Word, Light, Flesh (Meditations on John 1)

Several months ago, our small group decided to read through the Gospel of John together, and write down any observations about Jesus. So one night I sat down with a Bible and a notebook to read John 1. Now, it’s not as if I’d never read it before. But that night, it was as if I’d never read it before - or as if I had new eyes to see it. I was gripped by those first few verses in a way that is hard to articulate. But I’m going to try anyway.

Remember the time when Jesus spoke to the storm and it stopped. And when he did this His disciples looked at each other in wonder and awe and said, “Who is this?” I want you to have that same sense of wonder. My goal here is to lead you in worship. And my prayer is that this would not just be a transfer of information, but an encounter with the living Christ, who is present here and now.

So may the eyes of your hearts be opened by the true light, as you behold His glory, full of grace and truth...

I think John 1 is one of the most beautiful passages in all of Scripture. It’s theological poetry. It’s a vivid, expansive description of the One we worship. It reveals so much about who Jesus is, and yet the more you read it, the more you realize He is absolutely beyond our comprehension. So let’s dig in!

“In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

This is basic Christian doctrine. We believe that Jesus Christ is eternally existent. He didn’t just show up in Mary's womb. He is an inseparable part of the mystery of perfect unity that is the Triune God.

Remember the words of Jesus Himself, “Before Abraham was, I AM.” This was a reference to the name that God gave Moses to tell the people of Israel. When Moses asked God, "Who should I say sent me?" And God said, "I AM." This is utterly blasphemous for any man to say – unless He’s God. So before Abraham or Moses - before anything in this universe existed – Christ IS.

Now, John describes Christ here in a very interesting way. He uses the word “Word.”

Words are interesting things. Someone once said that they are the skin around thoughts. Words reveal…or they conceal.

I like watching Meet the Press, but honestly sometimes I have to turn to just turn it off. It seems like people never answer direct questions. They side-step the questions and talk in circles to cover their tracks. And I know what that’s like. I always preferred essay tests in school because I thought I could talk my way out of a question I wasn’t really sure about.

Sometimes when you really don’t know what to say, or want to change the subject, you just use a lot of words.

But the Word of the Lord is not like that. His Word is truth. His Word is alive and powerful. His Word creates. And His Word reveals Who He is.

Now, the actual Greek word that John uses here, “logos,” was used by in Greek philosophy. It held this idea of wisdom, reason, and order. And it’s where we get “logic” or “-ology.” For Aristotle, it was rational discourse or argument. For the Stoic philosophers, it was the active reason pervading the universe and animating it.

So there’s this idea of bringing structure to chaos.

Genesis says that the earth was “formless and empty.” It was chaos. And the Spirit of God, it says, was hovering over the waters.

Remember the time when Jesus walked on the water. It wasn’t the first time. Or when He commanded the storm to cease, and brought order, peace, shalom, into chaos. That wasn’t the first time either. He had done it before.

“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”

When you get the chance, read through the account of creation in Genesis 1. (And if you really want to have some fun, listen to the first 5 minutes of Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" while you're reading.) And as you read, know that Christ is there. John says that “without him nothing was made that has been made.”

Everything in the universe was created by God through His Word – and that Word is Christ. It was through Christ Himself that God worked His masterpiece of Creation. Every molecule that leapt into existence had its origin in Christ –the eternally existent proceeding, revealing Word of God.

Paul has this to say about Christ in Colossians 1 – “He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see – kings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities. Everything has been created through him and for him. He existed before everything else began, and he holds all creation together.”

Hebrews 1 says, “He sustains the universe by the mighty power of his command.”

So not only were all things made THROUGH the Word, they are sustained BY Him. He holds it all together. He is the Logos of God. Just think about that for a moment. He is present here and everywhere more deeply than we can fathom.

“In him was life.”

Now, in Genesis 2, it says that “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

And here John says “in Him was life.” Christ is the source of all life. Remember, He said this about Himself, “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE.” He breathes life into all created things and animates them. Through Him Adam was made from the dust of the earth, and through Him Adam came alive.

In Him we live and move and have our being.

“In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

Have you ever been in total darkness, where you can’t even see your hand? It's a bizarre experience. You feel isolated, alone, out of control, and maybe even afraid.

Have you ever been in a place like that emotionally or spiritually - a "dark night of the soul?" A place where all hope seems lost. A place of chaos. A place of darkness...

John not only describes Christ as the Word, but also as the Light – the true Light. The light that shines in the darkness.

