The earth is the Lords   

JOHN

Updated: July 12, 2007

.....in the beginning was the word........


The gospel of John was written by the Apostle John, possibly in Ephesus, to the whole world about 90 AD, or earlier. It was written "that men might believe in Jesus Christ, and believing, might have life" (20:31).

Written and compiled [C]2001-2007 by Richard L Zorek

    • John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." If God chose to represent Himself in terms of a language we can know is the glorified person of Christ, then the implications are enormous for us as persons and users of language. ("word"=logos=reason, communication, etc). The word was not created at the beginning or in creation. The word, as God, was already there. He had sent His spoken word through the prophets. The living word was made flesh.
    • ,u>John 1:3: All things were made by him; and without him not any thing made that was made Everything that man has created was created by materials which God created. Had God not made the raw materials, man could not have made the creations.
    • John 1:5: 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. "Darkness" refers to the realm of spiritual evil, the state of the world under Satan's sway since the Fall. It is because men are sinful and live in a world of darkness, that they are not guided by the light of reason and conscience. The darkness, however, could not extinguish the light. A single pentrating shaft of light is more powerful than the utter blackness of rejection. Over and over again, this Gospel makes that clear. A simple act, stooping to wash the feet of the confused, worried disciples or a quiet word to a guilt-ridden adulterous woman, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more" (John 8:11), is mightier than the anger and violence of His enemies.
    • John 1:10-11: He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.In spite of the wirness of John the Baptist, the entrance of the Light into the world by the incarnation was unrecognized by men generally. Even though the world had been created by him, it failed to recognize and acknowledge its Creator.
    • John 1:14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father), full of grace and truth". To say that the word became flesh does not imply that he ceased to be God. Rather he added the condition of humanity to what he already was.
    • John 1:17: "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The law defined sin, but the law could not save. Salvation was supplied by the grace of God. Law and grace cant be separated.

    • John 2:1: 1On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there, Things started going rather quickly.
    • John 2:5: "His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." A vision from God leads the believer to see and know the will of God, provided the experience leads the Christian to obey the Scripture.
    • John 2:16: "And He said to those who sold doves, Take these things away! Do not make my Fathers house a house of merchandise!" A dive? A symbol of the Spirit? But no even that was to be sold in the House. I question often the intentions of churches, particularly mega churches, who open up bookstores in the church, or sell recordings of services.
    • John 2:24: "But Jesus did not commit himself unto them because he knew all men. Jesus knows all men. God looks at the heart.

    • John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. A confessional summary of the Gospel is: it originates in the love of God for a disobedient world, it centers in the giving of the only Son to and for the world, and its end is that people may not be lost but live under the saving sovereinty of God. The giving of the only Son clearly embraces both incarnation and vicarious death; it is the entire mission of the Son that is in view.
    • The story of the woman at the well in John 4 is unique to the book of John.

    • John 4:46: "So Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum." A nobleman was part of the ruling court.

    • John 5:6: When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" It is interesting to note that Jesus asked him if he wanted to get well? Some people have comfort in their misery, or have become so used to it, the idea of healing or freedom seems unreal. As a criple, this man had become used to having other people support and help him. By getting healed, that could end.
    • John 5:14: "Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." This was an invitation for the guy to get saved. There's only one way to "sin no more" and that's through the blood of Jesus.

    • John 5:39: The New Testament never presents itself as a contrary testament. It doesnt compete with the old, but completes the Old. It supplements rather than supplants. It makes the Old obvious, not obviated. That is the way the New Testament itself insists it is to be read.

    • John 5:40: "And ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life." Eternal life is only invested in those who come to the Lord Jesus.

    • John 6:13: So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. The feeding of the multitude is the only miracle of Jesus recorded in all four gospels.
    • John 6:15: Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. Unlike men with earthly ambitions, Jesus was not tempted by the flattery and honor bestowed upon him by men who had a wrong conception of His purpose and ministry. So, He slipped away into the mountains
    • John 6:38: For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him who sent me There was never a moment in Jesus life when He wasn't aware that his purpose on earth was to do the will of the Father.
    • John 6: 40: For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." This is God's will for everyone.
    • John 6:47: I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. they are not going to get it, they already have it.
    • John 6: 70: Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" Even though Judas would betray the Lord, He was still chosen for a reason.
    • John 6:71: "He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve." "Iscariot" is not a surname, it means "citizen of Cariot".

