The Word Made Flesh He gives us the right to become God’s children.Text: John 1:1-14John’s PrologueJohn’s gospel begins with a stunning and beautifully poetic expression of who Jesus is!
Mark starts with John the Baptists ministry. Matthew begins with Jesus’ birth. Luke takes us back to the birth of John the Baptist. John goes all the way back fore the creation to introduce the preincarnate Word.
Who Is “The Word”John’s use of the “The Word” compares and contrasts well with four themes of the Old Testament and Judaism.
1. The Creative Word of GodGenesis 1:1-33 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
Isaiah 55:10-1111 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Psalm 33:66 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
2. Wisdom (Prov. 8:12-32)Prov. 8:12 – Personified. Not merely an attribute.12 "I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion.
Prov. 8:23 – Eternal and Before Creation23 I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began.
Prov. 8:14 – Understanding and Power14 Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power.
Prov. 8:27, 30, 31 – With God and Active in Creation30 Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, 31 rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.
3. Torah (Law of Moses)A greater Torah is present.
John 1:17-1817 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
John Pryor (John: Evangelist of the Covenant People / IVP)“Jesus Christ, not the Law of Moses, is the key to the meaning of life. Neither was he the first of God’s creation, but is part of God himself, eternal and uncreated. He is thus the true revelation of God, it is he who speaks God’s words, and he is the source of life. … Not the Torah, nor wisdom, but Jesus is the eternal Logos of God.”
4. Memra (Aramaic Targums)- The presence of God who gives support (targum on Exodus 3:12)
- The one who meets and shows himself to humankind (targum of Exodus 19:17)
John 1:99 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
John 1:1818 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
Why do we need Him?He makes it possible for us to become children of God. Because of Jesus, we can be born of God. John 1:12-1312 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
He shows us God. He lives among us. He is the source of grace and truth and blessing.John 1:14, 16-1814 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. - - - 16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.
ONE SOLITARY LIFEHe was born in an obscure village, the child of peasant woman.
He grew up in still another villager where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He didn't go to college. He never visited a big city. He never travelled two hundred miles from the place where he was born.
He did none of the things one usually associates with greatness. He had no credentials but himself. He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race and the leader of mankind's progress. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that One Solitary Life.
The Lord and Savior of All 
