John begins his Gospel differently than Matthew.

Matthew begins with a genealogy.
Mark begins with John the Baptist.
Luke begins with historical details around the birth of Jesus.
But John begins before creation itself.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1 is one of the deepest chapters in Scripture. It tells us who Jesus is before it tells us much about what Jesus does. Jesus is not merely a teacher, prophet, or moral example. He is the eternal Word of God, the Creator, the Light, the Life, and the only Son from the Father.

From a Christian Reformed lens, John 1 is a chapter about God’s sovereign grace, Christ’s divine glory, and the miracle of the incarnation.

In the Beginning

John intentionally echoes Genesis 1.

Genesis begins:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

John begins:

“In the beginning was the Word.”

This means Jesus did not begin at Bethlehem. His human birth happened in time, but His divine existence is eternal.

Before creation, before Abraham, before Moses, before David, before the prophets, the Word already was.

John does not say, “In the beginning the Word came into existence.” He says, “In the beginning was the Word.”

Jesus is eternal.

This matters because Christianity is not simply about a man who became important. It is about the eternal Son of God who entered human history.

The Word Was With God and Was God

John says two things at once:

The Word was with God.
The Word was God.

This means the Word is distinct from the Father, yet fully God.

This points us toward the doctrine of the Trinity. The Son is not the Father, but the Son is truly and fully God. He is eternally with God and eternally God.

A Christian Reformed reading holds tightly to this truth: Jesus Christ is not a created being. He is not less than God. He is the eternal Son, equal in glory and majesty with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

The gospel begins with the deity of Christ.

Before we see Jesus teaching, healing, suffering, or rising, John wants us to see who He is.

He is God.

Through Him All Things Were Made

John says:

“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Jesus is not part of creation. He is the Creator.

Everything that exists was made through Him. Stars, seas, mountains, cells, light, matter, time, and life itself all depend on Him.

This means the world is not accidental. Creation has order because it comes from the wisdom of God. Creation has meaning because it was made through the eternal Word.

For a Christian Reformed worldview, this is foundational. God is sovereign over creation. The world belongs to Him. Science, art, beauty, work, medicine, nature, and human life are not disconnected from God. They exist because the Word made all things.

Christ is not only Lord of the church. He is Lord of creation.

In Him Was Life

John says:

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

Life is not merely something Jesus gives. Life is in Him.

This means all physical life and all spiritual life depend on Christ.

Apart from Him, we do not have true life. We may breathe, think, work, and build, but spiritual life comes only from the Son of God.

In Reformed theology, this matters deeply because fallen humanity is not spiritually neutral. Sin darkens the mind, corrupts the heart, and leaves us unable to come to God by our own strength.

If we are to live spiritually, Christ must give life.

Grace must come first.

The Light Shines in the Darkness

John writes:

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

This is both realistic and hopeful.

The world is dark because of sin. Human beings are not naturally walking in spiritual clarity. We need light because we are in darkness.

But the darkness cannot overcome Christ.

This is not a fragile light. This is not a candle that might be blown out. This is the light of the eternal Son of God.

The darkness resists Him.
The darkness rejects Him.
The darkness crucifies Him.
But the darkness does not defeat Him.

This is the hope of the gospel. Sin is real. Evil is real. Unbelief is real. But Christ is greater.

John the Baptist: A Witness, Not the Light

John introduces John the Baptist carefully.

“He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.”

John the Baptist was important, but he was not the Savior.

His role was to point away from himself and toward Christ.

This is a powerful picture of faithful ministry. The goal is not to draw attention to ourselves. The goal is to bear witness to the Light.

In a Christian Reformed lens, this is how all preaching, teaching, worship, and discipleship should work. The church does not save. Pastors do not save. Sacraments do not save apart from Christ. Human wisdom does not save.

Christ saves.

John the Baptist knew his place. He was a witness. Jesus is the Light.

He Came to His Own

John says:

“He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.”

This is tragic.

The Creator entered His creation, and the world did not know Him. The Messiah came to Israel, and many did not receive Him.

This shows the seriousness of sin. Unbelief is not simply a lack of information. The Light came, and people loved darkness rather than light.

From a Reformed perspective, this reminds us that the human heart needs more than external evidence. We need regeneration. We need the Spirit to open our eyes. We need grace to receive Christ.

The problem is not that Christ is dim. The problem is that we are blind apart from grace.

Born of God

John then gives one of the clearest statements of sovereign grace:

“To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

But then John explains that this new birth is not from human ancestry, human effort, or human will:

“Who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

This is deeply Reformed.

Salvation is not finally rooted in human decision, family background, religious heritage, or personal strength. To receive Christ, we must be born of God.

