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. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:1–4, ESV)Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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 1:14, ESV)
Translation is an art, not a science. It is very difficult to transfer meaning from one word in one language to another. That is particularly true of the word “Word” in our text. Underlying it is the Greek word λόγος. I don’t know what word I would have chosen, maybe this is the best one, but if you take it at face value a lot is left out. For us Word, is spoken or read. It means a vocable in a sentence. It is grammatical and in that sense the meaning is limited. It can mean a promise, like “My word is true.” What stands behind that idea is the character of the person who speaks it.
John stole the word λόγος from Greek Philosophy. It meant cosmic order or universal reason or even truth. Λόγος could also mean the rational principle behind everything. For the Greek philosophers this word, itself, was a constant topic of discussion.
John didn’t steal the word willy-nilly. He well knew the background. He intended some of the meaning to bleed into this text. When he equates λόγος with the second person of the Trinity it is very intentional. Things like comic order, universal reason, and truth clearly indicate God, and specifically Christ. When he says, the Word (λόγος), was around in the beginning, that the Word (λόγος) was with God, and that the Word (λόγος) is God, he’s saying a mouthful.
He coopts the original meaning and fills it with new meaning. The Word (λόγος) is eternal. The Word (λόγος) created everything. The Word (λόγος) is life, and the Word (λόγος) is the “light of men.” And finally, that light was not overcome by the darkness of the world. He spends the rest of the Gospel fleshing out (pun intended) exactly what it means.
So, when he, only a few verses later, says:
And the Word (λόγος) became flesh and dwelt among us… (John 1:14a, ESV)It is one of the most profound statements in all of scripture.
The sentence begins with “and”, don’t through it away as a simple connecting word. And connects it to all that came before. God becoming flesh in Jesus Christ is all because he is comic order, universal reason, and truth. Through the Word, God created the world, through the Word God sets the corrupted world right. The Word (λόγος) became flesh. Flesh is another significant word in Greek. It means “body” the muscular part of a human. The Word, God himself, became flesh, a body. Flesh, body, λόγος all joined into one person. And as much as these things, λόγος and flesh, don’t fit together (from our perspective), Jesus in the flesh, becomes a part of this world. He, the λόγος, dwelt among us.
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14b, ESV)The Gospel writer had this in mind. Immanuel, God with us. God a human person, a body, in our flesh dwelt among us.
He, God in Jesus, lived in our sinful and corrupted world. He became flesh and was subjected to all that it means to be flesh. He was pursued by sinful men who tried to destroy him. He was mocked and threatened by the powerful. He was misunderstood and misquoted. He was betrayed and beaten. He was condemned and killed. His flesh was buried in a tomb.
But that was exactly why the λόγος became flesh and dwelt among us. It was only the λόγος, the wisdom, the creative force, the truth, that could overcome the power of death. God in the flesh, became a man so that he would be subject to all the powers of sin and death.
He became subject to all that we humans are. We suffer from sin in the world. It is impossible to avoid. But it is not only the forces outside of us. Even more powerful are the forces within us. We can blame the corruption of the world on what is out there. But worse is the sin, in here (our own hearts). Sin is personal, in the flesh, so to speak. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (Isaiah 64:6, ESV)Isaiah knows of what he speaks. Our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. He included himself in that statement. It is even more crass than you might expect. It is this fleshly corruption that condemns us to hell. Sin permeates our flesh, sin permeates our minds, our hearts, and so, it permeates all we do. It is a condition of being human, in the flesh. All the proof that is necessary to show the truth of our in breed sinfulness is that we all die. That is what Isaiah means when he says, We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
It is this condition that the λόγος became flesh to resolve. Jesus Christ, a true man, became flesh and dwelt among us. He became the only man ever not to be so corrupted. He was affected by sin, from outside of himself. But his righteous deeds were righteous. He does it as a man. It was necessary. A sinful person, totally corrupted by sin, could not be a sacrifice for sin.
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5, ESV)Again, Isaiah speaks clearly. He is speaking of the cross. It was the unjust suffering of Jesus, as a perfect man, that brings us peace and healing. Why? Because God charged him with our sin. Jesus became sin for us. On the cross he is the death of sin’s punishment. The Father fills his perfect life with the sin of us all. Jesus punishment for sin, is ours. He was crushed for our transgressions. What makes it possible is that Jesus is the λόγος made flesh. In Jesus God, dies. The punishment we deserve is taken up in the λόγος, the son of God. To say it in human terms, our judgment is set aside, our sentence is commuted.
And what of sin? Well, we still live with it. It still permeates all we do. But there is no eternal punishment for it. It does not push us away from God. It is true that when we sin, we have the earthly effects. The world is still corrupted. But we are not liable for judgment.
Although our text doesn’t explicitly talk about the Holy Spirit, he is the gift that comes with faith in Jesus. When we listen to his prompting, we can, at times, avoid even the worldly consequences of our sin. Sin doesn’t have to rule our lives anymore.
The Word (λόγος) became flesh and dwelt among us. How profound it is. How utterly simple it sounds. John’s Gospel was the last written. He leaves the details of the moment to the other writers. On Christmas Day we celebrate the Incarnation of the Son of God, incarnation means, the λόγος made flesh. When we peer into the manger and see a baby, we are seeing God, the λόγος, in human flesh. It is the miracle of miracles. Amen.
The peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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