JOHN: LESSON 1

LESSON

John's Prologue SCRIPTURE

JOHN 1:1-18

Lesson Questions
First Day: Read Introduction Notes.
The notes and lecture fortify the truth of the passage for understanding and application to daily life.

1. How did the notes help prepare you to study John’s Gospel? What truth stood out to you?

2. In what ways did the lecture help you understand the significance of John’s Gospel? How
will you apply what you learned?

Second Day: Read John 1:1-5.

John introduces Jesus Christ, the eternal Word.

3. From John 1:1, give three phrases about “the Word” that describe Jesus. Tell why each
phrase is important.

4. How do the following passages help you understand what John 1:3 teaches about Jesus’s
relationship to God, to creation, and to spiritual life and light?

Genesis 1:1

Colossians 1:15-17

Hebrews 1:1-3
© BSF 1960-2023 (This material may be downloaded from mybsf.org and used by BSF class members in connection
Lesson 1 | 11
with their personal BSF class studies. It may not be otherwise reproduced without BSF’s written permission.)
 5. a. Explain what the words “light” and “darkness” mean in John 1:4-5. (See also John
3:19-21; 8:12; 12:46 and 1 John 1:5-6.)

b. What examples of light and darkness do you see in the world today?

Third Day: Read John 1:6-8, 15.

Jesus’s forerunner called all to believe in Jesus, the Light.

Note: These verses refer to John the Baptist, not the apostle John who wrote this Gospel.

6. a. What was the aim and life work of John the Baptist?

b. How would you describe the primary purpose and focus of your life?

7. a. From verse 15, what three phrases did John the Baptist use to describe Jesus and what
does each mean?

b. What significant truth about Jesus was John the Baptist affirming with these words?

Fourth Day: Read John 1:9-13.

Jesus shined God’s true light into the world.

8. a. How did most people respond to their Creator when He came into the world?

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 b. Who were Christ’s “own” who did not receive Him? (See also Deuteronomy 7:6; John
19:15; and Romans 3:1-2; 9:4-5.)

c. Give examples of reasons and ways people reject Christ today.

9. According to verse 12, how do people gain the “right” to become God’s children?

10. Put each phrase from verse 13 into your own words. (See also John 3:3-8; 6:63; Romans
1:16; 10:17; Ephesians 2:1-10; and 1 Peter 1:23.)

“born not of natural descent”

“nor of human decision”

“or a husband’s will”

“born of God”

11. How can you know for sure you are God’s child?

Fifth Day: Read John 1:14, 16-18.

Jesus came to earth in the flesh.

12. Read verse 14 carefully and write, phrase by phrase, what John is saying about Jesus and
what each phrase means.

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 13. John’s personal testimony about Jesus is woven into verses 16-18.

a. What did John acknowledge in verse 16? Say this in your own words.

b. How have you personally experienced God’s inexhaustible grace?

c. Explain each thought below from verses 17-18. Which point speaks to you most
powerfully?

“The law was given through Moses”

“Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”

God’s “one and only Son, who is himself God … has made him known”

14. What have you learned about God the Father by knowing God the Son?

Sixth Day: Review John 1:1-18.

Jesus Christ is God—the only source of eternal life and light.

15. What truth about Jesus stands out to you in John’s majestic prologue?

No Passage Discovery (homiletics, word study, etc.) assigned for Group and Administrative
Leaders this week

Next step: Listen to the lecture.

14 | Lesson 1
Lecture Notes

Next step: Read the lesson notes.

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 Lesson 1 Notes
John 1:1-18

Focus Verse
“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest
relationship with the Father, has made him known.” (John 1:18)

Outline
● The Deity of Christ – John 1:1-5

● The Forerunner of Christ – John 1:6-8

● The Reception of Christ – John 1:9-13

● The Incarnation of Christ – John 1:14-18

Engage
What do you do when you have big news to deliver? Do you wait for the right moment
and gently lead up to the big reveal? Or do you burst forth with words you simply cannot
hold back? The Holy Spirit led the apostle John to wait decades before recording what
God taught him about Jesus. Every experience, sign, and expression of love resonated
with John. The truth about Jesus built up within him like water behind a dam. After years
of thinking, evaluating, and listening to God’s voice, John could not wait any longer to tell
us what we most needed to know. When John’s words about Jesus began to flow, they
exploded with passionate, God-breathed force.

