The Word Became Flesh, Pt 1

John's Gospel begins with Christ's eternal being and purpose in its opening 18 verse "Prologue." It starts "in the beginning" before time and creation, just as Moses did in Genesis 1, to show Christ's fullness of being and purpose in coming. In doing so, we see not only the beginning and the creation of Genesis 1 hinted at, but also a new beginning and the new creation of Christ in John 1, as John's Gospel explains throughout.

These first 18 verses of John set the stage and themes for the entire Gospel of John, with the truths of Christ's eternality, deity, revealing of and unity with the Father, and glory presented, and the themes of life, light, darkness, witness, world, rejection, faith, and new birth introduced.

But most of all, we see the subject of the Prologue is the Word of God who is the Son of God--and the Gospel of John is a Gospel about the Word (who is Son of God come to man)!

Outline for this passage, to take two sermons:
John 1:1-18 – The Word Became Flesh, Pt 1
I. The Word (vv1-5)
---A. Word is God: Eternality, Unity, Deity (vv1-2)
---B. Word is Creator: Creator and source of all Life and Light (vv3-5)
II. The Word's Witness (vv6-8) [JTB sent as a witness to Word]
---A. Who was the Witness?
---B. Why the Witness here?
III. The Word's World (vv9-13) [Word comes into world He created…yet now fallen]
---A. Rejected by the World (vv10-11)
---B. Received because of the Word (vv12-13)
IV. The Word is With Us (vv14-18) [Word is to be worshiped]