From the beginning, God has been making a sacred space for people to dwell in his presence. Humanity was created in God’s unmitigated presence in Eden. Because of the fall, we were cast out. The story doesn’t end there. Throughout the Bible and human history, God is using the creative elements of Eden to continually point back to himself and to his gospel and our ultimate hope through Christ.
Tag: John 1:14
-
Jesus as God’s dwelling place among us. Exploring John 1:14
I used to enjoy a show called Undercover Boss.
It was a reality show that would feature leaders within companies, such as founders, CEO’s, vice presidents, or other executives going undercover within their own companies.
The show featured leaders for companies like Subway, True Value, Build-a-Bear, and even the Chicago Cubs.
Throughout a week, they would spend a day in various entry level positions within the company. They would work alongside typical employees. They would get a sense of the work they were doing.
But for the employees, they would be working with the most powerful person in the company and they had no idea.
It’s not that the undercover boss was their boss, he was everyone’s boss. He was their boss’s boss’ boss’s boss.
And they had no idea.
Sometimes they’d complain about corporate policies or explain ways to work around the rules, not knowing who they were talking to.
They were with the head of the company and didn’t even know it.
I think of Jesus coming into the world and I’m reminded of a similar irony in that people were interacting with the God of the universe and were mostly oblivious to that fact.
The Gospel of John says: He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him (John 1:10).
Then verse 14 takes it to a more relational and personal level.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
That may be one of my top ten favorite verses in all of the Bible.
The God who created the world came into the world to save the world. The eternal God of creation became flesh and blood, skin and bone. Jesus’ divinity matters but so does his humanity.
It is because of his divine nature that he has the power to withstand and to bear the weight of sin. Our sin is an affront to God and no mere mortal is capable of redeeming himself before a Holy God, let alone redeeming humanity.
But it also matters that Jesus is human because it is humanity that has sinned. And in being fully man, Jesus is like us in our humanity. Jesus entered sinful humanity, though he himself is without sin.
His sinlessness matters because it took a sinless, perfect, and righteous sacrifice to pay for sins.
His humanity and divinity make Jesus a worthy sacrifice and atonement for sinful people.
The Word became flesh. God became man.
Colossians 1:19 says: For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell
God dwelling with us
The glory of God came to earth through the Lord Jesus. There’s one word in particular in this verse that brings it to a climactic point in this passage.
Dwelt.
The English doesn’t truly convey the meaning of what’s being said here.
Let’s take a step back.
In the Old Testament, people originally exist in perfect fellowship with God. That’s what Eden was. It was a holy place. A perfect place. A sinless place.
Because of sin, fellowship with God was tarnished. The unencumbered closeness to God was lost due to sin.
We were no longer holy.
But the story doesn’t end there. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God bringing redemption to his people.
God makes a covenant with Abraham. We see God’s continued faithfulness to his covenant.
Fast forward. The Israelites were held in captivity in Egypt. After God had miraculously freed them, and while the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God gave them instructions for a structure called the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a tent that the Israelites were to travel with and it was a symbol for God’s presence with his people.
Sometimes it’s called the tabernacle. Sometimes it’s called the tent of meeting.
Exodus 40:34-35: Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Exodus spells out very specific instructions on how the tabernacle was to be built, what types of items would be placed inside the tabernacle, etc.
The instructions are so specific because it is a sacred and holy place. Again, it represented the very presence of God in the world. But this was pointing forward to something greater.
The temple.
When the Israelites entered the land, part of their purpose was in constructing the temple. As the tabernacle had been portable, the temple was meant to be permanent.
The overarching purposes were still the same. Most notably, it was where God met his people in the word. It was his presence in the world.
The temple was the place where sacrifices were made. For the priests, there were specific instructions on what they had to do to prepare to enter into the Temple It was a sacred place.
As with the tabernacle, not just anyone could go into the temple. The priest couldn’t just go into the temple any arbitrary way they wanted.
It was a holy place. The temple was completed during the reign of Solomon
1 Kings 8:10-11 says: And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
In both places, when the presence of the Lord comes into the temple, people can’t even stand in it because the presence is so glorious.
