Photo Credit: Christopher JL @ Flickr (CC)
My paraphrase of the beginning of John says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word was light and came into the darkness but the darkness rejected the light.” In the early chapters of John, I believe the author lays down a foundation of three major themes to give them emphasis: light, belief, and new birth. These themes are separate, but they all refer to the life of Jesus and what he has done for us. We see the idea of light is introduced in John 1:4: “The life was the light of men.” John shows us from the beginning of his gospel that Jesus is God’s Son and Jesus is the light who came into the darkness. The second theme of belief is found in verse 1:12: “But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name.” Those who believe that Jesus is God, leave the darkness of the world and come into the light that is Christ. Lastly, in chapter two when the water is turned into wine, this is about new birth. After believing and receiving Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us and give us new life a part of the Kingdom of God.
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