SATURDAY 11th
John 1:14
NIV ‘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.’
ESV ‘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.’
We come today to a verse of Scripture that would easily list in my top ten Bible verses, ‘the Word became flesh’, three words that make an incredible statement, that the second person of the trinity, became a man, God became a man and came to live among mankind.
John is returning to the subject matter of the first verse, ‘the Word’, who in the beginning already was, that is he is eternal, and who was with God, that is co-existing and who was God, that is co-equal, and has now become flesh, that is has become a man. This is so essential in our understanding of who Jesus is, in that while he was fully God, at the same time he became fully man.
When the Word became flesh, (remembering the Word is referring to the Jesus) he did not cease to be God, but he humbled himself as we read in Philippians Chapter 2:6-7 ‘. . . Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.’ And the reason the Word was willing to do this was, (and I list several reasons which are all linked to his redemptive work, and it is a far from exhaustive list)
- Because God loved the world
- Because God sent him
- Because he was willing to come
- Because he was presenting himself to be the sacrifice for sin
- Because he was going to become the one who would redeem and reconcile man back to God
- Because he was going to conquer sin, death, and the grave
- Because he was going to do what nothing else nor no one else could do
- Because he came in the flesh, to live as a man, to die as a man representing man, and to be raised as a man, so that he could be victorious as a man, could ascend as a man, so that there would be a man in glory who has been where we have been, yet without sin and be able to save all who come to him by faith and to intercede on our behalf
Paul continues in Philippians 2 with ‘And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’
There is so much more that could be expounded upon from the wonderful truth that springs from the wonder of the Word becoming flesh, but the ultimate wonder of all is that as a result of God leaving heaven and becoming a man and living on earth, and dying as Saviour, and rising again, etc. we who believe (which was the purpose of John’s gospel) will have life in his name and as a result we will one day go up to where he came from, and what a day glorious day that will be!
The deity of the Lord Jesus Christ is an important part of our Christian faith, it is what marks true Christianity from the cults etc. For we need to have a correct theology of Jesus. We will look briefly at this in our next devotion.
For today, be blessed and encouraged by the good news that because the Word became flesh, there is now a man in the glory, interceding on your behalf.
Romans 8:34 ‘Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.’
And remember what we read in Philippians 4:5-6 ‘THE LORD IS AT HAND, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.’