NLT Study Bible - Gospel of John - Flipbook - Page 7
John 1:1
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1. Prologue: Christ, the Eternal
Word (1:1-18)
1In the beginning the aWord already
existed.
The aWord was with God,
and the aWord was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except
through him.
4 The Word gave life to everything that
was created,
and his life brought light to everyone.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never
extinguish it.
1
6God sent a man, John the Bapt ist, 7to
tell about the light so that everyone might
believe because of his testimony. 8John
himself was not the light; he was simply a
witness to tell about the light. 9The one who
1:1-18 The beginning of this prologue
(1:1-5) might be a poem or hymn sung
by the earliest Christians. The prologue’s
themes—the coming of the light into
the world, the rejection of the light, and
its gift of new life to believers—prepares readers for the story that follows.
1:1 Echoing Gen 1:1, John’s Gospel
introduces Jesus Christ, through whom
God created everything (1:3); Jesus
also creates new life in those who
believe (1:12-13). The Gospel opens
with its central affirmation, that Jesus
Christ, the Word (Greek logos), not only
revealed God but was God. In Greek
thought, the logos was the rational
principle guiding the universe and
making life coherent. For Jewish
people, the logos was the word of the
Lord, an expression of God’s wisdom
and creative power. By Jesus’ time, the
logos was viewed as coming from God
and having his personality (see Ps 33:6,
9; Prov 8:22-31); John affirmed this
understanding (1:14).
1:3-4 and nothing was created except
through him. The Word gave life to
everything that was created: Or and
nothing that was created was created except through him. The Word gave life to
everything. The Greek grammar allows
either possibility.
1:3 God as Christ is the logos (1:1-2); all
that God does, the logos likewise does.
Throughout his Gospel, John rightly
viewed Jesus’ actions as divine activity.
1:4-5 God created light and dispelled
the darkness (Gen 1:2-5). The darkness
resists God (3:19-21; 12:35; Matt 6:23;
Acts 26:17-18; Eph 4:17-19; 5:7-14;
2 Pet 1:19; 1 Jn 1:5-7; 2:9-11).
is the true light, who gives light to everyone,
was coming into the world.
10He came into the very world he created,
but the world didn’t recognize him. 11He
came to his own people, and even they reject
ed him. 12But to all who believed him and
accepted him, he gave the right to become
children of God. 13They are reborn—not
with a physical birth resulting from human
passion or plan, but a birth that comes from
God.
14So the bWord became chuman and
made his home among us. He was full of un
failing love and faithfulness. And we have
seen his dglor y, the dglor y of the Father’s
e
one and only Son.
15John test ified about him when he
shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I
was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is
coming after me who is far greater than I
am, for he existed long before me.’ ”
16From his abundance we have all re
ceived one gracious blessing after another.
1:4 The Word gave life: Life was
God’s original gift to his creatures (Gen
1:20-28; 2:7). Now the logos would give
these creatures the possibility of new
life through rebirth (1:13). As one of
his first creative acts, God brought light
(Gen 1:3). Now, in the re-creation of
humanity through Jesus Christ, God offered light and life anew. Light is a key
theme in John’s Gospel.
1:5 the darkness can never extinguish
it: Or the darkness has not understood
it; literally the darkness cannot grasp it.
The Greek word katalambano (“grasp”)
can mean either “understand” or “be
hostile”; in John’s Gospel, it means hostility. The darkness would try to destroy
Jesus (the light), but it would fail. The
light would successfully bring salvation
to the world.
1:6-9 God sent a man, John the Baptist
(literally a man named John) to herald
Jesus’ coming and to prepare God’s
people to receive Jesus as God’s Son
and Messiah (see 1:19-37; Luke 1:5-25,
57-80; 3:1-22; see also Isa 40:3; Mal
4:5-6).
1:8 Some Jews speculated that John
the Baptist was the Messiah; some of
his followers were even reluctant to
follow Jesus (3:22-30). However, John
the Baptist was not the light; his role
was to announce Jesus (1:19-34).
1:10 The world cannot recognize the
true light even when it encounters its
Creator. The world lives in rebellion,
loving darkness more than light (3:19;
see “The World” at 17:5-26, p. 1807).
1:12 Only through divine renewal can
people follow the light and enter God’s
family (3:1-17). Individuals must
1:1
Gen 1:1
Col 1:15
alogos (3056)
John 1:14
1:3
1 Cor 8:6
Col 1:16-17
Heb 1:2
1:4
John 8:12; 11:25; 14:6
1 Jn 5:12, 20
1:5
John 3:19; 9:5
1:9
1 Jn 2:8
1:12
Rom 8:15-16, 29
1:14
Rom 8:3
Gal 4:4-7
Phil 2:6-8
1 Tim 3:16
1 Jn 1:1; 4:2-3
blogos (3056)
Acts 6:2
csarx (4561)
John 3:6
ddoxa (1391)
Rom 3:23
emonogenes (3439)
John 1:18
believe in Christ to become children of
God (12:35-36).
1:13 a birth that comes from God:
People can escape the darkness only by
God’s grace (8:12; 12:35-36, 44-46).
1:14 The idea that the Word became
human (literally became flesh)
stunned both Greeks and Jews. Greeks
separated the sphere of God from the
mundane world of humanity, which
they called flesh (Greek sarx). John
wrote that God himself became flesh
in Christ (cp. 1:1). Jesus’ humanity and
divinity were complete, not partial.
The two ideas—Jesus as 100-percent
divine and 100-percent human—form
the bedrock of a Christian understanding of Christ. the Word . . . made his
home (Greek skenoo, “pitched his tent”)
among us: This Greek word is related
to the word used for the OT Tabernacle
(Greek skene, “tent, tabernacle”), the
tent in the wilderness where the Lord’s
glory resided and where Israel came
to worship (Exod 25:8-9). The Father’s
glory in the Tabernacle (Exod 40:34-38)
was now present in Jesus Christ (2:11;
12:23-28, 41; 17:1-5). Jesus offered
God’s unfailing love and faithfulness (or grace and truth). Despite the
world’s hostile darkness, Jesus entered
the world to save it (3:15-17).
1:15 he existed long before me: In a
society where age was respected and
honored (Lev 19:32; contrast Isa 3:5),
John the Baptist emphasized Jesus’
honor by pointing to his existence even
before creation (1:1-3).
1:16 received one gracious blessing after
another: Or received the grace of Christ
rather than the grace of the law; a literal
translation is received grace upon grace.
