I hope you read the goals of this chapter by chapter blog.  I am going to share my insights.  I want your input from your insights. 

Rule 1) The blogs on John are about trying to understand what God thinks.  

Rule 2:  Your insight shared is to be from your Bible Study.  Please do not quote others. Tell me what God is speaking to your heart.   You can use whatever sources you want for your study, but what you put here needs to be what you believe from the Bible alone. 

Rule 3) This is a subset of Rule 3 for Adventists, this is a Bible study.  You are authoritative for what you believe, even if Ellen White is your source, tell me what you have come to believe.  She is the "lesser light" leading us to the "greater light" the Bible.  Again, this is a Bible study.  Make your case from the Bible.

Rule 4) This is a study of John Chapter 1.  I love Exegetical study where you stick to the text. With that said sometimes we need systematic study to clarify a topic.  Please understand the focus is John 1.  Use whatever study method you need to make your point about what God is saying in John 1.

Rule 5) We are not doing this to argue points but to hear from the body of believers so we gain deeper insights.  You may challenge points, but I will delete comments that attack the person.  Christian forbearance is required for these blogs. 

Rule 6) Rules always have someone who did something that made the group create the rule.  We forget the names many time, but rules will change as needed.  

John Chapter 1

John 1: 1-3 Are a beautiful tied picture of the "Word" meaning the Old  Testament Scripture (and would include the New Testament today) being with God and being God and involved in the creation of all things.  It is an observation, not an explanation.  It does not explain how this works, only that it is. 

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh and "skene" (The Greek word for Tabernacle or Tabernacled as it could be translated) among us.  Between John 1:1-3 and this verse we get the picture that Jesus was the living Old Testament Tabernacle.  And God was walking the earth in a manner that would not destroy us. ("And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them." Exodus 25:9)

John starts the Gospel by stating Jesus was God, who was involved in every piece of creation, lived on the earth in human flesh. Again, this is an observation not an explanation of how the God who created the universe (or multiverse) fit into a human body.  

What we find out, is that Jesus really liked people. He had a special desire to connect with those who had no connection to God... but that is expressed by Jesus coming to earth and throughout this Gospel. 

There are many other insights from chapter 1.  I want to move to John 1: 45-51.  This is the story of Nathanael being brought to Jesus.  Jesus makes a divine character statement about Nathanael.  "Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile." Guile is the term literally for fish bait or deceit.  Nathanael asks how Jesus knew him?  

Jesus says he saw him under the fig tree.  I cannot prove this next point, but it is my understanding that Nathanael was praying about the Messiah.  That is why he buys in to Jesus, and Jesus says there are even bigger things to come for Nathanael.  

Like most of us, there are bigger things to come when following Jesus.  

Please add your insights in your comments.

 

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