The Gospel of John - Outline Part 1 - The Word Made Flesh

TITLE

John 1:1-18 – The Word Made Flesh

EXPLANATION

Immediately John cuts right to the heart of his purpose in writing this gospel.  That is, he wants to demonstrate to his readers that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God.  He is God in human flesh.  He is the Second Person of the Trinity.  And only through faith in Him will man be saved.

These elements are woven throughout John’s introduction.  We are introduced to someone who is called “the Word.”  We are told that this Word was not only with God in the beginning, but in fact was God.  This Word is identified as both the Creator of the world as well as the One through Whom life, which lights the darkness of men’s hearts, comes.

After setting the table with the characteristics of the Word, John proceeds to lay out the courses of the meal.  He shines a light onto John, the cousin of the man Jesus and also the forerunner who was tasked with preparing a path for Him.  We see that John’s purpose was to introduce the aforementioned Word to the world, so that the world might see the Word’s light.  Furthermore, we are told that if anyone believes in the Word’s name, such a one will become a child of God.

John goes on to reveal that the Word became human flesh and lived in the world.  As such, the Word’s glory became visible to man.  After having set the table and laid out the food, John finally unveils the identity of the dish we are about to dine on; namely, the man Jesus, who is the Christ.  He is, John tells us, the tangible manifestation of God.

APPLICATION

The point of John’s introduction is to mark out Jesus as the Word of God.  He wants us to clearly see the deity of Jesus.  The Apostle wants us to walk away from this passage marveling at the fullness of Godhood that is contained within the person of Jesus.  John hopes that his readers will gaze upon Jesus in utter astonishment, reveling in the incalculable worth of being given a window into God’s character through a depth of intimacy and transparency that had never been equaled to that point.  John longs for his audience to bow in worship of the Son of God.  This is an act that is quite easy to take for granted and neglect, especially for those who have been Christians for a while.  I suggest we take our cues from John and bask in the light and warmth of Jesus Christ as an act of exaltation, submission, and exultation.