God Has Come To Dwell With Us – SWO26 Summer

John 1:1–18

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 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.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”

What’s The Point?

As we have seen in this study, God desires to dwell with us. He created mankind in his image and for relationship with him, but we sinned and that relationship was broken. But God has continually sought to restore this relationship. He had Israel make a place for him to dwell and instituted the sacrificial system so that he could dwell in their midst, but to no one’s surprise we ruined it. At almost every step along the way mankind has chosen anything but a relationship with God. How would God make a way for us to dwell with him? By doing the unthinkable.

John tells us that Jesus is the Word (1:14), so John 1:1 is claiming that Jesus is God and was with God before anything else existed. John doesn’t stop there; he goes on to claim that all things were created through Christ! At this point there is no doubt John is claiming that Jesus is God and shares the same divine nature and characteristics of God. Jesus himself announced this saying, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).

Side Note: We must affirm these claims of Scripture. At the root of every false religion is a lie about who Jesus is. The doctrine of the deity of Christ is a belief that is worth dying for.

The next person we see in this text is John the Baptist (vv. 6-8). This is not the same John who wrote the Gospel of John. John the Baptist is often called “The Forerunner” to Jesus, and that is exactly what these verses describe. He came to proclaim the coming of Jesus, to bear witness about the light (v. 7). Isaiah 40:3-5 speaks of a voice that will prepare the way for the Lord by leveling out the road—this is the role of John the Baptist, and John performed his duties well.

Jesus is “the light” that John bore witness to, and vv. 9-13 speak of what it was like when, for the first time, God came to dwell in the world. These verses highlight the saddest of ironies. God created us to dwell with him, but we sinned and messed it up. Then God came physically and really did live among us, and what does the Bible say? “The world did not know him…and his own people did not receive him” (vv. 11-12).

Our ability to choose evil over good is astounding! Jesus came into the world he created, full of his image-bearers, he even came to the people that God the Father had revealed himself to, and they didn’t even recognize him. In fact, they hated him and wanted to kill him. But let’s focus on verse 14 because it is the climax of our study on God dwelling with us.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (v. 14). The five-dollar Bible word for this is incarnation; it literally means being made into flesh. Why is this such a big deal? John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit.” God, who is Spirit, created everything physical, but is not physical himself because that is limiting, and God has no limits. So, Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, put on the frailty, the limitation, the weakness of created beings in order to fully identify with us in our fallen condition. He “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7).

Side Note: Remember how we spent a whole day talking about the Tabernacle? Well, when John 1:14 says Jesus, “dwelt among us,” the original language means “to fix one’s tabernacle!” It’s like John is saying Jesus came and tabernacled with us. How glorious of a plan God has woven together from thousands of years before Christ!

The incarnation means God came down to us, entered into the world he created, and dwelled with man. This was the only way to fix the problem. Humans had tried and failed countless times to dwell with God; we are too weak. So, God came to dwell with us. He dwelt among us for thirty-three years, and because he became one of us and died in our place, we can now dwell with him for all eternity!

Scripture Memorization

John 1:14

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for becoming one of us, dwelling among us, and making a way for us to come to the Father. Thank you for taking on our weakness so that you can identify with us but still maintaining your deity so that you could satisfy the eternal debt I owed. I praise you because you are the eternal Creator through whom all things were made. Help me dwell with you every day and prepare me for an eternity with you in your glory.

Reflection

1. Jesus was fully God and fully man. Why is this so important when we think about God dwelling with us?
2. Read Philippians 2:5-8 and think about the price that Jesus willingly paid to become our substitute.

Discussion Questions

1. All of the Old Testament looks forward to this moment when God became flesh and dwelt among us. What stories or passages of Scripture point to this reality?
2. John makes sure we see Jesus’ deity and humanity in John 1. If you were going to tell someone about Jesus how would you explain his deity and humanity?
3. What has been your biggest takeaway from this study?