# Be Ready - Monday, 2026.01.05 ## tl;dr - "God" in verses 6, 12 & 13 refer to Father ## Context - Book {John} - The fourth gospel in the NT, but not a synoptic version like the other three - Chapter {John 1} - In this first chapter, John started out with the beginning even before the creation of Genesis 1 - Section {John 1.6-13} - This section is about Jesus' cousin, John the Baptist born to Elizabeth & Zechariah {John 1.6-13} - In the last two verses of the previous section, John (John, the Apostle (there is more than one John in the NT) introduced the light vs darkness theme and called Jesus by the moniker "Light" {John 1.4-5} ## Observations - There are three occurrences of "God" in this section {6, 12 & 13} ## Questions - To which entity does each occurrence of God belong? ## Interpretation - Based on verses 4-5, the Light is Jesus {4, 5} - Pronouns (He, His) - His name was John - John {6} - He came as a witness - John {7} - so that through him - John {7} - He himself - John {8} - he came to testify - John {8} - He was in the world - Jesus {10} - world was made through Him - Jesus {10} - did not recognize Him - Jesus {10} - He came to - Jesus {11} - His own - Jesus {11} - His own - Jesus {11} - did not receive Him - Jesus {11} - who did receive Him - Jesus {12} - believed in His name - Jesus {12} - He gave - Jesus {12} - Since John was sent from "God" to testify about the Light (Jesus) it would seem strange for John the Apostle to write: "There came a man who was sent from Jesus. His name was John. He came as a witness to testify about Jesus." Although not explicit, I conclude that "God" in verse 6 is Father. {6-7a} - All of the male pronouns in verses 10-12 refer to Jesus. So, verse 12.b reads, "{Jesus} gave the right to become children of God." God could refer to Jesus or to Father. The two are written here with substitutions: {12b} - {Jesus} gave the right to become children of Father - {Jesus} gave the right to become children of Jesus - If John meant that we would become children of Jesus, it would have meant more sense to say, "Jesus} gave the right to become children of Himself?" Since John didn't say that, I conclude the "God" occurrences in verses 12 & 13 refer to Father. ## Application - Continue to pursue "Him who is from the beginning!" {1 John 2.13-14} ## Correction As always, I am open to scripture-based correction.