This post is part of an ongoing series in the study of John we are doing during January. Subscribe to the blog for daily updates in the Bible Study posts. Subscribe to the podcasts to hear our discussion of the book of John throughout this month. Join us in your daily devotions as we travel through this fascinating account of the life of Christ.

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And the Word became 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. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. John 1:14-18

This is one of my favorite verses in scripture because it summarizes much of what it means to walk with God as a spiritual being living in the earth. The Word became flesh. The invisible reality of God became visible, tangible, approachable, discernible, understandable for mankind. The Word that was there at the beginning empowered the will of God to become manifested into human reality, transitioning from the invisible realm to the visible realm – He became flesh. He took the form we could behold with our earth-based senses.

Was Jesus fully man? Was He fully God? Yes. Both. He was the operating reality of the Word of God in the form of a man so we could understand. There is no way God could have revealed Himself more clearly to us than through Christ Jesus – the Word made flesh. Although no man has ever seen God, if they have seen Christ, they have seen Him. He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).

For centuries God revealed Himself to humanity in various ways to guide, direct, and lead man back to Himself. These ways included the prophets, the tabernacle, and the law, to name just a few. But the most excellent of these revelations was Christ Jesus Himself.

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Hebrews 1:1-4 (NKJV)

If we see only a man in the person of Christ, we have missed the whole point. If we see only God, we have missed the enormous posture of love, humility, and sacrifice that God presented to us by taking the form of a man so He could draw us to Himself.

who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:6-8 (NKJV)

The Word became flesh. He took the form of a man and lived among us so we could behold His glory. We could define the nature of our walk with God in this statement. Our objective is to hear the Word, obey the Word, and make the Word flesh. We are to move the invisible Word of God revealed to our hearts into a Christ-like lifestyle. Each of us is a vessel through whom the Word can become flesh. Through that process, the world sees God and glorifies God.

Considerations

• Where has the Word of God become flesh in my life? Where have I fleshed out the speaking of God in my life?
• What are the points where the Word has changed my life, and how did that internal revelation transition from my spirit to my flesh?
• How did those points where the Word of God changed my life also demonstrate the glory of God to the world around me?

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Find the podcast devotionals for this complete series here.