Pastor David B. Curtis
Pastor David B. Curtis
| Media #794 |  |
 |
We are beginning a study of the Fourth Gospel, our first two messages have been an introduction. We looked at authorship, and I have tried to demonstrate that it was Lazarus, John Eleazar, who was that disciple who Yeshua loved, who was the author of this work. John Eleazar was a priest, a Hebrew. The Hebrew name Eleazar is pronounced El-a-zar and means: "El has helped." As a Hebrew I believe that he wrote this Gospel in Hebrew.
Margaret Barker, commenting on John's prologue writes, "The first three lines suggest a Hebrew pattern of thought even if they were not originally written in Hebrew: sentences beginning 'and'É'and' are normal Hebrew style. The difficult Greek is trying to express something alien to Greek thought." (King of the Jews, Margaret Barker)
John's purpose for writing is clear:
but these have been written so that you may believe that Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:31 NASB
So John clearly states his two fold purpose for writing: (1) That you may believe Yeshua is the Messiah, and (2) In believing you might have life.
We said that this Gospel was most likely written around A.D. 60 or 68. It had to have been written before A.D. 70 because the Temple receives more attention in John than in other New Testament books, but he says nothing about its destruction.
We begin this morning to look at the actual text of this Gospel, which is the prologue, the first 18 verses in this Gospel. The prologue contains practically all the central ideas contained in the Gospel itself.
Carson writes, "The Prologue summarizes how the 'Word' which was with God in the very beginning came into the sphere of time, history, tangibility--in other words, how the Son of God was sent into the world to become the Jesus of history, so that the glory and grace of God might be uniquely and perfectly disclosed. The rest of the book is nothing other than an expansion of this theme." [Carson, p. 111].
After the prologue, from 1:19 to almost the end of chapter 12, the public ministry of Yeshua is the focus of attention. Chapters 13-17 focus in on the last few hours of Yeshua with His disciples. Chapters 18 and 19 deal with the crucifixion and chapters 20 and 21 with the resurrection and resurrection appearances.
Mark begins his story of the Lord Yeshua at the River Jordan. Matthew and Luke begin their Gospels with the Lord Yeshua in Bethlehem, but Eleazar goes back to the very beginning of all things, even beyond history as if to say there is only one true perspective in which to see the story of Yeshua of Nazareth, and that is you must look at it in the light of eternity:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. John 1:1-2 NASB
"In the beginning was the Word"—any first century reader of this verse would have noticed the illusion in the opening words to the opening words of Genesis:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NASB
In the literal translation the definite article "the" is missing. The Greek words that begin the Fourth Gospel are literally "in beginning," or en arche, while the first Hebrew words of the book of Genesis are also "in beginning," or b'reshith in Hebrew. In the LXX, the Greek translation of the Hebrew text of Genesis, the identical expression is used as is used here en arche, "in beginning."
I don't see it as a coincidence that both Genesis, which records the works of creation, and the prologue of the Fourth Gospel begin with the same phrase. In addition to the "in beginning" wording other key words and imagery that link John 1:1-5 and Genesis 1:1-5 are words such as life, light, and darkness. John is writing about a new beginning, a new creation, and he uses words that recall the first creation.
"In the beginning was the Word"—that is when God created the heavens and the earth, the Word was. In other words, the Word was already in existence when God created the heavens and the earth. He doesn't say "In the beginning the Word became," or came into existence or came to be. In fact he uses the Greek verb eimi, which means: "to be" or "to exist" here. Now later on in this very section, he will use the verb ginomai, which means: "to come to be," "to enter into existence," but he does not use that verb in connection with the Word. He will say in verse 3, "All things came to be through Him." Verse 6, "There came a man sent from God whose name was John." Then in verse 14, he will say, "And the Word came to be flesh" that is the Word took to Himself an additional nature.
But in verse 1 he uses a form of the verb "eimi" that suggests continued existence. So "In the beginning was the word." We often refer to this pre-creation time as eternity past. This is the time that John referred to here. At the beginning of this eternity, when there was nothing else, "the Word" existed.
