Became Flesh

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

BECAME FLESH

John 1:14-18

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'" 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only,  who is at the Father's side, has made him known.

NIV

To consider that God took on the form of man, his creation is almost mind boggling. Just the idea that a young woman could simply have a child growing within her without having any union with a man, is a miracle in itself. How can anyone deny that it was a God thing? God became flesh, He who is Spirit became flesh. No one has ever seen God, yet there was Jesus, God in the flesh right in front of everyone. In his appearance to Thomas, as we will see sometime later in this gospel, he told Thomas that if he has seen Jesus, he has seen the Father. The big question about that is in what sense was Jesus speaking. Does the Father then have a human-like form? Most scholars and theologians would say no, the Father is a Spirit. But who can know for sure? Who passed in front of Moses? When we read that account of God passing by him, God told Moses he could not see his face, but that he would put his hand in front of Moses until he passed and then allowed Moses to see his back. Was all the language metaphorical? Is seems all the scholars would say so, but we cannot be that sure. To think that God is formless, that he is only a Spirit, sort of suggests he is simply a force rather than a person. Of course that form, that person is not flesh, actually a human type being for he became that when he showed up as the Son, Jesus. When we look at the testimony of John, it is clear he understood that although Jesus appeared as a man, he was far superior to any human being. Again John says that Jesus was from the Fathers side. Does a Spirit have a side? When Jesus went back to heaven he sat at the Fathers right hand. Why would the very words of God be metaphorical? Or have men made that choice? Nevertheless, God came down in the flesh, as a fully formed human being, in the same manner all humans are born, starting as a conception in the womb of a woman and becoming an infant born in the natural way of all human births. The difference he had no DNA of a man, only that of himself and we would have to believe the DNA of his mother, Mary. But then it is possible that is not the case either, for he was fully man. John says that the Law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus. So we have to conclude that grace and truth are far superior to the law, that they supersede the law. But what is grace and truth? The Greek words give us that meaning. As we have known before this Greek word translated as grace is the word Charis, which is the one which means the divine influence upon our heart and how that is reflected in our lives. Is that not what Jesus did? Did he not influence the heart of man? Does he not still influence our heart, the way we think? Truth is simply just that, the reality of what is true, what is, not false or fiction. The truth is Jesus is God in the flesh who came to save us from our sin, which we could not do by any other means. God, himself, satisfied his own need for justice. He redeemed us to himself. What an awesome thought. Yet, so many Christians seem to try to live under some form of law. Do they think that makes them a better Christian? Do they think that makes them more holy? Or is it just because they think God expects a certain type of behavior? Certainly the New Testament is full of behaviors or attitudes we are to rid ourselves of. Surely there is a host of temptations we are to resist. So in some sense there is a standard for our lives. Where is the line between this standard and it becoming the law? Well, we will have to ponder on that as we move through this gospel. For now let us revel in the fact Jesus came into the world and he dwelt and is dwelling among us.