Author: arhergert

John 1:14

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. John 1:14 (NIV)

“The Word became flesh”… God, the Son (Jesus Christ) became human.

Why?

“and made his dwelling among us”… He wanted to live with us! He wanted to experience humanity personally. He surrendered His divinity to be like us, to dwell with us, to commune with us. His job was to reconcile man to God.

And how did the writer of the Gospel react?

“We have seen his glory…” He saw the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ! He saw the His glory in the one and only Son. The Son was sent of the Father filled with grace and truth!

Let’s recap. Jesus became flesh. John (the writer) has seen Christ’s glory!

What does that mean? Stay tuned. That’s what the rest of the Gospel of John is about!

*** SPOILER ALERT ***

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. John 21:25 (NIV)

This is how John concludes his book. There are a lot of wonderful stories in these passages!

The first part of this book is setting the stage for what is to follow. It is establishing the characters that are to follow: Jesus, the world, John the Baptist and the witnesses.

And how did Jesus come?

He came full of grace and truth.

Grace refers to “God freely extending Himself (His favor, grace), reaching (inclining) to people because He is disposed to bless (be near) them”. (https://biblehub.com/greek/5485.htm)

Truth refers to “alḗtheia (from 227 /alēthḗs, “true to fact”) – properly, truth (true to fact), reality. [In ancient Greek culture, 225 (alḗtheia) was synonymous for “reality” as the opposite of illusion, i.e. fact.]
(https://biblehub.com/greek/225.htm)

Jesus came full of God’s kindness and reality. This is the basis of the gospel: favor and fact. Do not be confused. It is very simple.

This book contains stories of how Christ dwelt among us. This book is truly one of the greatest love stories ever written!

Buckle up and get ready for the ride of your life!

Be refreshed!

John 1:13

…children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. John 1:13 (NIV)

John 1:12 ends with “the right to be called children of God”. Verse 13 continues, clarifying that this birth is not of flesh and bones (natural descent) but of God (divine).

This verse also makes it clear that this “new birth” is not of human decision but a divine regeneration.

This is so AMAZING!

In spite of our failures and shortcomings, God brings us hope as Christ forgives and the Holy Spirit gives grace.

This is indeed AMAZING GRACE.

“Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.”

Lost in my humanity, with no concern or thought of God. Yet, He reached down and grabbed a hold of me.

And this is just the beginning!

“When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun.”

Be refreshed!

John 1:12

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — John 1:12 (NIV)

The act of receiving seems simple enough. You just accept the gift that has been given to you. Believing in His name takes a little more effort.

To believe is to entrust, to have faith. In a sense, it means to persuade oneself. This is not merely an intellectual aspect, as “Even the demons believe – and shudder” (James 2:19). This belief must lead to repentance o be effective.

If these conditions are met, genuine receiving and truly believing, then, and only then, can one be truly adopted into the family and be called a child of God.

“Receiving” and “believing”. How do we do this?

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” — Romans 10:9-10

Declaring with your mouth AND believing in your heart are critical pieces of salvation, which is being reconciled to God. Speech is a physical response to an inward idea. You are simple letting others know what you believe. And believing is internal persuasion.

Have you done this?

What is preventing you?

Let me urge you to take that next step in your walk with Christ.

Accept Him. Believe in His Name.

Surrender to the Godly nudging of the Holy Spirit! Become His child!

Be refreshed!

John 1:11

He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. John 1:11 (NIV)

Jesus not only came to the world and the world did not even recognize Him (John 1:10), he came to His own, and they did not receive Him.

One possibility of this passage is that He came to His own land and his own people did not receive Him. So Jesus comes home and no one receives Him.

The Greek word for “receive” is paralambanó. This word is made up of two words, pará and lambánō. Pará means “close beside” while lambánō means “properly, to lay hold by aggressively (actively) accepting what is available (offered)”. The implication here is that they did not actively accept what was freely offered.

Jesus was among them. He was the fulfillment of the Jewish scriptures, yet they didn’t receive Him.

For one reason or another, God’s own, His chosen people, the nation of Israel, chose NOT to follow Jesus. They had every opportunity and did not.

We are presented with similar opportunities. How do we respond? Do we passively ignore this gift or do we actively receive Christ?

The act of receiving is very personal. You cannot receive for anyone but yourself. I cannot receive Christ for any friends, family, neighbors or anyone else. My task is to help others as they seek Christ. I can help find answers to their questions but they hold sole responsibility for their response.

You may be the only “Jesus” people see! Let them see Him through you!

Be refreshed!