"The Word"—this is the most significant word in the prologue, which is used as a title for Yeshua. The Greek word used for "Word" here is logos (from which we get logic, logo, and related words). But a Greek Dictionary would not have even touched on what John means to say about Yeshua when he called Him the logos.
What does John mean by the term "Word" used in these opening verses? Obviously, the Word is someone or something significant! Outside of the biblical use, if we see "word," it means: "a unit of language," something necessary to communicate verbally and in print. And in biblical use we think of the Bible as being the Word.
But those in John's day thought differently. When a Greek heard the term "Word" or "Logos," he thought of the philosophical discussions common in his day that explained the order in the world. The Greeks recognized order in the world, but since they did not believe in one God who created everything, they struggled with making sense of the orderliness in the creation. If all of their gods did the creating, the world would have been chaotic, just like their pantheon of deities that were always fighting and bickering among each other. Instead, they saw the intricacies of the heavens and details of the earth, recognizing that everything was perfectly balanced. So they had to attribute this orderly creation to someone, and that being or "force" as He might have been thought of was the Logos, or the Word. He had no personality so He was not really a god, just a power or rationale or force that caused order in the creation.
Morris writes, "In Greek thought the Logos was perceived to be the always-existent, rational, stabilizing principle of the universe; creative energy; the ultimate reality; the eternal Reason; the 'supreme principle of the universe'; 'the force that originated and permeated and directed all things.'" (Leon Morris: The Gospel According to John, p116)
Philo of Alexandria, writing at the very time of Yeshua, described Logos as the tiller with which God, the Pilot of the Universe, steers all things.
A Hebrew would have seen "the Word" quite differently. Intertestamental Judaism and especially the Targums (paraphrases of the Tanakh from the Hebrew language into the Aramaic language) used the expression "Word of God" as a circumlocution for the name of God.
Because of their extreme reverence for the name of God, they avoided pronouncing it and would use substitutions instead such as "heaven" or "the Word of God." This meant that the phrase, "Word of God," did not mean Scripture for the Jews of Yeshua's time as it does for us. Rather, it was a reference to God Himself.
I see John as using the Hebraic sense of "Word," and when you go back in the Tanakh and read about the Word there are several things that are associated with the term "Word." In the first place, God's creative power in action is associated with "Word."
Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. Genesis 1:3 NASB
What is God's agent or means of creation? "God said." The Bible teaches that God is a spirit and a spirit doesn't have vocal cords so this is probably anthropomorphic. Compare this to Psalms:
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. Psalms 33:6 NASB
Here the "Word of Yahweh" is said to be the creator of the heavens. This is what John says of "the Word":
All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. John 1:3 NASB
The "Word of Yahweh" is the Creator.
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great." Genesis 15:1 NASB
Here the "Word of Yahweh" comes to Abram in a vision. In other words, He is visible! The word "vision" here is machazeh, which comes from the root of chazah and means: "to gaze at."
Then behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:4-6 NASB
The "Word of Yahweh" is saying: And the Word takes Abram outside. Abram sees the person who is "the Word of Yahweh."
Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the LORD before Eli. And word from the LORD was rare in those days, visions were infrequent. 1 Samuel 3:1 NASB
Visions are something that you see. The "Word of Yahweh" is seen:
Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for Your servant is listening." 1 Samuel 3:10 NASB
Here we see Yahweh standing, He is embodied:
Thus Samuel grew and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fail. 1 Samuel 3:19 NASB
Yahweh was with Samuel:
And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, because the LORD revealed Himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD. 1 Samuel 3:21 NASB
Notice that Yahweh revealed Himself by the "Word of Yahweh."
