The Word Became Flesh

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

-John 1:14,NIV.

When my daughter, Katie, was about 4 years old, she approached my husband with a quarter in her hand and asked, “Daddy, whose picture is on this money—is it Jesus?” With a chuckle, my husband replied, “No honey. That is George Washington.”  Satisfied with the answer, she turned the quarter over and inquired again, “Is that his pet?” (Note: This was before the State Quarters came out!)

Even today, people of all ages are questioning just like my daughter, “Who is Jesus?” Lee Strobel in his book, The Case for the Real Jesus references The Washington Post’s website pageOn Faith” in which the reporters invited readers to post their answers to the question, “Who is the real Jesus?” Some of the responses are very sobering.

  • “Jesus was an enlightened being.”
  • “Jesus is about as ‘real’ as Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, or King Arthur.”
  • “Jesus was a man who was nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change.”
  •  “Jesus was a man we should pity more than revile or worship. He suffered from what contemporary psychologists now know to be delusions of grandeur, bipolar disorder, and probably acute schizophrenia.”
  • “Who was Jesus? An apocalyptic prophet who bet wrong and died as a result. He should be ignored, not celebrated.”
  • “Jesus is a fairy tale for grown-ups. Unfortunately, he’s a fairy tale that leads people to bomb clinics, despise women, denigrate reason, and embrace greed. Any behavior can be justified when you have Jesus as your eternal ‘Get out of Jail’ card”.
  • “So who was Jesus? A highly moral person, much like Teresa of Calcutta. No less, but no more.

The Apostle John doesn’t beat around the bush in declaring who he believed was the real Jesus. In fact, in his gospel he starts off with some pretty profound proclamations.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

John 1:1-3 NIV

In just three sentences, he tells us that Jesus is eternal, that he existed before creation. He tells of the personality of the Lord Jesus, that he was with God. And then he makes the astounding announcement, Jesus is God! But wait there’s more! John proceeds with what is to me the most astounding declaration of all in John 1:14. NIV

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

Or as the Message Bible version puts it,

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.

Particularly during this Christmas season, meditating on this remarkable event creates awe and gratitude in my heart.  Just as King David cried out, “O LORD, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him?” Psalm 144:3, I ponder why it is that the God of all creation took on flesh and moved into my so to speak wrong-side-of-the-tracks neighborhood.

As we have already pointed out, the Word existed before this incarnation. We see Him at creation speaking our world into existence. We see Him speaking to Moses in the burning bush. Bible commentators remark of many more Christophanies throughout the Old Testament. In John 1:18, we see that the Word has become flesh so he can make God known to us.

No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

Or as other translations put it, the Word has declared or explained God to us. The life and words of Jesus are an explanation of God’s love toward us. This love would never have been understood, unless the Word had embodied it in human flesh with concern for suffering children, tears for the broken hearted, compassion for the lost, and agony as he gave his life for mankind.

As one writer puts it, we have only just begun to learn the alphabet, the first broken syllables of the Word’s explanation of Almighty God’s love. He is still speaking to us today through the Holy Spirit and the written Word of God, the Bible. And that is what this website is all about—this amazing book, the very Word of God which miraculously explains God’s love by comforting, encouraging and correcting us in our everyday life. LH

(Many of the posts on this website are accompanied by a “Just Say Know” Bible Study broken up into 5 days. The Study is designed to take you no more than 10 minutes each day.) Please feel free to leave comments! If you read His Word, you will truly be Better Off!

“Just Say Know” Bible Study

Day 1              Read Luke 4:4-15

  1. What does the Seed represent?
  2. Describe what Jesus meant regarding the path, the rock, thorns and good soil.
  3. What type of ground do you consider yourself to be today?

Day 2              Read Ephesians 6:13-18; Hebrews 4:12

  1. To what is the Word of God compared to in these scriptures?
  2. In Ephesians 6, which of the armor is an offensive weapon? Spiritually how is it an offensive weapon?
  3. Can you think of a time when Jesus used the Word/scripture as an offensive weapon?
  4. In Hebrews 4, what do you think it means that the Word is ‘living’ and ‘Active’? What does it do?

Day 3              Read 1 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Peter 1:20-21

  1. The scripture was written by men but who inspired it?
  2. What is Scripture useful for?
  3. What does scripture equip us for?

Day 4              Read James 1:22-25; John 7:24-27

  1. According to James, what two things are we to do with the Word?
  2. To what does James compare a person who does not do what the Word says?
  3. To what does Jesus compare a person who does not do what the Word says? Who does what the Word says?

Day 5              Read 119:20,24,47,54,72,97,103,111,127

  1. What theme do you see in these verses?
  2. On a scale of 1 to 10, with David’s admiration of scripture seen in these verses being a ten, how does your appreciation for scripture rank?
  3. Skim through Psalm Chapter 119 and circle any references to the Word/scripture.
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is an aspiring Bounty Hunter who is always looking for God's Bounty-- His grace and goodness-- in the mundane and melancholy as well as in the miraculous. She is also a wife, mother of four adult children--two with Cerebral Palsy, grandmother and minister of the Gospel. "You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance." Psalm 65:11 NLT

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