I Need to See the Whole Counsel of God

Advent & Christmas

December 13, 2023

I Need to See the Whole Counsel of God

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

John 1:14

Read: John 1: 1-5, 14

John begins his gospel with the same words the writer of the Book of Genesis used: “In the beginning.” John then describes the creative energy that God used in forming the universe as God’s Word. For John, Word is not just words like we read in a book or hear a person speak. Word is the very essence of God. John tells us Jesus is God’s Word.

The crowning achievement of the creation story in Genesis is God’s creation of humankind. As John opens his Gospel, he tells us God’s crowning achievement continues to be His care and love for His people. John writes that when we believe in Jesus, we are given the right to become children of God. We are reborn with a birth that comes from God.

In verse 14, John brings together some of the great biblical themes in Exodus and 2 Samuel. The Greek word translated “home” in verse 14 is used in Greek for the word, tent, and connotes the Tabernacle in Exodus where God dwelled with His people. When John wrote, “And we have seen his glory” he invoked the memory of Moses seeing God’s glory in Exodus 32. When John wrote, “the glory of the Father’s one and only Son” he invoked God’s promise in 2 Samuel 7 that from David’s house will come a son who will build a house for the name of God and who will reign as King forever. (See my meditation, I Need to Trust God, December 6, 2023) Ultimately, we will see in the Gospel of John that Jesus’ glory is revealed in his self-giving love in his crucifixion.

John’s use of Word to describe the creative essence of God and of Jesus, takes me to Isaiah 55:11 (NRSV),

so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

    it shall not return to me empty,

but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

    and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

My Takeaway: John shows us that God’s plan of redemption in Jesus was revealed throughout the Old Testament. If I want to understand the Gospel of John, and the New Testament, I need to learn to see the whole counsel of God.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.