The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. Jeremiah 1:1-2 NASB
The "Word of Yahweh" came to Jeremiah:
Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, Jeremiah 1:4 NASB
The "Word of Yahweh" talks to Jeremiah. Now notice verse 6:
Then I said, "Alas, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, Because I am a youth." Jeremiah 1:6 NASB
The "Word of God" is different from the "Adonay Yahweh." Yahweh and the Word of Yahweh are used interchangeably. Notice verse 9:
Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. Jeremiah 1:9 NASB
Yahweh stretched out His hand! Does Yahweh have hands? Isn't He a spirit? This is the Word of Yahweh, the visual manifestation of Yahweh. Let's look at some more verses that give us the idea of two Yahwehs:
Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, Genesis 19:24 NASB
What is this, Yahweh from Yahweh? That sounds strange. In chapter 31 Jacob is talking and says:
"Then the angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob,' and I said, 'Here I am.' "He said, 'Lift up now your eyes and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, and mottled; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 'I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar, where you made a vow to Me; now arise, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.'" Genesis 31:11-13 NASB
The angel of God (elohim) says, "I am the God of Bethel." The angel says, "I am God."
Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up." When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Exodus 3:1-4 NASB
"The angel of Yahweh appeared to him...when Yahweh saw that He turned aside." There is more than one being in the bush. The rabbis noticed this, they were very familiar with the text. They saw that there were two Yahwehs in the text. This is the Jewish God head. The Jews understood and taught two powers in heaven until the second century A.D. The Hebrew Scriptures taught a second Yahweh. The Hebrew faith had a Binitarian Godhead. Notice:
Then Moses said to the LORD, "See, You say to me, 'Bring up this people!' But You Yourself have not let me know whom You will send with me. Moreover, You have said, 'I have known you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.' "Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight. Consider too, that this nation is Your people." And He said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest." Exodus 33:12-14 NASB
Here Yahweh tells Moses "My presence shall go with you." They experienced the presence of Yahweh.
Behold, the name of the LORD comes from a remote place; Burning is His anger and dense is His smoke; His lips are filled with indignation And His tongue is like a consuming fire; Isaiah 30:27 NASB
The "name of Yahweh" is not four letters, but a person:
"Surely the coastlands will wait for Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, For the name of the LORD your God, And for the Holy One of Israel because He has glorified you. Isaiah 60:9 NASB
This is a Hebrew parallelism, "the name of Yahweh" your God and the Holy One of Israel:
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high! Psalms 20:1 NASB
Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God. Psalms 20:7 NASB
Here they are protected by "the Name":
Through You we will push back our adversaries; Through Your name we will trample down those who rise up against us. Psalms 44:5 NASB
The "Name" is an entity:
"Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. "Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him. Exodus 23:20-21 NASB
This angel pardons transgression. Who can do that but God? My name is in him—what does this mean? The four letters were in the angel? The Hebrew word for "name" is shem; this comes from neshemah, which we see in:
Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 NASB
The word "breath" here is neshemah. Your shem is your breath. In Hebraic thought your breath is your character, it's what makes you you. It's what makes you different from everybody else. You can replace the word "name" in the Bible with "character."
In Hebraic thought a name is not merely an arbitrary designation or a random combination of sounds. The name conveys the nature and essence of the thing named. It represents the history and reputation of the being named. In English, we often refer to a person's reputation as his "good name." The Hebrew concept of a name is very similar to this idea. So in Exodus 23:21 when Yahweh says of the angel, "My name is in him", He is saying, "My character, my essence is in him."
'For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.'" Leviticus 11:45 NASB
Now the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, 'I will never break My covenant with you, Judges 2:1 NASB
Who delivered them from Egypt, was it Yahweh or the angel of Yahweh? Yes!:
Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. Jude 1:5 NASB
Who is the "Lord" here? Who saved the people out of Egypt and then destroyed the unbelievers? We just saw that it was Yahweh and the angel of Yahweh. Notice what the ESV says:
Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Jude 1:5 ESVThe New English Translation Note states, "The reading Iesous, 'Jesus, is deemed too hard by several scholars, since it involves the notion of Jesus acting in the early history of the nation Israel. However, not only does this reading enjoy the strongest support from a variety of early witnesses, but the plethora of variants demonstrate that scribes were uncomfortable with it, for they seemed to exchange kurios, 'Lord' or theos, 'God,' for Iesous (though P72 has the intriguing reading theos Christos, 'God Christ,' for Iesous)....As difficult as the reading Iesous is, in light of Jude 1:4 and in light of the progress of revelation (Jude being one of the last books in the NT to be composed), it is wholly appropriate." (See Jude 1:5 NET Note)
So who delivered the Israelites out of Egypt? It was Yeshua, who was the angel of Yahweh. And who is Yahweh? He is the second Yahweh in the Tanakh.
