John 1 –10 Questions and Answers

Q. When was the Book of John written?	A. 85 — 90 AD
Q. What was first, the creation or the Word?	A. John 1:1 = The Word.
Q.Define "the Word."	A. John 1:1 = The Word is Jesus.
Q. What was Jesus doing before He became man?	A. John 1:1 = He was with God and He was God.
Q. What had Jesus to do with creation?	A. John 1:3 = He created it!
Q. What about all the details of creation? Who made them?	A. John 1:3 = Jesus made every detail of creation. Nothing exists that He didn't make.
Q. Where does life come from?	A. John 1:4 = Jesus.
Q. What does life do?	A. John 1:4 = Life gives light.
Q. To whom?	A. John 1:4 = To everyone!
Q. What effect does darkness have on light?	A. John 1:5 = None. DArkness cannot extinguish light. Note: The most depressed person, the most heinous criminal, is not so far gone that light cannot reach him.
Q. Who brings new birth to people?	A. John 1:13 = God does.
Q. So when believers talk about being born again, they are claiming that God gave them new birth?	A. John 1:13 = Yes.
Q. Jesus is the Word?	A. John 1:14 = Yes.The Word became human.
Q. What did Jesus have?	A. John 1:14 = Unfailing love and faithfulness.
Q. Does God have other divine sons?	A. ohn 1:14 = No.
Q. How did Jesus gain popularity?	A. John 1:15 = John the Baptist heralded Him.
Q. Is Jesus God?	A. John 1:18 = Yes.
Q. Who has seen God?	A. John 1:18 = Only Jesus has seen God.
Q. Where is Jesus in relation to God?	A. John 1:18 = Near to God's heart. That is how Jesus could tell us about God.
Q. Who was Jesus?	A. John 1:29 = The Lamb of God, who took away the sins of the world.
Q. Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit?	A. John 1:33 = Jesus does.
Q. How did Andrew learn about Jesus?	A. John 1:37, 40 = He was previously one of John the Baptist's followers.
Q. What does 'Messiah' mean?	A. John 1:41 = Christ.
Q. How did Simon Peter learn about Jesus?	A. John 1:42 =From Andrew, who was his own brother.
Q. When did Simon's name get changed to Cephas (i.e., Peter)?	A. John 1:42 = Jesus changed Simon's name upon meeting him.
Q. When did Philip learn of Jesus?	A. John 1:43 = When Jesus went to Galilee, he found Philip and asked him to follow Him.
Q. Where were Andrew, Peter and Philip from?	A. John 1:44 = Bethsaida.
Q. How did Nathaniel learn of Jesus?	A. John 1:45 = Philip, who was Nathaniel's friend, told him about Jesus.
Q. Who doubted Jesus because of his home town?	A. John 1:46 = Nathaniel.
Q. Did Jesus' mother know that He was to do miracles?	A. John 1:3–5 = Yes.
Q. At what point did the disciples believe Jesus was Messiah?	A. John 2:11 = After Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding in Cana.
Q. Do people believe the Good News after witnessing miracles?	A. John 2:24–25 = Not always.
Q. Should we trust all believers?	A. John 2:24–25 = No. Trust God. He is the only One who is able to be true. Note: We give people the benefit of the doubt. But human nature is self–seeking and we tend to befriend people who can personally benefit us. Jesus knows who is committed for the long haul we know as a life of yielding to Him and of service to mankind.
Q. Is it enough to know God sent Jesus to teach us about Him, to see miracles as proof of His Messiahship?	A. John 3:2 –3 = No. Being born again is the only step to becoming a child of God.
Q. What does being 'born again' mean?	A. John 3:5 = Born by water and the Holy Spirit.
Q. What does the Holy Spirit do?	A. John 3:6 = The Holy Spirit gives us new life from Heaven.
Q. Who was Nicodemus?	A. John 3:10 = A respected Jewish teacher.
Q. Why doesn't everyone love Jesus?	A. John 3:19 = They love their sin more than the truth.
Q. Do sinners like darkness?	A. John 3:20 = Yes.
Q. Why?	A. John 3:20 = They fear light, being exposed and punished for their sins.
Q. Do believers practicing right living like God's light?	A. John 3:21 = Yes. They gladly come into the light so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants.
Q. Who appoints our work in the Kingdom of Heaven?	A. John 3:27 = Only God does.
Q. How does understanding of the Good News happen?	A. John 3:32–34 = 1) You hear God's Word, which speaks of who God is 2) Jesus teaches us through the Word what He has witnessed and heard of God's character 3) We obey the Son, Jesus. 4) Understanding is the result.
Q. What must I do to get eternal life?	A. John 3:36 = Believe what Jesus has revealed, that all of the Word of God is true, that Jesus is the Messiah.
Q. What is it that grants me eternal Hell?	A. John 3:36 = Yes. 1) I refuse to hear God's Word, or else I hear it and 2) I don't believe it speaks of who God is 3) I conclude that God's Word is just another truth 4) I don't obey the Son; understanding is not mine 5) God's wrath is upon me.
