fully human He is also fully divine and therefore is the God-Man. It is the divine side, the God side, that John stresses in all his portraits of Jesus.
The “beginning” John wrote about in which Jesus was already present (v. 1) refers to an eternal beginning. This “beginning” is in striking contrast to the “beginning” of Genesis 1:1 which was a point in time when God created the heavens and the earth. The “beginning” in John 1:1 is also in contrast to the “beginning” in 1 John 1:1 which refers to the “beginning” of the Christian era. John makes his point very clear. Jesus as the Word, the Son of God, existed eternally. He was with God. He was God and, of course, still is God.
As God, Jesus created all things. The world was made by Him (vv. 3, 10). Neither unbelieving scientists nor biologists have a verifiable answer to the question, “Where did life come from?” The Bible’s answer to the question is that life has its source in Jesus. “In Him was life” (v. 4). “Just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself” (5:26). Jesus claimed the same for Himself when He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (14:6).
Jesus, God’s personal Revelation, came to His own people, the Jews. He loved them as He loves all mankind. But His own did not accept His love and therefore did not accept Him. They, as a nation, did not receive Him except for a small believing remnant. They rejected God’s Revelation to them. What a horrible offense unbelief was and always is.
The rejected personal Revelation of God welcomed all who did receive Him then as He does now. In fact, He exercised His divine power, His authority, and made them “children of God” (v. 12) because they believed in His name.
Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God (vv. 14–18)
Three statements of fact are recorded by John in verse 14. First, “The Word became flesh.” Second, this eternal word who became flesh “dwelt among us.” Third, the apostle wrote, “we beheld His glory.”
The fact that Jesus became flesh makes clear that He did not possess flesh in His pre-incarnate state. No, He was born, He tabernacled among the people He came to redeem. The glory Jesus displayed was not just seen by John the apostle. We know that because John said, “We beheld it.” This very likely refers to the time when Peter, John, and James, the three on the inner circle of the apostles whom Jesus chose, beheld Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17).
We might ask, What was it John and those with him beheld? What did they see? What is meant by “His glory”? The glory of God as used in the Bible refers to the visible manifestation of all that God is. John and his friends were given a glimpse of this as they gazed upon Jesus. The fullness of His grace and truth as God’s personal Revealer and Revelation must have nearly blinded them.
John the Baptist gave testimony about Jesus as the very Revelation of God (vv. 14–17). This man was the one who introduced Jesus to the people. He was Jesus’ forerunner. He prepared the way for Jesus. He too, along with his friends, witnessed the grace and truth through Jesus Christ. They were given the same revelation of Jesus as was given to John the apostle and those with him.
There are two additional statements of fact in verse18. One, no human has ever seen God in all His fulness. He is Spirit and therefore not visible with the human eye. The real essence of God is invisible. He did appear at times, however, in visible form in Old Testament times, but never in all His fullness. Two, the only begotten God, the Lord Jesus Christ, did explain Him. Jesus, as the Son of God, exposed God to mankind. He did this while here on earth, especially during the three years of His public ministry. Truly, He is the personal Revealer and Revelation of God. Thus, verse 18 is the key that unlocks the door of this portrait of Jesus.
Personal Application
How does this portrait of Jesus as God’s personal Revelation of Himself relate to you and me? What differences should this portrait of Jesus make in our lives? There are at least three ways: first, we need to accept and remember the fact that Jesus is God’s personal Revelation to us. He is this through what He said and did which is recorded in the New Testament.
Second, God would have us be personal revelations of Him to others. That is His will for all His children. We are told we are His ambassadors. The question is, “How well are we representing Him?”
Third, the only revelation about God that some will ever see or hear will come from us. Those of us who profess to be Christians, God’s children, are the only Bible some will ever read. What message are you giving them? We need to think seriously and often about that question.
Study Questions
1. What is the difference between Jesus in His pre-incarnate state and His incarnate state?
2. Can you think of several examples of Jesus giving revelation or messages to the people of His day?
3. How was Jesus as the personal Revelation of God received?
4. How do you suppose you could be God’s revelation of Jesus to your children, to your fellow workers, to your friends, and to your neighbors?
5. Are there any ways you can improve as God’s personal revelation of Him?
Lamb of God
Portrait 2
John 1:19–51
John the Baptist was in some ways the Billy Graham of his day. When he preached, even in the wilderness of Judea, throngs of people came from everywhere to hear him. John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus the Messiah. In fact, some of those who came thought he was Israel’s Messiah. John wasted no time denying this. From his own testimony he was simply the announcer, the herald, of Jesus the Messiah.
This man John the Baptist was truly “sent from God’ (John 1:6). He witnessed of Christ in his preaching and his claims. The majority of those who came to hear John were very likely Jews. His call for repentance, a change of mind, was primarily directed to Jews (v. 31). These to whom John ministered needed to change their mind about Jesus, themselves, and their need of Him.
It appears that many of the Jews thought since they were members of the nation which God chose as His own in a unique sense, they were already rightly related to God. They had no need of the repentance John was calling for in his preaching. They were wrong about that. Jehovah God requires an individual response of faith regardless of one’s nationality, family, or status in life. This is why John called them all to repentance and faith in Jesus. Faith and repentance are like two sides of the same coin. One cannot have faith without repentance or a change of mind about one’s self and the Savior. But it would be possible to have a genuine change of mind without faith or acceptance of Christ as Savior. It is very likely that many come to realize they need to change their ways and do so, but never do trust Jesus as their Substitute for sin.
John the Baptist’s Witness of Jesus as the Lamb of God, vv. 19–34
John the baptizer set forth a twofold witness of Jesus as the Lamb of God. The first witness was his baptizing of repentant Jews in water. Their identification, which is what baptism means, demonstrated before others their acknowledgment that Jesus was Israel’s Messiah and their Savior. The water was and always is without any saving merit. Rather, being baptized by John meant that they truly had repented, changed their minds about Jesus, and embraced Him as their own personal Savior.
It appears that before John baptized anyone, he needed to respond to the questions thrown at him. Priests and Levites from Jerusalem sent by the Pharisees asked him who he was. John must have known that some among
