John 1:4-5 4In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it
Last week we began a study into the fourth Gospel…the Gospel of John…unlike the synoptic Gospels of Matthew…Mark…and…Luke…John’s gospel develops a Christology—an explanation of Christ’s nature and origin—while leaving out much of the familiar material that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all share.
The central theme in the Gospel of John is the divine “Logos” became flesh and dwelt among men in the person of Jesus.
John 1:1-2 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2He was with God in the beginning.
In his opening statement John wants to tell us four things about Jesus:
(1) the time of His existence,
(2) the essence of His identity,
(3) His relationship to God, and
(4) His relationship to the world.
1. The Time of His Existence
John begins his gospel of Jesus at the same point the Bible begins in Genesis: “In the beginning” [Jn 1:1; Gen 1:1] …so right away John is telling us that Jesus was before time…before history…and before creation.
Using the phrase “In the beginning” was not an accident…the first thing John’s going to tell us about what Jesus did is that He created the universe… “In the beginning,” takes us back to Genesis 1:1, at the creation of heaven and earth.
It’s important to look at this verse in the Greek…the true meaning of what John is trying to impart clearly is revealed…the word ‘was’in the phrase “In the beginning was” …is in the imperfect tense…the imperfect tense denotes continuous, ongoing or repeated action in the past.
The verb “was” indicates that at the beginning of the universe the Word already was in existence…it’s important that we know that Jesus was not created…He has always been with the Father throughout the trillions of years in eternity past.
That’s affirmed in [v.3] …Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Jesus was in existence before creation…before there was any created matter, there was the Word, the Son of God.
John begins his Gospel by locating Jesus…the Son of God in relation to time, namely, before time.
2. The Essence of His Identity
At the end [Verse 1] John writes: “The Word was God.” …in these three words John gives us some heavy doctrine…but uses some very basic and simple Greek words in doing it…this could not get simpler and it could not get heavier.
John in essence is telling us the same thing we tell our AWANA kids…our kids in children’s church when they ask: “Where did God come from?” …we say… “God didn’t come from anywhere…He was always there…He never had a beginning…He was there before anything else was there…He made everything else…there was never a time when there wasn’t God.”
Then you can just about count on the next question being: “But how did He get to be the way He is?” ….and the answer is…whether you’re a Sunday school teacher or a PHD teaching seminary the answer’s the same: “He didn’t get to be that way…He’s always been that way…He is what He is…nobody made Him the way He is …He just is…that’s what it means to be God.”
It’s important to note that John brings this up for one purpose…to describe that the one thing that Jesus as the Son…and God as the Father is…is that they are life…they’re alive…they’re a living person…not a human person…but a divine person…as far back as you can go in eternity, forever and ever and ever there is one changeless reality—they are life.
The Word, who became flesh and dwelt among us, is the man Jesus who is God.
3. His Relationship to God
In [v. 1] “the Word was with God …the ‘Word’ who is Jesus…is God…again, the word ‘was’ is in the imperfect tense, denotes continuous, ongoing or repeated action in the past.
From all eternity past…Jesus’ relationship to God is He is the fullness of deity in a distinct Person…He is the image of God…perfectly reflecting all that God is.
So we have seen:
- the time of his existence (before all time)
- the essence of his identity (“the Word was God”)
- His relationship to God (“the Word was with God”).
4. His Relationship to the World
Verses 3: “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men”
For a few minutes I want us to look at what that means… “In Him was life” …what does it mean to say that Jesus is the source of life or that He is the life?
The first answer to that question is one that takes us…again…back to the opening pages of the Book of Genesis.
The Word who became flesh…He who created the universe also gave ‘life’ to the entire world…what better proof that the Word was God…He is the creator of all things…He created everything without exception and everything includes our physical life as well.
John is saying…that all things that were made by him had life in them.
However, this is only the beginning of our understanding of what John intended by the use of the word “life” in the Gospel.
Back to Genesis…another part of creation consisted “in breathing into man the breath of life,” [Genesis 2:7] …God is declared to be “life,” or the “living” God because He is the source of life. This attribute is here ascribed to Jesus as well.
But…here’s the unfortunate part…not all life has in them the light which can guide them to heaven…therefore the expression ‘in him was life’ is not to be understood as simply having a knowledge of God by wisdom…because the world by wisdom does not know God [1 Cor. 1:21].
We live in a world that believes salvation…is just believing in God…it’s not…we live in a world that believes salvation is just believing in Jesus…it’s not.
…Muslims believe in Jesus: he’s considered a prophet in the religion of Islam. …Hindus believe in Jesus: he’s a great guru for them.
…historians believe in Jesus: He was a first century Jew who lived in Galilee.
…the demons in hell believe in Jesus…they have more sense than most of the people who claim to know Jesus…at least they tremble when they hear His name.
…When you don’t know what Jesus did…then you’re not saved.
…When you don’t know that Jesus is the Son of God…then you are not saved.
…When you don’t know why Jesus needed to die…then you are not saved.
…When you don’t know that Jesus rose from the dead…then you are not saved.
…If you think you can contribute to your own salvation…believing Jesus is not enough to save you…then you are not saved.
Merely believing in Jesus cannot save…this is the essence of John’s Gospel…here is how you know when believing in Jesus saves you.
4In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it
It’s important to look at this verse in the Greek…the true meaning of what John is trying to impart clearly is revealed…as before…the word ‘was’in the phrase ‘in him was life’…is in the imperfect tense…the imperfect tense denotes continuous, ongoing or repeated action in the past.
John is saying…the Word…Jesus has always been the source of life…this means that from all eternity ‘life’ resided in the Word…Jesus.
