Weekend Bible Reflections With Jon
Ilove the way the Gospel of John opens. John talks about Jesus without referring to him by that name, instead referring to him as “the Word” (John 1:14).
This should remind us that there is no difference between God’s word and Jesus Christ.
The writer of Hebrews opened his book by saying, “Long ago, at many times in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son” (Hebrews 1:1-2). It is through Jesus that God speaks to us today, and Jesus speaks to us through the scriptures, his word which will also judge us in the end (John 12:48). We know this because the holy spirit inspired the writers of scripture (2 Peter 1:19-21; Ephesians 3:3-5), and the spirit received his message from Jesus (John 16:25).
This is why the apostle wrote, “If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37). So when the publishers of your Bible say that the words of Christ are “in red,” they should consistently print the entire Bible in red ink.
It is interesting how John writes that Jesus, the word, was in the beginning with
God, and in fact was God. This reminds me of Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” “God” is taken from the plural Hebrew word “Elohim.” From the beginning, the Bible spoke of God as being plural in nature, and John reiterates that notion by speaking of the word as deity existing alongside of deity at the beginning of the world. God is made up of the father, the son or the word, and the holy spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14; Matthew 28:19).
Jesus, the word, was at the beginning, and in fact made this universe, a fact both John and Paul speak of (Colossians 1:16).
John also writes of how life, the light of men, is found in Jesus, the word. That light shines in the darkness, but the darkness doesn’t appreciate it. Jesus would later say that humanity loves the darkness rather than the light, mainly because the light exposes their actions to be truly evil (John 3:19-20).
Those who love Jesus love the light, and come freely to him (John 3:21). Christians must make it their goal to not hate the light of the word of God when it shows our deeds to be evil, but instead to humbly and faithfully embrace the light through penitent obedience!