#1 In the Beginning (John 1:1-5) - Jonathan Voos

Letters to a New Believer Series #1

January 09, 2024

Dear reader,

Over the past couple of months, I have yearned to start this new series, which I am calling “Letters to a New Believer.” God calls Christians to use their talents to further His Kingdom (1 Peter 4:10–11), hence why I am starting this series.1 Although it’s specifically targeted at explaining how new believers should view and approach the Bible, I hope that the reminders within are fruitful to all who read. And I see no better way to start this new series than by writing about the five Bible verses Saint Augustine of Hippo said were “worthy to be written in letters of gold.”2

Augustine, a Christian philosopher who lived around 400 AD, was among the most brilliant men of his time and was considered one of the leading scholars in the Western World for the next 1,000 years after his death. Elevated to a place of honor in Roman society because of his intelligence and the quality of his scholarly work, Augustine was left searching for meaning in life—struggling in prideful sin—until he found the Gospel.

So why was Augustine—again perhaps the smartest man of his time—so enticed by Christianity? And why did he look at the Gospel of John with such awe and wonder in quoting that its first verses were “worthy to be written in letters of gold?” The first five verses of John Chapter 1 begin like this:

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1–5 ESV).

John 1:1–5 is a special set of verses because it explains that Jesus Christ (the Word)3 was present in the beginning, had a hand in the creation of the universe, and is one with God. All the wonders of God’s creation—the birds of the sky, the fish of the seas, and even the cockroaches under your bed—were made through Him because not anything that was made was made without Him.

By structuring the beginning of his book in this manner, John intentionally highlights Jesus’s role as the fulfiller of the Old Testament law and prophecies. His five verses closely parallel the beginning of Genesis—the first book in the Bible—which reads:

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:1–4).

Genesis 1 tells us that in the beginning, there was nothing except the Holy Trinity. After the creation of the Heavens and the Earth in verse 1, verse 2 tells us that there was nothing but darkness or chaos. Out of this chaos, God spoke into existence the beginning of his Divine Order with the creation of light. He calls this light he created good and separates it from the darkness.

While there are obviously literal implications of this action—the creations of night and day—Genesis 1:2–4 also is a beautiful metaphor with its contrast between order and chaos, light and darkness, and good and the absence thereof. Before God created light, there was nothing but chaos. But once light was created, the concept of good became distinguishable from that of darkness.

So, when we turn to John 1:4–5 and see that “4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it,” we once again are reminded that God created everything and that Jesus is the key to eternal life. Since “the Word” is synonymous with “Him”, we can read these verses as saying “In Jesus was life, and Jesus was the light of men. His light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Take a second and truly consider the significance of these verses. When looked at side by side, Genesis 1 shows us God’s dominion and sovereignty and the wonder of His creation and Divine Order. And John 1 tells us that Jesus—who died on the cross for our sins—is equally sovereign and was equally present at the creation of the universe. Yet, He voluntarily descended into darkness, took on our sins, and rose again so that we could spend eternity with Him despite our shortcomings and failures. What a wonderful savior!