“And the Word”

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14 ESV)

We often refer back to the Gospel of John when speaking on the deity of Jesus. The reason for this is that John’s sole purpose in his gospel was, outside of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God. The Gospel of John is the first place in the Bible I send new believers because John makes it so clear in his opening prologue all that Jesus is to us.

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." First, we notice that the word “Word” is capitalized. This is because Jesus is the Word of God. In John 1:1, he writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Jesus is eternal. He has no beginning and no end and is present or referred to in some way throughout the Bible.

Jesus is God and was there in the Trinity in the beginning. The beginning of what? While He existed before time, He was there and participated in the creation of the world. The Trinity is the wholeness of God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—three in being, one in person.

John also tells us that Jesus is our creator. All that God spoke into creation was manifested through Jesus, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (1:3) What is amazing about this is revealed in today’s scripture. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” In his gospel, Matthew quoted Isaiah 7:14, adding the translation of “Immanuel”: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matthew 1:3) Christ came in the incarnation, in the flesh, and was 100% Human yet in this human form, He clothed His 100% eternal deity. He walked and lived in the very creation He made.

The reason Christ came in human form was that the sins of humanity had to be paid by a human, and He remained God because only God could withstand the Father’s wrath against sin. This plan was in place from the beginning of time and was completed by Christ so that all who believe in Him will find eternal life. Christ was obedient to the Father out of love, and because of His love for His creation, He sacrificed Himself on the cross: “He who knew no sin became sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21). He remained sinless and bore our sins on the cross and imputed or granted His righteousness to all believers. Through this and our repentance, we receive the gift of salvation.

If you have not read John with the understanding that Jesus is the Risen Son of God, read it with this understanding, as John reveals the holiness and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Seek the gospel, seek salvation from your sins, seek Christ Jesus, the risen Son of God, who sacrificed Himself so that all those who come to believe in Him are freed from their sin and condemnation.

Grace and Peace!