Introduction to The Gospel of John

Gospel defined – a word from God
Gos pel – God’s spell – spelling out the good news
Good news
Good message

What is the Good news? Jesus Christ loved you so much that He died to pay for your sins because you could not do it yourself.

What else is the Good news? Jesus Christ also rose from the dead. That means that death had no power over Him. That is really good news for when we die, we know that we will spend eternity with God!

When we believe the message of the gospel, we receive a born-again spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to reside within us to strengthen us, to empower us with the same power that Jesus Christ Himself had when He was walking on the earth.

When we say – preach/teach the Gospel we are saying:

Tell others about the message of salvation, and that we believe that ALL the words spelled out on the pages of a Bible are God’s Words. The Bible is the very Word of God, inspired by God.

Inspired means that men wrote down exactly what God wanted them to write. The word inspired means, God-breathed.

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate (complete), equipped for every good work. 2 Tim 3:16-17

Righteousness means living the way God says we are to live. Reproof means the Bible will show us where we are wrong. The Bible tells us not only what is wrong but how to make it right. (application).

The Bible tells us how to correct our behavior but we have to read it as if God Himself is speaking to us, not as we would a text book or novel.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of mankind, He prayed for everyone who would ever believe in Him. And in that prayer He asked that God would sanctify every believer.

Sanctify means: set apart. So Jesus was asking that every believer would be set apart by God for God.

John 17:17 says: Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

So God gave us an instruction manual for our lives when He gave us the Bible. We must know the truth and then live by what it says. That is what sets us apart for God!

Therefore, we need to know what the Bible says. That is why we study.

We must think of our study time differently. Not as a chore or a task to make us more spiritual. Instead a beautiful way of thinking of taking time to study is reading a love letter from your God. He desires to have a personal relationship with you.

He desires that you know Him and understand who He is. He wants you to understand the blessings of living a life of obedience to His Word and the consequences of disobeying Him. He wants us to know the truth about life and what is going to happen in the future.

The Bible tells us everything we need to know about life. Why do we continue searching elsewhere? Perhaps this study will convince us of this powerful truth.

Why was the book of John written? There were already three other gospels written to tell the story of Jesus birth, life, death and resurrection. Why did we need one more?

Let’s turn to John 20:30-31 (NKJV)

30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you my have life in His name.

John's desire for the readers of his gospel to be able to solidify their faith through what he wrote. That is why he includes seven signs that show that Jesus is God.

The fact that there are seven signs/miracles is significant. From the Jewish view of life, the number seven signified perfection or completion.

John’s gospel presents these seven miracles to solidify our belief that this man Jesus is God.

Each miracle is proving that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah that Israel had been looking for and that Jesus was the ONLY way to eternal life.

It has been said that if you read no other book in the Bible, you must read the Gospel of John.

Reread John 20:30-31 (NKJV)

30 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you my have life in His name.

The book of John was written to tell all mankind how they can find eternal life. That has to be the #1 most important truth that any person should want to know.

The gospel of John is not so much about the life of Jesus as it is a powerful presentation of His deity. In other words, the gospel of John is all about proving that God and Jesus are the same.

Jesus is the Son of God, the Savior of the world, and how to receive eternal life. Again, what could possibly be more important?

As we study, we will discover for ourselves what these truths are just as the Jews did.

Read together the verses. John 20:30-31

Have you ever asked these questions or some very similar?

God, what are You like?
Who are You?
Do You even exist?
Where are You?
Do You care about me?
God do you even know about me?

How can you find out these answers? (Getting to know God)

1. Why do you think John waited until almost the end of the book to describe the purpose of the gospel?
2. What is a gospel?
3. What is John’s purpose or reason for writing the Gospel of John?
4. EVERYTHING that is written in John’s gospel is to help him accomplish that purpose. Is there anything in this book that is not relevant to accomplishing this purpose?
5. How will you discover the purpose for which John is writing? Prayer, commitment, discipline, engagement, application
6. Discuss why it is important to pray prior to beginning each time you begin to study. Have them answer and then reinforce the importance of spending at least 5 days towards the study. The book is set up for five days each week. Look at John 8:44. There is one who does not want you to study!
7. Reaffirm them that they will not understand everything they read. That is OK. They will understand what God wants them to understand. But the more committed they are the more understanding they will receive.
8. God wants us to see for ourselves that He desires to have a relationship with us. Have you ever thought about that?

Read it from several different versions if possible.

Homework

1. Bring to class next week a binder with loose leaf paper (college ruled)!
2. Bring colored pencils. Set of 12 is sufficient.
3. Bring index cards. 12 are sufficient for now.
4. Read pages 5-16 of your book, “God, Are You There?”. Take notes on your college ruled J paper as you read and highlight in your book the most important facts that you believe to be important and make note of what God is whispering to you. Write it out. Be prepared to share them with the class.

The gospel of John is written out in the back of your book, but always have your Bible handy for personal notes you wish to enter as you study.

Write out and begin to memorize the definition of the following words: sanctify, reproof, inductive, righteousness, equipped, signs, miracles and complete. Go online and discover the Scriptural meaning of the number seven.

Write out John 20:30-31 on an index card. Highlight what you feel is the most important part of the verse. Be prepared to discuss it.

God bless you with the desire to seek the truths in His Word!