Jesus, the love song of God...

artwork by Krista Hamrick

This beautiful work of art by Krista Hamrick inspired me as we worshipped with Chris Tomlin’s new Midnight Clear (Love Song) “…and man at war with man hears not, the love song which they bring. O hush the noise and cease the strife, and hear the angels sing. Glory to God in the highest, Glory to God evermore, Good news, great joy for all Melody breaks through the silence, Christ, the Savior is born! Jesus, the love song of God!” …This drew my heart to a word study of the word, glory, from John 1:14 …

NASB: And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Amplified:  And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His glory (His honor, His majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor, loving-kindness) and truth. [Isa. 40:5.].

TLB: And Christ became a human being and lived here on earth among us and was full of loving forgiveness and truth. And some of us have seen his glory—the glory of the only Son of the heavenly Father!

Phillips: So the word of God became a human being and lived among us. We saw his splendor (the splendor as of a father's only son), full of grace and truth.

Wuest:  And the Word, entering a new mode of existence, became flesh, and lived in a tent [His physical body] among us. And we gazed with attentive and careful regard and spiritual perception at His glory, a glory such as that of a uniquely-begotten Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Young's Literal: And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of an only begotten of a father, full of grace and truth.

The Message: The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.

The word, glory, comes from the Greek word dóxa which means “to think” or “to give a proper opinion or estimate of something.” The glory of God expresses all that He is in His Being and in His nature, character, power and acts.

Theologian Charles Ryrie writes, “Dóxa is the manifestation of any or all of His attributes. In other words, it is the displaying of God to the world. Thus, things which glorify God are things which show the characteristics of His being to the world.”

Puritan writer Thomas Watson has said, “Dóxa is the sparkling of the Deity... We may see God's glory blazing in the sun and twinkling in the stars (Psalm 19:1)...A sight of God's glory humbles. The stars vanish when the sun appears.”

Theologian Gerhard Kittel writes that...”While dóxa can denote “reputation” or “power,” while individual nuances may embrace divine honor, splendor, power, or radiance, what is always expressed is the divine mode of being, although with varying stress on the element of visible manifestation. Dóxa speaks of a manifestation of God's true nature, presence, or likeness. The glory of God is the manifestation of His Being, His character and His acts. The glory of God is what He is essentially. Glory, therefore, is the true apprehension of God or things. The glory of God must mean His unchanging essence.”

Pastor Charles Swindoll has said: “Jesus traveled through the country as a common, unglazed earthenware bottle, corked until those special occasions when His glory was manifested and the fragrant beauty of deity filled the air with its aromatic presence.”

Theologian Ken Boa comments that John 1:14 is, "One of the most important verses in the entire bible...It’s radical. It would stun the Greek mind, for who the separation of the divine spirit and the mundane world would be the idea of the complete separation. It would also stun the Jews to claim that this Word actually came among us and became flesh. It’s an incredible and awesome idea that He became flesh....He pitched His tent (skenoo is the word and it means to tabernacle). In other words, it speaks of the Old Testament tabernacle....God manifested Himself there—the glory, the pillar of cloud, the pillar of fire and the Most Holy Place. He pitched His tent in our midst and manifested Himself in a very personal way. This is localized divine presence."

Pastor J. J. S. Bird writes in The Preacher's Analyst on Christ's Glory: “Amid all His humiliation, His dóxa burst forth and manifested itself. Clad as our Savior was in the garments of a man, it was impossible entirely to veil His higher nature. Neither was it advisable. It was necessary that the world should know that He was God. His Divine glory was constantly manifesting itself—when the star led the wise men—when He taught the doctors in the Temple—when He healed the sick and raised the dead.”

There is a beautiful fresco on the ceiling of a Roman palace, painted by Guido Reni in 1614, it was one of the most impressive works of its day. But visitors couldn't fully appreciate the masterpiece because they had to crane their necks to see it. To solve the problem, palace officials placed a large mirror on the floor beneath the painting, enabling viewers to study its reflection and more fully appreciate its beauty. Jesus Christ does precisely that for us…He interprets God to our hearts. In Him, God becomes visible and intelligible to us. He is God stooping down to our level. Jesus is God in human form. In coming into our world, He revealed the Heavenly Father to us. He explained God to us.. That's what John 1:14 means when it says that "the Word became flesh."

If we base our view of God on the media’s opinions or on what liberal professors say about Him, we will have an incorrect picture. If our opinions about God are the result of pain left over from childhood or from our experience with an unloving or absent earthly father, we may see Him through a dark filter and not accept His love for us. But God revealed himself in His Son. His Word is His love letter to us, calling us to come home to His heart. Jesus declared who God is and showed God’s heart to humankind so that we would be drawn to Him and could know him. His life, miracles, teaching, death, and resurrection have given a glorious revelation of the Father. Through His Word we can see the Father accurately in his dóxa, splendor, love, grace, and light.

Heavenly Father, I praise you for revealing yourself in your Son, Jesus--your love song to us.. Wipe off the lens of my heart that I might see you accurately and love you more each day. Thank you for your Word, which reveals your love and your purpose for my life. Thank you for Jesus, who has made it possible for me to have clear vision with which to see you, my Heavenly Father, my Abba Daddy. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Look Up—meditate on John 1:14

Look In—as you meditate on John 1:14 pray to see how you might apply it to your life.

Look Out—as you meditate on John 1:14 pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others.

Weekly LinkUps…