Gospel Light Christian Church Thru-The-Bible Series (1.1)
The Gospel Of John Introduction
The New Testament The O.T. begins with man made in God's image (GEN 1:26), the N.T. begins with God made in man's image
(JOH 1:14). The man who was
made in God's image was defeated by Satan in the Garden but the God who was made in man's image defeated Satan
on the Cross!
The supreme SUBJECT of the N.T. is Jesus Christ;
Its supreme OBJECT is the salvation of men;
Its supreme PROJECT is the endless reign of Jesus in the new
heavens and earth. (All these subjects are also mentioned in the O T but with less clarity)
The N.T. may be divided into three parts: [1]
o CHRIST of God (Matthew to John),
o CHURCH of God (Acts),
o CORRESPONDENCE of God (Galatians to Revelation).
The Gospels The Gospels are the focal point of the Bible. They contain the
historical facts verifying the accuracy of the O.T. prophecies. They are the 'junction' at which all the O.T. prophecies converge and from which all the
N.T. doctrines emerge. The Gospels record the facts on
which NT theology is derived. The four Gospels all have the same theme - JESUS CHRIST. They are like four different instruments in an orchestra playing the same tune but each adding its own
distinctive flavour to the final music produced. [2]
The first three Gospels are called the Synoptic. The
Greek phrase "syn-optikos." means "seeing together" - because the first three Gospels see Christ
from the same perspective (as opposed to John's Gospel which sees Christ from a different perspective).
The Synoptic Gospels present to us the visible aspects of Christ,
whilst the Fourth Gospel reveals the invisible mysteries of
Christ.
The Synoptic Gospels record the history, whilst John teaches
the mystery.
The Synoptic Gospels stress the humanity of Jesus, whilst John
stresses His deity.
Matthew writes of Jesus as KING (symbolized by the lion, cf
EZE 1:10),
Mark as SERVANT (ox),
Luke as MAN (man), and
John as GOD (eagle).
In other words, the Lord Jesus Christ is the king who became a servant, and the man who is God.
o Theme
"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 ". JOH 20:31
o I AM
This is God's name (EXO 3:14).
Jesus claims this name for Himself seven times in this Gospel.
I AM the Bread of life (6:35,41,49,51)
I AM the Light of the world (8:12; 9:5)
I AM the Door of the sheep (10:7,9)
I AM the Good Shepherd (10: 11,14)
I AM the Resurrection and the Life (11:25)
I AM the way, the truth, and the life (14:6)
I AM the true Vine (15:1,5)
(MV) Key verse: "But as many as received him, to them gave
he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name" JOH 1:12 This verse summarises the message of this book: Jesus came, many rejected Him, but to those that
received Him, He gave them power to become Gods children.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Learn books of NT, their order and classification into Christ of God, Church of God and Correspondence of God.
2. Memorise JOH 1:12
3. Ponder this truth "God is a God of order and design" in the light of the way He wrote the New Testament.
----------------------------- Footnotes [1] The N.T. can also be divided into four parts:
- 5 HISTORICAL books (i.e.. Gospels and Acts),
- 9 CHRISTIAN CHURCH EPISTLES addressed to Christian churches (ie Romans to 2 Thessalonians),
- 4 PASTORAL EPISTLES addressed to individuals (i.e. 1 Timothy to Philemon) and
- 9 HEBREW CHRISTIAN EPISTLES addressed to Hebrew Christians (ie Hebrews to Revelation) [2] Many well-meaning people, who have failed to understand this truth, have
tried to unite the four Gospels into one. And even if it were a good thing to unite them together, it would be
impossible because they are not chronologically written - especially Matthew. [3] This Gospel was probably written in Ephesus between AD 80 to 98. John's
Gospel was written after the other three Gospel writers were called home. Therefore, he probably had read the other
three Gospels. This explains why so much of the material found in the other Gospels is omitted here. Most of the
events recorded in John's Gospel took place in Judea (the Synoptic Gospels mostly record events in Galilee).
John wrote it after enough time had passed for other three Gospels to have been read, and for errors (especially
regarding the deity of Jesus) to have crept into the Church. Therefore, John declares that which is inferred in
the other Gospels (and thus addresses the heresies the church was facing) - that the historical Jesus is the Eternal
God, who did not merely teach truth but is the Truth, and who does not merely show us the way to eternal life but
is the Life. [4] John was the son of Zebedee, who was a prosperous fisherman, and Salome
who may have been the sister of Mary (cf MAT 27:56, MAR
15.40, JOH 19:25). His elder brother was James. John was first a disciple
of John the Baptist before he became a disciple of Jesus. He and Andrew were the first two to become Jesus' disciples
(JOH 1:35-40). John is called the "disciple of love."
The author is no stranger to Jesus. He was probably a cousin of Jesus, and was one of the inner circle of disciples
(the others being James and Peter).