The extraordinary poem hidden in the first 18 verses of John

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Goal:
To be impacted by the power and the beauty
of the painting of Jesus
at the beginning of John.

The Gospel of John is like a pool,

shallow enough around the edge for a child to play,

but so deep that no diver can reach the bottom.
author unknown

Word logos —this was a term used in Greek philisophy at the time. John is redefining it, “I will tell you about the true logos”
- logos —underlying principle from which everything exists
- a kind of “truth principle” we get the word Logic from it
- John says “Yes, this is actually Jesus, and
- God speaks and the universe comes into being
- The Word declares God. Jesus’s role is to be the light, declaring the truth of who God is to the universe
- was God argument with a JW “was a God” because “the” is not there.
  - Greek is a very precise language. “a God” “divine” “God”
  - He could not have said it more precisely
  - “only begotten” —problem is that suggests in our modern English that he was born
Word: God speaks and the universe comes into being
- Note that the story has begun now, the creation of this world. (Old Creation)
Can’t cope with it, grasp it, either to understand or to dominate.
- Jesus has always been speaking: The stars at night. The beauty of creation. The wonder of humanity.
- But what about the Old Testament prophets, Moses, and all the O.T. Books?
The story continues. The whole of the Old is summed up in John the B.
- He was revealing the light, but fortold another
The climax – Jesus himself will come!
But the light is not received by the nation of Israel (although many did)

Jesus came that we could be “born of God”
Grasp the difference between the Old and the New

What is From Below and what is From Above

Live with a focus on the New, not the Old
Think of how precious Jesus is to you.
He has come from the Father’s side, to you

So that you might have his life