The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word,(A) and the Word was with God,(B) and the Word was God.(C) 2 He was with God in the beginning.(D) 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.(E) 4 In him was life,(F) and that life was the light(G) of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness,(H) and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.(I)
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John.(J) 7 He came as a witness to testify(K) concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.(L) 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light(M) that gives light to everyone(N) was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him,(O) the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.(P) 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed(Q) in his name,(R) he gave the right to become children of God(S)— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.(T)
14 The Word became flesh(U) and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,(V) the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace(W) and truth.(X)
15 (John testified(Y) concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”)(Z) 16 Out of his fullness(AA) we have all received grace(AB) in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses;(AC) grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.(AD) 18 No one has ever seen God,(AE) but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b](AF) is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
John the Baptist Denies Being the Messiah
19 Now this was John’s(AG) testimony when the Jewish leaders[c](AH) 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.”(AI)
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”(AJ)
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”(AK)
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,(AL) ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”[d](AM)
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[e] water,”(AN) John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me,(AO) the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”(AP)
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan,(AQ) where John was baptizing.
John Testifies About Jesus
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God,(AR) who takes away the sin of the world!(AS) 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’(AT) 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.(AU) 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water(AV) told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’(AW) 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”[f](AX)
John’s Disciples Follow Jesus(AY)
35 The next day John(AZ) was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”(BA)
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi”(BB) (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ).(BC) 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called(BD) Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter[g]).(BE)
Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip,(BF) he said to him, “Follow me.”(BG)
44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida.(BH) 45 Philip found Nathanael(BI) and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law,(BJ) and about whom the prophets also wrote(BK)—Jesus of Nazareth,(BL) the son of Joseph.”(BM)
46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”(BN) Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite(BO) in whom there is no deceit.”(BP)
48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi,(BQ) you are the Son of God;(BR) you are the king of Israel.”(BS)
50 Jesus said, “You believe[h] because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you,[i] you[j] will see ‘heaven open,(BT) and the angels of God ascending and descending(BU) on’[k] the Son of Man.”(BV)
THE WORD BECAME FLESH
by Prof. W. W. Prescott
Professor William Warren Prescott (1855 – 1944) was president of Battle Creek College, Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, Walla Walla College in Washington and Avondale College in Australia. In 1901 he was elected a vice president of the General Conference. In 1903, Prescott was also made editor of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald. From 1915 until his retirement in 1937, he was a field secretary of the General Conference.
Elder Prescott had a burden for preaching. His own sermons were well thought out. That, combined with a full resonant voice and dynamic powerful delivery, made him one of the denominations most popular speakers. In fact, whenever it was announced that W. W. Prescott would be occupying the Tabernacle pulpit, the church was crowded. Especially after the 1888 General Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Elder Prescott’s sermons became very Christ-centered. His admonition to young pastors was, Christ must be the center of every sermon.
ELLEN WHITE’S COMMENTS ABOUT PRESCOTT’S ARMADALE PRESENTATIONS
- October 19, 1895 (Letter w-82, 1895 to son Edson)
“In the evening Prof. Prescott gave a most powerful discourse, instruction precious as gold. The tent was full, and many were standing outside. All seemed to be fascinated with the Word of God as the speaker presented the truth in new lines, separating the truth from the companionship of error, and by the divine influence of the Spirit of God making it to shine like precious jewels…. God has given brother Prescott a special message for the people. The truth comes forth from human lips in the demonstration of the Spirit and power…. The interest awakened exceeds anything we have yet had here in camp-meetings…. Seldom can I give myself the pleasure of listening to discourses from our ministering brethren, but Sabbath forenoon I attended the meeting and heard Prof. Prescott preach. I know that since coming to this place he has had the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, his lips have been touched with a coal from off the altar. We know and can distinguish the voice of the shepherd. The truth has been poured forth from the lips of the servant of God as the people had never heard it before; unbelievers turn pale and say, “that man is inspired.” The people do not stroll about the grounds, but go immediately into the tent and listen as if spellbound.”
- November 6, 1895 (Letter 25, 1895 to S. N. Haskell)
“We are at this time in our camp-meeting having a feast of precious things. The word is presented in a most powerful manner. The Holy Spirit has been poured out upon Brother Prescott in a great measure…. The inspiration of the Spirit of God has been upon him. Unbelievers say, ‘These are the words of God. I never heard such things before.’ We have had the truth presented in clear lines. Bro. Prescott has never had such power in preaching the truth as he has had since coming to this meeting. The unbelievers sit with their eyes riveted on him in amazement, as the truth comes forth from his lips, vitalized by the Spirit of God.”
The Word Became Flesh
By Prof. W. W. Prescott
The Bible Echo: January 6 & 13, 1896
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” The Revised Version says, “The Word became flesh.”
The theme of redemption will be the science and the song of the eternal ages, and well may it occupy our minds during our short stay here. There is no portion of this great theme that makes such a demand upon our minds in order to appreciate it in any degree, as the subject we shall study tonight, —”The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.”
Through Him all things became; now He Himself became. He who had all glory with the Father, now lays aside His glory and becomes flesh. He lays aside His divine mode of existence and takes the human mode of existence, and God becomes manifest in the flesh. This truth is the very foundation of all truth.
And Jesus Christ becoming flesh, God being manifest in the flesh, is one of the most helpful truths, one of the most instructive truths, the truth above all truths, which humanity ought to rejoice in.
I desire this evening (October 31, 1895) to study this question for our personal, present benefit. Let us command our minds to the utmost, because to comprehend that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, demands all our mental powers. Let us consider, first, what kind of flesh; for this is the very foundation of this question as it relates to us personally.
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself hath suffered, being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted.” Hebrews 2:14-18.
That through death, being made subject to death, taking upon Him the flesh of sin, He might, by His dying, destroy him that had the power of death.
“Verily He took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham.” The margin says, “He takes not hold of angels, but of the seed of Abraham He takes hold;” and one version reads, “He helps not angels.”
We see the reason from the next verse: “Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest, in things pertaining to God.” “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ.” Galatians 3:16.
Now verily, He helps the seed of Abraham by Himself becoming the seed of Abraham. God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be revealed in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
So you see that what the Scripture states very plainly is that Jesus Christ had exactly the same flesh that we bear, —flesh of sin, flesh in which we sin, flesh, however, in which He did not sin, but He bore our sins in that flesh of sin. Do not set this point aside. No matter how you may have looked at it in the past, look at it now as it is in the word; and the more you look at it in that way, the more reason you will have to thank God that it is so.
