John Series | The Beginning

The first four books of the New Testament are known as the Gospel.  They are made up of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Each one of these books share about the life and ministry of Jesus.  Some people ask, "why do we need four books, wouldn’t have one been enough?"  The way God often works, is that He doesn’t just have one view but multiple views and angles in order to weave together a more complete picture.   In our study of the Gospel of John we will see that John’s gospel is unique because it is more reflective and holds full conversations. We often point people who are just being introduced to Jesus because of the way it is written & the basics that it covers.

John’s Gospel starts very different than the other Gospels with how Jesus began his life and ministry.  John doesn’t start in Bethlehem in the manger but takes us back to the very beginning where the Word was with God and the Word was God.  John starts his Gospel all the way back in Genesis.  John establishes that Jesus isn’t a created being, but has always been.  Which is one of the first themes we are introduced to in John:
 
Word and Flesh | John 1:1-2
Many times we ask: “Who made God?” But the better question is, "who made the Trinity?" (because they have always been).  Everything was created through Jesus and for Jesus. Words were used to create the universe + worlds and now the Word has come to bring salvation.  This Word that always has been, puts on flesh in order give us a way back to the Father. John is connecting the dots of creation, fall and redemption.
 
Life and Light | John 1:4-5
John lays the foundation of why Jesus came.  He came to give us life.  We were dead in our sin. Jesus came to bring us back to life, not make us better people.  We are called from death to life in Christ.  Jesus says, those who are a new life in Christ will come together in community and those around them will see His life + light. We are no longer stumbling around in the darkness (Isaiah 9:2) but now have hope in the light of the Lord.  Jesus later says in John 8:12 “I am the light of the world.”
 
Grace and Truth | John 1:14  
John says the Glory of the Lord is seen in the fullness of Jesus who lived in both Grace and Truth.  These two things cause tension, because our flesh pulls us towards one more than the other.  We can get stuck in the truth ditch and just make sure people follow all the rules.  And if they don’t follow the rules, throw stones in order to knock some sense into them.  The other ditch we can get stuck in is grace.  We find ourselves in a place of thinking -- you can do whatever you want, believe whatever you think is right.  As long as you are good person and do good things then you will get into heaven.  But Jesus operates in both Grace and Truth.  Jesus loves us enough to welcome anyone who desires to call him Lord (grace).  But also loves us enough to not leave us there (truth).