John’s Gospel opens with 18 solemn and awe-inspiring verses. Each power-packed phrase
contains infinite truth that can scarcely be housed in human terms. We dive into John’s
book by first lifting our eyes to heaven and back in time. In profound yet simple language,
John exalts Christ and calls us to believe in Him. The glory of Almighty God brilliantly shone
into our world when God’s Son became a man. Jesus Christ is God—the only source of
eternal life and light. May this passage and this book deepen our love for Jesus Christ, the
eternal God who took on human flesh to redeem sinners.

John’s prologue erupts like the incredible overture of a grand symphony. He introduces all
his major themes in breathtaking style. He captures our attention with magnificent language
and astounding truth. Who is Jesus? John tells us in no uncertain terms. From his opening
revelation to the end of his book, John calls us to believe in Jesus.

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The Deity of Christ – John 1:1-5

Jesus Is Eternal God – 1:1

John earnestly wants us to know that Jesus is no mere man. With beautiful artistry, John affirms
Jesus’s deity before he tells us one thing Jesus said or did on earth. In these opening verses, John
did not mention Jesus’s name but referred to Jesus with the Greek word Logos, translated here
as “the Word.” This term occurs four times in these 18 verses—three times in the first verse and
again in verse 14. The word Logos incorporates far more layers of meaning than can be easily
captured in a single word. In ancient Greek mythology, Logos indicated the “First Cause”—an
intelligent, divine, but unknown power behind the universe. In Judaism, God’s “Word” represents
the dynamic power of His will. He speaks and it is done. Psalm 33:6 reads, “By the word of the
Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.” John fittingly used
“the Word” that signified ultimate wisdom to describe the superior glory of God the Son.

“In the Beginning Was the Word” – 1:1a

John opens his Gospel with the same majestic words that launch Genesis 1—“In the beginning.”
John’s revelation of Jesus does not begin with a manger in Bethlehem but in eternity past.
Before the world was created or time began, the Word “was.” This amazingly simple yet utterly
weighty phrase relates Jesus’s eternal pre-existence. God’s Son did not come into being when
He came to earth. Like His Father, Jesus has always existed.

“The Word Was with God” – 1:1b

The truth John reveals about Jesus continues to expand. He exposes the intimate, eternal
relationship between the Son and the Father. “With God” suggests the fellowship of two distinct
eternal persons. This amazing phrase gazes into the mystery of the Trinity—the separate
yet unified Persons within the Godhead. In His preincarnate state, Jesus enjoyed unbroken,
intimate communion with His Father. This fact magnifies the wonder that Jesus left the
splendors of heaven to come to earth and be made in human likeness.1

“The Word Was God” – 1:1c

Before the end of his first verse, John pulls out all the stops to indisputably claim that Jesus
was fully God. John intended every word of his Gospel to be read considering this life-changing
fact. Jesus shares all His Father’s attributes, possessing the same nature or essence. To know
Christ as Savior means believing He is fully God. Jesus’s deeds and words are the very deeds
and words of God Himself—nothing less. Colossians 1:15 declares, “The Son is the image of
the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.”

Jesus Is Creator God – 1:2-3

Jesus was with God “in the beginning”—a full participant with His Father when all things were
created.2 More than a casual observer, Jesus, the eternal Word, was the agent of creation. With

1. Human likeness: Philippians 2:7

2. Jesus’s partnership in creation: Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2

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 purposeful clarity, John states this truth both positively and negatively in verse 3: “Through him
all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Countless galaxies
in the farthest reaches of the universe, the smallest subatomic particles, and the human body
all reflect creation’s vast intricacies. Christ’s creative wisdom can be seen all around us.3 Jesus
was involved in creating everything that has being. In Jewish thinking, if Jesus was Creator,
then He was shown to be divine.