The temple is hugely important in the Old Testament. Building the temple is important. The specific instructions for the temple are important. But this points forward to an even greater temple. To an even greater example of God’s presence with his people.
The word became flesh
And that is the significance of John 1:14.
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory.”
The word translated as “dwelt” more literally means that Jesus tabernacled among us, that Jesus pitched a tent among us. It’s the same word for tabernacle that was used centuries before Christ when the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek.
Jesus is the tabernacle. He is the greater temple. He is the presence of God with his people because Jesus IS God with his people.
So it’s not simply saying that Jesus dwelt among us. But rather: in Jesus, we see God became flesh and tabernacled with his people.
Instead of a tent or a building, we have a person, we have God himself.
The greater tabernacle, the greater temple. And he’s greater because he’s everything these places were meant to represent. It was only the priests who could go into the tabernacle and the temple.
A priest serves as a mediator between man and God. Jesus is the greater priest. It is he who restores our relationship with God. These man made structures were where sacrifices were offered.
Jesus himself is the sacrifice.
And as I’ve said, the tabernacle and the temple represent the presence of God with his people. Jesus is God himself who has come to his people. The word became flesh and dwelt among us.
The Word made his dwelling among us. He pitched a tent among us. He tabernacled among us.
The God who created the world came into the world to save the world.
There was no other way for a sinful people to be reconciled to the Lord than through God himself coming into the world. But because of his love for us. Because of his goodness. Because of his grace…
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The creator entered creation.
In his commentary on John, the late New Testament Grant Osborne says of this verse “In my opinion, this is the single greatest sentence ever written in the history of human language, the deepest theological statement ever written. No finite human being could ever enter the realm of God and join his family. It could only come to pass if God himself were to enter the realm of humanity.”
The Word became flesh. God became one of us so we could be with him.
He is a personal God. It doesn’t get more personal than Jesus entering his creation.
Sometimes it can be tempting to doubt if God really knows what we’re going through when we’re struggling. It can be tempting to wonder if God really cares.
He knows. He knows what it’s like to live in a sinful world. He knows what it’s like to have people oppose him and not like him. He knows what it’s like to be hated for no reason. He knows what it’s like to be slandered. He knows what it’s like to cry. He knows what it’s like to be let down. He knows what it’s like to be betrayed. He knows what it’s like to suffer and feel pain. He knows what it’s like to face injustice.
He knows.
It can be be easy to focus on Christ’s glory and divinity to the point where we forget his humanity.
But we see his humanity in this passage. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Thanks for reading! If you liked this post, please like and subscribe!
-
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Studying John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
-John 1:14
In his commentary on John, the late New Testament Grant Osborne says of this verse “In my opinion, this is the single greatest sentence ever written in the history of human language, the deepest theological statement ever written. No finite human being could ever enter the realm of God and join his family. It could only come to pass if God himself were to enter the realm of humanity.”
The Word is referring to Jesus. And it says that Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us.
The God who created the world came into the world to save the world. The eternal God of creation became flesh and blood, skin and bone.
Jesus’ divinity matters but so does his humanity.
It is because of his divine nature that he has the power to withstand and to bear the weight of sin. Our sin is an affront to God and no mere mortal is capable of redeeming himself before a Holy God, let alone redeeming humanity.
But it also matters that Jesus is human because it is humanity that has sinned. And in being fully man, Jesus is like us in our humanity. Jesus entered sinful humanity, though he himself is without sin.
His sinlessness matters because it took a sinless, perfect, and righteous sacrifice to pay for sins. His humanity and divinity make Jesus a worthy sacrifice and atonement for sinful people.
Our verse says that the Word became flesh. God became man.
Colossians 1:19 says: For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell
The glory of God came to earth through the Lord Jesus. There’s one word in particular in this verse that brings it to a climactic point in this passage.
Dwelt.
The English doesn’t truly convey the meaning of what’s being said here. Let’s take a step back.
In the Old Testament, people originally exist in perfect fellowship with God. That’s what Eden was. It was a holy place. A perfect place. A sinless place.
Because of sin, fellowship with God was tarnished. The unencumbered closeness to God was lost due to sin.