    • John 7:5: "For neither did his brethren believe in him." This points out the power of choice and the confusion of unbelief.

    • John 7:12: "And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay, but he deceiveth the people." Sounds like political commentators, doesnt it? This was toward the end of his ministry.

    • John 7:32: "The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him." The officers were probably temple police.
    • 71(He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
    • John 7:24: Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment We are to judge with righteous judgement, not according to our own fleshly mind.

    • John 7:51: Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, amd knoweth what he doeth? Do we dare judge anyone before we know him, talk to him, or wee what he is about?
    • John 8:12: When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." The light of llfe can mean two things. The Greek can mean either the light which issues the source of light or the light which gives life. In this passage it means both. The word "Light" was especially associated in Jewish thought and language with God. When Jesus claimed to be the "Light of the World," He was making a claim which none could possibly be higher.
    • John 8:32: Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free". Only a free people can create a free world. The release from sin and guilt before God is the necessary prelude to human freedom.

    • John 8:36: So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" One can have genuine financial freedom, but not necessarily an abundance of money. Financial freedom has little to do with the amount we have, but much to do with our attitude toward money, the proper and disciplined use of what we have, and our understanding of obedience to scriptural teachings about money and material possessions.

    • John 8:31: "If you abide in my word, then you are truly my disciples." The condition is genuine. If you continue, you'll inherit what is promised.

    • John 8:32: "Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." Hearing the truth clearly communicated is a liberating experience.

    • John 8:36: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" The most liberating political force in the history of mankind has been Christianity. Genuine human freedom is experienced only in Jesus Christ and in obedience to his Law-Word. Therefore, every assertion of human autonomy is equally an assertion of human bondage.

    • John 9:1-3: Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.The mans blindness was for a purpose...so that God could heal him and bring glory to God?
    • John 9:25: "He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. Greatest testimony in the Bible. No one could discredit that.
    • John 11:25: "I am the resurrection and the life: He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet he shall live" Life is a religious fact, inescapably so.

    • John 11:4: "When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified. Lazarus had died and was already dead, but Jesus still referred to it as a "sickness."

    • John 12:3: "Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment." She understood that He was going to die. She was extremely sensitive.

    • John 13:20: "For some thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, bring those things that we need against the feast, or, that he should give something to the poor." "There is a troubling verse concerning the thoughts of the apostles after Jesus told Judas, "That thou doest, do quickly." This is a relevant commentary on many church people today. The disciples are sitting with Jesus in the flesh, Satan enters Judas, and Jesus speaks directly to him. However, the rest of the disciples are so busy thinking about eating or their responsibilities as disciples (or church people) that they (1) fail to see the devil in their very midst, or (2) fail to see God working in their very midst.

