Today Our Daily Bread John 1

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

John 1 (AMP)
Today I’m going to give you a taste of the Amplified Bible. You’ll see how it defines many of the Biblical words in the passages and expounds on them for a greater understanding

1IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.(A)
2He was present originally with God.
3All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.
4In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.
5And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].
6There came a man sent from God, whose name was John.(B)
7This man came to witness, that he might testify of the Light, that all men might believe in it [adhere to it, trust it, and rely upon it] through him.
8He was not the Light himself, but came that he might bear witness regarding the Light.
9There it was--the true Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illumines every person.(C)
10He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him [did not know Him].
11He came to that which belonged to Him [to His own--His domain, creation, things, world], and they who were His own did not receive Him and did not welcome Him.
12But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name--(D)
13Who owe their birth neither to bloods nor to the will of the flesh [that of physical impulse] nor to the will of man [that of a natural father], but to God. [They are born of God!]
14And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth.(E)
15John testified about Him and cried out, This was He of Whom I said, He Who comes after me has priority over me, for He was before me. [He takes rank above me, for He existed before I did. He has advanced before me, because He is my Chief.]
16For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.
17For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ.(F)
18No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known].(G)
19And this is the testimony of John when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you?
20He confessed (admitted the truth) and did not try to conceal it, but acknowledged, I am not the Christ!
21They asked him, What then? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not! Are you the Prophet? And he answered, No!(H)
22Then they said to him, Who are you? Tell us, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?
23He said, I am the voice of one crying aloud in the wilderness [the voice of one shouting in the desert], Prepare the way of the Lord [level, straighten out, the path of the Lord], as the prophet Isaiah said.(I)
24The messengers had been sent from the Pharisees.
25And they asked him, Why then are you baptizing if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?
26John answered them, I [only] baptize in (with) water. Among you there stands One Whom you do not recognize and with Whom you are not acquainted and of Whom you know nothing.(J)
27It is He Who, coming after me, is preferred before me, the string of Whose sandal I am not worthy to unloose.
28These things occurred in Bethany (Bethabara) across the Jordan [at the Jordan crossing], where John was then baptizing.
29The next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said, Look! There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world!(K)
30This is He of Whom I said, After me comes a Man Who has priority over me [Who takes rank above me] because He was before me and existed before I did.
31And I did not know Him and did not recognize Him [myself]; but it is in order that He should be made manifest and be revealed to Israel [be brought out where we can see Him] that I came baptizing in (with) water.
32John gave further evidence, saying, I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and it dwelt on Him [never to depart].
33And I did not know Him nor recognize Him, but He Who sent me to baptize in (with) water said to me, Upon Him Whom you shall see the Spirit descend and remain, that One is He Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
34And I have seen [that happen--I actually did see it] and my testimony is that this is the Son of God!
35Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples,
36And he looked at Jesus as He walked along, and said, Look! There is the Lamb of God!
37The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Him.
38But Jesus turned, and as He saw them following Him, He said to them, What are you looking for? [And what is it you wish?] And they answered Him, Rabbi--which translated is Teacher--where are You staying?
39He said to them, Come and see. So they went and saw where He was staying, and they remained with Him that day. It was then about the tenth hour (about four o'clock in the afternoon).
40One of the two who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
41He first sought out and found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found (discovered) the Messiah!--which translated is the Christ (the Anointed One).
42Andrew then led (brought) Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon son of John. You shall be called Cephas--which translated is Peter [Stone].
43The next day Jesus desired and decided to go into Galilee; and He found Philip and said to him, Join Me as My attendant and follow Me.
44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the same city as Andrew and Peter.
45Philip sought and found Nathanael and told him, We have found (discovered) the One Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote about--Jesus from Nazareth, the [legal] son of Joseph!
46Nathanael answered him, [Nazareth!] Can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip replied, Come and see!
47Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him and said concerning him, See! Here is an Israelite indeed [a true descendant of Jacob], in whom there is no guile nor deceit nor falsehood nor duplicity!
48Nathanael said to Jesus, How do You know me? [How is it that You know these things about me?] Jesus answered him, Before [ever] Philip called you, when you were still under the fig tree, I saw you.
49Nathanael answered, Teacher, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!
50Jesus replied, Because I said to you, I saw you beneath the fig tree, do you believe in and rely on and trust in Me? You shall see greater things than this!
51Then He said to him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you all, you shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man!(L)
