DAVID'S EMAIL BIBLE STUDY:
FLESH in the GAME
A. LENT Bible Study
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For seven weeks we’ll look at material in the Gospel of John that is NOT in the other Gospels. Then we’ll go back through the Gospel. John is famous as the “disciple whom Jesus loved”. On the cross Jesus turned the care of his mother over to John. There are five New Testament books often attributed to him – his Gospel, the three letters that bear his name, and Revelation. He was one of the first disciples Jesus recruited, the youngest, the only one to show up at the Cross, and the only disciple to die a natural death. John’s Gospel was written substantially after the early years of Christianity, providing a strong theological foundation for Christianity going forward.
C.
SUMMARY.
A. I call this John’s version of the Christmas Story. No Mary and Joseph; no shepherds nor Wise Men nor angels. Instead, John takes us back to before creation when Jesus dwelt within God as the Word. As such, he is co-responsible for all creation (vs. 1-3). God functions that way through the ages as Creator, Law and Light, and Life Giver. But in Bethlehem, through the agency of divine God and human Mary, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen his glory” (vs. 14).
John also introduces us to John the Baptist (vs. 6-8), whose task was to prepare people for the arrival of the Messiah, the “true light” (vs. 9). But most people “did not recognize” Jesus (vs. 10), even though Jesus “is at the Father’s side (and) has made God known” (vs. 18). In a word (pun intended), this is the INCARNATION.
D.
KEY POINTS
1. Incarnation literally means “meat in”. That’s why my subject line is “flesh in the game”. Flesh is meat, carne. When “the Word became flesh” God takes on human form. As the wonderful old song asked, “What if God is one of us?” At Christmas, that happens. The angel even promised that Jesus would be our “Emmanuel, which means ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23). That is the purpose and reality of Christmas: to bring God from “out there” to “right here”; from an impersonal concept to a person. This is a central teaching of the Christian faith, that God chose to fully enter into our humble, human experience. One of my favorite quotes is in effect, “if you feel God is too remote, too incomprehensible, then focus on Jesus. Jesus is the near end of God.” The Incarnation.
2. TRINITY is one of Christianity’s tougher doctrines. Our Lenten Devotional tackles it a couple of times. Simply stated, the idea of Trinity is that God is present and known in three ways as God the Father/Son/Holy Ghost. Or, gender-free, we can say as Creator/Redeemer/Inspirer-Comforter Spirit. Three functions, three manifestations, three ways of experiencing God. John’s Gospel sets the stage for this by explaining what is called “the pre-existence of Christ”. This means that Jesus was present within the Godhead before creation. Thus, “in the beginning was the Word, the Word was God... and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (vs. 1 and 14). The idea of “Word” is that God’s words are a force at work. In the Genesis creation story God speaks creation into existence (“and God said, let there be light, and there was light”). All it took was God at work through the Word. The Old Testament prophets generally prefaced their teaching with “The word of the Lord came to me...”. God’s word is God in action. That action ultimately becomes the Incarnation – God becoming one with us.
