The Word Made Flesh

Devotional

Day 1: In the beginning: Jesus is the eternal Word

As you step into a new year, lift your eyes to the One who existed before any year, any world, any breath. John points beyond Bethlehem to eternity and says the Word was with God and truly God. He is not a legend added later but the living Lord who made all things and holds all authority. If He is God, His voice is not advice; it is life. Trusting Him is not a risk; it is the only sure path. Let your worship and choices reflect that He is God from everlasting to everlasting. [05:48]

John 1:1–3 — Before anything began, the Word was already there. The Word was face-to-face with God, and the Word shared God’s very nature. He was present at the dawn of all things. By Him every created thing came into existence; nothing that exists came into being apart from His action.

Reflection: Where in your week have you treated Jesus more like an adviser than God, and what is one decision you will submit to His authority today?

Day 2: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us

Jesus did not hover above our pain; He stepped into it. He grew tired, became hungry and thirsty, wept at gravesides, slept through storms, and felt the press of temptation—yet never sinned. After the resurrection He invited His followers to see and touch, making clear He was no ghost. Because He is truly human, He understands every weakness; because He is truly God, He can truly help. Bring your real life—your griefs, limits, temptations—to the One who really walked among us. He is full of grace and truth for you. [20:41]

John 1:14 — The Word became human and made His home among us. We saw His splendor—the unique glory of the Father’s one and only Son—overflowing with grace and truth.

Reflection: What is one specific weakness, emotion, or temptation you’re carrying this week that you will bring openly to Jesus, trusting that He understands and meets you with grace?

Day 3: All things were made through Him, for Him

Everything you see and use—your breath, your gifts, your home, your work—exists because Jesus made it and for His purposes. We reshape materials, but we do not create the raw stuff; He does. This changes how we hold our possessions and plans: not as owners defending our turf, but as stewards eager to honor Him. When He is the center, worship moves from Sunday songs to weekday decisions. Let your perspective shift from “this is mine” to “this is for Him.” That shift brings joy, clarity, and freedom. [13:18]

Colossians 1:16–17 — By Him all things were created—heavenly and earthly, visible and invisible, from rulers to authorities. Everything came into being through Him and aims toward Him. He is before all things, and in Him everything coheres and holds together.

Reflection: Choose one area you normally claim as “mine” (time, room, budget, skill). How will you intentionally use it this week to glorify Jesus and bless someone?

Day 4: Grace and truth: the gift of new birth

Jesus does more than teach a better way; He offers new birth. We cannot swim the ocean to God through effort, sincerity, or heritage. He crosses the great divide and welcomes us as sons and daughters when we receive Him and trust His name. This birth is not from human will but from God’s initiative, grace, and power. In Him, condemnation yields to life, and shame gives way to belonging. Open your hands and receive what only He can give. [31:55]

John 1:12–13 — To all who welcomed Him, to those trusting His name, He gave the right to become God’s children—children born not from bloodline, nor from human desire or decision, but born of God.

Reflection: If you have received Jesus, what is one concrete way you will live as God’s child this week? If you have not, what step—prayer, conversation, or decision—will you take today toward Him?

Day 5: Now is the day to respond

God has not changed; He is still present, loving, and calling. His light still shines, and He still invites you to walk in it today—not someday. He is both God who commands and man who understands, and He desires you for His own forever. Do not postpone the obedience or trust He is stirring in you. Begin the year with a fresh yes—renewing your commitment and taking the next faithful step. Today is a good day to move toward Him. [38:08]

2 Corinthians 6:2 — God declares, “At the appointed time I heard you; on the day I rescue, I came to help.” Pay attention: now is that favorable time; look carefully: today is the day to be saved.

Reflection: What specific act of obedience or step of faith have you delayed, and when—this week—will you take it?

Sermon Summary

The opening of John’s Gospel is placed before Bethlehem and before creation to settle a theological crisis: Jesus is both fully God and fully human. Beginning with “In the beginning,” the text asserts the preexistence and deity of the Word who participates in creation, not as a creature but as the divine agent through whom all things were made. That same Word enters history—“became flesh”—and dwells among people, offering an incarnate presence that can be seen, examined, and touched. The eyewitness testimony emphasizes that Jesus’ bodily life was real: hungry, tired, tempted, angry, sorrowful—fully subject to human experience yet without sin.

The dual claims—eternality and incarnation—are shown to be complementary and necessary. If Jesus were not God, his work could not secure salvation; if he were not truly human, he could not sympathize with temptation or bear human suffering. The gospel reframes possession and purpose: everything is created through and for Christ, and humanity’s deepest need is not moral improvement but a new birth into God’s family. That new birth is described as a supernatural act—born of God, not of human will—granting the right to become children of God to all who receive him.

Practical implications follow: worship directed to Jesus is appropriate because he accepts divine honor; forgiveness and reconciliation flow from his cross; and genuine faith results in obedience and changed allegiance. The closing appeal ties these doctrines to a present call—now is the acceptable time to believe—inviting a decision to receive Christ as Lord, to begin the year under his authority and life. The argument moves from doctrine to devotion: right belief about who Christ is reshapes how life is lived, whom one trusts, and what future hope looks like.

