The first Scriptural passage I can recall the Lord directing me to specifically was Psalm 119.  Over time I would learn how important that particular chapter is to Him, and consequently, to me.  Psalm 119 reveals His reverence for His Holy Words by the number of terms He uses in referring to Them.  Bear in mind that, at the time of David’s penning of the Scripture-exalting Psalm, the New Testament did not exist and would not exist for another 1000 years.  Also bear in mind that the New Testament apostles taught and preached from the Old Testament exclusively.  The writings of the Old Testament prophets were the only Scriptures available until after all of the apostles except John had been martyred.  As the Scriptures prove, the Old and New Testaments had the same Author–the God of the Old Testament Who bears such titles as the Word, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, the Son of God, the Lamb of God, the Holy One of God, the Mediator and many others.

This morning (7/19/’21) my computer would not come on.  Assuming that God was telling me something, I left it and opened the Bible to the gospel of John.  With pen in hand I began with chapter one, verse one.  Within a few minutes I understood why my computer was acting up–God had a different message from the one I had planned to write.  This message is found in the first 23 verses of John’s gospel.  Let us go there and learn what God has to say.  This subject will take us into His “fine print” where we find the “how to” relative to the “what” (His “Headlines)” concerning God’s Word.  For newcomers I offer this explanation of those terms using Biblical statements: HEADLINE: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31).  FINE PRINT:  “If you would have (eternal) life, obey the commandments” (Mat. 19:17).  Headlines tell us what is available; fine print tells us how to appropriate it.  Now let us turn to the gospel of John, chapter one, verse one and begin.

Verses 1,2– The Word (the God family spokesman) was in the beginning with God and was (also) a God–two Gods (not three).  In Genesis 1 we find “God” creating the earth.  The Word “God” in Hebrew is plural– “Elohim”– “Gods.”  Then we are told that the Holy Spirit (not another “God”) was hovering over the waters that covered the entire earth.  Verse 3,10,11–The universe was made by the Word.  He created the world but, upon His coming into the world, the world did not recognize Him for Who He was.

Verses 4,5,7,9 are extremely important relative to the Word of God as highlighted in Psalm 119.  Notice vs 4–“IN Him was life”–life was IN Jesus Christ.  The life IN Him not only gave Him (a human) life, it would give life to other humans.  What was it that was IN Him that could produce eternal life?  In John 9:5 Jesus called Himself the “light of the world.”  In Mat. 5:14 He called His disciples the “light of the world.”  In John 1:4 it is written that “IN Him is light (that was “the life of men”).  Both Jesus and His original disciples had something “IN” them that He called “light” that gave life to them and to others.  By calling Himself and His disciples the “light of the world,” this meant that they not only possessed that light, they became the light that was within them–“I AM,” “you are” the “light of the world.”  Light is not human.  Jesus and the disciples BECAME LIGHT.  In that life is still available today, HIS TRUE MINISTERS MUST BECOME THAT SAME LIGHT IN ORDER TO OFFER IT TO OTHERS.  John the Baptist came to bear witness to that light.  The ultimate question is: WHAT IS THAT LIGHT THAT GOD’S PEOPLE BECOME THAT GIVES THEM ETERNAL LIFE.  WHAT IS THAT LIGHT THAT IS OFFERED TO “EVERYONE  WHO COMES INTO THE WORLD” SO THAT THEY, TOO, CAN HAVE ETERNAL LIFE?  Jesus gave us a hint in John 14:6 when He declared: “I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE.”   The light is identified with TRUTH that is the WAY to ETERNAL LIFE.  Later He delivered another hint while praying to His Father, saying: “… Your WORD IS TRUTH.”   Obviously, THE WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE IS FOUND IN GOD’S WORD/TRUTH.

John came to “bear witness to THE LIGHT,” which he called the “true light (singular).”  Jesus condemned false light (truth), calling it “darkness.”  The Apostle Paul warned about a false (“perverted”) gospel )light) in his letter to the churches of Galatia (1:6-9).  He warned the church at Corinth that the false light (gospel) would exalt “another Jesus,” and that they would embrace him (2 Cor. 11:4).  Their modern day descendants have done exactly that.

Jesus called Himself “the light.”  Note in John 14:6 that Jesus also called Himself “the WAY.”  John acknowledged only one way by telling the people who had come to his baptism that they had to “… make His paths (way) straight” (Mat. 3:3).  Each salvation seeker is commanded to: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”  We must, with fear of God, decide for ourselves to follow THE way to salvation laid out for us by the Lord in His Holy Map.  Jesus is the WAY of God, the TRUTH of God and the LIFE of God in human form which He “walked” while on this earth.  In 1 John 2:6 He tells us that in order to receive salvation we must live life as did He by manifesting God’s Word in our thoughts, words and deeds.  L.J.