The Origin of Truth (witness number sixteen) ...

When we choose to remain blind to the truth, the truth we will never see.  In our last account of the sermon of Christ to those in the treasury of the temple, Jesus had revealed Himself as the origin of light.  Those who submit their lives to His light will be made able to see.  But those who shut their eyes, or turn away from the Light, will find only darkness.  It is hard to find truth in the dark.  So it was that the Pharisees who had chosen to reject Christ as the Messiah, and discard the witness to His divinity, had chosen to walk away from the Light, and away from the truth.  The scriptures themselves are not the source of Light, they are a vehicle to reveal God, who alone is the source of Light and Truth.  The Pharisees had put their trust in their own wisdom, and in their own ideas about the interpretation of scripture.  But instead of leading them to the true Messiah, they used scriptural interpretation to vaunt up pride, and boost self-sufficiency.  They did not see their need.  But Christ did.  He knew the painful consequences they would face, from choosing to remain in darkness while opportunity was right in front of them, still offering them a way to the Light.

And so in verse 21 of John’s gospel account in chapter eight, Jesus warns His prideful accusers … “Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.”  Christ would be returning the side of His Father, God.  The perfection of Christ would allow Him to return into the perfection of the source of all love, without regret, or fear, or the revealing of evil within Himself.  The Pharisees who were present would be unable to do this.  Not simply because they were mortal and would sleep until a final resurrection, but because even when returned to life, the evil within them would still be in control of “who” they were.  They would die in their sins.  Seeking after another Messiah who would not come, as only one would ever exist; the Pharisees looked in the mirror for truth and salvation and would never find it there.  Only by looking to the light would they finally see.  Only by putting their own ideas of wisdom and scriptural interpretation on the altar of humility, would they finally allow themselves to embrace the truth of the Messiah, and the vehicle to their salvation.  As we follow Christ, we are changed by Him.  We are made pure, we do not simply evolve that way.  Nor do we find perfection by the strength of our will, our knowledge, or our beliefs and intentions.  We find perfection or the complete removal of evil from within us, by submission to Christ, and in no other way.

The Pharisees though, missed the warning of remaining in sin, because they had rejected the only source that could externally change them, and remove the sin from them.  Again they focused on the idea that Christ would somehow elude them to a place they could not follow.  A perplexing concept.  And so in verse 22 they ponder to each other … “Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.”  The only place Christ could conceivably escape them was in the grave, for that was the one place none of them would dare to venture to find Him.  Perhaps even more perplexing was the idea that they would want to find Him at all.  At present, they would have been all too happy to be rid of Him completely.  If Christ had decided to move to China, they would have been happy to pack His bags and send Him on His way.

But Christ was not done focusing on origins, in verse 23 He answers … “And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. [verse 24] I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”  First, in the history of mankind, not a single soul has ever reached perfection through their own strength.  The mechanism for salvation has always, and will always be, a full submission to God.  This was a secret Enoch had discovered.  To be human, is to be born into a condition our first parents embraced for us, a native propensity to serve self, the very nature of evil itself.  It is naturally a part of who we are.  Therefore, salvation must come from outside of ourselves.  Perfection must come from a source not within us, but external to us.  We must be made perfect; we will not achieve it any other way.  Christ states to His errant religious leaders, that only a belief in Him, and His longing to save them, will ever see them saved from themselves.  This is not a threat.  This is not a punishment.  This is a statement of fact, and an offer of love.  Even now, He longs to see them saved.  Even now, the very ones intent on killing Him, are the ones He is reaching out to.  He is warning them of the natural results of the choices they are making.  But His warning is not full of condemnation, and absent all hope, it is still a chance to change, a chance to turn away from self, and turn towards the source of all salvation.

