John: Lesson 2 - 4th day

Reading John 1:9-13
Note: Most commentators believe that the phrase "coming into the world" speaks of Jesus coming into the world of men at His incarnation, in order to give "light" to every man.

• Christ's "own" people (v.11) - the ones who "did not receive him" - were all the people on the face of the earth minus the chosen ones (Deuteronomy 7:6), people who hate Him and say that they don't want Him to be their King (Luke 19:14), people who worship what they don't know (John 4:22), people who reject Him and want Him crucified (John 19:15), people who have been entrusted with the very words of God (Romans 3:1-2), and the people of Israel (Romans 9:4-5). In our day, people who know about Christ reject Him by not believing in Him, rejecting people who believe in Him, and ignoring Him in every way.

• From v.12, to become a "child of God", John says one must receive Him and believe in His name. This means acknowledging that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:12).

Phrases from John 1:13

• "born" means born of the Spirit (John 3:3-8, 6:63)
• "not of natural descent" means everyone who believes (Romans 1:16) after hearing the message of salvation through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17)
• "nor of human decision", because it is a gift of God, not by human works (Ephesians 2:1-10)
• "or a husband's will" - this, I don't know. Reading 2 Timothy 3:15 gave me an idea of how I should introduce Baby Emma to the Scriptures right from infancy, so she will be wise for salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. But for the home work, I don't know.
• "born of God" means born again through the word of truth from God (James 1:18, 1 Peter 1:23)

John: Lesson 2 - 3rd day

Reading John 1:1-5, Genesis 1:1, Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:2-3

• Genesis 1:1 relates to John 1:1-5 by stating that in the beginning the Word who was God created the heavens and earth. Heavens and earth means everything, I think. So there was nothing before God.
• Colossians 1:15-17 tells almost the same message as John 1:1-5 for me. That Christ is God, He is before all things, and everything is in Him.
• Hebrews 1:2-3 relates to John 1:1-5 by explaining phrase "...the Word was God" in verse 3, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word."

• From John 1:1 there are three phrases that give information about "the Word" before He "became flesh". The phrases are "in the beginning," "was with God," and "was God."

• Collosians 1:16 has additional information that is not in John 1:3. It is mentioned there specifically about all things: things in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, and that all things were created by him and for him. This means, I think, that human personality was also created by him and for him, and that true fulfillment of human personality lies in Christ being the Supreme center of one's whole life. Then why, oh why, am I not living in such way?

• Comparing John 3:19-21, 8:12, 12:35, 46, and 1 John 1:5-6 with John 1:4-5. From the way I see it, "light" refers to Christ, and His shine means life (a bit too impressed with "life was the light of men"? I don't know), whereas "darkness" refers to the world, the people who reject him, and everyone who does evil.

John: Lesson 2 - 2nd day

Reading John 1:1-18, called the “Prologue” or Introduction

• There are two main personalities in this prologue, Christ and John who is called “John the Baptist.” Verses which relate to John the Baptist are 1:6-8, 15. These verses form a kind of parentheses to the main topic.
  
• John 1:1-18 is divided into three sections:
  John 1:1-9. This section tells about Christ’s relationship to God, to creation, and to spiritual life and light. A phrase that impresses me in this section is “…life was the light of men.”
  John 1:10-11. This section tells what happened after Christ became man and was rejected by the majority of the world to whom He came. A phrase that impresses me in this section is “He came to that which was his own…”
  John 1:12-18. This section tells about the privileges given to those who receive him by faith. A phrase that impresses me in this section is “grace and truth.”

John: Lesson 2 - 1st day

It took me 3 days to finish reading all the notes. Yeah, I know. That means I didn't really do this homework on a daily basis, but PBPGINFWMY. I flipped and flipped and went back to the first page, wondering which part of the notes that helped me. My thoughts have been scattering everywhere, not sure of whether I should do this homework or not. Anyway, after reading all the notes...

1. In the first part of the notes, it was stated that John's aim in writing his Gospel is found in John 20:30-31, "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." Signs. Believing. Life. For me, it was miraculous that rang a bell in my mind. I've been walking through my journey of life, and found lots of miraculous moments happening in this past 13 months. Miracles, literally. Some were obviously wonderful, others are still kept pondered. Those moments keep reminding me that God is real, and yes, I believe it. And believing brings that true eternal life. Yet, I know that I don't live the way God wants me to, and I really want to do it. I just don't know how. Technically, perhaps. This bible study is an effort, in hope that God will reveal more things to do along the way. That helped. As for warning, hey, are you kidding me? Reading the notes felt like reading a long list of warning :P (oh I need to improve my life...), which led me to straight to this challenge: am I ready to live according to what God wants? Pffff... All this time I thought I've been a good girl. But as I see myself while typing this post, there's nothing in my life I can be proud of... So please help me, o Lord...
2. Honestly, I joined the BSF not with my fullest heart and intention to get the best out of it. The first time I came (that's when I got this very first homework), I thought I was only going to register then go straight back home with Baby Emma. Well, somehow I ended up registering myself and Baby Emma (they have this under 2 yo program, which for me is so cool) and stayed for the lecture. I did listened carefully. Yet, now I can't remember anything except one particular scene where Jan waved a flier and said "...This is not for everyone... for those of you who have a lot of questions... who are troubled..." That sounds like me. But stupid enough, I can't remember what it was actually about. Maybe I'll ask Phebe at the next meeting.
3. John's twofold aim is that the reader may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing the reader may have life in his name. I'm hoping that through perseverance in doing this daily study, God will reveal more things for me to know, to do, and to understand, which will lead me to the life in his name. I need to slowly memorize the outline of John's Gospel.

Btw, PBPGINFWMY stood for "Please Be Patient, God Is Not Finished With Me Yet."

Have a great life :)