We were no longer holy. But the story doesn’t end there. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God bringing redemption to his people.
God makes a covenant with Abraham. We see God’s continued faithfulness to his covenant.
The Tabernacle
The Israelites were held in captivity in Egypt. After God had miraculously freed them, and while the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God gave them instructions for a structure called the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a tent that the Israelites were to travel with and it was a symbol for God’s presence with his people.
Sometimes it’s called the tabernacle. Sometimes it’s called the tent of meeting.
Exodus 40:34-35: 34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Exodus spells out very specific instructions on how the tabernacle was to be built, what types of items would be placed inside the tabernacle, etc. The instructions are so specific because it is a sacred and holy place.
Again, it represented the very presence of God in the world. But this was pointing forward to something greater.
The temple.
When the Israelites entered the land, part of their purpose was in constructing the temple. As the tabernacle had been portable, the temple was meant to be permanent.
The overarching purposes were still the same. Most notably, it was where God met his people in the word. It was his presence in the world. The temple was the place where sacrifices were made.
For the priests, there were specific instructions on what they had to do to prepare to enter into the Temple It was a sacred place.
As with the tabernacle, not just anyone could go into the temple.
The priest couldn’t just go into the temple any arbitrary way they wanted. It was a holy place. The temple was completed during the reign of Solomon
1 Kings 8:10-11 says:
10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
In both places, when the presence of the Lord comes into the temple, people can’t even stand in it because the presence is so glorious.
The temple is hugely important in the Old Testament. The specific instructions for the temple are important. But this points forward to an even greater temple. To an even greater example of God’s presence with his people.
And that is the significance of John 1:14.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory.
The word translated as “dwelt” more literally means that Jesus tabernacled among us, that Jesus pitched a tent among us. It’s the same word for tabernacle that was used centuries before Christ when the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek.
The true tabernacle
Jesus is the tabernacle. He is the greater temple. He is the presence of God with his people because Jesus IS God with his people.
So it’s not simply saying that Jesus dwelt among us. But rather: in Jesus, we see God became flesh and tabernacled with his people. Instead of a tent or a building, we have a person, we have God himself. The greater tabernacle, the greater temple.
And he’s greater because he’s everything these places were meant to represent. It was only the priests who could go into the tabernacle and the temple. A priest serves as a mediator between man and God. Jesus is the greater priest. It is he who restores our relationship with God.
These man made structures were where sacrifices were offered. Jesus himself is the sacrifice.
And as I’ve said, the tabernacle and the temple represent the presence of God with his people. Jesus is God himself who has come to his people. The word became flesh and dwelt among us.
The Word made his dwelling among us. He pitched a tent among us. He tabernacled among us.
The God who created the world came into the world to save the world. There was no other way for a sinful people to be reconciled to the Lord than through God himself coming into the world.
But because of his love for us. Because of his goodness. Because of his grace…
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
The creator entered creation.
Righteousness
How do you make yourself right before a Holy God? How do you earn standing before a perfect God? How do you deserve blessings before an all powerful God? You don’t and you can’t.
God became one of us so we could be with him. He is a personal God. It doesn’t get more personal than Jesus entering his creation. Sometimes it can be tempting to doubt if God really knows what we’re going through when we’re struggling. It can be tempting to wonder if God really cares.
He knows. He knows what it’s like to live in a sinful world. He knows what it’s like to have people oppose him and not like him. He knows what it’s like to be hated for no reason. He knows what it’s like to be slandered. He knows what it’s like to cry. He knows what it’s like to be let down. He knows what it’s like to be betrayed. He knows what it’s like to suffer and feel pain. He knows what it’s like to face injustice.
He knows.
It can be be easy to focus on Christ’s glory and divinity to the point where we forget his humanity. But we see his humanity in this passage. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
It’s often said of people in politics who have opinions on public policies. We feel like they can’t relate to the average person. There’s the old saying not to judge a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.
Jesus lived a lifetime in our shoes.
Sometimes God can seem distant. He’s a personal God who invites us to know him.
He joined us in our humanity. He came to earth so that we could have heaven. He died so that we could have life. He was forsaken so we could be children of God.
