A Word About Christmas
Part 1
Introduction: People have all kinds of different ideas about Christmas and as we enter this Christmas Season I’d like to share with you a few ideas about Christmas. But I don’t necessarily want to share with you my ideas about Christmas, but instead to share with you God’s ideas about Christmas. We are going to look at a passage of Scripture that is not usually thought of as a traditional Christmas passage and hear what God’s Word has to say about Christmas.
Text: John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.
Christmas is not �A� word�Christmas is �THE� Word!
Most of us have seen the phrase, �Jesus is the Reason for the Season� on Christmas Cards, Pins, I even have a coffee cup with that statement on it. That is one of the most powerful messages that can be sent to our world today�Christmas is all about �THE WORD� Jesus Christ, God�s Son! For many people Christmas is �A� word�a time for family, celebration, presents�all wonderful things in themselves, but that is not the key to Christmas. Christmas is �THE� Word�the Son of God coming to earth as a baby born in a manger in Bethlehem. I�d like to take a few minutes to share with you today about �THE� Word of Christmas.
1. The Word Was, Is, and Always Will Be
John introduced his Gospel by pointing his readers to the Son of God revealed as �The Word.� The Greek term John used was logos. For the readers of John�s day this term would have had special meaning. For those from a Jewish background the idea of God revealing Himself as �The Word� would have been special because of their great appreciation for the importance of the use of words in communication. The Hebrew language only had 10,000 words. Part of their culture was to use words in such a way to create the greatest emphasis with the least amount of words.
For his Jewish readers John�s description of the Son of God as �The Word� would have drawn their attention to the simple yet profound truth that God revealed Himself, communicated to His people all that He was, is, and will be in the person of Jesus Christ. We have a tendency to stereotype Jewish people today as being chatty, or talkative, but in Jewish history a person who could communicate effectively with few words was greatly admired. That is exactly what John did�in two words he pointed them to the greatest truth of all�Jesus Christ, the Son of God��THE WORD!�
But John was not only writing to a Jewish audience; in fact they may have been a minority. John was also writing to an audience that had been influenced the Greek language. To those the term logos referred to simple communication, but also to a concept of reason that transcends our human understanding.
Almost 600 years before Jesus was born a Greek Philosopher named Hieraclitus came up with the analogy that is still used today. He said that a person can never step into the same river twice because you can step in once and step out, but if you step back in again it is not the same river because the river has continued to move, and the water that you step back into is not the water you stepped into before.
Hieraclitus used that analogy to point to the fact that all of life is like a river�everything is in a state of constant change. The challenge this Greek philosopher had was that if this was true, what kept the world from spinning out of control? What was the controlling force amidst the ever-changing, ever-flowing river of life? Hieraclitus� answer was found in a single word: logos�which he identified as, �the word of God, reason of God, or, the mind of God.� Hieraclitus said that somehow, someway, God kept all that is, was, or will be, in balance.
This Greek philosopher took it one step further and offered an incredible spiritual insight. He asserted that in the same way that all of life is kept in balance by �the word,� the only way an individual could find balance in life would be by internalizing �the word.� The word had to become a part of them!
It is amazing to me how close Heiraclitus came to the message of the Gospel, and he did so 600 years before Christ was born! What Heiraclitus philosophized about, John clearly revealed as truth under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. What Heiraclitus theorized as the controlling influence of all of life John taught as eternal truth concerning the Son of God:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
When was the beginning? For us, a beginning is a specific moment in time, but not so for God. God is eternal and has no beginning or end�God is!
The Son of God didn�t come into being when Jesus was born to a virgin named Mary 2000 years ago. The Son of God has always been, and always will be�He is eternal in nature with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. That truth was clearly stated by the Prophet Isaiah who said of God:
Isaiah 41:4
4 �Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last�I am He.�
Jesus identified himself as the �First and the Last� in his revelation to John:
Revelation 1:8
8 �I am the Alpha and the Omega,� says the Lord God, �the One who is, who was, and who is coming, the Almighty.�
I like the way the Living Bible translates that verse:
Revelation 1:8 (LB)
�I am the A and the Z, the Beginning and the Ending of all things,�
says God, who is the Lord, the All Powerful One who is, and was, and is coming again!
2. The Word Created the World
John went on to point out to his readers that The Word was responsible for the creation all that is:
3 All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created.
The Apostle Paul revealed that same truth to the believers in Colossae when he told them about Jesus Christ:
Colossians 1:16-17
16 because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities�all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.
In the story of creation we see God create through His Word��and God said�and it was so.� The �said� of Genesis 1 is �The Word� of John 1�it is the Son of God, the Creator of Heaven and earth.
Next week we will continue looking at this wonderful passage from John 1 by seeing The Word as Light and Life. Today as we conclude let me offer for you some application thoughts for your life.
Application Thoughts
1. Let this Christmas Season be more about Jesus and less about us! Christmas is not just another word�it is a celebration of �THE WORD�!
2. Life is always changing but God is not! He LOVES YOU and wants to be a part of your life! Will you let THE WORD, Jesus Christ take up residence in your heart?
Jesus offers the very best gift that can be given at Christmas�it�s a gift of Himself. Listen to the Lord�s word to John in Revelation 21�
Revelation 21:6
6 And He said to me, �It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give to the thirsty from the spring of living water as a gift.
