John 1:15-28 ¹⁵ (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. ¹⁹ Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. ²⁰ He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.” ²¹ They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” ²² Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” ²³ John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’” ²⁴ Now the Pharisees who had been sent ²⁵ questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” ²⁶ “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. ²⁷ He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” ²⁸ This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

John the Baptist was a prophet sent by God. He was the forerunner of Jesus Christ, preparing the way for the coming of Jesus. He said “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.” Last time we saw that Jesus was with God in the beginning, so he was before John the Baptist. The Lord Jesus also said:before Abraham was born, I am.  He was also saying that he was with God in the beginning. John the Baptist went on to say that the laws of the Old Testament were given through the prophet Moses, while the grace and truth of the New Testament were from Jesus Christ. Both John the Baptist and Jesus’ disciple John testified that Jesus Christ is full of grace and truth. No one has ever seen God. Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the Father, has revealed the Father. Jesus also said that when people see him, they see the Father, The Son Jesus revealed the Father.
When someone asked John the Baptist who he was, he said that he was not the Christ, nor the Old Testament prophet Elijah, nor the Prophet. Who is the Prophet?  In the Old Testament it was prophesied that the Prophet would come, the Prophet is Jesus. Isaiah in the Old Testament prophesied the coming of John the Baptist. John the Baptist prepared the way for the Lord Jesus, and John the Baptist baptized with water, asking people to repent so that their sins would be forgiven. This is also the message that the Lord Jesus wants his disciples to preach, that is, the repentance and forgiveness of sins. When a person confesses his sins and repents, God will forgive his sins. John the Baptist testified that Jesus who came after him, the straps of whose sandals he was not worthy to untie. The Lord Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. When people believe in the Lord and be baptized. They are baptized with the Holy Spirit, they receive the Holy Spirit, and be born again and be saved.
May God bless you and your family. 😊

John 1:1-14 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

We are going to study Gospel John. Gospel John was written by Jesus’ close disciple John inspired by the Holy Spirit. The first verse says: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Who does the Word here refer to? From the context, we know that the Word here refers to Jesus. Jesus was with God in the beginning. He is God. In the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, that is, Jesus is the Son, or the Son of God. John continued to say that: All things were created through Jesus. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind, He is the life, the source of life. Jesus became flesh. He is the light of the world. When the light came to the world, the world did not recognize him, and people did not receive him. Those who receive him and believe in his name receive the Holy Spirit, are born again from the Holy Spirit and are saved, and become the children of God. When the Lord Jesus came to the world, his disciples John and others saw his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. He was full of God’s love and mercy. He is the truth, the incarnation of the truth, he is the Word, the Word of God, the incarnation of the Word of God.
May God bless you and your family. 😊