Jesus: The Word

Articles

Marshall Reid
06/24/15 - Jesus

“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 were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:1-5).

In the first chapter of John’s gospel, John asserts some very profound and fundamental truths. Consider some of the implications of what the apostle said.

There is an obvious connection between John 1 and Genesis 1. The opening verses of the Bible recounts the story of creation—all by the power of God’s word. “And God said” is recorded with each day of creation. And the opening verses of the gospel of John speak of the Word creating all things that were made. While Genesis 1 doesn’t mention Jesus, it does speak of the plurality of beings known as “God” (Elohim) who are the agents of creation. John reveals that Jesus was indeed there in the beginning and was co-creator.

Light is a prominent theme in John’s writings, and it’s no surprise that he calls Jesus the Light that illuminates the darkness. What was the created on the first day? Light. Not the light from the sun, moon, or stars—those came later. No, the light on the first day was representative of God’s presence and action, just as God is the light in Revelation 21-22 in that picture of eternal rest that the saints have with their Father.

Sin brought darkness into the world of light, and Jesus came to restore the light, to shine forth the way man was meant to go. And the darkness couldn’t overcome the light, even though it tried. Satan killed Jesus. He thought he had extinguished the light. But through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was raised to shine even brighter in the hearts of men. Darkness didn’t win, and darkness won’t win.

Jesus is the Word (the creative word).

Jesus is God.

Jesus is Eternal.

Jesus is Light.

And maybe the most amazing statement of all that John makes is found in verse 14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Think about that for a moment and let it sink in. Jesus, the eternal God, the Creator, the Light, condescended to our level and became one of us. He was weary, hungry, and thirsty. He experienced pain and sadness. He wept. He was tempted. He was just like you and me.

A preacher friend of mine said it this way: “He partook of humanity that we might enjoy divinity. He was afflicted that we might be healed. He was rejected that we might be accepted. He died that we might live. And He arose from the dead that we too may be resurrected to eternal life.” What an amazing God! Such love God has shown for his creation!

What does the Word mean to us? It means Jesus is what the Bible is all about. He is the theme of the Bible. He is the authority. His word is what will judge us. And because he became flesh and lived and died, the Creator for his creation, then we have a responsibility to live for him. “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15).

But living for Christ shouldn’t be a burden. In fact, when we properly understand everything he’s done and our lost condition without him, living for him is a privilege and honor. “We love him because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Jesus made serving you and me the very focus and priority of his life. Shouldn’t he be the focus and priority of our life? Shouldn’t we want to serve him each hour? One day we will all rise from the dead. He has given us the opportunity to rise to the resurrection of eternal life and to be a part of the great heavenly host, living forever with the Word, the Creator, the Light.