Jesus the Word of God

Jesus came to show us the face of God. For all of us, God wants us to come to the place where we see Him face to face. But to do that, we need to put aside everything else – and in particular the baggage which so many of us have acquired along the way.

John 1:1-5

What does it mean when we call Jesus the Word? The word is something inside you and you want to express it to someone else. But when we call Jesus the Word, it goes way beyond the expression of a truth or idea. He is the expression of God – God Himself.

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In these opening verses, John is shouting to us the fact that this Word is God. He is at pains to point out that the Word is God almighty. This is the word logos. The word had been around for hundreds of years. When the philosophers talked about the Word, they meant an impersonal force, the governing force of the cosmos. The Holy Spirit inspired John to say that the logos they philosophised about was God.

The philosophers could have retorted, “Call that impersonal force, God. That’s ok. But He’s still out there and we can’t get in touch with Him.” But in John 1:14, John drops in something earth-shattering – this God who you say can’t be known, took flesh and lived amongst us. This was God Himself, the God who created everything. In Him all things were created. Without Him, nothing was made.

John 1:14

Some people say the Word was a God. But the whole of these verses shout out the fact that this Word was God. When it says He was with God, it means He was face to face with God through all eternity. He was with God. All things were made by Him, because He was God. This is in striking similarly to Genesis 1:1 – “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Jehovah the Son was very evident in the creation of the heavens and the earth. The Word was truly God. Now John shouts again:

John 1:14

He was truly man as well.

Why did He have to become flesh? Why could God not reveal Himself without becoming flesh?

1 Timothy 6:15-16

That’s why we can’t come to God – He dwells in a glory we can’t approach to. We can’t live in that light. Only Jesus has seen the Father.

Philippians 2:5-7

“Made Himself of no reputation” – the word means He emptied Himself, of His glory, of His equality with God, His place in heaven. That was the only way that God could reveal Himself to us.

And when it says the Word became flesh, it doesn’t mean He stopped being what He was before. I could become something else and stop being what I was. Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt, and was no longer his wife. On the other hand, Lot became a father, and yet remained Lot. And this latter is the sense of the Word becoming flesh. He did not stop being God.

So we have a man who is truly God. He didn’t stop being God, but was also a man – one person, two natures.

John 17:4-5

He emptied Himself of that glory. It’s one of the most wonderful things in the Gospel. In the hymn by Charles Wesley, ‘And can it be’ there are wonderful truths about God’s love for us, how Jesus died to set us free:

At the beginning of the hymn, Charles Wesley has caught some of the awesomeness of what God has done. God took on Himself the form of a servant, and died: “And can it be, that I should gain, an interest in the Saviour’s blood…” It’s amazing that we can be touched by the blood of the Saviour who died for us! Christ died “for me who Him to death pursued. Amazing love, how can it be!” Charles Wesley got so excited and he realised what God had done.

In Him was life and the life was the light of men, and the light shined in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. This is a litotes – it’s an understatement. There are several in the Scriptures. When Paul says he’s not ashamed of the Gospel, he’s saying he’s proud of it, it’s the most fantastic thing.

John says the darkness hated the light, killed Him, sent Him to the cross. The Bible says we were enemies of God.

How can the immortal die? Because the immortal took on immortality and came to earth to show the Father. Who can explore the plan of God. We can never understand it. The chief of all the angels cannot understand it. God didn’t die for them, but for you and me. They’ll never know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of this fantastic love. This wonderful God emptied Himself and it found you and me.

Jesus is the light that lights every man who comes into the world. They all reject Him – but to as many who received Him, He gave power to become sons of God. There are some that light touches.

Don’t forget what God has done for us. Some Christians think God dealt with everything at Calvary, and that was it. But what about when I go wrong now and mess up? The blood of Jesus is still effective today in cleansing us from all sin.

Just as the Word was face to face with God through all eternity, so He wants to bring us into that same relationship, which the Son has enjoyed through all eternity. We can come into that relationship when we are cleansed in the blood.
God the Son is Jehovah – truly God as well as truly man. From the beginning of Creation, He has always been there to reveal the Father to us.