God’s Son remains so central to creation that even today He sustains all things by His
powerful word. Without Him, everything would fly apart.4 Every electron and every planet
maintain their orbits because of Jesus’s sovereign control. He set the earth on its axis, tilted at
the right angle and distance from the sun to sustain life. Even our individual lives depend on His
sustaining grace.

Jesus Is Life and Light – 1:4-5

Jesus, the Life and Light of all Humanity – 1:4
Humanity’s spiritual and physical life and light flow from Jesus, the eternal Word. These two
key words, life and light, appear throughout John’s Gospel as well as in the epistle of 1 John
and the book of Revelation.

God Himself first breathed life into human beings,5 whom He created in His image.6 In the
Bible, the word “life” refers to not just physical life, but includes moral, intellectual, and
eternal life.

Light describes the whole realm of reality that is dominated by God and known through Christ
Jesus. The concepts of “life” and “light” were linked by Jesus Himself when He promised,
“Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12b).
God shares the qualities of life and light with those who come to Christ for salvation. Jesus
came to offer people abundant life.7 John uses “light” as a metaphor for regeneration—new life
given by God and lived out in relationship with Him.

Jesus, the Light that Darkness Cannot Extinguish – 1:5

John often teaches truth through contrast. God’s light shines on all humankind and cannot
be overcome by sin’s darkness. Adam and Eve’s choice to distrust and disobey God broke
humanity’s fellowship and union with Him.8 The darkness of sin resulted in spiritual and
physical death.9 From that moment on, all people have walked in spiritual darkness, gripped by
death and the fear of death.10

Throughout all time, God’s light “shines” into the darkness—describing the present continuous
action of Jesus Christ, the Word. The light of God’s glory shining through Christ overcomes

3. Christ’s wisdom in creation: Psalms 8; 139:13-16

4. Jesus, the Sustainer of creation: Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3
5. Breath of life: Genesis 2:7
6. Created in God’s image: Genesis 1:26
7. Abundant life: John 10:10
8. Broken fellowship: Genesis 3
9. Spiritual and physical death: Romans 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3
10. Death’s grip: John 8:24; Hebrews 2:14-15

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 The Structure of John’s Prologue
John utilized an intentional structure to organize the monumental truths he communicated
in the prologue. He employed a style known as “chiasm” or inverse parallelism (A-B-C-D-C-
B-A form) as illustrated below.1

A. The Identity and Mission of the Word – 1:1-5

B. The Testimony of John the Baptist to the Word – 1:6-8

C. The Incarnation of the Word – 1:9-10a

D. The Response to the Word – 1:10b-13

C. The Incarnation of the Word – 1:14

B. The Testimony of John the Baptist to the Word – 1:15

A. The Identity and Mission of the Word – 1:16-18

1. Strauss, Mark. Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan
Academic, 2007, 2020.

darkness.11 The Greek word used here for “overcome” can also mean “understand.” Many see
this as a play on words to communicate that darkness can neither overcome nor comprehend
the light—two important themes in John’s Gospel. God’s victorious light and life prevail. The light
within those who find life in Christ is greater than the darkness around them.12 When believers
shine God’s light into the dark world, they reflect His light, which is set ablaze within them.13

The Forerunner of Christ – John 1:6-8

John shifts his focus from the eternal God to a faithful man God used to point to His Son.
Because the Gospel writer John does not refer to himself by name, we know that the John to
which this verse refers is John the Baptist. God sent John the Baptist to prepare the world for
the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. This trustworthy servant had one mission—to testify about
the light of Christ so that people would believe in Him. John the Baptist’s ministry was not
about himself; he humbly and consistently exalted Jesus. In the same way, your highest calling
is to point people to Jesus.

John the Baptist remains an important focus throughout the first chapter of John’s Gospel.
John speaks of him again in verse 15 and in verses 19-36—the focus of next week’s lesson.

