What’s It All About?
Devotions for Growing Christians
What’s It All About?
John 1:1 - "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
John 1:14 - "And the Word became flesh,and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
John 1:18 - "No man hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him."
Hebrews 1:1-2 - "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world."
To children, Christmas is Toys. To students, Christmas is Vacation. To merchants, Christmas is Money. To mothers, Christmas is Family. To fathers, Christmas is Bills. To many, Christmas is Rush! Christmas means many different things to different people in our society. Amidst all the hustle and bustle, it's hard to sense the faint probe of conscience: "Remember the real meaning of Christmas."
What is the real meaning of Christmas? What is it really all about? Is the real meaning hidden in the "Seek to give, not to get" idea? Is the real meaning found when one discovers "Christmas is not a holiday but a holy day"? Or is the real meaning of Christmas understood simply as the birthday celebration for Jesus? All these ideas are good, and they stem from the basic truth of Christmas, but none gets to the heart of the matter. A four word phrase in John 1:14 gives us the real meaning of Christmas: "The Word became flesh." That's what it's all about!
Jesus is the Word! Words are what we use to express our thoughts to others. Words reveal our intentions. The mind and heart of God was fully expressed in the Word, the Person of Jesus Christ. Throughout human history God had spoken to man in many different ways such as dreams and visions and angels. But now He has spoken to us in the Person of His Son (Hebrews 1:1 and 2). The Lord Jesus Christ is God's ultimate revelation to man. There's nothing more to say! Jesus is God's final Word.
But Christmas brings with it a lot of hard questions. How do we know that there’s a gracious God when a crisis after crisis threatens our security and happiness? How do we know that there’s a God who loves man when pollution and overpopulation and seem to threaten our very survival? How do we know that there’s a God of truth when honesty and morality have gone down the tubes?
God revealed Himself in Jesus
We know - because God has declared Himself in Jesus! Although we can't answer all the why's, we know that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Word of God. John 1:18 tells us that even though we have never seen God, everything we need to know about God was declared or shown in Jesus. The undeniable fact that Jesus embodied love and grace and truth reveals to us the depths of the heart of God, in spite of the hard questions. When the "Word became flesh", God revealed Himself to be "full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).
He always existed
The single verse of John 1:1 clears up any doubts we may have as to who Jesus really is. First, His eternal existence is stated: "In the beginning was the Word." Bethlehem was not the beginning! The Son of God always was. Think back to anytime you want, and the Word was already there.
He is God
Second, His true Deity stated: "The Word was God." The eternal Son of God is in no way inferior to God the Father. He is described as the "only begotten Son." This does not mean that he was a descendant of God - it means that as the eternal Son of God He is God in His very nature. He is Deity to the core of His being. And this can be said of no other person. Jesus, and Jesus only.
He is a distinct Person
Third, He is a distinct Person: "The Word was with God." This short phrase prevents us from thinking of the Word as merely an "extension of God's mind" or "a mode of God's Being." The Word is a distinct Person in the Godhead (Trinity). It was at Bethlehem that the Word, the eternal Son of God, stepped into time and became a Man in human history.
He became Man
"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." The eternal Son of God became Man. and lived here on earth. Incredible! Fantastic! Marvelous! Wondrous! Holy! TRUE! This was the incarnation. The Baby born at Bethlehem and named Jesus was both a Man of history and the eternal Word of God - at the same time. He lived on earth among us, and out of love He went to the cross and gave His life for us.
He became Man forever!
And now he lives in Heaven. Jesus, the Son of God who become Man, is alive! “The Word became flesh" - but this incarnation did not end at the resurrection. Jesus did not revert to His pre-incarnate state when He ascended into Heaven. Our Lord Jesus Christ is in Heaven in His glorified body - and we will see Him some day! That God became Man forever is the real meaning of Christmas.
- Dave Reid