Quest for Fulfillment
Studies from the Book of John)
Summary of Lessons 1- 8

Lesson One B The Light We Need (John 1: 1-18) B The author of the Gospel of John was the apostle John who was among the original 12 disciples of Jesus. Tradition tells us that John wrote this Gospel at the request of Christian friends and only after the church had fasted and prayed for three days. The author of this study, Diana Schick, says this: AJohn began his book with a prologue summarizing the contents and his absolute conviction: God became man and revealed Himself through Jesus of Nazareth. From the banks of the Jordan to the resurrection appearances, Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God, became flesh, John declared, so that men and women could believe in Him and live.@

John emphasized in these first 18 verses the need for light in a world of darkness. In the Bible the word light is often synonymous with good and truth while darkness represents evil and lies. AAs in the physical realm, light is opposite darkness, but darkness is not equal to light in strength. A wonderful biblical truth is that spiritual light, or truth, ultimately cannot be overcome by darkness (John 1:5). Thus, the light of God John speaks of promises not only to meet our needs for direction, understanding, and security, but also to enable us to overcome evil and fill our lives with truth.@ (Diana Schick)

Lesson Two B Discovering Our Uniqueness(John 1: 19-28) B In these verses we are introduced to a powerful personality, John the Baptist. John was tremendously popular with the people and he preached repentance from sin in order to prepare the way for the promised Messiah. John encouraged his own disciples to seek out Jesus, specifically John and Andrew. Andrew then brought his own brother, Simon, to meet Jesus. Jesus called Philip who then introduced Nathanael to Jesus.

The emphasis in this lesson was on the uniqueness of each of these people and the fact that Jesus treated them as unique people who each had a special purpose. This lesson teaches us that we also are uniquely significant, created for a special purpose and Christ does not look at our limitations but at our possibilities. He has a special plan for each of us and our job is to follow Him.

Lesson Three B The Transformation We Seek (John 2) B The wedding in Canaan was the setting for Jesus= first miracle B the turning of water into wine. This event was followed by the cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem. Both of these events become an illustration of Jesus= ability to transform our lives. AA beautiful word picture which illustrates the power of Christ to change us is in the story of the wedding at Cana where He turned water into wine. The promise of the Scriptures is that Christ can transform a life from the inside out. The good news of the New Testament is that in trusting Christ and continually yielding to His leadership and power, we are changed into who He created us to be. Not instantly, but steadily and in increments we can handle, the Lord brings about the transformation we seek.@ (Diana Schick)

Lesson Four B Free from the Inside Out (John 3) B Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, met with Jesus one night. Nicodemus was having trouble reconciling his own religious understanding with the Person of Jesus. AIn the conversation that resulted, Jesus addressed two needs in Nicodemus= life. The first need was his need for a spiritual birth brought about by the Holy Spirit. Fulfillment of this need was dependent on the second need which was faith in God=s way of entrance into His Kingdom though belief in His Son. . . Spiritual wholeness, Jesus explained to Nicodemus would never come from earthly religious ritual and works. Rather, the Holy Spirit transforms a person, producing spiritual new life from the inside out. Nicodemus had only to believe in Jesus B to put his trust in Him B and the Spirit would give him spiritual birth, eternal life.@ (Schick) The same is true for us today.

Lesson Five B Fully Known and Fully Loved (John 4) B Jesus traveled from Judea to Galilee, taking the most direct but unusual route for a Jew to Samaria and by doing so, He encountered a Samaritan woman at the well at Sychar. During this encounter Jesus told the woman about the gift of living water that He would give to anyone who asked including her. AThis water would forever quench thirst and would be like a well springing up into eternal life.@ Jesus spoke to this ASamaritan woman@ respectfully and even confided to her that He was the Messiah. Her response was to bring others to meet Jesus!!

AWe all have a desire to be fully known and fully loved. . .Jesus welcomes us as we are and sees us as we can be.@ (Schick)

Lesson Six B Guarding Against Pride (John 5) B Jesus returned to Jerusalem and healed a man at the pool called Bethesda. The religious authorities, instead of rejoicing that the man was healed, were critical of him for carrying his mat on the Sabbath and of Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. Jesus used this opportunity to teach his critics about who He was B the Son of God who only worked in conjunction with His Father=s wishes. Jesus= growing popularity with the people threatened the religious authorities and the control that they had over the people. AHad they not been ruled by greed and status, the Jewish leaders would have recognized the Christ sent to them by God. Had their love and knowledge of God not been destroyed by pride and conceit, the would have heard the voice of God through Jesus . . . There is a great warning here for us. We, too, can easily become controlled by pride or status . . . Conceit and feelings of superiority toward anyone is a warning sign to trust God to make different choices.@ (Schick)

Lesson Seven B Provision for Body and Soul (John 6: 1-34) B The Miracle of the Feeding of Five Thousand. AOne clear implication is that God can do the impossible to meet our needs . . . But there is a second very important principle to be learned from these stories. It is that God=s priority is the need within our soul. This is seen in Christ=s concern that the people focus on knowing and walking with Him rather than seeking Him simply as One to meet basic needs and alleviate temporal problems. Beyond meeting our physical needs, the great fulfillment Jesus offers is intimacy with God, the source of food for the soul and provision for the emotional needs of the heart.@ (Schick)

Lesson Eight B Satisfying the Hunger of the Heart (John 6: 35-71) B Jesus explained to those who wanted to make Him king that He was the Bread of Life and Athat those who made Him king in their hearts would receive food that sustained unending life.@ Only Jesus can fill the vacuum in our hearts and souls. We need daily interaction with Him and then we will find satisfaction for the hunger that we have.