The Word Becomes Flesh

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John 1:6.
Now John seems to go off in another direction and talks about a man named, John, who comes as a witness testifying about the LIGHT. This John we know to be John the Baptist, and his message is about the One who came as the LIGHT.

But in verses 9 through 13…
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

John comes back to the point, the Word, that is, the LIFE, and that LIFE is the LIGHT of all mankind. And he says, that the Light has come to the world he made, but the world did not recognize him. He came to his own, but his own did not receive him.

Wait a minute, back up. Let’s put some things together…

The Word, this is God…

He came to the world that he created…but no one recognized him. God came to his own, that would be his people, both HIS PEOPLE, the Jews, and all he created, that is, all of mankind, and they did not receive him. But for those who did receive him, those who believed in his name (which, by the way we haven’t yet heard or have been told), they would be given the right to become children of God.

First we have to ask, What? I mean, how can this be? What do you mean, God came…

Well that is the amazing part.

John 1:14…
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Wait a minute…so, you’re telling me, that God, the WORD, became flesh? In other words, God, the creator, became like his creation?

Yes, he did.

And we'll talk more about this, tomorrow.

- jay

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A Picture Being Painted…
The apostle John does an amazing job at painting a brilliant picture of who Jesus is. Right from the start, John wants to make sure it is perfectly clear to his readers, who he is writing about. But not only do we see who he’s writing about, John takes away any possibility for misunderstanding or erroneous conclusions about his subject.

How does he do this? He connects the history and prophesies of the Old Testament, or in those days, the Hebrew Law, with the person and purpose of Jesus as Christ.

Read John 1:1-18. Click Here.
Let’s break this down.

Verse 1-2, Johns establishes that Jesus was divine. But not just a god. Jesus was God.

V1. ’In the beginning…’
For the believer, what historical account do those words bring to our minds? Yes, the creation account found in Genesis 1. And it would have done the same  thing for the Jew. They would have read those words and immediately think, ah, Creation, Genesis.

So Let's look at Genesis 1:1,2.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

In Genesis 1:1, we read about God that He creates the heavens and the earth.

Now keep that fact in your mind for a second and let’s go back to John 1.

John 1:1,2
"1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."

Ah, now we have something interesting.

In the beginning was the…Word. And the Word was WITH God, and the Word WAS God. HE was with God in the BEGINNING!

Now as we look at this we have to think, Wait a minute, were there two at the time of Creation?

What if…there were two, and what if they were both active at the beginning.

Look again to Genesis 1.

Verse 3.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Did you catch it?
- God SAID… God SPOKE… God used the WORD… and there was light.

Look at verse 6, “And God said….”
- Verse 9, “And God said…”
- Verse 11, “Then God said…”
- Verse 14, “And God said…”
- Verse 20, “And God said…”
- Verse 24, “And God said…”
- Verse 26, “Then God said, ‘Let US make mankind in OUR image, in OUR likeness…”

Whoa, wait a minute, there were two… US, OUR, these are plural!

You see, there was God, and there was the Word. And through him (the WORD) all things were made, and WITHOUT him nothing was made that has been made.

The work of creation involved two, the One who spoke and the One who created…

But who is the Word?

John says, In the beginning was the Word. The Word was WITH God and the Word WAS God. And He was with God at the beginning.

Alright, stop right there. Pretend you have a cord board in front of you, take that thought, the Word being God, and lets pin it to the board, because we’ll come back to it. But let's continue to unwrap some more evidence as to WHO exactly this WORD is. And we'll do that tomorrow!

Thanks for joining me for part 2 of the What if? week 1. Be sure to check in again on Wednesday as we continue to unpack what John has to say in chapter 1. And be sure to check out the What if? readings posted Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

- jay


Did you miss part one? Read it here...What if? New Series at Harvest Church

Today is the first of the daily readings that we will share as we read through the Gospel of John. Below you will find the reading and a few questions to help you process the scripture you've read. Feel free to share your thoughts and comments below.

Monday - John 1:19-28
John the Baptist Declares His Mission

19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”

22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

1. What do you think the priests wanted to know who John was?

2. Who does John say he was?

3. What was Johns purpose?

4. What do you know about baptism and what Johns say about his baptism in verse 26?

5. Why do you think it was important that John had this interaction with the priest and the pharisees?

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14 niv'11

The Greatest Question We Ask, What if?
Last Sunday was exciting. We as the Christian Church, celebrated one of the most important events on our church history, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, And we did so by looking at Matthew’s account of events that happened that morning on the first day of the week, as Mary and Mary, then Peter and John, went to the tomb to see for themselves that the tomb was empty and the Jesus’ body was not there.

We pulled apart the angels invitation to, Come, See, and Know, and we said how important it was that they looked and saw, that it was true, that Jesus really had risen. And we looked briefly as the resurrected Jesus proved that he was alive by showing himself to his apostles and his followers over 40 days.

We looked at all of this because, as believers today, it is vital that we too know that Jesus really did die, that he really was buried, and that on the third day he really was raised from the dead. 

Why? Because everything that we believe in hinges on us knowing that there was a resurrection. It’s important because, if there was not resurrection, then there is no life. And so I asked that question, What if?
- What if all of this really is true?
- What if all the eye witness accounts and testimonies are all credible?
- What if all of what we read in the Bible is that actual story of our past, our present and our future?
- Would it change everything about how we live and what we live for?

You see, I am convinced that what God wants more than anything else, is for His people to live in this life believing that what He writes for us in this book is true and that it matters and that we are living it out in our lives every single day that we are on this earth.

So, what if we took the time to look closely at this Jesus and asked,
- What if we committed myself to know him deeper?
- What if we pursued Him in His word with passion?
- What if we threw out all the preconceived ideas and notions about what I thought who Jesus was, and we come to His word with new eyes?
- What if we desired to live out all that he taught and how he lived, just so others might see Jesus living in me?
- What if we took my faith serious, and made more about God, and less about me?
- What if we stop pretending to be Christians, and really start living like the followers we are called to be?

You see, I believe that if we humble ourselves and ask the What if? questions, I believe God will show us how to live for him in a new and powerful way.

My question for you, Are you wanting more in your faith life than what you have know? If your answer is yes, then be sure to join us as we pursue the, What if? questions. Over the next couple of weeks I will be sharing my notes and the the weekly readings from our series, What if? The series is designed to help us discover the proof statement of Jesus Christ as recorded by the Apostle John and to allow the truth of the statement to change how we live our lives today. Along with the notes from our Sunday sermons, I have put together a list of daily readings to help us read our way through the Gospel of John. And each week we will have a memory verse to help us hide God's Word in our hearts. 

Everything kicks off on Monday morning.

- jay