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)Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.4) In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
The prologue of John is one of the most well-known passages of the New Testament. Jesus is referred to as the Word, or the logos in Greek. For the Greek philosophers, the logos was that logical, intelligent, rational force that they believed had to exist behind all of the natural laws they saw at work in the world. For the Jewish theologians it was the outward expression of the invisible God. John was led to apply this word to Christ and fill it with deeper, richer meaning. The logos has a heavenly rule of six that we can appreciate.
The Word is eternal (v. 1) Go back as far as you want. Imagine you are at the beginning of time, Jesus was already there, the Word comes out of eternity.
The Word is a person (v. 2) Jesus is a being distinct from God and yet one with the Triune God. That power, that reason, which has been present in the world, is a personal being who was with God as verse two says, in the beginning.
The Word is God (v. 1-2) You might think that if He was with God, He can’t be God, but look at the third statement “The Word was God”. The Word is himself fully God. He can be distinguished from the Father, and yet He is one with the Father and equal to the Father. Behind this is the truth of the Trinity. There is one God but that one God exists in three distinct persons. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three persons share the same essence, the attributes, the stuff of God, the spiritual DNA that makes God, God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit alone share the essence of God and they share that essence equally. So the Word was with God and the Word was God.
The Word is the Creator (v. 3) Christ Jesus, before His appearance on this earth, made the ocean and the sunrise and the dolphins and the egrets and all that has been created.
The Word is the source of life (v. 4) Here we have a major theme in the gospel of John. In John 5:40, Jesus expresses His sorrow that people refuse to come to Him to have life. In John 10:10 He says “I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly”
The Word is the source of light (v4) The life in Jesus Christ is a life that gives spiritual light wherever it is received. Light is a powerful symbol in the Bible, it stops us from stumbling and helps us to see the way ahead.
This week I have heard from the government about a rule of six that is going to impact my life. I shall honour the request but will not find it very fulfilling.
The Revd. Larry Kirk gave me a rule of six concerning Jesus Christ. I am going to try and honour them in acknowledgement, appreciation, and application.
I acknowledge that this rule of six is absolutely true.
I appreciate that it good, helpful, and necessary for me to have an abundant life, as opposed to a constricted life the other rule of six offers me.
I need to put my ‘money where my mouth is’. Acknowledgement and appreciation is all well and good but without application it has no influence or power.
How about you? Are you going to embrace both rules of six? Our response will determine our well-being.