The offer of Christ to the Pharisees, and the warning of us dying in our sins, is no less relevant today.  It is NOT the wish of Christ or His Father that any of us should perish.  But He cannot compel us to choose Him, or to choose to love.  He can offer to remake us, but we must accept that offer if we are to see ourselves remade.  Our belief in the truth of the written word is NOT enough to save us, any more than it was for the Pharisees who stood before Him still attempting to accuse Him and using the Word to do it.  The scriptures were no less true then, than they are now.  But their minds were clouded by their pride and their arrogance in their interpretations of the written word.  And they chose to reject Christ, while still clinging to the written word that pointed unmistakably right at Christ.  We are at no less risk.  There is a reason why there are hundreds of different Christian denominations and interpretations of the same written words.  It is because we have allowed ourselves to believe only our own ideas of the Bible are the right ones, to the exclusion of all others.  We build walls between ourselves based on the differences we see in the same written words.  And so in the process, we forget, that ALL the words point us back to Christ, not deeper into the book.  Christ is the central point of scripture, not just more scripture.  And for both the Pharisees and us, we must let go our ideas of truth, and find truth were it lives, above us, from the source of truth, Christ alone.  Only then can the written words reveal the truth, and what we will find in them is only more about Christ.

In verse 25 the Pharisees challenge Jesus to ask “who” does He think He is, as they say … “Then said they unto him, Who art thou? …”  What makes you think you can do for us, what you point out, that we have been unable to do for ourselves?  Verse 25 continues … “… And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. [verse 26] I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.”  Here Christ reminds them, that He has not changed His position on “who” he is.  He is the same Messiah He has always been.  But far more important than that, He is speaking the truth to those who are listening, the same truth He learned from the side of His Father who is from above.  Here again, Christ is revealing the mind and will and motives of His Father, the God of the universe.  He is revealing to those who will listen, the precious truth of salvation, the precious origin and offer of redemption.  All they need do is believe; all we need do, is the same.  Believe in Christ, and not in ourselves; believe in His ability and desire to remake us, and not in our own strength or abilities.  Here again is the united vision of the Godhead to save us from ourselves.

But John notes in verse 27, as it was evident to him, that the Pharisees had no idea Christ was talking about His Father God.  They refused to accept this idea, so to them they must have assumed, Christ had learned His ideas of truth from the side of His earthly father, who was obviously not present.  So to insure they do not keep with this misconception Christ makes a prophecy regarding His near future, in verse 28 He continues … “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. [verse 29] And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”  Christ predicts for all to hear, that soon He will be crucified.  The term “lifted up” had that special significance.  What is more, the precious truths of redemption that flow from Him are in perfect concert with the will of the Father.  Christ is not alone, His Father is with Him, and His Father delights in the actions Christ takes.

Think of it.  The healings Christ has done, even the one on Sabbath that caused such disdain among the leaders, was an action that “pleased” God the Father.  The redemption of Mary Magdalene caught in the very act of adultery, but spared, and freed from the bondage of sin was an act that “pleased” the Father.  The feeding of the hungry, the provisions made at the wedding feast in Cana, the selection of the disciples, even of Judas himself, were all actions that “pleased” the Father.  It is not the mercy and love of Christ alone in the Godhead; it is shared equally with the Father.  Their actions are in harmony.  They are one in purpose, and one in love for us.  We are not loved by Christ, and merely tolerated by His Father.  We are actively loved by God the Father, He may even think of us as His grandbabies (as Christ is our Creator).  The actions to redeem us, and bring us home, are not just the work of Christ in isolation, they are the work of God, all three parts.  It is both Father AND Son who are pleased at the ideas of saving us from the pain and death that evil brings.  The Holy Spirit acts as the mechanism to achieve that transformation as we let Him in.  Here in this simple verse of scripture recorded by John, is a revelation of WHO GOD IS.  Here is a revelation about the mind and heart of God, both Father and Son.  This is the God we serve, the one who delights in our salvation, both physical and spiritual.

