The Word Became Flesh – Part 3

For the past two weeks, I’ve shared Dr. John MacArthur’s thoughts about The Word Became Flesh in John’s gospel. Those first weeks covered the pre-existence and the co-existence of Christ. This week I’ll share with you Dr. M’s. next thoughts about this topic.

The One who came to earth at Christmas as a baby is God Himself. He is also God the Son who was with God before anything existed, in preexistence and in coexistence.

The Word Made Flesh Part 3 @DDuPreeWilliams #faith #writing Share on X

SELF-EXISTENCE

There’s one more thing the Apostle John wants us to understand. Not just preexistence and co-existence, but self-existence. This describes the essence of the nature of Christ. Three things to understand here: eternality, equality, and essence. Please remember, these are Dr. M’s thoughts. I have no capacity to explain this as he does. I’m sharing his thoughts with you because I know many won’t ever watch his sermons even though his teaching is so worthwhile.

The phrase theologians use here is the aseity of God, meaning the self-existence of God. I don’t know about y’all, but I’d never heard of this before.

Dr. M. directs us to verse 4. In Him was life. John 5:26 repeats this thought: For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself (ESV). He further explains the Greek here isn’t bios, just physical life, but zoe, a broad term that encompasses all kinds of life. It translates, Life was in Him.

THINKING DEEPLY

What this means is, He didn’t receive life when all the other created things received life. He didn’t get it from some other source. It wasn’t developed from some other power. He possesses life as a part of His nature. His essence. Remember when Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6, ESV). That’s because of the self-existence of God. I know we understand this on one level, but hearing it explained gives us pause to really think about it.

Dr. M. reminds us that if we don’t believe all three of these natures of Jesus, then we have a completely different Jesus. Galatians 1:8 says, But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed (ESV). You can’t have a different Jesus from the One John speaks of—the One Paul and the other apostles proclaim.

When we alter these fundamental things about the nature of Jesus, then we are putting forth a different Jesus. Dr. M. states these were developed by demons in false religions. Scary thought, huh?

THE SOURCE OF ALL LIFE

But look at how matter-of-fact John’s statement is—In Him was life. He wasn’t given life. He contains life in Himself. We all know He’s the Source of all life. Read John 14:6 again, where Jesus tells us He is the life.

Remember Jesus told them, Before Abraham, I Am. He is pure being. He isn’t becoming anything. I used to be a child, but now I’m becoming an old woman. I’ve changed. Jesus is eternal and unchanging. Hebrews 13:8 says, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (ESV). Being is eternal and unchanging. Becoming is temporal and changing.

Jesus gave life to everything that has life because all life is in Him. This idea takes us to Genesis 1:1, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (ESV). As Dr. M. proclaims, there is a huge effort to deny the creation account. If you can make people deny creation, then it follows that they will deny the Creator. If you get rid of the Creator, then there is no one to whom you must account for your sin. Just live any old way you wish.

But—we have a Creator.

His name is Jesus, the baby who came to earth for the sole purpose of dying for our sins. This baby, The Word Became Flesh, loves you so much, He died for you.

Next week, I’ll conclude this series.

Blessings, y’all.

 

Please indulge me as I wish our sisters, Kay Williams Wolfe and Sue Williams Protopsaltis, Happy, Happy Birthday. They have back-to-back birthdays this week. We love you both and are blessed to call you ours.

I’ve never heard of this man or of his music. He’s a worship leader who teaches worship leaders around the country. This is perfect for this series, and I pray this blesses you.