The Word made Flesh

The Gospel of John

John 20:31 “31 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.”

God wants to show the deity of Jesus

1 John 1:1–2 “1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—”

The Word

John 1:1 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

In Beginning: Here is the same phrase as Genesis 1:1 “1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

John is going back to the furthest part of time humans can know, the beginning of God’s creation.

We know only that God was already there, eternal.

Was:

There are two separate words in the Greek which, in this passage, are both rendered "was": the one means to exist, the other to come into being. The latter word (egeneto) is used in John 1:3 which, literally rendered, reads, "all things through him came into being, and without him came into being not even one (thing) which has come into being;" and again we have this word "egeneto" in John 1:6 where we read, "there was (became to be) a man sent from God, whose name was John;" and again in John 1:14, "And the word was made (became) flesh." But here in John 1:1 and John 1:2 it is "the word (ito) with God." As the Word He did not come into being, or begin to be, but He was "with God" from all eternity. It is noteworthy that the Holy Spirit uses this word "ito," which signifies that the Son personally subsisted, no less than four times in the first two verses of John 1. Unlike John the Baptist who "became (egeneto) a man," the "word" was (ito), that is, existed with God before time began. A. W. Pink Christ the Eternal Word

Reason for this:

John wants us to know, in no uncertain terms, that Jesus is eternal God.

This is even before his vision of Revelation, where he sees Jesus in the the Courts of Heaven with the Father.

Yet he knows and wants us to have a feeling for the importance and supremecy of Jesus.

In beginning the word exited ‘and’ the Word was with God.

Here he pushes to show us that Jesus is separate from God the Father.

He is with God, no just another view of God, but an actual person who was with God the Father.

John 1:2 “2 He was in the beginning with God.” repeats this so that it is uncontestable.

He was with God and also “The Word was God”.

Here again He wants to make sure we don’t then think that Jesus is a created being.

He is God with all that this implies, even as the Father is God.

This is difficult for the Jews, but it is the basis truly knowing God. God is three beings with one nature. Three personhoods, each with their own responsibilities and work, yet all together in perfect unity that is beyond our understanding.

Jesus is the second part of the tri-une, unified God.

Deuteronomy 6:4 “4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!”

Why does John use this name for Jesus?

Logos — Reason speak command, accusation gospel, (It must be a complete thought to be ‘Logos’)

Ephesians 1:23 “23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Ephesians 3:19 “19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

John 1:16 “16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.”

God is full,

Ephesians 5:18 “18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,”

And we are to be filled with His fullness, till we overflow....

John 4:14 “14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.””

John 7:37–39 “37 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Notice in both of these the abundance that is to flow out of us.

It isn’t from us, but due to the one who is in us.

John 1:16 “16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.”

It is also words that are used to communicate and explain our thoughts, stories, plans. All legal documents depend on Words.

A picture might speak a 1000 words, but it will always remain less that words to define, explain, and rebuke.

Words are used for all legal documents, all meetings, all communication, all unity must have words.

Jesus was the Word of God in the flesh. The Living Word who gave us the living word.

Hebrews 1:2–3 “2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

John 3:34 “34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.”

John 7:16 “16 Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.”

John 8:26–28 “26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.” 27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father. 28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.”

John 8:40 “40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.”

John 8:47 “47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.””

It would be through this Living Word that the New Covenant, a legal document, would come and be ratified.

Jeremiah 31:31 “31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—”

Hebrews 8:8 “8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—”

Hebrews 9:15–16 “15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.”

1 Corinthians 11:25 “25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.””

Hebrews 12:22–24 “22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.”

This Word also always brought life to men.

John 1:4–5 “4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

1 John 1:1–2 “1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—”

The light was the “Word of Life”

2 Corinthians 3:6 “6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

2 Corinthians 3:7–9 “7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.”

May we hold to this light, this word of from, from God, who was God. Who came that we might have Life.