John 1 with Metaphysical Footnotes (ASV)

^1:1In the beginning was the Word,1 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ^1:2The same was in the beginning with God. ^1:3All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made.2 ^1:4In him was life; and the life was the light of men. ^1:5And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not.

^1:6There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. ^1:7The same came for witness, that he might bear witness of the light, that all might believe through him.3 ^1:8He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light. ^1:9There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world.4

^1:10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not. ^1:11He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not. ^1:12But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name: ^1:13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 5

^1:14And the Word became flesh,6 and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth. ^1:15John beareth witness of him, and crieth, saying, This was he of whom I said, He that cometh after me is become before me: for he was before me. ^1:16For of his fulness we all received, and grace for grace. ^1:17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.7 ^1:18No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.8

1. In the beginning was the Word. IN PURE METAPHYSICS there is but one word, the Word of God. This is the original creative Word or thought of Being. It is the "God said" of Genesis. The Greek original refers to it in the 1st chapter of John as the logos. The Greek word cannot be adequately translated into English. In the original it denotes wisdom, judgment, power, and in fact all the inherent potentialities of Being. This divine Logos was and always is in God; in fact it is God as creative power.
2. All things were made through him. Divine Mind creates under law; that is, spiritual law. Man may get a comprehension of the creative process of Being by analyzing the action of his own mind. First is mind, then the idea in mind of what the act is to be, then the act itself. Thus the Word and the divine process of creating are identical.
3. that he might bear witness of the light. Man in his darkened, ignorant state dwells in a realm of material thoughts and perceives nothing higher until he arrives at the point in his unfoldment where he is ready to receive understanding of the Christ Truth. Then he enters into the John the Baptist or intellectual perception of Truth. The intellectual perception of Truth by the natural man (John the Baptist) is not the true light (the Christ) but bears witness to the light and prepares the way for its dawning in consciousness.
4. There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world. The true light (the Christ or Word) that lights every man coming into the world is and ever has been in man. Even the outer man was formed and came into existence through it. Up to a certain stage in his unfolding man does not recognize this truth; now however this mystery, which is "Christ in you, the hope of glory," is being revealed to the race with more and more clarity and with greatly increased power.
5. But as many as received him. According to the 12th and 13th verses, the same truth that held good for Jesus will hold good for as many as receive Him (the Christ) and believe in His resurrecting power as Jesus believed in it.
6. And the Word became flesh. Jesus recognized this truth that the Christ, the divine-idea man or Word of God, was His true self and that He was consequently the Son of God. Because Jesus held to this perfect image of the divine man, the Christ or Word entered consciously into every atom of His being, even to the very cells of His outer organism, and transformed all His body into pure, immortal, spiritual substance and life. Thus "the Word became flesh." The resurrecting of His whole being included His body. Jesus entered alive and entire into the spiritual realm.
7. grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. The real saving, redeeming, transforming power came to man through the work that Jesus did in establishing for the race a new and higher consciousness in the earth. We can enter into that consciousness by faith in Him and by means of the inner spirit of the law that He taught and practiced.
8. the only begotten son ... he hath declared him. Through the Christ in us we come into an understanding of the Father, since the Son (the Word) ever exists in God, and Father and Son are one and are omnipresent in man and in the universe. Spirit Truth is discerned through Spirit only; not in outer ways or through intellectual perception do we come to know God.

^1:19And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent unto him from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who art thou? ^1:20And he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, I am not the Christ. ^1:21And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? And he saith, I am not. Art thou the prophet? And he answered, No. ^1:22They said therefore unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? ^1:23He said,

I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness,

Make straight the way of the Lord,

as said Isaiah the prophet.

^1:24And they had been sent from the Pharisees. ^1:25And they asked him, and said unto him, Why then baptizest thou, if thou art not the Christ, neither Elijah, neither the prophet? ^1:26John answered them, saying, I baptize in water:1 in the midst of you standeth one whom ye know not, ^1:27even he that cometh after me, the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to unloose. ^1:28These things were done in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

1. I baptize in water In the regeneration two states of mind are constantly at work. First comes the cleansing or denial state, in which all the error thoughts are eliminated. This includes forgiveness for sins committed and a general clearing up of the whole consciousness. The idea is to get back into the pure, natural consciousness of Spirit. This state of mind is typified by John the Baptist, who came out of the wilderness a child of nature whose mission it was to make straight the way for One who was to follow.

