This is Part One in a Series of meditations on the incarnation from John chapter one. If you missed the intro post, you can find it here.
Jesus is the Word of God. I’ve been meditating on John chapter one for a while now (months, actually), and I can’t get passed this description.
Words are essential to clear communication. But written words alone can’t always give us a completely accurate picture. Ever sent an email that was completely misinterpreted by someone because your tone and inflection was taken in a totally unintended way?
In Jesus we have a picture of what God is like and who He is–in words, in deeds, in emotion, everything. We don’t exactly have a visual because we are those who believe without having actually seen Him (1 Peter 1:8, John 20:29). (Cheesy nativity scene pictures admittedly don’t help, but alas I have succumbed.) Nothing seen can truly define the unseen God anyway. Maybe that’s why the bible didn’t come complete with an inspired painting of the Lord.
Still, in Jesus Christ, we have the ultimate representation, the ultimate communication about God.
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. Hebrews 1:1-3
This Word was not only spoken or written, but it was translated into real, live humanity. To be seen. To be touched. To be felt. To be heard.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
But more than a mere representation, more than just a communication, the scripture demonstrates that this Word has been around since the beginning. This Word was with God. This Word was God. Emmanuel, God with us, isn’t just a platitude or a nice meaning for a nice person’s name. It describes the very essence of the incarnation itself.
It tells us who Jesus is.
More to come tomorrow. But for now, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you ever longed for God to show Himself to you? Second Corinthians 4:6 says “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” How does this compare with the description of Jesus in John chapter one? How does this meet our longing, at times, to see God?
