John 1:1-5, 14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
We can learn a vast amount of information concerning who Jesus is, His pre-existence and His role in creation in these 6 short verses of Scripture. When John wrote "in the beginning," this is the precise phrase used in the first chapter of Genesis in the first verse. Furthermore, John is taking us back to the very beginning of space and time, the beginning of the creation of the physical universe, by the use of this phrase. John is also teaching us that before the universe was created, Jesus was there. Additionally, John tells us that Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God.
John is saying that Jesus is God, and He is also the author and creator of all of heaven and earth. If we were to paraphrase this statement, we might say that Jesus, who as God who created all of the universe, for a time dwelt with humankind. And to assure that we are completely clear on what he is trying to teach us, John echoes and recaps that God became flesh and dwelt among us. God spoke through the Prophet Isaiah and said that He would be named “Immanuel”, which is a Hebrew word meaning "God with us," and expresses the wonder of the incarnation, that God "became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” In the Old Testament, God’s presence with His people Israel was particularly evident in the Tabernacle, but the glory that filled the Tabernacle was surpassed by the personal presence of God the Son, as he revealed the Father during his ministry on earth. Christ's glory was revealed through the miracles he performed (John 2:11).
Jesus, the eternal God of the universe, moved out of eternity and took on humanity, without losing either His divinity or His humanity. This was a necessity for Jesus so that He would be able to take on himself all the judgment of sin, which humanity had placed against itself. Moreover, we should also look at the term "Word" as used herein John's passages. This term carries a significant meaning because it refers to the bodily presence of God. It's the word "Logos" and it refers to the physical manifestation of God, in His divinity and wisdom. The meaning of these verses is very clear, John is telling us that God, in the person of Jesus came to earth, took on flesh and mankind beheld Him. God, through the incarnation, came to earth. The incarnation means that God took on humanity and added it to His divinity without loss of either. That is why you will often hear Jesus referred to as the "God-man," because He alone is fully God and fully man. The reason that God would do this is simply because of the great unconditional love that He has for us. Jesus did this because we would never be able to earn our way to Heaven. Jesus did this so that we might be able to have the full life He promised (John 10:10).
Without Christ Jesus, one will spend life here on this earth and then spend eternity separated from God in an awful, horrible place called Hell. The “full” life that is spoken of in John is the time spent here in this life, as well as a life spent with God, in a glorious and magnificent place called Heaven. Simply put, the “full” life that begins at the heartbeat of salvation, will never end.
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