^1:29On the morrow he seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world! ^1:30This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man who is become before me: for he was before me. ^1:31And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, for this cause came I baptizing in water. ^1:32And John bare witness,1 saying, I have beheld the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven; and it abode upon him. ^1:33And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize in water, he said unto me, Upon whomsoever thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and abiding upon him, the same is he that baptizeth in the Holy Spirit.2 ^1:34And I have seen, and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.

1. John bare witness Metaphysically interpreted, John the Baptist symbolizes in each individual the natural man, but with an illumined intellect. His face is turned toward the light in the measure that he recognizes and pays homage to the higher self within the individual. John baptized with water all those who believed that Jesus was soon to make His appearance. This is a cleansing, purifying process, preparing the individual to see spiritually and to discern spiritually.
2. he that baptizeth in the Holy Spirit. The Father-Mind is the living principle, the absolute, the unlimited. The Son is the living Word. "Word" is used to designate man's I AM identity. The Holy Spirit is the action or outpouring or activity of the living Word. This activity produces what may be termed the light of Spirit, the breath of God, the "personality" of Being. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is the sign by which the natural man recognizes the divine. Jesus, who became the "Lamb of God" or perfect expression of God, baptized in the Holy Spirit.

^1:35Again on the morrow John was standing, and two of his disciples; ^1:36and he looked upon Jesus as he walked, and saith, Behold, the Lamb of God! ^1:37And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. ^1:38And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? And they said unto him, Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, Teacher), where abideth thou? ^1:39He saith unto them, Come, and ye shall see. They came therefore and saw where he abode; and they abode with him that day: it was about the tenth hour. ^1:40One of the two that heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. ^1:41He findeth first his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah1 (which is, being interpreted, Christ). ^1:42He brought him unto Jesus. Jesus looked upon him, and said, Thou art Simon2 the son of John: thou shalt be called Cephas (which is by interpretation, Peter).

1. We have found the Messiah. When the conscious mind recognizes the Christ Mind, the various faculties gradually awaken and attach themselves to it. Andrew is the first apostle mentioned, and with him was one whose name is not given here but who is supposed to have been John (love). Love is modest and retiring, "seeketh not its own." Andrew represents the strength of the mind, which, greatly rejoiced when it finds the inexhaustible source of all strength, exclaims, "We have found the Messiah."
2. Thou art Simon Strength is clearly related to substance (Simon), which in spirit we call faith. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for" (A.V.). What we hope for and mentally see as a possibility in our life comes into visibility, and we call it substantial.

^1:43On the morrow he was minded to go forth into Galilee, and he findeth Philip: and Jesus saith unto him, Follow me. ^1:44Now Philip was from Bethsaida,1 of the city of Andrew and Peter. ^1:45Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. ^1:46And Nathanael said unto him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.^1:47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!^1:48Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. ^1:49Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art King of Israel. ^1:50Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee underneath the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.2 ^1:51And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye shall see the heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.

1. Philip was from Bethsaida The name Philip means "lover of horses," and Philip is symbolic of the vigor, power, vitality, and energy of the mind. Philip, Andrew, and Peter are of the same "city," Bethsaida. The name Bethsaida means "house of fishing," and Bethsaida signifies a group of thoughts in consciousness that have as their central idea a belief in the increase of ideas and their expression and manifestation in outer form.
2. Ye shall see the heaven opened Among the apostles, Bartholomew represents the imagination. He is called Nathanael in the 1st chapter of John, where it is recorded that Jesus saw him under the fig tree, the inference being that He discerned Nathanael's presence before the latter came into visibility. This would indicate that images of people and things are projected into the imaging chamber of the mind and that by giving them attention one can understand their relation to outer things. Mind readers, clairvoyants, and dreamers have developed this capacity to varying degree. Consciousness is what is concerned with soul unfoldment both primarily, and secondarily and all the way! Forms are always manifestations of ideas. Whoever understands this can interpret the symbols shown him in dreams and visions, but lack of understanding of this law makes one a psychic without discernment. With this spiritual faculty it is possible for man to penetrate into the "fourth dimension" or what is usually called the "kingdom of the heavens" and to discern the trend of the spiritual forces. The angels of God are spiritual forces active in the Sons of God, the spiritually quickened.