Jesus is the Word (Christmas post #2)

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Word:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.

Through Him all things were made; without Him, nothing was made that has been made.  In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it…

…He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.  He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.  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 descent or of a husband’s will, but born of God.

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.”  (John 1:1-14)

Here are some definitions of the word, “word” in English, Greek & Hebrew:

Word (noun):  a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence and typically shown with a space on either side when written or printed

λόγος Logos (noun):  a word (as embodying an idea), a statement, a speech; a person sharing a message; “reasoning expressed by words”

דָּבָר Dabar (noun):  speech, word

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Words are meaningful.  Words can be spoken or written, but in either case they convey meaning.

They are expressions of thoughts made visible/audible.  They are a message waiting to be received. 

I can’t see someone’s thoughts – but I can understand (most of the time :)) their words. 

Until a thought turns into a word, I am in the dark.

Jesus has been referred to as the “Divine Expression.”  I really like that term.  You see, God communicated with people before Jesus – the Bible is full of those stories – but the best expression of God is Jesus. 

Hebrews 1:1 states, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers 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 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.”

The Bible clearly states that Jesus is God. 

When God wanted people to understand what He was all about and who He was…He sent them part of Himself.  He sent His Word.  He sent Jesus.

It’s mind-boggling, if we really think about it.

God, putting on flesh, so that we could better understand Him.

Isaiah 55:8-10 tells us that God’s thoughts are quite hard to comprehend:

“’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD.

‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”

And yet, His Word will accomplish what He desires:

“’As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that comes out of my mouth.  It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.’”

But that’s what makes Christmas even more amazing!!! 

God didn’t just want us to understand Him.  He wanted us to be with us (Immanuel) so that we could be with Him…forever. 

Christmas is the beginning of God’s elaborate rescue plan to save people from a broken, messed-up world that we made for ourselves. 

That’s the message the Word brings.

And the Word does accomplish that!  It’s been done!  Revelation 19:11-16, the culmination of the story of the Bible, is description, not of a baby, but of a conquering hero on a white horse whose name is the “Word of God.”  The baby in the manger grows up…and He ends up conquering death through the brutal means of a cross so that we don’t have to face the punishment we deserve.

But we’ll go deeper into that in a future post. :)

Bottom line is this:  We can ignore words.

But my prayer is that this Christmas we don’t ignore the most beautiful message ever expressed to mankind:  God loves us.

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Jesus, the Word, makes that clear.