The Gospel of John opens not in Bethlehem, not in Nazareth, not with Mary or Joseph, but in eternity past: “In the beginning was the Word.” John does not begin with the cradle, he begins with the Godhead. Matthew presents Jesus as King, Mark as Servant, Luke as the Son of man, but John presents Him as God manifest in the flesh. That is the battleground. Every cult, every false religion, every counterfeit Bible, and every antichrist spirit eventually attacks the deity of Jesus Christ. John answers them before they even speak: the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 (KJB)
On this episode of Rightly Dividing, John’s Gospel is built around belief. The word “believe” appears again and again because John is pressing the reader toward a verdict. You are not allowed to casually admire Jesus in this book. You must decide who He is. Is He merely a teacher, prophet, healer, revolutionary, or religious example? John says no. He is the eternal Word, the Creator, the Light, the Lamb of God, the Bread of life, the Good Shepherd, the Resurrection, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. John strips away religious fog and brings the sinner face to face with the only Saviour God has provided. A verse-by-verse study through John should constantly point out how the book divides between light and darkness, belief and unbelief, life and death, truth and religious blindness. The Pharisees had Scripture, temple worship, priesthood, sacrifice, feast days, and religious authority — yet they rejected the very Messiah standing in front of them. That is one of John’s sharpest warnings. Religion without the new birth is still darkness. Nicodemus was a master of Israel, but Jesus told him plainly, “Ye must be born again.” The woman at the well had a ruined past, but she received living water. The religious ruler needed regeneration just as much as the fallen Samaritan woman did. This is Part #2 in our verse-by-verse series of the Gospel of John.