1:1-18 In him was life

February 12, 2021

Read John 1:1-18

This opening section of John’s gospel is far more than a preface – it is a prologue that summarises the meaning of the whole book and all that follows is an explanation and exposition of it. This gospel was written so that readers "may know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing in him they might have life" (20:31). So, right from the outset, John focuses on this twin purpose of showing who Jesus is and that he is the source of life.

Jesus is the Word of God, the one who has always existed and who is in such total and intimate relationship with the Father, the One and Only, that he himself is truly God (1). It is because of who he is that Jesus uniquely can reveal God to us; he is the light who shines in our darkness to make God known (5,18). As Jesus later said, “The one who has seen me has seen the Father” (14:9). In Jesus, the grace and truth of God are visible – and accessible – to us (14,17). This calls for a response, a choice of whether to believe in him or not (11-12).

It is because of who he is that he is the source of life (4). This theme of life is the second major emphasis of John’s gospel. John uses the word life over 50 times, often describing it as eternal life (e.g. 3:16), where eternal means literally of the age to come. So, it not just about duration (everlasting) but of quality – the very life of God himself which is also in Jesus and which he can therefore give to those who believe in him (5:21). Such life is the result of being in relationship with him, of being born into his family, through "believing in his name" (12-13).