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The Word Became Flesh
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 people. 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.
15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out,
saying, “This is he of whom 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.
John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah
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 thongs 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’s Testimony About Jesus
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and
said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who
comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’
31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came
baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to
Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit
come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I
myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize
with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come
down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy
Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s
Chosen One.”
John’s Disciples Follow Jesus
35 The next day John was there again with two of his
disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look,
the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they
followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following
and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which
means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went
and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with
him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two
who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and
tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).
42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and
said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas”
(which, when translated, is Peter).
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee.
Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have
found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom
the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of
Joseph.”
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of
him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no
deceit.”
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus
answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree
before Philip called you.”
49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of
God; you are the king of Israel.”
50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw
you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than
that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will
see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and
descending on’ the Son of Man.”
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Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
