John 1:4 (DBY)

Passage

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Nearby Context

John 1:2 *He* was in the beginning with God.

John 1:3 All things received being through him, and without him not one [thing] received being which has received being.

John 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

John 1:5 And the light appears in darkness, and the darkness apprehended it not.

John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, his name John.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light" and "life". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "life", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "All things received being through him and..." into verse 5's "And the light appears in darkness and...", so "light" and "life" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "light" and "life" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.