God's Word to the World
Dr. Ray PritchardDr. Ray Pritchard is the president of Keep Believing Ministries, in Internet-based ministry serving Christians in 225 countries. He is the author of 29 books, including Stealth Attack, Fire and Rain, Credo, The ABCs of Christmas, The Healing Power of Forgiveness, An Anchor for the Soul and Why Did This Happen to Me? Ray and Marlene, his wife of 39 years, have three sons-Josh, Mark and Nick, two daughters-in-law--Leah and Vanessa, and four grandchildren grandsons: Knox, Eli, Penny and Violet. His hobbies include biking, surfing the Internet, and anything related to the Civil War.
- 2012 Dec 18
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).
Nothing is more invisible than a thought.
You don’t know what I am thinking nor can I tell what you are thinking. But let a man speak and his words reveal his thoughts. Take the deepest thought and clothe it in words, and it will be visible to millions. Consider the plays of Shakespeare. They are but the thoughts of Shakespeare made visible through his words.
Jesus reveals God to us.
How fitting that Jesus should be called “the Word” for he communicates the very nature of God to us. John 1:18 reminds us that no one has seen the essence of God the Father, but the Son has “declared him” or “made him known” or “explained him” or “revealed him.” The underlying Greek has the idea of unfolding a truth step by step.
Jesus makes known what we would never discover on our own.
Without Jesus we would never know the fullness of God. We would know him as Creator and Designer of all things (Romans 1:19-20), but we would never know the depth of his compassion toward sinners.
Jesus is the key to the universe for “all things have been created through him” (Colossians 1:16).
He left his fingerprints everywhere. The galaxies shout out, “He is there.” The wildflowers sing together, “He is there.” The rippling brooks join in, “He is there.” The birds sing it, the lions roar it, the fish write it in the oceans-"He is there.” All creation joins to sing his praise. The heavens declare it, the earth repeats it, and the wind whispers it- “He is there.” Deep cries out to deep, the mighty sequoia tells it to the eagle who soars overhead, the lamb and the wolf agree on this one thing-"He is there.”
Jesus is “the radiance of God’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3).
If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. He is not some grimy, blurry image of the Almighty. He isn’t the sun peeking through the clouds. Jesus radiates the glory of God. Theologians have a word for this. They say the Son is “co-essential” with the Father. That means the Father and the Son share the same essence. The Father is God and the Son is God. Jesus is the blazing, magnificent revelation of God himself.
When Jesus speaks, God speaks. May we have ears to hear what he is saying.
Speak, Lord, for we long to hear from you. Help us to hear your voice today. Amen.
If you enjoyed this Advent devotional, would you consider partnering with us through a year-end gift so that we can continue to offer free biblical resources on the Internet?