The passion of divinity flashed through Him, and His words carry fire into the hearts of His listeners.  They have seen His patience with His accusers.  Now they see that the love He bears, is shared by His Father, to the point that He would sacrifice Himself to take on their punishment and save them eternally from the pain of evil.  These are words such as they have never heard.  This is hope.  This is a reason to live.  This is something more than they have ever been offered by any man, as man could not make this offer.  Only God could.  And so in verse 30 John records the response of the great many who were in attendance … “As he spake these words, many believed on him.”  His sermon was now bearing immediate fruit.  His passion, His love, His consistent reach to save, had persuaded them.  And salvation was to be had, right there, and right then.  It was not a future promise His listeners were to cash in, it was a promise in the here and now.  They would leave that place changed by an encounter with God.  A personal encounter as if He spoke only to them.  This is a hallmark of truth.  Truth has an effect.

Now Jesus, as He ALWAYS does, acknowledges and accepts those who have only seconds ago, decided to believe in Him.  He says in verse 31 … “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;”  We do not have to follow Christ in person, then or now to be considered His disciples.  It is enough that we allow Him to save us just where we are, and in the condition we are in.  Our transformation starts as soon as we let it.  No need to wait.  No need to be home in heaven to get started changing, we start right here and right now.  We simply follow His words.  We simple hear Him, and let Him transform us.  We come to Christ FIRST, it is only then that our transformation into His true disciples can begin.  The Pharisees had an extensive knowledge of the word, but lacked Christ, so their knowledge did not transform them, or illuminate their vision of truth.  Had they come to Christ, their knowledge would have been deepened and they would have seen truth more clearly.  It is after we come to Christ, that the words He would then utter become relevant to us.

Christ then says in verse 32 … “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  Christ is the truth.  Not the Old Testament, or the New Testament, or the Law given on Mt Sinai, or the great Revelation enumerated by John and expounded on by the Prophets – ONLY Christ is “the” Truth.  Through Christ, can all those scriptures finally be understood properly, without Him they are sounding brass, and tinkling cymbals.  For it is only Christ that can “make us” free.  The Law and the Prophets do NOT make us free.  The Bible does not “make us” free from sin, or our slavery to serve self.  The written word does not have the power to transform, only to reveal us for who we really are.  But Christ, the origin of truth, the shared source of truth with His Father God, CAN actually MAKE US free.  It is a work only He can do, and only as we let Him.  It was not the interpretation of the Pharisees of the written words that would liberate them from their pride, but it could be Christ if they let Him.  It will not be our doctrinal differences that define our denominations that will “make us” any more free than were those Pharisees in the days of Christ.  It is Christ alone that can “make us” free.  Our freedom is not some sort of hidden discovery, or achievable work ethic, or something we can earn for ourselves.  It is something that happens TO us, that is done BY Christ, FOR us.  We are “made” free, and find freedom from sin in no other way.  This is the central tenant of the gospel and the entire point of the Bible.  This is the definition of our Salvation, and first truth Christ reveals to His new followers.

Come to Christ, find truth in Him, and be made free.  But the freedom Christ was offering from slavery to self was not something his accusers would choose to comprehend.  They interpreted His words to be related to physical slavery of the poor to the rich, or the weak to the powerful.  Since they were not bound to the superstitions of the idolatrous nations around them, and wealthy enough never to have tasted the servitude of debtors, or even the enslavement of Rome itself; they looked to their heritage as a mark of their freedom.  They responded in verse 33 … “They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?”  Their pride was revealed again.  They took their ancestry as a sign of their spiritual prowess, and their apparent lack of bondage to other men at the moment, as plain reasons they did not need to be “made” free.  How dangerously like us.  We look to our “Christianity” and our study of the word, and decide we are better than those around us, and do not need to “made” free from anything including our sin.  We will simply stop sinning, when we choose to, or when we get around to it, or at some distant point in our future after we have had a little fun.

