Genesis 1:1-31
In the Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
John 1:1-18
The Word Becomes 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 mankind. 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 the one I spoke about when 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.
Matthew 22:36-40
The Greatest Commandment
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
1 John 4:7-21
God's LOVE and Our Love
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit.14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
In the beginning there was God, the Spirit of God, and the Word...These Three Entities that were and are bound together in a Special Fellowship...Gathered, in the beginning, together in a a most holy and sacred place was a Father, His Son, and the Spirit of Truth...And in this place is this Sacred and Holy Fellowship of the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit...I might say that these Three, this Trinity, are our First Fellowship...That First Fellowship is of great importance...For there is this Great LOVE that surrounds this First Fellowship, because God is LOVE...In this Perfect Fellowship, it is completely influenced and completely woven with and is surrounded by LOVE...And God gave us and gives us this ability to love and those things we know of love...We learn about the knowledge of His grace and the Truth about parenting, about bonding, and most of all He teaches us about love...And in this LOVE He has given us of His Spirit...We have learned to love and about love because God LOVED us first...
When we read in Genesis what Moses wrote, we read that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth....And that the earth was formless and empty and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters...We read that there was the Spirit of God hovering over the waters of the earth, in the earliest of years...And in the beginning God went about creating the heavens and the earth and the entire universe...Then years later John writes in his gospel that in the beginning there was also the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....The Word is His Son...The Word is Jesus...Jesus was with God in the beginning...And through Jesus all things are created; without Jesus nothing was created that has been created...In Jesus is life, and that life is the Light of all mankind...The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness to this day has not overcome it...There was a man sent from God whose name was John...He was John the Baptist...John came as a witness to testify concerning that Special Light, so that through Him all might believe in God...John the Baptist was not the Light; he came only as a witness to the Light...The True Light that gives Light to everyone was coming into the world...Jesus was in the world, and though the world was created through Him, the world did not recognize Him as being Divine...He came to that which was His own, but His own people many did not receive Him...Yet to all who did receive Jesus, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God...The Word, who is Jesus, became flesh and made His dwelling among us and on earth...The Disciples first hand got to see His glory, the glory of the One and Only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth...
John writes that love comes from God...And God has shown His LOVE for us by sending His One and Only Son into the world that we might live through Him....God created us so that we might seek Him and get to know Him and His Son...This is LOVE: not that we loved God, but that He LOVED us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins...His Son died on the cross and was sacrificed for our sins...Since God so LOVES us, we also ought to love one another...We ought to love each of our neighbors...No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us...This is how we know that we live in God and God in us: He has given us of his Spirit...And He has given us His Son...The Disciples have seen and testified that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world...The Disciples are eyewitness to His Majesty...If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, then God lives in them and they in God...And so we know and can rely on the LOVE God has for us...God is LOVE...Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God lives in them...This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are to be like Jesus...There is no fear in love...But perfect LOVE drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment...The one who fears is not made perfect in love...We love because God first LOVED us...Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister or neighbor is a liar...For whoever does not love their brother and sister or neighbor, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen...And God has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister and neighbor...There can be no fellowship without love...So there can be no fellowship without this love of brother and sister and neighbor...
Jesus teaches us about this fellowship in the Greatest Commandment in the Law...Jesus says the Greatest Commandment is to love God and to love our neighbor...By saying this He has forever linked God and neighbor and the act of this fellowship...God links fellowship with Himself and with His LOVE and our love our neighbors...There has been this Perfect Fellowship in the beginning and from the beginning...Each of us is influenced by this Perfect Fellowship, and we therefore are forever linked to our neighbors...And so we do not live without influencing another...Others around us do not live without having an influence on us...The things of family, work, community, and friends are forever weaved in our lives and throughout our lifetime by this fellowship that we are taught in the Greatest Commandment...This has all came from this First and Perfect Fellowship...