We encourage you to read the entire Gospel of John with us as we look at Jesus through the lens of his declaration, “I Am!” Today, we start with John chapter 1.
Chapter 1 of John is packed full of thought, imagery, and truth. In a sense, it follows the old adage, “Tell em what you are gonna say, say it, then tell em what you said.” The Gospel of John is simple, Jesus is God, come to earth to save us if we just believe. John the Baptist declared, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (vs 29) This is the message of chapter 1 of John and the message of the entire gospel.
But as simple as the Gospel is, chapter 1 also contains some very hard things for many to comprehend; the Trinity for one. It takes the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to effect salvation, “to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (vss 12-13)
It is no coincidence that John started his gospel out the same way as Genesis. John wants to establish in our minds right away, Jesus is God made flesh. The mystery of the Trinity is just that, something that we have a hard time getting our heads around but none the less is true and vital. It is only because Jesus is the I AM that we can have our own exodus from slavery to sin into eternal life. It takes a lot more than a few good deeds, it takes God.
The first chapter ends with the calling of the first apostles. They were called away from their old lives and into something brand new and life changing. The I AM still calls us, “Follow me.” Will you?
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. -John 1:14
