The Word became flesh

God is One God, but three distinguishable persons, each of whom is completely God. This unfathomable mystery, the theologians call Trinity; a mystery which can never be explained, but only illustrated. The creeds which came later from the councils of the early churches were not attempts to define God but rather attempts to exclude error. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are co-equal, co-substantial, co-eternal. The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the World. The Son sent the Spirit to make that salvation a personal reality to men and women. Man could know none of these things unless God had revealed them. Before this amazing self-revelation of the Eternal, Infinite, Triune God we can only wonder and worship. I have been meditating on the wonder of the incarnation and have written a Christmas Meditation. It goes through many of the early verses of John’s gospel unpacking the amazing truth contained in these familiar verses. There are plain text and pdf versions available in the 'articles' section of SermonIndex; The Word became flesh. Some strange things have happened to the formatting so if you would like a pristine pdf copy complete with bookmarking for the different sections, please drop me an email and I will send one.In the midst of all the tinsel and glitter of Christmas the miracle of the incarnation and its implications are a wonderful antidote to all that is trivial about this season. There is a lot of solid theology hidden under the surface of this meditation so you can read it at whatever level suits you.‘Happy Christmas!’

Oh am I looking forward to this!You bet I would like a pristine copy, perhaps Greg could take a look at the formatting.Most busy these days so this surely will be great reading for the evenings ahead.To me these are some of the most poignant verses in all of scripture, of course all of it is. But these still leave me just staggering at their weight and wonder.Thanks for the Christmas gift Ron.

I like this. I didn't read the whole thing, but i plan on doing so. I was raised a oneness pentecostal and believed that the Trinity was just a fabricated lie. I was always taught that God is one person. Through my own study of Scripture though, i have come to believe in the Trinity. Thanks for this, i'm sure i'll enjoy it. :)

Br Ron wrote:This is a revelation that only rarely peeped around the curtain in the Old Testament. In the Proverbs there is a passage which speaks of Wisdom, but as you read the passage you realise it is speaking of a person rather than a concept. This is the great difference between Hebrew thought and Greek, but we don’t have time to examine it now. Suddenly we hear Wisdom speaking; Jehovah possessed me from the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was anointed from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth ever was. (Pro 8:22-23 MKJV) We are evidently in the same atmosphere as Genesis 1 and John 1. Here someone who testifies that ‘before the earth was’, even in the very beginning He was already. Who was this who was ‘anointed from the beginning’? That is to say He was already established from the very beginning to be the crown-prince. He is, using the phrase as a title and not a biological term, creation’s firstborn one. (Col 1:15) And then you wrote:The Word reveals the thought, and the eternal Word reveals God; he that hath seen me hath seen the Father (John 14:9) This is John’s reason for beginning his record in the way he does. He will move on shortly to the witness of John but he begins by introducing a greater witness. All that men have ever truly known about God has come through the Word. His unique role in revealed history is to be related to God with man in mind and to be related to man with God in mind. Can you clarify what you are saying? In the first you say, "That is to say He was already established from the very beginning to be the crown-prince. He is, using the phrase as a title and not a biological term, creation’s firstborn one."In the second you write," All that men have ever truly known about God has come through the Word."How does the revelation of God through the Anointed One manifest itself in all men?In ChristJeff

How does the revelation of God through the Anointed One manifest itself in all men?Is this what I said? that the manifestation is in all men?

Br. Ron, This is a question to you, not a statement about what you taught. I'll ask it in another way. Do you teach that the Anointed One has always revealed God to man?In ChristJeff

This is a question to you, not a statement about what you taught. I'll ask it in another way. Do you teach that the Anointed One has always revealed God to man?I teach that the Word has always revealed God; in creation, in the Scripture and in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He is the revelation of God.

Br. Ron wrote:I teach that the Word has always revealed God; in creation, in the Scripture and in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He is the revelation of God.Heb. 8:3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer."Br. Ron you are in agreement with Scripture. What you have stated I believe is spoken of in this section of Scripture.Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”This is what Jesus offers to those who are saved. In ChristJeff