The Word

21 February 2016

Dear Phyllis,

When I was first saved I wondered at the strange way John introduced Jesus in his Gospel of John “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God” … “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn. 1:1, 14). Obviously the Word is Jesus,but why did John use this unusual expression to introduce the Lord to us?

First of all we must consider the importance of words. Words are one of the most basic elements in life and relationship with life around us. Without words communication would be utterly impossible.

But there are many different types of words. When I am preaching I ask, “What kind of a words am I using now?” The answer is obviously the spoken word. But I could write out my message,give a copy of everyone and I would accomplish exactly the same thing I am doing preaching except use a difference type of words. There are peopel who are deaf and dumb – mute. One time we had a mute wedding in Karuizawa. There were 50 people there but not a sound was uttered. It was the strangest wedding I ever attended. People laughed, cried, and rejoiced; and not a sound was uttered. In many TV news broadcast they have “signers” standing beside the announcer giving the message in sign language. That is a very real mode of expression except they use a different type of word. There is a fourth type of word using various types of visual presentation. When I build a house I must first have a copy of the blue print or plans. The layman may not understand them but that tells me where the doors and windows go and how big to make the building. We use pictures of things and sometime models. All these are a special type of word communication what you want the other person to understand. But there is a fifth type of word. If someone asked me what my son was like, I could describe him orally, or in writing. I could use sign language to explain how tall he is and how heavy; I could show them a drawing of him or a picture. But the best way to tell people what Dave is like is for the real person walk into the room. If they see him that will tell them more than I could explain using a different type or words.

When God wanted to communicate to humanity who He is, the greatest mode of expression God could possible use was to send His Son in the flesh. At the last supper Phillip requested, “Lord show us the Father and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said unto him, “Have I been so long time with you and yet you do not know Me. He that hath seen Me has seen the Father” (Jn.14:8.9). What a profound remark! Paul said that Christ was the image of the invisible God (2Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15). All that we can know of God is expressed to us in Christ. That is why Jesus is called the Word of God (Rev. 19:13), and when John wanted to introduce Jesus to us the first expression he used was WORD.

But the writer of Hebrews told us something more important about this subject. In his opening remarks he explains that God spoke to the fathers (Israel) by the prophets and in various ways, but “in these last times He has spoken to us spoken to us by His Son” (Heb. 1:1,2). When I was young I used to think if there is a God why doesn't He speak to us and reveal Himself to us? After I got saved I discovered that God has spoken to us and revealed Himself to us in the most profound way possible. That is an uncontroversial fact that God has spoken to all humanity by His Son and given us a crystal clear message.What is that message? I LOVE YOU. God didn't just tell us that message, He demonstrated it by sending His Son to take responsibility for all the crimes that I have committed and to die in my place. You can't prove a message more than that. And God gave us another proof to validate the first message – He came back from the dead in the resurrection of Christ.. Oh my goodness, what an eloquent message! Has God spoken! Jesus is the Word. You can't make it any more clearer than that.

As I was pondering upon that subject this past week, it came to me that there is a difference between information and communication. Information is interesting, but communication is personal. When someone has something he wants to impart to someone else he communicates with them. This is a personal exchange. Hebrews doesn't tell us that God has informed us about things but He has SPOKEN to us by His Son. This is communication. Study is information, but speaking is communication.

This cast light on a subject that has troubled me for some time. The last word in Jesus' prayer in John 17, He told the Father, “I have declared unto them (His own people) Thy Name and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved me might be in them and I in them”. That is an amazing statement. But the significant thing is that this is repeated as one of the present activities of what Jesus is doing in the church today (Heb. 2:11-13). In John 17:26 Jesus said “I have declared Thy Name and will declare it”; and Heb. 2:12 says He is doing it now. This is something that has bothered me for a long time. How is it possible that by declaring the Name of the Father the love of God is put in me – and even more – Jesus is in me? The Lord told me yesterday that it is by speaking that things are imparted by the speaker to the listener. That is certainly true in a teacher student scenario. A teacher has something in him that he wants to impart to someone else. The student wants to get it. An hour later the student walks out with something in him that he got from that from the teacher that he didn't have when he walked in. It is by speaking that something inside us is imparted to others. And in a way that transcends our understanding God is able to impart something of Himself to us by speaking . And declaring is the most authoritative way of speaking. We might tell someone by speaking but to declare it carries with a terrific note of authority. To declare something is over carries more weight than just telling them.

Oh my goodness, what God has done! When God wanted to speak to humanity He used the most unmistakable type of word possible. He became a man.That is why Jesus is the Word of God and the message God has spoken to is is so amazing that it is by declaring that Name that Jesus has come to live in my heart. Oh praise God!

                                                              bill