    • John 13:34: A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. "As I loved you" points to an action which is past and done. It implies that Christ's work is now finished. And now we should love one another. In fact, it is because of that finished work that we can love one another.
    • John 13:35: By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Brotherly love is to be openly shown that the followers of Christ will be recognized thereby. His followers are not to be known by dress, language, or occupation etc, but by the mutual kindness which they cherish and exercise towards one another. Chrysostom was quoted as saying "Miracles do not so much attract the heathen as the mode of life; and nothing so much causes a right life as love..."
    • John 14:1: Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me How does he comfort them? Not by commonplace ethics of moralizings, but by drawing aside the veil that conceals the spiritual world, and revealing to them entirely new conceptions concerning the father Himself, the future life, and their own relations to it. We are not to believe in God as an abstract object, and in Christ as a collateral object. Manifestly, every body must believe in God before he can believe in Jesus Christ in any deep sense. Modern day Christians invert that order and believe in Christ, and therefore they believe in God. But the order of reason is the order of apolegetic. First Theism, than Christianity. The word used here and translated "be troubled," does not signify any kind of sadness or sorrow; nor are we to understand that it is either desireable or possible to banish all sadness and sorrow from the mind of any son of man under the conditions that prevail upon this earth. The word used by Jesus signifies to be agitated, perplexed, and not thrown into confusion. Though the visions of science is not without honor and merit, there is one thing they cannot say in all their wisdom: "Let not your heart be troubled." They can teach us to talk wisely, but they cannot help us to live quietly. They do not give help in the day of a troubled heart. In that day I do not want to be reasoned with, I want to be comforted. I do not want learning, I want love. .....
    • John 14:6: Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father, but by me Plato is not Platonism. Platonism might have been taught though its author had never lived. Mohammed is not Islam; the Koran itself would warn us against any such confusion between the teacher of its doctrine and the substance of the doctrine itself. But Christ Himself is Christianity; His teaching is inextricably bound up with His person; and it is not merely because He taught what He did, but because He is what He is, that through Him we can come to the Father. Some people say that Jesus was just a great prophet, but none of even the greatest prophets, Moses, Elijah, or John the Baptist, had ever dared to say "I am" as Jesus said so often. "I am the light.. I am the bread....I am the door....etc"
    • John 14:9: "He who has seen me has sen the father." In Jesus we see the love, the compassion, the mercy, the seeking heart, the purity of God as nowhere else in all the world.

    • John 14:15: If ye love me, keep my commandments Christ does not say "if ye love me, then ye will meet often to worship me." He does say you will keep his commandments. The true worship of God is obedience and love. It is an idolatrous notion that God is pleased with mere worship.
    • John 14:16: "And I will pray the father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Helper=(Paraklatos)=Holy Spirit; or, the one who is called along side you to assist you. One interpretations says "One who lays you down on a warm bed of safety."

    • John 14:17: Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." The Holy Spirit abides in us to reveal to us what is true and what is false. The world does not believe the Holy Spirit exists because they cannot see it. Pain is not something someone can see or tangibly touch. Does that make pain nonexistant? When we gaze upon a picture we may for ourselves see much that is beautiful and attractive in its mode of exhibiting color, form, and expression. But to understand the inner meaning of the picture and appreciate its main prupose and idea, we may need some skilled interpreter to open our eyes to its most vital and inherent excellencies. The Holy Spirit is such a guide to the saviour and such a revealer of the true grace amd glory of Jesus Christ in His purposes and mission into this world.
    • John 14:21: And I will love him, and will manifest myself to him If you obey Him, He will manifest Himself to you.
    • John 15:2: Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit God makes fruitfulness the test. Not leaf, not color, not wood, but fruit. Or, not profession, not privelege, not apparent power, but the fruit of the Spirit in life and character. A teacher of music, speaking of his most promising pupil, said, "She has full control of her voice, but she lacks soul. If only something would break her heart, she would be the greatest singer in Europe."
    • John 15:5: "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." "abide"="meno": to take residence in and be comfortable there. (Like home, or a familiar place).

    • John 15:6: "If a man does not abide in me, He is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned." The word "abide" comes from the Greek: meno, which means "to remain in". All who are truly born of God are "in Christ."
    • John 15:7: If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done." When Jesus said that those who abide in Him could ask for whatever they wished and it would be done, the presupposition was that those who so abided would be asking for God's will to be done. People abiding in Christ are conformed to Him. Did Jesus heal everyone who came to Him? No. Did He perform miracles on a day-to-day basis? No. Was life centered on the supernatural, or rather on doing His father's will?

    • John 15:11: "These things have I spoken unto you that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy might be full." The by product of the things Jesus spoke here is joy.

      John 15:12: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you". This is a very essential and important command for for lives.

    • John 15:13: Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." That is really hard, but it was what Paul was saying--he was willing to be expended, even to lose his salvation, for others to come into the kingdom. It is not likely, of course, that we would be called to lose our salvation or give up our lives to demonstrate our love, but it is that willingness to be expended that God desires.

    • John 16:7: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." The word translated as expedient is sumphero, which is used also by Caiaphas in John 11:50. Caiaphas declares that it is expedient or profitable for Christ to be sentenced to death; only so can the purposes of their national history be realized. Our Lord now says that His departure and the Spirit's coming are necessary to God's purposes.

