In the Beginning: The Word

 

 

Photo by Esther Monzo-Nebot 2021

No matter how often I read through the Bible, I always find myself especially drawn to the opening verse of the Book of John:

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Greek for “Word” is “logos,” meaning the Word of God, or principle of divine reason and creative order. In John’s Gospel, the Word is Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, incarnate. We know that Jesus is the Word, for that is revealed as His Name when He appears in Revelation 19:13 as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

In simplest terms, Jesus Christ was present since before the beginning of time, in the company of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, and He Himself is equally God.

To me, John 1:1 is the most deeply profound sentence ever written. It refers to our Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, and also to His spoken word communicated through the Bible. It is reminiscent of the very first verse in the Bible:

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

These two verses together identify the Word as being God Who created everything (Psalm 90:2). God is eternal, self-existent, not created, present in eternity past since before the beginning of time. The Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim, which is a plural noun referring to the Trinity. From John 1:1, we know that Jesus, God the Son, was present in the beginning, with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. The Word was God, because Jesus the Son is equally God with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

It is fascinating to consider why Jesus Christ is called the Word. In the beginning of creation, “God said, Let there be light: and there was light (Genesis 1:3). “God said” repeats throughout the account of creation of heaven, earth, and all its inhabitants. God, Jesus Christ the Word, spoke everything into existence.

As we are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27), the spoken word is also of crucial importance to our existence. Thought involves words. What we think governs our speech, and what we say determines our actions and their outcomes.

God has in these last days spoken to us through His Word, and has directed us to hear Him, as God the Father’s voice commanded during the Transfiguration of His Son (Matthew 17:5). Jesus is the Word speaking from God the Father to us, first through the prophets (Hebrews 1:1), then through Himself during His earthly ministry (Hebrews 1:2), and now through His written Word. Jesus Christ the Word also speaks to God the Father for us as He sits at His right hand, interceding for us in prayer (Hebrews 1:3; Romans 8:34).

The very instructions for each of our lives, and the instructions from which God will create our heavenly bodies, are composed of words. King David referred poetically to the directions for how our body parts are formed being recorded in God’s book long before we are even born (Psalm 139:16).

Millennia after this was written, scientists discovered that our genetic code is composed of 4 “letters,” or base pairs in our DNA, making up “words,” or genes, on our chromosomes, that control all our biological characteristics.

Words are not only essential for thought, communication with God through prayer, and even our very biology, but also for our salvation. Being saved requires hearing or reading the words of the Gospel (Romans 10:14), then calling on the Name of the Lord (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13) and confessing that He is God and rose from the dead:

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Once we are saved by believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), proving His divinity, and we speak these words in our heart and aloud, Jesus will use His words to tell God the Father that we are His own, granting us eternal life. Alternatively, if anyone uses words to deny Jesus, He will deny that person before His Father, leading to condemnation (Matthew 10:32).

Having confessed verbally that Jesus is Son of God, our Lord and Savior, we become His ambassadors, representing Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:20). Like any earthly diplomat, we represent our Leader through our words as well as our behavior. Jesus Himself warned us not to speak any idle words (Matthew 12:36), for life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). James warned us to control our tongue, for our words have the power to build others up or to tear them down (James 3: 1-13).

In the beginning was the Word! His words created all that exists. His Word saves us! May we allow His Word to govern our heart, thoughts and actions, and share it with others so they too can be saved!

© 2022 Laurie Collett 

Reposted from the archives

When God Speaks

 

When God speaks, people don’t always listen. But we should, for when God speaks, it is so, and it is done (Isaiah 55:11; Ezekiel 12:28).

God wrote some of His Word directly on tablets of stone (Deuteronomy 9:10), and the Holy Spirit inspired chosen men of God to write the rest (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  Unlike any other religious text, the Bible is not only internally consistent, but also historically and scientifically accurate, as well as tried, true, and pure (2 Samuel 7:28; Psalm 18:30; Proverbs 30:5; Isaiah 40:8; 2 Timothy 2:15).

Archaeological and scientific discoveries and advances increasingly support corresponding facts in the Bible. The state of art and of knowledge in all these disciplines changes, and their theories come and go, but the Word of God is eternal and unchanging (John 1:1; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 24:35).

Many Biblical prophecies, such as those concerning the earthly ministry of the Messiah, have already been fulfilled exactly, with astronomical odds against this happening by chance. Those prophecies and promises not yet fulfilled will one day come to pass, and we should live accordingly, in faith and not in unbelief (Hebrews 4:1-7).

Jesus Christ, Son of God, spoke the universe into existence and saw that it was good (Genesis 1; Hebrews 11:3; 2 Peter 3:5). He used the power of His tongue to heal (Luke 5:13; 17:14; 18:42; John 5:8-9), forgive sins (John 8:11), cast out demons (Matthew 8:16), lead others to believe in Him (John 8:30), and even to raise the dead (John 11:43-44; 

28-29).

His Word is sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17), piercing straight to the heart to convict us of our sins and of our need for His saving grace. For those who hear, believe, and act upon His Word, it cleanses us from sin (Ephesians 5:26), sustains us (Matthew 4:4), blesses us (Luke 11:28), identifies us with God (John 8:47; 1 John 2:5), and gives eternal life (John 5:24-26). Jesus withered a barren fig tree with a single utterance (Mark 11:14, 20-22), and when He returns, His Word will defeat all His enemies (Revelation 19:11-16).