The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Thanks for reading! If you liked this post, please share and subscribe! This article is part of a series on the Gospel of John.
-
Jesus, Genesis, and a New Creation. John 1
Jesus is the Lord of creation and new creation.
I’m going to highlighting a few words and phrases in this opening prologue to John.
In the beginning. Word. Life. Light. Darkness.
Just to name a few.
These are all found both in John 1, but also in Genesis 1.
The Word of God
Opening phrase of the Gospel of John: In the beginning was the Word. It’s the same way in which the Bible opens up, the first words in Genesis are: in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
John starts with: in the beginning was the Word. Now, it’s interesting that John says “the Word.”
He doesn’t say “in the beginning was Jesus” or “in the beginning was the Christ” or “in the beginning was the Lord” but “in the beginning was the Word.”
But, in the beginning was the Word.
Given that in the Old Testament, God’s word is tied to creation, salvation, healing, and deliverance, the incarnation of Jesus is God’s greatest and most spectacular form of expression to the world. The Word is an appropriate title for Jesus because it is through this Word that we have ultimate truth, eternal life, future hope, assurance of God’s promises, and God’s greatest revelation of himself to the world.
And we learn from our passage this morning that this Word was in the beginning.
This Word is not some abstract idea or force. This Word exists.
Life
Verse 4: In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Two more ideas that are found in creation. Life and light. Both of these ideas will also be significant themes in John’s gospel. Let’s start with life. Nearly half of the New Testament usages of the word life come from John’s writings.
In Genesis, life is created. The animals that walk the earth, the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, culminating in God’s creation of man in his own image. All life is created in Genesis.
And here, in referring to Jesus, it says that life itself is found in him.
He’s the creator of life, the sustainer of life. He’s the giver of true life. Life in himself.
The best known verse in the entire Bible. John 3:16. Jesus refers to eternal life when he says “God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
That’s the life that Jesus came to bring. John 10:10, Jesus says that he has come so that his people can have life and have it abundantly.
And it’s the life that can only come through Jesus. John 14:6, he says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the father except through me.”
And he has authority to say these things.
Because…
In the beginning was the Word. And in him was life. And he made everything. And he’s God.
And so John begins his gospel by talking of the God of creation entering into creation to make his new creation.
Light
Next theme of creation that’s found in John. Light.
In Genesis, the first thing that God calls into being is light.
Genesis 1:3-4 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good
Light is a symbol for life, salvation, and the presence of God. In Revelation 22, the final chapter of the Bible, a book also written by the Apostle John, in pointing to God’s coming kingdom, John talks of heaven and says:
They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light (Revelation 22:5).
The light of God displays his glory and presence. Yet John takes it to a fuller meaning.
In John 8:12, Jesus will say: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life
Light is contrasted by darkness. Darkness in John refers to evil and sin. Darkness is the opposite of light both metaphorically and literally.
In Genesis 1:4, we’re told that God separated the light from darkness. John chapter 1 says that “the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.”
Again, John keeps pointing back to creation to show us a new creation that Jesus is bringing into the world.
The Word became flesh
Perhaps the climax of this entire introductory prologue of John’s gospel is found in verse 14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The language returns to using the word Word. And it says that this Word, Jesus, became flesh and dwelt among us. The God who created the world entered his creation.
What a profound reality that is. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
In creation, before the fall, there was fellowship with God. It was paradise.
And yet Adam and Eve sinned. Cast out of the garden. But here in John, we see that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus came into our fallen world. Because he loved us. Because he’s gracious. Because he’s good. He is the eternal God of creation.
New Creation
And he came to bring a new creation.
In the opening of John, we see the groundwork being laid for that which was lost in the fall to be regained through the gospel. Paradise was lost due to sin, but in the beginning of John, we see that the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Darkness came into the world because of sin, but we see that Jesus is the true light. Death came into the world because of sin, but in Jesus, there was life.
Not just anyone is capable of doing that. But Jesus isn’t just anyone. He was in the beginning. Jesus is the eternal God of creation who brings a new creation. He’s here to give you a new life. He overcame the darkness by living a sinless life. He brought life through his own death. He restored the relationship by being forsaken.
