Free Bible Class Book On The Gospel Of John

We are pleased to announce a new Bible study guide for the Gospel of John. This free book by David Padfield contains an outline of the book, along with questions for each section. Padfield also created a colorful map of the cities in Israel that were mentioned in the book of John.

Christians often wonder why there are four accounts of the life of Christ recorded in the New Testament. The basic answer is that the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) all tell us the same story, but from four different viewpoints and to four different audiences. The gospel writers all tell us the same basic story about the life of Christ. However, while one writer might choose to emphasize the parables of Jesus, another writer might skip over the parables and dwell on the nature and character of our Lord. Putting all four gospel accounts together gives us a fuller and richer portrait of the life and work of Jesus the Messiah.

Unlike the other gospel writers, John clearly states the purpose of his book. After describing the appearance of Christ to Thomas and the rest of the apostles, John writes: "And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." (John 20:30–31). The whole purpose of the gospel of John was to prove the Deity of Jesus Christ. Instead of giving the genealogy of Christ, John goes back into eternity to tell us that, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." (John 1:1–4).

"The humanity of Jesus Christ is genuine, as John makes clear, but it is not an ordinary human life that John discloses. It is that of one who before His incarnation existed with God, as very God (John. 1:1, 14, 18), and who came to earth to reveal the Father to men ... If we wish to know God, look at Jesus Who has revealed Him in personal bodily form, in human personality, the actual combination or union of God with man." (A. T. Robertson, Epochs in the Life of the Apostle John, pp. 167, 172).

You have to be impressed with the descriptive terms John uses for Christ in the first chapter of his gospel. Not only was He "the Word" Who "became flesh" (John 1:14), but He is "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). He is further described as "the Son of God," "the Messiah" and "Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (John 1:29, 34, 45). Nathaniel refers to Him as "Rabbi," "the Son of God" and "the King of Israel" (John 1:49). Jesus ends the chapter by referring to Himself as "the Son of Man" (John 1:51).

Download Your Copy Now…

The Bible Class Book on John is a free book you can download and print out for your classes (22 pages; PDF file size: 997k). All of the books on this website may be reprinted by individuals, churches, schools, and seminaries for use in their teaching program. However, these class books may not be altered in any way and they must be given away at no charge.