ALTERNATIVE BIBLE INTERPRETATION (John 1)

John 1:1-18

I don't know if I agree with everything that's said here, but it's at least mostly interesting and something maybe worth thinking about sometimes.

This is from https://www.truthunity.net/books/unity-bible-lessons

Metaphysically Interpreting John 1:1-18

1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 1:2The same was in the beginning with God. 1:3All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made. 1:4In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 1:5And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not.

1:6There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. 1:7The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him. 1:8He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light. 1:9There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world.

1:10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not. 1:11He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not. 1:12But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name: 1:13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

1:14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth. 1:15John beareth witness of him, and crieth, saying, This was he of whom I said, He that cometh after me is become before me: for he was before me. 1:16For of his fulness we all received, and grace for grace. 1:17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 1:18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

December 21, 1941: John 1:1-4

What is the “Word” that John said “was God”? The Word is God conceived of as creative power. Man has power to speak this Word into expression.

How does the Word bring wisdom and understanding to man? When man recognizes the Word as his divine authority, this divine creative power illuminates his mind as sunshine illuminates a room. The life of the mind and soul is the “light“ of men.

January 3, 1926: John 1:1-5

What is the inner meaning of the “Word,” mentioned in the first verse of this lesson? God is Spirit. The Word of Spirit is Spirit's perfect idea. By and through this perfect idea (the Christ of God), all things are made manifest.

What is the meaning of “Word” in the Greek? “Word” in Greek is “Logos,” meaning the identification of mind in its intelligent, lawful, and all-powerful ideal capacity.

What relation does the Word bear to spiritual man? Spiritual man is the Word. Natural man (Adam) is the Word made manifest.

Does man, the spiritual Word, possess creative power? This question is answered in verse 3 of this lesson: “All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that has been made.”

How does man comprehend that he is the Word of God? By using his I AM power, man comes to know that he is the life and the light of his world. [Do they not realize] that they are the Word of God? [This is explained] in verse 5, “the light shineth in [the darkness; and] the darkness apprehended it not.”

Sunday, January 3, 1943: [John 1:1-14]

What is the “Word” that was God? It is the true inner self of each individual and expresses wisdom, love, creative intelligence, and power.

What function does the Word serve with respect to ideas? It brings them out of the realm of the unformed and makes them manifest, so that others may see and understand them.

How are all things made by the Word? Creative intelligence underlies all manifestation, therefore the Word or vehicle of creative intelligence makes all things.

What “life” is the light of men? The life of thought and understanding. This is what distinguishes men from the lower animals.

Does not light always dissipate darkness? In the physical world it does, but the light of wisdom and understanding dissipates ignorance only as it is received into the mind of the ignorant one. Understanding and ignorance may exist side by side in separate individuals without influencing each other. “The darkness apprehended it not.”

Why was John the Baptist a “witness of the light”? John (grace and mercy of the Lord) signifies a high intellectual perception of Truth, but one not yet quickened by the Spirit. Since the Spirit is the animating essence of wisdom and understanding, no one can become conscious of it, who has not a measure of conscious intelligence and understanding.

How do we make our world? By our words and thoughts, spoken and unspoken. These create the conditions, good or evil, amid which our mental life is spent.

What light enlightens every man coming into the world? The light of intelligence or light of the mind. Spiritual intelligence is the light of the Christ Spirit.

To whom does the Christ give the “right to become children of God”? To those who receive the Spirit of the Christ into their consciousness and express it faithfully. These use the Word to build faith, peace, love, harmony, understanding, wisdom, and all other manifestations of the good.

January 5, 1908: John 1:1-18

THE WORD MADE FLESH

Language does not reveal Truth — it simply expresses the thought of the writer about Truth. If we take an obscure passage of scripture and write it out in words familiar to us it often becomes lucid. This does not change the original meaning, but brings it to light, just as polishing a spot on the rough diamond brings out the flashing brilliancy within.

If in this lesson we substitute for God the words Spirit-Mind, and for “Word,” Spirit-Thought, a better understanding of the whole text will follow. To one who has made a study of mind, or even observed his own thought processes, the great creative law is plain as day.

Spirit-Mind forms within itself the Idea or Thought that shall express itself in Creation. This is the “Word,” that was and is with God, and which is sent or expressed in his most perfect Thought-manifestation, Christ Jesus. “The image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature.” “For by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him and for him.”—Col. 1:15-16

This Spirit-Thought is the omnipresent Force and Intelligence within all that exists, and it can by Spirit-Mind be concentrated in a single individual. When this concentration takes the form of man and enters into the thoughts of the race, it becomes a thought standard. It is the very life and light of men and without it they are in darkness.

Jesus laid special stress upon the power delegated to him to give life. For as the Father raiseth the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.”—John 5:21-26. In scripture all are counted dead, who have separated themselves from this Spirit-Thought. This is Sin, and this sin causes men to fall into mental obscurity, which Jesus called “ sleep” or death. Dead in trespasses and sins.” The death of the body, the “second death,” is but: another step in this sleepy state. The “resurrection from the dead thought, demonstrated by Jesus, does not imply robbing graveyards, but awakening the minds and bodies of those walking about in the mesmerism of sense consciousness. Christ Jesus has come to awaken us out of death into the light and life of the One Eternal Omnipresent Mind.