But Christ was not talking about being bound to another man, or governmental power, He was talking about our slavery to sin.  So in verse 34 He answers … “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.”  There it is in a nutshell.  The nature of evil is addiction we are unable to control.  When once embraced, evil takes us over, and we are NOT free to remove it from ourselves.  Adam and Eve created in perfection were unable to rid themselves of it.  Lucifer who spent eons in the perfection of eternity was unable to rid himself from it, when once he chose to forsake the wisdom of God, and trust instead to himself.  Evil is degenerative.  Evil is addictive.  Evil removes control from self, and makes self the only God worth serving.  It results in an empty meaningless existence that offers nothing but pain, and death.  Only death can stop the degeneration,  unless redemption halts the process.  To commit sin, is evidence, that control is ALREADY gone.  This is why Truth must “make us” free.

Christ continued in verse 35 … “And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. [verse 36] If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”  Here Christ makes an analogy their culture could understand.  A slave or servant was not the same kind of family member or friend as the Son was.  Servants were not always welcome in the home.  But family was.  Here is Christ saying, let me free you from your servitude to sin.  Let me make you over again, and remove from you, what you cannot remove from yourself.  When the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.  We do not trade the slavery to self, for slavery to Christ.  When once the slavery of evil is removed, we are then free to love others.  To love others is our choice, not our requirement, it becomes natural to us, instead of foreign to us.  We become in harmony with the law of God, instead of constantly rebelling against it.  Our choice to love, literally liberates us from the need for laws of restriction.  Our freedom to do rightly, and to love fully, make us fit citizens of a perfect culture and government where the need for laws regarding limits to the service of self, are simply a thing of the past.  Evil requires restriction, love does not.  It is this kind of freedom ONLY the Son can offer us.

Christ is the origin of truth.  He is the origin of Light.  In His Light we can finally see His Truth.  When we see, and we embrace, we find He is next the origin of even something more …

 

Gospel of John (Prologue) ...

The gospel, or good news that John bears testimony to, does not begin with the birth of Christ.  John reaches farther back than that.  It does not even begin with our creation, though that is also mentioned in his prologue.  John reaches back into the infinite abyss of time and space and once he surpasses the limits of our imaginations in pre-recorded time, starting in verse one of chapter one, he plainly states … “1.) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  2.) The same was in the beginning with God.”  John attests that the divinity of Christ starts long before His birth, and long before our Genesis.  Into the farthest reaches of time and space there was always God.  And Jesus was both with God, and He was God.  To his Greek audience John uses the word Logos to convey his meaning.  A Greek summarization of creative power and truth, to the Hebrews they would have understood it to be wisdom.  Throughout his writings John would describe God as Love.  John realizes that to discuss the good news of the gospel of our salvation, one must understand the divine definition of love begins outside of our history, and exceeds our understanding, as the divinity within Christ, was something that always was, and always will be.

In verse three, John attributes every act of creation that has ever existed, to Jesus Christ.  John says … “All things were made by Him.”  There was no act of creation to which Jesus Christ was not a central part, indeed nothing was made without Him.  This key piece of scripture reveals that at our creation, Jesus Christ was one who called us into existence.  We are not only the creations of an all-powerful God, we are the creations of the part of the God head that came to our world in person, and to which John is about to give testimony.  To those Christians who would seek to replace the act of our creation with a process of evolution, John stands in contrast and points clearly to exactly who created us.  When on the seventh day He rested from His work and all that He had made, and blessed the day, it was to Jesus Christ, that John points. 

To those Christians who do not understand the character of God is defined in love and that His law is only the beginning of the meaning of love, here stands John, stating that our Creator and author of the law is Jesus Christ.  The law he handed to Moses on Mt. Sinai was Christ’s law of love.  Christ came to show us more than the beginning of the definition of love; He came to show us its fullness.  The law of love written by the finger of Christ, was not crucified on Calvary, rather it was fully affirmed and realized in the sacrifice of Christ.  The life that would make our redemption and restoration possible would be lived and performed by He who brought us into existence.  And it is He who has the creative power, to remake us, into what He intended for us to be, if we but let Him.  Only Christ is able to restore us into harmony with His law, and with the love that stands behind it, and behind our very Genesis.  The same loving hands that took dust and formed man, and breathed into him the breath of life, are the same loving hands that can take the disaster we have made of our lives, and transform it into the perfection of service and love that heaven itself is modeled upon.  The secret to our salvation is based on the creative power of Christ.  It is this characteristic of our Savior that will give us the most hope that our fate is not what we deserve, but what His love longs to bring to us.  Our Creator is able to re-create us.

