This is the second article of six on the Gospel of John. In the first, we looked at an overview of the whole gospel to get a preliminary understanding of the book. In this second article, we will look at what is commonly called the Prologue of John. The Prologue is the first section of the book. It is very important to have a thorough grasp of the prologue before proceeding with the rest of the book.
Read Previous Posts of The Gospel of John – Part One
Prologue: The Living Word (1:1-18)
The first eighteen verses of John serve as an introduction to the book but are much more than that. They do provide an overview of the main teachings one finds in the book, but they do so in such a moving way that not only grabs the mind but also the heart. John is able, through the Holy Spirit, to communicate deep truths in compelling ways. We find in these opening verses three major themes that reverberate throughout the rest of the book. These themes are:
- The Divine Word (1:1-5)
- The True Light (1:6-13)
- The Glory of the Son of God (1:14-18)
The Divine Word (1:1-5)
John begins his book with the powerful and surprising words, “In the beginning,” words reminiscent of the first words in the Bible. In fact, the words of John in these first verses are closely related to the first chapter of Genesis. The divine Word that is with God and is God is a word of creation, as the word was spoken in the first chapter of Genesis to create all things. But this divine Word in John is also a Word of revelation and salvation. The divine Word that creates also reveals God and his plan of salvation.
The divine Word is first a word of revelation. The Word reveals in the first verse three critically important truths about God. First, the Word is eternal, “In the beginning was the Word.” Before anything at all was created, the divine Word was in existence with God. Second, the divine Word is distinct from God but in close communion with God, “And the Word was with God.” Third, the divine Word is distinct from God and part of the divine being, “And the word was God.” These three truths together express the biblical teaching of the Trinity, three persons in one divine being.
In verses three through five, we see the creation and salvation themes intertwined. First, we have the creation theme very clearly stated in verse three, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” We see here that the divine Word is the personal agent (Him) or means of creation, stated both positively and negatively. Everything outside God is created through the divine Word. In verse four, we notice both creation and salvation playing off one another with the words life and light, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Life and light are both creations of God, and especially in the creation of mankind in the image of God. Life and light are also both words used often in the rest of the gospel with reference to salvation. The salvation and the spiritual conflict themes are clearly seen in verse five, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
The True Light (1:6-13)
John continues in the prologue with the theme of light from the first section. The divine Word comes into the world to bring light into the dark world. In John, the world is the world of all people who are in opposition and rebellion to God. John introduces the figure of John the Baptist, who is the forerunner of the Messiah and bears witness to the light, but is not the light. “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.” John and Jesus have a close connection as forerunners of the Messiah and the Messiah in the plan of God to bring salvation to the world.
John now returns to the divine Word, who is incarnated in the person of Messiah Jesus. “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.” The Messiah came into the world for the purpose of giving light to people, but not all people saw and received the light, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.” Those who do receive the light of Messiah Jesus are born of God. “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” This is a true and good and beautiful way of describing someone who comes to God through Jesus. First, there is darkness; then there is light; then there is a faith-transforming family relationship.
The Glory of the Son of God (1:14-18)
John ends his prologue with a personal testimony of those who had experienced the divine Word who became flesh. The divine Word who is with God and is God became incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” The word for dwell means to pitch a tent or tabernacle. As the tabernacle (the tent sanctuary) of Exodus was the presence of God with his people and the revelation of God to his people, so Jesus is the true presence and revelation of God to mankind. Jesus is truly God with us. God condescended to the world in Jesus to make God known.
John and others saw and experienced the glory of God in Jesus, a glory filled with grace and truth, “And we have seen his glory, glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The glory of God is often seen in the OT as shining light or clouds, thunder, and lightning as a physical manifestation of the awesome presence of the Lord. Those who saw Jesus as he really is, the Word who became flesh, saw the glory of God and marveled. They saw and experienced grace and truth in Jesus.
As the one who brings grace and truth, Jesus is the manifestation of God but also the fulfillment of the promises of the OT, “For the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” The Law is not opposed to grace and truth but is contrasted to grace and truth. The Law is the promise of salvation, while Jesus is its fulfillment. The Law shows us that we are slaves to our sin, but grace and truth in Jesus frees us from our sin and brings us into an eternal relationship with God.
Conclusion
The prologue of the Gospel of John introduces the book to its readers by shining a floodlight on Jesus as the center of God’s plan of salvation, being God himself. The main point of this first section of John is to show that Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God. As the Son of God, God in the flesh, Jesus makes God known to a world that does not know God because it is in rebellion to God. Jesus comes as the true light to shine into the darkness so that people may see the truth of God’s love and grace. “No one has ever seen God; the only begotten God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”