the Word

THE WORD BECAME FLESH – John 1:14

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I.  HE BECAME FLESH

John chapter 1, verse 14, is one of the most amazing and awe-inspiring verses in the Bible.  It reveals a mystery that we can’t comprehend with our finite minds.  The apostle John has been saying that the “Logos”, the “Word”, used by the Greeks to describe the force that created the universe and holds it together, is actually the Creator-God.  Now he is saying, in verse 14, that this Creator-God “became flesh”.  The verb is in the aorist tense, signifying an action that took place at a point in time.  By “becoming flesh” the Word became something that He previously was not. He not only assumed a human body, but took on the whole nature of man:  body, soul, and spirit.  He took on our limitations.  Romans 8:3 says that He took on “the likeness of sinful flesh”, but “He knew no sin” (II Corinthians 5:21).  Martin Luther said of Jesus, “He sunk Himself into human flesh”.  That’s a long way to sink!

In his book entitled “Miracles”, British author C.S. Lewis uses several illustrations to try to depict the incarnation of Jesus Christ.  His illustration of the diver is somewhat similar to the previous statement made by Martin Luther.

“Or one may think of a diver, first reducing himself to nakedness, then glancing in mid-air, then gone with a splash, vanished, rushing downward through green and warm water into  black and cold water, down through increasing pressure into the death-like region of ooze and slime and old decay; then up again, back to color and light, his lungs almost bursting, till suddenly he breaks the surface again, holding in his hand the dripping precious thing that he went down to recover.  He and it are both coloured now that they have come up into the light; down below, where it lay colourless in the dark, he lost his colour too.”

As we consider the incarnation, let’s be reminded that Jesus Christ was not a created being.  He is the Creator, but He chose to become part of His creation at a specific place and time in human history.  His essence, divine nature, and oneness with the Father and the Holy Spirit did not change.  We cannot understand how this can be, but we can accept it by faith.

One of the early church fathers, Augustine of Hippo, expressed his amazement.  He said that in his pre-Christian days he had read and studied the great pagan philosophers and had read many things, but he had never read that the word became flesh.  To the Greeks that was impossible and ridiculous.

II.  HE DWELT AMONG US

Here in verse 14, John describes Christ’s incarnation in three words, in contrast to the 2500 words used by the Gospel writer Luke.  He “dwelt among us”.  The Greek word translated “dwell” is “eskenosen”, which means “to pitch a tent”.  He “tabernacled among us” is another way to put it.  The tabernacle in the Old Testament was made of plain white linen.  The glory of the tabernacle was hidden inside.  There was no beauty in its outward appearance.  So too, the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ was a hidden glory.  When He came to pitch his tent among us, He did not lay aside His deity, but He did veil His glory.

The tabernacle in the Old Testament was only a temporary dwelling place.  It was used while the people of Israel were journeying in the wilderness and until the temple of Solomon was built (Exodus 24:8; 40:34-35; I Kings 8:10-12).  It’s interesting to note that the people of Israel used the tabernacle in the wilderness for a little less than 35 years, the approximate lifetime of the Lord Jesus on this earth.

III.  WE BEHELD HIS GLORY

Years ago an old pioneer journeyed westward across the Great Plains of North America until he came to an abrupt halt at the edge of the Grand Canyon.  He gawked at the sight before him – a vast chasm 1 mile deep, 18 miles across, and stretching out of sight.  He gasped, “Something must have happened here!” (Our Daily Bread, 12/22/02)

Something even more amazing happened when the Creator-God came to His earth in the Person of Jesus Christ.  The Scriptures declare it and changed lives continue to provide evidence for His birth, life, death, and resurrection.

John says, “we beheld His glory”.  This may bring to your minds the Shekinah glory that filled the tabernacle in the wilderness.  When the pillar of cloud that guided them by day would begin to settle down, there the sons of Israel would camp.  Once the tabernacle was set up, the cloud would settle over the tabernacle (Numbers 9).  Exodus chapter 40 describes the glory of the Lord.  “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. . . . For throughout all their journeys, the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel.”

