John 1:1-5 - The dawn of a new beginning

John, the son of Zebedee, who became one of Christ Jesus’ twelve Apostles, wrote this Gospel as an eye-witness to His life and work. He set out to prove the deity of Christ. So he said in the conclusion of the book that there were many signs that Jesus the Messiah had done, and not everyone is recorded in this Gospel. But he had selected seven and recorded them here so that we will know that Christ Jesus is indeed the Son of God.  Clearly stated in John 20:31b, he said that these signs were chosen and 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.

In these verses, John brought us into the period before Jesus Christ came to earth. He set out in these first five verses to show Christ’s eternal status. He is the second person of the Triune God. In essence He is one with God, but in subsistence, He is different. Here John present Him as the Eternal Word that was with God at the beginning before time began. In the creation account in Genesis, we discover that God brought everything into existence through the spoken Word. In these verses, we catch a glimpse of Christ Jesus as the Eternal Living Word, who was with God at creation.  And Jesus was and still is God’s Eternal Word. So in identifying Jesus as the Word, John is in effect saying that Jesus is not just an abstract principle, but that He is a person. And He is in fact God. We can safely surmise the following from these verses:-

(1)   Jesus is the Word,

(2)  He was with God at the beginning before Creation

(3)  He is God

(4)  He is in fact the Creator, for all things have been brought into being by Him.

None of us can read this verses and not be reminded of the Creation account in Genesis. There we are told that God’s words brought about the creation. Here John is leading us to see a new order or a new beginning. That is: Jesus is the life and light of man. He is the source of life and light for all man. In John’s Gospel we see how frequently he would contrast light and darkness. It is a way of saying that both the forces of good and evil are at work. But he also shows us that the powers of darkness that set themselves against the Light, revealed in Jesus, can never overcome it.

Had it not been for Jesus the Light, we would be forever floundering in darkness! That’s why as Christians, we are the most privileged people. We have the Light that connects us to God. It is true that the more deeply we know Christ, the more dearly we will love Him. So let’s press on to know Him more!