In Him there was life. A study in the gospel of John 1:4,5.

 In my previous post, I “only” covered John 1:1. I had the blinders on and only chose to focus on that one verse. However, verses two and three also speak to the beginning of all things and Jesus' role in creation.

“Before the world began, the Word was there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was there with God in the beginning. Everything was made through him, and nothing was made without him.”
(John 1:1-3 ERV)

Before the world began, the Word was there. John used the Greek word logos – a word spoken, to express what he was trying to say. So the spoken word conveys the will and nature of God while also detailing His Son. Some strong clues that back this peculiar statement up are: “The Word was with God;” the Word was God;” and, Everything was made through him (the Word), and NOTHING was made without him.”

Who is the Word?

• Jesus

• God

• and yes, the Holy Spirit.

They are three, but they are one and the same. And yes, the written Word is an integrated aspect of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Those Words you find in your Bible are filled with life, power, and promise.

I don't do high theology; I write to be understood. If you can't understand that Jesus spoke the worlds into existence because He and the Father are one, then perhaps that is because you have a veil over your eyes and cannot see. Paul tells us that the veil is lifted when a person asks Jesus to come into their lives and take control. (2 Corinthians 3:14)

Ooh, that taking control part sounds scary, almost as if I am giving up the right to make decisions about my own life. First, I would like to ask you, how have your efforts to control your life been working out for you?

So what we are doing is voluntarily submitting ourselves to Jesus, who voluntarily laid down His life so that you could have life once again. Ah, but this does NOT mean that every negative circumstance around you will simply fall away. No, you will probably, in time, have to separate yourself from people and places that will harm you (either mentally or physically.)

Since it is on my mind. We ALL sin – in other words, we all miss the mark. Yes, the word sin is an old English archery term that indicates you did anything but hit the bullseye (the bullseye is that small, usually colored circle, about an inch wide, that gets remarkably small the further away it gets.) The human/religious and, therefore, traditional implications are that you MUST hit the bullseye on every attempt. Seriously, we occasionally hit it as we make amends, an aspect of confessing our sins.

What am I trying to say?

We are forgiven because Jesus went to the cross and rose again, but that forgiveness did not integrate itself into our being until we accepted Jesus Christ into our lives. At the moment you received Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God, the one who had been prodding you to give your life to Him, came into you and permanently, made His home, and began to change you from the inside to the outside.

Now that we have that understanding, we shall move on.

“In him there was life, and that life was a light for the people of the world. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not defeated it.”
(John 1:4-5 ERV)

• “In him there was life.”

  Ah, but what does it mean to have life?

  Life, according to the Word Study Dictionary, is the Greek word zōḗ and conveys the general idea of physical life and existence as opposed to death and nonexistence. In other Manuscripts, it is presented as psuchḗ zōḗs, the soul of life means every living soul (Septuagint.: Gen_2:7; Gen_25:7). Of life or existence after rising from the dead, only of Christ (Rom_5:10; 2Co_4:10-12). Metaphorically of the Jewish people (Rom_11:15).

  “Then the LORD God took dust from the ground and made a man. He breathed the breath of life into the man's nose, and the man became a living thing.” (Genesis 2:7 ERV)

  The usage of life in Gen 2:7. chayyim (313a); from H2421a; life: — alive, life, life-giving, lifetime, live, sustenance.

  SUSTENANCE, n. Support; maintenance; That which supports life.

  Romans 5:10 expresses a similar meaning.

  “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
  (Romans 5:10 NASB)

  Here is what I hear screaming in my head.

  I am already alive, so what does giving myself to Jesus offer me that I do not already have?

  I suppose that the fact that you are breathing and living in a manner that you prefer is what you are talking about. The Apostle Paul said something strange that speaks to your definition of life.

  “If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world.” (1 Corinthians 15:19 GNB)

  Obviously, life does NOT apply to how you can live in your journeys on this earth; there is something more, and in expressing that we have hope in Christ, he has explained to whom we turn to gain this life.

  Webster's dictionary gives 26 points in which they attempt to define life. A few of those will make our case.

1. In a general sense, that state of animals and plants, or of an organized being, in which its natural functions and motions are performed, or in which its organs are capable of performing their functions.

   (So you are breathing and feeling; we, for the most part, all do that. And clearly, there is something more.)

2. The present state of existence; the time from birth to death.

   (For the person, through no fault of their own, who is now a quadriplegic, their existence is rather limited. Again, this is hardly what we are talking about, and these people can have  hope in Christ, and you might never know that.)

3. Manner of living; conduct; deportment, in regard to morals.

   (For some, they believe this is acquired with their excessive amounts of money and controlled by their tainted morals, which could be guided by that money.)

4. "Blood the supposed vehicle of animation."

   (This is one of the basest definitions, and we are all subject to death.)

And I will cut this off with one last definition.

1. Eternal happiness in heaven. Rom 5.

   Webster did not expound on what motivated them to write Romans 5, but verse 10 speaks of being saved by His life.

   “For if, while we were yet enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:10 TLV)

   Sin made us enemies, but Christ's death and resurrection brought us back into the family through our acceptance of the cross.

   Outside of the breath you breathe, there is no life without Jesus in your life.

Maybe I should explain that because we are made in the image of God, we all have eternal spirits; this also means that you, being in the image of God, are a hated target of Satan's wrath. Some will respond to this statement by saying, I am doing my best to live for Satan. The problem with that logic is that he doesn't need you, nor does he care for you. At the moment, because of your putrid allegiance, you are, for the time being, taken out of the way and NOT a threat to him. Whoopee. None of this means a thing to the unbeliever, although many of them may be trying to live forever through AI.

Since you will live forever through the aid of an operating system being installed in you, the question then becomes where you will live, in a bottle of formaldehyde?

At this point, the next question thrown at you is, how could a good God send people to hell?

Hell, was made for Satan and the fallen angels. We have freedom of choice and can choose to follow Jesus Christ, or you can follow Satan. Those are the ONLY two choices. Following Christ gives you a life with the Father in eternity, while following Satan only gives you a fiery hell with him for perpetuity. So, it is not that God is sending you to hell; you are merely following your leader. You will NOT have the freedom to say, I did not know, because you are choosing, even now, to NOT believe and, therefore, not receive Jesus into your life.

If Christ gives you a life with the Father, is that happening now, or do you have to wait for something to come?

The life in Him begins immediately. Unfortunately, we live in a broken creation. But the day is coming in which it will be changed. This comes in two phases: the 1000 years, where there will be peace. Oh sure, the earth will still have people living on it with their freedom of choice. The second phase comes after the 1000 years when all sin is purged, the dead will be judged, and Satan and sinners will be gone. At this point in time, we will be with the Father, with all the other saints – free from the damage of sin, and we will have clear minds. The migration to the 1000-year reign is about to take place, and I look for it every day.

• “and that life was a light for the people of the world.”

  Not just the Jews, but you and I.

• “The light shines in the darkness,”

  I don't care how dark it seems; the light is still shining.

• “and the darkness has not defeated it.”

  And the most important part of all. Know and understand that the darkness (in whatever form it takes) has not and will not defeat the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Father.