What was the situation? —Adam had sinned, and Adam being the head of the human family, his sin was a typical sin. God made Adam in His own image, but by sin, he lost that image. Then he begat sons and daughters in his image – not in God’s. And so we have descended in the line, but all after his image.
For four thousand years this went on, and then Jesus Christ came, of flesh, and in the flesh, born of a woman, made under the law; born of the Spirit, but in the flesh. And what flesh could He take but the flesh of the time? Not only that, but it was the very flesh He designed to take; because you see, the problem was to help man out of the difficulty into which he had fallen, and man is a free moral agent. He must be helped as a free moral agent. Christ’s work must be, not to destroy him, not to create a new race, but to recreate man, to restore in him the image of God. “We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Hebrews 2:9
God made man a little lower than the angels, but man fell much lower by his sin. Now he is far separated from God; but he is to be brought back again. Jesus Christ came for that work; and in order to do it, He came, not where man was before He fell, but where man was after he fell. This is the lesson of Jacob’s ladder. It rested on the earth where Jacob was, but the topmost round reached to heaven.
When Christ comes to help man out of the pit, He does not come to the edge of the pit and look over, and say, “Come up here, and I will help you back.” If man could help himself up to the point from whence he has fallen, he could do all the rest. If he could help himself one step, he could help himself all the way; but it is because man is utterly ruined, weak, and wounded and broken to pieces, in fact, perfectly helpless, that Jesus Christ come right down where He is, and meets him there. He takes his flesh and He becomes a brother to him. Jesus Christ is a brother to us in the flesh: He was born into the family.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.” He had only one Son, and He gave Him away. And to whom did He give Him? “Unto us a child is born, “Unto Us a Son is Given” Isaiah 9:6.
Sin has made a change even in heaven; for Jesus Christ, because of sin, has taken upon Himself humanity, and today He wears that humanity, and will through all eternity. Jesus Christ became the Son of man as well as the Son of God. He was born into our family. He did not come as an angelic being, but was born into the family, and grew up in it; He was a child, a youth, a young man, a man in the full prime of life, in our family. He is the Son of man, related to us, bearing the flesh that we bear.
Adam was the representative of the family; therefore his sin was a representative sin. When Jesus Christ came, He came to take the place in which Adam had failed. “And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” 1 Corinthians 15:45. The second Adam is the man Christ Jesus, and He came down to unite the human family with the divine family. God is spoken of as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, came Himself to this part of the family, that He might win it back again, that there might be a reunited family in the kingdom of God.
He came and took the flesh of sin that this family had brought upon itself and wrought out salvation for them, condemning sin in the flesh.Adam failed in his place, and by the offence of one many were made sinners. Jesus Christ gave Himself, not only for us, but to us, uniting Himself to the family, in order that He might take the place of the first Adam, and as head of the family win back what was lost by the first Adam. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is representative righteousness, just as the sin of Adam was a representative sin, and Jesus Christ, as the second Adam, gathered to Himself the whole family.
But since the first Adam took his place, there has been a change, and humanity is sinful humanity. The power of righteousness has been lost. To redeem man from the place unto which he had fallen, Jesus Christ comes, and takes the very flesh now borne by humanity; He comes in sinful flesh, and takes the case where Adam tried it and failed. He became, not a man, but He became flesh; He became human, and gathered all humanity unto Himself, embraced it in His own infinite mind, and stood as the representative of the whole human family.
Adam was tempted at the very first on the question of appetite. Christ came, and after a forty days’ fast the devil tempted Him to use His divine power to feed Himself. And notice, it was in sinful flesh that He was tempted, not the flesh in which Adam fell. This is wondrous truth, but I am wondrous glad that it is so. It follows at once that by birth, by being born into the same family, Jesus Christ is my brother in the flesh, “for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren.” Hebrews 2:11.
He has come into the family, identified Himself with the family, is both father of the family and brother of the family. As father of the family, He stands for the family. He came to redeem the family, condemning sin in the flesh, uniting divinity with flesh of sin. Jesus Christ made the connection between God and man that the divine spirit might rest upon humanity. He made the way for humanity. He Hath Borne Our Grief’s.
And He came right near to us. He is not one step away from one of us. He “was made in the likeness of men.” Philippians 2:7. He is now made in the likeness of man, and at the same time He holds His divinity; He is the divine Son of God. And so, by His divinity joining itself to humanity, He will restore man to the likeness of God. Jesus Christ, in taking the place of Adam, took our flesh. He took our place completely, in order that we might take His place. He took our place with all its consequences, and that meant death, in order that we might take His place with all its consequences, and that is life eternal.
“For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21.
He was not a sinner; but He invited God to treat Him as if He were a sinner, in order that we, who were sinners, might be treated as if we were righteous. “Surely He hath borne our grief’s and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Isaiah 53:4. The sorrows that He bore were our sorrows, and it is actually true that He did so identify Himself with our human nature as to bear in Himself all the sorrows and all the grief’s of all the human family. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.” What was bruising to Him was healing to us, and He was bruised in order that we might be healed. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:6. And then He died because on Him was laid the iniquity of us all. There was no sin in Him, but the sins of the whole world were laid on Him. Behold the Lamb of God, which bears the sins of the whole world. “And He is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2
I want your minds to grasp the truth, that, no matter whether a man repents or not, yet Christ has borne his grief’s, his sins, his sorrows, and he is invited to lay them on Christ. If every sinner in this world should repent with all his soul, and turn to Christ, the price has been paid. Jesus did not wait for us to repent before He died for us. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Christ has died in behalf of every single soul here; He has borne their grief and carried their sorrow; He simply asks us to lay them on Him, and let Him bear them.
Furthermore, every one of us was represented in Jesus Christ when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. We were all there in Jesus Christ. We were all represented in Adam after the flesh; and when Christ came as the second Adam, He stepped into the place of the first Adam, and thus we are all represented in Him, He invites us to step into the spiritual family. He has formed this new family, of which He is the head. He is the new man. In Him we have the union of the divine and the human.
In that new family, every one of us is represented. “Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.” Hebrews 7. 9, 10.