John begins in verse 4 … “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.”  Man is not inherently immortal, only God is.  The breath of life was breathed into us and we “became” a living soul.  The source of life was not inside the lump of clay that our Master fashioned into the form of Adam.  The source of life was inside our Creator.  It was extended to Adam, and to us.  But beyond even this, John is stating that our God is life itself.  Everything outside of our God, is the opposite of our God.  All things that are good are a part of who Jesus is.  He is life.  He is love.  He is joy.  And of a truth, those things that are not of Christ, are His opposite – evil brings pain, evil brings hate, evil brings death.  To look outside of Christ, one finds only those things one would wish to avoid.  To find life is to find Christ;  for there is no life outside of our Creator God.

The sad example of Lucifer stands as an eternal reminder of what happens when we search for an existence outside of Christ.  Lucifer questioned the idea of love as service only to others.  He wondered at his own beauty and perfection, and attempted to see if pleasing himself instead of others might offer him a better existence than the one he had.  He did not heed the counsel of God, that this pursuit could only end badly.  He had no historical context of the knowledge of evil for he had only known good and life; he had never seen bad and death.  But instead of trusting God in a matter to which he had no knowledge, he decided to trust himself, and pursue his own ideas.  All the degeneration of evil that has transpired since has come from that break in trust.  All the keen knowledge of bitterness, and evil to which we are all personally familiar started with a simple break in trust with God. 

Lucifer chose to trust himself, and in so doing has brought the definition of death itself to the universe.  We are faced with the same choice today.  Do we trust ourselves to find our redemption, or do we voluntarily submit our wisdom and our choices, and our desires, and the core of who we are, to the Savior who has promised to redeem and remake us?  It does not make sense to give up control to Christ, as it did not make sense to Lucifer that such a seemingly small alteration in how he would live, would bring about such horror as to think that killing God would be a good idea.  But our sense, and Lucifer’s trust in his own wisdom over Gods, is the same issue we face in our redemption today.  Do we trust in our own wisdom, or submit to His?  John states plainly, life is only found in Jesus Christ.

John then waxes a bit philosophical and in verse 5 states … “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”  How sad that one of the chief symptoms associated with the disease of evil is our inability to perceive truth.  Even as a light is held up in darkness, we choose to turn away from it to seek out the darkness we crave.  It takes an act of intervention on the part of our God, to clear away the chains of our bondage to evil, to even begin to think clearly enough to make the freewill choice to decide whether to follow our God of love or not.  Without this act on our God’s part, our minds would never be clear enough to see the truth of what He offers in contrast to the bondage we are already enslaved to.  It would be all too easy to look at this verse, and apply it merely to those who do not believe in Christ, to those who are unfamiliar with our God of love.  But sadly, it was not to the unbelievers that Christ appeared. 

Our Messiah was not born to Roman parents of noble birth, in the greatest city of his day.  He was not found in the personage of the Caesar’s who would have respected power, but would have had little context of the meaning of the coming of a Messiah.  It was not to the Chinese scholars, or Germanic barbarian tribes to which Christ was born.  No, instead He was born to those people to whom He had personally given His laws and sent to them His prophets.  The texts to identify the Messiah were clear, as were the signs offered in the miracles He performed, and the truth to which He gave voice.  But his own religious system where every piece of furniture in the temple, and every ordinance ever given with respect to its worship practices pointed to the now present Messiah; was unable to perceive His arrival.  The priests who should have heralded the coming of the Messiah failed to do so.  Instead it would take a wild man living in the desert to cry out ‘repent’. 

