John 1:1-5 – The Beginning, Creation

      1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Interesting Words
beginning

(ἀρχή – Greek) – arché the beginning, the origin, properly, from the beginning (temporal sense), i.e. “the initial (starting) point” – Heb 1:10; 1John 1:1; 1John 3:8;

Word

(λόγος – Greek) – logos a word (as embodying an idea), a statement, a speech, divine utterance, analogy, the expression of a thought – Matt 8:16; 2Peter 1:19; Heb 4:12; Rev 19:13;

life

(ζωή – Greek) – zóé life, both of physical (present) and of spiritual (particularly future) existence, it always (only) comes from and is sustained by God’s self-existent life. The Lord intimately shares His gift of life with people, creating each in His image which gives all the capacity to know His eternal life… Life indeed –
John 5:26, 10:10, 14:6; Rom 5:10, 6:23;

Cross References

▪︎ John 1:14, 5:24;
▪︎ John 5:24, 11:25-26, 15:15;
▪︎ John_20:30-31
      30Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

▪︎ 1John_1:1-3
      1What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life2and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.

▪︎ 1John 5:13;
▪︎ Rev 22:17;

Discussion Questions
Download questions to Word document (download). Enter your answers, then meet with some friends to discuss. You can also compare your ansers to mine for a virtual discussion… my answers… answers

1. What is the significance of John describing God’s initial creative act as being that of communication?

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2. What did the Word accomplish in these first few moments?

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3. What does the immediate context tell you about the Word?

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4. Looking at John 1:14 (under cross references)…   How does this verse describe the Word?    Who was He?

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5. What does He offer to people today (note specifics in John 1:4 and John 1:5)?

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6. Consider also the other cross references… What does Jesus offer to mankind?

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7. What was John’s purpose in writing this gospel?

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