The Gospel of John

God
When you look at your watch, you know that an intelligent person designed it. It didn't just come into existence by itself. What about your wrist - isn't it more complicated than your watch? Didn't an intelligent person design your wrist too? We call the One who designed these things God, our Creator, the One who spoke the word and created the universe.

God has spoken to us in terms we can understand. The Bible is the record of his revelation - what he wants us to know about himself. God also became flesh and blood in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is 100 percent human and 100 percent God. Want to know what God is like? Study the life of Jesus Christ in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Jesus
Jesus was born approximately 5 B.C. in the town of Bethlehem, Israel, to a virgin named Mary, who was descended from King David. Raised in Nazareth by Mary and her husband, Joseph, Jesus lived the ordinary life of a carpenter's son. Those who knew him didn't yet know that he was also God's Son. At age 30, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and tempted by the devil into the desert. He then began healing, teaching and performing miracles throughout Judea. He called people to believe in him as the only way to God.

Christ
Christ, meaning "anointed one," is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah. The Jews were waiting anxiously for the Messiah, the person guaranteed by God to be their leader and ruler. Every Jewish person living at the time of Jesus knew exactly what he or she was waiting for. "Is he the one?" was the question everyone was debating about Jesus. Some said yes; some said no; and some said Jesus was a liar.

Father
God the Father perfectly cares fur us, giving us all we need -- though we may not agree with him regarding what those needs are. He promises us that we don't have to worry about having enough food or clothes because he knows what we need before we ask. God has also given us every spiritual blessing - something of much more value to our lives than any kind of physical possession.

As children of God, we can expect to be disciplined if we err. And we shouldn't be discouraged when this happens because discipline shows that God loves us. Just as good parents teach their children not to do things that will hurt them, so our Father in heaven teaches us what is best for us.

Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is distinct from the Father and the Son - yet is completely God.

Before Jesus came to the earth, the Holy Spirit guided and directed select people at specific times for specific purposes. To prophets, he revealed future events and warnings of judgment. To kings, he gave wisdom to rule. But when Jesus was near the end of his life on earth, preparing his disciples for his impending death and resurrection, he promised that the Holy Spirit would, form that time on, be with his followers all the time.

Ask
To ask means to "call on" or to "request." God definitely wants us to come to him and make our requests. Psalm 62:8 tells us to "pour out [our] hearts to him." Read through the Psalms, and you'll see King David asking for things unashamedly.

Believe
Beliefs dictate who we are and how we live our lives. To believe in something is to have faith in it. Though it may seem feeble to accept something on faith rather than fact, we all believe many things on different levels without being experts through experience or knowledge. A Christian's life is a demonstration of grounded belief in action.

Merely "believing" in God does not make someone a Christian any more than believing in exercise keeps one in shape; a person must actually exercise to stay in shape. Demons "believe" in God (James 2:19). They know he exists, but they don't choose to follow him. Believing that Jesus Christ is your Savior means believing that Jesus' death pays the penalty for your sin. As a result of this belief you repent-you turn away from your sin-and obey Jesus Christ.

Children
Do you like kids? If so, you probably delight in watching them discover their world. Their minds and eyes are wide open as they accept your words as truth. Jesus Christ taught that people should have faith in him like a child has faith in a parent.

When we believe in Jesus Christ, we become children of God. He disciplines us as children because he loves us as his children (see Hebrews 12:7-11). Children of God will go to live with him when they die or when Christ comes again.

Disciples
Does disciple sound uncomfortably like "discipline"? It is. A disciple is a person who adheres to the teaching of another - not just believing a certain philosophy, but also applying it to his or her life.

In the Bible, the word "disciple" can apply to followers of John the Baptist, students of the Pharisees or the broader circle of people who believed Jesus' teachings. But it most often refers to the twelve disciples whom Jesus asked to follow him. They lived with him night and day and learned from his teaching and lifestyle. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus' followers were not perfect, but they knew enough to recognize that leaving everything they had in order to follow Jesus was worth the price.

