2020 FOCUSED on The Word, Part 2
Every word of the Bible is true, accurate, and inspired, which is why Jesus said in John 10:35, “the Scripture cannot be broken.” You can’t just take part of it and cast some aside; it’s an all or nothing deal.
But let’s one up it. Let’s take this to a level of awareness that transcends human/worldly reasoning and understanding that makes a difference in hearts and minds.
John 1:1-3 says, “ 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 came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
Who or What is this Word? In John 1, the Greek word translated as “ Word ” is just full of meaning. It is the word logos.
In Greek literature, Socrates and Plato used this word logos not as a part of speech, but as the very thoughts of the gods that somehow made it down to man. The Stoics took logos to mean that it wasn’t just the gods’ thoughts, but that the thoughts and words of the gods took actual physical form in space and time (similar to Genesis 1; God spoke and, *BAM*, it was so).
Philo, a Hebrew scholar who was very Hellenized (of Greek culture), taught in the years before Jesus that the logos of the Old Testament was that which connected God to the world. It’s what allowed man to hear and understand God. It was the spoken word of God that became reality for us.
The Apostle John infuses these two concepts into this word to try the best he can under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to tell us about this supernatural Word that was before the creation of the world. In fact, in verse 1 the word “was” is in the Greek imperfect tense. That means this Word was, still is, and always will be. This Word is eternal! It was with God, meaning it was co-existent yet distinct with God, and yet the Word was God. Again, it was, is, and always will be God. God Himself!
However, in the Jehovah Witness Bible (called the New World Translation) they insert an “a” to say this Word was just “a god” of some kind. That is not found in one single manuscript of John’s Gospel ever discovered.
To emphasize the Word’s true identity even more, verse 3 says, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
Additionally, if you look at verses 2 and 3, what do you discover? Yes, this Word was the agent of creation in Genesis 1, but the Word is also a HE ! You might be thinking, “Yeah, God’s a ‘He.’ So what?” In verse two, He and God are both mentioned and are yet one and the same.
Verse 4 says that in Him, this Word, is life. You could not breathe nor exist today if it were not for this Word. But even more so, verse 4 says that this life is the “Light of men.” Psalm 119:105 states, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” That means this Word as the Light tells man what is moral, what is true, what is righteous, and what is holy. Therefore, the life that is through Him is also eternal.
He was, is, and always will be, and we follow Him because He made us and has offered us eternal life.
Skip down to verse 14 of John 1, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” This Word became a man!
So Who was this Word that, even though He is God the Creator and the Life and Light of man, He would leave that position, empty Himself (Philippians 2:7), and become like one of us? Granted, He would still be God; you just can’t quit that day job. But He would take on the form of one of us, full of its pains, aches and troubles, and come be with us so that we could know Him better than we could ever imagine.
John 1:16-17 proclaims, “For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.”
It’s Jesus! Do you know Him?
After reading what God has told us about Him through John, don’t you think you ought to get to know Him? He’s made quite an effort for you to do so. In fact, if you go back and read it again, who is really the focus of the text?
It’s YOU! It’s ME! It’s EVERYONE!
Despite how awesome, great, and magnificent He is, He took time to make you and me, and then humbled Himself to become one of us that He might save us!
When you realize how badly He wants to know you, have you, save you, and be with you for all eternity, don’t you think that might change how you and I live? Don’t you think that might change what we as the Church do for Him?
If we got to know Jesus, if we were to fall in love with Him once again, if you were to get to know who He really is, what He’s really like, and He became a part of your life like no other companion could ever be, what do you think life would be like?
Don’t you think we’d have the best marriages, the best families?
Don’t you think we’d be the most loving, serving, caring, giving, and charitable people our communities ever met?
Don’t you think we’d be a truly praying church, as we would so badly want to talk with our Heavenly Father?
Don’t you think we would stand upon the Word no matter what would ever happen to us?
Don’t you think God would be well pleased with us?
When we finally see the Word, we finally see Jesus. The everlasting impact of seeing Jesus, of Jesus coming into focus in your life, is indescribable in its life-changing effect.
That is when you will have John 20:20 focus – “After He said this, He showed them His hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. ”