Isaiah 6:1-3

Isaiah had hoped for so much. Israel had been in the spiritual doldrums. The Word of God was not being preached or lived. They were at a low ebb. Then King Uzziah came to the throne, and Isaiah hoped for so much, but the King went astray, and he died a leper. And then we have these words in chapter 6. “I saw the Lord – He was high, sitting on a throne, and his train filled the temple, and the seraphim cried “Holy, holy”. Isaiah had a wonderful vision of Jehovah.
Here John quotes from Isaiah:

John 12:39-41

Who did Isaiah see? He was high and lifted up, it was Jesus. It says, “Isaiah saw Him.” So many times in the Old Testament, Jehovah the Son was evident.
We see John preparing the way of the Lord – Jesus. And it echoes Isaiah in the Old Testament – “Prepare ye the way of Jehovah.”

We all need to come to the realisation that it is God Himself we are dealing with – not mere man.

I wonder how the disciples felt, as bit by bit they began to realise this was more than just a mere man. Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Son of the living God.” They knew He was divine. And you might think they’d got it, but a few verses later, Peter starts to rebuke Him about going to Jerusalem. How can you do that to God?

At the moment we are talking about recognising God for who He is. In all our dealings, we need to know God is at work.

One nice story in John’s Gospel, is about when Jesus had to go through Samaria, because there was a Samaritan woman there, and the Almighty wanted to meet her. She had no idea she was about to come face to face with God. She knew what she was like. Her life was all wrong, and she knew it. We might be tempted to look at this story and think, if God could do it for her, He can do it for us – we’re not as bad as that. But we are – we’re just as bad!

More wonderful still, Jesus got there ahead of her and waited for her. We’re like ants on the face of the earth, and God knows each one of you intimately. God waited for the woman. Doesn’t it speak to you of His love for each one of us? He goes out of His way for each of us, waits until the time is right, and then speaks to us.

This woman had no idea who she was talking to. And as Christians we are often like that. You have no idea that it’s God who is doing something in your life. How do I know that you’ve lost sight of God sometimes? Because if you hadn’t, you wouldn’t behave the way you do. If we really knew it was God we were dealing with, we wouldn’t behave the way we do. He’s the omnipotent God, and He’s the one who deals with us every day. But we all get side-tracked.

When we go through trials, God does answer – even if it takes longer than we’d like. He’s not going to let you down. When He speaks into our situation, we know, because everything changes – all our bad attitudes, doubts and scepticism melt away. The things which once seemed so important become pale.

I want to look at the story of Job. He went through things that probably we’ll never go through. He was an upright man, and bad things happened, just as sometimes they happen to you. Almost the whole story of Job is taken up with the arguments between him and his friends. The arguments are boring – they just go round and round!

Job is not a story about the devil. Nor do I think it’s about the integrity of Job. He was a man of integrity, but I don’t think that’s the main thrust.

Recall what had happened. He had boils, he was full of sores, he’d lost his family, his wealth, everything. But he never lost his commitment to God. And I hope that’s true of us. Even in my stupidity, I knew God hadn’t left me. I knew he had an answer somewhere. I just couldn’t find it. Job was a man who knew that whatever was happening, God was not against him.

Job 19:25-26

Face to face with God. That is God’s agenda for us. But Job didn’t know what was about to happen. He gets a bit silly, saying he wants to sit down with God and sort things out.

Job 23:3

He was an upright man, but he’d got distracted. He was looking in the wrong place, just as we do sometimes, and he’d said, “God, you seem a long way away.”

Job 31:40

Don’t get into that position when you declare, “That’s it God – I have nothing else to say to you.”

After all that verse, chapters 38-41 are God speaking. And this is wonderful.

Job 38:1-41:34

“OK,” says God, “Job – you think you know best.”

