In the Beginning...

I've asked my local paper if I can write a Bible Study column. I think we all need more of God's Word in our lives, but the challenge is finding the time. I'm planning to write a column that you can read in less than three minutes. I'll never be preachy or dogmatic, but will simply try to expose what is taught in the Scripture. We all have our different beliefs on spiritual issues, and I know I have mine, but as a journalist I vow to be as fair as possible.
I think the place to start this column is John, chapter one. This is wonderful truth about Christianity. So here goes John 1: 1 - 14 in the New International Version:
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 men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John wrote this to make sure we understand some basic truths about who Jesus was (and is). First, John declares that Jesus is God himself. This separates Christianity from all other religions in the world. John calls Jesus the Word, which means he is the "face" of God. (Paul said the same thing in Colossians 1:15). When my son was two or three years old, he asked me what God looked like. I showed him an artist's illustration of Jesus. "That's what God looks like," I said.
As God, Jesus is the creator of the universe. He is the giver of life itself. And he gives light to people, meaning he holds and shares all truth. Most people don't see that light, even though it is available to all. Most people reject Jesus as Messiah. Even Jesus' own people for the most part have rejected him.
John then says that John the Baptist came along and preached that the Messiah was coming. We can read the story of John the Baptist in all of the Gospel narratives.
John goes on to say that if we will believe in Jesus, we can become God's children. But isn't everyone God's child? No, John says that everyone is God's creation, but only those who believe in Jesus' name become God's children. Believing in Jesus' name means we accept that Jesus is who he claimed to be, and that he will save us from the penalty of our sins if we ask him.
When John wrote this, a religious group called the Gnostics was teaching that all flesh was evil so Jesus must have been only a spirit. John says, no, Jesus had a body and he gave that body to pay for our sins. John, as one of the twelve disciples, saw Jesus with his own eyes and touched him with his own hands. He saw him glorified and he saw him after he rose from the dead.
One more interesting note about this passage: John says Jesus came and "made his dwelling" among us. In the Greek, the language in which this was written, it says Jesus came and "tabernacled" among us. This is the Christmas story in the Gospel of John. Many believe he is teaching that Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles, which would be late September or early October. More on that later.
Now, have a blessed day.