All of it was his work.
He invites you into a new life, a new covenant. He gives you a new heart.
The Apostle Paul said that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. (2 Cor. 5:17). In John 3, a man named Nicodemus. He’s intrigued by this teacher and ministry and he wants to learn more. Jesus says that we must be born again.
On the night before he was crucified, he told his disciples to love one another, and he called it a new commandment. In the closing sections of the Book of Revelation, John talks of seeing a new heaven and a new earth. He records Jesus saying that he making all things new. (Rev. 21:5).
When we trust in Jesus and are born again, Jesus does bring a new creation. He does make something new. He makes a new person.
Jesus is the Lord of creation and new creation.
Have you trusted in Jesus? Is he your Lord and savior?
There is no other way to God, there is no other way to life, there is not other way to forgiveness, there is no other way to heaven than through Jesus.
He is a mighty God.
And it takes the might of God to bring new life to sinners who were dead in sin. You can’t make yourself alive. But Jesus can. Because in him was life. You can’t make yourself worthy. But Jesus has. Our passage this morning says in verses 12-13:
To all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
You can’t earn your way to heaven, but Jesus came from heaven to earth. The word became flesh and dwelt among us.
And the present reality is eternal security and a heavenly hope. But it points forward still to the greater new creation that Jesus has promised and is bringing into the world.
Because a Christian is forgiven, to the glory of God. But the world is still fallen. We are still surrounded by darkness, and fall into sin. We have eternal life, but still face worldly death. But Jesus is bringing an ultimate and final new creation into his world.
He’s putting it back together.
He promised to bring restoration. And he is.
And as sure as he brought that at his incarnation, he will bring it finally and totally at the consummation of his kingdom.
All around the world, every hour of every day, people are coming to faith in Jesus. A miracle is happening, a recreation is happening in people’s souls. People are overcoming areas of sin, because of the work of Christ. Lives are being transformed by the gospel. People who don’t know Jesus are being impacted by the love of his followers.
And Jesus continues to work.
-
The Word became flesh: what it means when the creator enters creation
In one of his stand-up specials, the comedian Jim Gaffigan talks about camping. In the monologue, Gaffigan mentions that his wife enjoys camping and says that it’s a tradition in her family.
During the bit, Gaffigan describes himself as being “indoorsie.”
But he points out that it used to be a tradition in everyone’s family before we invented the house.
He asks “If it’s so great outside, then why are all the bugs trying to get in my house?”
Full disclosure.
I don’t enjoy camping.
I don’t understanding leaving the comfort of home, of a bed, of air conditioning, of indoor plumbing, of restful sleep. But it’s interesting to consider leaving my house to go into the woods. And I think about that and I think of what Jesus left to come into the world. Jesus left heaven to come into the world.
I like my home.
But that’s not heaven.
He left the most perfect and spectacular place in creation to come into our world.
He left a sinless place to come into a fallen world. He left a place of perfect beauty for a world that has gray skies and thunderstorms. He left a place of adoration for a world where he faced condemnation.
John 1:14 says:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.Old Testament background
In the Old Testament, people originally exist in perfect fellowship with God. Because of sin, fellowship with God was tarnished. The unencumbered closeness to God was lost due to sin.
We were no longer holy. But the story doesn’t end there. Throughout the Old Testament, we see God bringing redemption to his people. God makes a covenant with Abraham. We see God’s continued faithfulness to his covenant.
Fast forward.
The Israelites were held in captivity in Egypt. After God had miraculously freed them, and while the Israelites were wandering in the desert, God gave them instructions for a structure called the tabernacle. The tabernacle was a tent that the Israelites were to travel with and it was a symbol for God’s presence with his people.
It was a piece of what they had lost.
Sometimes it’s called the tabernacle. Sometimes it’s called the tent of meeting.
Exodus 40:34-35: Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
Exodus spells out very specific instructions on how the tabernacle was to be built, what types of items would be placed inside the tabernacle, etc. The instructions are so specific because it is a sacred and holy place.
Again, it represented the very presence of God in the world. But this was pointing forward to something greater.
