all mankind. ⁵ His life is the light that shines through the darkness—and the darkness can never extinguish it.

Note:

Here are the 3 questions for you to answer. I have given some basic answers below the questions to help understand the passage. Answer the questions first yourself before you look at my answers. Take a moment before you begin and ask God to help you understand what you are reading.

3 questions to answer:

1.    Content: What is this passage about?

2.    Lesson: What do I learn from this passage?

3.    Application: How can I apply what I have learned to my life?

Answers to the questions above and some background:

Content: What is this passage about?

·        In the beginning was the Word (Jesus)

·        Jesus is the divine creative power behind the creation of the universe, time, matter, space, scientific laws etc.

·        Everything we can observe today was part of God’s original Creation.

·        God spoke the universe into existence

The passage below explains how God created the heavens and the earth:

Genesis 1:1-4 New International Version (NIV)

The Beginning

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. ³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Lesson: What do I learn from this passage?

·        There was a beginning

·        Jesus played a role in creation “Through Him all things were made”

·        In Jesus we can find life. Jesus is the light of all mankind.

·        Darkness cannot overcome the light.

Application: How can I apply what I have learned to my life?

·        We know how we got here.

·        God created the earth and people for a purpose.

·        In Jesus we can find life, and He can help us have real life in a world that has fallen into darkness.

Background:

Who wrote this Gospel (The Good News)?

·        John an Apostle one of the original 12 disciples of Jesus

·        (Note: During the life and ministry of Jesus in the 1st century AD, the apostles were his closest followers and became the primary teachers of the gospel message of Jesus)  

John was present during Jesus’ 3 year ministry and was a witness to Jesus’ death on the Cross and Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus told His disciples He would be killed and on the third day he would come back to life (read verse below)

Matthew 16:21 New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Predicts His Death

²¹ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

·        The Book of John is the 4^th Gospel in the New Testament

·        John’s  Gospel is an eyewitness account of Jesus’ ministry

·        Written sometime in the 1^st Century AD some claim as early as 20 years after Jesus’ death and Resurrection

John’s main purpose in writing this Gospel:

·        To tell the world that Jesus is the Messiah for the Jews and Gentiles

·        The events were recorded so that we might believe and have eternal life

John 20:30-31 New International Version (NIV)

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

³⁰ Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Questions to ponder:

·        Is it possible that an eternal all-powerful God created the universe by speaking it into existence?

·        It is possible that Jesus could be the Word, The Messiah?

·        Are will you be willing to investigate what the Bible says about who this Messiah really is, and why He was sent?

·        Do you desire to get truthful answers about life and death?

·        Will you be open to hearing what God has to say about His plan for your life?

Have a great week…………….Dave

Why start a book from the beginning revisited

Why start a book from the beginning revisited

Genesis is a great place to begin a Bible study. I have gotten the answers to the most important questions in life by studying this amazing book.

The Book of Genesis answers the most important questions in life:

·        Who am I?  

·        Why am I here?   

·        Where did here come from?  

·        Why is this world so messed up?  

·        Is there a fix for the mess?  

The Purpose Of Genesis:

·        To reveal to man his origin:

               Created by God in the image of God with the understanding of his 

                relationship to God and the universe.

·        To reveal man’s original fall:

               Adam & Eve’s disobedience and rebellion against God’s Command   

               brings about sin & death into the world and the need for a Savior.

·        To reveal the promise of redemption:

               Through the offspring (Jesus) of the woman (Eve) man will be restored 

               back in relationship with God.

·        To record authoritatively God’s choice of individuals and their descendants: 

   God makes sure a record is kept (Genealogy) of the Jewish Line that   

   eventually led to the Birth of the Messiah Jesus. (note: see Genesis 10, 

   Matthew 1:1-17 , Luke 3 )

God created man for the purpose of His desire for love and relationship. 

God’s primary reason for His ordered creation was to give man a place suitable for him to live. He created the earth and everything else to benefit man in every aspect of his existence. ( Read Genesis chapter 1 )

The Key Attributes of God found in Genesis:

·        Love and Grace

Note:  It is very important while you are reading Genesis to ask God to reveal Himself to you out of the passage you are reading.  It is important to see yourself and the world around you through God’s eyes. Most of the time we view and who we are life through our own eyes.  An important question to ask yourself is:

·        What do I need to do and how should I live as a result of what I have learned     

         from my reading the Bible and in this case the Book of Genesis?