When Melchisedec went out to meet Abraham returning from the spoil, Abraham paid to him a tenth of all. Levi was still in the loins of his father Abraham; but inasmuch as he was a descendant of Abraham, what Abraham did, the Scripture says that Levi did in Abraham. Levi descended from Abraham according to the flesh. He had not been born when Abraham paid tithe; but in that Abraham paid tithe, he paid tithe also. It is exactly so in this spiritual family. What Christ did as head of this new family, we did in Him. He was our representative; He became flesh; He became we.
He did not become simply a man, but He became flesh, and every one that should be born into His family was represented in Jesus Christ when He lived here in the flesh. You see, then, that all that Christ did, every one who connects himself with this family is given credit for as doing it in Christ.Christ was not a representative outside him, disconnected from him; but as Levi paid tithe in Abraham, every one who should afterwards be born into this spiritual family, did what Christ did.
See what this means with reference to vicarious suffering. It was not that Jesus Christ came from outside, and simply stepped into our place as an outsider; but by joining Himself to us by birth, all humanity was brought together in the divine head, Jesus Christ. He suffered on the cross. Then it was the whole family in Jesus Christ that was crucified. “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead,” or as the Revised Version says, “All died.” 2 Corinthians 5:14.
What we want in our experience is to enter into the fact that we did die in Him. But while it is true that Jesus Christ paid the whole price, bore every grief, was humanity itself, yet it is also true that no man receives benefit from that except he receives Christ, except he is born again.
Only those who are twice born can enter into the kingdom of God. Those who are born in the flesh must be born again, born of the Spirit, in order that what Jesus Christ did in the flesh, we may avail ourselves of so that we may really be in Him.
The work of Christ is to bestow the character of God on us; and in the meantime God looks upon Christ and His perfect character instead of upon our sinful character. The very moment that we let Christ empty us of self and believe on Jesus Christ; receive Him as our personal Saviour; God looks upon Him as our personal representative. Then He does not see us – He sees Christ.
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5.
There is a man in heaven now, —the man Christ Jesus, —bearing our human nature; but it is no longer a flesh of sin; it is glorified. Having come here and lived in a flesh of sin, He died; and in that He died, He died unto sin; and in that He lives, He lives unto God. When He died, He freed Himself from the flesh of sin, and He was raised glorified. Jesus Christ came here as our representative, traveled the path back to heaven in the family, died unto sin, and was raised glorified. He lived as the Son of man, grew up as the Son of man, ascended as the Son of man, and today, Jesus Christ, our own representative, our own brother, the man Christ Jesus, is in heaven, living to make intercession for us.
He has been through every one of our experiences. Does not He know what the cross means? He went to heaven by the way of the cross, and He says, “Come.” That is what Christ has done by becoming flesh. Our human minds stand appalled before the problem. How shall we express in human language what was done for us, when “the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us”? How shall we express what God has given to us? When He gave His Son, He gave the most precious gift of heaven, and He gave Him never to take Him back again. To all eternity the Son of man will bear in His body the marks that sin made; forever He will be Jesus Christ, our Saviour, our Elder Brother. That is what God has done for us in giving His Son to us.
This union of the divine and the human has brought Jesus Christ very near to us. There is not one too low down for Christ not to be there with him. He identified Himself completely with this human family. In the judgment, when the rewards and punishments are meted out, He says, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these. My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” One version reads, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My little brothers, ye have done it unto Me.” Christ looks upon every one of the human family as His.
When humanity suffers, He suffers. He is humanity; He has joined Himself to this family. He is our head; and when in any part of the body there is a throb of pain felt, the head feels that throb of pain. He has united Himself with us, thus uniting us with God; for we read in Matthew: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”
Jesus Christ thus united Himself with the human family that He might be with us by being in us, just as God was with Him by being in Him. The very purpose of His work was that He might be in us, and that, as He represented the Father, so the children, the Father, and the Elder Brother might be united in Him. 
Let us see what His thought was in His last prayer: “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us.” “And the glory which Thou gave Me, I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them as Thou hast loved Me. Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me; for Thou loved Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee; but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared Thy name unto them, and will declare it.” And the last words of His prayer were: “That the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:21-26. And as He was ascending, His parting words to His disciples were, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20.
By being in us, He is with us always, and that this might be possible, that He might be in us, He came and took our flesh.
This also is the way in which the holiness of Jesus works. He had holiness that enabled him to come and dwell in sinful flesh, and glorify sinful flesh by His presence in it; and that is what He did so that when He was raised from the dead, He was glorified. His purpose was that having purified sinful flesh by His indwelling presence, He might now come and purify sinful flesh in us, and glorify sinful flesh in us.
He “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.” Philippians 3: 21. “For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:29
Let me say that in this idea is bound up the whole question of predestination. There is predestination; it is a predestination of character. There is an election; it is an election of character. Everyone who believes on Jesus Christ is elected, and all the power of God is behind that election, that he shall bear the image of God. Bearing that image, he is predestinated to all eternity in Christ’s kingdom; but everyone who does not bear the image of God is predestinated unto death. It is a predestination of God in Christ Jesus. Christ provides the character and gives it to anyone who will believe in Him.
Let us enter into the experience that God has given Jesus Christ to us to dwell in our sinful flesh, to work out in our sinful flesh what He worked out when He was here. He came and lived here that we might through Him reflect the image of God. This is the very heart of Christianity. Anything contrary to it is not Christianity.
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God.” 1 John 4:1-3.
Now that cannot mean simply to acknowledge that Jesus Christ was here and lived in the flesh. The devils made that acknowledgement. They knew that Christ had come in the flesh. The faith that comes by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus Christ is come in my flesh; He dwells in my flesh; I have received Him.” That is the heart and life of Christianity.
The difficulty with the Christianity of today is that Christ does not dwell in the hearts of those professing His name. He is an outsider, one looked at from afar, as an example. But He is more than an example to us. He made known to us what God’s ideal of humanity is, and then He came and lived it out before us, that we might see what it is to be in the image of God. Then He died, and ascended to His Father, sending forth His Spirit, His own representative, to live in us, that the life, which He lived in the flesh, we may live over again. This is Christianity.
It is not enough to talk of Christ and of the beauty of His character. Christianity without Christ dwelling in the heart is not Christianity. He only is a genuine Christian who has Christ dwelling in his heart, and we can live the life of Christ only by having Him dwelling in us. He wants us to lay hold upon the life and power of Christianity. Do not be satisfied with anything else. Heed no one who would lead you in any other path. “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” His power, His indwelling presence, that is Christianity.
