Christmastide Meditation: The Word Became Flesh – Pt. 1 [30DEC2010]
December 30, 2010 | 
Author Christmastide Meditation: The Word Became Flesh – Pt. 1 [30DEC2010]
I have been pondering the “Word became flesh” for several days now. It seems the more I ponder this thought, the bigger it becomes. Although I have considered the question, “What does it mean; the Word became flesh?” a number of times, I don’t think I’ve spent this lengthy a period of unbroken time pondering it. My thoughts have gone in a number of different but related directions and I’m not sure any of them are completely developed, but I felt compelled to put “pen to paper” nonetheless. Before going further, there are a couple of assumptions I am making; (1) the Word refers to Jesus as written about in John 1:1-5. (2) the Word and Jesus refer to the incarnation of God in the person and flesh of Jesus Christ also written about in John 1:14-18, Philippians 2:5-11, and 1 John 1:1-4.
So, on to question one…
What does the Word became flesh mean? I think at the most basic level, the Word became flesh means what it says…
God became human. The history of the church dating back to the earliest Scriptures indicate this foundational understanding was agreed upon by the first followers of Jesus and continues (in large part) as an understood belief in his followers even today.
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14-18)
“The Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who did, through his transcendent love, become what we are, that he might bring us to be even what he is himself” (Ireneaus)
“For He was made man that we might be made God” (Athanasius)
How this marvelous mystery of the incarnation progresses and ultimately plays out in the lives of Jesus’ followers is one of the directions my “pondering” has taken me. I guess that makes the question take a different direction as well, presenting another layer of examination…
“What does the Word became flesh mean in the lives of Jesus’ followers?” I think this is a pretty big question too and we can get into many branches of theology and doctrine thereof, but theory and theology is not my aim as the object of this question. There is indeed a time and place for the study of theology and discussions relative to all the great doctrines of the Bible, but conversely, those things might also be a contributor to some of our problems as “believers.” So, for now…the lives we live as Christians and the daily practice of “living out” our faith are the objects of the question.
“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” –Jesus (John 10:10)
Much of our understanding of the Word becoming flesh or God coming to walk among men involves a domineering focus on the act of humanity’s salvation… that is, God’s reconciliatory act of atonement through the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Important as this aspect of the Word becoming flesh is, it is the proverbial “tip of the iceberg.” Jesus came to give us life; abundant, full, today, and eternal. Jesus lived among men to not only provide us a way back to God and show us the way to God, but to show us how to live our lives in the now for God as kingdom people of the eternal tomorrow. We scrutinize and obsess over the tip and miss the mass of the iceberg of our faith and all it has to offer us on this side of eternity. It is this side of eternity that God is so very involved in…it might be one of the details of our relationship He is most concerned with…and we might be missing it. I’ll talk more about these thoughts in the coming days. I hope you’ll weigh in.
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Jesus was flesh and bones as we are in Luke 24:39 Behold my hands and my feet that it is I myself handle me and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have Jesus showed them his hands and feet and Jesus even ate fish and honeycomb with them All things were fulfilled and Jesus opened their understanding of the scriptures and Jesus said go be my witnesses Jesus blessed them and Jesus was parted and carried up into heaven Wow! we are blessed and endued with power from on high to be his witnesses worshiping and praising and blessing God
This is Bethly weighing in on your pondering thoughts……
As a follower of Christ my thoughts too have struggled, wrestled, pondered, ruminated though never finding completion. I have however found great PEACE & JOY and assurance in the monumental SIZE of the mystery and miracle of God incarnate!
Through the years of my following I find myself coming to realize that a significant reason for God becoming human flesh wasn’t just soley to make a way for us in our eternal tomorrow but for the HERE and the NOW! While we are still in these earthly imperfect bodies we are offered a WAY to follow, a TRUTH to lead and guide and an abundant LIFE whereby we can find victory in these earthen jar vessels BECAUSE of Jesus the very one who took on flesh so that we would have access to everything He was able to accomplish in His earthly state in our here and now (in fact He said we would be able to accomplish even greater things than He did here on EARTH….another mind boggle) In all of my own swirl of thoughts my mind often turns to this thought….
If we play down or give less attention to, overlooking the obvious help and victory that can be ours in this earthly trek to be Kingdom advancers and reflectors of His glory and experiencing the intimacy with our Father He always intended for us (all reasons I believe we are left here on this earthly journey in the first place rather than being taken heavenward to join Him immediately upon salvation in Him) The WORD BECAME FLESH points to a model that would be there for us as we would be asked to enter in the next crucial act…. the “earthly scene” in this GRAND DEVINE-DESIGNED PLAY. I think your analogy of the “tip of the iceberg” is an excellent visual Jeffrey. So often we allow the circumstances of this lifelong journey to point and lead us to only a longing for our eternal home with Him and miss out on WHY He left us here to remain for a season in the first place rather than rapture us into His presence immediately upon redeeming us! This entire earthly “time line” is but a blip on the radar BUT nonetheless a crucial blip that our Lord and Savior intended for us to experience victoriously just as He did! He came in the flesh so that we might have LIFE abundantly in these fleshly clothed bodies.
When I am being tested by the many things that tempt me and stretch me in my own personal earthly pilgrimage I am often reminded which serves to redirect my mind to take captive these very thoughts….that the WORD became FLESH and showed me HOW IT IS DONE!!!! in the here and now of my life. The Word BECAME FLESH is my guarantee to my own victory today and all the tomorrows of my life. I don’t want to ever minimize what we are called to accomplish at His Spirits lead and direction in this life for the simple miraculous fact that the WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US points us clearly to the fact WE ARE COMMANDED to be Jesus in THIS earthly life and WE CAN in His name and empowerment!
You are absolutely right in your thinking here Jeffrey….
“It is this side of eternity that God is so very involved in…it might be one of the details of our relationship He is most concerned with…and we might be missing it.
I choose to be engaged in this side of eternity and I pray that I will not make light and minimize all the resources of my inheritance that were made possible by the incarnation and are at my disposal HERE & NOW! I know that I am a rich benefactor of the WORD BECAME FLESH! I also am quite acutely aware that what I inherited in this act of unparalleled LOVE on His part towards me is far more than I can possible comprehend. Like yourself we shouldn’t be deterred or distracted from trying and allowing that to transform us!
What I do plan to do in this coming year is live even more intentionally JOYOUS, CONFIDENT, EMPOWERED and more radically engaged in this mystery…the WORD BECAME FLESH! I am profoundly moved by what He has done and to that degree I desire to live my life NOW! On one level my mind is unable to comprehend all the implications of what this means while just knowing what was done in my behalf simultaneously has the capacity to take my breath away at the very implications that it has for my life. I may not ever explore ALL these implications that are found in this lavish act of love towards me but I will never deny that the implications and what they offer are endless……utterly endless, bottomless, completely unsearchable in there depth to the human mind. All that said…..”OH HOW I LOVE JESUS BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED ME!” Loved humanity enough to stoop down and take up residence in our neighborhood! (my paraphrase of The Message!)
There appear to be many “acts” to this devine “play” that He has set in motion before time as we know it before the foundations of the world….a time I can’t comprehend but I think we would do well to recognize and be obedient to just how crucial this earthly “scene” is in light of the incarnation….. THE WORD BECAME FLESH changes EVERYTHING!
Just some of my musing thoughts “weighing in” with you this New Year’s eve day….. Bethly
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