Bible Study Materials

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

by   11/29/2019  

Question

1. Verses 1-2. What does the phrase “In the beginning” tell us about the Word? (1a) With whom was the Word? (1b) Who is the Word? (1c,2,14) Think about the glory that he had with God before the world began. 2. Verse 3. Through whom all things were made? What does this tell us about His relationship with the world and us? 3. Verse 4. What does it mean that “In him was life”? How the life in him is related to all mankind? 4. Verse 14. What does the phrase “the Word became flesh” mean? What does phase “made his dwelling among us” mean? What kind of glory is revealed in His incarnation? In what sense does His incarnation display “full of grace and truth”?

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Message

Let’s read John 1:14 together. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus’ life has been recorded in four Gospels. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called “the Synoptic Gospels,” because they are written with a similar point of view. The authors of these Gospels recorded Jesus’ life from an earthly perspective. Matthew saw Jesus as King. Mark saw Jesus as a Servant, while Luke saw Jesus as a Perfect man. John’s gospel was written much later than those Synoptic gospels. John saw Jesus from a heavenly point of view. He saw Jesus as God. Today we will focus on who Jesus really is and why he came to this world. May God give us Christmas message through studying John’s Gospel. First, Jesus is the Word. Look at verse 1 and 2. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.” Here “in the beginning” refers to even before the creation of the world. This verse tells us that Jesus was there in the beginning. The name ‘Jesus’ was given to him through the angel at the time of his birth. But Jesus existed in the beginning as the Word. The Word is the name of Jesus before his birth. Let’s think about the meaning of the Word. The Word is Logos in Greek. It is the expression of thoughts and reasoning, also the Greek believed that Logos is an intelligent force or principle that sustains the universe. But John tells us that Logos is not an impersonal force, but Jesus Christ. Jesus is the full expression of God’s wisdom, thought. Jesus is the revelation of God’s way and truth and life. Jesus is the embodiment of total message of God. And in the beginning the Word was with God and the Word was God. This means Jesus was in the beginning as God the Son. And he was with God – God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. This is known as “God’s Trinity.” God is in three persons -- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, who become one in nature and essence. Three persons have individual personalities and can have communion with one another, and they become one in perfect love. So it is clear that Jesus is God, the Second Person of the Trinity. Second, Jesus is Creator. Look at verse 3. “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” Here “him” refers to Jesus. Jesus is not only God, but he is also Creator. As we read Genesis 1, we see that God created all things through his word. For example, when God said in the first day, “Let there be light,” there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And this Word of God is Jesus Christ. Jesus participated in the work of God’s creation as the Word, along with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. So without him nothing was made that has been made. Jesus is our Creator God. Here, it is important to know that Jesus is the Word of God. God does his work through the Word. God speaks to us through his Word. Therefore, we must honor the Word of God as much as we honor God, and we must have absolute faith in the Word of God, which is living and active. Third, Jesus is the Giver of life. Look at verse 3, “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” This verse tells us that Jesus is the source of life. Life was in him. As the Creator, Jesus gave life to all living things, including mankind. And the life Jesus gave to men became the light of men. Jesus is the author and owner of our lives. Our lives came from God, and we are going back to God. While we have life in this world, we enjoy our lives in fellowship with God, and we return to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. We must remember that Jesus Christ is the Giver of life. Whoever receives the life of Jesus never walks in darkness but has the light of life. John recorded seven miraculous signs in this Gospel. These miraculous signs well describe how the life of Jesus became the light of men. Let’s think about the seventh miraculous sign. Once Lazarus was dead and placed in the dark tomb. Jesus proclaimed in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Then Jesus called in a loud voice. “Lazarus, come