That is what we need today; and I am thankful that there are hearts that are longing for that experience, and who will recognize it when it comes. It does not make any difference what your name or denomination has been. Recognize Jesus Christ, and let Him dwell in you. By following where He leads, we shall know what Christian experience is, and what it is to dwell in the light of His presence. I tell you this is a wondrous truth. Human language cannot put more into human thought or language than is said in these words: “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us.” This is our salvation.
Fully Restored Gospel Under Attack
Every Thanksgiving as a child, we’d sit down and watch the Charlie Brown Christmas Movie. I’m not sure if it was the music or the heartwarming ending, but for some reason, I was drawn to the silly rebuttal of commercialism, Charlie Brown’s constant cry for the true meaning of Christmas, and Linus’ simple definition of bringing glory to the newborn King. Although Linus so beautifully depicted the true meaning of Christmas by reading from Luke 2:8-14, there is so much more to be said about the newborn King. John 1:14 declares that the “Word became Flesh and dwelt among us,” defining for people everywhere who the King truly is. This is not just good news for the coming Christmas season. This is good news for all people, at all times, everywhere.
John, the son of Zebedee wrote the gospel according to John. He was one of the original twelve disciples, and his audience originally consisted of both Jews and Gentiles in and around Ephesus. In John’s Gospel, he describes who Jesus is and what He has done.
“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.”
When John says the “Word became flesh,” he is referring to God taking on humanity through Jesus. This means that Jesus is eternally one with God (John 1:1-2) and reveals the Father to us as the only begotten Son (John 3:16). The event John is describing in John 1:14 is the most spectacular event in history. God—being completely just, holy, sovereign, infinite, loving, and omnipresent—clothed Himself in humanity and lived among us in Jesus, as one who is both God and man (John 1:18). The “Word became flesh” not only means that Jesus is fully God and fully man but implies that Jesus has fulfilled all Old Testament prophecies.
The ‘Word Became Flesh’ Means That Jesus Fulfills All Old Testament Prophecies
If we believe that the Bible is one unified story about Jesus, then Jesus being born into the world—becoming flesh—does not just mean He was a baby born in a stable, but rather the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecies (2 Corinthians 1:20). Starting in Genesis 3:15 Jesus is said to be coming as the rescuer of all humanity from sin and Satan. Jeremiah 23:5 proclaims that Jesus will be from the tribe of Jesse—a king that deals just and wisely with all. Finally, we see in Isaiah 7:14 that Jesus is prophesied to be born of a virgin, having God alone as His Father, and being called Immanuel—God with us. Each of these prophecies is fulfilled as Jesus is conceived by the virgin Mary (Luke 1:28-38), from the line of Jesse (Matthew 1:5-6), and has ultimately defeated sin, Satan, and death as He bore the weight of the world on the cross and rose from the grave. God becoming flesh means the rescuer we needed in Genesis 3:15 has finally come, and He has come to stay and dwell among us.
The ‘Word Became Flesh’ Means That Jesus Dwells Among Us
Believing that Jesus is the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecies, ultimately leads us to believe the truth of what comes after the “Word became flesh”. Jesus came down as a human, but Jesus also dwelt among us and became the greater Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19). Where Moses provided the first tabernacle and place that God dwelled among His people, Jesus literally dwelt, or ‘tabernacled’ among us—as the ultimate picture of God’s glory and grace (John 1:17).
Jesus dwelled among His creation during His lifetime and sent the Holy Spirit to be with us when He resurrected. In Isaiah 11:2 and 5, Isaiah prophesied that the Spirit would rest upon Jesus, and his prophecy came to fruition in John 1:29-32. As Jesus is being baptized by John the Baptist, we see the Spirit descend and remain on Jesus throughout His ministry. Later, when He rose from the grave, defeating all sin and death, He made way for the Spirit to reside in us also (John 14:15-31).
He not only fulfills God being with His people in the tabernacle and physical temple but through the Holy Spirit makes way for the individual and church to become a temple (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19). Jesus becoming flesh means that God dwells with His people permanently, never leaving us alone.
“All things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” — Colossians 1:16-20
The Word Became Flesh Means We Can Experience the Glory, Grace, and Truth of God
Because Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us, we can experience His glory, grace, and truth through belief in the gospel. Jesus is ultimately glorious, as fully God, fully man, and the ultimate redeemer of all of humanity. Jesus didn’t just come to be clothed in humanity, but He came to live, die, and rise again for our sakes. His sacrifice on the cross reconciled us back to the Father, fully pardoning our sin and providing abundant, joyful life now and into eternity through belief in Him.
If we believe in the resurrection, then Jesus dwelling within us through the Holy Spirit makes it so that we are fully seen and fully known. This means we no longer have to hide in the shame of our past or present, but we can rejoice in the fact that the full wrath of God has been placed upon Jesus in our place. We may seek to cover ourselves, our sin, and our shame, but in Jesus, we are fully seen, fully known, and fully loved. This acceptance is not of our own doing, but of the grace of God. Through belief in the gospel, we become the children of God (John 1:12) and are given the righteousness of Christ in place of our sin and shame. This glory, grace, and truth lead us to exalt God with all that we have and all that we are. We rejoice in His work, trust in His truth, live by His grace, and praise His name alone.
The Word Became Flesh Is the True Meaning of Christmas
Christmas is not about our gifts, or world peace, or the very exaggerated tale of Saint Nicholas. Christmas is the celebration of the long-awaited messiah fully and completely fulfilling this verse in John 1:14. He became flesh, and because He did, He lived and conquered all sin, all shame, and all death for our sakes. Christmas is not just about a sweet babe swaddled up and laid in a feeding trough. Christmas is about what Jesus in the flesh means for every other day of the year. The holiday is simply a reminder to recenter our hearts and mind on the goodness and graciousness of a God who desires all people to know Him and make Him known.
For the glory that was brought forth on Christmas day thousands of years ago, is the same glory we get to experience today. And we get to experience it with even more fullness because we did not just witness His birth, but we get to experience His life, death, and resurrection through the Word of God. We get to place our faith in a God who knows our needs, who experienced our human temptation and pain, who has felt our anxiety, and felt burdened by loss. Christmas is not just about a baby, Christmas is about the God-man who has made His home with us, bestowed His power upon us, provided ultimate joy and satisfaction in His glory, and pardoned our sin to give us life now and into eternity.
Let us not forget this as we go into the holiday season each year. Let us not be tempted to allow our hearts to be calloused to the true meaning of Christmas. For Christmas is ultimately about God’s kingdom coming down from heaven to earth, and about the fulfillment of all promises coming true.