Another clue to the meaning of the word "logos" in John's prologue comes from the Wisdom Literature of the Tanakh (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes) and the Wisdom Literature of the intertestamental period (Ecclesiasticus and Wisdom of Solomon especially). This Wisdom Literature often personified wisdom. Wisdom was spoken of as a person who was present with God in creation, providing life and light for the world.
"The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way, Before His works of old. "From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. "When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no springs abounding with water. "Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills I was brought forth; While He had not yet made the earth and the fields, Nor the first dust of the world. "When He established the heavens, I was there, When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed, When He set for the sea its boundary So that the water would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth; Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, Rejoicing in the world, His earth, And having my delight in the sons of men. Proverbs 8:22-31 NASBWhat is the agent of creation in this text? It is Wisdom. Wisdom is cast as a co-creator. The word "wisdom" is feminine in Hebrew, but the feminine here has nothing to do with biology.
Wisdom was seen as almost eternally pre-existent with God. The intertestamental book, The Wisdom of Solomon, actually identified the Wisdom of God and the Word of God:
1 O God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things with thy word, 2 And ordained man through thy wisdom, that he should have dominion over the creatures which thou hast made, 3 And order the world according to equity and righteousness, and execute judgment with an upright heart: 4 Give me wisdom, that sitteth by thy throne; and reject me not from among thy children. Wisdom of Solomon 9:1-4
Look at the praise of Wisdom in Sirach:
1 Wisdom praises herself, and tells of her glory in the midst of her people. 2 In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth, and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory: 3 'I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, and covered the earth like a mist. 4 I dwelt in the highest heavens, and my throne was in a pillar of cloud. Sirach 24:1-4
Thus, for Jews in the time of John, the phrase, "Word of God," would have pointed to the personified Wisdom of God who was eternally co-existent with God and God's active co-worker in Creation.
We saw in Proverbs 8 and from the apocryphal literature that wisdom is a co-creator. As we said earlier, the Jews saw and taught the two powers in heaven, two Yahwehs. But things changed once Christianity showed up. To the Jews after Christianity, wisdom was the Torah. But the New Testament writers taught that righteousness comes from Christ not Torah. Let's compare two passages:
"So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs. "For this reason also the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute, Luke 11:48-49 NASBNotice it says, "The wisdom of God said..." Now look at:
"Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, Matthew 23:34 NASBThese are parallel passages; their context is the same, but in Matthew it is Yeshua who is speaking, and He says, "I am sending you Prophets." So in one passage Wisdom is speaking and in the other Yeshua is speaking. Yeshua is Wisdom, the co-creator.
Wisdom is eternal because God is eternal. God can't be God without isdom. The trinity was not an invention of Christians, it was well known in middle Judaism. The Israelites said, "The second power is Yahweh's essence manifested in a different form."
This is the basis of Binitareinism in Jewish thought. And later the Spirit of God is spoken of in the same way. In Isaiah 63, which is recounting Israel's exodus wanderings, says:
I shall make mention of the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, According to all that the LORD has granted us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has granted them according to His compassion And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses. For He said, "Surely, they are My people, Sons who will not deal falsely." So He became their Savior. Isaiah 63:7-8 NASBWho is their Savior? Here the text speaks of Yahweh.
In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old. Isaiah 63:9 NASBHere it is the "angel of His presence" who saved them.
But they rebelled And grieved His Holy Spirit; Therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them. Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses. Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them, Isaiah 63:10-11 NASBHere it is the Spirit who is in their midst.
