Introduction
The Gospel of John is pre-eminently the gospel of the revelation of the glory of the Son. Other gospels present other glories of our Lord: Matthew unfolds His official glory as the Messiah; Mark presents the glory of His humiliation as the Servant; Luke presents His moral glory as the Son of Man; but John's high privilege is to present His personal glory as the Son.
Moreover, the presentation of Christ as a divine Person involves the revelation of every divine Person. The gospel opens with the presentation of the glories of the Son. As it proceeds, we have the revelation of the Father's heart (John 1:18), the Father's hand (John 5:17), and the Father's house (John 14:1-3). As it draws to its close there is a very full presentation of the Holy Spirit.
Furthermore, in this gospel there is the introduction of an entirely new Man after a new order. The Lord speaks of Himself as "the Son of Man which is in heaven" (John 3:13); as the Son of Man "which cometh down from heaven" (John 6:33, 50); and as the Son of Man Who is about to "ascend up where He was before" (John 6:62). Thus in the gospel there is the twofold presentation of Christ: first, as the only-begotten Son revealing the Father; and then as the Son of Man presenting a new order of man — a Man Who walked on earth, and lived in heaven.
To bring out these varied glories of Christ, different figures are used. In chapter ii He is the temple wherein dwells the glory of God. In chapter 4 He is the true bread given from heaven to satisfy the need of man. In John 8 and John 9 He is the Light of the world to bring men out of darkness. In John 10 He is the Shepherd to lead His sheep out of the old Jewish fold into the new Christian flock. In John 11 He is the Resurrection and the Life to deliver men from death. In John 12 He is the Corn of Wheat that dies to secure a seed His like. In John 15 He is the true Vine to enable His disciples to bear fruit for the Father.
Seeing that the great purpose of the gospel is to present the glory of the Son of God as a divine Person, it will be readily understood why there is no genealogy in this gospel, and no account of the birth and early years of the Lord. These details, so precious to faith, and beautiful and necessary in their place, would be entirely out of keeping with a gospel that presents the glory of His Person as the Son. As a divine Person He is above all genealogies, even as the Servant, in the Gospel of Mark, He takes a place below the need of a genealogy.
Furthermore, in the presentation of the Word become flesh, no details are given that connect Christ with earth and the nation of Israel. It forms no part of the purpose of this gospel to show the fulfilment of promises made in the past, to foretell the setting up of the kingdom in the future, or to instruct us as to the form the kingdom takes in the present. Again, let us remember, these truths are needed and precious in their place, though falling far short of the great purpose of John in presenting the glory of the Son of God. With the coming of the Son of God, and the consequent revelation of divine Persons and a new order of man, there is the setting aside of the old Jewish order and the introduction of Christianity. From the outset of the gospel both the nation of Israel and the world at large are viewed as having entirely broken down in responsibility, and as set aside in judgment to bring in Christianity. Further, the gospel sets forth Christianity according to the thought of God, and not according to the corruptions of Christendom; for, be it remembered, the gospel was probably written at a late date when the ruin, fore-told by the apostle Paul, had already overtaken the Christian profession. Thus, in this gospel, we are lifted above the world, and carried outside Judaism and corrupt Christendom, to learn the blessedness of Christianity according to God's thought, founded upon the Person of the Son of God.
Christianity, being founded upon the Person of Christ, must of necessity take its character from Christ — "as the heavenly (One), such also the heavenly (ones)." In chapter after chapter we see this setting aside of the old order, and the introduction of that which is entirely new. In chapter 1 the law given by Moses gives way to "grace and truth" which came by Jesus Christ. In John 2 the temple at Jerusalem is set aside by the temple of His body. In John 3 "earthly things" give place to "heavenly things". In John 4 the natural water of the well is superseded by the fountain of the water of life. In John 5 the pool and the providential activity of the angel are set aside by the all-powerful voice of the Son of God. In chapter 6 the natural bread gives place to the true bread that comes down from heaven. In John 8 and John 9 darkness is dispelled by light. In chapter 10 the Jewish fold is set aside by the Christian flock. In John 11 death is set aside by life.
We are thus permitted to see old things pass away, and all things become new. Time gives place to eternity, things earthly to things heavenly. In thought we are carried back into an eternity when time was not; in spirit we are taken beyond the bounds of earth to taste the joys of the Father's house.
How blessed, when all has broken down in the hands of men, to come to this gospel and have our souls engaged with divine Persons in Whom there can be no break down, to be led into the purpose of God which no ruin can touch, and to be transported into scenes where no failure of man will ever enter.
As we read this gospel we are, from the outset, in touch with eternal things and heavenly scenes, and find ourselves in company with divine Persons. And yet we can move easily in such high company without fear, for this glorious Person, the eternal Son, has drawn so near to us that He can sit beside a lonely sinner at the well, and bring a disciple to rest upon His bosom. So truly has He dwelt among us that to one He can make Himself beholden for a drink of water; to others He can stoop to wash their feet; while yet for others He can prepare a fire to warm them and a meal to feed them.