The peanuts gang all come together to sing one song at the end of Charlie Brown, and that is how I’d like to leave us today. With this song written on our hearts, glorifying the King.
Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King; Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.» Joyful all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies; With th’ angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem.
Hark! the herald angels sing, Christ is born in Bethlehem. Christ, by highest heaven adored Christ, the everlasting Lord;
Late in time behold Him come Offspring of a virgin’s womb. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail th’ Incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with man to dwell; Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/jchizhe
Stephanie Englehart is a Seattle native, church planter’s wife, mama, and lover of all things coffee, the great outdoors, and fine (easy to make) food. Stephanie is passionate about allowing God to use her honest thoughts and confessions to bring gospel application to life. You can read more of what she writes on the Ever Sing blog at stephaniemenglehart.com or follow her on Instagram: @stephaniemenglehart.
This article is part of our larger resource library of popular Bible verse phrases and quotes. We want to provide easy to read articles that answer your questions about the meaning, origin, and history of specific verses within Scripture’s context. It is our hope that these will help you better understand the meaning and purpose of God’s Word in relation to your life today.
This Is the Day the Lord Has Made
Iron Sharpens Iron
Blessed Are the Peacemakers
Faith without Works Is Dead
Be Anxious for Nothing
Introduction
It is written, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14, NKJV).[i] This verse is one of the most popular in the New Testament, and it points to Yeshua as the Divine Messiah, God in human form, who was manifest and revealed to the creation. However, what exactly did the Apostle John mean when he said, “the Word became flesh?” In a general sense, the Word is the bible. But how does paper or parchment turn into living flesh? I believe there is more for us to understand from scripture.
The One Who Dwells
The rabbis teach us that the Word of God is referred to as the Shechinah (שכינה) pronounced Shekhina in English. The word derives from the root Shechen (שכן), which means to dwell. Although not written in scripture, the term is used to describe God’s manifest glory or His visible presence in the creation.[ii] Interestingly, the Hebrew phrase “words of the living God” (דברי אלקים חיים), appears in the plural form,[iii] which, in my opinion, confirms the plurality of God’s nature—One God revealed in multiple ways.
The sages acknowledge that God occupies physical space, and factually, He exists at the center of all He created and enables their existence.[iv] Rabbinic sage Nehunya ben HaKanah said: “God is the place of the world.” The sages further articulate that the part of the Divine sphere that interacts with man is the Shechinah. This interaction represents God in the lower spheres, which I call the natural realm. As it is written, “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in” (Isaiah 40:22).
The rabbis also refer to the Word of God as the “breath of His mouth” and His Malchut (Kingship), for they say: “the Word of a king (Melech—מלך) rules and a king rules his kingdom through his speech, which is his Word (Milah—מילה).”[v] Therefore, we surmise, the Word of God is His breath and His speech. Both are tangible and audible and correlate with God’s manifest, i.e., revealed presence (the Shechinah) within creation and His Lordship (Malchut) over all creation. These, again, also show the plurality of God’s nature.
We now understand that the Word of God (His Shechinah) both dwells (Shochen—שוכן) and vests itself in created beings, giving them life. And we know that Yeshua is the King who presently dwells (Shochen) within us and will one day dwell and live amongst us, communicating and communing as the King of Kings through His speech. He is the one who holds the keys to life in His hand, and He gives life to all men.[vi]
Yeshua also gives us His peace and His rest, which is called a Sabbath, as it is written, “For we who have believed do enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:3). The sages also tell us two Sabbaths are associated with each week. One being the eternity that existed before the creation. The other is the elevation of the Son of God to His throne, the Sabbath of the Messianic Kingdom. It is written, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32). Therefore, the Shechinah, Christ, is both the Sabbath and the Kingship (Malchut), and the Sabbath is God’s presence in the world.
Additionally, the rabbis refer to the Sabbath as the bride and the lower Garden of Eden. God calls us His bride, as it is written, “For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth” (Isaiah 54:5). And now, the church, the ecclesia of God, is the Bride of Christ and includes the Gentiles who have been called by His name.
The church has not replaced Israel. Instead, the nations have been grafted into Israel to become one with the Jewish people and one new man in Christ. Yeshua is the incarnate God who is one with His Heavenly Father, as He said, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). In Christ, the wall of separation between Israel and the nations has been removed. And now one with each other, and one with Christ and our Heavenly Father. Yeshua is our rest and our Sabbath, and we are His; as it is written, “My beloved is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the lilies” (Song of Solomon 2:16).
In Christ, through the New Covenant, the church has inherited both the physical presence of God (the Shechinah) and His written Word (spoken to Moses and the prophets). These now dwell within our hearts and minds.[vii] As the Lord said, “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts” (Jeremiah 31:33). In Jewish understanding, the heart and mind are the same. Therefore, the fullness of God now lives within us, as Yeshua declared, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We (plural) will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23).
God’s written Word and Yeshua, His living Word made flesh and revealed to the creation, are inseparable. Therefore, Yeshua and the Shechinah must be one, wholly united within themselves. One does not annul the other, nor did God’s Word vanish when Yeshua came to the earth. On the contrary, God’s written Word came to life. Hence we read, the “Word became flesh.”
The Shechinah and Prophesy
There is a mysterious correlation between the Shechinah, the Holy Spirit, and God’s Divine Light or glory (Kavod). Of course, they are not necessarily the same. Yet all of them signify some form of Divine immanence, and both the Shechinah and Holy Spirit are commonly associated with prophecy.[viii]
Our Sages, of blessed memory, said that: “The Shechinah spoke from the throat of Moses.” They believed that Moses was so translucent because of his utmost humility towards God that when he prophesied, he did not just relay God’s message; instead, the Shechinah spoke directly through his mouth.
We also see with the prophets and those possessed of the Holy Spirit that it was the supernal voice and speech of God that vested itself in their actual voice and speech. So it is written, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2). Paul affirmed this when he said, “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers” (Acts 28:25). And we see this happening on the Day of Pentecost, as it is written, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4).
The Law and the Prophets
God communicated His Law and instruction (which is called the Torah) through Moses to Israel, revealing His knowledge and wisdom. The Psalmist declared, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul…” (Psalm 19:7). If God’s Law were so perfect, why could Israel not receive God’s salvation by obeying the Law?
