ESOCS Devotional 17 February 2024 – The Identity of Jesus as the Creator
MEMORY VERSE: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:1-3
TEXT: JOHN 1:1-18
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.
16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
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John doesn’t start with Jesus’ birth or His life with His mother. He starts with Christ’s pre-existence. John’s thought is to grab us from the beginning of his Gospel with the fact of Who Jesus is. It almost seems that John, moved by the Spirit, wants to write something different from Matthew, who starts his Gospel by proving that Jesus was and is the Son of David, the son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1-18). Luke begins his Gospel with the fact that Jesus was a son of Adam (Luke 3:23-38). John gets straight to the point, affirming the divinity of Jesus with a statement similar to Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God….”
John writes, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1-2). Jesus was not only from the beginning, but also, He was “in the beginning.” He was and is eternal in that He was before all creation and had no beginning and will have no end (Hebrews 7:3). This thought tells us that Jesus was not “in” God, He was and is with God (v. 2), meaning that He has a separate personality. The one God has three distinct personalities. He was not a God, as some believe; the Word, Jesus, is God. Jesus didn’t come to reveal God; He came as God revealed.
In verse one, we see that the Word is a title of the Lord Jesus. The Greek word is Logos, which means the expression of a thought. Through words, ideas are articulated. Thoughts are brought into the realm of the five senses through words. Logos is Deity expressing or communicating Himself. The Scriptures tell us plainly that the One referred to by the title the “Word of God”, is, in fact, Jesus. The passage below tells us of the time when Christ will come in power at the end of the age. Take special note of His name: (Revelation 19:11-13). Do you know Him as the Creator?
- Sit down and think for a while. What is your total conception of who our Lord Jesus is? Try to outline them and revere Him for whom He is. It is a very rewarding exercise to do.
- Father, give me the wisdom to understand the blessedness of the Holy Trinity and truly align myself with your will for me.
Further Reading: Genesis 1:1-end, 2:1-end; Acts 7:54-end
ESOCS Devotional 17 February 2024
