Audio Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:30-31 (NASB) On January 1, 2012, we opened our Bibles to John 1:1 and began a verse-by-verse study of this magnificent Gospel that has lasted almost 4½ years, through over 125 sermons. Today marks the conclusion of that series, as we look back on the abiding message of the entire book. Having examined the trees, we now look at the forest. One of the fundamental questions we must answer for every book of the Bible that we set out to study is, “What is the purpose of this book?” Why was it written? Why should we read it? Often that purpose is not stated, so we must search like a detective looking for clues, piecing together what has been written, taking special account of all the relevant historical and cultural data that is available. But John does the reader of his Gospel a great favor. Near the end of it, he comes right out and tells us why he has written this book. “These have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” With those words, John tells us that he wrote his Gospel with a singular focus of proving Jesus to be the Christ, the Son of God, so that those who read these words will become convinced and place their faith in Christ in order to be saved from sin. By believing upon the Son of God, Jesus Christ, we have “life” in His name. That “life” is experienced in two ways. In John 10:10, Jesus says that He has come that we might have life, and have it abundantly. Abundant life is life here and now, lived on an entirely different plane than we have ever known it before. It is a life shared with God and imbued with His love, His joy, His peace, transforming us to whole new level of experience in this world. But the life that Jesus has promised to those who believe upon Him is not merely abundant (as if that were not enough), but it is also eternal. John 3:16 is probably the best known verse of the whole Bible. It says that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. The life that Jesus gives to those who believe on Him will never end. The abundant life that the believer in Christ lives here and now just carries on uninterruptedly beyond this world, beyond death, beyond the grave, in God’s presence in heaven forever more. This life – abundant and eternal – is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ. Now, John says in the final words of this Gospel, “there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written” (21:25). So, it would be impossible to record in writing all the things that Jesus has done. So how did John go about deciding what to include and what to omit? John says here in 20:30-31 that he has chosen to include the information that he, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, believes to be sufficient to persuade his readers of the truthfulness of the words of Jesus and the trustworthiness of His works. None of the information he has chosen to omit from the account would help us make any more informed decision to believe upon Christ than what he has written. So, with this aim of the Gospel in mind, let us consider what John tells us about Jesus, and how this divinely inspired revelation of Christ in this Gospel compels us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and have life in His name. I. The divine nature of the eternal Logos  Where does the story of Jesus Christ begin? Mark, the shortest of the four Gospels, begins with the launching of Jesus’ public ministry at His baptism. Matthew and Luke, on the other hand, begin with stories surrounding