In many ways the true light came into the world so that those who live in darkness, who naturally have no concern for God, might nevertheless become part of his family.
As we read through this Gospel we are given a wonderful insight into the joy and fellowship that Jesus Christ enjoyed with the Father. There are around one hundred references to the Father, most of them coming from the lips of Jesus himself. He lived in close communion with the Father, he rejoiced to do the Father’s will secure in the knowledge that the Father loved him. And by telling us that those who believe in the Word become children of God, John is introducing the possibility that we can have our sins forgiven and enjoy a similar friendship with God. Through faith in Jesus Christ we can also know God as our Father and be assured of his love and goodwill towards us. Darkness and exile do not have to be our final destiny.
This wonderful promise is one that Jesus can make to us because it is a promise that he has secured through his death and resurrection. When Jesus speaks to his Father in John’s Gospel, he generally does so in the first person (e.g., John 2:16; John 5:17; John 14:2). There is a strong personal relationship between the Son and the Father. But at the end of the Gospel, after his resurrection from the grave, this relationship is expanded to include those who believe in him. When Jesus meets Mary Magdalene in the Garden he says to her, Do not cling to me for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.
Having God as Father and God is the joyous privilege that belongs to those who trust in Jesus Christ. How wonderful is the gift that Christ has won for us on the cross through his blood (Hebrews 10:19–25).
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.