out!” Then the dead man came out. Jesus gave him a new life. Look at verse 5. “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” Here “the darkness has not understood it,” has the better translation as “the darkness has not overcome it.” Darkness can never overcome light, even the small candle light. But Jesus is the true light. Look at verse 9. “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world” Jesus is the Rising Sun. When the light of life in Jesus shines on us, we are no longer in darkness, but have the light of life in Jesus Christ. In Jesus, we have life, hope, healing, restoration and even resurrection from the dead. Look at verse 10. “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.” Even though the Creator who made the world came to the world, the world did not recognize him. What a surprise! It was because of their spiritual blindness and pride. Look at verse 11. “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” His chosen people rejected him and crucified him. Now let’s read verse 12 and 13. “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 decent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” Even though the world rejected Jesus, there are many people who received him with joy and gladness and believed in his name as their Saviour. To them, God gave the right to become children of God. This birth is not from men, but from God above. Through faith in Jesus we are born again to become children of God. This is the re-creation work of God through the Holy Spirit. As children of God, we can call God “Abba Father,” and boldly approach the throne of God’s grace. We become heirs of the kingdom of God our Father in heaven. In this way, Jesus gave us a new life. Fourth, the Word became flesh. Look at verse 14. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” This verse tells us that God became a man. God did not pretend to become a man. He became a man in flesh and blood just like us. This is the Christmas message. This is the good news of great joy for all people. Why is it so? So far, we have thought about who Jesus really is. Jesus is God the Son, Creator and the Giver of life. But this great God became man, and came to this world as a baby in a manger two thousand years ago. This is called “Incarnation.” The omnipotent and Almighty God became flesh with human limitations and weaknesses. The eternal and omnipresent God became confined to time and space. He became flesh like one of us. He gave up all his glory and power and privileges as God and made his dwelling among us, and lived among men for 33 years. Jesus was tired, hungry and thirsty, and experienced all kinds of human weaknesses and sufferings like us. Philippians 2:6-8 described Jesus’ incarnation excellently. “(Jesus Christ) Who, being a very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking a very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on the cross!” How can this be? Why should God become a man? Why did God come from far away from heaven into this world in the form of flesh? It is because of God’s love. Out of his great love, God could not bear to see mankind perishing in their sins and in their spiritual blindness and pride. Therefore, he showed mercy on us and decided to save mankind. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world and gave his One and Only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” It is God’s love that motivated him to send his One and Only Son to the world as a man. It is Jesus’ love that motivated him to become a man and die on the cross for our sins. 1 John 4-9-10 says, “This is how God showed his love among us. He sent his One and Only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Jesus’ death on the cross is the best demonstration of God’s love for us. Jesus became flesh in order to suffer and die for our sins. We are the ones who had to die because of our sins, but he died for us as atoning sacrifice for our sins. Through his death one the cross, Jesus forgave all our sins and made us children of God. On the cross, Jesus’ flesh was torn apart, and his blood was shed to the very last drop. Jesus gave us a new life through his flesh and blood. This is the grace of God. Let’s read John 1:14 again together. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” We see in Jesus the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father. We see in Jesus the fullness of grace and truth. Today we learned about the meaning of Jesus’ incarnation. The Word became flesh. God became a man. This is wonderful Christmas message. This is the true meaning of Christmas. This is the best Christmas gift from God. All we have to do is to open our heart and accept God’s love through Jesus Christ. As Jesus became flesh and showed the example of love, may we also share God’s love with those around us during this Christmas time.

