John's Gospel

1. He is creator (verse 3). This concurs with Col 1: 16 - through Jesus all things have been created.

2. Jesus is eternal. If he created "all" things, then he himself is not part of creation, and exists before and inspite of it.(verses 1 to 3)

3. Jesus is the "word" of God, the source of truth itself (v.1 and 14)

4. Jesus is a man, with human flesh (verse 14), from where we derive the doctrine of the incarnation - God has become man.

5. Jesus is not the "Father", they are two persons. (John 1 v.1, 2 and 18)

6. Jesus gives people power to become children of God (verses 12 and 13). He is the source of life and light to the world.

7. Jesus is also seen to have superhuman knowledge (see Nathanael and the fig tree - John 1:48 and 49).

8. Jesus filfills prophecies found in the Old Testament concerning the coming Messiah, notably that John the Baptist was one that would come to prepare the way for the Lord. (compare John 1 verses 23 with Isaiah 40:3)

If John 1 verses 1 to 18 are the introduction to the nature of who Jesus is, then the following verses (19 to 51) provide examples of how individuals responded to Him. John the Baptist considers himself not even worthy to untie the thongs of his sandals, a chore normally reserved for a menial servant. He confesses Him to be the "Son of God" (verse 34) and the "Lamb of God" (verse 29) - a reference to the Jewish costom of sacrificing a lamb for the sins of man. However, where the Old Testament practise was temporary and limited, Christ's sacrific (of himself for humanity) is permanent and all-encompassing (see Hebrews 10:1-18.)

The writer then cites other individuals who have come to believe these assertations about Christ. The first ones were originally followers of John the Baptist (John 1:35) - one of whom was Andrew (verse 40). It is thought that the other follower here (who is not mentioned by name) is John (the writer attributed to John's Gospel). Andrew confesses Jesus as the Messiah (John 1:41) and brings his brother Simon to Christ. Philip is then individually called by Jesus to follow Him (verse 43) and goes to tell Nathanael the news. At first Nathanael is doubtful about Philip's claims. However, this soon changes when he encounters Jesus himself (verse 49).

John chapter 1 is extensively written about by several famous biblical scholars and theologians (most notably the first 18 verses of John 1). The influential French theologian and reformer John Calvin (1509-1564) considers the chapter in eleven different sections. The first of these gospel commentary sections look at Christ as the "speech" (word) of God, and how this asserts the divinity of Jesus. There is a whole bible commentary section on just one verse (!)(John 1:14), a section about John 1:24-28, and a page explaining the call of Simon Peter (John 1:40-42), amongst other good pages analyzing John 1 by John Calvin.

Eminent biblical scholar Matthew Henry (1662-1714) explores the doctrine of Christ by his detailed interpretation of the opening verses of John 1. Here he looks at both the divinity of Christ (John 1:1-5), and the incarnation of Christ (John 1:6-14). He also considers the call of Peter (John 1:37-42), and the call of Philip and Nathanael (John 1:43-51).

There is a sermon on John 1 by Charles Spurgeon, and three other works by this famous nineteenth century biblical writer and preacher, including an exposition on John 1:1-34, and a preach on John 1:14, entitled "The Glory of Christ - Beheld". Also in this section are the bible notes on John 1 by Charles Wesley.

There are several translations and bible versions of John 1 available for study here. There is the traditional King James Version (KJV), the scripture from the American Standard Version, and a version of John 1 suitable for older children or people with limited English vocabulary. There are also versions of John 1 in several different languages, including Spanish, Latin, German and John 1 in the Greek.