The Word that Became Flesh
JOHN 1:1, 1:14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was
with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling
among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the
Father, full of grace and truth.
The first-century Judean society was dominated by
two conflicting cultural groups--the
Jewish natives with their ancient monotheistic religion and Moses’ law, and the
Roman ruling class who had adopted the Greek culture and their multiple gods. The Word
was a term used by philosophers and theologians, both by the Greeks and the Jews,
in different ways. In Hebrew scripture, the Word was an agent of creation (Psalms 33:6), the source of God’s
message to His people through the prophets and God’s law, His standard of
holiness (Hosea 4:1). For the Greek,
the Word was the principle of reason
that governed the world, God, to put it in another way.
The idea of Word becoming flesh was disagreeable to
either of the groups. In Greek philosophy matter was corrupt, and hence the human
body (the flesh) was evil. It is anathema to claim the Word became flesh
because God is the epitome of morality and holiness and He could not have resided
in a human body. John’s purpose in writing the Gospel was to prove the deity of
Jesus Christ – “the Word was with God, the Word was God” and this word became flesh—God became a man. To the
Jews, with no knowledge of the Holy Trinity, their faith steeped deep into
monotheism, to believe that the Word became flesh was anathema. It was
blasphemous to assert a poor carpenter from Nazareth
·
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and lived among us. We gazed on his
glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father's unique Son. (John was here referring to transfiguration
that took place before his eyes).
·
1 John 1:1 What existed from the beginning, what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes, what we observed and touched with our own
hands—this is the Word of life!
·
Rev 19:11-13 ………His name is
Faithful and True; His name is unknown; He is called the Word of God.
·
He is Christ pre-incarnate
who was manifested in Old Testament to Abraham, Moses, Jacob, Joshua, Gideon,
Manoah et al. What Jesus taught and what He did are inseparably tied to who
Jesus is – the eternal Son of the only true God.
How is Christ the
Word?
1.
God spoke through Him, like
it says in Hebrews 1:2
2.
God has publicly testified
Jesus was Christ, His coequal, coeternal Son--during Jesus’ Jordan
3.
Christ has made known God’s mind to us (John 1:18)
4.
Christ is the agent of
creation. God created the universe through His word (Psalms 33:6); He is in the very nature, God (
Philippians 2:6); the visible image
of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15)
5.
The Bible tells so
in many places: E.g. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His
name is called The Word of God. (Revelations
19:13).
Functions of the Word:
1.
Speaks to God for us, speaks
to us about God as the mediator of a
better, new covenant (Hebrews 8:6,
9:15) – Job lamented why is there no Mediator between him and God to
whom he can take his case. This
longing Christ Jesus fulfilled.
2.
Gives divine wisdom
necessary for salvation (1Timothy 3:15)
3.
Gives strength to
speak about and serve God (1Peter 4:11)
4.
He is the seed planted in
our hearts, as in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-8)
5.
Word is God-breathed,
it teaches, warns, corrects and trains us
in righteousness (2Tiimothy 3:16)
6.
Makes a believer complete,
equips him for every good action 2Tiimothy 3:17) etc.
7.
He not only reflects God,
but reveals God to us (John 1:18; 14:9)
Power of word of God:
1.
My message that goes out of
my mouth—it won't return to me empty. Instead, it will accomplish what I
desire, and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)
2.
For the word of God is
living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing until it
divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow, as it judges the thoughts and
purposes of the heart. (Hebrews
4:12). It is life-changing, dynamic,
bares us open and shapes our lives.
3. The Word is enduring – “Heaven and earth will
pass away, but my words will never
pass away” (Mathew 24:35);
Until heaven and earth disappear, not one letter
or one stroke of a letter will disappear from the Law until everything has been accomplished. (Matthew 5:17)
4. The
Word gives us a new life ‘’For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end.
Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God’’. (1Peter 1:23); ‘’In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind’’. (John 1:4)
5. Christ holds everything together by His powerful word.
(Hebrews 1:3)
6.
Studying His word
strengthens our faith. “Faith comes by hearing the word of Christ”. (Romans 10:17)
7.
But you will receive power
when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem , and in all Judea and Samaria
The term ‘Word’
is synonymous with commandment and law – some examples from the scripture:
·
Psalms 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light for my
path
·
Psalms 119:9 How can a young
man keep his behaviour pure? By guarding it in accordance with your word.
·
Psalms 119:18 Open my eyes so
that I will observe amazing things from your instruction.
·
Psalms 119:92 Had your instruction
not been my pleasure, I would have perished in my affliction.
·
Psalms 119 goes on to describe God’s Word as more valuable than gold
and silver – sweeter than honey - hope, joy, deliverance, comfort, power,
common sense, guidance for righteous life etc.
Holy
Spirit helps us to understand the word, gives power,
inclination to obey – but exhorts us to examine the scriptures.
1Peter
1:24, 25 “ Human life is like grass, and all its glory
is like a flower in the grass. The grass dries up and the flower drops
off, but the word of the Lord lasts
forever”.
Isaiah 55:10-11 “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and
flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It
will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and
achieve the purpose for which I sent it”. Our father in heaven
is the Lord God of heaven and earth. What He says goes. He speaks and things
happen. By His creative word He brought all things into being. By His
providential word He upholds, directs, and governs all things. His word does
not return to Him empty because it failed to achieve for what He sent it.
What is true of God's creative and providential word is also true of His word as written down in the Bible. It accomplishes what He wants to accomplish with it. What does God want to accomplish with the Bible? He wants to turn the world back to Him. He wants to tell people how they can get back into proper relationship to Him. Humankind fell into sin and became alienated from God. God had a plan to redeem the world through Jesus Christ and the Bible tells us about that plan.
The small mustard seed has become the largest plant in the garden (Mark 4:30-32). The yeast has worked its way throughout the dough (Matthew 13:33). All of this is because God's written word has accomplished what it was intended to accomplish. And God's written word will continue to achieve what He wants to achieve with it until the full number of people are brought into the church.
On the flip side…
Jesus foreknew that the Word was not going to be accepted
by everyone. I have mentioned earlier about two conflicting cultures of Judea . They came together in order to oppose the word of
God. Jesus told His disciples in Luke
8.10 “You are permitted to
understand the secrets of the Kingdom
of God
But those who know Jesus personally and have made a commitment to Him, who read and hear the words of the Bible, who speak and proclaim the words of the Bible, must participate in the accomplishment of its purpose. When you are content to do what God wants you to do and let Jesus Christ be honoured for it, God will do great things through you.
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