What Jesus Did : John 1:18 - God Revealed!
by Phil Ware
God Revealed! - John 1:18
No man has ever seen God. But the only Son (Jesus) is God. He is very close to the Father (God). And the Son has shown us what God is like. (ERV) Full Text
Key Thought
God is much too holy to be seen by human eyes. An encounter with the Holy God of Israel was beyond the scope of human capability. Jesus, however, was God come in human flesh, Immanuel, God with us! (Matthew 1:23) So Jesus did much more than tell us about God. He revealed God. Jesus is God revealed. In his touch of the leper, in his raising of Lazarus, in his healing of the blind, in his feeding of the 5000, we see God at work and God in love with his human creation. Jesus is the great reminder that God wanted to not only know us, but he wanted to be known by us. So as John finishes his beautiful prologue, please hear his invitation to come see what Jesus did and know this is God at work, God in ministry, and God offering us his love.
Today's Prayer
Holy and righteous Father, thank you for wanting to make yourself known to me. Open the eyes of my heart Lord, and in Jesus' ministry help me fully see you and your love for me and your call upon my life. I pray this in the name of Jesus, Immanuel. Amen.
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Before the world began, the Word was there. The Word was there with God. The Word was God. He was there with God in the beginning. All things were made through him (the Word). Nothing was made without him. In him there was life. That life was light (understanding, goodness) for the people of the world. The Light shines in the darkness. The darkness has not defeated the Light. There was a man named John. He was sent by God. John came to tell people about the Light (Christ). Through John all people could {hear about the Light and} believe. John was not the Light. But John came to tell people about the Light. The true Light was coming into the world. This is the true Light that gives light to all people. The Word was already in the world. The world was made through him. But the world (people) did not know him. He came to the world that was his own. But his own people did not accept him. Some people did accept him. They believed in him. He gave something to those people who believed. He gave them the right to become children of God. These children were not born like little babies are born. They were not born from the wish or plan of a {mother and} father. These children were born from God. The Word became a man and lived among us. We saw his glory--the glory that belongs to the only Son of the Father. The Word was full of grace (kindness) and truth. John told people about him. John said, "This is the One I was talking about. I said, 'The One who comes after me is more important than I am. He was living before me.'" The Word (Christ) was full of grace and truth. From him we all received more and more blessings. The law was given through Moses. But grace and {the way of} truth came through Jesus Christ. No man has ever seen God. But the only Son (Jesus) is God. He is very close to the Father (God). And the Son has shown us what God is like.
-- John 1:1-18 (ERV)
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