The Christmas season is so busy for all of us. There are decorations to put up, gifts to buy, parties to put together or attend. And as Christians we often bemoan the commercialization and the busyness of Christmas, but then it seems that we often get caught up in all the very same things that we lament.
The time around the very first Christmas was very busy, too. There was a census being taken, and it may also very well be that devout Jews had descended upon Jerusalem and its surrounds in order to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. The crowds and the busyness are certainly reflected by the fact that Mary and Joseph could find no suitable lodging.
But God broke into the hustle and bustle of that world in a way that very few could have even imagined. Matthew and Luke record many of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus. But, as we began to see last week, it is John, in his gospel, who provides us with the deeper meaning behind those events. Let’s read our passage out loud together:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:1-5, 14 (NIV)
In the midst of the busyness of the day, God broke into our world as the “logos” became flesh and made his dwelling among us. Once again this morning, we’ll see how the incarnation can help us to keep from getting caught up in the busyness of the season and keep our focus where God intends for it to be.
You’ll remember from last week that the word translated “Word” in most of our English translations is the Greek word “logos”, which in Greek means much more than just “word”. It is a word that John used to describe the pre-incarnate Son of God, the second person of the triune God. So as we progress in our journey through the first part of John’s gospel, I’m going to do the very best I can to be consistent with John’s practice of referring to the Son of God as the “logos” as He existed prior to His incarnation and then use the more familiar terms like “Jesus”, “Christ” and “Lord” to refer to Him subsequent to the incarnation.
Last week, we looked at the first phrase of verse 1 and we focused on the fact that the “logos” was eternal. Since He has no beginning or end and He is uncreated, He is by definition eternal and therefore must also be God, since only God is eternal.
This morning we’ll move on to the second attribute of the “logos” which we find in the middle of verse 1 and then repeated again in verse 2:
…and the Word was with God… (v. 1)
He was with God… (v. 2)
At first glance, these two short phrases don’t appear to reveal a whole lot about the nature of the “logos”. But the fact that He was “with God” does in fact reveal a very important attribute:
The “logos” – His personality
As John opens his gospel, he is very careful to refer to the “logos” with personal pronouns such as “He” and “His” and not impersonal words like “it”. That is a very significant distinction, because he makes it quite clear that the “logos” is a distinct person and not merely an attribute or characteristic of God. And as a person, He is therefore able to be “with God” and have a relationship with Him. In other words, the “logos” is a person with his own personality.
I’m not sure that we often think of God in those terms. And in a sense that is certainly understandable. We certainly don’t want to bring God down to the human level and merely view Him as some kind of exalted human. But once we understand the terms “person” and “personality” in their proper Biblical context, then I don’t think we’ll have any problem at all with the concept of the personality of God and the corresponding personality of the “logos”.
• The term “person” is not limited to the human form
In our language, we use the term “person” to show individual identity, as we find in this definition of “person” from the Free Online Dictionary:
The composite of characteristics that make up an individual personality; the self.
So, using that sense of the word “person”, it is obvious that the term is not limited to just human beings. That is quite clear in the Bible, where personal pronouns like “he” and “him” are frequently applied to those who are not in human form. In addition to the way John uses those terms in describing the “logos”, we find similar uses in relation to angels and to Satan and his demons.
And throughout the Bible, we find that the Biblical writers also consistently used those same personal pronouns to refer to all three persons of the Godhead. In fact, even a secular website like the Free Online Dictionary includes this definition of “person”
Any of the three separate individualities of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as distinguished from the essence of the Godhead that unites them.
So, as long as we’re careful not to use the term in any way that contradicts the deity of God and His unique nature that is completely separate from that of any human, it is quite appropriate to refer to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as “persons”.
• The “logos” is a person distinct from God and yet one with Him
Right now, we are all gathered together in this building, so any of us could refer to any other person in this room and accurately say that we are “with” that other person. I could say, I’m with Dana” or “I’m with Mary”. But no one in their right mind would say, “I’m here with myself”. And yet, there is also a sense as we all gather here together that we are also one body. So I could say that I am with all of you, but I could also say that I am one with all of you.