11. Overcoming spiritual darkness: Matthew 4:16; John 3:19-21; 12:46; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Ephesians 5:8; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 1:5-7; 2:8
12. Light overcomes darkness: 1 John 4:4
13. Shining lights for God: Matthew 5:14-16

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 Jesus Christ—Son of God and Son of Man
The Doctrine of God the Son
Jesus Christ is God’s Son—the second Person of the eternal, divine Trinity. As John’s
prologue affirms, Jesus, the eternal Word, is fully God and has always existed. From eternity
past, God the Son enjoyed complete union and communion with His Father. At the point
in time God determined, He sent His Son into the world to redeem humanity from their
sinful state. Jesus humbled Himself and came to earth as an obedient servant—dying on
a cross to save sinners. Because Jesus is fully divine, He could offer the perfect sacrifice
God required and bear sin’s penalty for an infinite number of people. God has given Jesus a
name above every name and promises that every knee will one day bow before His Son.1

Jesus will return to earth to take His people to glory and bring final judgment to the world.2
To many people, Jesus Christ is a familiar name perceived to wield little impact on their
daily lives. Some are comfortable with the idea of “God” but shrink away from the message
and mission of His Son, Jesus. Failure to recognize Jesus as God means forfeiting the
greatest gift offered to humanity. There is no true and lasting hope to be found without
receiving the gift of salvation Jesus came to provide. The truth about Jesus cannot be
avoided forever. One day every tongue will confess who Jesus is—even those who deny or
ignore Him now.

Life changes forever when you understand who Jesus is and how deeply He loves you.
Worship flows when you recognize that Jesus left heaven’s glories, not for a faceless
humanity—He did this for you.3 John’s awestruck words about Jesus resonate deeply, not
merely as lofty truth, but as a transforming reality rising from eternity past to change your
present and future. Your response to Jesus matters. One day you will join every human ever
born in offering Jesus the adoration He rightfully deserves. In humility and gratitude, you
assume heaven’s posture now, adoring Christ and seeking to honor Him in this life. Jesus,
God’s own Son, died for you. Human words cannot fully express that wonder. Serving and
following Jesus becomes your greatest joy and privilege.
1. Jesus humbled and exalted: Philippians 2:5-11
2. Coming glory and judgment: Matthew 16:27; 26:64; Acts 1:10-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; Titus 2:11-14
3. Jesus’s humble sacrifice: Philippians 2:5-11

The Reception of Christ – John 1:9-13

The True Light Shines – 1:9

The infinite Son of God entered our world in human flesh. “The true light that gives light
to everyone was coming into the world.” This verse presents the amazing truth of Jesus’s
incarnation. Jesus became a man to bring the only source of true light into a dark world.

20 | Lesson 1
Christ Rejected – 1:10-11
The Creator Was Unrecognized – 1:10
This verse presents a rather astonishing fact. The Creator entered the world He made, and the
people He created did not recognize Him! Almost 80 times in his Gospel, John uses the term
“world” to indicate the sphere of human life in which people choose to live apart from God.
Those who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ prove they love darkness rather than light because
their deeds are evil.14 Whether through conscious rebellion or unconscious repression of truth,
ignoring or rejecting Jesus brings serious consequences.15

Jesus was Rejected by His Own – 1:11

As a plant turns to
Jesus came unto His “own” who did not receive Him. In one sense, everything sunlight, we were
Jesus encountered on earth was truly His “own.” The dust and grass through designed to turn to
which He walked and the people to whom He talked were all His own God. To reject God’s
creation. However, more specifically, the people of Israel failed to accept light and choose
Jesus. The nation God entrusted with His revelation of truth failed to receive
darkness signifies
the promised Messiah they awaited.16
the greatest tragedy
Israel’s rejection represents the human majority in every age who choose imaginable.
to live in alienation from their Maker. God created people with the unique
capacity to know and worship Him. As a plant turns to sunlight, we were designed to turn to
God. To reject God’s light and choose darkness signifies the greatest tragedy imaginable.

Christ Received – 1:12-13

By God’s grace and to His glory, not everyone rejected Christ. The remainder of John’s prologue
describes the blessings and benefits of turning to Christ. Faith in Christ never rises from
a manmade resolution or an emotional impulse. John uses two verbs to describe personal
commitment to God through true faith in Christ.

