The Word Became Flesh

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the One who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:18-21 (LSB)

We are in the process of celebrating the Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, most people celebrating Christmas are not doing so in light of the coming of our Saviour. However, that should not impede us from doing so should it? The early church did not celebrate the Advent of our Lord. That came later. Therefore, we must keep this in the perspective of who He really is and why He came.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. John 1:1-2 (LSB) 

The phrase “in the beginning” tells us that the Word existed before creation. The Greek word for “beginning” here is “arche.” It simply means the most extreme or outermost point of something. John uses this word to refer to the beginning of the universe. This would include time, space, and all matter. The word John used that is translated “Word” here is “logos.” This word is best translated as “intelligence.” It was used in Greek philosophy to signify the rational principle of “divine reason,” “mind,” or “wisdom.” However, John gave this word an O.T. and Christian meaning. For example, he obviously is referring back to Genesis 1:3 where God’s Word brought the world into existence. In the Psalms and Proverbs God’s Word is His powerful self-expression in creation, wisdom, revelation, and salvation. John took this understanding and made “Logos” refer to a person, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Word was not a created being subject to time and space. He is outside of creation. View article →