The temple.
When the Israelites entered the land, part of their purpose was in constructing the temple. As the tabernacle had been portable, the temple was meant to be permanent. The overarching purposes were still the same. Most notably, it was where God met his people in the word. It was his presence in the world. The temple was the place where sacrifices were made.
For the priests, there were specific instructions on what they had to do to prepare to enter into the Temple It was a sacred place. As with the tabernacle, not just anyone could go into the temple. The priest couldn’t just go into the temple any arbitrary way they wanted.
It was a holy place. The temple was completed during the reign of Solomon
1 Kings 8:10-11: And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.
In both places, when the presence of the Lord comes into the temple, people can’t even stand in it because the presence is so glorious. The temple is hugely important in the Old Testament. Building the temple is important. The specific instructions for the temple are important.
But this points forward to an even greater temple. To an even greater example of God’s presence with his people.
Meaning of John 1:14
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory.”
The word translated as “dwelt” more literally means that Jesus tabernacled among us, that Jesus pitched a tent among us. It’s the same word for tabernacle that was used centuries before Christ when the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek.
Jesus is the tabernacle. He is the greater temple. He is the presence of God with his people because Jesus IS God with his people. So it’s not simply saying that Jesus dwelt among us. But rather: in Jesus, we see God became flesh and tabernacled with his people.
Instead of a tent or a building, we have a person, we have God himself.
The greater tabernacle, the greater temple. And he’s greater because he’s everything these places were meant to represent. It was only the priests who could go into the tabernacle and the temple. A priest serves as a mediator between man and God.
Jesus is the greater priest. It is he who restores our relationship with God. These man made structures were where sacrifices were offered. Jesus himself is the sacrifice. And as I’ve said, the tabernacle and the temple represent the presence of God with his people.
In Jesus, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The word became flesh and dwelt among us.
The Word made his dwelling among us. He pitched a tent among us. He tabernacled among us. The God who created the world came into the world to save the world.
There was no other way for a sinful people to be reconciled to the Lord than through God himself coming into the world. But because of his love for us. Because of his goodness. Because of his grace.
The creator entered creation. In his commentary on John, the late New Testament Grant Osborne says of this verse “In my opinion, this is the single greatest sentence ever written in the history of human language, the deepest theological statement ever written. No finite human being could ever enter the realm of God and join his family. It could only come to pass if God himself were to enter the realm of humanity.”
How do you make yourself right before a Holy God? How do you earn standing before a perfect God? How do you deserve blessings before an all powerful God? You don’t and you can’t.
Our world likes to have a very casual and cavalier attitude that we can just walk into the throne room of heaven, that we can just walk into the presence of God on our own terms, just because we feel like it. We like to believe that we’re special, we’re good, we’re worthy on our own.
Jesus has shown us that he is the way but we want to go our own way. Imperfect people are not worthy of a perfect and holy God. But the word became flesh and dwelt among us. That’s not our goodness.
It’s his goodness.
He made a way for us to be with him, even though we do not deserve it. The Word became flesh. God became one of us so we could be with him. He is a personal God. It doesn’t get more personal than Jesus entering his creation.
Sometimes it can be tempting to doubt if God really knows what we’re going through when we’re struggling. It can be tempting to wonder if God really cares.
He knows.
He knows what it’s like to live in a sinful world. He knows what it’s like to have people oppose him and not like him. He knows what it’s like to be hated for no reason. He knows what it’s like to be slandered. He knows what it’s like to cry. He knows what it’s like to be let down. He knows what it’s like to be betrayed. He knows what it’s like to suffer and feel pain. He knows what it’s like to face injustice.
It can be easy to focus on Christ’s glory and divinity to the point where we forget his humanity. But we see his humanity in this passage. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. It’s often said of people in politics who have opinions on public policies. We feel like they can’t relate to the average person.
There’s the old saying not to judge a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Jesus lived a lifetime in our shoes. Sometimes God can seem distant. He’s a personal God who invites us to know him. He joined us in our humanity. He came to earth so that we could have heaven. He died so that we could have life. He was forsaken so we could be children of God.
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to like and subscribe.