Receiving Christ and Believing in Him – 1:12

True believers “receive” Christ—they come to Jesus on His terms, not their own. Christ’s
saving work need not be validated by human agreement or acceptance. Instead, true believers
receive and surrender themselves to the undeniable, light-infusing, and life-transforming truth
of all Christ is and what He has declared. This means to receive Christ into your inner being as
Lord, King, and Savior from sin, including your specific sins.

To “believe” in Christ represents a deliberate commitment to everything Jesus claims as

absolutely and eternally true. An individual agrees with this truth and commits to live based on
this belief. Saving faith in Christ includes personal appropriation of His atoning sacrifice and
resurrection life. A believer grows to understand all Jesus is and His rightful claim on their life
by walking with Him and yielding to His truth.

14. Loving darkness: John 3:19-20

15. Rejecting and repressing truth: Romans 1:18-23
16. Jesus rejected: Isaiah 53:3

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 Becoming Children of God – 1:13
John wants us to recognize that our salvation is not a human work. To be adopted as God’s
child represents God’s supernatural, life-giving work on behalf of the believer. All who receive
Christ are reborn by God to be His own children. God creates eternal life within a person who
receives Christ by faith.17

John employs three negative phrases to help us understand the miracle of life in Christ.
God’s children are not born of “natural descent”—salvation is not inherited through a physical
family. No one becomes a believer through a “human decision”—mere intellectual or emotional
determination. Neither does a “husband’s will” bring salvation—a decision to receive Christ
cannot be made for someone else. New birth brings life from God because He chooses to give
it and sent His Son, Jesus, to make it possible. Have you experienced this miracle?

The Incarnation of Christ – John 1:14-18

The Word Became Flesh – 1:14

This verse represents a pivotal statement of majestic beauty as John returns to the language
that opened his prologue. A glorious expression captures the mysterious union of eternal God
with humanity: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” The Greek verb
translated “made his dwelling” relates to the noun used in the Greek Old Testament to refer to
Israel’s tabernacle. If John has this imagery in mind, the sentence could be rendered, “The
Word … pitched His tent among us.”

There is much to amaze us within this glorious truth. The infinite, eternal God made Himself
subject to time and space. The invisible God became visible on earth. Jesus’s incarnation
did not limit or negate His deity. In the ultimate expression of sacrificial love, Jesus took on
flesh to be able to die.18 Equipped to understand our struggles,19 Jesus provided an example of
reverent and obedient submission to His Father.20

John himself witnessed God’s very glory in the man Jesus Christ, especially at the
transfiguration.21 Jesus uniquely revealed and expressed His Father’s glory—the fullness of His
divine nature of grace and truth.

The Testimony of John the Baptist – 1:15

Jesus’s forerunner proclaimed Jesus’s infinite superiority. He declared that Jesus came after
him in time but surpassed him in every way because “he was before me.” With this statement,
John the Baptist affirmed Jesus’s preexistence and deity.

17. New life: John 3:6; 2 Corinthians 5:17-18

18. Able to die: Hebrews 2:9, 14-15
19. Jesus understands: Hebrews 4:14-16
20. Jesus’s example: Hebrews 5:7-9
21. Seeing God’s glory: Matthew 17:1-9; Luke 9:28-36

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The Glory of Christ – 1:16-18
The final three verses of John’s prologue continue to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ. We hear
John’s humble personal testimony woven unobtrusively into these words as his primary focus
remains on Jesus. John wrote, “Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace
already given.” The humble Gospel writer personally experienced relentless waves of God’s
inexhaustible grace. To the believer, God’s steadfast provision of grace operates like the life-
sustaining supply of oxygen inhaled into our lungs with each breath. God continues to pour
out undeserved blessings onto believers from His infinite storehouse of eternal riches.

