In the gospel of John we have him using a rather unusual term. He uses the term, Word. He writes, “In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The introduction to John occurs in two cycles of three points each- the message, the messenger, and the hearers. The key idea is the Word or as some call it the Logos. In the Old Testament, Creation was by the Word of God: “ God said, “Let there be light.” The Scripture, the written word, is also called the Word of God.
When the Scripture says that the Word was made flesh, (God Himself was born as a child into the world) it signified that the Word was now present to speak directly to mankind. He could be seen, touched and heard. In the time prior to Jesus coming as a flesh and blood person God spoke to mankind through the prophets and the written word. Now He has commanded all persons to hear His Son.
The greatest concern of life is to place our relationship with God first, and everything else second. Anything we put in first place other than God is an idol.
One of the most important titles of Christ is (”Word”). The idea behind this title embodied God’s revelation of Himself to humanity. Scholars debate whether John borrowed this term from the Greeks or the Jews. If the term is Greek, there may be numerous philosophical implications, if Hebrew, it may have referred to wisdom or the Law. Probably Jesus is called “The Word of God” because the phrase occurs over 1,200 times in the Old Testament to refer to the message of God. Jesus is the expression and communication of the Word. He is both the incarnate and the inspired Word.
The archenemy of our soul, Satan, is twice recorded in Scripture as tempting someone. On the first occasion he questioned the integrity of the Word of God. On the second occasion he questioned the integrity of Christ, the Word of God incarnate. Those who question the validity of the Scriptures today similarly question the integrity of Christ. In order to have the best for our lives we need to study the written Word of God to learn more about the incarnate Word of God.
We don’t have to guess what God is like. Nor do we have to respond like the little boy who looking up at the sky asked he mother, “Is God up there?” When she assured him that He was, the youngster replied, “Wouldn’t it be nice if He would put His head out and let us see Him?” What that boy didn’t understand is that God did let us see Him. By sending His Son Jesus to earth, the heavenly Father fully revealed Himself as He is. Jesus was God “manifested in the flesh”. He made this clear when He said to Philip, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” Theologians refer to this truth as the incarnation. This is the good news that God has shown us what He is like, in the person of His Son. He left heaven’s glory and came down to earth to be born of a virgin. All the attributes of the infinite God resided in the Baby that Mary cradled in a Manger. He was the “image of the invisible God,” the one by whom “all things were created” and in whom “all things consist”.
A little boy said to his father, “I can’t hear God talking to me.” The father replied, “You may not hear an audible voice, my son, but as you learn to talk to Him and read your Bible, He will speak to your heart and give you peace through His Holy Spirit.”
Oswald Chambers writes, “The voice of the Spirit of God is as gentle as a summer breeze-so gentle that unless you are living in complete fellowship and oneness with God, you will never hear it.”
Through the living Word (Jesus Christ) and the written Word (The Bible) God still speaks to us.
Ref: John 1:1, 14, Prov. 5:8, Ex. 20, Gen. 3:1-5, Matt. 4: 3,6, THE HOLY BIBLE.