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. (John 1:14)
The Word - Jesus – became flesh and dwelt among us...the One who was with God, the One who IS God, the One who pre-existed Creation, the One who made all things, visible and invisible...this Word became flesh, became human. What does it mean that He became human?
· The unlimited One who has no limits in what He can and cannot do, the One who never grows weary or faints took on the limitations of a human body. Like us he grew tired. He became hungry. He was vulnerable to sickness.
· The One who is Omnipresent, everywhere all at the same time, the One who fills the heavens and the earth, the One who’s presence we cannot hide from ~ If we ascend to heaven, He is there, if we make our bed in Sheol, He is there...this very One took on flesh and dwelt among us limiting Himself to time and space.
· The One who is eternal, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, before the mountains were brought forth or ever He had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting He is God (Ps. 90:2)~ this very same One by taking on flesh and becoming human had a specific day when he was born as a baby and a specific day that he died as a man.
· The One who is all knowing, all wisdom and knowledge is found in Him, His understanding is infinite, there is nothing secret but all things are open and laid before Him, this Omniscient One took on flesh and had to learn to talk and to walk. He grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man.
· The Sovereign King of the universe, who establishes kings and kingdoms according to His purposes, the judge over all the earth, took on flesh, became a servant and submitted himself under the authority of earthly leaders. The King of kings submitted Himself to be judged unjustly by the very rulers He put in place.
This is what it means when we say the Word became flesh. Behold your God! It is just too wondrous to comprehend!
Why? Why did He do this?
Your Creator came down and dwelt with us because we could not go to Him. Banishment from the holy presence of God our creator was a result of the fall and of our sin (Gen. 3). God in His great mercy and grace therefore came to us...to restore us to His presence, to pay the penalty for our sins, free us from our enslavement to sin so that we would live to righteousness, offer forgiveness through His shed blood, and bring us into His family to make us holy like He is holy! “But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those under the Law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.” (Gal. 4:4-7)
All of this truth is all wrapped up in the beautifully simple phrase, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” This is the incredible message of Christmas, this is the incredible message of the entire Bible. This is the incredible message of Christianity.
The Apostle John goes on to say, “we have SEEN HIS GLORY…” I wonder, though, in the midst of the busyness of life, have YOU seen His glory? I mean really seen Him with the eyes of your heart? Have you gazed upon and meditated on the incomprehensible grace upon grace that has been offered to you by your Creator through the Word made flesh? Have you seen this grace and received it? Brought it into your being and allowed it to penetrate your heart, your mind, your soul, your will and your actions? You see, when we see Him for who He is, it calls for a response from us.
Here are a few questions to meditate on this week:
1) What is your response to the Word made flesh...have your received the Word-Jesus-into your life??
2) How has the wonderful gift of the Word being made flesh changed you?
3) How has it changed how your relate to your Creator?
4) How should it change how you relate to those around you?
It is my prayer that our hearts will be stirred with a deep affection for all that God is and all that He has done on our behalf. It is my prayer that from this point forward, we would see Jesus as the supreme treasure that He is, and that we would begin a journey of finding the life that He offers us in an ever-increasing intimate knowledge of Him through the study of His precious Word, leading us to treasuring Him as our supreme love, resulting in living a life overflowing with love to the people that God has placed in our lives.
Merry Christmas to you all with love!
“And this is eternal life, that you may KNOW the One true God, and the One that He sent, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3)
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