JOIN US IN CELEBRATING EASTER AT FIVE POINTS:

Screen Shot 2022-11-07 at 11.05.41 AM

John 1:1-4, 14

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of men.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son[a] from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The well-known theologian, J.I. Packer, summarized the miracle of the incarnation so well: "The Christmas message rests on the staggering fact that the child in the manger was-- God." And John begins his gospel unapologetically with this fact. Describing Jesus as "the Word", we are told that He was with God in the beginning and that all creation came through Him! Now when you read verse 1, you probably thought it sounded familiar. That's because John quotes Genesis 1:1, the story of God bringing creation into existence. So why would John begin his gospel this way? Because he wants us to understand Jesus in light of the creation story. That is to say, just as Jesus played a key role in bringing about the first creation, He will also bring about a new creation through His life, death, burial, and resurrection. His incarnation gave us a glimpse of what it will be like in the new heavens and new earth (Revelation 21:1-3): We will be totally freed from sin (John 8:34-36) with bodies that are completely restored (John 9:1-7), experiencing deep fellowship with our brothers and sisters (John 13:34-35). But you know what the most glorious thing about the new creation will be? Jesus will be with us (John 1:14)! We will see Him face to face. And again, all of this will be true because of His death and resurrection.

  • How should the hope of new creation in Christ shape the way that we live now? That is,  how we should we interact with others? Understand the role of the church in our lives? How we spend our time and money? Etc.
  • Jesus is God. How should this shape the way we talk about His birth to others? 

Write a Comment

Comments for this post have been disabled.