faith for faith

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. (John 1:14-16).

God granted me the grace of watching the testimony of a converted Muslim today, and in it he made quite a profound statement. Roughly it was this, “Can a man become a God? No, he certainly cannot, for how can a weak and finite being take on the almighty and the infinite? But can an almighty, all-powerful God who can do anything become a man? Yes, he certainly can, for he can do all things, and he did so in Jesus Christ.” What this man now knows, by the grace of God, is what the apostle John testifies to in this glorious section of Scripture, namely that the Almighty clothed himself in weakness, the Majestic One arrayed in splendor clothed himself in shame, the One who dwells in the heavenlies became a homeless man, and the King of the Universe took on the form of the lowliest servant. The Lion of the tribe of Judah became the Lamb of Calvary.

Read more…

The true light, which enlightens everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:9-13).

In this section of John’s Gospel, we see that the apostle is already defining and clarifying some terms that he is going to be using throughout his Gospel. And the apostle is not shy about his usage of terms, and he uses them in such a way that, though they can be interpreted different ways when standing on their own, they can only have one interpretation in their context.

Read more…

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light (John 1:6-8).

It is interesting how the apostle John interjects this short snippet on John the Baptist into the theology of Christ, especially when he gives a fuller account of John’s ministry in the latter part of the chapter. What is its purpose? Why here, why at this point?

The point can be gathered, I believe, by looking at the verbal emphasis of these few verses. Of John the Baptist, the apostle writes, “[John] came as a witness, to bear witness about the Light … [John] was not the Light, but he came to bear witness about the Light.” The term “witness” is used three times, whether in its noun or verb form, and it is an important part of the apostle’s discourse.

Read more…

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:4, 5).

There are few things in creation that are as beautiful as a sunrise. At its beginning, a faint glow emanates on the eastern horizon so that that which was unseen starts to take a faint shape and form by the new light. Colors burst forth in the east, revealing an array of reds, blues, and purples. It is a most beautiful sight to behold, but, more than that , it is a foretelling of that which is to come—the sun. And once the sun breaks through and is fully revealed in the sky, the colors that marked its coming disappear, and we are left with a light that is so bright and powerful that we can scarcely look upon it, yet by it the rest of world is shown in a vivacity and clarity not known to us in the night.

Read more…

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1-3).

Each of the Gospel accounts has its beginning. Matthew finds its beginning at the birth of Jesus Christ, Mark at the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry and the proclamation of the Kingdom, and Luke at the beginning of Christ’s forerunner, John the Baptist. For John, however, his beginning is the Beginning. Through John and its language we are taken back to the creation account of Genesis 1 and given a glance not only of the beginning of all things created but also of the purpose for their creation.

Read more…