57. You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58. “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
What did Jesus do to make the religious people so angry? He revealed His superior authority. Then they quoted Abraham being their father. Jesus revealed that before Abraham was, “I am”. Jesus was eternal, which leads to the next statement of His person. The Word was God.
Jesus was divine. He was God. When the Jehovah Witnesses try to tell you differently, don’t let them twist words. It is clear the LOGOS is Jesus and it is clear that LOGOS is God. They will say He was a god, but that is not what John is revealing. Of course any doctrine would have other places in the Bible to back it up in clear teaching.
Philippians 2 tells us, “Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.” He humbled Himself when we became a man.
Hebrews 1:3-4 also tells us “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.”
Both the pre-existent nature and the divine nature was revealed in Revelations 1 Jesus identifies himself as the Alpha and the Omega, again another name reserved only for God from the beginning to the end. When we speak of Jesus coming to earth, we talk about the dual nature of Jesus as God-man. Jesus is co-existent with the Father as a member of the Trinity. He was separate from, but the same as. Augustine tried to explain this dual nature of Jesus and the Trinity as the sun having fire and heat and light yet one sun. Each was separate but each was the same.
If you want to know what God is like, study the life of Jesus Christ. When you are receiving the Word of God, you are receiving God. Jesus is one with the Father. Whenever I believe the Word of God, I believe God. Whenever I trust the Word of God, I trust God. The character of Jesus is the same character of God. He was holy, without sin, even in His thought-life. There are other men who are admirable teachers, but all human teachers are short-sighted in some areas. Some worse than others, but if He is as John identifies Him, then He demands your belief, your total allegiance. Listen carefully to what He says and observe His life closely, for that is the incarnation. God has come in the flesh. This Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
God is not aloof and indifferent. He reveals Himself.
John wants us to know who this baby is. He is pre-existent God in the flesh. That immediately eliminates all other possibilities. He is not just a good teacher, a wonderful prophet. He is not just a nice man or a special miracles worker. He is not just a wise teacher. He is the LOGOS. The Word of God come to us.
Dale
Application: What awesome words to ponder and believe! Trust Him!
Prayer: Lord, as I ponder Your Word, Your magnificence, You as the Alpha and Omega, I can't help but give You my allegiance. Please woo me to give You my all by dying to self and living in my new creation.