So back to Genesis. Christ is the “Word” that was in the beginning. So what was the first Word that God spoke in creation? LET THERE BE LIGHT! And there was light. The darkness that had covered the surface of the deep was dispensed by the Light that came from Christ, the Word of God. "The darkness has not understood it." Now, that phrase can also be translated, “The darkness has not overcome it.” Light always trumps darkness.

So if you have been a place of darkness, have you heard Him say, “Let there be light?” Because He is still speaking.

“There was a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”

Here is where the story really gets going, where the plot thickens, as it were. This is where John begins to speak of the Incarnation. “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”

Think about this. John equates Christ’s coming into the world as the light of mankind with God’s initial Word, “Let there be light.” The Word of God pierced the darkness at the beginning of creation. And John describes Christ’s coming as a light piercing the darkness.

When I was reading this passage that night, I had this crazy thought. Now, we all know that there are many places in the Old Testament that point to Christ. Types and shadows. What are some of them?

Everything points to Christ. It’s all about Him. God’s provision in Eden. Isaac and the sacrificial ram. The serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness. The sacrificial lamb. On and on and on. All the prophets culminating with John the Baptist pointed to Him and heralded Him.

But here is one I missed. Think about it. What if… what if even the first act of the Creation was itself a type and shadow -- of when the One Who was creating would enter the world that He had made?

“Who is this, that even the wind and the waves obey Him?”

He is the Word. He is the Light. Everything was made by Him and through Him, and everything is FOR Him. He is the Alpha and the Omega. And He is the center. In all things He has the pre-eminence. He is Lord of all!

And now that we know Who we are talking about, with all that in mind, let’s jump to verse 14.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”

The Incarnation – the Word made flesh – the Word with skin on.

Now, have you ever called UPS or FedEx or somewhere else and had a phone conversation with an automated message system. The recorded voice says, "If you want to track a package, please say, Track a package.” And you say, "Track a package." Not a very deep conversation.

When I call my doctor’s office I almost always get voicemail. And I am the worst at leaving messages. I just want to talk to a real person on the other end.

But you know, even a phone conversation is a poor substitute for a real face-to-face encounter. And so is an email. And so is a text. And so is a wall post on Facebook. And so is a tweet. Nothing can replace real human contact.

And this is the beauty of the Incarnation. In Jesus Christ, the Word became flesh. The eternally existent One became fully human. And He was not only a living, powerful Word spoken at Creation or at the top of Mount Sinai – He was Emmanuel: God with us. God among us. God with skin on. God with hands and feet. God who preaches good news to the poor, and liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind. God who is touched with human compassion. God who weeps. God who bleeds.

Paul says in Philippians 2, “Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form.”

In Jesus Christ, the Word and the Light took shape. The “let there be” became.

Paul says it like this in Colossians, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.”

“We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Remember when Moses asked God, “Show me Your glory?” And God said, “You can’t see my glory. You can’t bear it.” So He hid Moses behind the rock, covered him, and passed by Him where Moses could only see His “back side” – where He had just been. And God began to reveal Himself to Moses, “I am the Lord. The compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”

What an experience that must have been. What a powerful revelation of God. And yet, it is not the greatest one.

“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.’ From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.”

The glory of God is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 1 says, “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. But now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son.”

And again in Colossians 1 it says, “For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ.”

In John 8, Philip asks Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father.” And Jesus answers, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!”

It’s all about Jesus.

Jesus Christ is the true revelation of God to us. All of God’s glory, His character, His nature, His power – His very essence – is revealed and embodied in the person of Jesus Christ.

The remainder of Paul’s hymn in Philippians 2 says: “He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross. Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Jesus is Lord of ALL! Not just of private spiritual spaces. Not just of the church. But Lord of the entire Kosmos! Lord of heaven and earth! As the old saying goes, “If He’s not Lord of all, he’s not Lord at all.”

Ephesians 1 says “God's secret plan has now been revealed to us; it is a plan centered on Christ, designed long ago according to his good pleasure. And this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.”

Jesus is Lord of all. And He is making all things new! And one day He will complete the work of New Creation in the new heavens and the new earth. But even now, we see glimpses of it. For if anyone is in Christ, he (or she) is a new creation. And this is the Good News of the Gospel.

Colossians 1 says, “For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and by him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the cross. This includes you who were once so far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now he has brought you back as his friends. He has done this through his death on the cross in his own human body. As a result, he has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.”

Finally, let’s go back to the part of John 1 we skipped, verses 10-13:

“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.”

Moses asked to see the glory of God. And God truly has shown His glory.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. And from the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and by him God reconciled everything to himself.

And that includes us.