John 1:1-14
The Word Becomes Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 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.
John 10:30
Jesus and His Father are One
30 I and the Father are one.
John 10:38
Believing in His Miracles
38 But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.
John 14:8-14
Jesus is in His Father and His Father is in Him
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
1 John 2:15-17
Jesus Was Tempted by the Flesh, Material Things, or by Arrogance -But Is Sinless
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Matthew 4:1-11
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
1 John 4:8
God is Love
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 Timothy 3:16
Mysteries of God
16 Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:
He appeared in a body,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.
Acts 17:24-28
God is not Served by Man -He Does Not Need Anything
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
Hebrews 13:8
The Same Jesus
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
In one of the greatest mysteries of God -God was manifested into flesh...Jesus was with God from the very beginning...Jesus was the Word...The Word was God and the Word became flesh...God came and walked the earth...
God became Man, not because He needs anything, but because we needed Him...G.K. Chesterton said, "I have always felt life first a story: and if there is a story there is a Story-Teller."...The Story-Teller is God...God came into our lives to touch the very story of life itself, and the the Way our lives should be and can be...He came not because He needed to, but because we needed His Presence, and are still in need of His Presence...
But God who is God, did not come with pomp and circumstance...He came so very humbly...Those around Him (with the exception of His Virgin Mother) for thirty years did not know (really) He was the most famous Man ever to walk the earth...He had no followers before His ministry...And though He was God, He came very much as St. John says full of grace and truth...So full of Grace and Truth cannot be repeated enough, because He is our LORD and our God...He gave Himself no fame or reputation...He gave Himself no money...He came with nothing...He was a poor carpenter...He came to serve...He did not give Himself an introduction to and among Kings, but was greeted by the poor shepherds -when He was born...In His ministry, He associated Himself with fishermen, taxpayers, the most common people, and people who were ill -and sinners...Yet, He was perfect and sinless...He was tempted even more than we were by the evil one in the wilderness, and by the flesh, material things, and by pride -but He remains sinless...And again God who is God, became a Man -had nerve endings, blood, and felt anxious (near His death in Gethsemane), the very things we are and the very way we feel -all for us...Not because we are all that lovable, but because He is Love...
Jesus is the Greatest Story ever told by the Greatest Story-Teller ever...The Author of Life gives us the greatest words ever spoken by a Man or any Man, in the four gospels...He did the Greatest Miracles ever done either to help His neighbor or to show us the evidence of His Presence...He does all this not because He needs it, but because we need Him and His Love...And maybe the most remarkable thing of all (to me) is -He remains the same today as when He came to earth...Our God who is God, was the most humblest One ever to walk the earth...And today our Living God remains that way...How Great Thou Art...