Friday, May 6, 2016

The Word Was With God, and Was God




The Word Was With God, and Was God


John 1:1-5, 14 Amplified Bible (AMP)
In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([a]Christ), and the Word was with God, and [b]the Word was God Himself. He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being. In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines on in the [c]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].

In the 1st chapter of John, Jesus was revealed as the “Word”, or in the Greek as “logos”. Logos actually denotes (I) "the expression of thought" — not the mere name of an object — (a) as embodying a conception or idea.

So, for clarity sake let’s insert " the expression of thought”, idea” in the place of the “Word” and “Him”, in the above scripture verses and see how it affects our understanding. 

In the beginning [before all time] was God’s “expression of thought, idea", and the “expression of thought, idea”, was with God, and [b]the “expression of thought, idea” was God Himself. [God’s] “expression of thought, idea”, was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God. All things were made and came into existence through [God’s] “expression of thought, idea”; and without [God’s] “expression of thought, idea” not even one thing was made that has come into being. In [God’s] “expression of thought, idea” was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines on in the [c]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].
 14 And [God’s] “expression of thought, idea” (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).

So, one can derive from this understanding that Jesus was God’s “divine expression” of His thought (idea), and was always with God. And, everything in existence was made by and through this expression. In Genesis, when God spoke the words “light be”, everything happened through and by Jesus in that creative galactic moment. 

It is quite difficult for us, the created beings, to have any clear understanding of what took place, since we are finite and quite limited in knowledge, wisdom, and ability. If you think about it, we just moved from horse and buggy to automobiles about 130 years ago. Compared to 2000 years, the human life span of 74 years is miniscule. Even most the collective knowledge has been lost since the great flood. (approximately 4300 years ago). So let’s be careful enough to admit that we don’t know everything. 

Compared to God’s “expression of thought”, the one who created everything, we are hopeless and hapless outside of His grace, love, and mercy.  I’ll come back to this a little later, when we discuss the “light” of the world. 

John 8:12 : “When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life.’”

This interesting study shows many qualities of light mirror qualities of Christ:

* Light enables us to see, and Christ enables us to discern spiritual things.

* Light is pleasant, promoting peace of mind, and so the work of Christ on the cross, reconciling us to God, gives us peace of mind.

* Light fills completely any void open to it, and so, if we empty our soul to Christ, He who "fills everything in every way" (Eph. 1:23) will fill it.

* Light, especially bright light, is glorious; Christ is "the radiance of God's glory" (Heb. 1:3).

* Light does not mix with darkness, but rather conquers it; Christ has conquered the darkness of this evil world.

* Light warms the body; Christ warms the soul.

* Light makes clear the path; Christ, through His life, also made clear the path we should follow.

* Light exposes; Christ, through His life, exposes the sin in our lives.

1 John 1:5
”This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.”

Darkness affects all our physical senses, and can certainly have a serious impact on our emotions as well. We are so accustomed to light that being subjected to pure darkness can be literally frightening. Imagine being taken to a place where there is absolutely no light, nothing but pitch blackness. Ever heard the term, groping in the dark? You would have no senses of direction, nothing for your eyes to see, and the only thing you know for sure is gravity.

When I was in basic training, one part of our field training was to enter into a cabin what was completely dark. The only exit was a window that had a black tarp over it. We had to enter that filled with tear gas with our masks on. Then we were instructed to take the masks off, hold our breath, and try to find the exit, and jump or dive out the window. That was my first time in a completely dark room. Fortunately, as I was groping around, a teammate found the window, dove out and I saw a crack of light, so holding my breath, I rushed to that opening and dove through it as well. With watery eyes burning, I made it out of the darkness! Light never seemed so welcome as it did in that moment. 

Today, there are millions and millions of people who are “walking in darkness”. Their eyes are burning from the sting of sin, and they are holding their collective breaths, hoping for a glimmer of light to appear, so they can find a way out. Yet, they cannot see the truth because the fallen world has all sorts of glimmering, flashy lights that soon disappear. They offer false promises, false hope, which leads to destruction. Even the most “worldly wise” soon stumble, because they have become accustomed to living in spiritual ignorance. Seem harsh? Not as harsh as what is in store for them.

Revelation 21: 6-8 Expanded Bible (EXB)

The One on the throne said to me, “It is ·finished [done; accomplished]. I am the Alpha and the Omega [C the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet; 1:8], the Beginning and the End. I will give ·free water [L freely] from the spring of the water of life to anyone who is thirsty [Is. 55:1; John 7:37].Those who ·win the victory [conquer] will ·receive [inherit] ·this [L these things; C God’s promise], and I will be their God, and they will be my children [21:3; 2 Sam. 7:14]. But cowards, those ·who refuse to believe [without faith], who do ·evil [vile; detestable] things, who kill, who sin sexually, who do ·evil magic [sorcery], who worship idols, and who tell lies—all these will have ·a place [L their part] in the lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death [20:6].”

John 8:12 (NASB)
12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
 
The word “darkness” here in the Greek is “skotos” i.e. metaphorically, of ignorance respecting divine things and human duties, and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality, spiritually blind, together with their consequent misery.”

When light enters in, darkness flees. It opens the lens of vision, for the eyes to see, the mind to perceive and gain knowledge, but also for the human spirit to receive the understanding of the truth of God. 

The phrase “walk in darkness” literally means living their lives in “ignorance” of God, which leads to unbelief, ungodliness, immorality, and etc, commonly known as “sin”.
Jude 6 (New English Translation)
You also know that the angels who did not keep within their proper domain but abandoned their own place of residence, he has kept in eternal chains in utter darkness, locked up for the judgment of the great Day. 

These heavenly beings rebelled against God, and were cast out of heaven.
This word “darkness” is the same Greek word (“skotos”) that Jesus used in John 8:12. So the rebellious angels (Satan’s and his buddies) are actually kept in the chains of ignorance of God’s light. The only thing they understand and act on are those characteristics described in “utter darkness”. The only place they can find us is if we walk in (live in) that same “darkness”, and the only way out is to follow Jesus, the originator of all light.

Thanks be to God that He sent His only Son (“His divine expression”) to earth to lead all mankind away from darkness and into the Light of Life, eternal life.