Sun. June 27 Bible Class Lesson

There are no notes this week because I did not teach the class. I participated as a guest in another class.

Next Sunday (July 4) we will pick up with John the Baptizer (he was not a Baptist), looking at his life and ministry.

Sun. 6.20 — John 1:5,6

John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Note the tenses. The light shines; linear rather than punctilier.

darkness = past tense

The light shines and has always been shining, even before Christ.

comprehend = not understand, but apprehend, lay hold of, grasp.

Light and dark coexist;

Since the Fall, mankind has shut out the light and will not be ruled by it. As the Apostle Paul says, man is enmity with God (Rom_8:7).

Only the light of Jesus Christ can bring life to those who are dead in trespasses and sins.

2 Corinthians 4:4-6 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (5) For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. (6) For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

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John 1:6-13

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John

Contrast with v. 1, where the divinity of Christ is stated. Here the humanity (and non-divinity) of John is stated. "There was a man."

The events surrounding John's nativity are found in Luke1:5-25

in which John’s miraculous birth and purpose for living are foretold;

Luke1:39-45, which records the visit of the Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth who was then six months pregnant and

Luke1:57-80 which records the fact of John’s birth and his father’s prophecy concerning him.

The events of his ministry are summarized in Matthew 3:1-17 and Luke 3:1-22

His dress and diet in Matthew 3:4

Sunday 6.13 – John 1:1-5, cont’d

And the Word was God

and the Word was God

not "a god," as the Jehovah's Witnesses render it.

They do not render "En arche" as "in a beginning" even though there is no definite article there.

New World Translation:

1  In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. [but they only believe there is one god].2  This one was in [the] beginning with God. 3  All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.

The Greek does not allow the definite article because “and the Word was God” is a predicate.

If this passage read: "and the Word was [the] God, then it would also have meant "[the] God was the Word. That is not what John wanted to say.

Albert Barnes:  "There is no variation here in the manuscripts, and critics have observed that the Greek will bear no other construction than what is expressed in our translation - that the Word 'was God.'

"This is the foundation of the doctrine of the Trinity:
1.    that the second person is in some sense “distinct” from the first.
2.    that he is intimately united with the first person in essence, so that there are not two or more Gods.
3.    that the second person may be called by the same name; has the same attributes; performs the same works; and is entitled to the same honors with the first, and that therefore he is “the same in substance, and equal in power and glory,” with God."

John Gill: "...not made a God, as he is said here after to be made flesh; nor constituted or appointed a God, or a God by office; but truly and properly God, in the highest sense of the word...."

Robertson:

And the Word was God (kai theos ēn ho logos). By exact and careful language John denied Sabellianism by not saying ho theos ēn ho logos. That would mean that all of God was expressed in ho logos and the terms would be interchangeable, each having the article. The subject is made plain by the article (ho logos) and the predicate without it (theos) just as in Joh_4:24 pneuma ho theos can only mean “God is spirit,” not “spirit is God.” So in 1Jo_4:16 ho theos agapē estin can only mean “God is love,” not “love is God” as a so-called Christian scientist would confusedly say. For the article with the predicate see Robertson, Grammar, pp. 767f. So in Joh_1:14 ho Logos sarx egeneto, “the Word became flesh,” not “the flesh became Word.” Luther argues that here John disposes of Arianism also because the Logos was eternally God, fellowship of Father and Son, what Origen called the Eternal Generation of the Son (each necessary to the other). Thus in the Trinity we see personal fellowship on an equality.

Vine:

In the third proposition, the Word was God, the article was omitted because Θεὸς described the nature of the Word and did not identify his person.

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As the Gospel comes to a close, Thomas worships the Logos and says, "My Lord and my God," (Joh_20:28). May our study of this book cause us to do the same.

Joh_1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

The writer reiterates what he has just said in v. 1.

    Not a mere restatement, but a reptition which shows the     importance of the statement. Here, the emphasis is on     his pre-incarnate relationship with his father, not as a     created being but as the eternal son.

Discuss "eternal sonship"

    Isa_9:6

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John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Jesus Christ is the Creator.

All things

    things visible and things invisible

    things terrestial and things celestial

What is required to create?

    omniscience

    omnipotence

    infinite wisdom

        these are all attributes of diety.

There is nothing excepted

    Matter is not eternal

    Created beings did not create

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John 1:4,5  In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (5) And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

What is life?

Does this refer to:

    plant life?

    animal life?

    human life?

    spiritual life?

    a combination?

In him was life -- inherently; Joh_5:26

Barnes: “He was the agent by which the vegetable world became animated; by which brutes live; and by which man became a living soul, or was endowed with immortality.”

It refers pre-eminently to spiritual life:

Joh_6:33;     Joh_11:25; Joh_14:6

and the life was the light of men

    light = knowledge

        Jesus shows us the way to the Father

        Jesus shows us the truth

        Jesus shows us the Father

Vincent: “It is not said that the Word was light, but that the life was the light. The Word becomes light through the medium of life, of spiritual life, just as sight is a function of physical life.”

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Note: these notes are primarily for the benefit of my Sunday Bible class; therefore, I will neither post nor respond to Arian comments.

