Some have argued, and I think there's merit to it, that John's Gospel was written in part as a polemic against proto-Gnostic tendencies. Thus the author presents the Word becoming flesh, Jesus is real and solid; and this against Docetic notions of Jesus as only having "seemed" to be human, solid, and flesh.
I have also heard that John's use of the word Logos was the Greek equivalent of Memre (Word), which the teachers of the Law at that time (not sure which group; I don't currently have access to where I read this) used to emphasize God's transcendence and in essence, to make Him less of a "person" and more of a distant concept. John took their concept and totally transformed it by saying the Word (Logos, Memre) became
flesh.
Please share an example of this benefit.
I'm having a hard time picking just one. Over the years there have been literally dozens of books, pastors, teachers, speakers, and even friends who have broadened my knowledge of the Bible and of God. This has happened at church, camps, conferences, small groups, random conversations, and online discussions.
Sometimes I pick up a book because I want to know more about a specific subject; sometimes there's a verse I'm having a hard time with, so I'll read several different commentaries on that passage to get more perspective.
My pastor when I was in college was almost a walking encyclopedia when it came to Jewish culture. When he preached, he gave so much information on the cultural context of the passage he was talking about, and it completely opened my eyes to what the writers in the Bible were thinking when they wrote things that were specific to their frame of reference. Matthew 11:12 and Luke 16:16 are (together) a good example of this. I never really understood that verse before, and when my pastor preached through Luke he focused on 16:16 and the information he gave was really fascinating.
God certainly used faithful people to share his word with me and to show the truth thereof by their transformed lives, this inspired me to seek it for myself.
That came after I had spent years listening to teachers giving their own & other people's opinions without telling me that I needed to receive the Spirit, just like all the disciples.
Okay, so it sounds like your opinion is a response to what you experienced. I get that. When you live a long time just accepting what other people tell you, and never check it out for yourself, or even make your own personal commitment to Jesus, the whole thing is worthless to you. Without a personal relationship with Jesus, you're just like these guys:
"Acts 19:13 But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches." 14 Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded."
However, that doesn't mean that learning from others (whether in person or through other means) is thereby invalidated.
The reason they didn't tell me is that they didn't have the revelation of the need,
I'm not sure what you mean by "the revelation of the need." Could you explain?
theires was a taught "gospel", like the Galatians struggled to break free from.
The problem with the Galatians wasn't that the "gospel" they believed was taught (I mean, they were taught the true gospel by Paul); it's that it was a false gospel that men made up. The Judaizers went around telling Gentile Christians that they had to keep the Mosaic Law and become Jewish in order to be saved. Paul's epistle was a response to that false teaching. Paul's statement that he wasn't "taught" the gospel but "received" it from Jesus is to show that his gospel is the true one. From the perspective of the Galatians, both gospels were taught to them by somebody else, but Paul's message came straight from God whereas the other didn't. His problem was not with the fact that they believed something they were taught, but with the source and content of that teaching.
True God was behind that, but that's different from reading interpretations, opinions & applications of others.
Do you have a pastor you listen to?
By bringing in all these alternative ideas & words-only "gospels" instead of the original need to receive the Spirit and be taught by him you are in fact cutting yourself and others off from the true body.
I never said we don't need to receive the Spirit ourselves. I'm saying that listening to other people's ideas is not a bad thing. I'm not recommending that we accept any opinion that we come across, but it is wise to learn from those who have lived before us (cf. the entire book of Proverbs). When one, for example, reads the writings of the early church fathers, one can gain insight and perspective that one may not have gotten on one's own, because we live in a completely different society today than they did and we may not understand things the same way. Now, one can choose whether to accept or not accept what they read, because we have the ability to think critically and analyze what we put into our minds. But I think that if we just ignored those people, we would lose a lot in our understanding of the Bible.
Please share what you believe the born again experience is?
I still think you're totally misunderstanding me, but okay. I believe one is born again when they "confess with [their] mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in [their] heart God raised him from the dead," upon which they receive the Holy Spirit.
When were the disciples born again?
That's a really good and more difficult question. I think that salvation is both crisis (one-time event) and process (ongoing). Were they saved when Jesus called them and they followed? or was Peter saved when he confessed Jesus as Messiah? or the first time they acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God, and worshiped Him? or when they received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? But since you used the specific term "born again" and Jesus tells us we must be born of the Spirit, I think the correct answer is Pentecost.
Is it the same today?[/QUOTE]
Our Gospel is a taught Gospel:
2 Thess. 2:13 "So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter."
2 Tim. 2:2 "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others."
Those are great examples. I would add to that:
Galatians 6:6 "The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him."
Ephesians 4:21-24 "Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."
Colossians 2:6-7 "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."
Titus 1:9 "He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it."
