In the Beginning...

We have officially kicked off our study of the Gospel of John with our overview of the book this week. We are now going to jump into our chapter by chapter study. This week we will be looking at John 1:1-18 which is a powerful part of Scripture.

John's gospel starts out much like Genesis with the words "In the beginning..." As we discussed this week, John was writing this at the end of the first century in Ephesus, which at the time was the center of Christianity. The church was a generation removed from Jesus' presence on earth and the ministry of the disciples (save John) and was experiencing attacks on the faith.

John wrote his gospel and 1 John for the purpose of defending the truth. In John 1, the author is very clearly communicating two fundamental truths regarding the nature of Christ's existance. What are those two truths?

Here are some other questions to consider as you read the first 18 verses of the first chapter:

1. What are the three characteristics of the Word addressed in verse 1?
2. Who does the term Word refer to in this case?
3. What does it say about his role in creation?
4. What was John the Baptist's role?
5. Why is it surprising that he was not recognized?
6. Who has the right to become children of God?
7. What does verse 14 tell us about the nature of Christ? How does that compare to the nature described in verse 1?
8. There are a two words that John uses several times in verses 14-17. What are they and what is John trying to communicate using those words?
9. Who has seen God? If Christ is God (verse 1) then we have seen him haven't we? How do you reconcile verse 1, 14 and 18?

Enjoy the study. See you Wednesday or Sunday.