God goes on to ask Job about all the wonders of creation, and where Job was when God made it all. But He didn’t answer any of Job’s questions. He wasn’t interested. Some people who are not Christians would say He was a cruel God. But our ways and thoughts aren’t His. When we go through trials, we come out shining like burnished gold. God wasn’t interested in Job’s questions, just as He isn’t in ours.

Now we get a weak and humiliated Job – “I said things I should never have said.”

Job 42:1-5

Job didn’t necessarily see God face to face. But we’re talking about seeing God in all His glory and wisdom. Job was sorry for being so stupid. He got misled. But when God comes on the scene, everything changes.

In terms of today’s Christians, Job would be one of us. He knew God. But he still had to come to the place at the end of it, and admit he’d said things he shouldn’t have said and thought things he shouldn’t have thought.

I can say this to you because I’ve been through it myself. It may be that some of us have to come to God and admit that we thought our arguments were right, but He wasn’t interested.

Seeing God face to face: is that what you want? I know it is.

Holding forth the Word of Life

As Christians, we need to hold forth the word of life.

In the early church, God organised everything so that His word of life came upon a variety of people and changed them forever.

Acts 16:12 – 18

The damsel was a fortune teller and her masters were running a business through her and conning people out of money.

Acts 16:19 – 34

How did God get hold of that keeper of the prison? The keeper had carried out his job and locked Paul and Silas in prison. When the earthquake happened Paul and Silas had the opportunity to escape but they didn’t, which resulted in the keeper of the prison coming to them and asking what he must do to be saved.

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God Knows What He Is Doing!

God manoeuvres things in the circumstances of mankind because He loves us. God knows what He is doing in the affairs of man. He knows what He is doing in building His church. He knew what He was doing when His son went to Calvary.

Philippians 1:1 – 7

God does what He does at the time He does it for a purpose. There is no template of how God operates. He is faithful and He is love. God has opened our hearts and our minds for that word of life to come and dwell inside us.

Philippians 2:1 – 4

These verses are very practical. The people of Philippi knew how the church had started and the miracle that happened with the earthquake. Paul wanted them to hold forth the word of life. They needed to be aware of what God had done in their midst. God builds His church in His way and in His time.

Philippians 2:5 – 8

The reason why Jesus humbled Himself, was because He knew what needed to be done in order for the church to exist. For the joy that was set before Him he endured the cross. He went through everything for you and me and forgot His own reputation. Nothing matters other than what is inside of a person.

From generation to generation God communicates His life, because He loves us. What’s the future for us and our children? Our future is to bring praise to the One who has given us life inside. Our future is to communicate to others and allow Him to share his love to others through us.

Philippians 2:9 – 11

He’s alive. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. His life is communicated to people and changes them on the inside. We are here at this time in our life, because He wants us to hold forth the word of life that He has given us.

What Is Your Foundation?

Philippians 2:12 – 13

It is God who is working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Our standing before God does not change because of the current circumstances in our life. What is the foundation of your life? Where is your trust?

Philippians 2:12 – 15

Across the world there are people who can’t stand the Gospel and so we are to be as lights in the world, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. We are going to hold forth the word of life, and recognise what God has done in our lives.

What’s the future of your life? To allow God to work in your life and to be obedient to Him. The keeper of the prison didn’t consider that putting Paul and Silas in prison would result in His salvation. How are you going to react to a new circumstance? What’s your foundation? Where are you going? There are people who are just waiting for that time when God’s life comes to them.

Philippians 2:16

Are you going to hold forth the word of life or are you going to let a circumstance turn you about? You know the miraculous provision of God and how God’s life was communicated to you. God is organising His church in His way worldwide. He knows what He is doing.

He’s a wonderful saviour and the church is His bride. There is nothing that can prevail against it. He went to the cross, took everything in Himself and died to it, so that sin could be conquered in your life. You don’t have to live contrary to God, your life can change. There was a reason for the miracle that happened in Philippi.

God is faithful. He is true. He is all love. He forgives you and me. He has forgiven you and me. Why? Because He is building His church.

We’ve only got one life. Let’s go forward, holding forth the word of life.