John 1–Life–In Jesus Christ

Life! Light!  Both come through God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who is the central figure in John’s Gospel.  We live in a world that is literally consumed by death, and full of darkness.  Into that world Jesus Christ came two millennia ago, and reversed the course of the world.  When He came, both life and light came with Him, because they are IN Him–”in Him was life…” the Greek word for “life” here is the word zoe, which is different than just biological life–this life is the life that lightens men’s souls, and makes them sing.  This life is the life that cannot end. This life is the life that “wells up into eternal life.” It is also light. It is light because through Jesus Christ, men can know God, know themselves, know each other, and know heaven.  The entire world is “lit up” by Jesus Christ, and He is the “true light,” who causes the “darkness to pass away.”  These two words, Life and Light, are two of John’s favorite ideas.  ”Life,” in John is always the kind of life that opposes all death–spiritual, physical and eternal.  ”Light” is always opposed to “darkness,” and is one of John’s metaphors for wrong, evil, sin.  It appears that John sort of “circles around” his main message here, which is fully expressed later, but his method is really borne of necessity.  He has to explain where all this comes from, and integrate it with the rest of the Scriptures.  So his first statement ties The Son, Jesus, to the Father, God, with eternal cords.  In fact, says John, they share the same nature–”the Word was with God, and the Word Was God.” If you think about it, this is a natural outgrowth of John’s first statement–”In the beginning was the Word.” In other words, when there was nothing else but God, then the Word was there.  What else could He be, then, but God? He Himself affirms this in John 8:58, when He says, “Before Abraham was, I AM”–identifying Himself with the God who appeared to Moses in the Burning Bush (Exodus 3). To receive Him–i. e., to open your heart to Him, and all He has to offer you, and then to decide to follow Him as the Director of your life, turns you into the Father’s own child (1:11).  More about that later.