“In the Beginning was the Word”
“ 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:1-5 (NASB)
“ 9 The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. 13They are reborn - not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God. 14So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. 15John testified about him when he shouted to the crowds, “This is the one I was talking about when I said, ‘Someone is coming after me who is far greater than I am, for he existed long before me.’” 16From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. John 1:9-16 (NLT)
In notable contrast to Matthew and Luke, John gives His own Christmas account. Christmas or advent gives the historic account of God becoming man in the birth of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He was announced in advance of His birth by Gabriel and announced at His birth by a host of angels to the shepherds. John was aware of the other Gospel accounts. However, seeking to record aspects of Jesus' life that were previously unrecorded, John provided a unique look at the life of Christ. John's incarnation account precedes Luke's and Matthew's by quite a bit. Both Matthew and Luke include a genealogical record of Christ. Both Matthew and Luke began their record of Christ’s life with the announcement of His birth followed with details of His first days as an infant. John predates these accounts by an eternity. He goes back in time prior to Mary and Joseph. He goes back in time prior to the Old Testament prophecies concerning Messiah. He even goes back prior to the genealogical records. He goes all the way back to Genesis 1:1. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." John explained something quite profound about the creation of the universe, the Son of God was there. Not only was He there at the creation of the universe, He was the instrumental cause of everything that has come into existence. Angels may have announced His birth, but He spoke those same angels into being. Shepherds and sheep witnessed His announcement, but He created them in His own image. He is more glorious, more majestic, more splendid than our minds can comprehend. He is the very revelation of God in this world. To capture the significance of God’s self-disclosure as found in His Son, Jesus Christ, John referred to Him as the Logos (Word or Message). God revealed Himself to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. When we look at Jesus we see what God is like. When we observe the life, ministry, teachings, death and resurrection, we see the nature of the God of creation. Jesus Christ is God among and with us. He is the Emmanuel.
The Word Became Human…We Have Seen His Glory
“In the beginning was the Word…” but why does that matter to us? It matters because the Word took on human flesh. He became a human being. However, He was different than any other human being. He was “full of unfailing love and faithfulness.” This “grace and truth” as the NASB calls it, demonstrated something fundamentally different in the Word (Logos) than found in any of us. He lived a radically different life, different than anyone ever has or ever will live. From this verse we may conclude that the only way we would ever be able to see the glory of God is through His miraculous life. “And the Word became a human…and we have seen His glory.” Apart from the incarnation, the glory of God cannot be seen or experienced. But now “we have seen His glory,” a glory that comes from His Father and is communicated to us through the incarnation of His Son. To see, know, experience and delight in the glory of God is why we are here. That is why God made us. That is why we have breath in our lungs. He made us to know Him in the fullness of His glory. Prior to human sin, humanity had access to God in all of His glory. However, human sin obliterated our avenue to Him. The holiness of God requires that we must be holy in order to be in His presence. There is no way back to the glory of God unless God does something to provide a way back. No small intervention will do in this restoration plan. Our violation of God’s character, our rebellion against His sovereignty over us, is far too great. It will require something radical. It necessitates an eternal and infinite rescue. In order to restore our access to our Creator, our Creator must take our life upon Himself. He must walk among us, revealing the nature of the glory of God in His unfailing love and faithfulness. Then, in His absolute perfection, He must bear our sin as if He had rebelled and then He must overcome the finality of death by rising again from the dead. In His incarnation, death, and resurrection, the avenue back to the original intent has opened. As John says in verse 16, “From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.”
~ Daniel