Q. What are born again Christians like?	A. John 4:13–14 = We have a spring of living water inside us that takes away all thirst. This spring gives us eternal life.
Q. What is true about how God's Kingdom work is done?	A. John 4:35–38 = Rarely does the same believer work with a nonbeliever through to salvation. God uses many believers to touch people. Note 1: I am always excited to see what God has done with people that I have prayed for in the past, folks I've worked with, folks I've run into in seeming coincidence, etc. God uses a variety of believers in one person's life, to show Himself to that person who is not yet His. God keeps doing it throughout their lives, chasing them until they either give in or else rebel openly and reject Him. Note 2: Sometimes one believer insists he is the only person God uses in a new believer's decision to choose Jesus. He is mistaken! Celebrate God's ways, how He moves in mystery, exactly as we need to be blessed by others and to bless them too. Salvation work is not a competition between believers!
Q. Is it enough to hear the Good News?	A. John 4:40–41 = No. You must believe it too. Note: I have a friend who has heard the Good News, but doesn't believe it. She thinks it is enough to say she believes. Yet the outcome of her life indicates bad fruit, i.e., her behavior is rotten to the core! She doesn't know the difference between right and wrong actions. What is missing? Believing the Good News. Let me explain: 1) To say you believe that God provides for all your needs, and then ask friends to bail you out all the time, shows that you don't believe God provides. 2) To say you love everyone unconditionally and then look for ways to cause them trouble is evident that you haven't experienced God's unconditional love. 3) To exact a small debt from a poor friend while you receive forgiveness on a larger debt you owe shows that you haven't learned a thing about forgiveness. 4) To call someone only when you need their cash is not friendship. On the other hand, to know that God is your Provider is evident in your behavior toward others: 1) To know God's mercy is evident in how you show mercy to others. 2) If you are a good counselor, you show your counselees God's love and they experience healing and the ability to move on. 3) If you are indeed past trouble: Emotionally, spiritually, mentally, or psychologically, the fruit of your life is evident. To hear the gospel is to understand God's ways, to make them yours. To really believe that God is right is to yield and let Him change people and their wrong behaviors, so they can live up to His Word. Believing is real freedom to do right by others, to apply God's wisdom to every situation, and to not trouble your friends with the same, undealth with problems repeatedly. In believing God, we lay it all down at the foot of the cross as we seek God's wisdom in handling the smallest detail of our lives. Read the Word, pray and fast, listen for the answers you seek. God is always delighted to hear from you!
Q. Why do people decide to believe the Good News?	A. John 4:42 = They hear God's voice. We bring them the Good News but God saves them. Note: Jesus preaches the Word to them.
Q. How do I pray when I need a miracle or an answer to prayer?	A. John 4:49–50 = Believing God will answer me, just for asking, and thanking Him for answering, even before I have evidence of it.
Q. For example?	A. Here is a sample prayer: "Father God, thank you for creation, for brintging Your forgiveness to earth through Jesus. You are an awesome and wonderful Father and Provider. I give you my trouble right now (fill in the blank). I thank you that You have heard me and will give me the perfect answer. In Jesus' name, Amen." Even as we pray, God answers!
Q. Why do some people experience ill health?	A. John 5:14 = It is a result of their sin.
Q. For such a one receiving healing, what must he remember?	A. John 5:14 = To repent or even worst things may happen to him in the future!
Q. What happens sometimes in church when God uses you to heal a person?	A. John 5:15–16 = Leaders harrass you! Note: Ah, the leader/sheep God loves anyway! If you are going to begin a church, stand by and watch! God uses whom He wishes to fulfill His purposes. This is foundational truth to new churches. He will bless your ministry if He gets to call the shots!
Q. Are we as believers condemned for our sins?	A. John 5:24 = No.
Q. Why?	A. John 5:24 = We passed from death into life when we believed the Good News and believed in God too. All our sins are paid for.
Q. Why don't most Jews believe in Jesus, the Messiah?	A. John 5:45–47 = Because tthey rejected Moses' words about Messiah.
Q. Which words?	A. Deuteronomy 18:15, 18 = (God is speaking) "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites, and you must listen to that prophet."... "I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will tell that prophet what to say, and He will tell the people everything I command Him."
Q. Could Jesus have been crowned king in Jerusalem?	A. John 6:11–16 = Yes. He had to escape to avoid it! The Israelites wanted Him crowned.
Q. How do I handle someone who keeps asking me for provision?	A. John 6:26–36 = Tell him not to be so concerned about provision, to spend his energy seeking the eternal life that Jesus can give him. It is God's purpose for him to do this. Tell him to believe Jesus, the one God sent, and to believe God is Provider, not you.
Q. Can I lose my salvation?	A. John 6:39 = No. Father God gives believers to Jesus as a gift to His Son. Jesus doesn't lose anyone God gives Him!