We know from Jeremiah that “The heart [of man] is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked…” (Jeremiah 17:9). So again, from Isaiah, we read, “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him [Christ Yeshua] the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). And Paul said, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10).
God has laid our iniquity on Christ. Thus, it is written, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). God did not just take away our sins. He became our sin. And this was a debt we could never repay.
When the Lord spoke through His holy prophets, what did the Shechinah communicate? The Lord told of a mysterious one who was to come and deliver Israel, and ultimately, all humanity from the curse of the Law—the law of sin and death. Israel had brought this curse of the Law upon itself because of her iniquity and their fallen, corrupt nature. We are also incapable of converting our souls through the works of the Law.[ix]
But this mysterious one, the Christ, would reveal God’s heart of love and mercy towards humanity, demonstrating His ultimate plan to restore us to the heart of the Law itself—the law of love, compassion, and kindness.[x] So it is written, “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
There is no problem with God’s Law. The issue has continuously resided with us; imperfect and fallen men and women birthed in iniquity.[xi] It would take the shed blood of Christ and the breath of God to make us a new creation in Him, for it is written, “And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:22-23).
The Law of Moses (the Torah) came with the curse of the Law for those who broke it. And yet, in Jewish tradition, the Torah is correlated with the right hand of God, which is His attribute of kindness (Chesed). Thus, it is written, “Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand…” (Psalm 17:7).[xii] Therefore, with its limited priesthood and temporary covering for sin through the shedding of animal blood, the Torah effectively demonstrated God’s grace and mercy towards Israel. Still, we know the Mosaic covenant was temporary, as it is written, “Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22).
Living Water
The rabbis have compared the Torah to water. Just as water descends from a higher level to a lower level, so has the knowledge and wisdom of God been brought down to ours. Using this analogy of water (emphasis added), the rabbis tell us: “From there [the heavenly realm] the Torah has journeyed in a descent through hidden stages, stage after stage, in the chain-like order of interconnected spiritual [heavenly] ‘Worlds,’ until it clothed itself in material matters and things of this corporeal world, which comprise nearly all the Torah’s commandments and their laws.”
Wow! The rabbis prophetically declared, “until the Torah clothed itself in material matters.” That sounds like the Word of God becoming flesh.
Yeshua certainly understood these prophetic teachings of the rabbis when He said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). I believe it is an inescapable conclusion that Yeshua is the Torah made flesh. He is the living water,[xiii] which is the wisdom, knowledge, and most importantly, the heart of God who has come down to our level and become manifest to us as both His Shechinah (His Divine presence) and His Malchut (His Divine Kingship). Alas, the Words of the Torah became flesh.
The Bread of Life
Yeshua also referred to Himself as the bread of life. It is written, “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:33). Water is a primary ingredient in making bread. Yeshua combined these two elements when He said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). Once again, the Words of the Torah became flesh.
These verses from Yeshua affirm that we need both bread and water to survive spiritually—bread, which is analogous to the written Word of God, and water which is comparable to the Holy Spirit. Combining these gives us the fullness of God’s written Word, which now comes to life by the revelation and instruction of the Holy Spirit. It also comes to life in the person of Yeshua, the fullness of God’s written Word and Spirit revealed to humanity. Yeshua is both the dwelling and indwelling presence of the Shechinah. The Words of the Torah became flesh.
Christ—The Embodiment of the Law
Everything concerning the Law and the prophets was and is to be fulfilled in Christ, for it is written, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me” (Luke 24:44). Yeshua said, “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18).
Therefore, all of scripture points to Christ,[xiv] who is not only the one who would exclusively fulfill the commandments and ordinances of the Law but is the one who solely is the embodiment of the Law itself. Thus, the Words of the Torah became flesh.
The Infinite Light
The rabbis refer to God, the Holy One, blessed be He, as the Infinite Light (the Ein Sof). The Hebrew word Baruch (blessed— ברוך), also means to descend and be revealed. God’s greatness can never be fathomed, and no thought can apprehend Him at all. God’s will and His wisdom are infinite and unfathomable, as it is written, “Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite” (Psalm 147:5). “His understanding is unsearchable” (Isaiah 40:28).
Therefore, human thought is incapable of grasping Divine thought.[xv] How, then, can the rabbis say that in understanding the Torah, that man can comprehend God’s wisdom? They explain that “God compressed and lowered His wisdom, clothing it in the physical terms and objects of Torah and its commandments, so that it might be accessible to human intelligence, in order that man may thereby be united with God.”[xvi] Thus, the Words of the Torah became flesh.
Revelation Out of Concealment
The Divine light in scripture signifies revelation out of concealment. The light (which is truth) that was previously concealed within its luminary source is now drawn from its source and revealed as light (truth). Thus, it is written, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life…’“ (John 14:6). And the Apostle John declared, “And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
When God’s concealed light is in a state of revelation, it is called an utterance. They also refer to it as the “Word and the breath of His mouth.” Therefore, we conclude that Divine speech utters and reveals that which was previously concealed.[xvii] As it is written, “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice [utterance] came from heaven which said, ‘You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:22). Paul said (uttered), “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32).
This descent of God in bodily form is the purpose of the Shechinah to reveal to the world the light, which is higher than the world. Therefore, the Shechinah was and is the level from which life and vitality are drawn down and revealed to all God’s creation.[xviii] God’s revelation is for giving life to His created beings. Hence, the Words of the Torah became flesh.
Chanukah—The Festival of Light
In December, Jewish people all around the world will celebrate Chanukah, the festival of light. In Jewish tradition, the festival is as much a savoring of the darkness as it is a celebration of the light. Rabbi David Seidenberg said: “No one sits in front of the menorah thinking, ‘I can’t wait for these candles to grow so bright that there’s no more darkness.’ On the contrary, darkness is the condition that makes the candles beautiful and sweet.”[xix]
Darkness was necessary so that God’s light would be revealed, for it is written, “Clouds and darkness surround Him” (Psalm 97:2). However, God’s ultimate purpose is not just to show His light (His Shechinah), but ultimately to entirely dispel the darkness in this world, replacing it with His light (Who is the Resurrected Christ and the Word of God, the Torah made flesh). For it is written, “The city [the New Jerusalem] had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light” (Revelation 21:23).
