The Word was Made Flesh

The Word was Made Flesh

Most of us grow up believing the religious traditions and teachings that were instilled in us by our parents and pastors/preachers/priests/rabbis, etc. If we were born into a Jewish family we are more than likely to believe in Judaism. The same holds true if we were born into a Christian family or Hindu or Muslim. It is only natural for people to profess the traditional religion of their heritage.

We often attend church or go to a synagogue or temple where other like-minded people validate our “truth” and any attempt to dispel our beliefs or question their validity, especially by an outsider, is usually met with unwavering resistance and very often intolerance or even disdain.

This is true not only in the realm of religion, but also politics. It is amazing how people loyal to a political party will defend blatantly disgraceful, unconstitutional and even the illegal behavior of a politician solely because he or she is a member of their political or ideological persuasion.

Sadly, the freedom of religion and the freedom of speech that allows one to openly express his or her beliefs and thoughts are under great assault in the USA and around the world. Even more sad is the lost ability of people to think independently for themselves. The division and intolerance of those who claim to be inclusive and tolerant is tearing apart the fabric of our nation and families.

The point is, I don’t expect what follows in this article to be readily accepted by traditional main stream Christianity. It could well be argued that they have become all too similar in many respects to the main stream media as they attempt to hold on to their waning monopoly of traditional Biblical interpretations against the awakening that is taking place.

Consider, if you will, one such traditional Biblical interpretation.

When you ask professing Christians to explain the phrase in John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…KJV”, the overwhelming majority will tell you that it means God became man (human, flesh) solely in the person of Jesus Christ and dwelt among us 2000 years ago, meaning among those who lived in that era.

We often take for granted that simple words translated into English from the original manuscripts were translated correctly and even if they were, that we interpret the translation correctly. Our currently held doctrinal and theological beliefs will usually bias our interpretations to spin and fit our narrative.

Now consider the monumental change in meaning, if in keeping with the context of John chapter one as well as many other scriptures, the translation of the Greek preposition “en” is translated to “in” instead of “among”. (Thayer’s Concordance Definition of “en” is: 1) in, by, with, etc.)

John 1:14 would then read “And the Word (logos) was made flesh and dwelt (dwells) in us.”

The “Word” in this verse is translated from the Greek word “logos”. To help understand what the word “logos” means, notice that John 1:3 says “all things were made by him (the logos) and without him was not anything made that was made”.

We are also told in John 1:1-2 that the logos was in the beginning and the logos was with God and the logos WAS God.

If you take the word “beginning” in John 1:1 and 1:2 and look it up a concordance, you will find that it also has more than one meaning, which most words do. One primary definition is “that by which anything begins to be, the origin, the active cause”.

In other words, the origin of anything that is created is the “logos” or preceding anything that is created is the “logos”.

So what is the “logos”?

Thayer’s concordance defines it as:

(1a) a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea.

(2a) reason, the mental faculty of thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating

Dr. Strong has it:

From G3004; something said (including the thought); by implication a topic (subject of discourse), also reasoning (the mental faculty) or motive;

Now here’s the thing. Nothing is or can be created that does not first begin with the thought or the idea (the logos) of the thing. Anything created must first be conceived in the mind of its creator before it is made or formed!

For example, a building cannot be manifested, i.e. built and made visible, given a body, without there first being the idea of the building. Not only that, but the building itself is not the same thing as the idea of the building. It simply represents in temporal form the creative idea (logos) in the mind of the creator. All things are created according to, or in, the image (imagination) of their creator.

The building which can be seen with the flesh eyes, is temporal, temporary. It solely belongs to this visible dimension. However, the idea (image) of the building is eternal and belongs to the spiritual (unseen) dimension. In other words, creation takes place in the spiritual (unseen, eternal) realm. Manifestation, a likeness of the idea, takes place in the physical (visible, temporal) realm. The visible building will eventually perish, but the invisible idea of the building is eternal.

Is that not scriptural?

2 Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

The idea (logos) cannot be seen with our flesh pair of eyes. Can you “see” that?

And so it is that man was created in the image of God. We were conceived in the eternal mind of God, the Creator, and then made a likeness of that image in flesh.

Gen 1:26  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:

So your visible body (your house, building, tabernacle, dwelling place) is not the same thing as the invisible idea of you. It is not the eternal you. It is not what we often call the “inner man”. It is the “outer man”. It is only a manifestation of the IDEA, the image, the logos (word) of God (the creator).

“IDEA never leaves its invisible state to become visible matter. Bodies which manifest IDEA are made in the image of their Creator’s imaginings. The poem is not the poet, nor is the symphony its composer. In a like sense this universe is not its own Creator.” Walter Russell, “The Secret of Light”.

You see, there is only One thing that exists. There is only One thing that has ever existed or that will ever exist in all the universes, and that One thing is the Eternal Mind of God. He alone is eternal and since you were conceived and came forth from the Eternal Mind of God, what does that make you?

Allow yourself to think about it and meditate on it! You just may find that the answer to what happens to you when the temporal outer man perishes is contained within.