    • John 16:8-9: And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, of sin, because they believe not on me The Spirit reveals that all sin is based on one foundation: unbelief. Unbelief in the power and blood of Jesus Christ to save and deliver from sin. The absence of a sense of sin is perhaps the greatest peril of modern society. The sin of which the world has to be convinced is the sin of unbelief. The Spirit convinces men of sin "because they believe not on me." He shows them that sin is unbelief. It is the root of sin.
    • John 16:10: Of righteouness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more He was saying that you who see Me will see me ascending to heaven and bear witness to my righteousness.
    • John 16:11: Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged/ Jesus Christ judged and destroyed the power of Satan at thew Cross.
    • John 16:23-24: In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. Every believer has the right to ask God for healing or any other blessing if he asks in Jesus name. He has the absolute guarantee that He will hear and answer his petiton.
    • John 16:33: "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world." We really cant have much to do with the life He offers, if we want to be stress-free, because He promises us tribulation. Stress is afact of life. By avoiding some stress, we avoid necesary moral stands. The fear of stress can lead to moral compromise, or the flight from stress can be a flight from morality.

    • John 17:3: And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent The term "Jesus Christ" is not found on Jesus lips anywhere else, but it is very common in early Christian literature as a way of referring to Jesus.
    • John 17:15: "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from evil." Quit expecting God to deliver you from your debts, your problems from your own sins, and your responsibilities. It is not going to happen in our lifetime and the sooner you face it, the better off you are going to be. Jesus doesnt appear to praying that anyone gets raptured out of the world here.

    • John 17:17: Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth Where do we find the truth? In the word. The word sets us apart.
    • John 17:22: "And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one even as we are one." The unity of the church is not patterned after an ideological movement but after the unity of Jesus and the Father.

    • John 18:4: "Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? He wasn't asking because he didnt know; the question was for impact.

    • John 18:11: Put your sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" Don't try and run from the cup of pain He gives you.
    • John 18:15: "And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the high priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter." The other disciple was John. John went directly into the court of the high priest. Peter waited outside.

    • John 18:36: Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." Jesus made it clear that He was not a King whose kingship came from men. It is not derived from this world, but is over this world, and it is "My kingdom."
    • John 18:37: Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." If you have God's Spirit in you, then you will hear and know His voice.

    • John 19: 30: When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. "It is finished!"....the three greatest words uttered by the greatest man that ever lived. Leonard Ravenhill wrote, " In these three words I see the consummation of all the Old Testament truth and the germination of all New Testament truth...............It seems to me that here is a terminus in the life of the Lord Jesus: all the prophesies, all the law, all the prophets, terminate in this saying of the Lord Jesus Christ. And everything from here blossoms out because this is the beginning of it all. Three simple words - it is finished."............."It is finished." The implication of the Greek word is "This is complete." This is redemption complete. You can't add to it. You can't subtract from it. It doesn't need something the priest says added to it. Jesus made a perfect redemption for men. His blood was shed. It's more than all the blood of beasts. Because again, it says in Hebrews 10:9, "If the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works." He not only paid the total sum of human sin, He nailed it to the tree. That's what He did."

      there is a class of clergyman aho want to continue the task of saving men--and they can only plunge souls deeper into dismay, only to offer new versions of age old delusions that place men before the impossible task of earning heaven.

    • John 20:7: Do not doubt but believe The Greek phrase used is quite difficult to translate into English. Greek has two forms of imperative. In other words, you can tell somebody to do something in two different ways. What is known as an aorist imperative means "do this action once." If I asked someone to open a window, I would use this form. A second form, however, is the present imperative. This means "Keep on doing this! Don't just do it once!" The Greek verb in John 20:27 is a present imperative. It doesn't mean "on this occasion, don't doubt--instead believe!" Rather, it means "stop doubting now, once and for all. And keep on believing."
    • John 20:23: "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." Unforgiven sin is retained.

    • John 20:31: "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of god: and that believing ye might have life through his name. The key to Johns gospel....the goal and intent of the writer.

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