Beginnings
John Chapter 1
“In the beginning…”
John’s decision to start his book with the first words of Genesis had to have been intentional. It’s a reminder that the New Testament is a new chapter rather than a new story. The God who created the universe is the same God who appeared in Jesus Christ.
While John never uses the word “trinity,” much of our belief about the Holy Trinity comes from his writing, starting with the very first verse of the gospel where Jesus is with God and is God. By verse 33 he is referring to the Holy Spirit.
Tomorrow we’ll get to the famous phrase “born again”, but even in Chapter 1 John introduces the same idea: “Yet to all who did receive him to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of a human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
This gospel account also makes it clear that John was sent as a witness and a way-preparer for the Messiah and is not himself the savior.