Start by considering the perishing of the temporal building we discussed above. Since the pattern, the idea, of the building does not perish with the building itself, but rather remains in the mind of the creator, it can surely be rebuilt, can it not? That would not be an example of reincarnation, but rather regeneration, which is visibly seen in all of nature.

For example, the acorn unfolds according to the pattern (idea) contained in the “seed”. It unfolds and grows to maturity in the body of a mighty oak tree, endures for its appointed season, and then folds itself back up into the acorn. Such is the case in all of nature.

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead (divinity); so that they are without excuse:

That brings us to another statement in John 1:4 that says in him (the logos) is “life”, which is also called the Light.

John 1:4  In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

When we hear the word “Light” our carnal minds immediately see incandescence. But since you can see incandescent light that means it is temporal, a mere manifestation of the idea of light that extends from the true Light… which cannot be seen.

When you look at a person all you see with your flesh eyes is his or her body. You cannot see the “true Light” that “lights” them and manifested their body.

John 1:9  That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

The word “Light” is translated from the Greek word foce, which Strong’s says is “From an obsolete phao (to shine or make manifest, especially by rays; compare G5316 and G5346);”

The word “true” means:

1) that which has not only the name and resemblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name, in every respect corresponding to the idea signified by the name, real, true genuine

1a) opposite to what is fictitious, counterfeit, imaginary, simulated or pretended

1b) it contrasts realities with their semblances

In other the words, the true Light that lights you, which is the real you (not your body) cannot be seen. Only the semblance, the temporary manifestation of the true Light (logos) can be seen.

Look again at Gen 1:26.

Gen 1:26  And God said, Let us make (manifest in the temporal realm) man (adam, i.e. flesh) in our image (according to our imagined idea, logos), after our likeness (similitude);

In other words, the flesh man, the adamic man, the outer man that you see in the mirror and erroneously think is the real you, is simply a likeness, a similitude, a temporary manifestation, of the eternal image of you that resides in the eternal mind of God.

Here is breakdown of a few of the words in Gen 1:26 to help us see better.

“said” = 1) to say, speak, utter; 1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one’s heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend;

“image” = From an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, that is, (figuratively) illusion, resemblance;

“likeness” = resemblance; concretely model, shape; adverbially like: – fashion, like (-ness, as), manner, similitude.

Again, the “image” of you is spiritual (and thus eternal) and the “likeness” of you is physical (and thus temporal).

Here is John 1:14 expressed in different words in Gen 2:7.

Gen 2:7  And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

(By the way, the “LORD God” is plural. It means the existing or eternal “elohiym”, which would be the “us” in Gen 1:26.)

So the LORD God, according to the image of you in his mind, which you are of and one with, made that image flesh, made it a similitude from the dust of the ground, and breathed the breath of life in you.

What is the breath of life? It is not the air you breath. It is what gives you LIFE and causes you be a living soul.

The breath of life is the creative mind of God. It is the Light that lights all men. It is the logos that dwells in you and me. That’s why we are creators… because the creative mind of God (the logos) dwells in us.

We saw this earlier concerning the logos.

John 1:4  In him (the logos) was life; and the life (the breath of life) was the light of men.

It is the Light, the breath of life in you, that makes you a “living soul”, a Light being dwelling in a likeness of you, which is your flesh body made in the image you.

John 1:14, “And the Word (logos) was made flesh (from the dust of the ground), and dwelt among (in) us…”,

You may look like yourself in the flesh, but the real you is not the likeness, the similitude, you see in the mirror.

The thing is, even though the Light dwells in us, our carnal (flesh) mind, which is darkness, cannot comprehend (perceive) that Light.

John 1:5  And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

It is not until the revelation of Christ in you, the unveiling of the Light that lights you, which is the logos that dwells in you, that you will know (comprehend) the truth of who you really are.

The mystery of this has been hidden in perpetuity (ages) and from birth (generations). I can tell you about the glory and richness of this, and you might even believe what I am saying is true, but as it is written… only God can make this mystery known to you. Here it is:

Col 1:26  Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest (declared) to his saints:

Col 1:27  To whom God would make known (reveal, revelation) what is the riches (valuable bestowment, even sonship) of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles (allegory of the carnal mind, darkness); which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Christ in you, the logos dwelling in you, is the great and greatest mystery of all time to the flesh carnal mind. It is veiled behind the curtain of the carnal mind… which is why it must be unveiled (revealed).

You can study the Bible 24/7, (and I’m not saying don’t study it) as did the apostle Paul, who was an Hebrew scholar, and I did too for almost 50 years, but I can tell you from personal experience as Paul just did in Col 1:27, that the unveiling of this glorious mystery… comes only by Revelation.

That is the one truth that will help set you free!

In conclusion, consider the scriptural definition of Christ in 1 Cor 1:24.

1Co 1:24  But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. 

Christ is the power of God, the wisdom of God, the logos of God, the Word of God… and as 1 Cor 1:27 and John 1:14 says, He (Christ, the Logos) dwells “in” us.