The apostle John knew this information since childhood, having grown up in a Jewish home.  But John and the other disciples had the privilege of witnessing this glory in the Person of Jesus Christ for about three years.  “The Word” was not an abstract concept but a real Person.  John begins his first epistle with these words:  “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have beheld and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of Life.”

John, Peter, and James were with Jesus when He was transfigured before them.  His garments became dazzling white, and Moses and Elijah appeared alongside Him and were talking to Him (Mt. 17; Mk. 9).  What a spectacle that must have been!  But John is writing here about the inner glory that he saw in the Lord Jesus.

John was the “beloved disciple”, the one who knew Jesus so intimately.  He describes Jesus as One who was “full of grace and truth”.  This is a Hebrew expression for the fullness of the revelation of God.  “Grace” reveals God as love; “truth” reveals God as light.

The words “grace and truth” would probably bring to the minds of his Jewish readers two passages of Scripture from the book of Exodus.  One of them is in Exodus 33, and the other in chapter 34.  God tells Moses once again to make two stone tablets and meet with Him again on Mount Sinai.  Moses makes this request of God in Exodus 33:18:  “I pray Thee, show me Thy glory!”  In responding to Moses, God first describes Himself to Moses.  Then He  responds to Moses’ request and describes Himself more fully.  I think you will gain a greater understanding of the meaning of grace as a result of reflecting upon God’s description of Himself.  This is what God says in Exodus 33:19 and in 34:6:  “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you, and I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion. , , , Then the Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.’ “

I believe that the Lord Jesus demonstrated those qualities of God in His character and His actions while He was here on this earth.  I also believe that the apostle John is purposely using the words “full of grace and truth” to connect his description of Christ in his Gospel with God’s description of Himself in the Old Testament Scriptures.  The best Person to give an accurate description of God is God Himself, and He has been gracious enough to do so through various means.

In the next passage of Scripture, verses 15-18, John will be elaborating on the words of verse 14 more fully.  In the meantime, I’ve been reading and re-reading a poem written by Marv and Marbeth Rosenthal entitled:  “Mary Had The Little Lamb”.  It briefly describes the Person, life and ministry of Jesus Christ from beginning to end.  If you’ve never read this poem before, I encourage you to read it several times.  If you are familiar with the poem, please read it again.  Here it is:

Mary had the little Lamb, who lived before His birth
Self-existent Son of God, from heaven He came to earth.
Micah 5:2

Mary had the little Lamb; see Him in yonder stall–
Virgin-born Son of God, to save man from the Fall.
Isaiah 7:14

Mary had the little Lamb, obedient Son of God;
Everywhere the Father led, His feet were sure to trod.
John 6;38

Mary had the little Lamb, crucified on the tree,
The rejected Son of God, He died to set men free.
I Peter 1:18-19

Mary had the little Lamb — men placed Him in the grave,
Thinking they were done with Him; to death He was no slave!
Matthew 28:6

Mary had the little Lamb, ascended now is He,
All work on earth is ended, our Advocate is be.
Hebrews 4:14-16

Mary had the little Lamb — mystery to behold!
From the Lamb of Calvary, a Lion will unfold.
Revelation 5:5,6

When the Day Star comes again, of this be very sure,
It won’t be Lamb-like silence, but with the Lion’s roar.
Psalm 2:12
Revelation 19:11-16

May you experience the meaning of the grace and truth that are in Christ Jesus; and may you experience the joy and peace that come as a result of knowing Him personally, depending upon Him completely, and giving Him all the glory.

 

 

 

 

“THE WORD” – THE INFINITE AND ETERNAL GOD – John 1:1-3

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INTRODUCTION:

There have been thousands of neighborhood surveys given by Christian organizations and churches over the years.  Maybe you’ve participated in one or more of them yourself.  A question that is often asked on these surveys is:  “Who is Jesus Christ?”.  The answer most often given is:  “He is the Son of God”.  But most of the people who give that answer don’t know what it means nor how they came to that conclusion.  In a 1983 Gallup poll, Americans were asked, “Who do you think Jesus is?”  70% of those interviewed said that He was not just another man.  43% stated that Jesus was God among men,  27% felt that Jesus was only human but divinely called.  9% stated that Jesus was divine because he embodied the best of humanity.  Also, 81% of the Americans polled considered themselves to be Christians.  In John 1:1-3, John gives a brief and concise summary of Jesus’ relationship to God.

