Full of Grace & Truth - A Study of John 1:1-18

Our goal is to provide a practical resource for you, your small group, your Sunday School class, or your family, that can be easily implemented and applied.

For this edition we’ve created a four-week Bible study based on the prologue to John’s Gospel, which centers on the Incarnation of Jesus.

Each week, read the assigned Scripture along with the devotional, watch the companion video, and answer the reflection questions.

Companion videos, along with a PDF version of this study, are also available for you online at: www.FFBOOKS.org/4weekstudy

Scientifically speaking, there is no such thing as darkness. You can’t put darkness under a microscope. You can’t detect it with a Geiger counter. You can’t measure it in a beaker. Light, on the other hand, can be quantified, measured, and calculated. Light is made up of units called photons, which exhibit both particle-like and wave-like properties. They are utterly unique, and travel at an astonishing 186,000 miles per second. If you took a ride on a light particle, you could circumnavigate the equator 7½ times in one second.

In these opening verses of his Gospel, John tells us that “the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” (v. 5). This might seem hard  to believe. “Really, God? The darkness has not overcome the light? Then why does it sometimes seem so hopeless?” Spiritual darkness is everywhere. There’s darkness in the world and darkness in our own flesh. We are continually tempted to distrust God and chase after every evil. Satan, the ruler of the forces of darkness (see Eph 2:2), never ceases to accuse and condemn us.

But in the midst of this darkness, God sends the light. Jesus rushes headlong into our darkness faster than the speed of light, the photons of his righteousness scattering the black hole of our sin. However dark things may appear, the light of Advent reveals that we will one day awaken from the nightmare. This side of heaven we may only get fragmentary glimpses of it, but God promises that one day soon every vestige of darkness will be eradicated forever. Thanks be to God, the light remains undefeated!

Reflection Questions

1. When in your life have you experienced darkness? What was it like?
2. What are some sources of spiritual darkness in our world today? Sources of spiritual light?
3. Read Isaiah 9:1-7. To whom do these verses refer? What are the results of “the light” coming? How does this encourage you?

In a court of law, eyewitness testimony has the power to influence both judge and jury. When the witness takes the stand, places their hand on the Bible, and swears “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God,” their story of people, places, and events can alter the outcome of a case and greatly impact the lives of others. Witnesses don’t draw attention to themselves but instead direct attention toward someone else–– toward the truth.

Not only was John the Baptist a witness, but you and I are called to be witnesses too. Speaking to his disciples, Jesus says in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” To be a disciple is to be a witness. What qualifies you as a witness, however, is not your expert credentials, your moral rap sheet, or your public speaking ability, but your relationship with Jesus. If you have experienced his amazing grace, then you have something to say.

Witnesses have a voice that matters, a story to tell, and a purpose for eternity. You have a voice that matters because it is uniquely yours, gifted to you by the God of universe when you were woven together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). You have a story to tell, a story in which you are not the main character, but you are encountered by the main character and changed into a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). And you have a purpose for eternity, because God wants to use you to deepen and broaden the kingdom of heaven.

Reflection Questions

1. You have a voice that matters, a story to tell, and a purpose for eternity. Do you believe this? What might keep you from believing it?
2. Read the story behind John’s birth in Luke 1:1-25. What were Zechariah and Elizabeth promised? Can trusting God be a challenge? What do you find encouraging from this story?
3. Why can fear be so debilitating when it comes to witnessing? Read 2 Timothy 1:7 and 1 John 4:18. What is the antidote to fear? How does that comfort you?

The prologue to John’s Gospel (vv. 1-18) functions as a prelude to the rest of the book. In these opening verses, John is introducing us to characters, imagery, language, and contrasts (e.g. light vs. darkness) that will recur later on in the book. The prelude sets the tone and tunes our ears to what is to come. One of the key notes we hear is “the world,” which always plays in a minor key in his Gospel. It’s a note of discord.

For John, “the world” is not a morally-neutral term referring to creation in general. Instead, it speaks of humanity in its corrupt, fallen, sinful state. This world, John says, didn’t recognize the light. But it gets worse: Jesus’ own people (the Jews) rejected him too. The very ones he will sacrifice himself for want nothing to do with him. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, the answer to the question, “Will you accept Jesus?” is always going to be a resounding, “No. Crucify him!”

Some scholars have noted that John’s introduction takes the form of a chiasmus, which means the climax of the entire section is located not at the end but at the center―specifically in verse 12b: “he gave the right to become children of God.” Everything hinges on this verse. Without God granting us the right to become his children, we will always reject him as Father. The good news here is that God moves first, initiating and finalizing our spiritual adoption papers. In the words of Augustine, “That same only Son whom he had begotten, and by whom he created all things, is the one he sent into this world so that he might not be alone but might have adopted brothers and sisters.” 1

Reflection Questions

1. What do these verses teach us about humanity’s default response to Jesus?
2. What was your experience of “being born of God”?
3. Verse 9 says “the true light... gives light to everyone.” Who is one person in your life that needs the light of Jesus? How can you show it to them? Take a moment to pray for them.

If we played a game of “one of these things is not like the other” with the four Gospels, John’s would be the odd one out. Rather than beginning with a standard genealogy or nativity story or “once upon a time,” John introduces us to Jesus as “The Word.” Of the trillions of words that have been used throughout centuries of human history to try to answer life’s biggest questions, John only needed one: Jesus―God’s final, authoritative Word. The astounding thing about this Word, though, is that this Word came to earth, became one of us, taking on flesh.

Jesus meets us where we’re at; he didn’t demand that we climb up to heaven. Instead, he descended to meet us in our desperate, broken, helpless state. He came as a baby in a manger, walked the same dusty ground, felt the same aches and pains, bled the same blood, and died upon a real wooden cross. Why would he do all of this? He did it because he loves you. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

God meets us where we’re at. How can you do the same for others?

Reflection Questions

1. What is the hardest part about “meeting someone where they’re at”? Is it possible to do this without entering into the messiness of their lives?
2. What “big” questions are most on your neighbors’ minds today? How does Jesus answer those?
3. In what ways does God show grace to us? How might that inform how we show grace to our neighbors?