In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. ~ John 1:1-4
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. ~ John 1:14-18
In the person of Jesus Christ we have an extraordinary revelation that we all need to ponder and embrace. The Word of the very God we serve, who created all things, became flesh, and is called the Son of God. Maybe I did not say that exactly perfectly, but I hope the magnitude of who this man is will give us all good reasons to pause and worship, because Jesus Christ is the Word of God in human flesh.
In his first epistle, John writes, That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. ~ 1 John 1:1-4
John’s description of Jesus varies here in comparison to his statements in the Gospel of John, because he expounds more fully as to the meaning of Jesus as the Word of God. Here he calls him the Word of life, and describes Jesus as that eternal life that was with the Father from the beginning.
Jesus has always been with the Father. There was never a point in which Jesus did not exist. He has always been with God as a part of God, thus he is God with God. John tells us that Jesus is the eternal life that was with the Father in the begining and has been manifested to us. This immediately takes the mind back to Jesus’s prayer in John 17.
And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. ~ John 17:3-5
As I write this, I am reminded of the Old Testament text which says, He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. ~ Psalm 107:20
In the person of Jesus Christ, God sent his word and healed us. Isaiah says, He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. ~ Isaiah 53:5-6
Peter citing Isaiah says, Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. ~ 1 Peter 2:24-25
When John introduces us to Jesus as the Word of God, he says, In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. ~ John 1:4-5
John goes on to say, There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. ~ John 1:6-11
Notice first that John speaks of the true light, who is also the Word of God coming into the world. He was in the very world (or creation) he had made. Jesus is the Creator who stepped into his own creation to save it. Because of sin, God’s good creation was in darkness, but God sent his word to heal, and the entrance of his word gives light. ~ Psalm 119:130
John tells us, He came unto his own, and his own received him not. In this text, his own refers to Israel because Israel was God’s creation within his creation.
I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King. ~ Isaiah 43:15
Jesus was the God of Israel, or Israel’s creator coming to his people, but Israel as a nation rejected their creator, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name… ~ John 1:12
Jesus came into the world as an Israelite in the flesh, to save the people of Israel who had been created by God as the instrument by which he would save the entirety of his creation. In his wisdom God chose Abraham and swore with an oath that he would bring salvation through Abraham’s seed.
And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, by myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. ~ Genesis 22:15-18
For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. ~ Hebrews 6 13-14
Jesus is the word of promise and the oath God swore to Abraham. Not only so, but he is also the seed that fulfills that promise. He is the Word made flesh!
For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us… ~ Hebrews 6:16-18
The Berean Study Bible says the following regarding the two immutable (unchangeable) things.
The “two unchangeable things” refer to God’s promise and His oath. In the context of Hebrews, this is a reference to God’s promise to Abraham, which is foundational for understanding God’s faithfulness. The unchangeable nature of these things underscores the certainty and reliability of God’s word, reflecting the immutability of His character. This concept is rooted in the Old Testament, where God’s promises are seen as steadfast and eternal (Numbers 23:19).
in which it is impossible for God to lie
This phrase emphasizes the absolute truthfulness of God, a key attribute of His divine nature. The impossibility of God lying is a foundational belief that assures believers of the reliability of His promises. This is consistent with other scriptural affirmations of God’s truthfulness, such as Titus 1:2 and 1 Samuel 15:29. The cultural context of the time, where oaths and promises were binding, further highlights the significance of God’s unbreakable word. ~ Berean Study Bible
When John speaks of Jesus as the Word of God who became flesh, there is a depth that I think we sometimes miss that could deeply impact our own personal lives. John 1:1 is often used as an apologetics text to support the case that Jesus is divine, and it should be referenced in that manner, but on a personal level we would all do well to allow this text to speak to our heart in a much deeper and personal way.
Jesus is the promise and the oath that God made to Abraham. He is God’s own truthfulness and impossibility of lying. When Jesus is referred to as the truth in the New Testament, it underscores this remarkable truth. The one we know as the Son of God is the very truthfulness and faithfulness of God in human flesh. When we consider God’s promise and oath to Abraham that through Abraham’s seed all nations would be blessed, we have the real meaning of what the gospel actually is.
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. ~ Galatians 3:7-8
Paul references the promise and oath God gave to Abraham and calls it the gospel. The gospel that Abraham heard was that God himself would fulfill the promise, thus the Word became flesh!
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. ~ Hebrews 2:14-17
God created the nation of Israel to fulfill his promise and oath to Abraham. When John tells us, He came unto his own, and his own received him not, it was the people of Israel to which John refers as stated earlier. God’s relationship with Israel was in many ways a microcosm of his relationship with the world, thus God created Israel to model humanity’s need for God and God’s response to that need.
Paul tells us whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ~ Romans 3:19
God judges all humanity by the standard he gave to Israel, thus Jesus who is the Jewish Messiah is also the Savior of the whole world.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he swore to our father Abraham… ~ Luke 1:68-73
There it is again, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham! The oath God swore to Abraham was not simply to save one nation, but all nations.
… in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. ~ Genesis 12:3
Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. ~ Acts 3:25
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. ~ Galatians 3:13-16
A distinctive characteristic of the Messianic promises was that the Messiah would bring the knowledge of salvation to all nations.
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and a smoking flax shall he not quench, till he sends forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust. ~ Matthew 12:18-21
And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. ~ Isaiah 49:6
The New Living Translation of Isaiah 49:6 says, He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
In Romans 15 the apostle Paul quoting the Old Testament says the following:
Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. ~ Romans 15:8-12
The Gentiles becoming the people of God through the Messiah of Israel was not an afterthought, but the fulfillment of the promise and oath of God. Jesus is God in the flesh fulfilling his own word! Jesus is both the Word (the promise and the oath) and the seed of Abraham (the fulfillment of the promise and the oath).
Jesus is the Word of God made flesh, who was with God in the beginning, and with regards to our redemption, he is both the promise made and the promise fulfilled. He is the Word of God!
Rooted and Grounded In Christ 