That Jesus is God and yet distinct from the Father is the crux of Trinitarian Theology. If there was no New Testament Jesus, the Trinity would not be as clear. There are certainly hints at the Trinity in the OT. The main one is the Angel of the Lord, who often receives worship and unlike other angels, does not rebuke the human worshipping him (see Genesis 18, Joshua 5:13-15, and Judges 13 as opposed to Revelation 22:8-9 for instance). However it isn't until the New Testament that the concept of the Threeness of God is truly shown. All Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible (see About page for copyright info).
Let's jump into John 1.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. - John 1:1 (NET)
John starts off his Gospel with parallels to Genesis, the First book of the Jewish Scriptures;
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. - Genesis 1:1 (NET)
John in the first chapter of his Gospel is saying that this man I am talking about, he is God! He is the God you read about in our Scriptures, but he is also distinct from him. He is also making a point that modern Christians should remember: Jesus is the God of the Old Testament, in the sense that Jesus and YHWH are both part of the Trinity while being distinct. Marcion was a heretic in early church history who tried to say that Jesus wasn't the same God as the Jew's YHWH. He made up his own list of books of the Bible, which included an edited version of Luke's Gospel and some of Paul's letters and completely throwing out the Old Testament, the other Gospels, several of Paul's letters, and anything that sounded like "Judaizing interpolations." [Metzger, Canon, pg. 93]
2 The Word was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. - John 1:2-3 (NET)
Here John is refuting an error that has often crept into the Church since the time of John's writings: Jesus is not a CREATED creature the way we are. The Divine Word has existed since before time with God the Father. He is the agent of creation. And if you think back to Genesis, one thing pops out: God speaks things into existence. If I speak, do I not use words? Even way back in Genesis, Scripture anticipates the revealing of Christ in John's Gospel. Fascinating, no?
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. 5 And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it. - John 1:4-5 (NET)
Again, John is drawing parallels from Genesis 1, by bringing light and darkness into the picture:
3 God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light! 4 God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day" and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. - Genesis 1:3-5 (NET)
Next comes John the Baptist. John (The Apostle, not the same John) skips from the beginning of the world to the First Century A.D., when there was a man named John prophesying about the coming "light."
6 A man came, sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that everyone might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. - John 1:6-8 (NET)
John then goes back to talking about Jesus:
9 The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was created by him, but the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to what was his own, but his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children 13 —children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband’s decision, but by God. - John 1:9-13 (NET)
Gospel! Jesus was the Creator who stepped into the Created World (Platonic Greeks say WHA???)* but the beings whom He crafted rejected Him. To all who do receive Him however, they become TRUE Children of God.
14 Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We saw his glory—the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father. - John 1:14 (NET)
For all us thick-headed people, John makes it clear whom he has been talking about: Jesus. The God who took on flesh and lived with us. This is awesome stuff, a God who humbles himself for our sakes.
6 who though he existed in the form of God
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself
by taking on the form of a slave,
by looking like other men,
and by sharing in human nature.
8 He humbled himself,
by becoming obedient to the point of death
– even death on a cross!
- Philippians 2:6-8 (NET)
Amazing how the whole Bible echoes itself huh? Kinda like all 66 books have the same Author... ;)
15 John testified about him and shouted out, “This one was the one about whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is greater than I am, because he existed before me.’” 16 For we have all received from his fullness one gracious gift after another. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. - John 1:15-17 (NET)
John compares Jesus to Moses. Jesus brings the Gospel, Moses brought the Law - This is especially important to Jews, most of whom viewed Moses' books, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, as the most authoritative of the Jewish Scriptures. [Tomasino, Judaism, pg. 19] But Jesus brings something better than the Ten Commandments. He brings the fulfillment of God's revelation: His body on a cross in our stead as the final sacrificial lamb. And now his disciples have left us the teachings that Christ gave them to teach to others:) (see Matthew 28:19-20 and John 14:25-26)
18 No one has ever seen God. The only one, himself God, who is in closest fellowship with the Father, has made God known. - John 1:18 (NET)
I think what this verse is saying that no one has seen God, but the one who is closest to God (Say... His Word?) has made God known (by taking on a body and walking among men).
Until the next blog (Which may or may not get out next Monday, it depends on my time management as the next few days are Cray-Cray...),
Soli Deo Gloria!
- Jonah
Bibliography (quoted material and influences):
- The NET Bible https://net.bible.org
- Athanasius; On the Incarnation [Fig Books, 2012] Print.
- Metzger, Bruce, The Canon of the New Testament [Oxford University Press, 1987] Print.
- Metzger, Bruce; The Jehovah's Witnesses and Jesus Christ
https://www.1517legacy.com/freebies/Bruce%20Metzger%20-%20The%20Jehovah's%20Witnesses%20and%20Jesus%20Christ.pdf
- Tomasino, Anthony J.; Judaism Before Jesus [Intervarsity Press, 2003] Print.
- The Lutheran Study Bible (Thanks CPH for such a great resource!)
- Also, thank you to Spotify Premium for music to blog too;)
*Blog reader says huh? This is a reference to the Platonic (and Gnostic) concept of hatred of matter and glorifying of spirit... Philosophical humor ;)