One of the
integral passages of Biblical Christianity is, “And the Word became flesh and
dwelt among us…”
There is no
escaping the significance of this fact. John, having already established Jesus
is God, now tells us how he knows this is true. God in Christ has come to live
in their midst, and He has directly informed them of Himself and about Himself.
And they
literally beheld His glory, as the only begotten of the Father – full of grace
and truth. God was fully on display. His nature. His diety. His character. His
love. Then He submitted Himself to death on the cross and rose from the dead to
prove this was not imagined.
None of this
had ever been known to this degree before, and it has not been revealed to this
degree since. It is the most important moment in the history of the world – and
it is the most significant event in each of our lives.
Other faith systems
claim many things about the god or gods they serve. Chief among the claims of
the Islamist faith is god (Allah) cannot be known. This is one of the central messages
of their messenger sent from their god. Muhammad said Allah cannot be known.
Muhammad literally wrote Allah is the chief of all deceivers. (Qu’ran Sura 3:54, 7:99, 8:30)
When it
comes to Bhuddism or Hinduism, the same is true. In Bhuddism, god transcends
everything and is in everything and is a mystical force and not a person. There
is no personality to know, but a mystical perspective to be gained. In
Hinduism, there are at least 300,000 gods, and they are unknowable on that basis
alone. Too many to count. And they are capricious, (as is also ascribed to
Allah.) You can never know what those gods may do. All you can do is attempt to
appease them by your conduct.
Jesus, on
the other hand, is God-in-Flesh. This is the whole point of Biblical
Christianity. There can be no doubt. Here He is. This is it. God has come into
the world He created to fully reveal Himself. If you are truly searching for
God, He can be found. He can be known. Furthermore, God has revealed He desires
to be known. He desires a personal relationship with every man, and His entry
into His creation proves this is so.
If you
desire to know God, you can. All you need to do is study the God of the Bible
and He will reveal Himself to every heart open to the desire to know Him.
Later, Jesus told Philip, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
God came into the world so we may behold His glory as truth and not
imagination.
-Pastor Bill
No comments:
Post a Comment