The Eternal Word
John 1:1-18.
The great theme of the introductory verses of the Gospel of John is the glory of the Person of Christ as the eternal Word. We are first carried back in thought into eternity to learn His glory as a divine Person; coming into time, there is displayed before us His glory as the Creator; finally, the Word is presented as becoming flesh, revealing to us His glory as the eternal Son in relationship with the Father.
(John 1:1-2). The gospel opens with the sublime statement, "In the beginning was the Word." At once our thoughts are carried back into eternity, before time commenced or creation existed, to learn that the glorious Person Who is called "the Word" had no beginning. In the beginning of everything that had a beginning, the Word was, not "began". "'In the beginning was the Word' is the formal expression that the Word had no beginning" (J.N.D.).
At once we are told that the Word is an eternal Person. As the Word, this blessed Person is the revealer of God — the Person in the Godhead Who is in Himself, as well as by His acts and what He became, the expression of God and His thoughts.
Further, we are told that the Word was "with God". Not only is the Word an eternal Person, He is also a distinct Person in the Godhead. The "with" denotes, moreover, not only distinctness of Person, but also intercommunion between the Persons in the Godhead. Then we are told that "the Word was God." The opening statement, telling us that the Word is an eternal Person, would imply that He must be a divine Person. But we are not left, in a matter that touches the glory of His Person, to an inference, however correct. We are definitely told that "the Word was God" — a divine Person.
Finally, we learn, "The same was in the beginning with God." This is no mere repetition of the fact already stated that He was a distinct Person with God. Here we learn the additional truth that He was eternally a distinct Person. Thus carefully does the Spirit of God guard the glory of His Person against those who might admit the distinctness of His Person and yet assert that there was a time when He commenced to have a distinct Personal existence.
Both the Lord, referring to the commencement of His ministry, and John, speaking of the commencement of Christianity, use the expression "from the beginning". Here in reference to that which has no commencement we twice have the expression, "in the beginning". Further, it is to be noted that it is said that "the Word was with God" — not the Father. As the Word and God, so the Son and the Father are correlative. The designation God comprehends not only the Father but also the Holy Ghost and the Son. The Word and God speak of the nature of divine Persons: the Father and the Son tell of relationships between divine Persons. The great object of these verses is to establish the glory of Christ as in nature a divine Person.
In the fewest and plainest words the Spirit of God in these opening verses has presented the Godhead glory of our Lord. The Word is an eternal Person, a distinct Person in the Godhead, a divine Person, and an eternally distinct Person.
All the bright array of "heavenly things" that pass before us in this gospel are founded upon the glory of the Person of Christ. To call in question the Deity of the Son is to undermine the foundation on which all blessing for man is based. It matters not what elaborate religious systems men may build or how much they may profess to honour the Name of Christ, if they are not building on this foundation all will come to ruin.
(John 1:3). The glory of the Word as a divine Person having been stated, we pass from eternity into time to learn the two great ways in which God has been expressed through the Word: first, in creation (verse 3), and secondly, by incarnation (verse 14). Here, then, we learn that "all things were made by Him" — the Word. This positive affirmation is emphasised by the negative statement that "without Him was not anything made that was made." All things, great and small, animate and inanimate, spiritual and material — everything that has "received being" (N. Tn.) received it through the Word. The very form of words necessarily exclude divine Persons, of Whom it can be said that They have being, but not that They "received being". If creation comes into being, it is not only to prove there is a Creator, but in order, in its measure, to express the Creator. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge" (Psalm 19:1-2; Romans 1:20).
(John 1:4). If verse 3 speaks of that which received being through the Word, verse 4 tells us of that which is in the Word. "n Him was life." With this statement we pass from the relation of the Word to the whole created universe to consider His relation to mankind. Thus the "life" spoken of can hardly be the natural life of creation. Truly, as the Creator, the Word is the source of the natural life, which, when given, whether in plants or animals, can propagate itself. This life is rather the spiritual life which becomes the light of men who already have the natural life. Life may be communicated to others, but life was never communicated to the Word — "In Him was life."
This life was the light of men. The Lord can say, "He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). The life in the Word was the perfect revelation to man of the invisible God. The light of nature will not reveal the heart of God. The light of reason cannot find out God by searching. It is only the light of the life in the Word become flesh that can declare God.
(John 1:5). Man is fallen; if, therefore, the light shines before men, it is in a scene of darkness or ignorance of God. Further, we learn that "the darkness comprehended it not." This tells us that spiritual darkness is not only ignorance or absence of light; it is opposition to the light. Natural light would banish actual darkness; but, if man is left to himself, spiritual light will not banish his spiritual darkness. The light of the life of the Word brings out the moral incapacity of man, as later the love of His life calls forth the hatred of man.