In this awakening of man from the sleep of death, a mental process is involved. Before the inner life is quickened by the Spirit-Thought there is a mental illumination, which cleanses and guides the outer life into righteous ways of thinking and acting. This is John, who bears witness of the light, but is not that Light. A great many people in this age are assuming that the John dispensation is the whole, when it is only part. These claim that it is only necessary to get into understanding, that the body should be ignored; and when the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and the quickening life thrills the organism, they call it mortal thought or mesmerism. This is the light shining in the darkness and the darkness apprehending it not. He comes to his own and his own receives him not. “But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become the Sons of God.”

Sunday, January 5, 1947: [John 1:1-18]

What is understood by “the Word”? All the inherent potentialities of Being, such as wisdom, judgment, love, and power.

What “beginning” is considered in the text of this lesson? The beginning of the expression conscious thought. The spiritual life of the race began when men began to communicate their thoughts to one another in words.

What thought ushered in the spiritual life of the race? The thought of men’s relation to God as that of sons to a father. To realize that they were divine in origin gave the race a new impetus. It was the beginning of aspiration, of all endeavor to improve the lot of the person or of the individual.

What is “the true light, even the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world”? The light of wisdom, understanding, and intelligence, as it was made manifest in the Christ.

How did Jesus become the Christ? By recognizing the truth that the world was made through him, and the Christ, the divine-idea man, or Word of God was His true self and that He was therefore the Son of God.

How may we gain a comprehension of the creative process of Being? By analyzing the action of our own mind, which follows the universal pattern, first mind, then the idea in mind of what the act shall be, then the act itself.

How did grace and truth come through Jesus Christ? Through His expression of both in full measure He demonstrated the nature of divine sonship, as well as the nature of the Father.

Why is it that “no man hath seen God at any time”? Because Spirit is invisible and intangible. We see its action and recognize it by this sign, but of itself it is indiscernible.

What form of unity reveals Divine Mind as its source? The power and will of men to think together in harmony and by this means to create the kingdom of peace on earth. Anything less than unity of mind and heart is an expression of the mere animal instinct of flocking together for self-protection or self-preservation.

December 21, 1941: John 1:10-14

How did the Word become flesh in Jesus? Jesus held to the perfect image of divine man, so that the Christ or Word entered consciously into every atom of His being and transformed His body into pure, immortal spiritual substance and life. Thus the “Word-became flesh.”

January 3, 1926: John 1:10-18

When man begins to apprehend the truth that everything has emanated from the Word, does the whole consciousness receive this truth? No. This is explained in verse 11: “He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not.

What effect does reception of Truth have upon the thoughts? The receptive thoughts realize that they are the children of God and that they take on the character of God by affirming their unity with him.

Does the Word become manifest in the flesh—our flesh? Yes. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.”

Explain verse 15: “John beareth witness of him, and crieth, saying. This was he of whom I said. He that cometh after me is become before me: for he was before me.” John represents the natural and intellectual man, who perceives and accepts the spiritual man and, through his obedience, opens the way for the incarnation of the Word.

To what extent do we receive the creative Word? The answer is set forth in verse 16: “For of his fulness we all received, and grace for grace.”

Explain verse 18: “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” God cannot be understood in his completeness by outer consciousness. The indwelling Word, the Christ, God's spiritual idea, declares God and makes him manifest to outer consciousness by redeeming the life and substance of the body and raising it to spiritual glory.

December 21, 1924: John 1:14-18

Give the spiritual interpretation of the Word, or the Logos, which is the main theme of today's lesson. The Word or the Logos is another name for the Christ. It means God's idea of man, or the only begotten Son of God. What is the Word that “became flesh,” referred to in verse 14: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us”? The Word became, or was incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth. In him was revealed the true man as idealized by creative Mind. He expressed the glory of the Father and was filled with grace and truth. What is the meaning of verse 15: “John beareth witness of him, and crieth, saying, This was he of whom I said. He that cometh after me is become before me: for he was before me?” John represents the Adamic or natural man, who has been quickened by the Holy Spirit. When man attains the consciousness represented by John, he sees that there is a superman, who existed before him as an idea and who is to follow him in the progressive unfoldment of the natural man to the divine man. When the natural man opens his mind and receives the illumination, God's Word, he is lifted up to spiritual consciousness and becomes the very Son of God manifest; the Word becomes flesh and dwells in the midst of us. What is the meaning of verse 17: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ”? The law given through Moses represents the law of nature under which the natural man lives. The Christ man is above the natural law and partakes of creative power direct from the Father. What is the meaning of the statement in verse 18: “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him”? The natural man functions in personal consciousness while God exists in the realm of absolute ideas; God's Son, Christ, illumines the Adam man and reveals God to him.