All Glory to God the Father and to our Savior Jesus Christ
From Westminster Shorter Catechism, questions 15 to 18:
Q15: What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?
A15: The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit.
Q16: Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression?
A16: The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity; all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression.
Q17: Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?
A17: The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.
Q18: Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell?
A18: The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the want of original righteousness, and the corruption of his whole nature, which is commonly called Original Sin; together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it.
Today we will be going through verse 14 of the first chapter of John. His gospel starts out: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” John is introducing Jesus with a word or a term that both his Jewish and Gentile readers would have been familiar with. The Greek word translated “Word” in this passage is Logos, and it was common in both Greek philosophy and Jewish thought of that day.
Having studied the scriptures and also hearing these same scriptures translated directly from the Greek, I have often thought that the English language is a poor means of conveying what the scripture actually said to people back in the day, that spoke the language. The definition of Logos: (Greek: “word,” “reason,” or “plan”) plural logoi, in ancient Greek philosophy and early Christian theology, the divine reason implicit in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning.
As an example, in the Old Testament the “word” of God is often personified as an instrument for the execution of God’s will (Psalm 33:6; 107:20; 119:89; 147:15-18).
For his Jewish readers, by introducing Jesus as the “Word,” John is pointing them back to the Old Testament where the Logos or “Word” of God is associated with the personification of God’s revelation. And in Greek philosophy, the term Logos was used to describe the intermediate agency by which God created material things and communicated with them. In the Greek worldview, the Logos was thought of as a bridge between the transcendent God and the material universe. Therefore, for his Greek readers the use of the term Logos would have likely brought forth the idea of a mediating principle between God and the world.
So, essentially, what John is doing by introducing Jesus as the Logos is drawing upon a familiar word and concept that both Jews and Gentiles of his day would have been familiar with and using that as the starting point from which he introduces them to Jesus Christ.
In reading the scriptures, context is very important. To them 2000 years ago and to us today, reading something that was translated from Greek and Hebrew to Latin and then English. So John was giving the Greeks, which, for all intents and purposes are considered Gentiles, the Apostle was giving them the context to understand what Christ was.
John, Chapter 1 verse 14: And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Christ became flesh and lived among us as a man. Think about this, which comes from John MacArthur Devotionals: God’s Son learning through His experiences on earth. Before taking on a body, God had no personal experience of physical pain or of the effect of rubbing against needy persons. But God dwelt among us and touched us, and His time spent here allows Him to more fully identify with our pain.
And we saw his Glory. The raising of the widow’s son, the feeding of the 5,000, the healing of a paralysed man, the stilling of the storm, the resurrection. John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.
John 5:19
Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.
“Begotten from the Father” Jesus proclaimed that God was his father 54 times. He used the term “Son of Man 102 times, and the term “Son of God” was used 76 times (65 times by Jesus).
John 8:19 So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”
“Full of Grace and Truth”
1 Timothy 1:13-14
even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 4:7
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
1 Corinthians 1:4-6
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you,
And to finish out, John 8:12-20
12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.” 14 Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. 16 But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me. 17 Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true. 18 I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.” 19 So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” 20 These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.
I’d like you to think about how God has provided Grace to you in your life. Truly ponder on that and then give thanks to Him who has done such a wonderful thing to we who are weighed down by sin. Once you have pondered that, you will now have the context to understand what John chapter 1 verse 14 is saying.
May the love of the Father,
the tenderness of the Son,
and the presence of the Spirit,
gladden your heart
and bring peace to your soul,
this day and all days, Amen.