Grief
Grief is a natural reaction to change and loss. We begin to understand the fragility of the life in times of deep sorrow-when loved ones die, when close friends endure pain, when accidents and atrocities befall us or those we care about. The root cause of suffering, emotional as well as physical, is the curse that came as a result of Adam and Eve's sin. In our anguish, we often try to distract ourselves with work, play, food, sleep, other people. These things are not bad, but nothing and no one can ease our pain except God. He alone enables us to confront our grief because Jesus took it all on himself when he died on the cross. He alone gives true comfort.

Heart
The heart is a muscle at the center of the body that, through contraction and relaxation, sustains life. When it stops working, we cease to be alive. Yet a heart is more than an organ that pumps blood. In our culture, as well as in the Bible, the heart is a metaphor for the most sensitive areas of our lives, the place from which our passions are aroused and our worst plans are conceived.

Heaven
Do you ever wonder what heaven is like? Heaven is separate from the earth, and some speculate that it's in another dimension. Because of sin, "heaven-on-earth" just isn't possible. But the true heaven is something much better then we can ever guess. God is in heaven, and although, to us, the distance sometimes seems too great a gulf to cross, we're told that the Lord actively watches over us, listens to our prayers and takes action in our lives.
For those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ as Savior, heaven will be our home when we die. In fact, Jesus Christ said he was returning to heaven to prepare a home for us. (John 14:2-3)

Home
The concept of a home - a place where we belong and from which we gain our identity - is prominent in the Bible. People are often identified in the Bible by their ancestry, such as "Lot son of Haran" (Genesis 11:31), or according to their hometown such as "Joseph of Arimathea (Mark 15:43). The word "house" frequently indicates the collective relatives and descendants of an individual, such as "the house of David" (1 Samuel 20:16).

With this in mind, the image of a home or house is often used symbolically. The temple was called the house of God. Although God is present everywhere, the temple represented his special relationship with the Israelites, his chosen people, and their identification with him. In the new testament, Christians are referred to as God's house because his Spirit lives in them, as the Spirit of God filled the temple (see Temple).

Joy
You may know a few people you would call happy, but how many people do you know who are truly joyful? There's nothing wrong with being happy, but it more or less depends on the outcome of certain circumstances; it is largely defined by "good fortune." Joy is choosing to be glad and at peace despite the situation, even when it is negative. Joy is God's very nature - something we are because God, rather than a feeling we have, dwells within us. Joy is also a fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23). Joy is a depth of everlasting happiness that comes from the Lord.

Look
Looking something over is a way of understanding it to a fuller extent. No one knows us more completely than God, who thoroughly examines our actions. Since he is perfect, only he can judge what things are truly done for him and what things are misdirected attentions.

Pain
Every year, billions of dollars change hands (both legally and illegally) for the purpose of preventing or numbing pain of the body, emotions or mind. Pain visits all of us a t one time or another - and we all want to be rid of it. Many times our methods of doing so exclude God's healing and grace. God doesn't usually do away with our pain, but he never wastes our sufferings. Pain can be a warning to alert us to a problem or a tool to shape our lives into something beautiful. God will give us faith and strength to match the trials and the pain that seeps into our lives. He does not leave us alone in our suffering. It's also comforting to know that God himself experiences deep pain when his people reject him, that Jesus endured a painful death to bring us back to God and that his Spirit groans with us in praying for God's will.

Peace
The dawn of each new year is greeted with boisterous celebrations and hopeful prayers for peace. Yet, as long as there is sin in the world, wars will continue and even the best relationship may fail. As God's ambassadors on this plane, we are to be peacemakers, mediating differences and even squelching gossip. In this way we are demonstrating God's love to others within our individual spheres of influence. The Bible also tells us to keep our personal lives peaceful, for we cannot demonstrate peace if we're not living it.

Pray
Prayer, simply put, is talking to God. It is telling him our concerns, confessing our sins and thanking him for what he's done.

How important is prayer? When Jesus Christ was on earth, he always took time out to talk to God. If the Son of God himself needed to pray, how much more do we. If we don't know how to pray for a certain situation, we know that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, giving words to what we cannot express. In those times when it seems like God isn't listening, we are to keep praying. We're told that God is close to us when we pray and that he is always listening.

