The Birth of the Messiah

DECEMBER 1

IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

— John 1:1–5

As we start off this devotional about the prophecy and birth of Jesus, the Messiah, we begin in Part 1 by looking at the Gospel of John, and specifically at the deity of Jesus (Jesus is God), that Jesus existed before creation (Jesus was not created but existed with God the Father in eternity past) and was a person distinct from God (Jesus was equal, yet distinct from God the Father and the Holy Spirit). We will also look at John the Baptist, the man who was commissioned as the forerunner of, or Witness to, Jesus the Messiah.

The Gospel of John was written by the apostle John who also wrote 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John, and the book of Revelation. Throughout John’s writings we see a balance between his passion for truth (3 John 4) and his love for people (2 John 1:5–6). What a great reminder for us to think about as we enter this Christmas season and act as a witness to others, whether through actions or words, about the birth of Jesus, the Messiah.

John starts off his Gospel by focusing on the beginning of time and the preexistence of the Creator before time began. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). John explains that the Word of God is “in the beginning,” which echoes the beginning of the book of Genesis, which starts off by focusing on the beginning of time and what happened after time began.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

(Genesis 1:1)

Although both Genesis and John start with the same phrase, “In the beginning,” Genesis looks forward in time and tells us what follows after time began, while the Gospel of John looks backward and tells us what came before time began—that is, what came before the creation of the heavens and earth. In other words, the Gospel of John carries us into eternity past (eternity transcending time) and focuses on what existed before time began or before the heavens and the earth were created.

In doing this, John reveals three important statements about the Word in verse 1. The first is that “In the beginning was the Word.” The Word was already in existence before the world was created; the Word did not come into existence when the world was created; and the Word is not part of creation—rather, He is the Creator.

The second important idea is that in the beginning “the Word was with God.” John makes it clear that before creation, before time began, before the world was made, when there was nothing, the Word existed, and the Word existed with God the Father.

Third, in the beginning “the Word was God.” That is, the Word existed on a level with God. The Word was eternally with God, although somehow distinct from God the Father and equal with the Father. And the Word was in fact God. As we will see in the days to come, Jesus is the Word and He is God. The Word is distinct from the man Jesus in that the Word "became" a man, or was incarnate (took on human form), which we will look at in more detail on December 4th.

John summarizes the three statements that he makes about the Word in verse 1 by focusing on the point that “He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:2). That is, John further emphasizes the eternal existence of Jesus, His distinct personality from God the Father, and His proper deity. John also affirms that Jesus was equal with God the Father. The Word (Jesus), who was God and existed before creation, was a person distinct from God yet equal with God—that is, the Father is God, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.

In the Beginning was God the Father, the Word who became the man Jesus (God incarnate) and the Holy Spirit, all three of which are referred to as the Trinity, one God existing in three Persons.

This connection becomes apparent as we look at verse 3 in that all things were made through Him, through the Word, who was in the beginning with God, and was God. “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). All things were made by Him. God the Father spoke everything into being by Him, through the Word, Jesus.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

(Psalm 33:6)

Jesus is not a created thing; Jesus is not a created being; rather, He existed before creation. Everything that was created was created through Him and He created all things and was the source of all creation and life. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4–5). Jesus is the light of the world and is light itself. That is, the true light that existed before creation (the Word) manifested as a man (Jesus). The life that is in Jesus is the same life that was breathed into the creation of humanity and that brought life into existence. He came as a light into this world and in Him is no darkness, which we will look at in more detail on December 29th.