In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1 NIV)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14 NIV)
In our little Advent series of posts we’re considering some of the titles of Jesus from John 1:1-18 – a passage often read at carol services. We started with “the Word” and considered how John uses it to point to the divinity and humanity of Jesus. This time we’ll look at why John refers to the Jesus using the title “Word” and consider two more things.
God Creates by the Word
As we mentioned last time, the start of John’s gospel is remarkably similar to the start of Genesis. The link to creation is then made explicit in verse 3:
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (Jn. 1:3 NIV)
God achieved his purposes in creation by the Word. That’s why there is such an emphasis in Genesis 1 on “God said” and then whatever God said happening. Right from the start of the Bible, God creates by the Word.
I think the point here in John is to prepare us for the recreation of the world or the new creation. The language of creation (e.g. light and dark, life) is throughout these verses. And when John returns explicitly to Jesus as creator (John 1:10) it’s to begin talking about those who are born again (in the language of John 3:16!) into God’s family (John 1:12-13). Just as God created by his Word all that time ago in Genesis 1, in the coming of Jesus, the unique God-man, he is acting to reverse the effects of sin on his creation and bring about a new creation and allow us to be in the family. This he will do by his death on the cross taking the punishment for our sin and bring us new life when we believe in him (again John 3:16).
So in the title of the Word we come face to face with God’s critical intervention in the world sending Jesus to fix sin. Something that will, in effect, be a recreation event. We can’t see the work of the baby in the manger as a small thing! John won’t let us.
God Reveals by His Word
The second thing, which is perhaps the most obvious to us in using the title Word, is that it is a divine communication thing. Jesus reveals God to us. When the Word dwells with us we see “the glory” (v.14) and then in v.18 we read:
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. (John 1:18 NIV)
Jesus, as the God-man, is in the unique position to reveal God to us in a way that could not have happened without him. Jesus will say something similar to his disciples in John 14 when Philip asks him to show them the Father:
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:9 NIV)
Now as Christians, we believe that all the Bible is God’s word to us, his revelation. The centre of that word of God (Scripture) is the Word of God (Jesus), because Jesus is the one who ultimately reveals God to us. So we read something similar at the start of Hebrews:
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (Hebrews 1:1-3 NIV)
If you want to know God, then the way is to look at Jesus. And of course if we want to know Jesus, we find it in the written word (the Bible), which is centred on him (Luke 24:25-27 and Luke 24:44-47). That is how, unlike the first disciples who physically saw the resurrected Jesus, we can still believe, because we can still meet Jesus in their testimony (the word of God, the Bible). So Jesus says:
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29 NIV)
Recognizing that Jesus is the Word is a huge thing then. Not only does it identify him as God made flesh – the unique God-man. It points to his work as creator and re-creator. The one come to deal with our sin by his death on the cross. It points us to the one we can know and the one who, if we know him, reveals God to us.
I hope that recognizing Jesus as the Word of God first brings you to Jesus for recreation, i.e. that you receive him and his sacrifice for your sins so you can become and child of God and receive eternal life. I hope too that as you recognize Jesus as the Word of God you will come to the Bible to know God, as you come to know Jesus.