The priests who should have been the first to sit at the feet of He who had so brilliantly captured their attention at ripe young age of 12, and taught them truth they had never perceived for 3 full days in the temple at Jerusalem; instead rejected the entirety of His teachings.  These priests should have been his most loyal disciples, and most ardent preachers of His words.  Instead they plotted to entrap Him with un-answerable questions, and when their plans failed, they eventually took action to kill Him.  Christ did not submit Himself to their religious authority.  Instead of obtaining power over others, Christ personally served those in need.  Instead of hanging out only with those of equal or higher social class, He went to those who were poor, and humble, and willing to receive Him.  Instead of ending the political tyranny of Rome, He completely divorced Himself from politics and taught submission – first to God, then to each other.  Christ did not hate the Romans; instead He sought to save them, and praised those He found faith in.  Christ did not discriminate against Samaritans; instead He broke down prejudicial barriers and welcomed them to the Kingdom of His Salvation.  He was everything His priests were not.  He was love, without condition, and without restraint, just pure self-less love, incarnate.  This was what He intended His religion to be, and those who claimed to serve the One True God should be like.  Instead His religious system had been corrupted by the exaltation of self, into a hierarchy only interested in preserving its own power over the people.  Selfish gain, and inflated ego’s, had replaced service to those in need, and love to all.  And so, His own religious system, sought to kill the Light that had entered their darkened world.

In the cruelest irony the devil could present, those who should have known Him best, were the very ones who sought to end His existence in this world.  The Romans hardly had any concern for a pacifist who taught only selfless love.  He was literally no threat to their “power”.  The priests however, could not stand the brilliant light that illuminated the hypocrisy of self-service against the magnificence of pure self-less love.  Today, Christians purport to follow Christ, but I wonder if our “system” of religion would do any better in recognizing the God we claim to know if He were to appear among us?  Our expectations of fine clothing would likely not be met.  He would not be found in our church board meetings, instead preferring to be in the street with the other “homeless”.  For Christ Himself, was a homeless person.  He owned nothing.  He only had one set of clothing, and it was no Armani suit.  He had no jewels to ordain His person.  Indeed the creator of gold, sees no more value in it than concrete.  He did not eat often without the mercy of someone else providing for Him. 

Those who were engaged in the most grievous and public sins were known to be His regular companions.  He was found only in the company of the humble, almost never in the company of the rich or the proud.  He did not travel alone; to receive Him was to receive 12 other companions of a less than savory sort, and the entourage and crowds that sought Him out everywhere.  In our day, we would call Him a hippy, perhaps a cult leader.  In our day, we might call Him a bum.  In our day, we might call His teachings of unconditional love, even to those who are clearly committing horrific sins, too radical, perhaps too heretical.  In our day, His rejection of our political processes, and complete indifference as to who runs our nation, might offend those of strict ideologies who believe it is their responsibility to enforce their moral code on the lives of others.  His refusal to answer trick questions like when does life begin, and is cloning wrong, and should we be exploring stem cell research; might anger those who cannot understand the wisdom of teaching that love can remake us from the inside out, removing naturally what should be removed, and replacing hate for love.  His ability to heal any disease would rouse the anger of medical and insurance financial establishments and make Him a real threat to profit.  I wonder if the Light were to appear in the darkness that is our world today, would we fare any better than our spiritual ancestors, or would we like the Pharisees of old, reject Him entirely?  The measure of that answer can be found in the measure of how we love today.

In verses 6 to 8, John makes it clear who he is, and that he is only there to bear witness to the Light, John is not the light himself.  How often are those who teach the truth of Christ often elevated by those they teach.  Perhaps it is a combination of gratitude for the knowledge imparted, or respect of the wisdom revealed, or just admiration of the effects of transformation, that inspires one man to put another on a pedestal, but it happens.  John here makes it clear exactly “who” the Light is, and that John is not it.  John begins by disclaiming all elevation, and lifting up only the name of Jesus Christ as the true Light of the world.  “Pride”, even in matters of religion, is still the catalyst for downfall and evil.  To bear testimony to the Light, is the only ambition John will attempt to achieve in this book of his gospel.

