John
1:1-5 and 14
The second thing I want us to notice is how
verse 1 and verse 14 fit so well together. Bible scholars call it a
“couplet”…Verse 1 – “In the beginning was the Word” – Verse 14 – “And the Word
was made flesh” - Verse 1 – “and the Word was with God.” – Verse 14 – “and
dwelt among us” - Verse 1 – “and the Word was God” – Verse 14 – “Full of grace
and truth.” It might be easier to see it all put together; “In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was made flesh; and the Word was with God, and dwelt
among us; and the Word was God, full of grace and truth.”
Many people embrace Jesus as Savior, but
don’t want him to be God. They welcome Jesus as a babe in the manger, but not
as “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” Many sing of his birth and come and adore
him at Christmas, but they brazenly reject his authority in their lives the
rest of the year. By doing so, we ignore the core truth of the Christmas story,
and that is that it is not about his infancy, it’s about his Deity! God in a
manger - Emanuel, God with us!
In Colossians chapter 1 – written by the
Apostle Paul – he captures the very essence of the deity of Jesus Christ - “He
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation”… Have you
ever heard someone say “He’s the splitting image of his father?” However, Jesus
wasn’t merely a created being who bore the likeness of God, that’s true of all
humanity, but again the Greek word used here is “eikon” which means “an exact
image, a perfect copy or duplicate”. In verse 19 Paul says “For God was pleased
to have all his fullness dwell in him”… and again in 2:9 he says “For in Christ
all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.” He is not only the Son of
God, the Savior, He is God!
Don’t ever buy into the myth and the lie
that says God made everything, wound it up like some kind of toy, and then went
away leaving everything to work out on its own in a natural sense. Far from
deserting his creation, God has always been a part of His creation. He has
always been involved with and concerned about His creation. He had a plan from
the very beginning that would involve him stepping into the realm of time, and walking
this journey we call life with us. His plan included everything from birth to
death, and while he was here he gave us the most encouraging words we could
ever hear – He said “I am the Lord thy God, and
“Lo, I am with you always”…”Never will I leave you nor forsake you”.
(Matthew 28:20)
When you hear the Christmas story, “Do you
hear what I hear?”… When you see the nativity scene, “Do you see what I see?”…
When you look into the manger, “Do you know what I know?” “Veiled in flesh the
God-head see, Hail the incarnate deity…Pleased as man with men to dwell Jesus
our Immanuel.”
Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year!
From our
house to yours,
Rev Fred
and Judy Flatten
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