Hebrew—The Holy Tongue
The Holy Tongue, the Hebrew of the Torah, was the language used in creation. And so, all created things are directly affected by their Hebrew names.[xx] It is the Shechinah that emanates the power of God’s speech to utter the Words of Torah into creation, as it is written, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). This verse is a direct reference to Christ. The rabbis teach us that the heavens were made by the Word of God and all their hosts by the breath of His mouth.[xxi]
It is written, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). For this reason, the Shechinah is called our Nefesh (Soul) and our heart.[xxii] We can, therefore, conclude that it was the Shechinah that Divinely spoke creation into existence and breathed life into Adam.
If Yeshua, the last Adam,[xxiii] is the Shechinah of God revealed in human form, we can conclude that it is the Shechinah dwelling within that brings us life. And how does Yeshua bring us life? He does so through His Word, which now comes to life in the Holy Spirit that was sent from our Heavenly Father, as it is written, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26).
Written on our Minds and Hearts
If the Word of God has come to life in us, then what things will the Holy Spirit teach? Primarily, it will be God’s Law, for it is written, “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts…” (Jeremiah 31:33). And what does God’s Law look like when it is written on our hearts and minds? Most significantly, it becomes the full manifest expression of love, for God is love.[xxiv] So Yeshua said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments… He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:15-21).
We can now begin to understand the oneness and unity of God. His written Word is not just a narration of His knowledge and wisdom or a casual description of His perfect nature. God’s Word brings us life because of the truth it communicates to our hearts and minds. God’s Word is life, and it becomes life for all who drink from it, meaning obey and follow it. If God dwells with and within us but does not speak, then His presence cannot bring revelation (which is truth) to illuminate our minds, and His Kingship has no authority over us. Without God’s voice, how are we to be renewed in the spirit of our minds? How can God’s Law and nature be written on our hearts?[xxv] It cannot.
From the moment we accept Yeshua (whose name means salvation) until we go to Him, our walk with the Lord is a lifelong journey of learning and transformation—countless salvation moments. As it is written, “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:15).
Yeshua said, “Do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say” (Luke 12:11-12). The fact that we can presently be with Christ and hear from the one who dwells within us should bring an even greater fullness to our friendship with God.
Closing
One day soon, Christ Yeshua, the Shechinah, our Lord and Savior, and our King will not only dwell within us, but He will also dwell amongst us for all eternity. Yes, the Word of God, the Words of the Torah made flesh, will live with us forever.
At that time, the Shechinah, who the rabbis associated with the Tabernacle of David, will be restored, for it is written, “On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old” (Amos 9:11). For, “Behold, the tabernacle [Shechinah] of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:3).
[i] All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Bible (NKJV) unless otherwise noted, Thomas Nelson Inc., 1982.
[ii] Encyclopedia Britannica.
[iii] The Tanya of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi. Elucidated by Rabbi Yosef Wineberg. Translated from Yiddish by Rabbi Levy Wineberg and Rabbi Sholom B. Wineberg. Edited by Uri Kaploun. Published and copyright by Kehot Publication Society.
[iv] Glotzer, Leonard R. The Fundamentals of Jewish Mysticism: The Book of Creation and Its Commentaries. Jason Aronson, Inc. 1992.
[v] Ibid.
[vi] John 10:28. Revelation 1:18.
[vii] Jeremiah 31:31.
[viii] Ibid. Encyclopedia Britannica.
[ix] 1 Corinthians 15:21.
[x] Proverbs 31:26.
[xi] Psalm 51:5.
[xii] Psalm 18:35, 20:6. Song of Solomon 2:6, 8:3.
[xiii] John 1:4, 6:33, 35, 48.
[xiv] Luke 24:27.
[xv] Job 11:7, Isaiah 55:8.
[xvi] Ibid. The Tanya of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi.
[xvii] Revelation 10:4.
[xviii] Ibid. The Tanya of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi.
[xix] Laufer, Sari. Darkness and Light: Kislev after Pittsburg. Sepharia.
[xx] Ibid. The Tanya of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi.
[xxi] Ibid.
[xxii] Ibid.
[xxiii] 1 Corinthians 15:45.
[xxiv] 1 John 4:8.
[xxv] Ephesians 4:23.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of
grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son
from the Father. (John bore witness to him, and cried, «This was he
of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was
before me.'») And from his fulness have we all received, grace upon
grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came
through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who
is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known.
Let me ascend a flight of five stairs with you this morning
from the invisibility of God to the great Christmas truth—that we may receive (even this morning) grace upon grace from Jesus
Christ. The five steps are here in this text. And we will take them
one at a time.
1. God Is Invisible
The first and lowest step in the flight of five stairs is
that God is invisible. Verse 18: «No one has ever seen God.» What
fools we can make of ourselves by denying what we cannot see.
I received a video recently, put out by the Fund for the
Feminist Majority, called «Abortion for Survival.» We watched it as
a staff a few weeks ago. It is a powerful visual statement of why
pro-abortionists think abortion is utterly necessary as a means of
birth control especially in poor countries. The miseries caused by
unwanted pregnancies among the poor are all graphically
portrayed.
I wondered if the reality of the unborn child would ever be
referred to in the video. It wasn’t. The tacit assumption was that
it didn’t exist. Why? Because you can’t see it. Just like God. At
two points in the film they took a large syringe and squirted a
bloody mass into a dish and said something like, «This is the
result of an eight week abortion; hardly a child.» Which is like
getting your finger caught in a meat grinder and looking at the
remains and saying, «O, I guess it wasn’t a finger after all. So I
really won’t miss it. No harm done.»
At no point in the video was a picture of that baby shown before
it was ground up by abortion. Why? Because the invisibility of the
unborn child is a great help in building up faith in the child’s
non-existence or insignificance.
It’s the same approach that Yuri Gagarin the first Soviet
cosmonaut used in 1961 when he said in space, «I don’t see any God
out here.»
So when John says in verse 18: «No one has ever seen God,» he
poses a problem. If you can’t see him, how can you know him? That’s
step number one in the flight of five stairs in this text: God is
invisible.
2. God Revealed Himself in the Law of Moses
The second step is this: God revealed himself in the law of
Moses before he revealed himself in the Lord Jesus.
This is found in verse 17. Let’s read verses 16 and 17, «And
from his fulness have we all received grace upon grace. For the law
was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus
Christ.» Does that mean that the law of Moses is contrary to grace
and truth—that the law is not gracious and not truthful? I
don’t think so. What verse 17 says is that before the REALITY—the embodiment—of grace and truth came through
Jesus, a WITNESS to that reality came through the law of Moses.
