Life, Our Most Treasured Possession

Reflecting on John 1:3-5

John doesn’t claim any certain method. He doesn’t give us a timeline of origins. He simply claims that all things came into being through Him, the Word, and apart from Him nothing that exists came into being. Consider, again, the Genesis 1 account.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light (Genesis 1:1-3).

Do you see how God created? We gain no insight into origins except that God created through the Word. I think the lack of information and focus on God speaking is intentional. John, referring back to the beginning, tells us all things were created through the Word. Nothing whatsoever was created apart from the Word. However the beginning looked, God is responsible through His Word. We dare not say more than the Bible does on that point from the authority of the Bible because the Bible does not. God, His Word, and His Spirit are the clear focus—so that is where we look. We begin to get a sense of not only what God is but how He operates—His economy. There in the first three verses of the Bible, God wills, the Word reveals, and the Spirit affects. All three divine persons partake in the work of creation, each having a particular role as God’s work progresses. Jesus, the Word, is always the one from the beginning revealing the thoughts and will of the Father. All things were created through Him. Without Him, nothing was made. This means life was also created through Jesus.

John tells us that life was in Jesus. Was? What does John mean, “Was”?

Is life no longer in Jesus?

That past tense verb is really ominous. It sits there taunting us while we are very certain life is still in Jesus. You know when you hear that something is lost in translation? That happens when things are translated from one language to another, not because the translation is wrong but because languages are different. When John wrote “was” (ειμι), it is here in the imperfect tense. In English, we don’t have that. We have past, present, and future. We really have to do some linguistic gymnastics to convey the Greek imperfect tense. The imperfect is a form of the past tense, but it conveys a past action that continues. Life was and continued to be in Jesus. Why? Life was created through Jesus, so it is perpetually in Jesus.

Life also was and continued to be the light of men. I continue to find John’s wording interesting. He doesn’t say, “Jesus is the light of men.” Instead, he claims, “life is the light of men.” Later he will also refer to Jesus as the light coming into the world (John 1:9). Here, he identifies life as the light of men.

What do people value most over everything else? Life. More than money, power, influence, productivity, or whatever else we may think to list, we would rather have life. There are things people may die for. I personally wouldn’t die to have land or material possessions. It’s just not worth losing my life. I would die to protect my family. Their lives are more important than mine. But, see, life is still the thing I treasure. I’ll defend the unborn, outcast, and the elderly because life, all life, has an intrinsic value. Life is sacred. Life is the light of men.

While sometimes John doesn’t seem to be as intentional with his words as someone like Paul, I think he worded this first paragraph in his gospel this way on purpose—it’s too awkward to be as loose as some of John’s other statements. People want life more than anything. Life is in Jesus. What do you want most? Life! The only place to find life is in Jesus because everything, especially the life you want, was created through Him. The life you want is in Jesus only. There are no other sources.

Here we are, followers of Jesus and partakers in life—even eternal life— telling other people who want life where to have it, Jesus. Jesus is the answer. Come have life in Him.

The light, life that is found only in Jesus, shines in the darkness. Dark is the opposite of light. Death is the opposite of life. John is presenting a picture, here, of life shining in a dead world. If you’ve ever seen a little bit of light in a dark room, you get John’s illustration. We could draw a similar illustration by depicting a dead forest with a single bright green leaf growing from the dead ground. We are attracted to that light. We are attracted to that life. In a world filled with people who are dead in their sin, people who have life in Christ stick out. People want that. It’s attractive. I’m not convinced people actually like being dead in their sin. They may like their sin, which is why they hold onto it. But, I think people hate being dead. It is why the world is so sad and gloomy. Someone who really knows Christ? That person’s happiness and satisfaction in life shines in the darkness. Life is the light of men. There are a lot of people who claim to be Christians still living like dead people. If you don’t know this, there is a more satisfying, happy, and fulfilling life in Christ when we follow His ways rather than our own. Life is the light of men.

The darkness, death, did not comprehend it. John moved from the imperfect, showing that Jesus was and continues to be the source of life, to the present tense. The life found in Jesus currently shines in the darkness while John is writing. Then, he quickly moves to the aorist tense, showing a completed action that was indeterminate in its duration. Darkness tried to comprehend the light, but already failed. Comprehend, καταλαμβανω, literally means to take hold of or overtake. In his introduction, John is already telling the whole story:

Life was and is found in Jesus.

Life currently shines in a dead world.

Death tried to overtake life, but it already failed.

The victory has already been won. People were given life through Jesus Christ. Death tried to overtake people in sin. But, Jesus defeated death. This is the story John is telling.

If you have victory in Christ, death cannot overtake you in any lasting way. If you want this victory in Christ, repent and believe the gospel. Jesus is the only source of true, fulfilling life—life to the fullest. If you have this amazing life, there is no need to continue living like dead people. Live the life you have been given! Be joyful! Enjoy the gifts God gives! Labor because you want to, not because you have to. Be generous. Love people. Smile. Be thankful. Be content. If you have life, the greatest treasure of all, there is no reason to live sad, dark, and gloomy like the world that has no hope. Celebrate the goodness of God in Christ.

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