God Incarnate from Eternity

John 1:1-15, 30

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”
This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’

The first three gospel accounts are referred to as the Synoptic Gospels as they follow the life of Jesus albeit with individual emphases. John, the fourth account, takes a topical view putting Jesus into the greater context as the God of Eternity:

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 were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.1

While the name ‘Jesus’ is not written in the earlier section (Old Testament), the Word of God is repeatedly manifest. God ‘speaks’ and creation begins—everything begins with the Word of God. Jesus does not begin with a birth in Bethlehem during the reign of Herod for Jesus is part of that ‘In the beginning, God…’ which exists before all that was created by Him.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.2

John the Apostle continues revealing the nature of what God was doing both in Jesus the Word of God and Jesus, God Incarnate.3

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.4

Most who were waiting for God to manifest Himself on their behalf had a different view of what a Messiah ought to be. ‘Messiah’ is Hebrew for the same as ‘Christ’ in Greek and was not the last name of Jesus Christ but rather a title or identity as ‘the anointed one’ who would be God’s representative to deliver the LORD’s people.

The New Testament is how we can be changed in the LORD rather than our expectation that He will change our circumstances to our liking. This ability to be transformed into His image begins with Him coming among us in a form we could recognize and yet living without sin in the flesh—proving that it would be possible for us through His enabling as demonstrated even by His death.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)5

Again, John the Baptist witnesses that Jesus ‘was before me’ not just in supremacy but also in time. The Baptist was born several months before Jesus but John repeats this reminding us that Jesus was (and is) God from before the Beginning of all that was created.

Thus the Apostle John begins the Gospel of Jesus by establishing that Jesus is more than a man, the son of Mary and her husband-to-be Joseph. This is the account of God among us making the way for us to Himself, entering in to our circumstances to draw us back to Himself.

FOOTNOTES & LINKS:
 1 John 1:1-5 (ESV) Blue Letter Bible
 2 John 1:6-8 (ESV) Blue Letter Bible
 3 ‘incarnate’ simply means ‘in the flesh’ so God Incarnate is God living in a flesh suit. The technical term is ‘hypostatic union’ meaning the union of both divine and human in Jesus. And, no, you can’t explain how other than God is GOD.
 4 John 1:9-13 (ESV) Blue Letter Bible
 5 John 1:14-15 (ESV) Blue Letter Bible
 6 John 1:30 (ESV) Blue Letter Bible
KEY TEXT: John 1:1-30 (ESV) – Blue Letter Bible
All Scripture references from the Blue Letter Bible, ESV
at https://www.blueletterbible.org
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
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