In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 NIV
We have all heard the chicken and egg metaphor used. A chicken must exist for an egg to be laid, but then where did the chicken come from? While these discussions are entertaining philosophical discussions, they serve little practical purpose.
But John, from the very first verse, reads differently than the synoptic gospels. There's no baby Jesus; instead, he opens with the answers to the theological question of which came first: God or Jesus.
Jesus was there in the beginning.
Jesus was with God.
Jesus was God.
Jesus was there in Genesis 1, at the dawn of all creation. Jesus was with God. The first two statements have yet to prove that Jesus and God are separate deities. But John doesn't leave us hanging; he makes it abundantly clear that the two are one in the third statement. (In 1:32-33, at Jesus' baptism is the first mention of the Spirit descending upon Jesus, completing John's introduction of the three personages of the Trinity.)
John then moves in 1:14 from establishing Jesus' divinity to his humanity, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
Jesus is not 50% divine and 50% human but 100% both. At the same time, he experienced our human joys and hurts; he is the same God who created the world and everything in it. Jesus didn't spend 33 physical years on earth and the remainder of his time in heaven. But, because he is omnipresent, he exists then and now in both places simultaneously and has done so since the beginning, and he is ever with us in the Holy Spirit.
The same God who endowed humankind with free will, the ability to choose good or evil, also joined us in humanity so we might have deliverance from sin. He was the pure and blameless sacrifice offered on the altar of the cross so we might be redeemed.
Further good news is that Jesus Christ serves as our mediator. This same Jesus that knew us before we were formed and the number of hairs on our heads is intimately familiar with our ups and downs and every breath we draw. He is with us through all our joys and hurts, and when we pray to him, he already knows the way and the timing in which he will answer.
Jesus, we thank you for the beautiful world you have created and the life you have given us. We thank you for taking human form to bring us forgiveness and redemption from sin and the promise of joining with you one day in heaven. Help us as we strive to be your faithful servants. In the words of John Wesley, help us, "Do all the good we can, in all the ways we can, to all the souls we can, in every place we can, at all the times we can, with all the zeal we can, as long as ever we can." Amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Tim
PS. As believers, we have the answer to the chicken and egg question–it was the chicken.
I will be on vacation from July 23rd through the 31st, so I will not write a devotional. I look forward to joining you again in August.
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