GOD BECAME FLESH

December 25th is the date the Church has chosen to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  Whether or not it occurred then is not relevant to the subject of this blog post.  Today, I want to study about "The Word of God" becoming flesh and blood.  The Apostle Paul wrote:  "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:  God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory" (1 Tim. 3:16)!

The Apostle John wrote five of the twenty-seven "books" of the Bible:  The Gospel of John, his three letters to the church (First John, Second John, and Third John), and the Book of Revelation.  His writings are unique in many ways, but one way in particular, stands out from the rest:  John understood that Jesus is the physical manifestation of the very Word of God - Jesus, in fact, is God! 

Paul obviously knew Jesus as God.  Paul knew the God of the Old Testament as LORD, and when he was confronted by Jesus on his way to persecute followers of Christ, notice that he called Jesus Lord:  "And he said, Who art Thou, Lord?  And the Lord said, I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" (Acts 9:5-6)!  But he apparently did not know Him as "The Word." These are the only verses which identify Jesus as "The Word":

*  John 1:1, 14 - 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 beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
*  1 John 1:1-3 - He Who was from the beginning, Who we have heard, Who we have seen with our eyes, Who we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of The Word of life; for the life was manifested, and we have seen Him, and bear witness, and show unto you Him in Whom is eternal life, Who was with the Father, and was manifested unto us; He Who we have seen and heard, we declare unto you, that you may also have fellowship with us:  and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
*  1 John 5:7 - For there are three Who bear witness in heaven:  The Father, The Word, and The Holy Spirit:  and These Three are One. 
*  Revelation 19:11-13 - And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He Who sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself.  And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called The Word of God. 

THIS CHRISTMAS, SPREAD "THE WORD!"