John 1:1-17
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.
1 John 4:7-21
God is LOVE and it is Different from 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.
Luke 10:27
Love God from and With the Heart, Mind, and Soul
27 He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
Psalm 145:18
God is Near
18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
John 4:23-24
God is Spirit and Truth
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.
John 16:13
The Holy Spirit is Truth
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
1 John 5:6
The Spirit is Truth
6 This is the one who came by water and blood--Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
John 18:37
Jesus Came to This World to Testify to Truth
37 "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."
John 20:29
Blessed Are Those Who Do Not Get to See Me
29 Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
John 14:6
Words That Have Never Passed
6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus has been with God from the very beginning of time...They were are are together, I suspect in heaven...They seem to always have been together, according to St. John...God sent Jesus to earth to teach us about Him...So God made a physical man, who was a Baby, then Child, and then a Man to teach us many things...And when this Man came to earth He came not only full of grace, but was also full of Truth...Jesus teaches us the Truths of life and Truth about His Father...
God is LOVE...And He is also is Spirit and Truth...Jesus was born and came into this world to testify to the Truth and about these Truths...Everyone who believes there is an Absolute Truth, listens to Jesus...God does not necessarily have a physical body like ours, since He is Spirit...Those that follow Him worship Him in Spirit and Truth...He is near all of us, who call on Him in Truth...God gives us the Holy Spirit...The Holy Spirit guides us to all Truth...And it is the Spirit who testifies to these Truths, because the Spirit is Truth...And God has give each of us a Spirit, to know Truth...And as we read these verses Jesus teaches us to take them very personal, and in a personal, loving way...After all, His Father was basically all He taught...He wants us to have a personal relationship with Him and His Father...We are a child of God, His Father...
To me, all this is confusing about God being LOVE and Spirit and Truth and sending His Son to teach us about this...We cannot see LOVE, Truth, Spirit, and things of the mind and heart...It would be easier for me, if we could see God and touch His Son (I understand why Thomas wanted to touch Jesus after His death and to feel His Presence)...It would be easier for me if they were physical bodies like we see and hear each and everyday -and we were allowed to see them...But this is not the case...God is Spirit, LOVE, and He is Truth...Divine Grace and Divine Truth and Divine LOVE seem to run our universe, in the form of a Spirit...
And the heart seems to be Spiritual Center of our bodies...And when we think about God, we use our hearts and minds, and we connect with Him by the Spirit with LOVE and Truth...Without our the thoughts we have and are nothing...And God is somehow related to and in our thoughts and our minds, and mostly our hearts where our soul resides...So God is mind-like and thought-like to me, and in our hearts and the soul all connecting us to Him and His Truths by the Spirit He has indwelt in us...And in all of Jesus teachings and the above verses are very much about something personal...Jesus wants us to be personal to Him...Jesus teaches us that His Father wants a relationship with us...He wants us to know that He is near...He wants us to feel His Presence...
This is difficult, but Jesus wants us to put our hopes, our hearts, and our faith in His Father without us being able to see Him or His Father...Jesus came to earth and many got to see Him...But He teaches us that we are blessed if we can believe (in Him) and not see Him...The truth of the matter is that Jesus taught us about helping and healing others...He did this through His many miracles...He taught us about the mind of God, through His teachings about Himself and also His Father...And if God sent His Son to earth would we not expect Him to be able to do miracles, to talk about His Father (so we would know more about Him), and to always speak the Truth...And since no one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with His Father, wouldn't He speak just a little bit different from us -thus we might suspect we would have a little difficulty with His words, since they are from heaven...
But even though the words are different, and can be confusing still does not in anyway take away from them...They are Truth, and the Way, and the very Purpose of Life...