The reason I don’t think verse 17 intends to make a sharp
contrast between the law of Moses and Jesus is what John says about
Moses and the law in other places. For example, in John 3:14 he
says, «As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must
the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have
eternal life.» Here Moses does something gracious and truthful that
points to the grace and truth of Jesus.
Another example is John 5:46 where Jesus says, «If you believed
Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me. But if you do not
believe his writings, how will you believe my words?» Here Moses is
in harmony with Jesus and writing truth about Jesus and his grace.
Finally in John 6:32 Jesus says, «Truly, truly, I say to you, it
was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives
you the true bread from heaven.» This means that the manna in the
wilderness was a gracious gift of God, but it was not the true
bread. It was not the reality of grace itself. It was a witness to
the grace to come, a foretaste of Christ.
So John’s point in verse 17 («The law was given through Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ») is that the law was not
the reality—the embodiment—of grace and truth
themselves, Jesus was. The law was a witness to grace and truth.
Jesus was the fulfillment not the contradiction of the law of
Moses.
That’s step number two in our flight of five stairs. First, God
is invisible. Second, God revealed himself in the law of Moses
before he revealed himself in the Lord Jesus.
3. God Became Human
The third step in the flight of stairs is this: God became
human.
The text begins with this statement. Verse 14 says, «And the
Word became flesh and dwelt among us.» Now to hear the full force
of that verse you have to go back up to verse 1: «In the beginning
was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.» The
Word was God and the Word became flesh. If the Word was God and the
Word became flesh, then God became flesh. God became human. Jesus
Christ was human and Jesus Christ was God.
«The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.» The word for «dwelt»
is the word for «set up a tent» in Greek. I used to think that
implied mainly that he was here only temporarily. But when I looked
up all the places this word occurs in the New Testament, I found
that it doesn’t imply temporary status. For example, in Revelation
21:3 where the eternal new heavens and new earth are described, it
says, «Behold the dwelling [tent!] of God is with men. He will
dwell [pitch his tent!] with them, and they shall be his
people.»
I think what pitching a tent with us implies is that God wants
to be on familiar terms with us. He wants to be close. He wants a
lot of interaction. If you come into a community and build a huge
palace with a wall around it, it says one thing about your desires to
be with the people. But if you pitch a tent in my backyard, you
will probably use my bathroom and eat often at my table. This is
why God became human. He came to pitch a tent in our human backyard so that we would have a lot of dealings with him.
That’s the third step in our flight of stairs. First, God is
invisible. Second, God revealed himself in the law of Moses before
he revealed himself in the Lord Jesus. Third, God became human and
set up his tent among us.
4. In Jesus We See God
The fourth step is that in Jesus we see God. Verse 14 says,
«And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and
truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the
Father.»
Notice: «we have beheld—seen—his glory.» Who does
«his» refer to? It refers to the Word. «The Word became flesh, and
we beheld HIS glory.» «And the Word was with God and the Word was
God.» So in Jesus we behold God—the glory of God.
God Wants to Be Seen and Known in His Son
God came to live in a tent so we can watch him more closely. God
wants to be seen and known in his Son.
The same point is made in verse 18. «No one has ever seen God;
the only Son [other older manuscripts say «the only God»], who is
in the bosom [in the lap or the embrace] of the Father, he has made
him known.» Here the point is that even though God is a Spirit and
is therefore invisible (John 4:24), he has now revealed himself in
an utterly unique way—by the incarnation of himself in his
Son Jesus. In Jesus we see God.
You don’t have to wonder today if there is a baby in the womb of
a woman eight weeks pregnant. And you don’t have to wonder what
it’s like. We have pictures and videos and models and detailed
physiological descriptions.
And so it is with God. You don’t need to be in the dark about
God. He has gone beyond parchment and paper. He has gone beyond
tapes and cassettes. He has gone beyond videos and even beyond live
drama. He has actually come and pitched his tent in our backyard
and beckoned us to watch him and get to know him in the person of
his Son Jesus. When you watch Jesus in action, you watch God in
action. When you hear Jesus teach, you hear God teach. When you
come to know what Jesus is like, you know what God is like.
What Is God Like?
So what is God like? What do we see when we see Jesus? John is
very clear in what he wants to stress. We see the glory of God’s
grace and truth. Verse 14: «The Word became flesh and dwelt among
us; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from
the Father, full of grace and truth.» Then John repeats this in
verse 17, «The law was through Moses, grace and truth came through
Jesus Christ.»
The point is this: the essence of what God reveals about himself
in Jesus is, first, that he is true—that is, he is real,
more real than all that you can see. In a sense everything that
looks so real to us is like a short dream. (2 Corinthians 4:18, «We look
not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.
For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are
unseen are eternal.») God is truth. God is reality. And that is
what we see in Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life.
And second, God is grace. Or as John says in his first letter:
«God is love» (1 John 4:8). God is free and overflowing and lavish
in his goodness to sinful creatures. This is grace. This is the
essence of God’s reality because nothing reveals the fullness
of
his deity more than the freedom of his grace. He is full, happy,
and sufficient in himself so that he does not need us to meet his
need but is surging with infinite energy and fullness to meet ours.
That’s his grace. And that’s the capstone of his glory. «We saw his
glory . . . full of grace and truth.»
That’s step four. First, God is invisible. Second, God revealed
himself in the law of Moses before he revealed himself in the Lord
Jesus. Third, God became human and set up his tent among us.
Fourth, in Jesus we see God and know what he is like: true reality
and fullness of grace.
5. God Came to Give Us Grace; We Must Receive It
Which brings now to the top of our flight of stairs to the
practical Christmas truth.
What is the connection between all this revelation and you?
Verse 16 gives the answer: «And from his fulness have we all
received grace upon grace.» So step five is this: God came not just
to show us grace but to give us grace; and we must receive it.
God doesn’t just want to stock your head with knowledge about
his truth and grace, he wants you to receive it and experience it.
This Christmas he wants to give you personally a foundation of
truth and reality to stand on so you won’t cave in under stress.
This Christmas he wants to treat you with grace—to forgive
all your sins—all of them!—to take away all your
guilt, to make your conscience clean, to help you with your
problems, to give you strength for each day, and to fill you with
hope and joy and peace. Isn’t that the meaning of grace? And isn’t
that why he pitched his tent among us?
But note well the word: «From his fulness we have received grace
upon grace.» Don’t spurn it this morning. Receive it. Welcome it
for what it really is. And let it fill your heart with everlasting
joy—joy to the world!