JESUS CHRIST IS GOD

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

Jesus is God incarnate, Immanuel - God with us. To firmly establish that fact is the obvious focus of the opening words of John’s Gospel. He states that the Word was present with God at Creation, “in the beginning;” and by the end of the sentence, he declares, “the Word was God.” (John 1:1-2) John declares the Word (God) became flesh, i.e., became a man. (John 1:7) We know that man. His name is Jesus.

What an amazing proclamation. Paul wrote a similar declaration, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation…God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him…” (Colossians 1:15,19) Many have balked on this point that John and Paul so boldly proclaimed, even some who claim to be Christian. These men were prepared to make such a certain assertion because they had experienced Jesus first hand. John personally accompanied Jesus throughout His ministry. He was standing at the foot of the cross when He died and was the first to reach the empty tomb when Mary Magdalene announced that Jesus was alive. Without an attempt to prove, John simply proclaims what he had personally experienced of Jesus.

Out of his personal experience of Jesus John wrote these exciting words, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at (closely examined) and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.”(I John 1:1-3) Wow, reading that thrills your soul!

These thrilling words came gushing out of John because He knew Jesus intimately. He had observed Him in some unusual situations that challenged and changed his life and his world view. He had watched Jesus when He was in the public eye, as well as in private, behind the scenes. Everything he experienced of Jesus thoroughly convinced him that He was indeed God incarnate.

Peter, James and John are named by the three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) as the three Jesus would take along with Him when something extraordinary was about to happen. One such occasion was the transfiguration (Matt 17:1); another was when Jesus raised the synagogue ruler’s daughter from the dead. (Luke 8:51) When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane just before His crucifixion, it was these three men He wanted closest to Him. (Mark 14:33)

John, along with the other disciples, watched in shock and awe as Jesus rebuked the raging wind and waves and they became calm. (Luke 8:24) In terror he saw Jesus walk on the water. (Matt 14:24) His heart skipped a beat when he heard Jesus speak the “I AM” about Himself. “Before Abraham was, I AM;” (John 8:58) Later he heard Jesus say, “The Father and I are one. If you have seen Me you have seen the Father.” (John 14:8-14) Obviously John had seen and heard a lot, but more than that, he had simply been with Jesus. Out of this fellowship with Jesus came John’s rock solid confidence that he had been with God.

Driven by the passion of this conviction and empowered by the Holy Spirit John and the other disciples went out into a very hostile world to proclaim what they had experienced and knew of Jesus. The hostility of the world hasn’t changed. In fact it’s as dangerous as it has ever been. Nor has the world’s desperate need of Jesus changed. Those who have received Jesus and know Him as Lord and God, who have a personal relationship with Him and are filled with His Holy Spirit are still going out into that hostile world to proclaim Him.

Eddie Fox, World Director of World Methodist Evangelism, wrote the forward for the guide book to Bishop Paulo Lockmann’s Bible study entitled, “That the World May Know Jesus Christ.” In it he writes, “As the church was born in a mission situation, so the church today finds itself in a mission situation. As the church in Wesley’s day needed renewal and reform, so the church today is in need of renewal and reform…There has never been a moment of greater urgency for spreading the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our world needs to know Jesus Christ!”