July 28, 2013 | John Bayles | The Prologue of John: The God-Man of Grace and Truth (John 1:15-18)

I am so amazed by the precision the Apostle John has used in presenting the nature and mission of Jesus Christ in this prologue. What can we conclude? The Word: existed from before the creation of the world. The Word: is in the presence of God, is the essential composition of God, and yet is distinct in God. The Word: is God. The Word: has a masculine gender. The Word: created all things and gives life to all things, including mankind and us.

July 21, 2013 | John Bayles | Piercing The Darkness (John 1:3-14)

Step-by-step, this is John's method. Thus far we have learned that there is some person, place or thing called the Word. And, the Word was already in existence when the world was created. And that the Word is God. Today John continues the revelation: we discover that the Word has gender, a unique role in creation, and is the source of life and light, not only to those who are redeemed, but to all mankind. Piece by piece, John reveals the Word in a progression from heaven to earth. And not just into the earth, but into a unique relationship with a man, Jesus of Nazareth.

July 14, 2013 | John Bayles | The Prologue of John: The Divine Son(John 1:3-4)

As we etch our way through the Prologue of the Gospel of John, it is our intention to take the needed time to understand John's teaching. Many years ago, as I watched the first lunar landing with my family (in black and white TV), a detail was repeated again and again by the commentators: "The precision of a lunar flight is critical. If the target (the moon) is missed by even a small fraction at the first, then the ship could miss the moon by thousands of miles." The same is true in our study of the scriptures. If we miss the foundational essence of the nature of Jesus Christ at the beginning, we will likely find ourselves either in a cult or confronting one that has missed this critical understanding.

July 7, 2013 | John Bayles | The Prologue of John: Before the Earth Declared His Glory (John 1:1-5)

In this prologue of the Gospel of John we find a very similar use of language to that of Genesis 1:1 and following. As in Genesis 1:1 (and in all of the scriptures), there is no explanation or treatise on the existence of God - it is a presupposition, it is assumed to be true already. However, unlike the Genesis narrative in which Moses launches into the account of the creation of the earth and its surrounding universe, here John touches the same point of time, yet launches backward into the timeless existence of the Godhead before the creation of the earth.