I love preaching through God’s Word. It is such a gift to have the opportunity every week to study verse by verse through Scripture and then get up and proclaim the truth before others. This is what God has called me to and what I must remain faithful to. Right now, our only way of knowing our Lord, is through this text. In John 5:39, Jesus said that the Scriptures testify about Him. They describe Him for us; His character and attributes. They reveal what is important to Him. They show us what He sounds like and what He is like. There is no other way to know Him apart from His Word. That’s how important our Bibles are to us and this relationship. There is no relationship without them. To know Jesus, to fellowship with Him, and to hear from Him – we are completely dependent on this Word but the good news, through the gospel, and the Christmas story is that this is not always how it will be.
John begins His gospel with explaining, that God’s Word is Jesus. He is a walking Bible. All that God is and all that He desires is personified in Jesus. John then says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”. The Word became flesh that we might know Him beyond letters and pages. He took on flesh that we might truly see Him, talk to Him, touch Him, hear His voice, and see His face. “For now”, Paul says in 1 Cor. 13:12, “we see in a mirror dimly…”. Our Bibles are a mirror that reflect to us, the image of Jesus. There’s a way that we can see and know Him now but He took on flesh that one day, by our trust in Him, and the new life He has given to us we will see Him just as He is. Paul continues “…then [it will be] face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.”
The Word became flesh, that we might know Him beyond the book. It was so we might know Him in person and in His presence. God desires for us to know Him. He has not hidden Himself or kept His distance but He arrived at Christmas to deliver the gift of Himself for you and all those who come to Him. Each Christmas is a reminder that that day is coming when all that we’ve read and continue to read in our Bibles will be standing before us, in the flesh.
Looking Forward To That Day, Pastor Rudy