Behold His Glory

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

The Gospel was written for a specific purpose

John 20:30–31 NKJV

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

“That you may believe”

As we look through the Gospel of John we should expect then to see evidence of the reality of Jesus Christ’s mission and its goal that believing we might have life!

Many heresies had arisen about the reality of Jesus Christ

John in defense pens the narrative under the direction of the Holy Spirit

Acts 20:29–30 NKJV

For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.

Gnostics, Arian - no deity, Gnosticism - part divine phantom

John pens his Gospel going all the way back to eternity

Genesis opens with the creation of the physical world while verifies that God existed before the creation!

John 1:1 NLT

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

“In the begining was the Word”

Greek philosophy of the logos - everything that exists was first a thought

Those thoughts then became form

Someone designed the car you are driving today. The design thought about it and then drew it out! It. The drawing then became the expression of his thought

The thought was the origin of things

The Bible then pro-ports that if there is a thought there must be a thinker! Make sense

In the begining God WAS - already in existence

Hence the Word was with God and it was God - clear and straight

Now comes the creation

John 1:3 NKJV

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

We were then created after the image of God, made for His good pleasure

Colossians 1:15–16 NLT

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.

So that brings us to John 1:14

John 1:14 NLT

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

If we want to understand God and His plan we must then see Christ!

Jesus said

John 14:8–11 NLT

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

Seeing Christ then gives us the strength for new life

John 1:4 NKJV

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

Acts 17:27–28 NKJV

so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

He was the light in midst of the darkness of man’s sin!

As Christmas approaches I am reminded of the verse of hope!

Isaiah 9:2 NLT

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.

John 1:4–5 NLT

The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

You see the light of God can never be over some by darkness.

Notice what Isaiah prophecies about the life of Christ

Isaiah 42:6–7 NLT

“I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.

I fulfilment of this Jesus said

John 8:12 NLT

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John in his Epistle later confirms the result of walking out of the darkness

1 John 1:1–2 AMP

[WE ARE writing] about the Word of Life [in] Him Who existed from the beginning, Whom we have heard, Whom we have seen with our [own] eyes, Whom we have gazed upon [for ourselves] and have touched with our [own] hands. And the Life [an aspect of His being] was revealed (made manifest, demonstrated), and we saw [as eyewitnesses] and are testifying to and declare to you the Life, the eternal Life [in Him] Who already existed with the Father and Who [actually] was made visible (was revealed) to us [His followers].

Peter put it thins way to the church

1 Peter 2:9 NKJV

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Are you proclaiming the wonderful deed of the Light?

Are you fulfilling your role as priest of this holy tabernacle?

Are you walking today in His marvelous light?

The name of my devotional page is “Faith is a Journey”

The word journey focuses on the activity, not the destination

A journey implies a change of location filled with anticipation

Going on a journey requires a lighter load to travel

Jesus bids us to come and journey with Him

John 1:38–39 NLT

Jesus looked around and saw them following. “What do you want?” he asked them. They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come and see,” he said. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon when they went with him to the place where he was staying, and they remained with him the rest of the day.