January 5 –
John 1:10-18 –
In Australia we have a parliamentary system of government, where the Prime Minister and Cabinet form the executive arm of the government. In the Bible we are presented with a picture where God is the government and Christ (the Messiah) is the executive arm of that government, or to put this in terms of the ancient monarchical systems of government, Christ is the son of the king, the one who executes the king’s commands. This executive side of God is also called the Word of God, because when God gives a command something happens. In Genesis, we read that God created the world by means of his word. “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” Then John says that the Word of God was always in the world and through the Word everything came into existence, but the world generally did not recognize it. John bore witness to the fact that in Jesus the Word (the executive expression of God) was made visible in a real, historical, living person. Those who accept Jesus as the historical, visible, tangible presence of God and trust themselves to him become children of God. The people of Israel understood that they were the children of God, they were God’s family, but, in this passage, John is saying that it is those who accept Jesus as the Word of God and allow themselves to be led by his Spirit who are the real children of God. To be a child of God is not a matter of genetics or family tree, it is a matter of responsiveness to the Holy Spirit, a matter of faith in God as revealed through Jesus Christ.
- Give examples of the power of words.
- What do these lines from Hark the herald angels sing mean: “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail the incarnate deity”?
- What does it mean to be called a child of God?
- What are your hopes and prayers for the new year?