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Message

Merry Christmas! When you think about Christmas, what kind of images come to your mind? Christmas gifts, baby Jesus in a manger, his mother Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, and Magi. If you are told to describe Christmas without these images, what would you say? “Immanuel”? John’s version of Christmas message is “The Word Became Flesh.” How can “the Word” becomes Flesh? It sounds like a magical performance. But it has a deep meaning of Christmas, Jesus’ coming into the world. Mark’s gospel begins with John the Baptist. Matthew’s gospel begins with the genealogy from Abraham. Luke’s gospel goes up to Adam the first man. John’s gospel goes all the way to the beginning. Verse 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Who is “the Word”? We know from verse 14 that “the Word” refers to Jesus, the Messiah. Some may wonder why this gospel talks about “the Word” in the introduction. It is the author’s effort to introduce the gospel to us. One missionary to central Africa said to the natives, “Your sins will be forgiven as white as snow.” Then a native asked him, “What is snow?” The missionary explained, “Snow is like white flour powder that can be melted and becomes water.” Here, the author uses the term “the Word” to explain the gospel to us. The Word in Greek is “Logos”. The term “Logos” was familiar to the people in the first century. Today, the terms like “Virtual Reality or Artificial Intelligence” are familiar to us. But people in the first century would have no idea of these terms. To the ancient Greek philosophers, Logos meant “logic, rational principle” or “the intermediary between God and the cosmos”. Hellenistic Jewish scholars understood “Logos” as “divine principles that were revealed, declared, and spoken to human beings”. That’s why this term is translated as “the Word” in English. But the term “Logos” in this Gospel contains deeper meanings. The term “Logos” is personified as verse 2 indicates with “He”. He was with God and was God himself. He was the Creator of all things. From this, we would like to think about two points. Firstly, the Word was with God and the Word was God Himself. How can the Word be with God and God himself simultaneously? This does not logically make sense and a computer system would return with an error message. But this indicates the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. One God with three persons co-existent in perfect unity. The Triune God had perfect loving fellowship among Godself. When God created us in his own image, he lavished his love on us. God expects us to build godly community and have loving fellowship in him as his image bearers. That’s what Jesus prayed for us, “...that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you” (Jn 17:21). Secondly, in him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The life in him was not created. The life in him was self-existent from eternity to eternity. That’s why Jesus introduced himself as “I am...” “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6). “Before Abraham was, I am” (Jn 8:52). The life in him was the light of all mankind. In other words, without this life, all mankind is in darkness. It’s not easy to admit this among people in our generation. We have bright lights everywhere. We can brighten our rooms all night. These days, Christmas decorations brighten homes, churches, and shopping malls. Despite this hilarious mood, however, lonely people become lonelier and suicidal attempts are highest during this season. It is because of darkness in our hearts. During the modernization period, people believed that the world was getting better and better, moving toward utopia. But now in this postmodern world, skepticism is everywhere and we are groping in darkness. We cannot generate light by ourselves. How can the darkness be dispelled? The only solution is light. As soon as light comes, darkness will be driven away. How can the life in him become light for us? Life becomes light? That sounds like a mysterious transformation. Metaphorically, it is possible. For example, when I was in primary school, I was so inspired by Admiral Lee’ biography and his life story was a light for me. Admiral Lee was one of the most renowned Navy Generals in Korean history. When someone asked me, “What is your future dream?” My answer was “Admiral Lee.” For some people, Nelson Mandela’s life story may be a light for them. Let us go back to the question: How can the life in Jesus become light for us? We are all destined to die, but the life in Jesus is the eternal life. He came to the world to give this eternal life to whoever believes in him. 1 John 5:11-12a tells us, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life...” The eternal life in Jesus brightens our hearts, and gives us life direction and eternal hope. Jesus declares, “I am the light of the world” (Jn 8:12). The life in Jesus is truly light for all of us. Let us now think about why we celebrate Christmas today? It is because the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. Let us read verse 14 together. “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.” What does it mean that the Word became flesh? The infinite God who is from eternity to eternity entered into the finite world of time and space. The one who created the universe entered into the created world as one of creatures. Philip Yancey describes this from the angels’ perspective in his book “The Jesus I never knew.” One day a senior angel was showing a young angel around the splendors of the universe. They entered galaxy milky way and finally reached the solar system. The senior angel pointed to a sphere known as the renowned Visited Planet. To the junior angel, it looked like a dirty tennis-ball. The little angel asked, “What’s special about that one?” After hearing from the senior angel, the young said, “Do you mean that our great and glorious Prince. . . went down in Person to this fifth-rate little ball? Why should He do a thing like that? He stooped so low as to become one of those creeping, crawling creatures of that floating ball?” From heaven’s perspective, we human beings are creeping, crawling creatures on this fifth-rate dirty tennis ball. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” We call this the incarnation of Jesus Christ. What does it mean to us? I would like to think about the redemption through his incarnation. When I visited Germany last year, I saw castles on the top of mountains. Those castles used to protect towns and villages below them. We went to one of the castles called Cochem Castle. One thing that really impressed me was a well from the top of the mountain. The well used to supply water during emergency situation. The well was so deep like a bottomless chasm. I thought “If I fell into this well, it would be impossible for me to get out.” Help should come from outside. In this case, a long rope might work to rescue me. But a rope would not work for the fallen mankind in the world. What can be done for the fallen mankind? Shouting from heaven, “Hey, I love you! I care for you!” would work? No. The one who is able to rescue us had to come down. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. It was not about quick visit as God had visited Abraham’s home in Genesis. It was not about pretending to be like a human or wearing a mask. God became fully human just like us. That means the infinite God became a finite creature. His entry into time and space meant that death was inevitable for him. His death would be not a natural one, but a cruel crucifixion for the sin of the world. There is a saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.” People of similar interests, backgrounds, or ideas will stick together or hang out together. We cannot live alone. We are created to love and to be loved as social beings. When you visit the Meetup website that accommodates different meetings and clubs, you will see thousands of clubs waiting for people to join. For example, Chocolate Lover, Hiking for Introverts, Snowboarding, JavaScript Meetup, Vintage Fashion and Style, and Try Something New. My wife once asked me to join Salsa Dance Club. I told her that “I am too shy for Salsa dance. Go ahead by yourself.” The purpose for these clubs is to meet people with similar “feathers” in terms of cultures, colours, interests, and social status. We would like to stay in the comfort zone. Coming out of this comfort zone and reaching out to someone with different “feathers” requires denial of my own self-centeredness, and involves sacrifice. Jesus’ original club was the Trinity in heaven: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. But God became flesh. God became one of us so that he could eat with us, walk with us, sleep with us, and hang out with us. For this, he put aside all his glory and honor in his kingdom. He had most humble birth in a manger, and a humble lifestyle in a carpenter’s home. He experienced hunger, thirst, tiredness, rejections and betrayal. How was his incarnation revealed in his ministry? Jesus showed his care by touching the leper with his hand and healing him. He understood the Samaritan woman’s thirst for love and quenched her with the living water. Jesus crossed the stormy lake to meet a demon-possessed man and heal him. Jesus knew Levi the tax collector’s loneliness. At that time, tax collectors were treated like sinners and prostitutes. Jesus invited Levi to be his disciple. This would tarnish Jesus’ own reputation. As long as he could restore Levi’s life, Jesus did not mind spending time with him day and night. See what titles Jesus was adorned while on earth. They gossiped about Jesus, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Mt 11:19). The nicknames, a glutton and a drunkard, are groundlessly unfair to Jesus. But his nickname “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” is proper one for Jesus. Jesus would be happy to hear that. The incarnate Jesus is indeed “a friend of tax collectors and sinners”. Why do you think Jesus became “a friend of sinners”? Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mk 2:17). Jesus did not call self-righteous people. Rather, he called those who acknowledged their sins. Jesus has a genuine purpose in his friendship with sinners: That is to lead us to his kingdom. The gap between holy God and sinful mankind is too big. No human beings can approach the holy presence of God. Jesus took our sins and his righteousness became ours. His righteousness is bestowed on us by his grace alone and by faith. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” The Incarnation of Jesus Christ opened “the new and living way” for us to the kingdom of God. The author then testifies to the glory of Jesus. He saw in Jesus the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father. May God bless us to see this glory in Jesus. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Charles Kim December 15, 2019

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