Sabbath School Summary

By Elder Dr. Masimba Mavaza 
 
The Backstory: The Prologue
 
Lesson 3
 
Memory Text: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1.
 
INTRODUCTION 
Week one dealt with the end of the book of John, which explained why he wrote his gospel. This week’s lesson returns to the beginning of the gospel, where John sets forth the direction that he, inspired by the Holy Spirit, intends to take the reader. In the first words and paragraphs of their writing, New Testament writers often present the themes that they intend to cover. So does John, whose themes are presented as part of a grand cosmic sweep that depicts overriding truths about Jesus Christ—truths that reach back to even before Creation.
 
This presentation, at the opening of the book, gives readers who already know that Jesus is the Messiah, an advantage that the characters in the book itself did not have. The reader can clearly see the grand themes that the evangelist returns to as he tells the story of Jesus. These great themes are placed within the historical period of Jesus’ earthly life.
This week’s lesson will begin with the prologue (John 1:1-18) and summarize its major themes. These themes will then be looked at in other places in John’s Gospel as well.
 
 
SABBATH: 
Jesus walked in the midst of men, but many people failed to see Him as the Messiah. Today, we have the great advantage of knowing that Jesus is the Messiah. In lesson 1, we looked at the end of the book of John that gives the reason why the book was written. This week’s lesson starts from Chapter 1, which has key truths that reach back to even before Creation (John 1:1-18). The themes are looked at in chapters too.
 
SUNDAY: 
Is Jesus God? Where was He before the beginning? John tells us that He existed before Creation and was One with the Father (John 1:1-5, 18). He’s the Creator. In Greek, the text “the Word was with God” has a definite article for “God,”  pointing to a specific person, the Father. But there’s no definite article for the phrase “the word was God” to show the divinity of Jesus (i.e., not the Father). Yet, He’s still the Son of God and the 2nd Person of the Godhead (DA, p. 19).
 
MONDAY: 
Jesus is the Logos of God. In Greek, “the word” is “the logos.” Plato & other scholars used the word “logos.” “Logos” means “a spoken word,” which includes the entire intent behind that spoken word. Jesus as the Logos of God means Jesus, as a Person, is the fullness of all that is in the mind of God. John uses the term to refer to Jesus who became flesh and “dwelt” (to pitch a tent) among us, as God was with Israel in the OT (John 1:1-3, 14, Exod. 25:8).
 
TUESDAY: 
How can we find true delight in the True Light, Jesus? John refers to Jesus as the “true light” who enlightens all people of the world. Light comes to everyone, but not everyone welcomes it. Jesus came for Israel, but many didn’t receive Him (John 1:9–13). Paul talks of how many Jews rejected Jesus and how many Jews and Gentiles will accept Him (Rom. 9-11, 11:24). The start and end of John all talk about belief in God (John 1:12, 13; 20:31). CS Lewis asserts this.
 
WEDNESDAY: 
There are two classes of people in the world; those who believe in Jesus and accept Him as the Messiah and those who choose not to (John 3:16-21, 9:35-41, 12:36-46). The first includes the 11 of the disciples, Nicodemus, the woman at the well, the man born blind, etc. The second includes the Pharisees and high priests, those at the feeding of the 5,000, and even Judas. “Believe” occurs 98 times as a verb in John/241 times in the NT (James 2:19). Belief is action!
 
THURSDAY: 
Jesus was the active agent of creation. He made all things. Yet He veiled His glory to die a shaming death for us to be saved. “Glory” is splendour, honour, fame, and brightness, and “glorify” is to praise or extol (John 17:1–5, 1:3, 4, 2:4, 7:30, 8:20, 12:23–27, 13:1, 16:32). Both are used to depict getting honour from humans or God. Though the cross in the eyes of men was a curse, in God’s eyes it was a place of salvation (Mark 15:34, Luke 23:32-47, John 19:25-30).
 
FRIDAY: 
The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed eternally as one with the Father, embodying the glory of heaven. He draws sinners to Himself, revealing the mystery of redemption through His sacrificial love on the cross. This love transforms hearts and inspires repentance, as Christ’s influence works within us. Ultimately, His light shines in our lives, guiding us toward righteousness.
 
—Ellen G. White, “ ‘God With Us,’ ” pp. 19–26, in The Desire of Ages & Steps to Christ, pp. 26, 27.
 
Keywords
 
OT- Old Testament
 
NT-New Testament
 
DA- The Desire of Ages
 
CS Lewis- “1 believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
 
The Word was with God—In Greek, it’s the Word was with the God/Father.
 
Additional text for Thursday- On the human level/dark side of the cross; Matt. 27:46.
 
Captions
 
SUNDAY- In the Beginning—The Divine Logos
MONDAY- The Word Made Flesh
TUESDAY- Hearing or Not Hearing the Word
WEDNESDAY- Reappearing Themes—Belief/Unbelief
THURSDAY- Reappearing Themes—Glory
 
Discussion Questions
 
📌 Why would John start out talking about Jesus in His role as Creator? What does this tell us about the importance of creation in all theology? Why, then, is it important that we have a correct understanding of creation as revealed in Scripture? 
 
📌 Dwell more on the question asked at the end of Sunday’s study. What happens to the cross if, instead of the eternal God dying on it, a created being does? What do we lose if Jesus were anything but the eternal God?
 
For October 12–18. Happy Sabbath!