Good Day Dear Friends,
“In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the Beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:1-5 NKJV)
If you’re a Believer in Christ Jesus, this passage is no doubt very familiar to you. But here’s a question for you. Whenever you’ve read this message or heard it preached, how have you received it? If you were to present the first chapter of John’s Gospel to a non-believer, without introduction other than it is an ancient writing, how would you expect them to read it? Would it, at best, be a beautiful piece of first-century metaphor written by a man, who had been smitten by a Teacher he had followed for three amazing years, only to have Him suddenly and brutally ripped out of his life? Or would it just be a bit of whimsical nonsense… foolishness left for dreamers to ponder in another time? So, as a Follower of Christ, how should we receive this Gospel message?
To help us embrace the great significance of what’s being revealed in the opening chapter of John’s Gospel, we can turn to the back of this NT Book and see why God is telling us these things- “these have been written so that you may Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that Believing you may have Life in His Name… This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true.” (John 20:31; 21:24 NASB) While the beloved apostle spends the vast majority of his Gospel illuminating Jesus as the Son of Man- the Word made flesh, the Sacrificial Life He walked and His heart for His people, these opening sentences immediately take us into the absolute Deity of Jesus as God. Our Saviour’s Eternal existence, His relationship in the Father and Oneness in character with Him, and His Authority over all creation, these points are all put right up front, so that we can get it straight right from the very start of our journey with Him. God, in His Own Words, tells us explicitly that Jesus is the Creator- the Uncreated One Who came down to straighten out what sin had corrupted in creation.
The LifeGiving Light of the world came into a world overcome by darkness and He reclaimed for Himself and the Glory of the Father what was His all along. “And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His Glory (His Honor, His Majesty), such Glory as an Only Begotten Son receives from His Father, full of Grace (Favor, Loving-Kindness) and Truth… For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor and Spiritual Blessing) and Truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:14-17 Amplified Bible)
Therefore, let us always Rejoice in our partaking of this message and forever embrace it with an understanding for the great declaration that it truly is. For, “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only [that is, Jesus Christ], Who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.” (John 1:18 NIV) God in His very Own Living Word, has made Himself known to us. If you doubt any of this interpretation, then maybe you’ll believe Jesus’, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) John, the revelator of Jesus Christ, never skips a beat on sounding out the call for Who the Lamb of God is, as we see in the apostle’s description of when the Lion of Judah returns. “He is clothed with a robe dipped in Blood, and His Name is called The Word of God. And the armies in Heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a Name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:13-16 NKJV)
May His Glory be in our hearts forevermore,
AMEN
Tom
“And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, and made Me a polished shaft; in His quiver He has hidden Me.” (Isaiah 49:2 NKJV)
“For the Word of God is Living and Powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13 NKJV)
