John 1:1-9

Amplified Bible

The Deity of Jesus Christ

1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (^[a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and ^[b]the Word was God Himself.^(A) ²He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. ³All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. ⁴In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. ⁵The Light shines on in the ^[c]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].^(B)

The Witness of John the Baptist

⁶There came a man commissioned and sent from God, whose name was ^[d]John.^(C) ⁷This man came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe [in Christ, the Light] through him. ⁸John was not the Light, but came to testify about the Light.

⁹There it was—the true Light [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone.^(D)

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Footnotes

John 1:1 In John the Apostle’s vision (Rev 19), he sees Christ returning as Warrior-Messiah-King, and “...His name is called The Word of God...and LORD OF LORDS.” (Rev 19:13, 16).
John 1:1 In this phrase, “God” appears first in the Greek word order, emphasizing the fact that “the Word” (Christ) was God—so “God Himself.”
John 1:5 I.e. the world immersed in sin: all that stands in opposition to God and biblical truth.
John 1:6 The births of both John the Baptist and Jesus were foretold by the angel, Gabriel (Luke 1:5-80). This passage is about John the Baptist, the son of Zacharias the priest and his wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was related to Mary the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:36). John the Baptist is considered to be the last of the OT prophets, and is not to be confused with John the Apostle who wrote this Gospel, three brief letters (1 John, 2 John, 3 John) and Revelation.