(You can listen to this on audio and pause the audio to follow page links, then, you can resume the audio, when you are ready. Please note that I use page links in lieu of footnotes and references for important study details).
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN – Part 4
John 1:2,3, says, “He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
NOTES
HE: from the Greek word, ‘houtos’, and, ‘hauté’, and, ‘touto’: this part of speech is a Demonstrative Pronoun.
Definition: ‘this’.
Usage: this; ‘he, she, it’.
WAS: from the Greek word, “eimi”, meaning “I exist; I am”; eternally self-existent.
BEGINNING: ‘arche’. From archomai; a commencement, or (concretely) chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank) — beginning, corner, (at the, the) first (estate), magistrate, power, principality, principle, rule. to commence (in order of time) — (rehearse from the) begin(-ning).
CAME INTO BEING: from the Greek word, ‘gínomai’, properly, to emerge, become, transitioning from one point (realm, condition) to another. Unlike ‘eimi’ or self-existent.
COMMENTS
Notice that the descriptive personal pronoun for Jesus, the Word: ‘He’. It is clear to say that God is not defined by any human term. He, ‘houtos’, is unbounded, undefinable, indescribable and is all inclusive.
Secondly, not only is God eternal and self-existent, He was before there was anything and moves about, from realm to realm, at His will (see the Greek word ‘ginomai’).
What is being emphasized is the completeness and the thoroughness by which all things have come into being. The origins of things created and formed, animate and inanimate, plant, animal and human, all the elements, known and unknown, seen and unseen; all things came into being through the Word, (Jesus), by the Word and because of the Word. There is nothing left to be created which forms all things and there is no need to look elsewhere for their origins.
There are those, both inside the Church and outside the Church who would propose that there is a better explanation found in science or an admixture of science and The Word. This is patently absurd and false. Anyone who denies the the inerrancy and the infallibility of any of the written Word, is denying all of the Word of God.
C.S. Lewis, a lay theologian and a prolific writer and Christian apologist, suggests that when you come upon matters of God and the Bible, you are best served if you act on the things of God’s Word you can understand and to temporarily put aside the things which you cannot understand, until God reveals the truth of those things to you, remembering that the creation of God can never stand in judgment on God or His Word without suffering potentially severe and catastrophic results. (See Hebrews 6:4-8)
The entire Word of God is breathed by God. You cannot depend on the parts of the Word which your human and fallible mind chooses as true if you then reject other parts of God’s Word. You must believe all of God’s Word, or, you in effect, believe none of It. Thus, you cannot expect God to respond faithfully to an unbelieving and faithless person.
John 3:18, tells us that, “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Finally, what do these verses mean to the believer?
Hebrews 11:6, tells us, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
The rewards of a believer can be found throughout the Bible. For this example, I will only cite select verses from Hebrews. We will look at the our Levels of Learning as we study, pray and meditate on the Word of God.
To the DIANOIA (the cognitive mind) – WHAT YOU WILL THINK AND DO.
Hebrews 11:1-2, says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
(‘Substance’ is the manifestation of Faith. This ‘hope’ is a certainty. This evidence is the proof of those things not yet seen. You will obtain these things and God will grant you ‘a good testimony’ based on your manifest faith in Him.)
Verse 3. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
(This understanding flows upward from our hearts into our minds, given by our teacher, Jesus Christ and by our tutor, God the Holy Spirit. We will be able to understand that the things which are visible come from things which are not yet made. So, we ask anything in His Name and He will do it, so the Father will be glorified.)
PSUCHE, (The Soul – Mind, Will & Emotions) – HOW YOU WILL BE AFFECTED AND MOVED TO ACTION.
Verse 6. ”But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
(God pays wages of righteousness, which is life, to those who diligently, (ardently crave, seek and demand to find), Him. This must not and cannot be under emphasized.
Verse 7. ”By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
PNEUMA. (The Spirit) – THE HOLY SPIRIT IMPARTS YOU HIS WISDOM INTO THE CAUSE OF ALL THINGS.
Verse 11. ”By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Verse 12. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.
(You, too, will receive strength that defies the natural order, if you only believe and act as God prompts you. The blessings and fruit of your faith and obedience will multiply beyond your ability to count them.)
Verse 23. “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
(God tells us, at least 60 times in the Bible, “do not fear” or “fear not”. Read Joshua 1:5-9“, slowly and carefully, “No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. verse 6. “Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. verse 7. “Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. verse 8. “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. verse 9. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
This can be done only when you practice your faith. Meditate on these things and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind.)
Verse 27. “By faith Moses Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.
(For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. THIS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO KNOW, DEEP IN OUR SPIRIT AND ACT UPON IT IN OUR SOUL AND LIFE, IN THESE LAST DAYS.)
Verse 28. “By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.
(It is urgent that we understand and practice the covering of protection and grace for our children. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb and His Blood is our covering.)
Verse 29. “By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.
(Your obstacle may not literally be the Red Sea, but, by faith, when you encounter seemingly impassable obstacles, you will pass over them on steady and dry ground, and your pursuers, your enemies will be destroyed. You must both know and do this.)
Verse 30. “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. Verse 31. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.
(Obstacles in your way, will fall at God’s command, and you will live in peace. As God says in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.”)
Verse 32. “And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, verse 33. Who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, verse 34. quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Verse 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; verse 36. and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. Verse 37. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, verse 38, (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. Verse 39. “And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, verse 40. because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”
I have used Hebrews for the background study of John 1:1-3, since the Bible is the entire Truth of God and is its own commentary.
Let’s Do the Word of God and LIVE!
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
Please click here for the next episode in THE GOSPEL OF JOHN – Part 5
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