Knowing this, how should we choose our own words? Words have the power to build up and to tear down. With the power of our tongue we can bring joy, love, truth, and comfort, or incite anger, hated and strife (Philippians 2:14-16; James 3). We can glorify God with words of praise and thanksgiving, or we can dishonor Him with filthy speech and blasphemy (Ephesians 5:4,6,19-20).

Like Jesus, we can speak the truth of Scripture to war against the devil and watch him flee (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10-11). Or, like Satan, we can twist and corrupt that truth (Genesis 3: 1-5; John 8:44) so that we are false teachers speaking lies (2 Corinthians 2:17; 4:2; Matthew 7:15).

When we face Jesus Christ at the judgment, we will have to give account for every idle word (Matthew 12:36-37). Not just for lies, gossip, backbiting, and slander, which we know God hates (Psalm 101:5; Proverbs 10:18), but for which His Son has already paid the price in full by dying on the cross. “Idle” words imply those words spoken without much thought or care – not necessarily harmful in themselves, but perhaps preventing an opportunity to encourage, exhort, or witness (Romans 10:17; Acts 4:31). Do we chat about our latest fashion finds or football scores to fill the awkward silence, shutting out the Holy Spirit’s voice prompting us to tell someone about Jesus?

As we present our bodies to Him as a holy, acceptable living sacrifice (Romans 12:1), surely our tongue should be the member we especially consecrate to His service. When God speaks, may we listen, believe, and do what He says, following His perfect will for our lives.

Copyright Laurie Collett 2012

Reposted from the archives

In the Beginning: The Word

 

Photo by Esther Monzo-Nebot 2021

As the ladies’ Bible study that I am blessed to teach continues in the Book of John, I often find myself meditating on its opening verse:

John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Greek for “Word” is “logos,” meaning the Word of God, or principle of divine reason and creative order. In John’s Gospel, the Word is Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, incarnate. We know that Jesus is the Word, for that is revealed as His Name when He appears in Revelation 19:13 as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

In simplest terms, Jesus Christ was present since before the beginning of time, in the company of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, and He Himself is equally God.

To me, John 1:1 is the most deeply profound sentence ever written. It refers to our Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, and also to His spoken word communicated through the Bible. It is reminiscent of:

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

These two verses together Identify the Word as being God Who created everything (Psalm 90:2). God is eternal, self-existent, not created, present in eternity past since before the beginning of time. The Hebrew word used in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim, which is a plural noun referring to the Trinity. From John 1: 1, we know that Jesus, God the Son, was present in the beginning, with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. The Word was God, because Jesus the Son is equally God with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.

It is fascinating to consider why Jesus Christ is called the Word. In the beginning of creation, “God said, Let there be light: and there was light (Genesis 1:3). “God said” repeats throughout the account of creation of heaven, earth, and all its inhabitants. God, Jesus Christ the Word, spoke everything into existence.

As we are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27), the spoken word is also of crucial importance to our existence. Thought involves words. What we think governs our speech, and what we say determines our actions and their outcomes.

God has in these last days spoken to us through His Word, and has directed us to hear Him, as God the Father’s voice commanded during the Transfiguration of His Son (Matthew 17:5). Jesus is the Word speaking from God the Father to us, first through the prophets (Hebrews 1:1), then through Himself during His earthly ministry (Hebrews 1:2), and now through His written Word. Jesus Christ the Word also speaks to God the Father for us as He sits at His right hand, interceding for us in prayer (Hebrews 1:3; Romans 8:34).

The very instructions for each of our lives, and the instructions from which God will create our heavenly bodies, are composed of words. King David referred poetically to the directions for how our body parts are formed being recorded in God’s book long before we are even born (Psalm 139:16).

Millennia after this was written, scientists discovered that our genetic code is composed of 4 “letters,” or base pairs in our DNA, making up “words,” or genes, on our chromosomes, that control all our biological characteristics.

Words are not only essential for thought, communication with God through prayer, and even our very biology, but also for our salvation. Being saved requires hearing or reading the words of the Gospel (Romans 10:14), then calling on the Name of the Lord (Acts 2:21; Romans 10:13) and confessing that He is God and rose from the dead:

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Once we are saved by believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), proving His divinity, and we speak these words in our heart and aloud, Jesus will use His words to tell God the Father that we are His own, granting us eternal life. Alternatively, if anyone who uses words to deny Jesus, He will deny that person before His Father, leading to condemnation (Matthew 10:32).

Having confessed verbally that Jesus is Son of God, our Lord and Savior, we become His ambassadors, representing Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:20). Like any earthly diplomat, we represent our Leader through our words as well as our behavior. Jesus Himself warned us not to speak any idle words (Matthew 12:36), for life and death are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). James warned us to control our tongue, for our words have the power to build others up or to tear them down (James 3: 1-13).

In the beginning was the Word! His words created all that exists. His Word saves us! May we allow His Word to govern our heart, thoughts and actions, and share it with others so they too can be saved!

© 2022 Laurie Collett