The Backstory: The Prologue

Lesson 3

The Backstory: the Prologue

(John 1 & 17)

Copr. 2024, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

Introduction: If you are reading this study, likely you believe in Jesus. What does that mean to you? How much of Jesus’ background do you know and understand? How do you understand His role in the universe? Let’s dive into our study of the Bible and see how John introduces us to Jesus. How does John’s introduction inform us on the larger, grander view of Jesus? Let’s go!

1. The Word
   
   1. Read John 1:1. Right away we run into a problem. How can the “Word,” whatever that is, be both “with” God and “was” God?
   2. Before we try to sort out this “with/was” business, let’s read John 1:14 to determine who is the Word. Who is He? (Jesus. When John writes of the Word becoming flesh and dwelling with us, he can only be describing Jesus.)
      1. Notice that Jesus is referred to “as of the only Son” who is “from the Father.” Now we have added “from” to our “with/was” mystery!
   3. Read John 1:2. How long has the Word been with God? (Since the beginning.)
      1. In John 1:14 and John 1:18, among many other places in the Bible, Jesus is described as the “Son” and God is described as the “Father.” That suggests that God the Father somehow created Jesus the Son. Is that true? (It could not be true if Jesus was literally present at the beginning with God.)
         
         1. Does being present at the beginning explain the “with” God of John 1:1? (I think it does. Jesus was with God the Father from the beginning.)
   4. Look again at John 1:1. We now have a better understanding of the “with” God statement. How do you understand the way in which Jesus being “God” is consistent with Jesus being “with” God? (American law has a statutory construction rule that logically applies here. Two statutes are not in conflict if they can both be fully applied. Jesus is clearly stated to be “God” and to be “with God.” That points to a joint identity.)
      1. Now that is resolved, how should we understand the “from” part of the description? (Jesus came to us from heaven, that explains the “from” statement.)
2. The Creator of All
   
   1. Read John 1:3. What has Jesus done? (He is the Creator of “all things.” “All things were made through Him.”)
   2. Let’s read the first of two related texts. Read Genesis 1:1-3. How did Jesus create? (By speaking things into existence.)
      1. How does this give fuller meaning to the reason for calling Jesus the “Word?” (Jesus’ word created all things.)
   3. The second text is Romans 1:18-20. How is believing in Jesus defined here? (Looking at the Creation and believing that Jesus exists and that He created it.)
      1. Romans 1:18 refers to the unrighteous who are truth suppressors. Do you know anyone who suppresses this truth? (Everyone who promotes evolution in place of creation is a truth suppressor.)
         
         1. How does that help us to better define what it means to “believe in Jesus?” (This is not simply a matter of believing in His existence, rather we must accept as truth what He says about Himself.)
         2. Imagine if I wrote to your employer that your work could be accomplished just as well if you were fired and your work left to chance and natural selection. Would you be offended? (Of course. Plus, unless you are a politician, it would not be true!)
3. The Light
   
   1. Read John 1:4-5. What conflict do we find here? (There is light and there is darkness in the world. Jesus is the light, and the opposition has not overcome Him.)
   2. Read John 1:9-12. What divide do we see among people? (There are those who do not receive Jesus, and do not believe He made the world, and there are those who do receive Him and believe in His power and His character. Those who believe have the right to claim they are children of God.)
      1. I hear people in the United States say that we “have never been so divided.” Is that true? (There has always been a divide between the children of God and darkness. Darkness is defined as those who do not believe in the power of God.)
   3. Read John 1:17. How does “grace and truth” differ from the law? (The full light of God is that Jesus came to show us the truth of God’s nature. Central to that truth is that we are saved by grace and not works of the law. See Galatians 3:10-14.)
   4. Re-read John 1:10-11. John is obviously looking back over his time with Jesus. Who do you think John has in mind when he describes “His own people” who “did not receive Him?” (The Jewish leaders who conspired to kill Jesus. And Judas, who was one of the disciples.)
      1. Judas and the Jewish leaders obviously believed in Jesus. What was their error? (Judas is a prime example of what we are talking about. He thought he was smarter than Jesus. He thought he would force Jesus to become king of the Jewish nation. A Christian can believe in the existence of Jesus, but if you do not believe and trust in what Jesus says, you are following darkness and not light.)
      2. Did the Jewish leaders and Judas think they were religious? Did they spend time promoting their religious views? (Yes. From this we learn that thinking we are religious, even having a job promoting religion, might be at best useless. The key is whether you believe what Jesus and the Bible say, or whether you create your own moral compass.)
4. The Glory
   
   1. Read John 17:1-2. What “hour” is Jesus speaking about? (Read John 16:32. Jesus is referring back to His statement about the disciples deserting Him. That is a reference to His arrest which resulted in His crucifixion.)
      1. With that background, what is the “glory” for Jesus and the Father? (They are locked in a battle against Satan. That fight involved whether the law was just, whether Satan was the lord of the earth, and whether Jesus would fulfil the obligation of humans to keep the law, and bear our sins by His death. Jesus won the battle on all these points.)
   2. Read John 17:3. How does Jesus describe the path to eternal life? (To know God the Father and Jesus.)
      1. What does this suggest about how we can know the Father? (We know the Father through Jesus.)
   3. Let’s skip ahead and read John 17:7-8. How, exactly, does Jesus help us to know God the Father? (Through the words and acts of Jesus.)
      1. Would you expect that God the Father is sterner than Jesus, the Son? (This shows that He is not.)
   4. Read John 17:4-6. Who, exactly, do you think Jesus is talking about when He refers to the “people whom You gave Me,” who “have kept your word?” (This must include the disciples.)
      1. If you were with me in the last series of studies on Mark, you know that the disciples had some serious problems in understanding and following Jesus. How would you explain what Jesus just said? (This is a comfort to us. Jesus gives a very positive spin to what it means to keep the word of God.)
   5. Look again at John 17:7-8. What is the central issue for humans who wish to give glory to God? (To believe that God sent Jesus. To believe that what Jesus said and did reflect what He was given from His Father in Heaven.)
   6. Friend, do you believe that Jesus created everything? That He is one with God the Father? That what Jesus said and did on earth reflects the nature of God? If so, then you are part of the glory of Jesus! You are part of those who truly believe in Jesus. If you don’t believe, what will it take for you to believe?
5. Next week: Witnesses of Christ as the Messiah.