I.  JOHN’S USE OF THE “WORD” (verse 1)

The passage begins by using the term “Word” to refer to Christ.  This term is not used in this way in any of the other gospels.  John uses the Greek word “logos” because it was a familiar term in Greek philosophy and literature, and also because it had a special meaning for the Jews.

In Greek philosophy the “logos” was the principle which maintained perfect order in the universe and controlled it.  The “logos” also controlled the events of history.

What meaning would “the word” have in the minds of the Jewish readers of John’s gospel?  It would turn their thoughts to the first chapter in the book of Genesis where we are told that in the beginning God spoke, and all things came into being.  Genesis 1:3 says, “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light.”  If a Jew living during the lifetime of Christ on earth was asked the question:  “What happens when God speaks?”  His answer would have been, “The thing is instantly done or happens.”  The prophet Isaiah records these words that God spoke to him in Isaiah 55:11, “So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which it was sent.”

By beginning his gospel with the use of the term “logos”, John has succeeded in creating an interest and has peaked the curiosity of both Greeks and Jews.  “Who is this person you are referring to?”  “How can you claim that He is the ‘logos’?” John has succeeded in grabbing their attention and they are anxious to find out what he is going to say next.  Now that he has their attention, John makes four statements about Christ’s deity.

Ii.  JESUS IS ETERNALLY GOD (1:1-2)

“In the beginning was the Word.”  We know that as the apostle John writes about the Word, the “Logos”, he is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ because he says in verses 14 and 17:  “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”  (NASB)

“In the beginning” – John begins his gospel in eternity past.  In the Greek text there is no definite article before the word “beginning”.  At whatever beginning you might choose, “the Word” already existed.  The following is an excuse that is sometimes used by those who don’t believe that Jesus Christ is God:  “If Jesus is called the Son of God, He cannot be eternal because He is called the ‘firstborn’, and the eternal Father must be older than His Son.”

However, eternal fatherhood demands eternal sonship.  Consider this question:  “When did your father begin to be your father?”  He became your father at the very moment that you became his child, and not before.  Isn’t that correct?  Therefore the eternal Father must have an eternal Son.

John is also implying in this verse that, unlike the Greek concept of the “logos”, which came along with creation as part of creation, Jesus Christ, “the Logos” existed before creation.  John is stretching their concept of the logos to a much higher level.  Contrary to their thinking, the logos is not a force in the universe, but an eternal Person who transcends this universe.  Both the Jew and the Greek at the time of this writing would agree that the only Person who could transcend time would have to be God.

III.  JESUS IS EQUALLY GOD (1:1-2)

“And the Word was with God” – a unique Person, yet a common entity.  He is distinguishable from God the Father, yet eternally God.  It is a mystery.  We cannot understand how this can be with our finite minds.  Genesis 1 says, “The Spirit of God was moving upon the surface of the waters.”  He is also a distinct Person, and part of the God-head.

In John chapter 1, verse 2, John says it again using different words:  “He was in the beginning with God“.  By writing it again, John is saying, “Yes, that’s what I said and that’s what I meant!”  The Hebrew word for God in Genesis 1 is “elohim”.  It is a plural noun.

