If all the words we ever spoke became embodied in a new human being, what would that person be like? They would look different from us, but they would be an exact representation of us.
Imagine: all the good words, all the comforting words, all the encouraging words, and all the other words standing in front of you. That’s a scary thought … for me anyway. Words are selected, carefully sometimes, thoughtlessly most of the time. They are a mirror of thoughts and emotions, a window into our soul.
The Apostle John begins his Gospel saying, “In the beginning…” His words echo the first words of creation in Genesis 1:1. With Jesus there is a new beginning.
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 came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:1–5, NAS)
The Word became flesh in the incarnation of Jesus of Nazareth who is the exact representation of God, because He is Word made flesh. In the beginning, He was with the Father, He is God, but He is distinct from the Father, as He made abundantly clear in His earthly ministry. He and the Father are one.
Jesus’ life is the new light that stands out in stark contrast to the darkness of the world — the darkness of us. The Word existed before creation. The Word was God, but the Word was distinct from the Father and the Holy Spirit.
It’s astonishing that Jesus wants us to be one in Him (John 17:21-23), just as He is one with Father. How do we do that? The answer is simple, the Word of God, the Words of God in the Bible must dwell in us. They must renew our thoughts (Romans 12:2) and emotions. God’s Word must dwell in us. We must become a new creation in Christ.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come, (2 Corinthians 5:17, NAS)
This is why we are born again by the Holy Spirit. We are a new creation in Christ. We are children of God. As Paul states, “Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.” (Galatians 4:7, NAS). Renewing our minds and walking in the new life we have in Christ is only possible because Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be in us, to dwell in us, just as the Word dwelled in Christ. So also, Jesus dwells in us by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Paul can say:
Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16, NAS).
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, our words are the exact representation of who we are. Let’s be more like Christ through the renewing power of God’s Word and the transformational power of His Spirit, and the rest will follow.
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
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Dr. Rob Oberto is the award-winning author of “Intimacy With God: Extraordinary miracles that opened a skeptic’s heart to God” available from Amazon.
©2017 Rob Oberto, All Rights Reserved.
©2017 Rob Oberto, All Rights Reserved.
The title is accurate in so many ways. It became flesh