WRITTEN BY MICHELE HANSEN
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, NIV)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1, NIV)
I had a friend tell me recently that if something comes to mind about God, and if it’s scriptural, but is also so wacky it’s hard to believe…that’s God. She would know, she’s a radical believer that believes God can do anything…even the wacky stuff.
I have always been drawn to the name of Jesus that is, “the Word”. So, I let my mind linger on that fascinating concept.
In the book of Genesis, we are familiar with the creation story. It says that “in the beginning-God”… the world was formless and void, meaning, nothing was there…but God. There was water and the Spirit of God was hovering over it. So, we have Father God and His Spirit.
Then God said…
There He is. Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the formation of everything. God’s Word is His Son.
“All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:3, NIV)
Through God’s Word spoken, all things came into existence. That’s why verse 4 says Jesus was the life. All living things are alive because God “spoke” all life into existence. In my mind, I began wondering why Jesus was called “The Word”. I started thinking about our words and language in general. Words. They are powerful…but why?
Why indeed.
Words contain life, or they take away life. They affect life and shape all aspects of life. They are spiritual in nature and have power. Ask anyone who has been verbally abused or someone who grew up with positive and wholesome dialogue. You can see how our words affect the things and people around us. What about the words we speak to ourselves?
Why have speech? God created communication to produce life and when sin entered the world, the power of words didn’t disappear, it just gained a dark power that the enemy uses quite effectively. I like how the New Living Translation says Proverbs 18:21,
“The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences.” (Proverbs 18-21, NLT)
Our amazing God spoke. His words were the Word and the Word created. They still do. He still does.
We have the Bible. Living words through the Living Word. The scriptures are alive and active…what is that word doing? The same thing Jesus did when He walked the earth. Healing, teaching, comforting, creating…they are our life. We are made alive by “believing in our heart” (spirit) and “confessing with our mouth” (words) that Jesus Christ is Lord.
When Mary became pregnant with the Son of God, the angel spoke God’s words over her and the Holy Spirit carried out the action and life of those words…and Jesus became the Living Incarnate Word of God.
It also gives me pause as I contemplate the words that I let fly out of my mouth. Are they life-giving or life-stealing? Do they bring glory to God or do they bring glory to me? If we recognize that God made us in His image… Actually, He said, “let us make man in OUR image”… we have the same responsibility with our words as God did in using His.
That’s a thinker…
There is such an amazing depth to the reality of the Triune God, and we will never be able to plumb the depths, even in heaven. We will forever be learning from and enjoying eternity with our awesome God.
I think of Jesus and what He did when He was here, what He said as He taught, how His hands healed and comforted…and I know that I never had the opportunity to physically be in proximity to Him and yet…the living and active word in the scriptures are Him, and that’s why He’s so real to me.
“Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”. (John 20:29, NIV)
As we sit at the feet of Jesus and listen, let’s let the life of His words fill us with awe and wonder as we rest in His glorious grace.