Revelation
If we wish to know something, like a piece of rock, then we must investigate it. We must crack it open and probe its contents or run tests on it. If we wish to know someone like ourselves (i.e., other humans) then they must share their thoughts with us, and we must observe them to determine if what they say is true.

But what if we want to know about something greater than ourselves, like God, then he must reveal himself to us. If God does not reveal himself to humans, then we can only guess what he is like. revelation is God stooping down to humanity and showing and telling us who he truly is and what he is really like.

Time
Time governs our lives. Our day planners help us manage it. We eat by it. We sleep by it. We're upset if people don't respect it. God, however is not constrained by time. He created time, and - though it's hard for us to grasp - he exists outside of time. Because he contains time, he knows the future and is able to reveal it in prophecy.

God has a clear understanding of time. In the Bible, he warned that all people should live for him because the time is coming when he will return to the earth. While some believe they can delay serving God, we are commanded to serve God now. We are to take advantage of the moments God gives us to share the gospel.

Tongue
Our tongues can spread deadly poison or bring healing and strength. Hurtful words can lead to gossip (see Gossip), which can tear down someone's reputation. But one word can also calm an enraged person. We are warned to control our tongues because of the incredible power they wield. Destroying other people, especially those within the church, goes against the love God tells us to show other.

Truth
What is truth? God is truth. Everything he says we can believe. There is no deception, no hypocrisy, no half-truth in God, Our finite minds can't fully comprehend God or understand all his mysteries, but he is everything he says he is: the all-powerful, just, loving Creator of everything that exists. How do we know right from wrong? God alone, because he is truth, provides an accurate standard for ethics and morality. Whatever he does and commands us to do is right. Anything God hates and forbids us to do is wrong.

Victory
British indie-rock band The Smiths sum up reality: There are...two kinds of trouble in this world: living, dying. Life is both challenging and joyful, punctuated with defeat and triumph. At the end of life is death - not pessimism, just fact.

Victory in life and death comes only through God. Jesus Christ completely defeated the power of death and sin through his crucifixion and resurrection (see Death and Sin). Jesus' victory is our victory. Christians overcome spiritual battles against the schemes of the devil and the temptations of the world (see World) through reliance upon the Holy Spirit's power. When Christians die, it is far from a loss because we gain eternal life in heaven.

Women
Glass ceilings, exploitation, date rape, battles over reproductive rights-these things are evidence that women in North America still face gender struggles. But millions of women in other parts of the world endure much worse, as did women in ancient times. REading the Bible can sometimes be very painful because it dos not gloss over the reality of the status of most women. God created Eve to be the perfect counterpart, companion and co-ruler with Adam. The entrance of sin into the world set men and women against each other and warped God's purposes for them both.

World
World does not refer to the landmass represented by the globe of earth; it refers to people, perspectives and practices. When we say that God loves the whole world, we mean that God loves all people. However, God hates the perspectives and practices that belong to the "prince of this world" (John 12:31), who is Satan. That's why Christians are told not to love this world. The important thing to remember is that the people God loves and the perspectives and practices he hates are under his control.

Work
God created us with a need to engage in meaningful, productive labor - it's part of being made in his image. God worked for seven days to create the earth (see Creation), and then he rested (see Rest).

It is tempting sometimes to think that we deserve the credit for the material rewards received for our labor, but God says fruitful labor is a blessing from him. The Bible condemns those who do not work but expects to benefit from the labor of others. But work that is done simply for the sake of work or material gain is meaningless. We should do everything as though we are working for God; then we will be good witnesses of God before other people. The only work that will last is that which furthers the kingdom of God. At the end of our lives, God will evaluate the work we have done in his kingdom (see Kingdom).

Glory
Millionaires, Olympic athletes and superstars excel in shrewdness, strength, talent, beauty, discipline and sometimes just plain good luck. Thus they enjoy the kind of adoration many people crave. But the Bible reminds us that even the greatest human honor and splendor will fade away. Alexander the Great's conquests are legendary, but only crumbling artifacts remain of his empire. God alone is perfectly and eternally glorious by his very nature. Scripture calls him the "King of glory" (Psalm 24:7-10). He is, and always has been, magnificent, powerful and holy. Everything he does demonstrates his glory, and nothing can detract from it.

