The Word became flesh (2) (John 1:1-4, 9-14)

The Word became flesh (2)

 

 

[John 1:1-4, 9-14]

 

 

                This is John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  Here, “the Word” refers to Jesus Christ, God the Son.  The words, “the Word was with God” (v. 1), mean that God the Father is the only one, and God the Son is with Him.  The words “the Word was God” (v. 1) means that God the Father and the Son Jesus are equal to each other (Triune God).

 

                It is a rudimentary meditation on the triune God.  Although the word “Triune God” does not appear in the Bible, the Bible testifies that God is the Triune God.  The Bible says there is only one God: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” (Deut. 6:4), “Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one” (Gal. 3:20), “You believe that God is one You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (Jam. 2:19).  The devil doesn't believe in God right away.  If we correctly believe that God is one, we must draw near to God, crying out, “Abba, Father” (Mk. 14:36, Rom. 8:15, Gal. 4:6).  The Bible uses the word “God” in the plural, not the singular.  Look at Genesis 1:26 – “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’”  Here, if the Bible expresses God in the singular, it should be “my image,” “my likeness,” and “I,” but the Bible uses the plural as “Our image,” “Our likeness,” and “us.”  The reason is because God is the triune God.  Look at Isaiah 6:8 – “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’  Then I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”  Here, “I” in the singular refers to God the Father, and “Us” in the plural refers to the triune God.  The Bible says that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are “God.”  Look at Psalms 110:1 – “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’”  Here, “The Lord” refers to God the Father, and “my Lord” refers to God the Son.  God the Father said to God the Son, “Sit at My right hand,” and we can see this in Romans 8:34 – “who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”  The Old Testament says “the Lord,” but the New Testament says “the Holy Spirit”: “’Behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah’” (Jere. 31:31), “The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: ‘This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. ….’” (Heb. 10:15-16).  Jeremiah 31:31 says “the Lord,” but Hebrews 10:15 says “The Holy Spirit.”  The Old Testament says “the Lord,” but the New Testament says ‘The Son of God, Jesus Christ’: “And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As the LORD has said, Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls” (Joel 2:32), “for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Rom. 10:13).  Joel 2:32 says “the name of the Lord,” and Romans 10:13 says “the name of the Lord,” where “Lord” refers to Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  God the Father is God.  Then, is the Son of God Jesus also God?  Then, is God the Holy Spirit also God?  Today, I will think about whether God the Holy Spirit is also God, and next week I will think about whether the Son of God Jesus is also God.

 

                The Bible says that the Holy Spirit is God.  Look at Acts 5:3-4: “But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?  While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own?  And after it was sold, was it not under your control?  Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart?  You have not lied to men but to God.’”  In verse 3, the Bible says “the Holy Spirit,” but in verse 4, it says “God.”  In other words, the Holy Spirit is God.  Look at Philippians 2:13 – “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”  Here, “it is God who is at work in you” refers to the Holy Spirit.  This Holy Spirit is said to be “God”.  The Bible says that the Holy Spirit has the same nature that only God the Father possesses.  The nature of God the Father is eternal, and the Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit as “the eternal Spirit.”  Look at Hebrews 9:14 – “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”  The nature of God the Father is the omnipresent God (the omnipresent God), and the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is also omnipresent.  Look at Psalms 139:7-8: “Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.”  The Holy Spirit is also everywhere.  Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God.  The Bible says that the Holy Spirit also does what only God can do:

 

(1)    Creation:

 

Look at Genesis 1:1-2: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”  Like God, the Holy Spirit created the heavens and the earth.  Look at Job 33:4 – “The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”  Like God, the Holy Spirit created man.

 

            (2) Resurrection:

 

Look at Romans 8:11 – “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.”  Like God, the Holy Spirit resurrects.  The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead.  When Jesus returns, the Holy Spirit will resurrect our mortal bodies as glorious bodies.  Prophet Elijah raised the son of the widow of Zarephath from death (1 Kgs. 17:17-22), but he was raised in the same physical body, not in a glorious body.

 

            (3) Eternal life:

 

                  Look at John 6:63 – “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”  The Holy Spirit also gives eternal life that only God can give.  Therefore, the Holy Spirit is God!