Verse of the Day for Friday, December 1, 2023

 

Verse of the Day
Friday, December 1, 2023

John 1:1-2, 14

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.… 14 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.

The phrase In the beginning intentionally echoes the opening words of the book of Genesis, drawing a parallel between the creation of the world and the new creation brought about by Christ. The Word is a title that encapsulates the fullness of God's communication and self-revelation to humanity. The Word is not just a spoken message or a written text, but a person, Jesus Christ, who fully embodies and expresses God's nature and will. The Word being with God signifies a close, intimate relationship with the Father, and the statement the Word was God affirms the full deity of Jesus.

Verse 14 provides a stunning climax to this introduction, stating that the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. This is the essence of the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation, which teaches that Jesus Christ, fully God, took on human nature and lived among us as a human being. The word dwelling can also be translated as tabernacled, which evokes the Old Testament image of God's presence dwelling with the Israelites in the tabernacle. In Jesus, God has come to dwell with humanity in a new and profound way. The reference to Jesus as the one and only Son reinforces his unique status as the divine Son of God, and full of grace and truth highlights the perfection and completeness of Jesus' revelation of God to humanity.

Scripture from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

The opening verses of the Gospel of John are among the most profound and theological statements in all of Scripture. They serve as a prologue that introduces the main themes and theological premises that will be explored throughout the Gospel. In these verses, we are presented with the concept of the "Word" (Greek: "Logos") as a divine person who is both with God and is God, emphasizing the pre-existence and divinity of Jesus Christ.