John: WEEKEND RECHARGE!

July 5, 2025

Monday, June 30—Overview
Tuesday, July 1—John 20:30-31 
Wednesday, July 2—John 1:1-5
Thursday, July 3—John 1:6-13
Friday, July 4—John 1:14-18

MAIN POINTS FOR THIS WEEK’S DAILY DEVOS: JOHN 1:1-18

John: Overview

• John’s gospel emphasizes Jesus’ deity and humanity.
• John was transformed by the love of Christ.
• John presents a clear invitation to know, love, and follow Jesus.

John 20:30-31 (Purpose Statement)

• John’s gospel was written so that we would believe in Jesus.
• John chose seven specific miracles (signs) to highlight Jesus’ identity as the Son of God.
• John challenges us to pursue a life of knowing, loving, and following Jesus—a never-ending journey that will grow richer until we meet him face to face.

John 1:1-5

• John begins his gospel by establishing Jesus (the Word) as eternal, divine, and coexistent with God.
• Jesus Is the Agent of Creation.
• All things were made through him. This includes everything seen and unseen, echoing Colossians 1:16-17. Jesus was not just present at creation — He actively created and continues to sustain all things. 

John 1:6-13

• God sent John the Baptist with authority to prepare people for Jesus.
• Despite Jesus being the true Light and Creator, the world did not recognize him.
• To those who did receive Jesus and believed in his name, God gave the right to become his children.

John 1:14-18

• John emphasizes that Jesus (the Word) became flesh, not merely appearing as a human, but truly was human while still fully God.
• Jesus, as the only Son from the Father, is full of grace and truth — unlike the law given through Moses, which pointed to God but couldn’t save.
• Though no one has seen God’s essence, Jesus — who is at the Father’s side and of the same divine essence — has made him known.

The Heresy of Docetism
John’s gospel clearly shows that Jesus became flesh and lived on earth. He added humanity to his deity. This is the essential doctrine of the Incarnation.  

However, during the era of the “Apostolic Fathers” (the church leaders who followed the apostles), a teaching emerged that veered from the doctrine of the apostles. Docetism (from the Greek dokeo, “to seem”) gained popularity.  

Docetism taught that Jesus was not truly human; he “appeared” or “seemed” to be human. He was, in essence, a heavenly being who could not have had contact with flesh. He did not suffer death; neither did he rise physically from the dead. 

Church historian Nick Needham says:

The Docetic concept of Christ grew out of the Greek philosophical idea that flesh and physical matter hindered and corrupted the spirit, so that God, the supreme spiritual being, could not have direct involvement in the physical world.[1]