God Made Known

READ: JOHN 1:1-18; ROMANS 5:6-11; PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11

How well do you think you would be able to communicate with other people if you weren’t allowed to talk, write, or use sign language for a day? It would probably be pretty difficult. Words are central to human communication.

In John 1:14, Jesus is introduced as, “the Word.” This title points to a profound truth: Jesus is the ultimate means by which God has chosen to communicate with us.

Jesus took on flesh, meaning He became a human like you and me. Notice how John 1:14 describes Jesus being born and living on earth: He “made his dwelling among us.” The Greek verb here is eskēnōsen, and it literally means “to pitch a tent.” This points back to the Old Testament, when God told His people to make a Tabernacle—a large, ornate tent—for His presence to dwell among His people.

So, why did the Word take on flesh and live among us? John tells us in verse 18. Jesus took on flesh and “pitched his tent” among us so we could know God. God loves us so much that He came in Jesus to show us who He is, ultimately dying on the cross and rising from the grave so we could live with Him forever.

By placing our faith in Jesus, trusting Him to forgive our sins and make us new, we can have a relationship with the God of the universe. Though we were once His enemies, we can now become His children and have a growing and thriving relationship with Him—all because Jesus is God made known. • Jonathon Fuller

• Why is it important to know that Jesus is “the Word [who] became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14)? How does this reveal who He is and what He came to do?

• What questions do you have about the incarnation (God the Son becoming human)? Who are trusted Christians in your life who could help you dig into Scripture and find out more?

• For more about what it means to put your trust in Jesus, see our "Know Jesus" page.

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. John 1:18 (NIV)