He Dwells Among Us

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. — John 1:14

This is easily one of the most important verses in the Gospel of John. John is attempting to lay out evidence that Jesus is God in the flesh. And specific gnostic ideas in his time thought it impossible that the divine could coexist with humanity. But in this verse, John dismantles this improbability.

So here is what he does. First, he connects the "Word" or "Logos" in John 1:1 to this verse. Second, he declares that the Word (the divine light and life) became human. Third, he tells us the Word "dwelt" among us. And the word "dwelt" here is the word "tabernacled." And that is a word that would have elicited a specific image to followers. It would have brought to the front of their minds a memory of the Old Testament Tabernacle. And the Tabernacle was the first dwelling place for God. But here, John explains the place where he dwelled during his 33 years of life was not in an isolated temple but in the world with us, as a man. So we conclude from this verse that John testifies Jesus is the Divine Word who chose to live among us so that we might know him.

Again the Bible is the Word of God transcribed, and Jesus is the Word of God personified.

And John believed this. He was convinced about what he saw with his eyes firsthand that he wrote a twenty-one-chapter chronicle about all he saw, heard, and experienced. In addition, he suffered incredible persecution for believing and sharing this testimony. Tertullian, an early historian, reports that John the Apostle was boiled alive in oil for his faith in Jesus. For his belief in this verse right here, and was miraculously unscathed by it and then exiled to Patmos, where he wrote the book of Revelation.

So if you are looking for evidence that Jesus was and is the Divine Word made human, look no further than John the Apostle. Because who in their right mind would willingly write, speak, preach, testify, and even be boiled alive in hot oil for a man if the story were not absolutely true?

ASK THIS: Are you still looking for evidence?

DO THIS: Ask God to keep revealing it to you.

PRAY THIS: God, give me evidence that you are real.

PLAY THIS: Love Came Down.