BY TONY HOSS
As we consider Jesus and try to understand what He means to the World it is important to let the inspired writers speak. John said, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John. 1:1). There is no doubt to whom John was referring to. In verse 14 of the same chapter, John said, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”. Here it is easy to see that Jesus speaks for God and according to Hebrews, He is the express image of God (Heb. 1:3). Therefore, Jesus is the exact expression of God in all aspects. Consequently, Jesus could say if you have seen me you have seen the Father (John 14:9). John continues this thought in 1 John 1:1-4, where he wrote, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full”. To the World, Jesus means that God has offered salvation to all men.
In the Revelation of John in chapter 19 verse 13, John describes Jesus in this manner, “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God” (Rev. 19:13). The name “WORD” expresses the wonderful nature of Jesus as much or more than any other. “Word” comes from the Greek word (logos), and basically means that by which we communicate our will and our thoughts to others. Perhaps better put, our thoughts can only be understood in terms of “words.”
Paul says, “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so, the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:11-13).
Paul helps us to know that God’s thoughts must be expressed in “words” for us to understand. Jesus as the Word of God means He is the method of communication that God chose to speak with mankind. Through His beloved Son, God expressed to humanity his inner thoughts. Thus, Jesus is the revelation and the expressed idea of deity (Heb. 1:1-3). In essence, Jesus is the means by which the Father communicates His will and delivers His commands to His creation.
Knowing that Jesus is the express image of God gives more understanding to his words in John 12:48 where He said, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” Thus, it is easy to see that we will be judged by the Words of Christ because the Word, Jesus Christ, is the oracle of the will of Deity. He speaks to mankind the will and only the will of the Father. Now we should remember that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John. 14:6). Jesus is the way because he speaks for God.
If you are not a child of God why not today be obedient to His will and begin your life as a Christian by Hearing His Words, Believing that He is the Son of God, Repenting of your sins, Confessing that He is the Son of God and being buried with Him in Baptism for the remission of your sins.
(Tony Hoss is minister of the Centerview Church of Christ, Elizabethton)