Jesus Christ The Word Who Was Made Flesh
John 1:1,14 - “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
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.”
The Epistle of John proclaims the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. This revelation is not directly mentioned in the Old Testament but is clearly disclosed in the New Testament, particularly in the writings of John the Beloved.
John wrote this letter to strengthen the believers' faith and inspire faith in those who had not yet believed. Additionally, he aimed to correct a false teaching that was spreading in the first century. The false doctrine suggested that the "Christ-spirit" descended upon Jesus Christ at His baptism and left Him at the crucifixion, implying that Jesus was not fully God and fully man.
John emphasized that Jesus Christ is "the Son of God," fully divine and fully human, essential to our understanding of the Christian faith.
John includes seven miracles referred to as "signs." These signs are meant to demonstrate the divine nature of Christ and shed light on His ministry. His Gospel is the most theologically focused among the four Gospels and includes stories such as the resurrection of Lazarus that are not found in the other accounts.
Overall, John offers a rich and insightful perspective on the life and teachings of Jesus. He gives the reason behind events mentioned in the other gospels and shares much about the approaching ministry of the Holy Spirit after Jesus’ ascension.
Jesus Christ is introduced, not from His birth, but from “the beginning,” before creation. He calls Jesus “the Word,” who, as God Himself, was involved in every aspect of creation and who later became flesh (verse 14) so that He might take away our sins as the spotless Lamb of God (verse 29).
John includes several spiritual conversations, such as Jesus’ talk with the Samaritan woman that shows Him as the Messiah (John 4:26) and Jesus’ meeting with Nicodemus that explains salvation through His vicarious death on the cross (John 3:14-16). In John’s gospel, Jesus repeatedly angers the Jewish leaders by correcting them (John 2:13-16), healing on the Sabbath, and claiming traits belonging only to God.
In the last nine chapters of the gospel, John deals with the final week of Jesus’ life. Jesus prepares His disciples for His coming death and their ministry after His resurrection and ascension. He then willingly dies on the cross in our place, paying our sin debt in full so that whoever trusts in Him will be saved. Jesus then rises from the dead, convincing even the most doubting of His disciples that He is truly God.
John’s writings continue to fulfill their purpose of evangelizing the lost. The best-known Bible verse, John 3:16, is often used in evangelistic meetings and soul-winning. In the encounters between Jesus and Nicodemus and the woman at the well (chapters 3—4), we learn much from Jesus’ model of personal evangelism. John’s teachings concerning the deity of Christ are helpful in the understanding of who Jesus is and provide a clear revelation that Jesus is fully God and man.
Our Prayer for today:
Dear Precious Lord, we thank You for Your boundless grace and unconditional love that led You to leave Your throne in glory and become like us. You, our loving God, chose to walk among us and show us the way to redemption and salvation for all lost. May the world recognize and appreciate that You are God incarnated in the flesh, the Lamb sacrificed to forgive us and grant us eternal life. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve You, and we pray that You give us the strength to do so until Your return. Thank You for Your endless mercy and compassion. In Jesus' name, Amen.