Jesus Christ the fullness of God
Day 18
by Gini Crawford, MSW
Knowing Jesus is knowing God
When we try to understand God in human terms, we fall short of Who God really is. Romans chapter one tells us God can be seen in His creation. Yet God is so much more than His creation. Isaiah chapter forty makes it clear we can't compare God to us or to any of His creation. You might be thinking, "Can any of us actually know God and His love?" Yes but it is only possible through knowing Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. John 1:18 ESV®
A mountain city in Peru was set to celebrate the newly translated Bible in their language. The people who worked on the translation were being presented with a special gold-plated version of the Bible. One of the translators who had gone blind towards the end of the thirty years it took to translate the Bible into his indigenous language, still rejoiced over his copy of the Bible. Even though he would never personally get to read it, he knew others would get to know our God, Jesus Christ, through reading it. After thirty years of painstaking work these people were celebrating. This was because they would now have clear sight, even if they were blind, of the One True God through His Word. (Luke 24:25-27; Hebrews 1:1-3). Do you rejoice over having God's Word like the Peruvian city did? The more you delight in His Word, the more God will become alive to you.
To personally know God
No one has seen God the Father at any time, but God the Son has revealed God the Father to us (John 1:18). God the Father is Spirit. He has an invisible nature that is not confined to one location. (John 4:24). In Colossians 1:15a, it says about Jesus, He is the image of the invisible God. Yes, God the Son is the person of the Trinity that expresses God in bodily form or flesh (Philippians 2:6-8; Hebrews 2:14a). We can personally know the Triune God through Jesus Christ. Incredible reality, isn’t it?
John, who wrote the Gospel of John, was a close friend of Jesus on this earth. Let’s try to describe what their friendship was like. There were meals together. Hardships shared and disappointments felt. There was probably a lot of everyday things discussed, even some banter, and of course, Jesus wouldn’t miss an opportunity to teach. I am sure there was a contentment that surrounded them because Jesus’ words, actions and presence brings perfect joy and peace (John 15:11, 16:33). And of course, the supernatural was felt by all and seen by most because God was dwelling with them. We could definitely say, John experientially knew Who Jesus was, so he easily wrote about the God he knew, as I could write about my husband. (John 20:30-31).
Describe how you think John felt living with and learning from Jesus personally. Can you picture seeing and feeling Jesus’ love like John did?
Life Application
The Word expresses God to us
John called Jesus, the Word, in John chapter one. You might be wondering what does being called, the Word mean? From our language it sounds odd, doesn't it? Yet, John's contemporaries would recognize the dual reference: Logos would be the powerful, creative Word of God in the Old Testament by which the heavens and earth were created. In Greek thinking Logos was the unifying or organizing principle of the universe, the thing that held it together and allowed it to make sense. (Psalm 33:6; Colossians 1:16-17). John chose the Word or Logos because it was familiar and it allowed Him to convey right away that Jesus is God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....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 1:1, 14 ESV®
John is telling his readers in John 1:1,14: The Logos is Jesus Christ, Who is the Creator and sustains everything. He is the person of the Trinity Who communicates the character of God and expresses His thoughts and will to us (1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Romans 8:26-27). The phrase, the Word was with God, means Jesus is in constant fellowship with God – the Trinity. Then the Word is clearly called God in the flesh, Who dwelt among us (Hebrews 1:1-3). Read John 1:1-18, 14:1-31. Describe some insights about the Trinity from these passages with emphasis on Jesus.
To ponder: If you don't know, God picked John to be the author of the last book in the Bible – Revelation. It must have been quite a marvelous occurrence for John to have heard and seen Jesus again so many years after His resurrection, and to have had His angel reveal to John the events before, during and after Jesus' second coming. (Revelation 1). Yes, Jesus is coming back again, maybe sooner than we think.
Reflect on John 1:14.