Author: The apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved (13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7,20,24).
Date: Around AD 90
Theme: Jesus is the Christ – God’s Chosen and Anointed Prophet, Priest, and King (6:69; 20:31)

I. The Prologue: The Pre-eminence of the Word (1:1-18)

1. The Word is God (1:1-2)
   1. The pre-existence of the Word (1:1a)
   2. The personality and relations of the Word (1:1b)
   3. The essential identity of the Word as God (1:1c)
   4. The personal distinction of the Word (1:2)
2. The Word is Creator (1:3)
   1. All things came into existence through the Word (1:3a)
   2. Nothing came into existence apart from the Word (equivalent quantitative categorical negative) (1:3b)
3. The Word is Light (1:4-13)
   1. The life of the Word is light shining in darkness (1:4-5)
      1. The life of the Word is light (1:4)
      2. The light of His life shines in the darkness of men (whose lives have no light) (1:5a)
      3. The darkness of men is not able to overtake (put out) the light (1:5b)
   2. John [the Baptist] and the light (1:6-8)
      1. John was sent from God (1:6)
      2. John came to testify concerning the Light (1:7)
      3. John was not the light (1:8)
   3. This light and the world of men (1:9-13)
      1. This light and the world created by light (1:9-10)
         1. This light gives light to every man (1:9a)
         2. This light was coming in the present world (1:9b)
         3. This world originally came into being through this light (1:10ab)
         4. This world did not recognize its Creator (1:10c)
      2. This light and the people outwardly of the light (1:11)
         1. This light came to His own people of light (1:11a)
         2. The people of light did not receive this light (1:11b)
      3. This light and the people truly of the light (1:12-13)
         1. Those who believe and receive the light become children of God – children of light (1:12)
         2. Those who become children of God were begotten, not from blood, flesh, or men, but from God (1:13)
4. The Word became flesh (1:14-18)
   1. The Word made flesh is the human tabernacle of God (1:14)
   2. John [the Baptist] testifies to the pre-existence and pre-eminence of the Word made flesh (1:15)
   3. The greater glory of the Word made flesh displaces the lesser glory of the tabernacle and Moses (1:16-18)
      1. The veiled light of Moses is displaced by the full light of Jesus Christ (1:16-17)
      2. (Moses could never see God’s face) Jesus Christ has always seen God face to face and has explained Him (1:18)

(To be continued)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 14th, 2006 at 6:19 pm and is filed under Exposition.