Q. Does God aporove of Jesus' hold on us?	A. John 6:39–40 = Yes.
Q. How can I know God?	A. John 6:44–46 = 1) God draws you to Himself 2) He teaches you the Scriptures 3) You hear and learn from Father God 4) and the Father sends you to His Son Jesus.
Q. Who gives eternal life?	A. John 6:63 = The Holy Spirit.
Q. Can my good deeds, ministry and mission work grant me eternal life?	A. John 6:63 =No. Human effort accomplishes no salvation work. Only Jesus can do that.
Q. Why is God's Word so important to this world?	A. John 6:63 = God's Word is spirit and life to it. Note: God's Word is alive!
Q. Who doesn't believe in Jesus?	A. John 6:65 = Those who can't because the Father didn't bring them to Jesus.
Q. How did the crowd respond to that truth when Jesus spoke it to them?	A. John 6:66 = Many of them turned and walked away. Note: Speak the truth. God's Word is for believers and unbelievers who are brought to the Son by God. Those who won't listen will not waste your time because you don't give them the secular answers they seek.
Q. Did Jesus' brothers believe in Him before His death?	A. John 7:3–5 = No.
Q. Why did the world hate Jesus?	A. John 7:7 = Because Jesus accused it of sin and evil. Note: Jesus never told them they failed God. Jesus came to die for all sin and evil.
Q. What keeps people out of trouble?	A. John 8:12 = Following Jesus fervently.
Q. Without Jesus, what is left?	A. John 8:12 = Stumbling in the dark.
Q. And Jesus is light?	A. John 8:12 = Yes. Jesus' light keeps us from stumbling in the darkness, while leading to real life. Note:Life is having God's wisdom at hand in making decisions that will benefit even those I don't know!
Q. Why is the Word so important for believers to learn really know?	A. John 8:31–32 = True disciples obey God's Word. It sets us free!
Q. What state was every man in before Jesus came?	A. John 8:34 = A slave to sin. An actual slave!
Q. What is a slave?	A. John 8:35 = Not a permanent member of the family, but rather just a hand.
Q. What did Jesus do?	A. John 8:36 = He set all slaves free and made them sons, so they could be permanent members of God's family.
Q. Why did the Israelites try to kill Jesus?	A. John 8:37 = Because Jesus' message could not find a place in their hearts. They chose to follow the advice of their true father (i.e., v.44: the devil).
Q. What is characteristic of a true believer?	A. 1) John 8:35 = He is a son and part of the family of God forever. 2) John 8:37 = Jesus' message has a place in his heart. Jesus has revealed Heavenly things to him in His Word. 3) John 8:39 = He follows Abraham's good example of faith. 4) John 8:42 = God is his Father. 5) John 8 42 = He loves Jesus because He came from God. 6) John 8:43 = He is able to understand the Word. 7) John 8:47 =He listens gladly to the Word of God. 8) John 8:49 = He honors God. 9) John 8:50 = He has no wish for personal glory. 10) John 8:51 = Because he obeys God's teaching, he will never die (needlessly) 11) John 8:55 = He knows God and obeys Him.
Q. What is characteristic of a person who still doesn't really know God?	A. 1) John 8:34 = He is a slave to sin. 2) John 8:35 = He is on the outside of the family of God. 3) John 8:37 = Murder is in his heart because he rejects Jesus' message. 4) John 8:38 = His father is the devil. 5) John 8:42 = He doesn't know God, so he rejects His Son too. 6) John 8:43 = He doesn't understand the Good News because he follows the devil. 7) John 8:44 = He loves to do the evil things the devil does. 8) John 8:44 = He murders (at least in his heart) 9) John 8:44 = He hates the truth. 10) John 8:44 = There is no truth in him. 11) JOhn 8:44 = Lying is consistent with his character. 12) John 8:45 = Unbelief is natural to him. 13) John 8:46 = He falsely accuses the innocent. 14) John 8:47 = He is disobedient to the spoken Word of God. 15) John 8:49 = He dishonors Jesus, calling Him names. 16) John 8:50 = God will judge him. 17) John 8:54 = He boasts of belonging to God, but doesn't even know Him. 18) John John 8:55 = He is a great liar. Note: Notice how complicated it is to be a person who doesn't really know God! What a tormented life is his!
Q. Why are people born blind?	A. John 9:3 = So that thepower of God could be seen in them. Note: God shines best in our weakness.
Q. What was one thing Jesus did?	A. John 9:39 = He gave sight to the blind to show people who thought they could see God move on the earth, that they were actually blind.
Q. What makes a man guilty before God?	A. John 9:41 = Claiming he knows all about something he knows really nothing about.
Q. What makes a man innocent?	A. John 9:41 = Being truly ignorant of the truth.
Q. What if I have trouble believing in Jesus?	A. John 10:37–38 = I can believe in what Jesus has done and a seeker of God will realize the truth out of that.
Q. Did John the Baptist do miracles?	A. John 10:41 = No.
Q. How do some people become believers?	A. John 10:41 = Study prophecy, upon which time they find Jesus to have fulfilled over 100 prophesies.

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