Key Takeaways

1. Christ is the eternal God John’s opening claim places the Word before creation, insisting the one who speaks and acts in history is not a created being but the Creator’s presence among creatures. Recognizing Christ’s eternality reorients worship and trust: the one who redeems also sustains all things and governs ultimate purpose. This removes any safe theological sidestep that would make Jesus merely exemplary rather than ontologically decisive for salvation. [08:06]
2. Christ assumed full human flesh The declaration that the Word “became flesh” insists on a real, tactile incarnation—one that could be heard, studied, and touched. That reality matters because only a true human life can genuinely suffer, be tempted, and offer sympathetic mediation on humanity’s behalf. The incarnation preserves both intimacy with human weakness and the reality of substitutionary obedience. [19:01]
3. New birth through Christ alone Becoming children of God is described not as cultural adoption or moral improvement but as a supernatural rebirth initiated by God. This birth changes identity and destiny: it transfers persons from mere biological lineage and human will into covenantal sonship with God. The language reframes assurance and invites dependence on divine initiative rather than human effort. [31:55]
4. Worship requires belief and obedience Instances where Jesus accepts worship and claims authority show that true devotion entails both recognition and response. Worship here is not sentimental but transformative: encountering the incarnate Lord issues a summons to alter loyalties, trust, and daily decisions. Faith that professes Jesus without submission finds itself at odds with the gospel’s demand for allegiance. [37:51]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:17] - Why begin with John?
[03:14] - Reading: John 1:1–18
[08:06] - The Word’s preexistence explained
[12:27] - The Word is God
[19:01] - The Word became flesh
[24:45] - Eyewitness testimony of Jesus
[28:09] - Jesus’ humanity and temptation
[31:55] - New birth and becoming children
[37:51] - Invitation: respond today
[39:39] - Closing prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading

- John 1:1–18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 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 testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Observation questions

In John 1:1–3, what is said about “the Word” in relation to time (“in the beginning”) and creation (“all things came into being through him”)?
In John 1:14, what phrases show real, bodily presence? Which words point to something seen and experienced?
In John 1:12–13, what are the three “nots” that describe how someone is born of God? What does that tell us about the source of new birth?
How does “in the beginning” in John 1:1 differ from Genesis 1:1, and what does that difference say about the Word’s preexistence? [08:06]

Interpretation questions

If everything came into being through Christ and for Christ, how does that change the way a person views ownership and purpose for everyday things like home, work, and money? [14:16]
“The Word became flesh” means full humanity. How should Jesus’ shared human experience (hunger, weariness, tears) shape the way someone brings weakness and temptation to him? [26:07]
New birth is “not of blood… nor of the will of the flesh… nor of the will of man, but of God.” What does that teach about assurance, dependence, and why moral improvement alone cannot make someone a child of God? [31:55]
Jesus accepts worship and claims divine authority to forgive sins. If that is true, what conclusion about his identity is unavoidable, and how does that confront a view of Jesus as only a good teacher? [15:12]

Application questions

Perspective: If all things are “for” Christ, what is one specific area (a purchase, a schedule block, a relationship) you will treat as God’s, not yours, this week? What practical change will show that? [14:16]
Weakness and comfort: Where are you most tired, tempted, or grieving right now? What will it look like for you to come to Jesus in that place and ask for help from the One who sympathizes? [28:09]
Allegiance: Jesus is worthy of worship and obedience. What is one daily habit or decision you will bring under his authority this week, instead of running on your own initiative? Be concrete. [35:50]
New birth: If you tend to rely on self-effort, what is one step you can take to rest in God’s initiative—such as asking for faith, receiving grace in prayer, or confessing your need to a trusted friend? [31:55]
Today’s response: Is there a decision about Jesus you have been delaying? What would it look like to respond “today,” and who could you tell for support and follow-up? [38:08]
Witness: Who near you might be ready to “receive him” this month? What simple step will you take—an invite, a meal, sharing your story—to point them toward Christ? [37:51]

Sermon Clips

When we begin to realize that there is no way for us to have salvation on our own, And that God has given us every option of life through Christ. It dynamically changes everything. The Bible says when we believe in Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior that we're no longer judged. The presumption and the statement of scripture is that you and I are not awaiting judgment. We're awaiting sentencing because we are already judged guilty. We are already judged wrong because we have all sinned.

He said, I want you to know we not only saw him, but we looked at him. Now somebody would say, that's the same thing. No, it's not in Greek. Because see just means I saw you. Looked at means I studied you. I looked at all the different things about you. I spent time spending time looking at every aspect, thinking through everything that was going on, looking at the details. But then he goes further. He says, I've not only seen him, I've not only looked at him, but I touched him.

Listen, there is never anything different than we should do than what God says for us to do. God's never gonna lead us wrong. God's never gonna lead us in in a wrong direction of anything. So trust him fully because we're gonna look at this and we're gonna see Jesus is the eternal God. Jesus is a real human. Jesus is someone who offers us, the only person who offers us the opportunity of a new birth.

And so let's start and let's look. Jesus is the eternal God. He he walks in here, and there's an interesting thing here. In the beginning, sounds a lot like Genesis one one, doesn't it? In the beginning. However, the one thing that is different here is in the Greek, the word the does not exist in this passage. You see, Genesis talks about a specific beginning when God created the heavens and the earth. There was a specific time when that happened. John is pointing here and says, there was an absolute beginning in eternity where God already existed.

In other words, Jesus is truly God in the flesh. Now, it's interesting because there are a lot of people who will say, John is the creator of God and Jesus being equal. In other words, they're saying Matthew, Mark, Luke, they really didn't talk about the Godhood of Christ. They didn't really focus on that. They didn't even bring it up. It's John's gospel written much later that that brings this Godhood in.

As a human, Jesus placed himself under the authority of his parents as he was growing up. And the Bible tells us that he obeyed them and made himself subject to them. So even to the point of death, Jesus died on the cross for us. So so how does that how does that fit in? What what difference does that make? Okay.

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The Word Made Flesh — Sermon