God gave the Law for human life through Moses, but sinful humans could not keep God’s
righteous standard. Much needed grace and truth came through Christ Jesus. Christ fulfilled
the truth to which all Old Testament symbolism and ceremonies pointed.22

John concludes his prologue with the glorious reminder that God reveals Himself through His
Son. Jesus came to make His Father known. Jesus left heaven’s glories to walk on earth and
make a way for us to know God. Jesus Himself said in John 14:9, “Anyone who has seen me
has seen the Father.” Jesus Christ is God—the only source of eternal life and light. John wants
us to know Jesus and believe in Him.

Take to Heart

Hold Fast
John’s prologue opens his Gospel and introduces all his major themes. John proclaims Jesus
as the eternal Word who has always existed in indisputable equality and intimacy with God. In
rich and profound language, John affirms Jesus’s preexistence and participation in creation. He
heralds Jesus as the only source of life and light available to humankind. John lauds Jesus’s
incarnation—that the Savior of the world took on human flesh to shine inextinguishable light
into a world shrouded in darkness. The Creator of the world chose to make His dwelling among
us. God reached to us through His Son to rescue us from death and darkness.

John’s opening words not only exalt Christ but also realistically record humanity’s response to
the incarnate Creator. Jesus came into the world He created and walked among people He loved.
The very people Jesus came to save rejected Him. Yet some received Christ and believed in Him;
they were miraculously raised to life by God as His own children. John the Baptist and John the
apostle together testify to the superiority and wonder of Jesus. The eternal Son, who shares the
closest relationship possible with the Father, has revealed Himself to us. Believers exist within the
realm of God’s grace as grateful recipients of the truth and grace Jesus provides.

Apply It
Immeasurably profound truth flows throughout John’s prologue. We read of “the Word” who
existed before time began and through whom everything was created. Simple words such as

22. Law’s fulfillment: Matthew 5:17; Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 10:1-18

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 “life” and “light” capture immense concepts. The God of eternity, who surpasses us in every
possible way, became a man to save us. How do we respond to this? Should we shudder in
amazement or remain frozen in breathless wonder? Does such truth answer some questions
but raise more? God’s infinite character and mysterious ways expand and challenge our limited
understanding. How has pondering and probing this magnificent text stirred your thoughts
toward your relationship with or love for Jesus? Have you received Jesus for who He declares
Himself to be? Do you believe in Him and commit your life to His cause? Words can hardly
express the wonder that God makes sinners His own children. John’s awe-inspiring thoughts
are written for us and demand a response.

The apostle John presents Jesus as God’s Son. In his quiet and unassuming way, John testifies
to Jesus’s glory, to the truth he had embraced, and to the grace he had experienced. As an
eyewitness to Jesus’s magnificent radiance, John verifies that Jesus was God’s one and only
Son. He also expresses that “we”—speaking for believers—have received “grace in place of
grace already given.” John experienced God’s endless stream of undeserved grace flowing
into his life. When God extends grace to us, He is acting according to His nature. He delights
to show us favor. How has God poured grace upon grace into your life? Do you recognize the
strength and purpose God gives you for each new day? When God convicts you of sin or gives
you strength to obey Him, can you acknowledge His gracious investment in you? Constant
awareness of God’s inexhaustible grace prepares us to notice God’s purposeful work in our
lives. How have you seen God’s grace today? Our needs know no limit, but praise be to God—
His grace abounds!

Much about God remains unknowable to us. Human minds and language cannot capture the
boundless realities about God that will amaze believers for all eternity. So how can you know
God today—as you await heaven’s perfection? John tells us, “Look at Jesus!” When Jesus came
to earth, He showed us what His Father is like. Jesus displayed God’s character and heart. He
demonstrated God’s authority and power. He modeled God’s compassion for broken and needy
people. Jesus loved people in ways that changed them forever. We live in a world where people
attempt to define God on their own terms. This year, we have an opportunity to better grasp
who God is as we gaze intently at His Son. Ask God to expand your thoughts about Him. Seek
to grow in worship and wonder of who Jesus is and what He has done for you. 2 Corinthians
4:6 says: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts
to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.” Will you ask
God to shine His light on you this year?

24 | Lesson 1 All Scripture quotations in this publication are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ® NIV ®
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