Jesus – fully man.  John 1.14

If we had received it as a telegram, it would have come one line at a time, and we would have hung on every word with bated breath…

Look with me again, and imagine yourselves hearing, or reading, as for the very first time, one line at a time—

so the Word of God became a person  --stop--

and took up his abode in our being  --stop--

full of grace and truth  --stop--

and we look with our own eyes upon his glory  --stop--

glory like the glory which an only son receives from a father –-John—    John 1.14

Just imagine.  Each line is filled with significance; each line would stop you in your tracks as you sought to fully comprehend its import and what it might mean to you.  One thing for sure, something most extraordinary had taken place, right before John’s very eyes—God had become a person, and he had seen him!  What’s more, he was telling you that the ‘Word’, Jesus, was a person in every way human, having taken on flesh--yet full of grace and truth. 

John used the verb ‘theasthai’ – which was, of course, Greek and meant actual physical sight; he was not indicating that they had spiritual eyes with which to see Jesus—no, they saw him—you know, with the eyeballs in their heads!—and they touched him.  And to the Greek world, this was an absolute mind-blower---God becoming flesh---impossible, really.  To a first-century Greek, the body was an evil, a prison house in which the soul was shackled, a tomb in which the spirit was confined.^*  Why Marcus Aurelius, the great Roman emperor, actually despised the body in comparison with the spirit!  So, that God could or would become ‘sarx’ (the term John used) meaning flesh—well, it wasn’t logical.  It was so difficult for the Greek mind to comprehend, it was part of the reason John had to substantiate that yes, he had seen Jesus with his own eyes. 

It is an interesting contrast to consider the differing value the culture of that day placed on the physical body compared to the high premium we place on the human body.  Of course, we are influenced by the culture in which we live, but we must be careful how we define our beliefs about God, and our position before him in the universe.  On the one hand, if the Greeks so reverenced the spirit and despised the flesh, then they must not have found themselves slaves to the polished looking glasses they passed by… they must have spent more time thinking about feeding the spirit rather than obsessing about the right size biceps or breasts or keeping a youthful appearance, and yet these are the very things our culture prizes.  Seems we cannot just be swept along by popular trends that surround us, then can we? 

Hmmm.  I have raised the question before, ‘who calls your cadence?’ 

Paul wrote, ‘do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?’¹.  He combines both concepts—spirit and flesh . . . hmmm---brilliant!  Ah, the wisdom of God’s Word.  As James said of it, ‘the wisdom that comes from above is first pure, then peace-loving, considerate…’².   Who calls your cadence?  Do you let popular culture?  Are you pulled this way and that, and what informs your thinking on the matter?

Again I think of the Holy Spirit-breathed Scripture, which keeps us on point, regardless of the decade, regardless of the century.  Our bodies are God-given tents and should always be well taken care of—well exercised, rested, nourished and treated as gifts from God; but our spirits, our souls will live with on forever, so indeed, we must stay connected to the source of life and love—Jesus!, and find out what it means to grow, nourish, nurture, challenge, and discipline ourselves in the ways of God, and then make it a priority to do so.  Both—it must be both!  Jesus was fully God, fully man.   

Thank you, Jesus, for becoming a person, and making your abode with us.