The Apostle John was a Disciple of Jesus Christ around 30AD. This was 300 years after
Alexander the Great died and about 70 years after Julius Caesar died. He spent time
with Jesus and described himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. He shared the
same name with one of Jesus’ favourite relatives (John the Baptist). one of the sons of
Zebedee and had a brother called James. His mother was in many ways also a follower
of Jesus (Matthew 20:20, 27:56). John wrote the following Books in the Bible: The
Gospel of John (which we will be studying), The Epistles- 1st John, 2nd John and 3rd
John and the Book of Revelation which is the last book in the Bible. History tells us he
was persecuted for his faith and sent out to the prison island of Patmos because of what
he stood for.
Why study the book of John? Before I share more on why I love the Book of John and
why everyone should study it, let us see 2 sections from the Book of John. The Author
shares exactly one reason why the Book was written:
1. John 20:30-31
“And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not
written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”
John makes it clear that he wants people to believe in Jesus. The Book of John
provides clear sections that talk about the nature of Christ. Jesus is seen all through
the Bible but John provides a clear message about some specifics of who Jesus is.
2. John 10:10
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that
they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Jesus tells us here that He gives life. I believe the world needs to know about the life
Jesus offers. Some people reject the message in the Bible because of some
Christians they have encountered. It is important for the world to turn to Jesus and
learn about Him from Him. This is not to disregard the need to fellowship or learn from
other Christians but it is a call to turn to the One who wants to have a relationship with
us directly. The One who created all things and who gives life.
Who is this study for?
This study is for believers who want to go deeper in their understanding of Jesus Christ.
It is also a study for those who are not followers of Jesus. My prayer is that it will be an introduction for them to know the One True King. We will be looking at big themes from
the Book of John. We will also look at areas of application for everyone. One might ask
how can we do a study that addresses 2 different groups of people. For the group that
does not know anything about Jesus, this will help them see the Attributes of Christ. For
those who have known about Jesus and might even be mature Believers, my prayer is
that this becomes another platform we can take as we share our faith with others. There
are many who have not learned about Jesus and I believe everyone who is a True
Follower of Jesus should share Jesus with others and I pray we can all make time to
share about Jesus through His word.
Here is what we will do throughout the study. There will be opportunities to dig deeper
on issues if you want more of the background on a particular topic. The Go Deeper
Section is a tool to help those who might not have studied the scriptures before or for
believers who want to learn more ways to share their faith with others.
John Chapter 1:1
The first theme we will observe from this study is how several different descriptions are
given of Jesus.
In the first verse of John 1, we see several attributes of Jesus. Some of these attributes
will be understood better by referring to a few other passages in the Bible.
1. Jesus is the Word
2. Jesus is Eternal
3. Jesus is God
From the first verse, we learn 3 things about Jesus. Later on in the Book of John, Jesus
says He is the Truth (John 14:6). It is important to note here that Truth exists. If Truth
did not exist, we would have to use Truth to disprove its non existence. There is no way
around this. The Law of Non Contradiction tells us a thing and its opposite cannot both
be True at the same time and in the same context. Therefore if Jesus is the Truth then
the opposite of this claim cannot be true at the same time. Here is a quote to help
explain my point on this by C.S Lewis:
“I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be
God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the
sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher … You must make your
choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something
worse. You can shut Him up for a fool … or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord
and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great
human teacher. He has not left that open to us.”
C.S Lewis is telling us we have to accept Jesus for who He is or else we will be calling
the Greatest Moral teacher in History a fraud.
We will examine more themes from the book of John in the next Chapter. If you have
any questions or comments at any time, please feel free to share –
amostarfa1@gmail.com.
Go Deeper (Please read for more Background):
Christians have the Holy Bible as their guide for life. In the Bible we get direction and
clarity on life, meaning and purpose. There are several books that address the topic of
trusting the Bible. If you want to grow in understanding the pieces that point to the
validity of Scripture, first I recommend that you read the Book of John to the end and
ask “is Jesus who He says He is?” If you want to read a book focused on the validity
of the Bible, here is a good resource: 7 Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible by
Erwin Lutzer.