There are not three Gods.  There is one God in three Persons.  I like this definition in the book, Christian Theology in Plain Language:  “Three persons who are coequally and co-eternally God”.  Expressed mathematically, the concept of the Trinity would be described, not as 1 plus 1 plus 1 equals three, but as one times one times one equals one.  People have problems with the Trinity because they can’t completely understand it, but in actuality, the concept of the trinity lies behind the very nature and structure of this universe.  For example, we are living in a space – matter – time universe.  We express space in terms of length, width, and height.  We express time in terms of past, present, and future.  We express matter in terms of  energy, motion, and phenomenon.  Even the tiny atoms that make up our universe are composed of electrons, protons, and neutrons.  These aren’t “accidents” or “coincidences” but evidences that the universe reflects the very nature of the Godhead.  The apostle Paul makes this clear in Romans 1:19-20 when he says,  “because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

All three members of the Trinity were present at the baptism of Jesus.  There was Jesus who had just been baptized, the Holy Spirit who descended from heaven in the form of a dove and rested upon Jesus, and there was the Father, whose voice from heaven said, “Thou art my beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased.” (Matthew 5:16-17; Luke 3:21-22)

Just before the ascension of Jesus into heaven, He gave His Great Commission to His disciples, and in it He mentions all three members of the Triune God.  “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:18-19).  So the Lord Jesus Himself declares the Trinity of God and identifies Himself as one of the members of that Trinity.

IV.  JESUS IS ESSENTIALLY GOD (1:1)

“And the Word was God.”  In His essence, in His real nature, and in His attributes, Jesus Christ is God.  There is at least one religious sect that says that Jesus Christ is not God because John 1:1 says “The Word was a god“, since there is no definite article before the word “God” in the Greek text.  To show the error of this thinking, let’s insert the definite article into the Greek text.  Now the English translation would read, “The Word was the God”.  This would imply that no divine being existed except Jesus Christ.  Such a statement would contradict the previous phrase, “The Word was with God”.  It would also contradict Genesis 1, where God says, “Let us make man in our image”.  So John purposely did not put the definite article in his text because he wanted to imply that Jesus Christ is God.  He is divine, but there are also other divine Persons, namely the Father and the Holy Spirit.

After verse 1, the apostle John never uses the term “logos” again.  Why?  Because the concept, the force, the spoken word is the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ.  And as the eternal Son of God, He has been the true “Logos” from all eternity.  From now on John’s focus is on the Lord Jesus Christ because He and “the Logos” are the same.

This has been a “deep theology lesson”, and I’m no theologian!  But John realizes that this is a necessary introduction if we are going to understand his purpose for writing this Gospel.  Knowing this basic theology will help us to understand the signs Jesus performed, the words Jesus said, and the responses He received as a result, as recorded by the apostle John.   

V.  JESUS IS THE CREATOR-GOD (1:3)

It is natural, when we think of God, to think of His power to create.  Thus John says in verse 3, “All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being”.  If we were to look through the most powerful telescope, we would see galaxy after galaxy, and worlds travelling at incredible speeds.  Yet their orbits are so mathematically precise that we can predict an eclipse or a comet’s appearance years in advance.  If we were to look into the most powerful microscope we would be able to see the atoms that are the building blocks of all matter.  An atom measures about 150 millionths of an inch in diameter.  Though they are so small, atoms are like a miniature solar system, with a central nucleus and a number of electrons flashing in orbit around it.

Hopefully, the following illustration will give you a sense of the vastness and complexity of God’s creation.  If the molecules in just one drop of water could be converted into grains of sand, there would be enough sand to build a concrete highway, half a mile wide and one foot thick, all the way from New York to San Francisco.  That’s about 3000 miles!  And God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit made them all – every single atom in the universe!

CONCLUSION:

I encourage you to take some time to reflect upon the vastness, complexity and order of our universe.  Take a walk or drive to a secluded spot and observe the foliage and the animals.  Or draw the curtains, pull up the shades, open the windows and take in the sights, sounds, and smells.  Reflect also upon yourself and how you are made. There is no one like you.  You are unique.  Your fingerprints, your voice, your hair, your DNA are unique to you.   All of these things you observe and consider point to a Creator.  Do you know Him?  Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).  Do you know Jesus Christ personally and intimately?  If so, your life will be filled with joy, and your actions will give testimony to His presence in you.

You are also welcome to read other sermons I have placed on this site.  There are over 70 of them now!   May God’s Word provide direction and enrichment to your life.