Son
"If you really want to understand someone," said President George W. Bush, " you look at his family and where he was raised." Using this reasoning, what can we learn about Jesus Christ, the Son of God? The Bible says that Jesus is "the image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15). This means that the Son is fully God; all of God the Father's qualities are manifested in him: love, justice, righteousness, holiness. God the Son was also fully human; while he was on the earth, he shared our experiences: temptation, hunger, fatigues, pain and death.

Eternal
We often say that the time between now and and anticipated event is "eternity." Children endure torturous days and weeks before Christmas morning, saying they must wait an "eternity" for the day to arrive.

Eternity is much more profound than our common perception of it. God describes himself and his ways as eternal - he and his ways have always been and always will be. His commands, promises and truths are the same forever; they are unchanging. Therefore, we don't need to worry about constantly redefining God's standards for us. He doesn't change. What he says in the Bible will always be true.

The life you now share with the Lord is eternal; it will continue when your physical life ends. Your decision to follow Jesus Christ guarantees it. Again, the fact that God is eternal plays a key role in this. When God determined that eternal life would only be given through believe in his Son, Jesus, he meant it. there's nothing else, including doing good things, that we can do or need to do to establish a relationship with God (see Ephesians 2:8-9). And that's final!

Life
Do you want to live forever? Jesus Christ says he's the only true way. He says he's the door to a life of abundant blessing. God is the giver of life, and his role as such started with the creation of our ancestors, Adam and Eve. When sin entered the world, we were blocked, not only from having eternal life with God, but also from a meaningful life on this planet. Both can be obtained through God himself.

This is where Jesus enters the picture. He came to give us abundant life. He tells us to give him our cares and stop worrying because worrying doesn't add a single hour to our lives. Jesus also tells us to stop selfishly hoarding our lives; instead, we are to freely give them away by serving him. In a strange paradox, it's only when we lose our lives to him that we gain them back. Jesus reminds us that if we get everything the world has to offer, yet lose our souls, we haven't really lived.

Obedience
Unlike the training we put our pets through, obedience involves more than learned responses to a few commands: Obedience means doing what God says no matter how unpopular, strange or difficult the command is. Although doing what God says can be difficult at times, God has every tight as our Creator to demand our obedience. When we obey him willingly from a heart that trusts him, our obedience is a gift of love to him. The Lord says that this kind of gift means more to him than any other sacrifice we could make.

Word
God's Words are powerful! God spoke, and everything that exists in our universe was created. His written Word, the Bible (see Scripture), flawlessly teaches people about God and the way to follow him. God's message through his prophets to his people, the nation of Israel, was often called, "the word of the Lord." God's Word is also displayed in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word of God in human form. He is complete communication of who God is, and he is the revealer of how to follow God.

Words can bring either healing or destruction. God has entrusted his people to carry his Word to all peoples, instructing them and guiding them in the ways of God. Because of this great responsibility, a Christian's words should exemplify Christ's words. God desires for his people to build each other up and encourage each other with words modeled after Christ's words.

18. They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.”

19. Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more,’ and ‘Then after a little while you will see me’? 20. I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 24. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

25. “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 28. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

29. Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” 31. “You believe at last!” Jesus answered.

32. “But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

33. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Jesus Prays for Himself

1. After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2. For you granted him authority over all men that he might give eternal life to all those you have given to him. 3. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples

6. “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word.

Teachings of Jesus

(in alphabetical order)

Beatitudes

Bread of life

Born again

Discipleship

Give to Caesar

Good shepherd

Golden Rule

Greatest commandment

Matthew 5:1-12

John 6:25-59

John 3:1-21

Luke 14:25-35

Mark 12:13-17

John 10:1-21

Luke 6:31

Matthew 22:34-40

Living water

Lord's Prayer

Sending out the Twelve

Sermon on the Mount

Vine and branches

The way and truth and the life

Wealth

Worry

John 4:1-26

Matthew 6:5-15

Matthew 10

Matthew 5-7

John 15:1-17

John 14:5-14

Matthew 19:16-30

Luke 12:22-34

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THE STARTING POINT STUDY BIBILE New International Version
The Luis Palau Evangelistic Association / www.luispalau.org