John 1:1-18

The Word of Life

 ¹In the beginning was the one

   who is called the Word.

   The Word was with God

   and was truly God.

    ²From the very beginning

   the Word was with God.

    ³And with this Word,

   God created all things.

   Nothing was made

   without the Word.

   Everything that was created

    ⁴received its life from him,

   and his life gave light

   to everyone.

    ⁵The light keeps shining

   in the dark,

   and darkness has never

   put it out. ⁶God sent a man named John,

    ⁷who came to tell

   about the light

   and to lead all people

   to have faith.

    ⁸John wasn't that light.

   He came only to tell

   about the light.

    ⁹The true light that shines

   on everyone

   was coming into the world.

    ¹⁰The Word was in the world,

   but no one knew him,

   though God had made the world

   with his Word.

    ¹¹He came into his own world,

   but his own nation

   did not welcome him.

    ¹²Yet some people accepted him

   and put their faith in him.

   So he gave them the right

   to be the children of God.

    ¹³They were not God's children

   by nature

   or because

   of any human desires.

   God himself was the one

   who made them his children.

    ¹⁴The Word became

   a human being

   and lived here with us.

   We saw his true glory,

   the glory of the only Son

   of the Father.

   From him all the kindness

   and all the truth of God

   have come down to us.

    ¹⁵John spoke about him and shouted, "This is the one I told you would come! He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born."

    ¹⁶Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing after another. ¹⁷The Law was given by Moses, but Jesus Christ brought us undeserved kindness and truth. ¹⁸No one has ever seen God. The only Son, who is truly God and is closest to the Father, has shown us what God is like.