(John 1:6-9). In the opening verses there is passed before us the glory of the Word in relation to God, then to creation, and lastly to mankind. In the verses that follow we learn the way God has taken to present the light to man in this world. Not only does God give the light, but He sends a forerunner to call man's attention to the light. No details are given of John the Baptist's connection with the Jew or things earthly. Here he is viewed as "sent from God," and as a witness to that which is entirely new — the Light. In other gospels he witnesses to the King and His kingdom for repentant Israel: here he witnesses to the Light for "all men".
If, however, God sends the forerunner, He carefully guards the glory of Christ. Great as John may be, there is only One Who is the Light. John, indeed, was "the burning and shining lamp" (John 5:35, N.Tn.), but the Word was the Light that coming into the world lightens every man. The Light had a twofold effect: it exposed man, but revealed God. Truly the Lord "went about doing good," but the motive in all that He did was to make God known. He did not simply open blind eyes to relieve blindness, but to make known the love of God in relation to man's need. Light is the revelation of God in love according to the full truth of man's condition and God's holiness.
(John 1:10-11). Then we are told the effect of the Light upon man when left to himself. The world did not know Him, and His own, the Jews, would not receive Him. The Light reveals that man is not only utterly insensible to what is good and perfect, but absolutely opposed to the One in Whom all this goodness is displayed. Left to himself the condition of man is hopeless.
(John 1:12-13). God, in His sovereign grace, does not leave man entirely to himself. He works in grace in man, with the result that some receive Christ — they believe on His Name — and to such are given the right to become the children of God. They form a new race, not by natural generation — of blood; nor by their own efforts — the will of the flesh; nor by the will of others — the will of man; but as deriving a new life from God.
Incarnation. (John 1:14-18). The first thirteen verses unfold the glories of the Person of the Christ. He is the Word, an eternal, distinct, and divine Person in the Godhead; He is the Creator of all things, the One in Whom is life, and the Light of every man.
(John 1:14). Now we are told how this glorious Person came into this world to bring the light of life to men. The One Who in the beginning was the Word becomes flesh. We have learnt Who He is in Person, Who He was in eternity; now we are told what He becomes in time. It is not said that He became the Word by incarnation, but that the Word became flesh.
This immense event — the incarnation of the everlasting Word — would lead us to expect great and blessed results. Three of the outstanding effects of incarnation are brought before us in these verses: first, the revelation of the eternal relationships between divine Persons; secondly, the attitude of God toward man; thirdly, the declaration of God in His fulness.
The eternal relationships between divine Persons. The Word having become flesh, the apostle can say, "We have contemplated His glory, a glory as of an only-begotten with a Father". The glory they beheld was not derived from the Manhood He assumed but from His relationship in the Godhead. His glory was a unique glory, the glory of an only-begotten Son, a relationship enjoyed in communion with God as a Father. Thus, while the reality of His Manhood is stated, the glory of His Person is carefully guarded.
The attitude of God towards man. The Word having become flesh, we at once learn what is in the heart of God toward man. The One Who became flesh dwelt among us "full of grace and truth". He came in a character that exactly suited man. He did not come making demands from man, as in the law, but as a Giver bringing blessing in grace to the unworthy. Moreover, the full truth came with Christ. All that Moses and the prophets stated was true, but not the full truth. The law tells me what I ought to be; it does not tell me what I am. "Christ showed not what things ought to be, but what they are … Christ tells me the truth about everything, evil and good alike" (J.N.D.).
(John 1:15). The witness of John the Baptist to this glorious Person come in flesh is again given. The One Who is full of grace and truth takes a far greater place in time, even as He existed before John in eternity.
(John 1:16-17). Moreover, the Word become flesh, and dwelling among us, not only set forth the fulness of grace that was in Christ, but, says the apostle, "Of His fulness we all have received, and grace upon grace" (N.Tn.). He was here not only to display grace in Himself, but to communicate grace to others, and that in abundance — grace upon grace. The law given by Moses was an exactor, demanding from man what he ought to be in relation to God and his neighbour. Grace, coming by Jesus Christ, brings blessing to man according to what he is in all his need, while fully maintaining the truth of all that God is in all His infinite holiness.
(John 1:18). The declaration of God. The Word having become flesh, there is at once the full declaration of God. In Old Testament days there were partial declarations of God in His attributes — as the Almighty and as the unchanging Jehovah — but there was no revelation of the heart of God until the Son came. No man was great enough to declare God. None but a divine Person could reveal a divine Person. "No one has seen God at any time." The Son, as the only-begotten in the bosom of the Father, revealed the Father as He knew Him. As one has said, this not only describes "the character of His glory here below; it is what He was (what He had been, what He ever is) in the Father's own bosom in the Godhead: and it is thus He declared Him."
H. Smith.