GOD’S WORD FOR MAY 17
GOD’S WORD FOR MAY 17 ~ ~ John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Continuing in John Piper’s book, “The Pleasures of God”
(Because Jesus is all God and all man) This is why Jesus’ friends and enemies were staggered again and again by what He said and did. He would be walking down the road seemingly like any other man, then turn and say something like,
“Before Abraham was, I am” Or, If you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father.” Or, very calmly, after being accused of blasphemy, he would say, “The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” To the dead He might simply say, “Come forth” or “Rise up” And they would obey.
To the storms on the sea He would say, “Be still” And to a loaf of bread He would say, “Become a thousand meals: And it was done immediately. To the water, He’d say, “become wine” and it would become the best wine.
In response to the high priest’s question, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” He said, “I am; and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven:” No man ever spoke like this man. No man ever lived and loved like this man. For in this man God Himself had made all the fullness of deity dwell bodily.
The NIV paraphrases like this, “God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him (Christ).” In other words, it was God’s pleasure to do this.
We have seen that God loved Him before the foundation of the world (John 17:24) and that He loved Him in His incarnate state (humanity) (John 10:17).
Now we see that, when God the Father and God the Son engaged to unite deity and humanity in Jesus, the Father rejoiced over this act. He delighted in His son’s readiness to redeem the world. Therefore it says, “It pleased God for the fullness of deity to dwell in Christ”
So the Son in whom the Father delights is the image of God and the radiance of the Glory of God. He bears the very stamp of God’s nature and is the very form of God. He is equal with God and, as John says, is God. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
(So, if anyone comes to your door and tries to tell you that Jesus is “a god” or that He is “wisdom”, and that He was created—–it is NOT true. He is “VERY GOD of peace” according to Paul in 1Thessalonians 5:23~ ~ “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly;….”
It can’t be said any stronger than that!)
Live in the Light of Our Lord 