In The Beginning

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” John 1:1-4

Jesus is eternal. He wasn’t a created being. He was in the beginning, just as God the Father was. All things were made, or created through Him. Psalm 33:8-9 says this, “Let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. 9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” The phrase “was made” is translated to mean “completed act.” Therefore, Christ completes all things. So if Christ makes all things complete, then without Christ we can’t ever be whole. This applies to us more than we would like to admit. Because we want to do things on our own. It’s a part of our fallen DNA. It’s been a problem from the beginning. It was the reason for the fall in the garden. Adam and Eve thought they could do things their own way. But it didn’t work for them just as it won’t work for us. In John 15:5 Jesus states, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” Without Christ, we are without hope.

Jesus is the eternal word. He is the creative Word and He is the Word of God incarnate. The quality is represented in the verse that we opened with in John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us.” The idea that Jesus left the glory of heaven, to dwell amongst mankind, and then die for those who were enemies of God still blows me away. The only thing that baffles me more is that we minimize this great act of love and think we can do things our way. John makes it abundantly clear that the Son of God came in the flesh and was subjected to the sinless infirmities of human nature. Christ was not a concept or some philosophy. He isn’t a Bible story told to deter children and adults from sinning. Jesus was a real person who could be seen, touched and heard. He came to earth as an infant with one purpose in mind. To redeem the lost and provide a path of reconciliation for lost sinners. He was God incarnate and without a relationship with Him, we have no hope of eternal life. The hope we have in Christ is the hope that matters. Is your hope in Jesus? If not, I want to urge you to ask Jesus into your heart and let a pastor know so we can introduce you to your next steps. Jesus makes all the difference!

Pastor Amber Clendenin