As the cattle which go down into the valley, The Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. So You led Your people, To make for Yourself a glorious name. Isaiah 63:14 NASBSo here we see Trinatarinism in the Hebrew Bible. Every Jew began every morning with these words in prayer:
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! Deuteronomy 6:4 NASBHolding to monotheism, how could they be Binitarian or Trinitarian? The shama says that Yahweh is One. And they see Yahweh and the angel of Yahweh and the Spirit of Yahweh as one in essence. They were one God.
Trinitarian theology, which BBC espouses as orthodox Christianity, states that the term "Lord" is a term that applies to all three persons of the Trinity, just as the term "God" is. We really shouldn't speak of God and then the Son and then the Spirit, because that is confusing as if deity belongs only to the first person, but the other names belong to the second and the third. It's much sounder theologically to say, "God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, or Yahweh the Father, Yahweh the Son, Yahweh the Spirit." All three are Yahweh, and Yahweh is one God!
So when John says:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 NASBHe is talking about the second Yahweh seen all through the Tanakh. His readers would have realized that the second power was Yeshua, and Yeshua was Yahweh in human flesh.
One of the greatest of the controversies of the early church gathered around the significance of this opening verse. There was a man by the name of Arius, who was one of the presbyters of Alexandria in Egypt, and he had a superior by the name of Alexander, and they engaged in controversy over the nature of the Son of God. Arius taught that the Lord Yeshua did not possess eternality of being. Eternity was not one of the qualities of Him. He taught that the Son had a beginning. He was the greatest of the creatures of God and He was responsible immediately for the creation and the other creatures, but He Himself had a beginning. So he denied the eternity of the Son.
Surprisingly Arius obtained a lot of followers. But there came conflict from Alexander and others, and finally at the Council of Nicaea the Arian Doctrine was denounced by the Christian church, but that did not end the teaching for Arius; it continued to have great influence. The Arian Christology actually came to be predominant; but there was another man who succeeded Alexander who died shortly after the Council of Nicaea whose name was Athanasius. Athanasius is one of the great heroes of the Christian church.
Well finally in the Council of Constantinople the Doctrine of Nicaea was affirmed again through the polemics and through the strength of character of Athanasius and others. So Arius' Doctrine, "There was a time when He was not"—was refuted, and the Christian church came solidly to stand behind the fact that there was not a time when He did not exist. So John is telling us He did not become. He was not made. He was and He possessed the same essential nature as the Father, and those councils affirmed the fact that of homoousea, one essence, meaning that Yeshua was of the same essence as the Father. They declared the deity of Yeshua the Christ.
Jehovah's Witnesses deny the eternality of the Son and in that sense they are Arian—like in their Christology. They deny the Trinity. They deny the deity of the Son of God as well. The Mormons also deny the deity of the Son of God. They speak of Him as the Son of God, but they deny His eternity. They deny the Christian Doctrine of the trinity.
I don't say this to be mean, but anyone who denies the deity of Yeshua or the Trinity is not very familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures. Five times in the Tanakh Yahweh is called the "cloud rider." But Daniel 7 is an exception:
"I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. "And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14 NASBHere the rider on the cloud is the Son of man, a human. Dominion is given to the Son of man, the second cloud rider.
The high priest stood up and said to Him, "Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?" But Yeshua kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." Matthew 26:62-63 NASBThen Yeshua answers the high priest:
Yeshua said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN." Matthew 26:64 NASBYeshua said that he would see Him "coming on the clouds." Yeshua is saying, I am Yahweh! What was the high priest's response?:
Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; Matthew 26:65 NASBHe said that Yeshua had blasphemed because He said He would come on the clouds, and the high priest knew that only Yahweh rides the clouds. He knew that Yeshua was claiming to be Yahweh!
John Eleazar, in this prologue, introduces a concept that dominates his entire Gospel: that God is a self-revealing God, a God who speaks, a God who makes Himself known to us. He is not a distant, remote God, but a God who comes and speaks to us. He is "the eternal Word." As John is about to teach us, Yeshua the Christ, the Word, reveals God to us. When we see Him, we see God. When we know Him, we know God. Yeshua is God saying, "Here I am. This is who I am. Believe in me."
Continue the Series