In verses 9 to 11, John restates his opening premise that those who should have known Him best, did not recognize Him at all.  This was a heart-rendering truth.  The Jewish readers would know that John is calling them to see truth where they previously thrown it away.  It would be the same thing as having a homeless man enter your church mid-service and declare that the teachings of your pastor, and your closely held beliefs were all in error.  It would be worse, to know beyond all shadow of a doubt, that the homeless person who did this was Christ Himself.  Christians might take great offense at the notion they have been “doing it wrong”.  Christians might find it hard, to accept this truth, and in humility seek out the very homeless person who called them out on their errors.  Christians might find it hard to let go of their dreams of freedom and ease, and embrace servitude and poverty.  The Jewish readers in the time of John, had an equally hard time doing these things.  Yet this is precisely what John is stating should happen.

He continues in verse 12 and 13 with a summation of salvation itself.  He provides the motive and method for acceptance of Christ, and the salvation from self and evil it brings.  Verse 12.) “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name:  13.) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”  To those who receive Jesus Christ, it is to them who submit, it is to them who allow themselves to be completely remade, who can stop relying on their own power, and find instead the power of Christ within them.  It is Christ who “gives” the power to become the Sons of God.  We do not earn this power, we do not steal it, buy it, or work for it.  It comes in ONLY ONE way, as a gift.  It comes only to those who believe on His name. 

The re-genesis that follows within us, does not happen because of our genetic predisposition.  We do not inherit it from our parents, or their value systems we might have been taught.  We do not become new creations, or are born again, because of the strength of our own will power and character.  Nor can the will of other men be imposed upon us, in order that we are saved from ourselves.  There is only ONE way, we can be remade, and that is by God as a gift to us.  Our portion is only to accept in humility His gift of recreation.  Despite the fact we will never deserve it; we want it anyway.  Despite the fact we may never understand why He loves us so much; we will accept the gift that love offers.  In the knowledge that there is nothing we can do to remake ourselves, and the humility this must bring; we accept His generous offer to make us into something entirely different than the people we are today.  This is how salvation works.  And love is the only reason why He offers, and why we would accept.

In verse 14 John once again articulates that Christ is not just an idea, or a belief system, he was a physical person, a physical manifestation of God on earth, in flesh and in blood.  Christ was the only begotten of the Father.  Our God had only one son.  Only Christ could claim with legitimacy that His father was the one true God.  Christ had no divine siblings.  Men like Moses, or Elijah, or Mohammed, or Buddha, or Gandhi might have lived spectacular lives, and made a great impact on the world; but there would only ever be one “Son” of God.  And it is only through Jesus Christ, that we might also be considered a part of the family of God.

John concludes his prologue in verses 15 to 18 repeating now over and over again, that Christ was the fullness of grace and truth.  Notice that truth was never used as a weapon by Christ, nor was it ever discarded.  It was always grace that would enable us to see the wisdom of His truth.  It is grace that allows us to be remade so that we begin to desire His truth.  And it is His grace that then enables our lives to adopt His truth as a part of who we are, how we think, and consequently how we live.  Truth is never discarded in this process; instead it is fully realized through the mechanism of grace.  Truth is not used as a weapon to reveal our guilt; instead it is presented as an aspiration we can attain through the power of His grace.  Christ makes no excuse for evil.  Instead He offers freedom from it, in heart, mind, body, and soul.  It is more than forgiveness that grace offers to us, it is reformation of who we are, and harmony with the truth of who He is.  John states that Moses brought the law, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.  Moses and law of love he relayed had not the power to reform the desires of our hearts, only to show us how far from harmony with this law of love we are.  But the grace Christ brings, offers to remake us from the inside out and restore our harmony with His truth, His law, and His love.  Again John is restating, our salvation does not come from our perceived ability to keep “the law”.  Instead our salvation comes from His grace, that makes His laws engrained on the core of who we are, how we think, what we want, and therefore how we live.  For the second time, in his opening prologue, John describes the process of salvation, and again bears testimony to the salvation Jesus Christ alone offers.