John 1:1, Pt. 1

The following matter are notes from which I taught my adult Sunday School class. They are posted here primarily for the benefit of class members who were not in attendance for the lesson.

John 1:1-5  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  (2)  The same was in the beginning with God.  (3)  All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.  (4)  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.  (5)  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

Verse 1: In the beginning

   To what does this refer?

Genesis 1:1 — In the beginning God created the heaven and the     earth.

       What does this imply?

            The second person of the Godhead is eternal.

He was in the beginning and pre-existed the beginning. V. 3 tells us he is the Creator of all things; therefore he has to pre-exist his creation.

John 17:5  — And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Hebrews 1:10 — And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

Micah 5:2 — But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Isaiah 9:6 — For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

“As the eternity of God is the ground of all religion, so the eternity of Christ is the ground of the Christian religion. Could our sins be perfectly expiated, had he not an eternal divinity to answer for the offences committed against an eternal God? Temporary sufferings had been of little validity, without an infinity and eternity in his person to add weight to his passion.”— Stehen Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God

            The second person of the Godhead is uncreated.

Colossians 1:16-17  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:  (17)  And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

If “by him all things consist", he must be excluded as a created being because it is impossible to create oneself.

NOTICE: John wrote, “In the beginning”; not from the beginning.

In the beginning was the Word   

The Word was not a physical being (John 1:14 -And the Word was made flesh).

The Word was not Jesus. That name was given to him after his incarnation.

    The Word is the thing spoken

"Logos is common for reason as well as speech." — Robertson

"Hence λόγος (logos) is, first of all, a collecting or collection both of things in the mind, and of words by which they are expressed. It therefore signifies both the outward form by which the inward thought is expressed, and the inward thought itself….” — Vine

Jesus Christ, the Divine Logos, is the physical manifestation of all that God says to the human race.

“and the Word was with God”

“with” =  προς (pros); toward

speaks of

distinctness

    intimacy

    communication

“and the Word was God”

We will pick up with this clause next Sunday.

Introductory Matter – Gospel According to St. John

The following matter are notes from which I taught my adult Sunday School class. They are posted here primarily for the benefit of class members who were not in attendance for the lesson.

Preliminary remarks:

I believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible. [see this Theopedia article for explanation). This means that I have a high view of Scripture. I believe that when John used certain words it was the design and intent of the Holy Spirit that John used that particular word. It also means we must handle the Word of God reverently, carefully, and honestly.

This is to be an exhaustive study of the Gospel. I anticipate that we will be at it two years or more, should God give us time. We are not in a hurry. I hope to post the more salient portions of the lessons in my blog for those that are absent, so you will be able to keep up and not miss out on much.

During the course of our study I will be using vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to you. Do not let me get ahead of you. I will try and define terms, but if I don’t — or if you have a question — do not be afraid to interrupt me. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance can hurt you. So ask your question.

Some of you may have different translations than I have. You will forgive me, but I will be using the King James Version because I like it. It may not be the only translation and it may not be the best. But it’s the one I will be using.

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Author: John, the son of Zebedee and Salome

(Mark 1:16-19) Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him. And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.

(Matt. 27:56)  Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.

Cf. (cf. means “compare)

(Mark 16:1-2)  And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.  (2)  And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

John was uneducated, which means that he was not rabbinically trained. He did not have a seminary education.

The book is written in a simple style. The vocabulary is meager, with many words and expressions being often repeated.

(Act_4:13)  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

Close friend of Jesus

John was a cousin of Jesus. His mother and Jesus’ mother were sisters.

Only John, along with his brother James and Peter were present at the raising of Jairus’s daughter, the transfiguration, and witness to Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.

John was “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” (John 19:26). It was John who leaned on Jesus’ chest at the Last Supper (John 13:23)

It was John who, at the foot of the cross, was entrusted with caring for his aunt and the mother of Jesus.

Ministry:

Supposedly lived in Jerusalem for 15 years after the ascension, until Mary died.

No record of him being in Jerusalem after A.D. 50.

Elder in Ephesus

Exiled to Patmos either during the reign of Nero or Trajan

Wrote three epistles: 1, 2, and 3 John

Wrote the Apocalypse (either before A. d. 70 (internal evidence) or around A.D. 90 – 95 (external evidence).

Died in the last decade of the first century, being in his nineties.

John’s Gospel is distinctly different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

John	Synoptics
Jesus often speaks of himself	Jesus seldom speaks of himself
Style is simple; vocabulary limited
Jesus’ birth not mentioned
Jesus’ baptism not recorded
Jesus’ divinity emphasized	Jesus’ humanity emphasized
No parables, except John 15	Parables common
No demons exorcised	Demons exorcised
Only one reference to scribes (John 8:3)	Many references to scribes
Ministry: 3 years	Ministry: 1 year
Locus of ministry: Judea & Jerusalem	Locus of ministry: Galilee
Includes miracles not mentioned in synoptics (Cana, Lazurus)
No Sermon on the Mount
No Olivet discourse

Purpose in writing: (John 20:31) But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Exposition of John 1:1 to be posted shortly, Lord willing.