Although that illustration is limited because all of us are humans with physical bodies that are limited, it helps us to understand the idea that the “logos” and the Father are distinct persons and yet also one. The only way that the “logos” could be “with God” is if He was in fact a separate person. Although the “logos” and the Father are two separate personalities, at the same time they are so intimately related that they are completely united in their thoughts, purposes, and actions. That’s why after the “logos” became flesh and lived on this earth, he uttered these words:
I and the Father are one.
John 10:30 (NIV)
Unfortunately, this verse has often been misused to try and deny the clear Biblical teaching of a triune God, or what we commonly refer to as the Trinity. However, a careful exposition of this verse reveals that even though Jesus is clearly claiming to be God, He is not saying that He and the Father are one and the same person. Had Jesus wanted to say that the word “one” would have been in what is known in Greek as the masculine gender. But that’s not the form Jesus uses here. Instead, the word “one” is in the neuter gender. That’s significant, because by using that form of the word, Jesus makes it absolutely clear that even though He and His Father are two distinct, unique persons, they are one entity – the single entity we call God.
There is no doubt that this is one of those principles that is clearly taught in the Scriptures that is really difficult for us to grasp in our human minds. Although we’re focusing primarily on God the Father and God the Son this morning, this same principle also applies to God the Holy Spirit. He, too, is a person who is distinct from the other two persons of the Godhead, but who is also one with both of them.
But even though this whole concept is so difficult for us to comprehend fully, there is one significant aspect of this idea that we see reflected quite clearly in the life of Jesus:
• The “logos” had the ability to engage in relationships
The little word “with” in both verses 1 and 2 does not just imply proximity, but rather an intimate personal relationship. It signifies more than merely being beside God – it pictures a relationship in which there is communication, communion and fellowship.
That was a tremendously important principle in the culture into which the “logos” descended and became flesh. Unlike our Western culture in which individualism is stressed, in the Eastern culture of the first century one’s identity was defined by one’s key relationships. Paul recognized that when he used these terms to describe himself to the church in Philippi:
…If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee…
Philippians 3:4, 5 (NIV)
Notice how Paul’s identity, at least prior to His relationship with Jesus, was based on the groups he was part of and the relationships he had – he was a Jew, from the tribe of Benjamin, and part of the group known as the Pharisees. Even after His conversion he still finds his identity based on a relationship, but he focuses on a new relationship:
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him…
Philippians 3:8, 9 (NIV)
Paul has taken on a whole new identity now because of his experience with Jesus, but that identity is still found in his relationship with Jesus rather than being based on his own individual attributes.
The idea that the “logos” had the ability to engage in relationships comes into even clearer focus after the incarnation. In fact, almost every title given to Jesus is a reflection of one or more relationships. He is the Son of God in relationship to His Father. He is the Christ, the Messiah in relationship to mankind. He is the Lord in relationship to those He rules. He is Jesus in relationship to those He came to save.
THE PERSONALITY OF THE “LOGOS” - IMPLICATIONS FOR US
1. We need to find our identity in our relationship with Jesus
Although in our western culture, our identities are clearly very individual, we do still find much of our identity in our relationships. For instance, in the recent political campaigns, many of us defined our identities in terms of political parties or our political philosophy. And so we may identify ourselves as Republicans or Democrats, or as conservative, liberal or moderate. Even our states become identified as red states and blue states.
And there are obviously a lot of other relationships that help define who we are – our families, the schools we attend or the ones we graduated from, the sports teams we cheer for, our jobs and professions. And there is certainly nothing wrong with these relationships. In fact, at least in most cases those relationships are very important. But we can’t allow them to define who we are.
We need to be like Paul and come to the place where all of our other relationships, except for the one we have with Jesus, are no longer the basis for our identity. We need to be able to say that all those other relationships are like garbage compared to our relationship with Jesus.
It’s really instructive that when Paul wrote his letters to the various churches, he always began by identifying himself based on his relationship with Jesus. Here are just a few examples:
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—(Romans 1:1)
Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God… (1 Corinthians 1:1)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God… (2 Corinthians 1:1)
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God… (Ephesians 1:1)
But that’s not nearly as easy to do in our culture because others around us are always focusing on us as individuals or on our other relationships. When we first meet someone, what’s usually the first question we ask them? “What do you do?” And so we try to force people to focus on their work relationships to the exclusion of their relationship with Jesus.
