I was studying the Gospel of John with my students a few years ago. I have always loved this gospel because it is written to "Second Generation Christians". As a first generation Christian, I have seen the emphasis on being "born again" meaning "having to turn around" be correct for myself, but what about the second, third and further generations who have only known Christ. They have a conversion experience, but why would we teach that they, who have always known Christ, have the same experience I did?
In fact, the Greek in John 3:3 does not translate to "born again", instead it translates "born from above". In fact I discovered I needed to take a deeper look at the Gospel of John. So over the past few years I have read and reread the Gospel of John.
To help others I made a Study Guide for the Gospel of John that you can download from the Site Director page. There are three relationships I ask people to look for and record on the sheet from the Gospel. The first is Jesus' relationship with His Father. The Second is Jesus' Relationship with His Followers. And the Third is Jesus' Relationship with His Non-followers.
There are two reasons listed at the bottom of the page that came out of my study. It was my second reading I spotted the first. It took at least five readings to notice the second. And they are critical to understanding this Gospel. 1) Jesus wants the same relationship with you that He has with His Father. 2) Both the Followers and Non-followers are church members. Let these two thoughts sink in.
I do not believe I have mined all the gems from John's Gospel. So I am going to blog about some of my insights from each chapter. I would like you to share your insights about these chapters so we can help each other understand the wonderful Savior we have.
We will share many insights that that make my heart smile. Many of these are simple to read, but are not easy to live. We will share the importance of seeing the Kingdom of God around you. And my favorite passages about how to move from "Servant of God" to "Friend of God". Why miracles happen and when they stop.
Print out a copy of the study and look at each chapter. Perhaps you can study with your spouse, or your whole family. I hope you will keep your notes for when you reread the Gospel of John. And perhaps you will use them to study with others. Most of all, let's see Jesus and how much He loves you and wants you in His life.... for eternity.