Faith is real. We truly receive Christ. We truly believe.

But underneath our believing is God’s gracious work. We believe because God gives life. We come because God draws. We receive because God opens the heart.

This does not make faith less real. It makes grace more glorious.

The Word Became Flesh

John 1:14 is one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible:

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

The eternal Word did not merely appear human. He became truly human.

He took on real flesh.
A real body.
A real human nature.
A real life in history.

This is the incarnation.

Jesus is truly God and truly man.

He is not half God and half man. He is fully God and fully man in one person.

This matters for salvation. If Jesus were not truly God, He could not save us. If He were not truly human, He could not represent us.

But He is both.

As true man, He stands in our place.
As true God, His work has infinite worth.

The Word became flesh to save sinners.

He Dwelt Among Us

John says the Word “dwelt” among us.

The word carries the idea of tabernacling. In the Old Testament, the tabernacle was where God’s presence dwelt among His people.

Now John says that in Jesus, God’s presence has come near in an even greater way.

Jesus is the true tabernacle.
Jesus is God with us.
Jesus is the place where God and man meet.

This connects beautifully with Matthew 1, where Jesus is called Immanuel, meaning “God with us.”

God does not save from a distance. He comes near. He enters our world. He takes on flesh. He dwells among us.

Grace and Truth

John says Jesus is full of “grace and truth.”

This is not grace without holiness.
And it is not truth without mercy.

In Jesus, grace and truth are perfectly united.

He exposes sin, but He also saves sinners.
He reveals God’s holiness, but He also brings God’s mercy.
He tells the truth about our darkness, but He gives grace to bring us into the light.

This is why the gospel is not sentimental. It is not vague positivity. It is grace grounded in truth.

And it is truth given with grace.

The Law Through Moses, Grace and Truth Through Christ

John writes:

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

John is not saying the law was bad. The law was God’s good gift. It revealed God’s holiness, exposed sin, and shaped Israel’s life.

But the law could not save sinners.

The law shows us our need. Christ fulfills that need.

From a Reformed lens, this is crucial. The law reveals sin, but Christ brings salvation. The law commands, but Christ redeems. The law exposes guilt, but Christ gives grace.

Moses was a servant in God’s house.
Christ is the Son over the house.

The Lamb of God

Later in the chapter, John the Baptist sees Jesus and says:

“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

This title points to sacrifice.

Jesus is not only the eternal Word and the true Light. He is also the Lamb who will die for sin.

The gospel of John begins with glory, but it is moving toward the cross.

The eternal Word became flesh so that He could become the sacrifice for sinners.

This is the heart of the gospel:

Christ does not merely teach us how to improve.
He takes away sin.

He does not merely inspire us.
He redeems us.

He does not merely shine light on our darkness.
He dies to rescue us from it.

Come and See

Near the end of John 1, Jesus begins calling His first disciples.

When they ask where He is staying, Jesus says:

“Come and you will see.”

Philip later says something similar to Nathanael:

“Come and see.”

This is a simple but beautiful picture of discipleship.

Christian faith is not merely abstract theory. It is coming to Christ. Seeing Him. Following Him. Abiding with Him.

Nathanael is skeptical at first:

“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

But when he encounters Jesus, he confesses:

“Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”

That is the movement of true faith.

From skepticism to confession.
From distance to discipleship.
From darkness to light.

The Son of Man

Jesus ends the chapter by telling Nathanael that he will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.

This points back to Jacob’s ladder in Genesis 28.

Jacob saw a vision of heaven and earth connected. Jesus now says that He Himself is the true meeting place between heaven and earth.

Jesus is the ladder.
Jesus is the mediator.
Jesus is the way to the Father.

From a Reformed perspective, this points to Christ as the only Mediator between God and man.

We do not climb our way to God. God comes down to us in Christ.

The Comfort of John 1

John 1 gives deep comfort.

Jesus is eternal.
Jesus is God.
Jesus is Creator.
Jesus is Life.
Jesus is Light.
Jesus became flesh.
Jesus dwelt among us.
Jesus gives the right to become children of God.
Jesus is the Lamb who takes away sin.
Jesus is the true meeting place between heaven and earth.

The chapter begins before creation and ends with disciples following Jesus.

That is the movement of grace.

The eternal Word enters time.
The true Light shines in darkness.
The Son of God becomes flesh.
The Lamb of God comes to take away sin.
And sinners are called to come and see.

John Chapter 1 shows us that Christianity begins not with human effort, but with divine revelation and sovereign grace.

The Word became flesh.

The Light has come.

And the darkness has not overcome Him.