Perhaps the best way to gauge where we’re at in this area is to ask ourselves the age-old question that we’ve all run across in an interview situation – “Tell me about yourself.” If the answer to that question begins with “I’m a follower of Jesus Christ”, then there is a good chance that you’ve find your identity in Him. But if you answer in any other way, then you’ve got some work to do in this area. And the best place to start may very well be with these last two implications that I’m going to share with you this morning.
2. We get to know God as we get to know Jesus
We’ve focused a lot on relationships this morning and one of the foundations of any relationship is getting to know the other person better. And nowhere is that more important than in our relationship with God. But because God is not flesh and bones and we can’t see Him, touch Him, listen to an audible voice, or otherwise experience Him physically, it is really hard to get to know Him.
But the “logos”, who has had a relationship with the Father since before the beginning of time, obviously knows the Father very well. That’s why when He came to earth, Jesus could make this claim:
Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word.
John 8:55 (NIV)
Because the “logos” was with God from before the beginning of time, He knows the Father intimately. And one of the primary reasons that the “logos” became flesh and came to this earth is so that we can know God better by getting to know Jesus better. In fact, based on the words of Jesus, we can make a pretty good case that Jesus is the only way that we can really get to know God:
All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Matthew 11:27 (NIV)
Jesus claimed that no one knows the Father except for Him and those to whom Jesus has chosen to reveal the Father. Jesus further emphasized that principle with Philip:
If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ’Show us the Father’?
John 14:7-9 (NIV)
Do you want to get to know God better? Then get to know Jesus better. That leads us to our third and final implication of the personality of the “logos”.
3. It is more demanding to develop a relationship than to practice religion or ritual
The thing that separates Biblical Christianity from every other religion ever known to mankind is that it is based on a relationship and not on religion and ritual. In his first epistle, John certainly emphasized that idea:
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:3 (NIV)
The idea that as followers of Jesus we can have fellowship, a relationship, with God the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ is completely amazing. That is certainly much more fulfilling than attempting to keep a set of rules or engaging in rituals. But I think I can also make a compelling case that it is also much more demanding.
One of the most common condemnations that Jesus had for the religious leaders of His day was that they meticulously followed all the religious rules and traditions, but that they ignored relationships – both with God and with others. But before we’re too quick to point out the faults of the Pharisees perhaps we need to look at our own lives a little more carefully first. Let’s take a few moments to consider just how much we may be like those Jesus condemned.
Depending on which poll you use, somewhere around 85% of the people in the United States call themselves Christians. But how many of them are really working to develop a relationship with God? First, you have a large percentage of those people who rarely even go to church except maybe on Christmas or Easter. Then there are those who go to church every Sunday, they say they’ve committed their lives to Christ, they’ve been baptized and some of them may even tithe. But an hour or two on Sunday morning is the extent of their relationship with God.
Just think about it. That certainly isn’t how we try to develop our other relationships. What if I were to tell Mary, “I really do love you and want to work on our relationship” but then I never spent any time with her or her family and friends? Or what if I told her, “I really want to move our relationship to the next level, so I’m going to completely devote over two hours to that relationship every Saturday morning from 9:30 to noon. That should certainly be enough to keep up going each week until we get back together again. And oh, by the way, if the weather’s really nice and someone invites me to go play golf, I may have to miss those Saturday mornings once in a while.” I don’t think that our relationship would be very fulfilling and vibrant.
But isn’t that essentially what many of us do when it comes to our relationship with God? Developing a relationship is hard work. It requires commitment. It means allocating adequate time and resources to working on that relationship. And frankly that’s a lot more difficult than hanging on to some rules, traditions and rituals.
One of the main reasons that I’ve chosen to focus on this passage in John for seven weeks during this time of year is that I pray that it will be an antidote, at least in part, to the religious activity, rituals and traditions that so often consume us during this holiday season. I’m not suggesting that you have to completely do away with all of those things. But what I hope that I’m making clear is that there is something far more important that will have lasting value – our relationship with God through the one who was with Him – the “logos”.
