What's the Focus of the Gospel of John?

   Have you ever heard that the Bible is a book on life and building?  Last week I started reading the Life-Study of John, and in the opening messages Witness Lee shares that the Gospel of John illustrates how life and building are the central focus of this gospel. 

    In the opening chapters he first shows how the Bible begins and ends with life and building.  Then he pointed out that in between Genesis and Revelation is a record of building.  Have you ever thought about that?

    In the Old Testament this building revolved around the building of the tabernacle and then the temple.  But the New Testament reveals that God is building a spiritual house with all of His regenerated people.

These verses in  Ephesians 2:20-22 show this:  Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.  In whom all the building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; In whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in spirit.  I never would have seen this so clearly without this Life-Study!!



     In the first chapter of John you can see both life and building.  In John 1:4 you can see the Lord’s life:  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And building is implied in verse 51 when the Lord told Nathaniel that he would see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. 

    This Life-Study said that the Jews of that time knew that the Lord was referring to Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28.  While Jacob was sleeping, he had a dream of a ladder and angels going up and down on it.  What’s unusual is that when Jacob woke up, he said in verse 17, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God,…”  Here's Witness Lee's commentary on that section in Chapter 4 of the Life-Study of John on page 49:

The Lord's word to Nathaniel was the fulfillment of Jacob's dream. Christ, as the Son of man with His humanity, is the ladder which is set up on earth and leads to heaven, keeping heaven open to earth and joining earth to heaven for the house of God, (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of John. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1975, Print). 

 In these opening messages, he shares that these verses in Chapter 1 of the Gospel of John reveal that the life of God is for the building of God. What an outstanding connection our brother made here!
 

Blog update:   Last week I was listening to some radio messages on Genesis on Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee,  and I saw noticed  #91 is called A Bird's Eye View of God's Building in the Scriptures. 

Blog Update 10-29-13:  You can listen to the messages on this topic on Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee, they are Programs 5-11.

Blog Update 3-10-14:  Last night I read John chapter 1 again, and I noticed that the above quote is actually a part of a footnote in the Recovery Version of the New Testament on verse 51.  Of all the different versions we own--King James, 1901 American Standard, New American Standard, Greek Interlinear, and the Amplified, I like this one the most because it has over 9,000 footnotes! 

Other posts on the Life-Studies of John:
What is the Focus of the Gosel of John?
What are the Feast of Passover & the Feast of Tabernacles Really About?
The Watermelon Gospel - What the Gospel of John Shows Us

Other posts on God's Building:

From the Life-Study of Matthew:
What is the Significance of the Parables on the Treasure & the Pearl of Great Value in Matthew 13:44-46?

From the Life-Study of Acts:
What Does the Early Church Look Like in the Book of Acts?
How Did the Lord Spread the Gospel in Acts 8?
What Vision Did Saul Have at His Conversion in Acts 9:3-8?
How Does the Gospel Reach the Gentiles in Acts 10?

From the Life-Study of Romans:
What is the Focus of Romans 12?
What Does Romans 14 Say About Receiving Believers & Why Does It Matter?
Have You Seen the Practical Church Life in Romans 16?

From the Life-Study of 1 Corinthians:
What is God Building in 1 Corinthians 3:9?
What Does it Mean to Build in 1 Corinthians 3:12 With Gold, Silver, & Precious Stones?
What is the Apostle Paul's View of the Body in 1 Corinthians 12?
How Did the Early Believers Meet in 1 Corinthians 14:26?

From the Life-Study of Ephesians:
What is the Subject of Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians?
What is the Mystery of God's Will Revealed in Ephesians 1:9?
What is the One New Man in Ephesians 2:15?
What are the Seven Aspects of the Church Seen in Ephesians?
Why Did God Abolish the Ordinances in Ephesians 2:15? 

From the Life-Study of Colossians:
What is the Mystery of God in Colossians 2:2? (Part 1)
What is the Mystery of Christ in Ephesians 5:32?   (Part 2)
What is the Greatest Mystery?
How Does God Get the One New Man in Colossians 3:10?

From the Life-Study of 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus & Philemon:
Looking at the Church's Decline in 2 Timothy
From the Life-Study of 2 Timothy - How Did Paul Inoculate the Church Against Decline?

From the Life-Study of 1 Peter:
How Does God Get the Living Stones in 1 Peter 2:5?

From the Life-Study of Revelation:
What is the Controlling Vision of he Bible Seen in the Book of Revelation?

From the Life-Study of Genesis:
Seeing Life & Building in the Book of Genesis
Why Did Jacob Dream About a Ladder in Genesis 28:12?
What is the Meaning of the Two Altars in Genesis 33 & 35?

From the Life-Study of Exodus:
Why did the Israelites Build the Tabernacle in Exodus 25:8?
Seeing God's Spiritual Building in Exodus 26 - Part 1 of 1
Seeing God's Spiritual Building in Exodus 26 - Part 2 of 2

From the Life-Study of Deuteronomy:The Importance of the Place of Worship in Deuteronomy 12

From the Life-Study of Joshua, Judges, & Ruth:What's the Background of the Book of Joshua?

From the Life-Studies of 1 & 2 Samuel:
What is God's Building in 2 Samuel 7:5?
 
From the Life-Studies of 1 & 2 Kings:
Taking a Look at Solomon's Prayer in 1 Kings 8:48

From the Life-Studies of 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah & Esther:
From the Life-Study of Ezra - Why Did Ezra Return to Jerusalem?
How Did God Use Nehemiah's Aggressiveness in Nehemiah 2:20?

From the Life-Study of Psalms:
 Why is God's House Important in Psalms 25 -41?



From the Life-Study of Isaiah:
Why is Christ  Called the Cornerstone in Isaiah 28:16?

From the Life-Study of Ezekiel:
Looking at the Spiritual Meaning in Ezekiel's Visions - Why Do All the Measurements of God's House in Ezekiel 40 Symbolize?









From Lessons for New Believers by Witness Lee:
Discussion with College Students: What is the Church?