Disciples Global Network

The Gospel of John begins by introducing key themes that are expanded in the body of the book - Life , Light , Witness , Truth , and Grace . Jesus is the Light of the World, the source of Grace and Truth, the True Tabernacle, and the only born Son of God who dwells in the “ bosom of the Father .” The Prologue concludes by declaring that he is qualified to interpret the unseen God since he alone has seen Him.

The Prologue to the  Gospel of John  introduces key themes of the Book, including  Life ,  Light ,  Witness ,  Truth ,  Glory , and  Grace . Jesus of Nazareth is the Light of the world, the source of Grace and Truth, the True Tabernacle in whom God dwells, the only born Son of God, and the one who alone has seen the Father. The Prologue concludes by declaring that the Son is the only one who is qualified to interpret God.

The Bible speaks of the “ mysteries ” of God, His ways that are hidden from this world’s “wisdom” and defy human expectations. In his teachings, Jesus declared that not everyone can understand the “ mysteries of the kingdom .” It is God who reveals the deep and obscure things to whomever He pleases, and in His Son, He has done so for all the world to see. In the death and resurrection of the Nazarene, God has disclosed His true nature and the salvation that He now offers to all men and women.

The promises of God find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. “ IN HIM ,” they find their “ yea ” and “ amen .” The things that were once “ hidden ” are revealed in the life, words, death, resurrection, and exaltation of the Son of God, the one in whom all the shadows and types prefigured in the Hebrew Bible are actualized. All God’s “ mysteries ” are laid bare for all men to see in the Nazarene, especially in his death and resurrection.

The Church has been plagued for centuries by prophets, seers, and mystics who claim to possess secret knowledge and new insights into the mysteries of God beyond anything found in the Scriptures, knowledge obtained via visions and dreams, or perhaps by deciphering the Hebrew alphabet or the Jewish calendar. The Bible certainly does speak of God’s “ mysteries ,” His unexpected ways that differ radically from human wisdom, but they were disclosed in His Son twenty centuries ago.

The  Gospel of John  identifies Jesus as the  Logos , the “ Word ” through which God made all things. This theme is threaded throughout  John  and builds on traditional ideas from the Hebrew Bible about how God created the Universe, especially life through His spoken Word. Jesus of Nazareth is the ultimate expression of that Word and the Living God.

Jesus is the true Sanctuary of God that was foreshadowed in the ancient religious structures and worship rituals of the nation of Israel. He is the dwelling place of God’s presence and glory and the true and final mediator between Heaven and Earth. The man from Nazareth was the Temple “made-without-hands” that was destroyed by evil men but restored when his Father raised him from the dead.