 Examples:

·        How should I view God?

·        How should I serve God?

·        How should I view others?

·        What should I prioritize in my life?

God instituted time and the physical laws of the universe as we understand them with the creation of the universe. 

Genesis 1:1 NIV   

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Even though the universe is so vast, God ordained that the earth be the central role of importance because it was designed by God to be man’s home.  

The Big Question: Is the First verse of the Bible true? 

If not then the entire Bible becomes untrustworthy.  We must understand

When we believe it is true, we have the foundation for all things that exist along with the foundation for all truth.

We see that God had a purpose for all the things he created.  One thing to notice is that God pays great attention to detail and order.  It is amazing to think how incredibly detailed God’s design for life is, down to our very own DNA.

How could this design be the cause of random events over time?

After each day of creation God said that what He created was good. Notice after He created man He said that His creation was "Very Good". We see that God does not give us arbitrary moral standards; what He calls “good” is good because it reflects His Holy Character.  God has given us free will to choose what is good or to choose what is evil. Adam and Eve for example, had that choice as well. They were told to not eat from one tree in the garden, the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were warned that if they did, they would surely die. In many ways we are faced with that choice every day.  Choosing God has the benefit of life, light and perspective. Rejecting God leads to spiritual death, darkness and confusion. Because we have God’s Word, we have a clear distinction between what God sees as good and what He sees as evil or sin. The truth is, we are either with God or we are against Him. Think about which master you serve. I have had to ask for forgiveness many times for my choice to serve the wrong master.

Question: Why didn’t God just create everything in just one day? 

(He could have done so seeing the immediate response to His spoken Command on each day of creation.)

Answer:

Each day of creation was special, specific and orderly. We get to see more clearly His glory in more detail as we see Him create over 6 days.  As we spend time thinking about God’s creation we can contemplate His majesty and power and understand just how great and sovereign God really is. This picture of God can only help us to understand that creating ourselves a God, that suits our needs, and who has limited power puts God in a box and keeps us a prisoner in the box as well.

·        God Created with the utterance of a spoken word.  Now that’s power!

It is interesting to note that the Bible teaches that, at the time of creation, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit were all present and working together.

Examples:

Genesis 1:2 NIV

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

God creates through His Word. “and God said Let there be light”, and there was light.

Refer to John 1:1-4. The term “Word” Is used to designate God’s Son – Jesus Christ.

John 1:1-4 NIV    

 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.

Genesis 1:26 NIV  

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

It is interesting to note that in Genesis, the Hebrew the word used for God “Elohim” is plural.  As an interesting side bar, in Deuteronomy we see how in Israel’s great statement of faith, we see the singular Yahweh used with the plural Elohim in a interesting way that suggests the Trinity.

Deuteronomy 6:4 NIV 

Hear, O Israel: The LORD (Yahweh) our God (Elohim), the LORD (Yahweh) is one.  

With His creation, God gave value to all things. Each of us is valuable in God’s eyes and that it why He goes to extremes to get our attention. God has a plan for each of us. We will never know what that plan is unless we begin a personal relationship with Him. We can do this by spending time each day, asking God to reveal Himself through His Word and through our petitions and prayers. Many times we ignore God only to act on our own will so to further our earthly desires. If we give priority to God in our daily lives, we will learn how to appropriate each of God’s blessings. Why remain in a futile existence when we can experience God’s blessings each and every day?

In Genesis we can see the magnificence of God’s creation down to the very last detail. God cares about every detail of our lives as well. In Genesis we see God speaking life into existence all things with His Word. God’s Word will also speak life into our existence if we choose to read it and apply it to our lives. When God created light He separated the light from the darkness. Jesus will do the same for each of us if we follow Him, and if we truly desire for Him to be Lord over our life. 

So get to know God and the answers to all the questions we have about: who am I, why am I here, where did here come from, why is this world so messed up, is there a fix for the mess?

Begin a daily reading of Genesis. While doing so, ask God to help you with those passages you find to be difficult to comprehend or even hard to believe. Then see for yourself how God will respond to your request. I believe He will help you understand and He will revealing the meaning of His Word, revealing His Truth about the meaning of your life.

The Bible tells us:

James 1:5 Living Bible (TLB)

If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it.

Read this passage below from Jesus. Here is where to begin your journey for the meaning of life. 

Matthew 7:7-8 New International Version 1984 

Ask, Seek, Knock

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Just Sayin………………..Dave