It has been interesting to me over the course of my adult life to notice how consistently people fail to understand and appreciate who Jesus really is. During the Christmas season in particular, you may hear his name mentioned many times, but I often wonder if people really understand who they’re speaking about when they tell the Christmas story.
Most people start the Christmas story in Bethlehem. The apostle John doesn’t. He doesn’t begin with a manger or a star. He forces you to see Jesus as he truly is. Not just a child born to Mary, but the eternal Son of God who existed before time. Not just a baby wrapped in cloths, but the Creator who designed everything you’ve ever seen.
John 1:1–5 isn’t soft or sentimental. It’s strong, clear, and unapologetic. John wants his readers to understand without a doubt that Jesus is God. Jesus created everything. Jesus is life. Jesus is light. Darkness cannot overcome him, no matter how hard it tries.
If you want to read a passage that cuts through confusion about Jesus, here it is. Let’s walk through it with the same clarity John uses.
1. “In the beginning was the Word”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)
John starts with a phrase loaded with meaning, “In the beginning.” He’s deliberately pointing you back to Genesis 1:1. He wants you to see that the Jesus born in Bethlehem is the same God who spoke creation into existence.
Jesus didn’t begin at his birth. His humanity began there, not his existence. He’s eternal. He’s the Word, meaning he’s the full and perfect revelation of God. If you want to know how God thinks, acts, loves, or rules, look at Jesus.
Our world floods you with noise. Everyone has an opinion, a theory, a message, or a prediction. Christmas itself can become just another layer of noise. But God’s Word isn’t competing with the noise. God gave you one definitive Word, Jesus.
If your life feels disordered or unfocused, stop taking cues from everything around you. Go back to the Word. He was present before the world started. He’s fully capable of bringing order to your life right now.
2. “The Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John doesn’t leave any room for confusion. He makes two direct statements.
First, Jesus was with God. Distinct person. Real relationship. Eternal fellowship.
Second, Jesus was God. Not godlike. Not close to God. Not simply sent by God. Jesus is God.
This means Christmas isn’t the story of a morally admirable baby. It’s the story of God entering the very world He created. Isaiah 7:14 told us this would happen. “They shall call his name Immanuel.” That name literally means “God with us.”
So when you picture Jesus this season, don’t reduce him to a harmless infant. He’s the eternal God in human flesh. He came deliberately. He came personally. He came for the world, and he came for you.
If you’ve ever felt ignored or overlooked, remember this. God himself stepped toward you. He didn’t wait for you to rise to him. He came right into the world you’re living in.
3. “He was in the beginning with God.”
“He was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:2)
John repeats himself on purpose. People drift into false beliefs about Jesus all the time. Some treat him like a symbol. Some treat him like a life coach. Some treat him like a therapist.
John doesn’t allow that. He reinforces the truth. Jesus existed before time. Before creation. Before everything you know. And being that Jesus is our eternal God who has existed before time was first measured, we can be confident that he continues to operate with wisdom and intentionality in the present.
In a personal way, that also has to mean that you are not an accident. You aren’t random. Your story isn’t a side plot. Before you existed, Jesus already knew your entire life. Nothing surprises him. Nothing confuses him. Nothing catches him off guard.
Proverbs 8 describes God’s wisdom working at creation. The New Testament calls Jesus the wisdom of God. That connection matters. It reminds you that Jesus works with purpose and precision. When your path feels unclear, his plan doesn’t.
4. “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”
“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:3)
John leaves no loopholes. Jesus created everything. Not some of it. Not most of it. All of it. Nothing that exists came into being apart from him.
Look at the mountains, the ocean, the stars, and the details of your own body. Jesus made it all. Psalm 33:6 says the heavens were made by the Lord’s word. John tells you who that Word is. Colossians 1:16 confirms it, saying everything was created through him and for him.
So let’s be practical. When you pray, don’t picture a fragile newborn. Picture the Creator who holds galaxies in place. It’s a little hard for my mind to grasp this truth, but the same hands that shaped the universe were the hands that reached for Mary. The same power that formed the world is the power that holds your life.
Whatever you’re facing, Jesus isn’t overwhelmed. Bring your fears, your questions, and your needs, regardless of the category, to the One who made the world.
5. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”
“In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4)
Jesus doesn’t receive life. He doesn’t borrow life. He carries life within himself. Every breath you take exists because he allows it. Every heartbeat happens because he sustains it.
Jesus is also the source of spiritual life. Humanity died spiritually when sin entered the world back in the days of Adam and Eve, but Jesus restores what was lost. Genesis 2:7 describes God breathing life into Adam. Jesus now breathes life into everyone who trusts in him.
John also says his life is the light of men. Light reveals what’s real. Light exposes lies. Light guides you forward. Light removes fear. Light doesn’t ask darkness for permission. It simply takes over.
If there are areas of your life that feel foggy, heavy, or directionless, pay attention to what this passage of Scripture reveals. Jesus isn’t offering a flashlight. He is the light. Walk with him, and you’ll stop stumbling in spiritual darkness.
Christmas lights are everywhere this time of year. I’m noticing more in my neighborhood than I’ve noticed in recent years. They’re a small reminder of the greater light that’s already shining. Jesus is the light we actually need.
6. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)
This verse hits hard. It’s a verse that I find to be very motivational. It’s a very helpful and needed reminder. The light shines. Present tense. Active. Ongoing. Jesus’ light didn’t shine once and fade. It keeps shining, even now.
Darkness has tried to resist it. Darkness has pushed against it. Darkness has attacked it. But darkness hasn’t won. It never will.
Isaiah 9:2 promised that people walking in darkness would see a great light.
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” (Isaiah 9:2)
That prophecy was fulfilled when Christ entered the world. Darkness didn’t stop him then, and it can’t stop him now.
Look around. The world’s broken. Families fracture. Hearts get wounded. Lies spread easily. But don’t let that fool you. Darkness isn’t winning. It’s reacting to the light that’s already invading it.
The deeper-level spiritual realities we’re celebrating during this season aren’t meant to be purely sentimental. At their core, they’re the announcement of a decisive victory. Jesus entered the world to crush darkness, not negotiate with it.
What This Means For Us Today…
Jesus is the eternal Word.
Don’t treat his voice like optional advice. Let his Word correct, shape, and direct you.
Jesus is fully God.
Don’t offer him half-hearted worship. Give him everything.
Jesus is your Creator.
Your life isn’t random. There’s purpose in every detail.
Jesus is life and light.
Where you feel dead, he brings life. Where you feel confused, he brings clarity.
Jesus is victorious.
Darkness has limits. Jesus doesn’t.
A Clear Word for This Season
This time of year has a clever way of exposing things we might prefer to keep hidden. It can reveal pain that’s been ignored. Tension that’s been buried. Disappointment you didn’t process. Doubt you didn’t want to admit. You can try to hide those things, but that isn’t typically effective over the long term.
Jesus doesn’t ask you to hide what’s on your heart or the burdens you’ve been attempting to carry in your own strength. He already knows them. Bring them to the Word who’s existed forever. Bring them to God who became flesh. Bring them to the Creator who never loses control. Bring them to the light that darkness cannot overcome.
John 1:1–5 invites more than soft or subtle reflection. It calls us to conviction. Jesus is God. Jesus is life. Jesus is light. Jesus is victorious over evil, and he delights to share that victory with anyone who is willing to trust in him.
This article was originally published on biblestudyheadquarters.com