Then John switches from the imperfect tense ‘was’ to the present tense in the next phrase… ‘the light shines in the darkness’…the word ‘shines’ is in the present tense indicating a continuous ongoing action…there will never be a time when the light does not shine.
If I were to put a Peluso paraphrase on verses 4 and 5 it would read: ‘From all eternity past Jesus has been the source of life and He will continue to be the source of life throughout eternity.’
When reading this in the English translation that Jesus is ‘life’ and ‘light’ it’s easy to treat it as sort of ho-hum…not realizing that John is referring to something more than merely physical life and rays of sun light.
In Jesus we have the embodiment of both ‘life’ and ‘light’…life and light are two of the basic words on which the Fourth Gospel is built on.
They are two of the main themes which is the aim of the Gospel…throughout his gospel he will develop and expound on these two truths about Jesus.
Here’s the importance in knowing the languages so you can see the intensity in John’s desire for us to know what kind of life Jesus is offering us.
Here’s the importance of the word ‘life’ in the phrase ‘in Him was life’…in English there is only one word for ‘life’ that is ‘life’ …usually associating things that are alive from things that are dead…BUT…in the Greek there are three words for ‘life’ and they all mean something different.
One word for life is the word—βίος (bios)—in which we get the English word biology…it refers to the duration of life…as we think about what life means…the time between one’s birth…and one’s death…or it can refer to the necessities of life
such as…food, shelter, and clothing [Luke 8:14].
The second word for life is the word—ψυχή (psuché) (psoo-khay’)—from where we get the word physiology…referring to the mind…emotions…and will of a person.
The third word is the word John uses for life is this verse…it is—ζωὴ (zoe)—it refers to life as God has it…a life not limited by time…nor hindered by death.
So…looking at all three Greek words for ‘life’ we see:
…in our natural birth as human beings we experience our physical (bios) life
…in our physical life we possess all the emotions (psuche) (psoo-khay’) of life
BUT John’s ultimate purpose is not for men to have physical life…everyone born has that attribute…John’s purpose is to go deeper than that…so for John…life in Jesus has a double meaning…it’s having a physical life…and it’s having life by being born a second time.
So John uses the third Greek meaning for the word ‘life’ (zoe) life which brings us back to God’s original intention for us.
Eternal life can be seen everywhere in the Bible…from the tree of life in Genesis to the same tree seen at the end of the Bible in [Rev. 22:14]…seeing the tree of life in both the first and last books of the Bible helps us see that the zoe life…is a life that shines in eternity past…that continues to shine today…and will shine in the future.
It is the life God originally intended for us…a life God is offering to every person who has ever lived…a life not limited by time nor hindered by death…it is the central theme in the Bible.
Looking at John 10:10 we can see the impact of having a zoe life…and understand the full meaning of ‘I came that they may have life and have it abundantly’ …two things about this verse:
FIRST…we need to have God’s view as shown in the Bible of what a zoe life is…far too often this verse gets distorted and misused.
What we are talking about is the combination of both life and light…when you receive Jesus, you receive life…and when you receive life you receive light.
This is the biblical meaning of ‘and that life was the light of all mankind.’
SECONDLY…what this verse means is vastly different than what is being preached today…it doesn’t mean that Christ came so that we could have a better or improved human life…this is not what this verse is referring to.
Having the abundant life has nothing to do with your physical wellbeing…you having a better job…nicer car…bigger house…God is not focused on or concerned about the material things in your life.
SO…what John means when he says that Jesus…is life…is union with Jesus is everything.
[1 John 5:11–12] : “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
So if you have him, you have life. If you reject him, you reject life. [John 5:40]
So I think it’s clear that when John says in [John 1:4], “In him was life,” he means spiritual life…eternal life…life that saves from judgment….if you have the Son, if you have Jesus—He is in you and you are in Him…you have life forever …a vital union with Jesus is everything.
The second important word in [v. 4] is the world ‘light’ …Jesus Himself says“I am the Light of the world” [John 8:12].
In declaring Himself to be the Light of the world: Jesus is claiming that He is the exclusive source of spiritual light…no other source of spiritual truth is available to mankind.
In just 5 words “and the Word was God” (καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος)John destroys every other religion and cult in existence…no other religion or cult can make the claim that their founder is on an equal with God…no other religion or cult can show evidence that their founder had all the attributes and qualities of God…that in essence He is God.
Spiritual darkness is the state of a person who is living apart from God…living in rebellion to God which is equivalent to living in spiritual darkness…spiritual darkness means not having fellowship with God through a relationship with Jesus.
John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people: ‘I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life.’
As Christians Jesus is speaking of the light of His Truth…the light of His Word… the light of eternal Life…those who perceive the true Light will never walk in spiritual darkness.
Hence the importance of ‘life’ and ‘light’ … 4In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
The good news is that Jesus brings light into the world…that He not only dwelt among us…but that He taught us…He healed us…He rebukes us…He loves us…and died for us.
His life-giving Spirit is the light that shines into the spiritual darkness of the sinner’s heart…He is the only One who can open the eyes of the blind…who can bring us out of spiritual darkness.
“In him was life” …only in Jesus is there eternal life because only through him can our deadness be replaced with life and our blindness be replaced with light.
God’s desire is that we focus on His divine…eternal…spiritual ‘zoe’ life…that we won’t focus on our ‘bios’ physical life…or (psuche) (psoo-khay’) emotions of life.
In the first four verses of John’s Gospel…that really goes on for another 21 chapters… John has already made an invitation…come to Jesus…believe on Jesus…receive Jesus …and He will be your life and your light both now and throughout eternity.