~Lena’s Journalin’~
I was reading the commentary, which said that “The Word” was God’s original idea. This passage is explaining how God’s ideas were in God’s heart and “mind” from long long ago, when God was, but no one else was, then even ehwn others were, God still had/has His ideas. God’s ideas are not as man’s ideas, where we think something for a moment and then the thought might pass away, His ideas come to fruition, and in this passage there is an expression of the matter of fact, that this which is alive, and visible on this day at this time, was always an idea God had planned to bring to fruition! His original “idea” became a flesh man, a man who came to earth in the same manner that anyone comes to earth, being born out of the natural womb of a woman, yet inside of this specific man were specific ideas from God contained to be poured out on the earth. Now remember, we are “earth”, so these “ideas” were also going to be poured out on us. God not only brought His ideas to earth, but He was the idea, and came to see to the manifestation of those ideas inside of a mere human body!
This next portion is so key, so, so key to the manifest presence of God in the earth (in you and me, and any other receiver of God’s ideas- Oh by the way, had Mary not received God’s ideas…..)
John was a symbolism (though he was truly a man, Jesus’ cousin man), of anyone who will point the way to Jehovah (which is a Hebrew word for Lord-God). Anyone who will point out God’s idea before it manifests, anyone who will be willing to till ground so God’s Spirit can come and plant seeds that will grow.
John was a harvester, who starts at the “beginning” by tilling, a farmer of earthen vessels or fields. God was about to open the heavens and bring the manifestation of a great God idea to the earth and the earth would either receive the idea or reject the idea. Every personality will do one or the other and many times it depends on how much they are prepared, how many times they’ve personally heard about “the idea” beforehand. I’ve brought this out before, and it is the way God made the earth (us) to receive seed (ideas). The more we hear, the more we receive or are able to receive. We were not made to accept anything at a moments notice, or else we could find ourselves in situations not so beneficial. So John traveled about in his locality day in and day out, people recognized who he was and in their comings and goings they heard his messages over and over again. Some may have said, yeah that’s that John again, saying the same old thing day in and day out…He was like the farmer preparing the fields of the landlord. Everyday the passersby would see Him tilling, watering, leveling, etc. Then the day came for the Lord to manifest (plant seeds) and voila, the fields were readied! Notice who was the most ready, John’s own disciples. They were with John day in, and day out, when Jesus came, their fields were the most prepared for not only seeds, but to become plants! Because the world would not recognize Jesus unless someone described Him to them, John was faithful to do so, over and over to make sure they’d at least be able to recognize Jesus when He came.
Do you see here how it says, his witness and testimony of the Light would cause all men to be able to believe in the Light through him? That farmer, that preparer, that harvester is VERY, VERY important of the coming of (more than just an idea, but a manifestation of the coming of) the Lord!
All who presently believe are in the same preparatory positions as John the Baptist was. We are all preparers of the “coming of the understanding and recognition of” Jesus to any and every heart. Do you hear the scripture – one plants, one waters, but it is God who gives the increase, here? I want to plant and water and plant and water and plant and water, till increase is able to come. Don’t ever weary of tiling ground, even over and over in one person’s life, don’t ever weary of sowing seeds, again in one field. John was in one field day in and day out tilling, watering, sowing! Over and over again. Look at one field, no matter the size, How many seeds do you think are placed there? Enough to feed people, when the harvest comes, and don’t forget about how much seed is in the fruit of that harvest, especially if it is a wheat or grain filed! Wow, that shows us that the harvest is never finished till all of the seed is planted, and that will never really naturally happen, so we do not look for a goal to stop at, we continue in the work of God till he’s satisfied, and say, well done though good and faithful servant, enter the joy of the Lord! What is His joy? People who have been constantly sowed in and reaped from and planted in and harvested. The full cycle happening over and over again, brings Him a tremendous amount of joy. Ever see curses in cycles? Turning and cycling over and over again? Break that cyclical curse and enter into God’s harvest work where you join a new cyclical pattern of harvesting souls unto Him.
Notice how when different ones would come to follow Him, He’d immediately call them something different than what they’d been called before? Simon to (Cephas) Peter, Nathanael became known as Bartholomew, etc. He was changing who they were to who they would become in Him and in following His will. He desires to do the same for each and every one of us. John, the preparer, the farmer had stirred up such a desire, such a hunger in them, that when Jesus came, they had to go find out who He was, they even asked him , who are You?
We all are preparers of the earth, hearts of men and women who will someday receive the truth of who Jesus is to each of them.( this IS the true coming of the Lord, when a heart begins to seek Him, desires to come to know Him, does begin to have His change manifest personally in their own lives and then joins the reapers to turn and do the same for the rest of the earth, till all are saved and coming to the knowledge of the truth). That is more the” coming of the Lord” than any other picture our minds want to paint. That would be the full manifestation of him, when the whole earth would be filled with His glory and called by His name and Know and serve Him as Lord and King.

John 1:14 So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. F1 And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.