Elim Ministries

CHAPTER 1

The Word of God

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.²From the very beginning³ all created things came into existence through God's Word. ⁴In the Word was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵And this light shines in the darkness; but the darkness could not accommodate it.

⁶There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.⁷He came to bear witness to the light, and that, through him, all might believe.⁸He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.⁹The true light ,which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰He was in the world, and even though it was made through him, the world didn't recognise him.¹¹He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.¹²But to everyone who did receive him, and believe in him: he gave the right to become children of God ¹³Children, that were born, not of blood, nor of carnal desire, nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we witnessed his glory; the glory of an only begotten, of a father full of grace and truth. ¹⁵John bore witness to him, crying, This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who ranks first, ahead of me, because he existed before me. ¹⁶For of his fulness we all received, grace upon grace.¹⁷For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.¹⁸No one has seen God at any time, except the only begotten Son, who knows and reveals the Father's heart.

The Witness of John the Baptist

¹⁹This is the witness of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you?²⁰And he didn't deny it but freely confessed; I am not the Christ.²¹And they asked him, Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you the prophet? He answered, No.²²Then they said to him, Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to them that sent us. What do you have to say for yourself?²³He replied using the words of Isaiah the prophet: I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord. ²⁴The ones that had been sent from the Pharisees.²⁵inquired further, and asked him, Why then do you baptise, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?²⁶John answered them, saying, I baptise in water: among you stand one whom you do not know,²⁷ that comes after me, the thongs of whose sandal I am not worthy to loosen.²⁸These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptising.

The Lamb of God

²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world!³⁰This is he of whom I said, After me comes a man who ranks first, ahead of me: because he existed before me. ³¹And I did not know him; I only knew that he would appear to Israel. For this reason I came baptising in water.³²And John bore witness, saying, I saw the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it rested on him.³³And I did not know him: but he that sent me to baptise in water, said to me, Upon who you see the Spirit descending, and resting, it is he that baptises in the Holy Spirit. ³⁴And I have seen, and bear witness that this is the Son of God. ³⁵The next day John was standing, with two of his disciples;³⁶ He saw Jesus walking, and said, Behold, the Lamb of God!

Jesus' first Disciples

³⁷The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.³⁸ Jesus turned, and saw them following, and said to them, What do you want? And they said to him, Rabbi (which means Teacher), where do you live? ³⁹He said to them, Come, and see. They came and saw where he lived; and they stayed with him that day. It was about the tenth hour(4pm).⁴⁰One of the two that heard John speak, and followed Jesus, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.⁴¹He found his brother Simon, and said to him, We have found the Messiah (which is in Greek 'the Christ').⁴²He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas (which is Greek for Peter).

Nathanael and the fig tree.

The next day Jesus went into Galilee, and found Philip, and said to him, Follow me.⁴⁴Philip was from Bethsaida, the same city as Andrew and Peter.⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael, and said to him, We have found the one Moses in the law, and the prophets wrote about, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.⁴⁶And Nathanael said to him, Nazareth? Can anything good come out of there? Philip said to him, Come and see.⁴⁷Jesus saw Nathanael coming, and said, Behold, an Israelite, in whom there is no deceit! ⁴⁸Nathanael said to him, How do you know me? Jesus answered, Before Philip called you, beneath the fig tree, I saw you. ⁴⁹Nathanael answered, Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are King of Israel.⁵⁰Jesus answered, Do you believe, because I said I saw you beneath the fig tree? You shall see greater things than these.⁵¹And he said to him, In all Truth, I say to you, You shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

CHAPTER 2

The Wedding Feast at Cana

¹On the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and Jesus' mother was there.²Jesus was also invited to the marriage, with his disciples.³When the wine ran out, Jesus' mother said to him, They have no wine.⁴Jesus replied, Woman, why are you telling me this? My hour is not yet here.⁵His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you.⁶Now there were six waterpots of stone set there for the Jewsish ritual of purifying. Each contained twenty to thirty gallons apiece. ⁷Jesus said to them, Fill the waterpots with water, and they filled them to the brim.⁸Then he said to them, Now take some out, and bring it to the chief stewart. This they did. ⁹When the chief stewart tasted it, the water was now wine. He didn't know where it came from, but the servants that had drawn the water knew. Then the chief stewart called the bridegroom,¹⁰and said to him, Every man serves the good wine first; and when everyone is drunk, serves the cheap stuff. You have saved the best for last.¹¹So in Cana of Galilee, was Jesus' first sign which revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

¹²After this Jesus went down to Capernaum, with his mother, brothers, and his disciples; though they did not stay long.¹³ The Jewish passover was taken place, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴In the temple He saw peolple selling cattle, sheep, doves, and exchanging money.¹⁵He made a whip out of ropes, and chased all the sheep and cattle out of the temple. He poured out the coins of the money-changers, and knocked over their tables. ¹⁶To those selling doves he said, Take these things out of here; Do not make my Father’s house a marketplace! ¹⁷His disciples remembered that it was written, Zeal for your house shall devour me.

¹⁸The Jews asked him, What sign can you show to us, that demonstrates your authority to do these things?¹⁹ Jesus answered, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.²⁰The Jews replied, It took Forty six years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?²¹But he spoke of the temple of his body.²²After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered this, and they believed the scripture, and the words which Jesus said. ²³While in Jerusalem at the passover, many believed in him, because of the signs he performed.²⁴But Jesus did not trust himself to them, for that he knew all men,²⁵and needed no man's approval. For he knew full well, what man was like.